S06E03 - The Pawnee Eagleton Tipoff Classic
Live from Pawnee: A Parks and Recreation Fan Rewatch PodcastShow Notes
This week Mark and Allen break down the Episode where we are introduced to Ben's calculator, "Dr. Buttons"! Still losing heavily in the recall election, Leslie uses the press conference covering the Pawnee-Eagleton Tip Off Classic to score some cheap points by slamming Eagleton. A bit later, Chris tells Ben their old boss from Indianapolis wants them to take a look into Eagleton's budget problem, something which delights Leslie to no end. At the meeting, Eagleton's city council, including Leslie's counterpart, Ingrid de Forest, prefers not to talk openly about money, instead allowing Chris and Ben direct access to their files, so they can see for themselves. They find out Eagleton's debt-equity ratio is off the charts, and they are now on the brink of an epic financial disaster. Leslie is excited, not only because this is a potential way to get Pawnee back on her side (since she "saved" Pawnee from bankruptcy, and now their worst enemy is about to collapse into bankruptcy), but also, quite simply, because it's a chance to stick it to Eagleton. To that end, while Chris and Ben legitimately want to try and help Eagleton, and come up with a viable solution, Leslie puts together a mock presentation disguised as a financial recovery plan. Either way, unfortunately for Eagleton, having borrowed everything they can from the state, Pawnee is now their only hope. Meanwhile, Ron is disturbed by the lack of privacy he has after receiving a magazine addressed to him at Diane's house, where he has lived for less than a month. Ron recruits Tom and Donna to help him get completely off the grid, although quite frankly Tom and Donna are confused as to why anyone would want that, as they LOVE the grid. Ron gets rid of his cell phone, chops up his credit cards, destroys his City Hall car park access keycard, removes his name plate from his office door, destroys his paediatrician files, and even goes around to all the diners and restaurants in town where he has set food eating records and removes his pictures. Finally, Ann and April take a road trip together to the city of Bloomington, IN. They do so for two reasons: So April can attend her orientation day for Bloomington's School of Veterinary Medicine, and so Ann can shop at some of the nicer baby stores, which far outclass what she can find in Pawnee. Ann leaves April to her orientation so she can do some shopping. However, before long, April shows up at the baby store Ann is at, apparently not a fan of the orientation and bailing almost immediately. Ann insists that April return to the orientation and complete it, but April will only do so if Ann agrees to play along with an embarrassing scheme she's concocted, where Ann pretends to be April's 65-year-old grandmother. As always, we tackle the tough questions, such as ... Will Leslie succeed in getting Pawnee back on her side? Can Ron truly get completely off the grid? Will Ann agree to April's crazy scheme? Is Eagleton truly on the brink of financial disaster? Do Tom and Donna help or hinder Ron towards his goal? Will April finish her orientation? Can the Pawnee gang find a way to help Eagleton ... or they even want to? Will there be any drawbacks to Ron's efforts? Is April still on track to go to vet school? Loyal viewers, there are some big shoes to fill after the fantastic Season 6 premiere ... is this episode up to the task? Only one way to find out! Many thanks to our amazing sponsor, "Cozy's Bar and Grill".
More from Live from Pawnee: A Parks and Recreation Fan Rewatch Podcast
Leave it to Mark and Allen to wait until the podcast is almost done to deliver an interview like this. It was so great to meet with Mike Scully - what a nice guy, a great conversationalist, and a good sport! Not only is his body of work fascinating, but he doesn't mind when we accidentally add credits to his resume that don't even exist (keep your ears peeled to hear Mark make a royal screwup, LOL). The boys were extremely lucky to get a chance like this to talk with Mike around late September 2024. We got to hear about Mike's work on big shows such as Everybody Loves Raymond and The Simpsons (and Parks of course), what he thought about acting as Pawnee citizen Pearl, concerns he had about Champion the 3-Legged Dog, his start in stand-up (and two famous people he met in the process), and many, many other topics. Please tune in and listen to a thoroughly interesting and tremendously entertaining conversation with writer/producer Mike Scully.
You know, true professionals wouldn't hold out until the very end of their podcast series to deliver the "big guns" like this ... but Mark and Allen have never been accused of being true professionals, have they? Oh my gosh ... Talking with Jim O'Heir was truly a pleasure, and an outright blast! He was so easy to talk to, so friendly, that we probably could have gone on for another half hour if we really wanted to. The boys were extremely lucky to get this chance to talk with Jim around mid-September 2024. We got to hear about Jim's upcoming book, how they filmed the 2020 Special, his thoughts on the series finale, and LOTS of other things, including his opinions on Amy Poehler, Nick Offerman, Paul Schneider, Aziz Ansari, Retta, Ben Schwartz, and many others. Please tune in and listen to what ended up being a thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable time with Jerry Gergich himself, Jim O'Heir. Perhaps our best Pawnee Spotlight ever.
This week Mark and Allen continue (and finish) the Episode where we see what ultimately happens ... to everyone. TO RECAP: As Leslie and the gang face their last day together in Pawnee before everyone goes their own ways, one final little job crosses their path ... fixing a broken swing. Mundane though it may seem, Leslie throws herself into it with her typical level of gusto, convincing the rest of the gang to band together to do this one last task. In the process of going through the necessary motions to get the swing fixed, we do deep dives into every single person, including time jumps into their futures, so we can see how things turned out for them. As always, we tackle the tough questions, such as ... Will they get the swing fixed? Will everyone get the story they want? Can Mark and Allen make it through this last episode review? How many times will Mark break down? What will the boys do with Robonstantine? Will we ever hear from Constantine and Harvey again? What is WITH that stupid f**king Stargate portal and the post-it notes? Everyone ... hold hands, smile, laugh, and be grateful for the good things in life ... of which this series was certainly one.
This week Mark and Allen break down the Episode where we see what ultimately happens ... to everyone. As Leslie and the gang face their last day together in Pawnee before everyone goes their own ways, one final little job crosses their path ... fixing a broken swing. Mundane though it may seem, Leslie throws herself into it with her typical level of gusto, convincing the rest of the gang to band together to do this one last task. In the process of going through the necessary motions to get the swing fixed, we do deep dives into every single person, including time jumps into their futures, so we can see how things turned out for them. As always, we tackle the tough questions, such as ... Will they get the swing fixed? Will everyone get the story they want? Can Mark and Allen make it through this last episode review? How many times will Mark break down? What will the boys do with Robonstantine? Will we ever hear from Constantine and Harvey again? What is WITH that stupid f**king Stargate portal and the post-it notes? Everyone, this is it - the series finale. So buckle up, buttercup. It's going to be a bittersweet journey.
Once again, Mark and Allen were extremely lucky to spend time with another fantastic guest during a Pawnee Spotlight interview, this time around the middle of May 2024. It was fascinating to talk to Jim about not only his take on the always entertaining M.C. Martin Housely, but also voice overs and impressions, his childhood growing up as the son of Marion Ross, and many other interesting topics. Jim was a tremendously kind and gracious guest on our show, and we are proud to have one of the only occurences in the world of an honest-to-God "Swanson-Off"! If you're confused at this (and you should be), tune in to see what we're talking about! We've said it before, and will say it once more here, this was yet another in a stream of incredible guests we've had the privilege to have on our show ... A fantastic Pawnee Spotlight featuring a tremendous multi-talented guest! We hope you all enjoy this as much as we did. Visit Jim at https://jimmeskimen.com/ and on Instagram @jimpressions