Monday, October 3, 2011

What I’m Watching: Parks & Recreation


Parks & Recreation: Season 4, Episode 2 “Ron & Tammys” (B+)

I have to say, I’m much more confident in this show’s return after last week’s less than perfect installment, and I’m particularly impressed since this episode could easily have been a cheap stunt. Operation Rescue Ron, as it was first known, went a bit awry, but it was fully entertaining throughout its entire duration. Patricia Clarkson’s Tammy I was hilarious, talking down to Leslie and Andy while April drooled over how incredible she thought she was. Getting Ron to shave his mustache and be nice and productive at work was quite a feat, and Leslie had it right when she said that his “neutered wimp” was worse than his Tammy II-induced sex maniac. Bringing Tammy II and Tammy 0 in to help get Ron back led to a terrific poison drinking contest, which slowly subdued Leslie and immediately took out April, but their dedication was enough to get Ron to chug the rest of it and declare to all the Tammys in his life that he was staying put. Ann asking Chris to be the new diabetes spokesperson turned out to be less of a good idea than she had originally thought, and it was intriguing to see Chris’ obsessive personality play out to seriously unproductive effect. Tom enlisting Ben to help him with breakeven analysis for his new company presented a similar astoundedness in him to when he taught April and Andy how to be adults. The whole notion of the company, including Detlef and the other athlete playing one-on-one, sky-high salaries for women to sit around and do nothing, and the free iPads at the door, is equally ridiculous and funny, and I love seeing it all through Ben’s horrified eyes.

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