Show Notes
This week Mark and Allen break down the Episode where we see the triumphant return of Bert Macklin, FBI! Founder's Week is a yearly celebration of all things Pawnee, and to prepare for the momentous day, Leslie brings her entire staff to Ron's cabin in the woods for a brainstorming session. As Leslie encourages everyone to focus and rid themselves of distractions, Tom is still dealing with the train wreck that is his girlfriend Mona-Lisa. Leslie hosts a Founder's Week public forum to help celebrate her first year in office as a Pawnee city councilwoman. To kick things off, Leslie posits the question, "Are you better off now than you were a year ago?" Immediately, however, there is hostility with Pawnee Restaurant Association spokeswoman Kathryn Pinewood speaking up against many of Leslie's changes which she feels restricts citizen's basic personal freedoms. (Or because the Restaurant Association was angry about the soda tax, so they are lashing out against Leslie for it.) Many more stand up against Leslie, and overall, the forum does not go well. Leslie finds the Founder's Week Parade to be a perfect distraction from the drama surrounding her humiliating forum. Meanwhile, while searching through the trash for his sweatshirt at Ron's cabin, Andy comes across a positive pregnancy test, which propels him to reassume his alter ego as Burt Macklin, FBI. There were five women at the cabin over the weekend, and Andy vows to figure out which one is pregnant. Andy confronts Ann first, but it's not her. She is a little annoyed that someone else got pregnant before her, though. Ann hops on board as Macklin's partner, and the two set out to find the woman behind the test. Andy and Ann rule out Donna and Leslie, leaving only Mona-Lisa ... Finally, business is booming at Rent-A-Swag, and a lawyer representing an anonymous client approaches Tom about buying the company. Tom reports back to his investors – Donna, April, Jerry, and Ron – about the opportunity, and Donna is all over the idea, but Ron thinks Tom should continue growing his business as he is clearly doing something right if he is being offered to sell. As always, we tackle the tough questions, such as ... Are there any Pawnee citizens that are pro-Leslie, or are they all against her? Is this actually Bert Macklin, or is he back from the dead as some sort of zombie-Macklin? Will Tom sell out? Will the parade go smoothly for Leslie, or will there be a twist? Will Special Agent Perkins make a good partner for Macklin, or is he truly a lone wolf? Who is the mystery client? How many Lerpisses are in this episode? Is Mona-Lisa pregnant, and if so, what has Tom done to humanity? Loyal viewers, this is it ... the Season 5 finale! Season 5 has been a non-stop action ride, and it's coming to a close here. Tune in to see how things turn out! Many thanks to our incredible sponsor, the one, the only, often imitated but never duplicated, JJ's Diner.
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