Tuesday, November 13, 2012

What I’m Watching: Parks and Recreation


Parks and Recreation: Season 5, Episode 6 “Ben’s Parents” (B+)

We’ve already met Leslie’s mother, who is generally likeable if a bit of a strong, domineering personality, and it’s no surprise that Ben’s family would have a few tics of their own. It’s fun to see Jonathan Banks, who was similarly stoic and moody on “Breaking Bad,” as Ben’s father, who’s actually less prickly than his newly pregnant girlfriend. As usual, the most efficient guest plotlines on this show are driven home by the regular characters, best exemplified in this installment by Leslie’s unity quilt, a concept equally sincere and dorky. Predictably, it caused problems, but Ben and Leslie did a great job of bringing the family together and chastising them for not getting along and ruining their celebration. Chris’ emotions have been all over the place lately, and it’s good to see Ann step in to help while keeping her romantic inclinations in check. It’s just as amusing to see Andy and April push Ann to date him, and crazy to think how far this show has come from Andy and Ann dating and April working for Chris. Tom freaking out about how to pitch his latest business plan to Ron was terrific, and I love that Ron accepted it without hearing the idea that would have definitely turned him off simply because he had ended his professional partnership with Jean-Ralphio. I’m looking forward to seeing how this clothing rental company turns out, and I’m hoping it has much better success than his previous enterprise. Tom could use some success right now.

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