Did anyone watch Parks and Recreation tonight?

[Lance Uppercut]

Now that's how you do a finale.

Weird how NBC just called it a Finale. Not Season or Series finale. I was confused as hell going "wait a minute, was that a series finale?" Then I go online and find out they've been renewed for a 7th season. Weird, not only did a bunch of shows randomly end this year, this is the second show that had a fake out ending (the other being the mentalist). Hopefully it's more Mentalist and less of a Scrubs situation next year.

[DSR]

I do wonder if they're actually going to continue the "3 Years Later" jump from the end of the episode.

[JoDaNa1281]

I liked it, really good episode & I also wonder if they're gonna stick with the "3 years later" deal next season. Plus, Shout Out to Lil' Sebastian!

[DSR]

Ben's "I still don't get it" look just after Digital Sebastian showed up was hilarious.

[Deleted]

OMG spoilererz...

I don't care much about spoilers. It's the journey, not the destination for me.

[Deleted]

I love the show and a lot of the episodes, but I think last night's was my favorite. Just about everything worked. I absolutely loved it.

[Rican]

I haven;t kept up well with this season (missed like half the episodes I think) but have heard great things about this episode. Can't wait to check it out.

[Lancers]

Things that made me laugh out loud to a point I missed what followed...

1. Bobby Knight Ranger

2. Lil Sebastian Hologram

3. Merger, She Wrote

4. Ben's creepy accountant buddy sliding into frame from behind the column

5. Jon Hamm. Just Jon Hamm being Jon Hamm

[Dragonfly]

Apr 25, 2014 3:07:31 GMT -5 DSR said:

I do wonder if they're actually going to continue the "3 Years Later" jump from the end of the episode.

According to Michael Schur, yes.

[DSR]

Apr 25, 2014 13:12:34 GMT -5 Dragonfly said:

Apr 25, 2014 3:07:31 GMT -5 DSR said:

I do wonder if they're actually going to continue the "3 Years Later" jump from the end of the episode.

According to Michael Schur, yes.

Well, damn. I'm surprised they didn't try to milk Lesley's pregnancy for a "Having the babies" episode ratings spike. But whatever. Next season should be interesting. I do hope Craig's still around next season. Billy Eichner's been a scene stealer.

EDIT: Reading further, and apparently there are plans for Craig. Hooray!

[BRV]

This season was horrible. Just absolutely horrible in almost every facet. That being said, last night's episode was very good and would have served as a perfect series finale.

The way I see it, they had two perfect chances to end the series. The first was the season four finale, when Leslie is elected to the city council. The second was last night. Both episodes would have been perfect notes for the show to go out on.

My concern with them sticking with the "three years into the future" gimmick is that it's going to be a colossal shark jump for a show that has been so grounded in reality that it didn't need it. A lot of things happen in three years, are they going to be able to explain it all away in the first few moments of next season's premiere? Or will everything be largely the same as it was when Leslie took the federal gig?

I really hope next season is the final season. This show was too good from the end of the first season through last season to have its reputation sullied by careening off of a highway and becoming what "The Office" devolved into. I would prefer to see a good show cancelled too soon than too late. Die a hero or live long enough to become a villain; that sort of thing.

[Lance Uppercut]

Apr 25, 2014 14:16:51 GMT -5 BRV said:

This season was horrible. Just absolutely horrible in almost every facet. That being said, last night's episode was very good and would have served as a perfect series finale.

The way I see it, they had two perfect chances to end the series. The first was the season four finale, when Leslie is elected to the city council. The second was last night. Both episodes would have been perfect notes for the show to go out on.

My concern with them sticking with the "three years into the future" gimmick is that it's going to be a colossal shark jump for a show that has been so grounded in reality that it didn't need it. A lot of things happen in three years, are they going to be able to explain it all away in the first few moments of next season's premiere? Or will everything be largely the same as it was when Leslie took the federal gig?

I really hope next season is the final season. This show was too good from the end of the first season through last season to have its reputation sullied by careening off of a highway and becoming what "The Office" devolved into. I would prefer to see a good show cancelled too soon than too late. Die a hero or live long enough to become a villain; that sort of thing.

True. But at least they didn't pull and office and get rid of the lead actor. Also, the time skip allows them to gloss over a couple years of "Pregnancy" and "we just had a baby, how will we get used to being parents" and "our kids our taking over our lives and making work hard".

The only problem is that they have to age Ron's kids. The baby is fine, but the two daughters, that'll be weird.

Also, Leslie can't make as many political references since Obama and Biden will be out of office by then.

[Deleted]

This show really went off the rails when Leslie started running for City Council. Everything after that has just been.....eh, a bit too broad.

I'd really love a re-start where Mark Brandaniwitz returns and Andy gets Un-Joey'd.

[SHAKEMASTER TV9 is Don Knotts]

The Office didn't get rid of the lead actor. The lead actor left and they just continued the show so everyone can keep their jobs.

[Perd]

"Your courage and small frame would make you an excellent coal miner."

Great episode. Wouldn't have bothered me at all if they'd ended the series here.

[Renslayer]

Apr 25, 2014 14:16:51 GMT -5 BRV said:

This season was horrible. Just absolutely horrible in almost every facet. That being said, last night's episode was very good and would have served as a perfect series finale.

The way I see it, they had two perfect chances to end the series. The first was the season four finale, when Leslie is elected to the city council. The second was last night. Both episodes would have been perfect notes for the show to go out on.

My concern with them sticking with the "three years into the future" gimmick is that it's going to be a colossal shark jump for a show that has been so grounded in reality that it didn't need it. A lot of things happen in three years, are they going to be able to explain it all away in the first few moments of next season's premiere? Or will everything be largely the same as it was when Leslie took the federal gig?

I really hope next season is the final season. This show was too good from the end of the first season through last season to have its reputation sullied by careening off of a highway and becoming what "The Office" devolved into. I would prefer to see a good show cancelled too soon than too late. Die a hero or live long enough to become a villain; that sort of thing.

I haven't seen much of this season, what made it so terrible in your view?

[Crappler El 0 M]

You know. I just up and decided to quit watching the show the episode before last. I just am not in to it anymore. If there are just two episodes left this season, I guess I can go and watch them. To me, this show is just not that good any more.

[BRV]

Apr 25, 2014 15:08:04 GMT -5 Renslayer said:

I haven't seen much of this season, what made it so terrible in your view?

1. Some of the characters becoming caricatures - This happened in latter seasons of "The Office".For example, we all knew Kevin was a bit daft, but they made him into a mentally retarded child who wouldn't be able to function in society in the final seasons. They did this with a few characters in "Parks and Recreation" this season. Andy went from a goofy manchild to borderline mentally challenged. Jerry/Larry went from a dimwit to the most extreme Mr. Magoo ever. I get that these characters aren't the primary characters, so you need to work with what you've got, but I just can't stand when they take one character trait and emphasize only that and nothing else.

2. Huge issues being focused on for a few episodes, then almost totally ignored - They crammed way too much into one season. In the first few seasons, the parks department focused on one key issue, like building a park, saving the city from bankruptcy, or Leslie's run for city council. In season six, they jammed countless enormous storylines into the season, to the point where you need to look back episode-by-episode to remember them all. Ron and Diane get married and have a baby, Ann and Chris move, the Pawnee/Eagleton merger, Leslie is recalled from office, Ann has a baby, the unity concert, Leslie has a job offer to move to Chicago, Leslie is pregnant, etc. It was just too much to try to pack into one season, and the quality of the season suffered for it.

3. Vacations for the sake of a vacation - This is a minor personal grievance that I have with TV shows, where they clearly wanted to take the cast on a vacation, so they load up and film an episode at Disneyland or in Hawaii or Wyoming or Florida ("Modern Family", I'm looking in your direction). They opened in London and ended in San Francisco. Again, a minor issue that I have, but you can tell a series is spinning its wheels when they have a wacky vacation episode, and this season had two.

4. A lack of focus on the parks department - The show is called "Parks and Recreation", and how many actually dealt with issues of parks and recreation? Maybe it's just me, but I prefer the droll, city government bureaucracy-themed issues of the first three or four seasons, before the show expanded its net. It's like how I miss how "Community" used to be a show about a community college, and instead morphed into whatever the f*** "Community" is supposed to be now.

5. It just wasn't funny - Different strokes for different folks, but I just felt like this season wasn't funny. Few jokes actually landed for me. Some jokes felt recycled. It was just a big swing and a miss.

[Lancers]

Apr 25, 2014 15:42:08 GMT -5 BRV said:

Apr 25, 2014 15:08:04 GMT -5 Renslayer said:

I haven't seen much of this season, what made it so terrible in your view?

1. Some of the characters becoming caricatures - This happened in latter seasons of "The Office".For example, we all knew Kevin was a bit daft, but they made him into a mentally retarded child who wouldn't be able to function in society in the final seasons. They did this with a few characters in "Parks and Recreation" this season. Andy went from a goofy manchild to borderline mentally challenged. Jerry/Larry went from a dimwit to the most extreme Mr. Magoo ever. I get that these characters aren't the primary characters, so you need to work with what you've got, but I just can't stand when they take one character trait and emphasize only that and nothing else.

2. Huge issues being focused on for a few episodes, then almost totally ignored - They crammed way too much into one season. In the first few seasons, the parks department focused on one key issue, like building a park, saving the city from bankruptcy, or Leslie's run for city council. In season six, they jammed countless enormous storylines into the season, to the point where you need to look back episode-by-episode to remember them all. Ron and Diane get married and have a baby, Ann and Chris move, the Pawnee/Eagleton merger, Leslie is recalled from office, Ann has a baby, the unity concert, Leslie has a job offer to move to Chicago, Leslie is pregnant, etc. It was just too much to try to pack into one season, and the quality of the season suffered for it.

3. Vacations for the sake of a vacation - This is a minor personal grievance that I have with TV shows, where they clearly wanted to take the cast on a vacation, so they load up and film an episode at Disneyland or in Hawaii or Wyoming or Florida ("Modern Family", I'm looking in your direction). They opened in London and ended in San Francisco. Again, a minor issue that I have, but you can tell a series is spinning its wheels when they have a wacky vacation episode, and this season had two.

4. A lack of focus on the parks department - The show is called "Parks and Recreation", and how many actually dealt with issues of parks and recreation? Maybe it's just me, but I prefer the droll, city government bureaucracy-themed issues of the first three or four seasons, before the show expanded its net. It's like how I miss how "Community" used to be a show about a community college, and instead morphed into whatever the f*** "Community" is supposed to be now.

Very good assessment. Especially points one and three. I saw "Modern Family" in Australia and it made me want to send a scathing e-mail to the writers of the show and send angry nude pics of myself to Sofia Vergara. I calmed down after a few hours and decided not to send my criticisms to the writers.

Apr 25, 2014 15:33:45 GMT -5 Crappler El 0 M said:

You know. I just up and decided to quit watching the show the episode before last. I just am not in to it anymore. If there are just two episodes left this season, I guess I can go and watch them. To me, this show is just not that good any more.

My advice. Watch this episode and end it on this note. It feels so much like a series finale that you can treat it as such.

[Red Impact]

Sometimse, it is better to skip a season and end at a finale like it's the only thing that happened that season. The Office is one such example, and I think Parks and Rec is another.