Janet Snakehole, Li'l Sebastien, and Chicky-Chicky Parm-Parm
February 19, 2015 12:27 PM Subscribe
Alan Sepinwall sits down with Parks & Recreation creator Mike Schur to walk through the origins of all the tiny details of Pawnee, IN. Part 1, Part 2. (Obviously, here there be spoilers.)
I want to read it but if I read it I WILL CRY. EVERY EPISODE, WITH THE CRYING.
posted by a fiendish thingy at 12:30 PM on February 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by a fiendish thingy at 12:30 PM on February 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
Also dr. Nygard is totally Chris talking to himself in the mirror we all know this is true
posted by The Whelk at 12:37 PM on February 19, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 12:37 PM on February 19, 2015 [6 favorites]
I know it shouldn't surprise me, but it is still wonderful to see how much the creators of the show obviously love the characters and Pawnee when reading interviews like this.
Like if the mood they created was just an accident, it would break my heart a little.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 12:41 PM on February 19, 2015 [3 favorites]
Like if the mood they created was just an accident, it would break my heart a little.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 12:41 PM on February 19, 2015 [3 favorites]
I love so many things about Parks and Rec, but as a longtime local news lover, I am going to miss Perd SO MUCH.
posted by sallybrown at 12:47 PM on February 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by sallybrown at 12:47 PM on February 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
I basically burned through the entire run of this show in the last few snowbound weeks and now I'm worried my expanding crush on Andy Dwyer is problematic cause he's basically a really hot puppy.
posted by The Whelk at 12:48 PM on February 19, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 12:48 PM on February 19, 2015 [6 favorites]
We had wanted Bill to play Gunderson for six years, and we had one final thought – maybe he’ll do it if we literally just have him lying in a coffin. That seems like a fun thing to do, if you’re Bill Murray.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 12:53 PM on February 19, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 12:53 PM on February 19, 2015 [5 favorites]
So which was the better Season 7 one-shot guest appearance? Ovyy Zheenl or Jreare Urembt? [names ROT13'd to avoid spoilers for this week's episode]
I love Zheenl, but I have to confess that Urembt made me laugh more
posted by Johnny Assay at 12:54 PM on February 19, 2015
I love Zheenl, but I have to confess that Urembt made me laugh more
posted by Johnny Assay at 12:54 PM on February 19, 2015
WAIT the next line is this:
Aubrey and Amy deserve the lion’s share of the credit, as they actually know him and reached out a number of times.
Whoa. That is amazing. I wonder what it's like when Bill Murray and Aubrey Plaza just, like, hang out? I bet it's fantastic. I would like to see that. I would like to be there. I love Amy Poehler too obviously but that combination just seems amazing.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 12:54 PM on February 19, 2015 [3 favorites]
Aubrey and Amy deserve the lion’s share of the credit, as they actually know him and reached out a number of times.
Whoa. That is amazing. I wonder what it's like when Bill Murray and Aubrey Plaza just, like, hang out? I bet it's fantastic. I would like to see that. I would like to be there. I love Amy Poehler too obviously but that combination just seems amazing.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 12:54 PM on February 19, 2015 [3 favorites]
I'd watch Better Call Ethel.
posted by michaelh at 12:55 PM on February 19, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by michaelh at 12:55 PM on February 19, 2015 [7 favorites]
Ovyy Zheenl or Jreare Urembt?
Because I'm lazy, I copy-pasted this entire phrase into ROT13, and my mind was BLOWN. They are starting to sort of resemble each other these days...
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:59 PM on February 19, 2015 [6 favorites]
Because I'm lazy, I copy-pasted this entire phrase into ROT13, and my mind was BLOWN. They are starting to sort of resemble each other these days...
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:59 PM on February 19, 2015 [6 favorites]
That is amazing. I wonder what it's like when Bill Murray and Aubrey Plaza just, like, hang out?
Something just clicked for me. So that's why she always seems so aloof and hard to crack in TV interviews. She learned it from Bill.
posted by Strange Interlude at 1:03 PM on February 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
Something just clicked for me. So that's why she always seems so aloof and hard to crack in TV interviews. She learned it from Bill.
posted by Strange Interlude at 1:03 PM on February 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
Beat me to this post, navelgazer.
I've been a fan of this show for years, and I was worried the show was getting stale, even with the time jump, but man, Parks & Rec has been ON FIRE this season. They have been taking on everything: privacy, technology, gender roles, Men's Rights bullshit ("You're ridiculous, and men's rights is nothing"). And the comedy has been off the charts good. I've laughed so hard. Ben, Leslie, Ron, what's-her-name-political-strategist ("I have to get back to a city, where *things* happen")...so much funny.
It's interesting: P&R and Community have been my two favourite comedies over the last five years. Community is flopping around like a near-dead fish (I don't think I'm even going to bother watching Season 6), while P&R is going out with maybe it's best season. And I can't decide which I'd rather. It's nice to see a show go out on a high, but it makes me sad that it's ending. Whereas I want Community to be done already.
posted by dry white toast at 1:22 PM on February 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
I've been a fan of this show for years, and I was worried the show was getting stale, even with the time jump, but man, Parks & Rec has been ON FIRE this season. They have been taking on everything: privacy, technology, gender roles, Men's Rights bullshit ("You're ridiculous, and men's rights is nothing"). And the comedy has been off the charts good. I've laughed so hard. Ben, Leslie, Ron, what's-her-name-political-strategist ("I have to get back to a city, where *things* happen")...so much funny.
It's interesting: P&R and Community have been my two favourite comedies over the last five years. Community is flopping around like a near-dead fish (I don't think I'm even going to bother watching Season 6), while P&R is going out with maybe it's best season. And I can't decide which I'd rather. It's nice to see a show go out on a high, but it makes me sad that it's ending. Whereas I want Community to be done already.
posted by dry white toast at 1:22 PM on February 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
In case you're not aware of it Ben Waytt's Star Trek Fanfiction account is a thing of beauty
posted by The Whelk at 1:31 PM on February 19, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 1:31 PM on February 19, 2015 [6 favorites]
I absolutely love Sepinwall, to the point of swinging by his page at least once a day. And I'm a huge Parks and Rec fan, so really been enjoying his coverage of its ending (don't miss the Jim O'Heir interview.)
But OH MY GOD I HATE HITFIX.COM!! That site itself is just the WORST! Ads pop up YEARS after the page is done loading, interrupting me while I'm ready. The header and footer are like TEN GODDAMN FEET TALL, so I can't see FUCKING THING when I first load a page. And the header 'pop-down' (or what the FUCK it's called) is SO ANNOYING!
For the love OF GOD I wish that site would hire more and better designers!
OK, thank you. I feel better now. Apologies for the de-rail.
posted by Frayed Knot at 2:36 PM on February 19, 2015 [5 favorites]
But OH MY GOD I HATE HITFIX.COM!! That site itself is just the WORST! Ads pop up YEARS after the page is done loading, interrupting me while I'm ready. The header and footer are like TEN GODDAMN FEET TALL, so I can't see FUCKING THING when I first load a page. And the header 'pop-down' (or what the FUCK it's called) is SO ANNOYING!
For the love OF GOD I wish that site would hire more and better designers!
OK, thank you. I feel better now. Apologies for the de-rail.
posted by Frayed Knot at 2:36 PM on February 19, 2015 [5 favorites]
This season has indeed been on fire. I was worried, but oh no, there was nothing to worry about. Parks and Rec is leaving with its head held high.
posted by Sticherbeast at 3:41 PM on February 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Sticherbeast at 3:41 PM on February 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
Maybe the finale will take a cue from 30 Rock and have a far future coda. ( I belive in a shared P&r/30 Rock/Mad Men universe)
posted by The Whelk at 3:41 PM on February 19, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 3:41 PM on February 19, 2015 [4 favorites]
I could believe in an ageless Perd.
posted by Navelgazer at 3:44 PM on February 19, 2015
posted by Navelgazer at 3:44 PM on February 19, 2015
My story, is that, I'm immortal.
posted by The Whelk at 3:45 PM on February 19, 2015 [10 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 3:45 PM on February 19, 2015 [10 favorites]
Perd confirmed for Face of Boe
posted by Sticherbeast at 3:48 PM on February 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Sticherbeast at 3:48 PM on February 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
Perd isn't so much a person but a representative of the American news media that lives forever in multiple forms and throughout the multiverse.
(Jay Jackson has also played a news anchor on Scandal and Revenge, which I also think share a universe, and about 8 other times too.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 3:50 PM on February 19, 2015
(Jay Jackson has also played a news anchor on Scandal and Revenge, which I also think share a universe, and about 8 other times too.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 3:50 PM on February 19, 2015
From the article:
"Dan Castellaneta sort of used Michael Silverblatt for inspiration, I think
Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/parks-and-recreation-history-part-1-perd-joan-and-the-other-pawnee-crazies#uupI84uXg3PLC0vm.99"
If by "sort of used for inspiration" you mean "does a dead-on impression of", then yeah.
Compare as we dare:
Dan Castellaneta on Pawnee Public Radio
Michael Silverblatt on Bookworm
posted by mhum at 3:59 PM on February 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
"Dan Castellaneta sort of used Michael Silverblatt for inspiration, I think
Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/parks-and-recreation-history-part-1-perd-joan-and-the-other-pawnee-crazies#uupI84uXg3PLC0vm.99"
If by "sort of used for inspiration" you mean "does a dead-on impression of", then yeah.
Compare as we dare:
Dan Castellaneta on Pawnee Public Radio
Michael Silverblatt on Bookworm
posted by mhum at 3:59 PM on February 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
The Pawnee Public Radio bits aren't even parody, they're straight up NPR pieces with funny words stuck in.
posted by The Whelk at 4:01 PM on February 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 4:01 PM on February 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
During the 8th hour of blizzard coverage, all our local stations break out their Perds. White Perds, Black Perds, Female Perds, Male Perds, Perd Perds... the whole roster starring at the camera, eyes blank as their mouths move and words just stumbling out of their mouths. Everyone is too tired to stop them, so they just talk on.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:21 PM on February 19, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:21 PM on February 19, 2015 [3 favorites]
Don't miss Esquire's tell-all about the actor behind one of Pawnee's most famous names.
posted by rewil at 4:40 PM on February 19, 2015
posted by rewil at 4:40 PM on February 19, 2015
Nothing has ever made as much sense as Perd Hapley and Kenneth Ellen Parcell being immortal kin forced to walk this Earth in the form of man. America Heard With Perd is NBC's unstoppable newsertainment juggernaut in the future.
posted by jason_steakums at 4:45 PM on February 19, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 4:45 PM on February 19, 2015 [4 favorites]
Jack Donaghy and Devon Banks fighting a proxy war through their respective mentees... Tom Haverford and Jean-Ralphio Saperstein.
posted by jason_steakums at 4:51 PM on February 19, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 4:51 PM on February 19, 2015 [4 favorites]
OMG I just realized that Nygard backwards in DRAGYN!
wait what
posted by tristeza at 5:29 PM on February 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
wait what
posted by tristeza at 5:29 PM on February 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
Oh no. I'm sorry to put this in this thread, but please tell me this is not true. TMZ is reporting that Harris Wittels has died.
posted by Rock Steady at 5:35 PM on February 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Rock Steady at 5:35 PM on February 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
Great article, I hope not to derail but I just found out that Parks producer Harris Wittels has died... he also played one of the animal control stoner dudes as mentioned in the links from the OP...
.
(sorry didn't preview)
posted by wats at 5:37 PM on February 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
.
(sorry didn't preview)
posted by wats at 5:37 PM on February 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
.
posted by jason_steakums at 5:38 PM on February 19, 2015
posted by jason_steakums at 5:38 PM on February 19, 2015
I just saw it on Facebook too. That is absolutely awful. So fucking young.
posted by Strange Interlude at 5:44 PM on February 19, 2015
posted by Strange Interlude at 5:44 PM on February 19, 2015
WHAT no not Harris Wittels. OMG i am freaking out.
posted by tristeza at 5:46 PM on February 19, 2015
posted by tristeza at 5:46 PM on February 19, 2015
.
posted by sallybrown at 5:47 PM on February 19, 2015
posted by sallybrown at 5:47 PM on February 19, 2015
oh fuck fuck fuck fuck. harris was a genius. worst news
posted by tristeza at 5:48 PM on February 19, 2015
posted by tristeza at 5:48 PM on February 19, 2015
Such a fucking shame. Addiction-oriented-personality showbiz people, please stick to marijuana and alcohol! We need you to keep making us laugh!
posted by Guy Smiley at 6:04 PM on February 19, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by Guy Smiley at 6:04 PM on February 19, 2015 [3 favorites]
Also, Parks and Rec and its wonderful bizarre cast of Pawnee weirdos have been a truly amazing part of whichever night NBC had them on for the last seven years.
posted by Guy Smiley at 6:09 PM on February 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Guy Smiley at 6:09 PM on February 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
The episodes of Comedy Bang Bang that Harris did with Adam Scott and Chelsea Peretti (collectively known as the "Farts and Procreation" trilogy) are some of the craziest stuff ever. If y'all have four hours to kill this weekend, you could do worse than to listen to these:
CBB #120: Farts and Procreation (August 2011)
CBB #166: Farts and Procreation 2 (July 2012)
CBB #219: Farts and Procreation 3 (May 2013)
posted by Strange Interlude at 6:23 PM on February 19, 2015 [5 favorites]
CBB #120: Farts and Procreation (August 2011)
CBB #166: Farts and Procreation 2 (July 2012)
CBB #219: Farts and Procreation 3 (May 2013)
posted by Strange Interlude at 6:23 PM on February 19, 2015 [5 favorites]
Omg, I started the day on MeFi seeing the thread about Oliver Sacks, and now to end it reading this terrible news in this thread. Feel bad for that wonderful cast and crew. I feel like I know them. (As I may have mentioned, I do know/converse with Jim O Heir via FB.)
posted by NorthernLite at 8:12 PM on February 19, 2015
posted by NorthernLite at 8:12 PM on February 19, 2015
Huh, I had no idea Harris Wittels wrote Obama's best joke on Between Two Ferns.
posted by jason_steakums at 8:29 PM on February 19, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 8:29 PM on February 19, 2015 [3 favorites]
I belive in a shared P&r/30 Rock/Mad Men universe
And the in-universe explanation for John Hamm's P&R cameos would be...
Re Wittels, what a blow for the cast, crew, and comedy world.
posted by dry white toast at 10:21 PM on February 19, 2015
And the in-universe explanation for John Hamm's P&R cameos would be...
Re Wittels, what a blow for the cast, crew, and comedy world.
posted by dry white toast at 10:21 PM on February 19, 2015
And the in-universe explanation for John Hamm's P&R cameos would be...
MCMikeNamara figured this out a while back, Don Draper goes on a trip to Indiana to get the Sweetum's account. He knocks up a local with twins and she gives them up for adoption. One stays near Pawnee and the other is sent east.
posted by The Whelk at 10:45 PM on February 19, 2015 [5 favorites]
One crucial character hasn't made an appearance yet on screen:
Zorp the Surveyor.
I want to see faces melted off for fuel in the final episode.
Hail Zorp.
posted by spinifex23 at 9:55 AM on February 20, 2015 [2 favorites]
Zorp the Surveyor.
I want to see faces melted off for fuel in the final episode.
Hail Zorp.
posted by spinifex23 at 9:55 AM on February 20, 2015 [2 favorites]
In related news
‘Parks & Rec’ star Adam Scott to make Denver-set pot sitcom ‘Buds’ for NBC
posted by caryatid at 3:33 PM on February 20, 2015
‘Parks & Rec’ star Adam Scott to make Denver-set pot sitcom ‘Buds’ for NBC
posted by caryatid at 3:33 PM on February 20, 2015
She's sensible and competent, and that's how you know she isn't from Pawnee - Kathryn Hahn's cynical political fixer Jennifer Barkley is worth a shoutout here.
posted by Guy Smiley at 5:46 PM on February 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Guy Smiley at 5:46 PM on February 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
Addendum to previous:
Miraculously, Comedy Bang Bang just posted an unreleased episode with Wittels/Peretti/Scott, entitled "NOT Farts and Procreation 4". I'm at work, so I'll have to catch up with it later, but it's out there. Going by the comments on Earwolf, Aukerman delivers an amazing and heartfelt eulogy for Wittels in the intro.
posted by Strange Interlude at 9:17 AM on February 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
Miraculously, Comedy Bang Bang just posted an unreleased episode with Wittels/Peretti/Scott, entitled "NOT Farts and Procreation 4". I'm at work, so I'll have to catch up with it later, but it's out there. Going by the comments on Earwolf, Aukerman delivers an amazing and heartfelt eulogy for Wittels in the intro.
posted by Strange Interlude at 9:17 AM on February 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
Vulture is just killing it on the P&R trivia scene
posted by The Whelk at 1:26 PM on February 24, 2015
posted by The Whelk at 1:26 PM on February 24, 2015
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posted by The Whelk at 12:30 PM on February 19, 2015 [8 favorites]