Parks and Recreation 3.02 “The Flu” Review

“The time is now. The place is Pawnee. Let’s make history.”

Upon rewatching last week’s episode of Parks and Recreation it almost felt like a second pilot episode, though you’d be hard pressed to find a better and funnier pilot. I thought it was a great (re)introduction to the fantastic ensemble. This is now the third season of the show, but with the show in a new timeslot, there was a feeling in the air like this was a new beginning, and the show delivered on all fronts. Those of us who were already fans were delighted to see the characters we love back on our televisions, and the healthy Office lead-in undoubtedly got some new viewers on board with the Pawnee gang.

This week, the flu strikes Pawnee, but not even the flu could stop the laughs. April being in the hospital forces her and Ann to interact all day, giving April (who believes janitors and nurses are interchangeable) the chance to torment her with the press of a button. By the end of the episode, her torments cause Ann to snap, which actually makes her like Ann. All of Ron’s lines are always gold, and I enjoyed that he brought April a care package of “magazines and lipstick…women’s stuff.”

As we saw last week, Leslie’s mission for the season is to bring back the Harvest Festival. She needs to get 80 local businesses to be a part of the Festival. She’s obviously coming down with the flu, and everyone else around her in the department is making sure to keep away from her though she refuses to go home and tries her best to tough it out. Instead of sitting next to Tom and Jerry in the conference room, she spoke to them on speakerphone from her desk where she could see them. Jerry tells her she looks tired and sweaty and she replies by telling him that he always looks tired and sweaty. Boom, roasted. Later, Tom is wearing a motorcycle helmet and misting himself with hand sanitizer to avoid catching the flu from Leslie. She finally agrees to go the hospital, where Ann can take care of her.

Back at the parks department, Ron needs someone to fill in for April while she’s sick. He knows that he won’t find someone else who is as “aggressively mean and apathetic” as she is, noting that those two traits make up “the whole package.” He knows someone who can fill in though: Andy. Kudos to the writers for putting Ron and Andy – the two best characters on the show – together. Andy accidentally drops a call, and when he goes to tell Ron about it Ron responds with a simple thumbs up. Andy is honestly trying to help Ron and failing to connect the calls, which is exactly what Ron wants. Perfect. Andy gives him a lunch recommendation, and the two sit and enjoy their meat tornadoes while discussing how well the Indianapolis Colts draft before heading out to the parking lot to throw the pigskin around. The two are perfect together, and I hope they continue to hang out.

Chris gets the flu and he also gets Ann as his nurse, and Rob Lowe again nails his part. Chris is a wacky blend of neurotic and caring and obsessive compulsive, and when the flu gets thrown into the mix, hilarity ensues. Leslie steals flu medicine from both April and Chris before bolting out of the hospital to give a speech to local business owners. Ben is nervous when she shows up woozy and even begins to speak to a painting hung on the wall, but she gets up and delivers a perfect speech, which Ben compares to Kirk Gibson’s home run off Dennis Eckersley.

This episode was great from the start to the end and felt very full and complete, just like last week. Each scene worked and the laughs just kept coming, and the entire cast is involved and funny. Some shows have characters that feel like they’re always in the background and/or just aren’t all that funny, but Parks and Rec is not one of them at all. I really think that this already great show is only getting better, and with its place in the middle of NBC Thursday night comedy block, as I said last week, the sky is the limit. Grade: A

More funny stuff that I didn’t get to:

Ron: “The less I know about other people’s affairs, the happier I am. I once worked with a guy for three years and never learned his name. Best friend I ever had. We still never talk sometimes.”

Ron: “You had me at ‘meat tornado.'”

Leslie has spent $1,000 on waffles at one local store.

Ann (about Chris): “He’s like a perfect human man.”

Tom plugs ladies nights at the Snakehole Lounge at the meeting.

Leslie: “We have to get ready for the chamber of secrets.”
Ben: “Commerce.”

Leslie: “If I was sick could I do this?”
Ben: “What are you doing?”
Leslie: “Cartwheels…am I not doing them?”