Welcome to a new Sitcom Tuesday! This week, I’m continuing my coverage of Parks And Recreation (2009-2015, NBC), which is currently available on DVD/Blu-Ray and streaming.

Parks And Recreation stars AMY POEHLER as Leslie Knope, RASHIDA JONES as Ann Perkins, AZIZ ANSARI as Tom Haverford, NICK OFFERMAN as Ron Swanson, AUBREY PLAZA as April Ludgate, and CHRIS PRATT as Andy Dwyer, plus ADAM SCOTT as Ben, and ROB LOWE as Chris. With JIM O’HEIR as Jerry and RETTA as Donna.

Season Three is ideal Parks And Rec. The formal additions of Ben and Chris (replacing Mark) elevate a regular cast that’s now replete with distinctly defined, funny characters. Heck, even Ann, the blandest of the bunch, is at her most utilizable here when framed as a dejected dud pining for Chris. This means everyone is ready for comedic play, with strong relational bonds — both romantic (like Leslie/Ben and April/Andy) and platonic (like Leslie/Ann and Leslie/Ron) — guiding their applications within story, which is becoming even more relationship-focused now that the ensemble is more fully developed. Speaking of story, the series’ local government setting remains helpful as well, for it’s still novel enough at this juncture to keep inspiring comic ideas  — such as the Harvest Festival, a set piece to which the first part of the season casually builds. (Incidentally, the first six entries in Three were shot immediately after Two because of Amy Poehler’s pregnancy; that’s also why the season was delayed and truncated.) Similarly, Three continues to flesh out the broader world of Pawnee the town, which will further expand in the next few years, as the show tweaks its concept — adding a more explicit political angle to its public servant focus when Leslie runs for city council in Four and then serves in Five. Those are year-defining notions that inspire many episodic ideas inside some long-form storytelling — and they’re clever, for they both involve local government and thus fit the promised situation. However, they’re also temporary plot-based evolutions in the status quo that derive novelty from finite narrative opportunities, as the novelty of the premise itself is otherwise waning and needs reinforcements heavier than just a one-off Harvest Festival. That is, after Three, the show has to work harder to stay fresh, for yes, this season is indeed the intersection of those trends we always discuss: a (commendably) rising knowingness meets an (inevitably) dwindling novelty. Oh, sure, the next two years are also strong because they toil to stay within the situation, but Parks And Rec is never more naturally well-supported than here, when everything we love about the show is finally in place for the first time, and most effortlessly yielding consistent hilarity.

 

01) Episode 32: “Flu Season” [a.k.a. “The Flu”] (Aired: 01/27/11)

Ann cares for Leslie, Chris, and April when they’re all hospitalized with the flu.

Written by Norm Hiscock | Directed by Wendey Stanzler

My pick for this season’s Most Valuable Episode (MVE), “Flu Season” is one of the best character showcases of the entire series, with a unique and unifying story that directly explores several regulars with a mind, also, to their special interpersonal dynamics. Its overarching idea of a flu coming along and sending April, Leslie, and Chris to the hospital is great because it provides a chance to juxtapose how different personalities respond to the same affliction. While the health-conscious Chris (whose persona has already been surprisingly well-established) struggles to admit defeat, Leslie — per her precisely premised and series-defining depiction — refuses to let the flu stop her from following through on her duty to the government and the people she serves. That’s why she appears (through delirium) at a speaking event, concerning but impressing Ben (her obvious new love interest, therefore building their bond) and helping to progress the year’s early situation-affirming Harvest Day mini-arc. Additionally, the flu logline is also terrific because it sets most of the action at the hospital where Ann works, letting us (for once) observe her on her own turf — serving the public in her own right — and via a spotlight on her separate bonds with those she’s assisting: her best friend Leslie, her current love interest Chris, and her ex’s new love interest April, who is still jealous about Andy and Ann’s past romance, which is temporarily complicating the inevitable Andy/April union. Here, seeing the way Ann reacts to these different scene partners and how they react to her suggests for Ann a specific, definitive place in the ensemble that enhances her value (regardless of her personality and individual comic attributes), all the while examining each of their depictions, including hers, in the process… Meanwhile, with April out sick, Andy takes her place as Ron’s assistant — enabling a kooky (and heretofore rare) pairing of two of the cast’s funniest players, thereby cementing this, again, as perhaps the best character showing of the season, proof of just how much Parks And Rec has cultivated and come to understand how to feature its leads.

02) Episode 34: “Ron And Tammy: Part Two” [a.k.a. “Ron And Tammy II”] (Aired: 02/10/11)

The office has an intervention after Ron reunites with his ex-wife Tammy.

Written by Emily Kapnek | Directed by Tucker Gates

Megan Mullally is back here as Ron’s ex-wife Tammy — a reliably funny actress in a reliably funny role, with a go-for-broke comic energy that not only allows the show to explore Ron in exciting ways, but also brings him to new hilarious extremes, as evidenced in this entry where, following a bid by Tom to make Ron jealous (since Ron was dating Tom’s Canadian wife Wendy), the former spouses reunite and Ron ends up arrested. This leads to a bad set of corn rows, a failed group intervention, and a hysterical centerpiece where Tammy beats up Tom — a bit of broad physical comedy that so beautifully displays Parks And Rec’s increasing boldness in this era, but is still attached to elements of the situation, like the larger-than-life recurring Tammy. Meanwhile, the subplot also has fun pairing different characters, as April works for Chris — with their contrasting attitudes juxtaposed well in a manner that maximizes both of their comedic potentials, highlighting their opposing characterizations. So, this is a laugh-rich episode with a lot of support from several of the show’s funniest players. It’s Parks And Rec in peak form — another sample that proves why Season Three is so supreme.

03) Episode 37: “Harvest Festival” (Aired: 03/17/11)

Pawnee believes Leslie’s Harvest Festival has been cursed by a local Native American.

Written by Dan Goor | Directed by Dean Holland

This was the first outing shot after Amy Poehler’s maternity leave — which necessitated banking six shows right at the end of Season Two’s production — but it’s actually the culmination of Three’s first mini-arc, as Leslie and her crew finally throw their long-awaited Harvest Festival, which threatens to be a disaster due to fear of a curse from Ken (Jonathan Joss), a Native American who says the event is on the site of a bloody battle where his ancestors died. That’s a funny narrative setup, expanding our understanding of Pawnee the town by utilizing known faces like Joan (Mo Collins), the hard-boiled investigative reporter eager to gin up a controversy, along with new faces, like the aforementioned Ken, and Li’l Sebastian, the town’s beloved mascot, a mini horse who goes missing early in the festival and contributes to the mania. These are all fun obstacles for Leslie and her crew, and using the festival as a setting, it’s all naturally related to the local government premise and the Parks and Recreation department, specifically. However, I mostly love “Harvest Festival” because it’s a stellar showing for the characters, with Ben feeling like the curse himself (given what we know of his past failures in government), and Ann attempting to handle her split from Chris with help from Donna, who’s comedically well engaged in this unusual pairing. Also, there’s a hilariously perfect subplot where Andy’s response to April saying she loves him is “awesome-sauce.” So, all around, this is a great situation-emphasizing example of Parks And Rec — spotlighting the characters inside their premise.

04) Episode 39: “Andy And April’s Fancy Party” (Aired: 04/14/11)

April and Andy shock everyone by revealing that their house party is actually their wedding.

Written by Katie Dippold | Directed by Michael Trim

Season Two’s realization that Andy/April would make a great couple was one of the series’ smartest discoveries, as their rapport helped cultivate them both into two of Parks And Rec’s funniest ensemble players, with distinct personalities that contrast and yet pair well, for they’re both collections, both individually and mutually, of wacky details that ultimately jibe with this sitcom’s broad but not absurd comic ethos. Indeed, their charming chemistry — as both laugh-getters and upholders of the show’s narratively inevitable rom-com bent (an increasing focus this season as its better-configured cast yields even more relationships ripe for exploring) — is well-featured in this offering, which presents their surprise marriage in a centerpiece that is simultaneously funny and sweet. It’s a genuine encapsulation of the series’ overall tone, emanating from the sunny, humanistic optimism embodied by its star character, Leslie Knope, who is therefore also beautifully encapsulated in the very tenor of this half hour, as she goes from concerned about the young lovers’ hasty choice to moved by their evident happiness. This makes for a foundational display of Parks And Rec and its core sensibilities — which transcends the characters but only because they embody and project it all outward.

05) Episode 41: “Jerry’s Painting” (Aired: 04/28/11)

Leslie advocates for a painting of Jerry’s that the community deems as obscene.

Written by Norm Hiscock | Directed by Dean Holland

One of the things I love about Season Three is that the leads are well-established enough to feel well-known to the viewer, yet still explorable in actually fresh, new, revealing ways. This is particularly true with Leslie, who is delighted to discover that a giant painting made by Jerry and set to be hung in a government building features a topless centaur goddess with a striking resemblance to Leslie herself. (And there’s a mischievous cherub who looks exactly like Tom — a wonderful running gag throughout the episode as well.) So, when there are complaints from the town about the obscenity of the work, Leslie’s efforts to stand up for its right to be shown are not merely because of a noble belief in its artistic value to the community, and not merely because Jerry is a colleague or a friend (I mean, it’s Jerry after all), but also because of her own investment in the piece since she considers it a flattering, empowering representation — a mix of personal interests that sometimes complicates and would usually be suppressed in favor of her duty to her profession and the people she serves. That is, knowing Leslie’s priorities so well, it’s fascinating to see her motivated not solely by altruism for a change — it doesn’t break or go against her character, for the two interests are not opposed here (she’s still doing what she thinks is right), but it’s a new wrinkle that, in this case, is comical, making this, in particular, one of the funniest showings yet for Amy Poehler and her series-defining Leslie Knope. (And it’s something we’ll see more often ahead, especially during her political bid in Season Four…)

06) Episode 43: “The Fight” (Aired: 05/12/11)

Leslie and Ann get into an argument after Leslie gets Ann an interview for a government job.

Written by Amy Poehler | Directed by Randall Einhorn

Although Ann is the least comedically distinct character in the main ensemble, her premised position as Leslie’s best friend — the personification of Leslie’s commitment to Lot 48, but more broadly, to serving the public and Everywomen like the kind and unassuming Ann — has rendered her an important part of the situation, with their bond, specifically, a crucial emotional tentpole for the series. Accordingly, this installment — which puts them in the most direct conflict with each other that they’ve heretofore experienced — is narratively weightier as a result of the inherent stakes in their relationship, particularly because this story hinges its drama on Leslie’s efforts to push Ann into local government, while Ann would rather stay helping the people in her own way, as a nurse. The compromise reached at the end of the entry, after a drunken argument between the two, allows Ann to be part-time in both spaces, further ensconcing her in the primary setting of the series — making it easier to engage her in workplace ideas — but more than that, this is an outing with premise-specific tension for two leading characters based on their key differences, especially via the better-defined Leslie, who’s belief in the value of government and its capacity to do good motivates everything she does. It’s a reminder that even people who basically agree and are inspired by her optimism, like Ann, don’t 100% share her worldview. And that’s great for comedy and (mild) drama. So, this is a favorite of mine for how it explores that situation-affirming idea, along with this central relationship, all while bolstered by the delectable hahas of everyone getting intoxicated on “Snake Juice.” (Also, reliable recurring players Ben Schwartz and Nick Kroll both appear.)

07) Episode 46: “Li’l Sebastian” (Aired: 05/19/11)

Leslie and Ben continue to hide their relationship as they throw a memorial for a beloved icon.

Written by Dan Goor | Directed by Dean Holland

Season Three’s finale calls back to the outstanding “Harvest Festival” with the return of Li’l Sebastian — or rather, the death of Li’l Sebastian, the famed mini horse whom Pawnee regards as a local celebrity and proud symbol of the town. This enables the Parks and Recreation department to throw a memorial event on behalf of the beloved icon, where big comedy can occur as things don’t quite go according to plan. Truthfully, this episode does have to labor a bit to find a way to link Leslie and Ben’s continued efforts to hide their new relationship with the events at the memorial itself, but it’s ultimately a success, with personal stakes for the characters elevated because of these attached premise-approved particulars regarding local government (and the larger community), indicating just how well Season Three sits at the intersection of novelty and knowingness. Indeed, this offering sets up major changes to the status quo going forward, making it so this year is the end of the simplest, most perfect version of Parks And Recreation — from now on, Leslie’s ambitions will have her leaving the Parks and Rec department, which will thus become less centralized. All of that is fine, and helps keep the show’s storytelling fresh, but again, this is the classic formula of Parks And Rec, peaking here.

 

Other notable episodes that merit mention include: “Eagleton,” which I most wanted to spotlight above — it’s a terrific Leslie showing that introduces a lot of rich backstory about her character and juxtaposes her well against a new rival (Parker Posey) from the eventually important Eagleton. I’ll also take this space to cite a few other funny selections from this strong season, namely “Soulmates,” where Leslie/Tom have a fun scene and Ron/Chris are well contrasted, and “Media Blitz,” which is a formative entry for Ben (especially), with the town and the local government aspects of the premise deployed in support.

 

*** The MVE Award for the Best Episode from Season Three of Parks And Recreation goes to…

“Flu Season”

 

 

Come back next week for Season Four! And stay tuned tomorrow for a new Wildcard!