Parks and Recollection - The Debate (S4E20)

Episode Date: February 27, 2024

Dust off your podium - Jim O’Heir (Jerry Gergich himself!) and writer Greg Levine are back to discuss “The Debate”! In this episode, Jim and Greg break down Leslie Knope’s face-off with a slew of Pawnee’s City Council hopefuls (including local porn star Brandi Maxxxx and Sweetums heir Bobby Newport), Andy Dwyer’s one-man reenactment of the movie “Roadhouse”, and Ron Swanson’s scaling of a telephone pole. Plus, they dive into which character’s backstory would make the best prequel series in our Town Hall segment. Get your rebuttal ready and go ahead and treat yo’ self! Got a question for the Pawnee Town Hall? Send us an email at [e-mail]!

We're getting together to talk about all the things we used to do The laughs, the passions, the little Sebastian's, the pets we fell into And we're putting it on in a podcast Then we'll send it up into the sky We're calling it Parks and Recollection Come on little podcast Spread your wings and fly Hello everybody, welcome back to Parks and Recollection

This is super, super, super exciting This is not the normal episode Because we've been gone for so long This is Jim O'Hare I'm the guy who played Larry Gary, Jerry, Terry, Barry on Parks and Rec. And next to me is... You may not recognize me because of how long

it's been, Jim, but it's Greg. Oh my God, it's so good to be back in the studio with you talking about our favorite show. But it's been a while. We've had some strikes and things that have kept us apart. Yes. But not three strikes against us. No, we're not

three strikes. We're not out. We're here. No, we're not. Just for people who know or don't know, first, the writers had gone on strike. We did, yes. Then the actors followed suit. You did. And Greg and I felt, thankfully, the same that we shouldn't be doing the podcast only because Parks is still a show

that makes money. And it's on streaming services. And our guests promote things. And that was kind of what we didn't feel we should be doing at the time. Right. We took a pause. We took a pause. And we want to thank Team Coco for understanding where we stood on the situation. You know, we have contracts and things like that.

And they chose to just say to us, you guys, you come back when you're ready to come back. And that was incredibly generous. And we are thrilled that that's. And to thank all of you, our listeners and the fans, the people who wrote in on comments as they listened to the episode, you know, show their support for us. It was really, it meant a lot because we couldn't wait to get back and talk about this. Couldn't wait to get back. I mean, I looked, our last episode released August 21st, 2023. What a quaint time, 2023. Remember those days? Yeah. Oh, the 2023s.

Oh, the 23s. Oh, those were good days. But we are incredibly happy to be back. Incredibly happy. And with a wonderful episode. And a lot has happened. A lot has happened in that time. And we should talk about the episode we're here to talk about.

But I think we should call out a very cool thing that happened in the time between recording our last episode, being here today. It's Nick Hofferman won an Emmy. Yeah, baby. One of us, one of our friends won an Emmy. And Jim, you talk about this a lot. I mean, first of all, he won an Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of Bill in HBO's The Last of Us, an amazing show and a phenomenal episode. But Jim, you talk about quite a bit that Nick Offerman never got a nomination. Again, people, you're going to be like, oh, he's saying it again.

I will say it again. For the most original character that was on TV at the time. What Nick was doing with Ron Swanson was so different than anything else on here at the time. And the fact that he was never acknowledged for that made me crazy. So when he won this, it was incredible. And as people who know, listen, we have a thing called the Parks Family Text, and we were going nuts when he won. It was just so exciting. And of course, his speech was such a Nick Offerman speech. There's few classier acts than Nick Offerman. There just are. I mean, he's one in a million. And this is just my little actor brain. When you get a chance to do something different,

it's a gift. And, you know, we know Nick, you know, most people, he's mostly known as Ron Swanson, but he's done so many other projects. But the manly, manly, manly man, you know, and he builds and he does this and he does this. Now he's on The Last of Us and he's still a manly man, but he's a gay manly man. Right. And he nailed it. So anyway, we're so proud of him. I mean, incredibly proud of him. Yeah.

Oh, one other thing that happened. Yeah. So, you know, the Sober Bowl, the Chiefs won. I know this is old news. But anyway, first we see an ad with Aubrey Plaza. It begins. Right. And then at the very end of the ad, there's Nick Offerman.

Yes. With a huge mustache riding on a dragon. Sure, of course. It was just perfect. And then pretty quickly after was Pratt's Super Bowl spot. So, yeah, we were a little crazed on our Parks family text chat. That's awesome. Lots of love and laughs and saying stupid things and making each other laugh.

I love it. It's just our favorite thing. And I love seeing those guys like that. That is just. Though I kind of think at the end of the one with Nick on the dragon, they should have cut to the very, very end, paid me a million dollars, and I was like on a mule or something. Like it just wasn't going as well for Jerry.

Oh, that's interesting. But I would have wanted one, I take that back, one billion dollars. One billion. Okay, I thought you would have deserved it. I thought you would have had to pay to be on it. Oh, wow.

Oh, boy. Hurtful, but I get it. Well, let's talk about this awesome episode. Oh, my God. We're actually talking about an episode of Parks and Recreation. I know. Wow. I almost don't know what to do here.

You normally just do it as you look in the mirror. You just talk about it. Exactly. I've been doing that a lot, yes. Okay. Today's episode is The Debate. It was written by Amy Poehler, directed by Amy Poehler. Polar Palooza, if you will.

Polar Palooza, if you will. Polar Palooza. Yeah. It originally aired on April 26, 2012. Talk about quaint. And Jim, oh man, it's good to say it, but will you give us a blurb? Oh, I love doing the blurbs. With the election drawing near, Leslie goes head-to-head with her fiercest rival, Bobby Newport, in a televised city council debate.

Meanwhile, April and Andy hold a viewing party for Leslie's biggest donors, despite their cable being turned off and Tom's jealousy is piqued when Chris's feelings for Anne rekindle while working as Leslie's spin team. Ooh, it's a fun episode. I was rewatching it last night. I mean, it is just a joke machine. It's a joke machine. It also had a different feel for me.

I think because there was so much of it not in our normal space. We weren't in the bullpen at all. We were on a debate stage and we were at April and Andy's house. Good point. So it had a different feel to it, but I like that. And it starts, and we'll get into it, but it starts with this. After we get the little scene in cold open in Andy and April's house, then we have this beautiful shot, this wide shot of this huge auditorium. It made me think about the pilot.

And one of the first shots where we see for the public forum that Leslie's going to run, she walks into the school auditorium. It's cavernous and intimidating. And this is a different Leslie walking into a very similar place, but she's been prepared and Ben has prepared her for this. And we'll get into that. We will get into that.

Before we do that, a few notes. This episode is the second of five appearances by the truly hilarious Paul Rudd as Sweden's heir Bobby Newport. Brilliant. Brad Leland,

who portrays one of Leslie's political opponents, Fester Trim in this episode. Who I did a movie with. Okay, this isn't about you. It is about, everything is always about me. That's true. And Brad and I did do a film together. Well, Brad Leland went on to run against Selina Meyer as Senator Bill O'Brien in six episodes of Veep.

Yeah. And was also in all five seasons of Friday Night Lights as Buddy Garrity. That's where I first knew him. And it was so cool to see him in this. My wife, who watched Friday Night Lights recently and fell in love with the show, as most people do when they watch it, she was most excited when we watched this episode. There it is.

Well, you know, you turned me on to Friday Night Lights. I had never seen it, and now I have seen it. And it is really an amazing show. Listeners don't need to know about how I turn you on to things. Oh, you do, my friend. Oh, you do. This episode is Amy's directorial debut. She reportedly watched the documentary The War Room about the Clinton campaign to prepare. And additionally, Amy was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series

for her work on this episode. That's huge. I mean, and also, and I know this is in the notes, and I had known this, but generally when a script is written, they go through all sorts of rewrites. It's just the nature of the beast. You guys, this works better, this works better,

and then new minds come at it. This was one and done, correct? Yeah, this was one where Amy's draft was nearly identical to the shooting draft. How often does that happen? It's rare. I mean, it happens from time to time, but it rarely happens when someone comes from outside the writer's room. Amy's not outside the writer's room, but not as a normal script writer. She's not their day-to-day. Staff writer. But it also is a testament to the fact that she knows this world and her character. And there have been 20-something episodes leading up to this about the election.

I still think that's pretty incredible. No, it is pretty incredible. Because I don't think for a minute, Mike, what Mike Schur, you know, who was our showrunner and co-creator. I don't think, just because it was Amy, he's like, well, I really shouldn't touch this script because Amy wrote it. You know, she's the lead. I don't think that's the case at all. I think Mike's all about what's best for the show. So this, wow, I just, that's really impressive. No, I totally agree. Every so often,

and you must feel this also on set, you know, one can just be in such a zone. Yeah. That it's just everything. Like, we had those moments in the room, breaking a story. It just works. And I think that this was not just a good episode, but the perfect episode perhaps for Amy to write and to direct. Yeah.

I love, love, love when an actor directs. Now, I know some people are like, why is that? But I don't know. Actors know how to talk to actors. And I do love that. I loved when Amy directed. I loved when Nick directed. I think Adam directed. I loved when any one of I loved when Nick directed. I think Adam directed.

I loved when any one of our cast members directed. I was always on board. Yeah, so fun. So fun. Well, the episode was the biggest production of the year.

There were 400 extras, six cameras. We had crane shots, night shoots, stunts. I mean, Nick Offerman climbs the telephone pole. So there's a lot going on.

And he's up there. He's up there. At first I thought, okay, this, I'm going to put it, keep my eye closed. And he's up there. He's up there. At first I thought, okay, this, I'm going to put it, keep my eye closed. No, it's Nick.

Yeah. He's up there. Yeah. You think it's a small little episode. It's a debate. It's going to be on the stage, but it's a big, there's a lot going on.

A lot. Well, let's, a synopsis. Good to say that word again. Yes, we're back. Rolls off the tongue.

It does. With Bobby Newport ahead in the polls, Leslie and Ben have gathered the team at campaign headquarters, aka April and Andy's house, to talk strategy for the debate happening later that night. Ben assigns Chris, Anne, and Tom to deal with the press as Leslie's spin team and tasks Ron, April, and Andy with throwing a viewing party

for Leslie's biggest donors. Wow, that's a lot. And there is no better spin team than Chris and Andy. Yes, yes. They are the best spin team. I love that Chris talking head early when he talks about if anyone were to tell him that he has cancer or whatever, that he would want it to be

him. He'd want it to be him. It's such a real sweet and true idea. And then it creates this great game where they're testing spin skills, where Tom says, your house just burned down, and you lost all your money in the stock market. And Chris says something like, it's a chance to start over. Fire's cleansing.

And true wealth is measured by the amount of love in your life. It's great. Okay, it's great. Now, but I have to ask. So Ben goes, here's the hypothetical. And he goes, Chris, hypothetical crisis. Leslie just tried to answer a question, then audibly farted, then threw up. Spin.

Now, before we give his answer, was that a hypothetical? I feel like that happened. Ben just experienced that with Leslie. Oh, that's so funny. That's how I took it. I took it like, this is such a ridiculous hypothetical, that's so funny. That's how I took it. I took it like, this is such a ridiculous hypothetical, but it just happened.

Right, it's like someone's saying, okay, let's just say hypothetically. Hypothetically, I ran over a cat. Right, right. Let's just say, yeah. On the way in the driveway. Right, right, right. I kind of feel like it happened. That's interesting.

That's how I took it. And of course, Chris, without missing a beat, Leslie Knope is literally, literally overflowing with ideas for this town. And speaking of methane, have you heard about

her plan to limit greenhouse gas emissions? Right. Is there a better spin than that? Right. That's a big segue. That's a big segue.

Speaking of methane. Yes. And we get the great comedy early on of Andy and April when they have the division of early on of Andy and April when they have the division of party responsibilities. Andy talking about how their house is going to be filled with rich people named like Dottie and Todd and Rick,

which is so funny what his expectations of rich wealth is. And April's going to give those $100 lap dances. So kind. She's such a giver. And Ron, just a lotver. And then Ron, just a lot of just very classic Ron moments. I want to jump ahead to when he gives his speech at

the party and he ends it by saying his name, Ron Swanson. Right? He's also in the zone as Ron, and Ron is going to be providing several slabs of his world famous Swanson ribs. I bet they're good. I bet they are really, really good.

Yeah. I just came back from Kansas City, and I have had barbecue that is pretty amazing there. I bet. But I'm guessing Ron's would be right up there. Right. But it's funny because I think to the burger-making episode. Oh, right. Where he pretty much just grills some meat.

Yeah. Just basic. It's very basic. Right. And a bun and grills some meat. Yeah. Just basic. It's very basic. Right. And a bun and says, eat it. And it's amazing. But I have a feeling the swans and ribs are a whole other level. He actually goes through the time and slowly.

Well, because you can't just, you have to have a sauce. Like there's more than just the meat. Right. And I think he does it all. Great. Yeah. Well, let's jump into the debate. Just the meat.

Right. And I think he does it all. Great. Yeah. Well, let's jump into the debate. At the debate venue, Leslie gets her bearings on the empty stage running through her opening statement with Ben. While backstage, Chris ponders a fresh start with Anne after remembering how well they work together. confides in April that Anne has broken up with him for good this time, replaying the events leading up to his latest breakup and prompting April to give him some much needed

advice. April can really be there for people. That's a good point. As much as we know she's, you know, she can be who she is and we all love her. Right. But she can be there when they need him. Yeah. And it's interesting because I think early on in the series, that kind of became the Leslie-Ron dynamic, right?

Where Leslie and Ron would potentially not see eye to eye as much. And then they have some fun conflicts. But then in that third act, Ron would say something wise and kind of set her straight and help her correct. Because we did a lot of Parks Department type stories. There weren't as many interpersonal stories. And now, you know, we've had this whole season

now of April kind of doing the same thing. And jumping forward, she's going to be doing that soon in season five with Ben a little bit more. And so it's interesting. It shows the evolution,

the growth, the softening of April Ludgate. And the reason it just works so well is that's human. That's what humans do. You grow and you learn. And she ultimately loves everyone in that department as much as it would kill her to say those words out loud. She loves everybody.

Even though, what is she saying? She goes, well, I like Andy. I like Champion. Oh, right. She says she wants Leslie to win. She wants Leslie to win. And sleeping. It's her last one.

Sleeping. Yeah, yeah. I'm on board with that. Yeah, sleeping is nice. Yeah, we have a lot in common when it comes to that. And also, and I don't know if I'm jumping here, but I had a realization in this episode that made me feel much better about my situation.

Your personal life situation? No, that's a mess. Okay. No, my personal situation with, you know how creeped out I have been about Tom and Ann, like really creeped out. have been about Tom and Ann. Like, really creeped out. We hear, according to Tom, because he was making a play, he goes, we got to second base kind of.

Kind of, yeah. Now that, what that does for me. It makes you feel good. It makes me feel like maybe the full bases hadn't been crossed. You know what I'm saying by that? I'm trying to be. You're trying to say something about bases. Maybe the full bases hadn't been crossed. You know what I'm saying by that? I'm trying to be. You're trying to say something about bases and crossing them.

I'm trying to say Tom didn't do a home run. That's what I'm saying. And that makes me feel better that Tom and Ann might not have. Tom didn't do a home run. Yeah. Boy, this is sounding childish. So you're watching a lot of baseball these days. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Okay, cool. Who could forget my movie, Ed, with Matt So you're watching a lot of baseball these days. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, cool. Who could forget my movie, Ed, with Matt LeBlanc and a monkey playing baseball? Yes, who could forget that? Who could? Well, actually, everybody, as it turns out. Oh, God. Oh, God. As they should.

But you're right. I hear what you're saying, and this episode will put a period on the story of Tom and Ann. Yes. In a really great way. In a lovely way. I just left it feeling, okay, I don't feel as creeped out now. Maybe they kissed a little, maybe whatever, whatever. But because, you know, I just had my problems with that. I know.

But Tom is going to go through the range of emotions. Yes, he should. I mean, first we get that clip of him calling into the radio show. It's Love Therapy with Dr. Douche and Professor Taint. And he's talking about, you know, they're up in the club and they're dancing, they're sweating. As Jim alluded to, let's say we got to second of the night, kind of. Kind of.

And then this chick's name is Ann Perkins. Look her up on the government website. She is crazy hot. And it didn't turn into a fight. It turned into nothing other than Anne going, mm-mm. And she kicks him out. Physically shoves him out. She kind of did it in a way that

someone would grab a little kid by the ear in a terrible way. You said something terrible in front of the company. I don't do that. I wouldn't do that. That's awful. But it had been done in time in memoriam, and it feels like that's something she was doing with Tom. Absolutely.

And I like in this scene at the debate venue where Ben is once again getting Leslie prepared and they're feeling good. They're measuring the podium. And then when they're talking about Newport, he gets like very violent when talking about her. And Leslie says, I'm going to wipe the floor with this face. And Ben says, you're going to rip out his spine with your teeth and then chew it up and gargle with it. Yikes. And I love Leslie and Amy does this little giggle

and says, I love when you're needlessly discussing. Needlessly. I just, their relationship is just so awesome on so many levels. And I'm so glad the writers, because, you know, as we all know, I'm no writer, but they didn't play the will they, will they not. Like once they were together, they were together and they were a team. Right. And they had each other's backs for everything. Right. They're just, I don't know, they're like the perfect little couple.

Right. Oh, yeah. In our synopsis, we're going to move on. With the debate about to begin, Leslie hypes herself up for a good fight and Ben admits to feeling a little intimidated by Bobby Newport's campaign manager, Jennifer Barkley, Catherine Hahn. While back at the viewing party, things have come to a screeching halt when Andy realizes the cable is out due to him forgetting to pay the bill. cable is out due to him forgetting to pay the bill. Okay. Just to go back to the Jennifer Barkley, anybody would be intimidated by Jennifer Barkley. Right. Yeah. That is one intimidating woman. Nothing scares her.

Nothing rocks her world. She just, this is what's happening. Right. She is walking confidence, if you will. Right? Absolutely. So much so that she'll talk to Ben asking about Chris's availability. She's just, I guess I'm into this guy.

Yeah. And she knows what she wants and she goes for it. Yeah. It's a great little grace note that Leslie's listening to Sarah McLaughlin's I Will Remember You to get pumped up for the debate. You know, fierce, power, pump it up 2012. Nothing gets me more amped than

Sarah Mcachlan. Yeah. I don't know if that's been said in human history. I don't think it's ever been said. And I think us saying it now is the last time it will ever be said. Okay, great. Our eagle-eyed viewers will

recognize the woman who's over-singing, if you will, the national anthem before the debate begins from Season 2, Episode three is Beauty Pageant. And episode 22, that same season, Telethon, that's Denise Yermley, of course. That's Denise Yermley. Yermley.

Yes. What a pretty name. Yes. Katie Dippled Creation in Beauty Pageant. And then when we were doing Telethon in season two, it was a chance to bring back a bunch of people we had already met in that season. And someone had pitched that she should sing there too. And then at that point, she's just the person who sings at events like this.

And so we got Denise. But in Pawnee, she's probably a bit of a celebrity. Totally. She is the go-to for the national anthem. Absolutely. It makes perfect sense in that world. Yes. Intersynopsis.

The debate is off to a rocky start with moderators purred happily and newly single, Joan Calamezzo favoring the likably naive Bobby Newport over Leslie. The candidates give their opening statements and as the debate progresses, Leslie's

well-prepared and impassioned responses begin to come off as bullying. Meanwhile, offstage, Jennifer Barkley hints at an ace up in the Newport campaign sleeve. And back at the donor party, Andy jumps into action, recreating scenes from his favorite movies, while April enlists Ron's help to get the cable back on. Okay, first, Jim, let's talk quickly about the other candidates that we meet. Because it's been a race pretty much between Leslie and Bob.

That's all we've really heard about. That's how we've been dramatizing it. And we've seen other names potentially, you know, up on screen. But this is a chance to really have fun with them. And also so that it feels full, right? So it doesn't just feel like it's just been the two of them.

Right. And so we have Fester Trim. We talked about Bradley Lynn. And who's fighting for those names? Who came up with Fester Trim. We talked about Bradley Lynn. And who's fighting for those names? Who came up with Fester Trim? These feel like fun room names. So people were just yelling things out. Yeah.

Because that is a great name. Fester Trim. Well, it's a human name. I don't know that it is. Yeah, but people have silly names. They do. So we have Fester Trim, the man who sells you your guns at the Unbelievable Gun Emporium. We have Brandy Max, four Xs, everyone.

Adult film star. And I love how she constantly throughout the episode of debate, always just like Leslie. She'll say, just like Leslie, I know what it's like to be the only woman in a room full of men. And then the look on Leslie's face and the fact that they kind of look alike. I mean, the blonde hair, they're both dressed up, you know, in professional suits. Well, that was intentional

with her casting originally. It's perfect. Absolutely. We have Manrico de la Rosa, animal rights activist who's running on such things as believing that animals are as important as people

and if elected, he will fight for them as if they are his own children, which is actually quite sweet now that you think about it. Yes, well, I'm an animal guy, so I'm on board with that. Obviously, Bobby Newport, our Sweden's heir and likable idiot. I love how he says that he wants to do a good job because he likes it when people think he does a good job,

and he wants Pawnee and his dad to see what he's made of. And then he said, let's do this. And there's this great shot of a bunch of guys who are like cheering him on. And Paul Rudd is so funny, right? When he says the wrecking crew, right?

Like who let you guys in here? It's so great. And also just to go back to the Brandy Max, who by the way, mentions that she has starred in 400 films that year, which means it is more than one film per day. She's a workhorse. That is a busy girl.

And like Leslie, she's working hard. She's dedicated to her work. Yes, she's totally dedicated. I procrastinate and she works, so good for her. Her sweetness, though, I love Brandy Maxx. Yeah, I do too. I do too. There's something lovely about her

and she's earnest in everything she's saying. And she does think her and Leslie are very much alike. Yeah. And I love that about her. Yeah, I do too. I think it's great. I think she's actually one of my favorite recurring characters. And we have Joan and Perd running the debate.

And Joan Calamezzo is one of my all-time favorite. We've had Mo Collins on here who played Joan. And at this debate, letting everyone know that she's newly single is just, that's Joan. Yeah. That's Joan. And what is her reason for her dislike of Leslie? But it's always been there. Is it because she's a powerful, like Leslie gets things done?

Like, I don't really understand, but it's hysterical. Well, it started as a little thing, right? And I think Leslie was on Pawnee Today, and they were contentious with the Pawnee Zoo episode. Well, and then the gotcha with the Harvest Festival. But that just continues. So one begets another, and then the game very quickly becomes their antagonism,

and it works. Oh, it works. And the more you do something, the more you go to that well, the more extreme you have to keep being because you have to up your comedy, up your game. So here we are at this point where she just outwardly, clearly just despises

Leslie and wants nothing good for her. And Perd doesn't even know where he is half the time is my guess. He's just like, they told him, you're going to be hosting a debate. That would be fine. He doesn't know what's happening. The answer to that request is I'm already sitting in the chair, right? Yeah, and you talked about how this great offstage little sea runner that happens.

So we have the debate as maybe our A story. We have the stuff going on at Andy and April's house as this B story with little offshoots. And then we have this little runner of Ben and Jen Barkley off to the side to keep them alive. And the comedy between them is just good. And it also keeps giving us the necessary stakes in the episode. So we see on Ben's face that it's not going well because Leslie can't show that to us. And she can't come off stage yet to talk about things. And we see from Jen's confidence and kind of blasé attitude about this, even saying, how long is this thing going to go?

That she knows that this is going to go to a place. And Ben slowly picks up that things aren't going well for his candidate and partner. Well, because Jen also, she doesn't care what happens. She's like, if he fails, it works for us. If he succeeds, it works for us. It's all okay. She has no fear. And she knows that they do have something up their sleeve.

Right. She has no fear. Right. And she knows that they do have something up their sleeve. Right. And I love that moment when they take a break and Ben will go talk to Leslie about how things are going. And you see that Jen is holding a juice box for Bobby and he's just drinking it like a little hamster or gerbil. You know, it's so funny. Oh my God. It's like a bait, like what a mother does for a child.

Honestly, I mean, at the time of the show being written and airing, like I'm just, I have no child, but I now have kids. Right. And I've done that. I've like held the juice box. Because I hold the juice box to do it now because I think that, oh, if I give it to her, it's going to spray everywhere to my daughter. Right.

Is that what Jen's doing? Is she doing it? Because if Bobby has it, it's going to get all over it. It's going to go all over the place. Yeah, yeah. It's so infantile, right. It's going to go all over the place. Yeah, yeah. It's so infantile, right? It's great.

Because he is infantile. Right. Bobby. Yeah. And I love him for that. Right. It's so weird because, you know, I want Leslie to win everything. And yet, I can't hate Bobby Newport because he's not a bad guy.

There's people who are evil. Right. He's too dumb to be evil. Right. He's too dumb to know that he's being evil. And we talked about that in the crafting of the character. Because if you have someone who is just evil, the shape of the episodes, the contentious episodes where our candidate Leslie is going up against that person, it's going to feel different. And if Bobby is a little sweeter,

a doofus. That is the right word, doofus. He's a doofus, which isn't a bad person. It's just someone who everything isn't connecting upstairs. But it also lulls you into the possibility, I think, well, that perhaps Bobby will win. Whereas if it is a truly just a jerk, like we'll meet him next season, like a Jeremy Jam, or let's say Dennis Feinstein were running and it was just awful, you would be like,

okay, well, clearly they're going to end up and Leslie's going to win. But you kind of think maybe Leslie's going to lose to this guy who's ultimately trying to make his dad proud of him. That's all he wants to do, make his dad proud. And then you create a Jennifer Barkley character who can be the pit bull, who can have that

so you don't have to add that quality to your lovable loser, idiot, doofus. Again, I'm not a writer. There's so much smart stuff that goes on behind the scenes because what you're saying now, you're right. You have a Jennifer Barkley who makes up for,

because he can't be manipulative. Bobby's too stupid to be doing what she's doing. Right. Oh my God, you guys are smart. We're okay. You guys are smart in that room,

that writer's room. We're okay. This episode has one of my favorite Chris Pratt, Andy Dwyer scenes where he's doing his movie reenactments.

And let me tell you how this happened. The story came up that, oh, Andy should reenact movies. And Amy went to Pratt, Chris Pratt, to ask which movies he thought Andy would reenact. And he immediately said Roadhouse. And apparently Amy began watching the movie

to get a recap, but then realized she'd get a better recap from Chris Pratt himself. And so went to his trailer to have him do a reenactment and pretty much wrote it all down. And that's what winds up in the script. But then on set, he improvised even more moments. The story now is that he pretty much reenacted the whole movie. It was a long reenactment.

And he's adding it. He's adding all these little details. And what I love is he does this whole reenactment. And at the end, he says, and that's Roadhouse. Like, it doesn't start that way. And I had never seen Roadhouse. I had never even heard of the movie. And so my introduction to the movie Roadhouse is this Chris Pratt reenactment.

Anyway. And another brilliant thing that Amy knew to do was let Pratt do Pratt. Right. You know, we all went together to see the premiere of Guardians of the Galaxy, the first one. And... I'm sorry I couldn't be there. You weren't invited. Anyway, it was people we loved and cared about.

Anyway, so we're all there. It was super exciting. It was at the Grauman's. You know, just like, wow, wow. He's like the lead. Like, he even got introduced after Glenn Close. It was like, holy cow! That is like wild.

No, it sounds like it would have been great. It really, it was exceptional. We really still talk about it to this day, those who we wanted there. Got it. No, but anyway, the opening of that movie is you can just tell he let Pratt do Pratt. You know, when he's dancing to that music. Yeah, yeah. Sometimes you just got to let someone do what they do.

And I fell in love with that movie the second it started and he was doing what he does. And this is the perfect example. Let Pratt, who's playing Andy, do what he does. Just let him go. Just let him go. He will bring everything that you're looking for. And since Amy was directing it and wrote it, she could let him go. Yeah. Okay. As the debate continues, Leslie perseveres by advocating for the platform she believes in, while the other candidates sound off with ridiculous plans and ideas. Until Bobby Newport drops a huge bombshell that if Leslie is elected, his father, Nick Newport Sr., will move the Sweetums factory to Mexico,

resulting in thousands of lost jobs and possibly, even worse, no one having any candy. That is the worst part. That is pretty awful. Appalled, Leslie decides to throw caution to the wind, getting tough in her closing statement and fighting for Pawnee. And also, we should mention, the debate is being sponsored by Sweetums. Yes. There's so many conflicts of production moments like this. So that when they say this debate is brought to you by Sweetums and the Sweetums logo comes up on screen, it was distancing in a way.

But it's also very cool because you don't see stuff like that. But it's so cool to see the Sweetums logo right there. Yeah. But when I realized they're sponsoring this damn debate. Yeah, yeah. It is loaded against Leslie from beginning to end. This is all against her. Yes, absolutely. The candidates have these ridiculous

statements. Some improvised, I think, but a lot of them in script. A lot of them were there. You know, Bobby saying that by the year 2013, we will have a fully functional mall on Jupiter. By the way, it's 2012. It's one year later. Right, right. Well, he dreams big. Fester Trim talking

about giving people grenade launchers. Brandy Mack saying, for the record, I'd appear in a film with any of my fellow candidates. And then, not only does she say it, she gives a little leer over to Leslie. Like, oh! And Amy's reaction of course is perfect. I think Brandy really to Leslie. It's like, oh! And Amy's reaction, of course, is perfect.

I think Brandy really respects Leslie. She does. Yeah. She'd love to go to town with her. Okay. At 16 minutes exactly, if you're watching this on Peacock, the PA who walks by and tells them, one minute back, is one of our crew.

Yay, Lozo. Lozo. We love Lozo. So tell us about him. Lozo is the greatest. He. Yay, Lozo. Lozo. We love Lozo. So tell us about him. Lozo is the greatest. He was the PA for us. He was with us from beginning then, if I remember correctly.

But then he became... Lorenzo. Lorenzo. We call him Lozo. His name is Lorenzo, yeah. And then he continued to work. Like, he would do projects that Amy was working on,

a project that Rashida was working on. So he continued because we loved him. And he's the one who corrected me one day when he said, Jim, can I get you anything? And I said, oh, I'm just going to run over and get a Diet Coke. He goes, well, no, I'll go grab it. And I said, well, no, I can go over and get a Diet Coke. He goes, Jim, it's my job.

Let me stay employed. But Lozo was a great guy. He just took great care of us. And I remember for one of his birthdays, I think it might have been Amy, Rashida, and Aubrey bought him a bike, if I remember correctly. That's a big thing. You know you're loving someone. They're loving him. That's amazing.

It's sweet. The way you built that story up, didn't think bike was going to be out of it. Oh, really? And for his birthday, Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Plaza, got him. Or they went to his birthday party. They got him a bike. A bike. That's so cute.

It was cute. And I think he needed it. He got around the lot on the bike. That's nice. I think he was very happy. That's nice. He's bipedal. They said, Jim, do you want to chip in?

I said, he can rot in hell. Why would I want to give him a nickel of my money? Yeah, don't tell me not to get my own drink. Exactly.

Who are you to tell me what to do, Lozo? Okay. No, but we love him and I love that he's on there for two seconds

on screen and I love it. Yeah, and we go to our crew when possible. There are writers who show up in episodes. Hair and makeup have shown up. Hair and makeup will show up.

It's fun to see your people on the show. And I also love, because when they are going to be in the show, they get the treatment. They get the hair, the makeup. They go into the trailer. They get the whole thing. And would you guys rib them at all, also? Because here they are on set.

Yes, yes, yes. On the other side of the camera yeah you know oh look who's in the chair yeah yeah yeah wait is he getting more than me you know yeah that's great yeah oh my god that was always so much fun you know actors are treated pretty well you know we get in the chair and they're putting little things on our faces and like to put the eye what are those things eye bag bags under our eyes, whatever those things are. They're trying to remove bags under your eyes. They're trying to remove, yes. I brought them every single day.

You've brought plenty, yeah. You know, so it's like a little spa treatment kind of. And then the hair, it's really, I enjoy the whole process. And it's fun when someone who doesn't get that comes in and they get the treatment. Well, I will appear in one episode of Parks. It's coming up next season. And so I, too, got to sit in the chair.

And they're like, oh, you need a little haircut. And they gave me a little haircut. And I saw that everyone just constantly gets their hair cut and trimmed and cleaned up every day. And meanwhile, I'm like, oh, I got to schedule something. And it's like a chore to do it. And you're just like, you're part of your daily routine. It's just looking your best.

So sorry, Jim. Other people making you look your best. You're not even the one doing it. You're just sitting there. No, it's the greatest. There are certain brushes that are a little massage-y on your face when they do the makeup.

It's lovely. It's lovely. It is lovely. Okay. With that, we're going to take a moment to pause here while Jim can regain himself, and we'll see you after the break. We're going to talk about this great closing statement from Leslie Knope. And it's perhaps one of the best speeches, I think, that Leslie has. And Leslie has many speeches on the show and throughout the series.

She'll give an amazing one that Mike wrote for the series finale. And I'm not going to read the whole thing. You'll watch the episode. Whatever. It's great. But before you say that. No And I'm not going to read the whole thing. You'll watch the episode. Whatever. It's great. But before you say that. No, I'm sorry, Jim. But I'm.

How dare you interrupt me. No, I just want to say. Yes, please. Before she does this, her and Ben have this whole conversation. Yeah, you're right. Because he is like, this isn't what to do. This is wrong. You know, we need to follow this path.

Right. We have this thing set up. And she just looks at him and says, I can do this. I can do this. With confidence. Total confidence. I got this. And he looks at her and goes, yeah.

You could just see. He goes, I get it. Yep. She's got this. And when she does it, it's so good. So good. And talking about, you know, she gets a hit or two at Bobby saying she's angry that Bobby would hold the town hostage, right, something like that. But then she pivots

beautifully in saying how much she loves this town. And it's the same Leslie who wrote a book about Pawnee and who lives and breathes this place saying Pawnee's the greatest city in the world. I like also that she says something like, if I come on strong, it's because

I feel strongly. I thought that was such a lovely turn. In come on strong, it's because I feel strongly. I thought that was such a lovely turn. In fact, I think it's a thing missing perhaps from politics, which is I'm passionate because I believe in this rather than I'm passionate because I want your vote, because I want to be elected. And it's such a great statement on the worthiness of public service and loving where you're from. You know, you see politicians and they just seem so smarmy and none of it feels real. She believes every word she's saying. Right. She loves that town.

She has given her life to this town. She loves the people as crazy as they can be. We all know they're a little nutty. Right. And so Amy wrote that, wrote that speech. Yeah, yeah. And I think wrote that. Wrote that speech. Yeah, yeah. And I think it's just she got the character. She knows the character so well to the point that sometimes, you know, you'll be shooting an episode and she'll say, I don't think I'd say this.

And she'd have the better way to say it. She knows what's up. But I think it's just such a great scene and a great episode. I think it's just such a great scene and a great episode. And it also makes me think about this thing someone told me once about politicians, that ultimately every politician, every person that you may love, you'd be like, that's my person.

And I think that they're so altruistic and great. Ultimately, each person has an ego because they said, I'm worthy of being elected. There's ego involved in that. But not with Leslie. And I think that's what makes her unique, perhaps, also amongst all these other shows that have had characters run for office and everything that it's a very...

Well, you mentioned Veep earlier. Like that Julia Louis-Dreyfus character. Right. It's very opposite. Yeah. It's just the opposite. Yeah, very different. Yeah, very, very different.

I loved it, but very, very different. Right. And so I won't belabor the point, but I very different. I loved it, but very, very different. Right. So I won't belabor the point, but I think it's a great scene. And it's so good that Bobby Newport says afterwards, holy shit, Leslie, that was awesome. And then it's like, you know, he's just so excited. And afterwards, he invites everyone back to his lake house. He does that thing wandering offstage being so goofy.

He doesn't even know how to get offstage. Yeah, it's so great. And that's who she's running against. And Amy does this look to camera in this very Jim Halpert kind of way from The Office. We didn't do a lot of looks to camera on the show.

And it's so satisfying. They all do a look to camera. Did you see Ben, Anne, and Leslie all at the same time with the camera? I've never seen us do that before. It's so funny. I've never seen it. And I loved it. But his excitement. The way's so funny. I've never seen it. Yeah.

And I loved it. But his excitement. The way Paul Rudd, we've talked about this before. Paul Rudd, I can't imagine anyone else playing Bobby Newport. He just nails this. Yeah. And his excitement for her. Like, wow, you just did this amazing thing, Leslie.

I'm so happy for you. That should not be his reaction. It should be, oh, shit, we're screwed. Like, no, he's just happy for you. That should not be his reaction. It should be, oh, shit, we're screwed. Like, she, no, he's just happy for her. Yeah. Because he's the lovable doofus. That is the exact, I love that word. He's a doofus. Yes. Let's wrap up our episode with our last synopsis bit.

Back at the viewing party, Ron's illegal efforts to get the cable working are successful, allowing the donors to catch the end of the debate and catch Leslie's speech. Meanwhile, after rebuffing both Chris and Tom's advances, Anne is once again single. And Jim

O'Hare is happy that she hasn't chosen Tom. Right. Chris makes sense. Tom creeps me out. Right. I personally love the fact that we end this little arc of romance for Anne also because you know, her whole storyline shouldn't be built just purely on

romance. It should be a component of it. And we get to jump into other fun stuff with Anne and not have, we did four or five episodes because she's dating a crazy comedy character. Right. And also, you know,

as she self-admits, she kind of takes over their personalities. Right. And so she needs a little time to figure out Anne. Right. Which everybody needs that.

We talked briefly, and we don't have too much time, unfortunately, to talk about it, but Ron's scaling the telephone pole to siphon

the neighbor's cable. I love how he says that afterwards he'll, of course, repay the company for the cable company. He's singing Wichita Lineman, which is a song inspired by

Telephone Pole Maintenance Crew, the linemen. And Nick does have a decent voice. Yes, he does. He does sing. He plays guitar in real life. He sings. I'm pretty sure that was Nick Offerman's pitch, by the way, for what song it should be. I'm not positive, but that's what memory says. That makes good sense.

I'll tell you that. He had everything he needed in his trunk to change the cable. Yes. Because, of course, he does. Yes. At any time, he has whatever is needed. Jim, is there crap we didn't get to? Well, a couple of moments.

One is a moment for Jerry. They cut to Jerry sitting with five nuns. Holding hands. Holding hands during the debate. They're watching it. Like you're watching the Apollo moon landing. Yeah, exactly. And I remember shooting that because it was so random. Here I am with, you know, five actresses that they dressed up as nuns. Yeah, yeah.

It was so weird. It's a funny pitch that once you hear it, you're like, obviously, we have to shoot that thing. Yeah. And also, you know what it is? Because, again, you guys had so much, I don't know how you did it. There's 10 of us at this point. And you're trying to give everybody a little bit of something. And, you know, this was a light episode for me.

I'm in at the beginning. But then they do that nice cutaway with that, which is so funny. And so then that brings me back to Retta. Yes. Of course, Donna. Yes. Who is so into Pratt's description of these shows. And she, even at the end is crying.

And let me tell you something about my good friend, Retta. Retta can cry at the drop of a hat. She has, that is a gift for an actor to be able to do that because Retta can turn it on. But Retta is also, I think, a bit of an empath where,

like I remember a situation when I came back after my mother had passed and it was all very sad for me and blah, blah, blah. And Retta goes, if you start crying, I'm going to start crying.

You know, I mean, it's just who Retta is. And so those were real tears. I wasn't there when they shot it, but I bet anything that those were real tears, and they said to her, here's what we're doing, and she was

probably like, okay, let's do it. And she just turned to switch, and here we go. That's amazing. That's a gift for an actor. Good for you, Retta. I love that. And then, just another funny thing, Ben talking to Leslie, you can debate Bobby Newport

in your sleep. Leslie goes, I have. And he goes, I know. We sleep in the same bed. It's been hell. It's been hell. I love that. I love that. So that's some of my crap. Yeah. It's a great hunk of crap and a great episode.

It is a perfect episode, I think, for us to return from our ill-timed but necessary hiatus to talk about because it's perhaps one of the best episodes of the season. It's wonderful. And I just am blown away that, and not that I'm shocked, but that Amy wrote an episode that was kind of ready to go after her draft.

That's, wow. Again, you know, I've been on, you know, I'm 104 now, I believe. I've been on a lot of shows over the years. 105, James. Oh, I did just turn 105. I forgot my birthday was recently. No, but, you know,

I've been on a lot of shows over the years. They change constantly, constantly, constantly. I'm getting new script changes, script changes. I think that's incredibly impressive. And then she directed the damn thing. Yes. On top of all of that, she directed impressive. And then she directed the damn thing. Yes. On top of all of that, she directed it. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Amazing. We have a gift party and jobs to call out that we have a campaign donor debate watch party. So it wouldn't be an episode without a gift, a party, or a job. Always. Jim, let's go to a town hall. Let's do that, shall we?

Let's hear from people to hear the questions and answer the questions. That's a town hall. And I think we should set the town hall today in the debate hall where everyone has gathered to hear our candidates. And afterwards, you and I commandeer it for a town hall for Parks and Recollection. This town hall today comes from Matt from Cortlandt Manor, New York. Sounds like a Mike Shore written city. That's awesome.

He says, hey, guys. Love the pod. Thanks, man. You actually inspired me to start my 14th rewatch of the show to follow along with the podcast. Wow. 14th, my man. My God. Good for you.

My question is this. That's not me saying. That's not Greg. Matt says this. If you were to create a prequel show following one of the characters, sort of in the same vein as Young Sheldon, who would you choose and why? Matt says, I personally think a miniseries following a teenage Ben Wyatt in Partridge, Minnesota and his mayoral journey could be fun. I mean, that is a. That's a great idea, Matt.

That's a great idea. And yes, Ben Wyatt watching that nightmare that he went through. Because you'd see his campaign. You'd see how he got into office. You would see how he collapsed. Yeah, that would be a great one. Right. But who else do you think?

Yeah, I think Jim's right. Like, Ice Town is a whole storyline. Plus, his parents are nutty. We've met the parents. We're going to meet the parents next season. But you're going to say that they're nutty. And next season, we're going to go to his hometown of Partridge.

I think a very easy answer would be to say young Ron Swanson to see the origin story of a character like this, right? And we've met his mom and we've met his first wives and fun to see how he got together with them and the craziness of that. I mean, it's fun to think of a young Leslie

and it's fun to think of all of these. Every one of us, every character would be fun to just see how it began. I will say that the one that first came to mind is John Ralphio. Oh, I wasn't even thinking

outside the box like that. Yes. Like I first thought, okay, and it'd be fun to see young Tom. It'd be fun to see all, it's fun to see where these crazy comedy characters came from. But perhaps the one I want to see

and maybe was just always this way, it's fun to think, is John Ralphio. That's a great one. You get fun with Mona Lisa. Mona Lisa's there. Oh, and the dadRalphio. Yeah, that's a great one. You get fun with Mona Lisa. Mona Lisa's there. Oh, and the dad, Saperstein. Yeah, yeah. So, young Jean-Ralphio.

Oh, I love that. That's a great one. Yeah. Very good. Young Jean. Young Jean. Yeah. Well, thank you, Matt, for giving us our town hall. Yeah, that's awesome. And thank you all for being back with us. We are so glad to be back, you guys. You have no idea. And again,

thank you, Team Coco, for being so generous and allowing us to take this break that we needed to take and welcome us back. And the keys still work, so I was allowed back in the building. Yeah, that was our mistake. That was a terrible mistake, yes. Anyway, and there's a lot coming up, you guys,

in this season that you're going to want to stick around for. So, not only are we glad to be back, you know, and we are, but soon we are going to be joined by Ben Wyatt himself, the unbelievably wonderful Adam Scott. And we have some of our favorite writers. Yes, well, you were a writer,

not one of our favorites, but you were there. But we have Ayesha Muharra, perhaps my favorite writer. She was one of our favorites. Yes you were there. Thank you. But we have Ayesha Muhar, perhaps my favorite writer. She was one of our favorites. Yes. And many, many more. So please make sure to listen. And thank you for listening today and texting this episode to your group chat. I love that.

Give us five-star reviews wherever you're listening. And I feel like I'm crying on cue. Retta! I'm getting teary eyed. But from all of us here at Parks and Recollection, goodbye from Pawnee. Bye-bye. Parks and Recollection is produced by me, Lisa Berm, and engineered by Joanna Samuel.

The podcast is executive produced by Jeff Ross, Adam Sachs, Colin Anderson, and Nick Liao. Paula Davis, Gina Batista, and Brit Kahn are our talent bookers, along with assistance from Maddie Ogden. Our theme song is by Mouse Rat, a.k.a. Mark Rivers, with additional tracks composed by John Danek. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time on Parks and Recollection. This has been a Team Coco production.