Like Community, Parks and Recreation was renewed earlier today and we'll probably see an entire season versus the shortened third season. I want to bring up the shortened third season, because production did stop after the six episode after NBC did not put the show on its fall schedule.
What's interesting is that is "Harvest Festival" not some kind of reacclimation episode for everyone to settle back into their roles and get ready for the next part of the arc, but in fact it fully dives into the Harvest Festival arc with the festival actually beginning. Of course, this means there are greater problems than starting the festival itself, which should be fun.
With the opening of the festival, the media sinks its claws into Leslie and Ben, probing about an Indian curse and Ben's confidence. It is Leslie's diplomatic skills which save the day, as she borrows a generator from the Indian casino as well as getting a fake ceremony to alleviate concerns of the curse.
There are several great subplots underneath the main plot. April declares her love for Andy, who doesn't reciprocate, leading to April not talking to him. Tom and Jerry argue over who let Sebastian escape. These are all inconsequential, however, as all the problems are solved by Ron, who barks out orders and tells everyone exactly what went wrong. Just like that, the small personal problems are resolved, and Ron also spots Sebastien from the ferris wheel. I like how the writers aren't afraid to do things with April and Andy. Since they aren't the center of the show, their romantic tension never seemed that dragged out and now that they are together, the writers continue to make them interesting.
The final shot of the Harvest Festival is a good indication of how far Parks and Recreation has come. It's not about ridiculous people doing ridiculous things in an office. It's about a group of competent public employees who are funny while being productive.
Score: 9.2/10
Thursday, March 17, 2011
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