Blog Archives
Leslie’s Under Fire in “Parks and Rec”
Even though there’s a recall election, the Leslie Knope committee is still campaigning in full force, complete with farting dolls for the kids. Leslie’s only down four points in the most recent popularity poll. Her fellow council members, though, want the gap between her and her opponents to grow. They get the perfect opportunity in “Gin It Up” when Donna accidentally sends a wonderfully racy tweet from the parks department Twitter account. Let’s see how they got there.
Leslie and Donna
Jamm, Dexhart, and the other councilmen are trying their hardest to delay all of Leslie’s bills, including cutting their meetings short to prevent her from even presenting them. Just after Jamm straight up tells her he wants her recalled because he doesn’t like her, Chris drops in and to tell her there’s a problem: Donna sent a tweet including the phrase “Hope you like tongue baths, you big nasty fireman” – with eggplant emoji, of course – from the parks department’s Twitter instead of her own. Jamm, of course, found out immediately and called a press conference, promising to blow “Twitter Watergate” way out of proportion.
Pawnee and Eagleton: Together Again on ‘Parks and Rec’
Leslie Knope would sooner give up waffles at JJ’s before making peace with Eagleton, Pawnee’s wealthy, Michael Buble-listening archrival, but in “The Pawnee-Eagleton Tip Off Classic,” that’s exactly what happened. Let’s go by character to see how we got there.
Leslie, Ben, and Chris
Leslie is one of the most lovable characters on television. She’s kind and tactical and loving; when it comes to her nemeses in Eagleton, though, she tends to throw all of that out the window. The episode opened with a press conference led by Leslie and Ingrid de Forest (Kristen Bell), her Eagleton counterpart. Deep in the trenches of the recall election, Leslie tries to win over her fellow Pawneeans in the only way she can: by cracking jokes at Eagleton’s expense.
Meanwhile, the dream team is back. Ben and Chris’ superiors over in Indianapolis enlisted the pair to help solve a budget crisis in Eagleton. AUDITING BROS! Leslie, who can’t pass up an opportunity to see Eagleton’s demise, tags along. The town is going bankrupt and Leslie likely hasn’t felt this much joy since meeting Joe Biden. She makes a great, predictable Good Will Hunting joke, and Ben seems to already be regretting his decision to let her join.
A Hop Across the Pond for the ‘Parks and Recreation’ Gang
After what felt like forever, season six of television’s happiest show (okay, maybe I’m biased) finally premiered tonight. We’ve known for awhile that the Pawnee gang was heading across the pond – the “Parks and Recreation” cast did a substantial amount of filming in London – but the exact reason for the trip wasn’t clear. We found out in the aptly titled “London,” but not before the Swanson-Lewis-warrior princess baby was addressed.
The episode picked up right where season five ended: the pregnancy test mystery was solved. Ron took it a step further and proposed to Diane right there in his office, and since they’re already in the municipal building, they might as well just head up to the fourth floor and get it done today. Leslie was so excited, she could barely speak. I feel like her inner monologue was very similar to mine: “OMGRONSWANSONISGONNABEADADDY. OMGRONSWANSONISGETTINGMARRIED.” Ron and the the future Mrs. Swanson just want to sign the papers and get out. Leslie can’t help herself and assembles a bouquet made of highlighters while throwing paper disguised as rice in the air in typical, glorious Leslie fashion.
Which Returning Show Are You Looking Forward To?
We’re trying something new at Wait! What’s a Dial? In the past, we’ve reviewed shows based on their trailers. However, now that we’re reviewing a lot of pilots, we want you to let us know what you think the upcoming season of returning shows will be like based on their trailers.
Homeland
Hanging Out In the ‘Writers’ Room’
Community‘s Jim Rash hosts Sundance’s Writers’ Room, which reveals what it’s like inside the writers’ rooms of televisions most popular shows. The show is not for everyone. Two types of people will like it: fans of the show being featured on that week’s episode and aspiring television writers, who will tune in for every episode. The former group will only watch an episode or two. They will agree with Zap2it‘s assessment of the show feeling like “a glorified DVD box set extra.” Aspiring television writers will disagree because the show provides important insight into how a writers’ room operates, such as some people stressing over how the story progresses and others taking the role of cheerleader.
NBC Announces New Fall Schedule
NBC is using the Olympics to launch it’s fall schedule. On August 8, Go On will air commercial free following Olympic Games coverage. Animal Practice will get the same treatment, on August 12, following the closing ceremonies.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, this is the full NBC Fall Schedule with new shows in ALL CAPS.
Wednesday, Aug. 8
GO ON (sneak peek following Olympic Games coverage)
Sunday, Aug. 12
ANIMAL PRACTICE (sneak peek following Olympic Games Closing Ceremonies)
Monday, Aug. 13
8-10 p.m. STARS EARN STRIPES (two-hour premiere)
10-11 p.m. Grimm
The rest of NBC’s 2012 Fall Schedule is after the jump.
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