Retta: Are You Better Off (S5E22)
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Hello, everybody. Welcome back to another great episode of Parks and Recollection. Who's this voice? Why isn't it Jim's voice in the beginning? I don't know why myself. That is Jim's voice. I asked to go first. Here's why I asked to go first. It's Greg. We have a special guest today. We have a guest today who has such a great relationship with my co-host, Jim O'Hare, that I feel like once the two of them start talking...

I am not going to have a chance to speak again. Okay, fair. Except to be that... I'm going to be that guy like, guys, listen. It's like I'm the teacher. We have to move on to the next project. Exactly. Jim, tell us who's here with us. I haven't met her. She looks familiar. Oh, okay, okay, okay. No, today is... First of all, this is this season's finale, season five finale. That's right, that's right. So we are wrapping it up with, of course, one of my very favorites in the world, not just from Parks, but in the world. I love this woman,

She's the greatest. She's the funniest. She's the sweetest, the kindest. Ladies and gentlemen, she is here today. I would like to start off by saying, you're welcome. laughter

Oh, she's so classy. And then, thanks for having me, guys. And she's so fancy that she brought me avocados today in a Henry Bendel bag. And I didn't know that that's jewelry. It turns out that's not just a place that sells avocados. It's an accessory shop. You may have heard of Claire's.

Oh yeah, Claire's people get their ears pierced. That's right. That is right. That is correct. Let's keep track of things Jim's right and wrong about today. And that one so far you're right about.

Retta, thanks for coming in. This is amazing. Yeah, this is awesome. We'll get into so many different things about it, but Retta and I began the show together as far as not knowing what the hell was happening. Were we going to continue with this show every day? We're rehashing. Are they bringing us back? Are they not bringing us back? We were not series regulars. You were still doing stand-up all over the place at the time. Anyway, it was crazy. So we bonded quickly, I think is what I should say.

We did. We did. Take us back to that moment. I mean, people know you now from Parks and Rec as Donna Meagle, right? You say those two words and you're like, oh, I know exactly who Donna is. But as Jim's saying, when you guys started, there was like, oh, we want these extra people to be in the office. And we have Jim to play Jerry and we have Donna here to play Maretta. What was those early days like for you? I auditioned. That day, I believe Octavia Spencer and I think...

I think Yvette was there that day. We were always at the same auditions for so many things that I can't remember exactly that day. But I do remember walking back to our cars, certainly talking to Octavia. She was just getting ready to like start the movie thing. And she's like, I don't know about that. And I was like, I had a good time. I was like, because I remember I had a new watch.

And it was very sparkly. And I remember Mike Shore saying, hey, cool watch. And I just went on this rant about...

I had joined the guilt group and you have to be invited. And I can, if you give me an email, I can invite you to become a member and then you can get, I know he was like this crazy bitch. Maybe she should be on the show. Mike likes crazy. I think so. I think I definitely, cause I feel like, you know, Greg kind of doesn't react to much, you know, he just looks. So I kind of was like, this guy's not into me, but this guy, I,

He's interested. He gets me. In the guilt group. He wants to be a part of this team. Anyway, so it was the kind of thing my manager was like, he's like, it's, you know, it's, it basically was glorified background. I was like, I ain't doing shit. Yeah. I am not doing, you know, other than, because it was also like, I think the summer and I don't work during the summer doing standup because I did colleges. So I was off. I was like, I got time to kill folks. Yeah.

So I got the job. I don't think it was a scripted part yet. I think they wrote the scene for the audition. That's right. Yes. Do you remember how many times you had to go in or was it one and done? Once. Oh, damn. Well, you know, I was kind of one. Well, no, because I went in for Ron Swanson. Right. So I really. But then when I went in for Jerry, then it was one and done. Yeah. Yeah, that's right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Tim, you two are the same. Yeah, we are. Yeah.

And then early days, I was really nervous. I was a big fan of Paul Schneider and a big fan of SNL. I shouldn't say a big fan. I was fascinated by SNL because I was very scared of SNL.

like a sketch show like that. You know, live. So I was fascinated with Amy, you know, and people who did improv. And then, like I said, I was a big fan of Paul Schneider. And so I was just really nervous. I don't know if you could see it in the pilot, but, you know, the one scene where Amy...

Amy came out and was talking to us. You talk about it in your book. Welcome to Pawnee, stories of friendship, waffles, and parks and recreation. November 19th, Harper Collins, William Morrow. Thanks, Rhonda. You're welcome. Here's the 20. I just remember being like nauseous, like, please, God, please, God, please, God, don't embarrass yourself. And the question that she asked me, there was a leaf.

on the pin board behind me. And she goes, um, where's this from? And I go, outside. Oh, yeah. I remember that. I remember us watching that in the writer's room and being like, oh, my God, that's hysterical. But I really was like, I didn't know what to say. I was like, outside? And then afterwards, when they yelled cut, Amy was like, oh, my God, outside.

side. That's fucking clear. Because one, I barely remember the name of the town. I didn't remember it was called Pawnee. I damn sure wasn't going to come up with a name of a town or a park. The premise was Greg wanted to get Amy familiar, I think, so he just had us do this improv

Right. For Amy to talk to each character. So we didn't know what the hell was going on. It wasn't a scripted scene. It was not scripted. She came up to me and she said, oh, what's the jar for? And I said, oh, it's a square jar. And of course it was empty because Jerry doesn't swear. So, but no one, I didn't know what the hell was. Yeah. Yeah. That was scary. It's an amazing thing, isn't it? When you want to do something and then you get the chance to do it and you're like, oh my God.

Oh, yeah. It's terrifying. Yeah. It's the dream come true, but then you have to live the dream. And will I live up to the hope I've always had? Especially in this case, when you're with someone like Amy, who you like, you know, who wouldn't want to be able to improv like that, that kind of talent or act like Paul Schneider. You know what I mean? I learned that fear of success. I talk about it in my book. Right. It has a book too, which is amazing. I hosted the thing at Barnes & Noble, right? Mm-hmm.

Oh yeah, that's just so close to being the shit. You can get that. It's also an audio. Anyway, it was the kind of thing I had my first really big audition and it was for Dreamgirls, the movie. It was the Jennifer Hudson part. And I remember, and you have to sing and stuff like that. And I just remember like, I kept putting it off. I kept putting it off, putting it off. I was really scared because it was like,

This is it. You know, it was finally the big audition came in and I was like, oh my God. Well, I put it off, put it off, put it off. Didn't get it. Because by the time I was ready to do it, they were like, bitch, they got somebody. I don't know how you thought this worked, but they have someone. I never understood the phrase fear of success. And that was it. It was like, the thing is here. Now, are you ready to do it?

you know, full body enter. And I was. I think Aziz said this. The excitement is when you get the, like you get the call.

And then he goes, and then the next assignment is it hits deadline. And then it's all panic. Right. After that, because normally a lot of stuff doesn't even happen after it's on deadline. That stuff never happens. But I know that feeling. You get the job like, oh, my God, this is going to be so fun. And then you start, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, I got to do this. Yeah. Yeah. It's from excitement to panic. Especially in an industry in which there isn't a natural progression of one task to the next task.

the next title where your years of experience prior demonstrates you're able to do the next thing. This is, you're just waiting for the break, right? You're waiting for a break. And then a break comes. You're like, well, this is my chance. And if I can't prove myself here, it's never going to come again. And it's amazing that for both of you, when I think back to the start at parks, it's,

you know, when you had Amy and Rashida and Paul Schneider and frankly, these characters who are getting more screen time and real estate and stories devoted to them, that the writing staff spent a lot more time in the early days on their characters as was necessary. But for the two of you, I feel like when I think, tell me if I'm wrong, but I think that you guys had such a hand also in the

creation of your character because it was how you were acting on screen in these early episodes and these little moments like talking about, you know, whether or not a leaf is outside or a reaction to something that's happening. Right. You know, that's the blessing of a show like

an office or a parks, you know, a mockumentary where they have characters that are always there because I made a decision on who Donna was and I just stuck with that. So it was easy because you didn't really have to portray it because I didn't have a lot of dialogue. I just had a few lines every once in a while. And, you know, you've got one line coming. You're like, well, this is how it's coming.

If I can, I know it's terrible to say people, oh, tell this story, but please tell your first talking head story. Just because they're very scary. Right. Especially at the beginning. You know, it's just you and the camera and the director. And especially this is Greg Daniels. I like to tell the story, but you have to hear this. The talking head wasn't scripted.

It wasn't in the script. We had gotten a knock on the door saying, oh, Greg wants everybody to do talking heads. And I had to be like, and a talking head is... What is that? Like, oh, he's just going to talk to you as your character and you're going to talk to him on camera. And I was like... And I knocked on his door and I was like, bro. You know, we have to go on and talk. And he was like...

Anyway, so I go there. And in that time, my nervousness manifested itself in me talking very, very fast and with a slight Southern accent. Because I grew up, I went to college in the South. So I would start talking like this. I mean, I don't know. I was going to go and I wasn't sure what she was thinking. It was so stupid. It didn't make any sense to me. So that's how I...

since been able to, you know, change my nervous thing a little bit. I still talk a little bit fast, but I have abandoned these seven acts. But I was like, and, and, I kept calling Leslie Knope, I kept calling her Donna. Yeah.

So I was like, that Donna, that Donna is so crazy. She is, I mean, sometimes I don't even understand. So at one point, Greg says, you're Donna. Oh, can you imagine Fred Daniels saying that? Yeah, you're Donna in the show Parks and Rec. I was nauseous and then lightheaded. Anyway, so I finished the talking head, which I never said.

I don't think anybody does. But as we're walking back through the studio, the stages rather, to my room,

And Greg goes, you know, Retta, you can talk in your own voice. Oh, my. Oh, wow. And I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Sure, sure. Right, right, right. My bad. That was an odd choice I made. Oh, my God, Retta. Again, we're so insecure already. Yeah. We're like, we don't know what's happening. And then for Greg to say. And here's the thing. That's insane that he said that. But I got to say, the way he said it. Yeah. I was like, oh, right. Sure. Yeah. What was I thinking? Yeah.

That was a really weird thing. You know, like I didn't get as freaked out as you would think. Like as a working, thinking actor now, if he had said that to me, I'd be like, Jesus, what did I do in that room? But I was so fucked up in the head anyway. I just, it just went in. I was like, oh yeah, I'll make that change. Yeah. I imagine there's something actually quite comforting just about just the frank, the directness of it, right? And almost like in a parenting kind of way, like, like, oh, you know, you can do this. But also you have the,

ability to don't worry. You don't have to do this other thing that we don't expect from you. And Greg is such a kind man. I mean, there would be no yelling involved or anything. But I mentioned this in the book that's coming out in November. Anyway, after one of, after I think the... How long has he been doing this bullshit? No, actually, I haven't. For years before he had a book deal. Yeah.

Yeah, before there was even a deal, I mentioned the book. No, but I did. When we did the thing where you talked about the leaf afterwards, Greg sat down next to me and he said, yeah, we really have to figure this out. And I thought, what? Figure what? What are we figuring out? So I mentioned that to him because I interviewed him for the book. And he goes, what do you mean? I go, well, you said to me. And I said, what did he say? He goes, well, I was just talking about the thing that had nothing to do with it. Right.

I said, I was waiting to be fired. I went home thinking the agent's going to call and say, it's been fun. You had a nice couple of weeks. Get the hell out of here. I mean, normally they try to keep that on the low. It's usually they're like, oh, my God, so great. Thank you. And then you get home and you have a message from your agent. Yeah. So if he said it to your face, chances are you were fine. But I, of course, took it as. Well, sure.

This is the end. It's one of those things where it's two seconds in his day that he has no recollection of. But you remember and think about and will remember for the rest of your life. This trivial moment for them that is massively significant for you. Well, I can even tell you Greg told me because I said, you know, Red and I always we never knew what was happening. He goes, well, what do you mean? So we were always like, are we going to be sticking around? He goes, well, we always knew you were going to be sticking around. He goes, oh, I feel bad.

Yeah, dude, we didn't know we were going to be sticking around, but you know, they got other things to worry about. So I, right. In the long run, of course it makes sense. They weren't like, Oh, our Jim and Reddit concerned about their jobs. Uh,

Because apparently, according to him, they were always secure. But I never felt that. You know, please, to this day, I've never quit a job or ended a job where I didn't think, well, that was a good run. I'm done. Even with I have other stuff lined up. Right. I'll be like, well, that ain't going to be nothing. There'll be nothing after this. Well, I wasn't so scared of losing the job. I was just trying to figure out how this thing works.

Yeah. So you used to scare me with that because you were always so scared of it. I was like, oh, is that a thing? Yes. He's playing a gym here. Okay. Yes. The only story that I used to hear a lot was the losing the job at the table read. Yeah. You know, and I never did the table read. I don't think my part was even a part of the show when they did the table read. So... You're talking about the pilot table read, right? Yeah. Yeah. The pilot table read. You're right. Yeah. So...

That was the story I'd heard. So once I was on set, you know, trying to learn what all the lingo means, I'm like, 10-1, what does that mean? Which means going to the bathroom for those listening. Peeing. Peeing, yeah. 10-2, figure it out. Anybody who's announcing 10-2, God bless. You're dropping acres. 10-3, someone had a lot of like something dangerous last night. Yeah, that was when Jim got sick. Wow.

Yeah, so I didn't even, that was not a fear until Jim started fucking saying it. Because it's true. Yeah, I didn't know that. But I'm saying I didn't, I wasn't fearful of the job. It was like, I hope this thing goes because I assumed I had a job at least, you know, for the rest of that season, you know. So that wasn't my fear. I wasn't afraid of anything.

losing the job. I was afraid of the show not going. Yeah. We do have an amazing episode. But before we do, I do have two questions for you. One that I think especially a lot of fans are going to want to hear from you, which is if you have a favorite TV

episode in your time? And it doesn't have to be a favorite Donna episode specifically, but for you, Red, a favorite, if it's a set piece to shoot or a moment or whatever, I'm curious. And I think we're all curious what that would be. My favorite episode, now I can't remember what it's

it's when Ben proposes to Leslie because she was buying the house. Yes. I loved Halloween Surprise. Halloween Surprise. That's it. Because two of my favorite scenes are, well, there's three.

there was you in the hospital and Aziz, remember Aziz was like, Oh, this is the doctor. He just wants him to say it was a fart attack. Yeah. Yeah. Fart attack. I mean, I just got lightheaded laughing at that, thinking about it again. I,

I loved when Anne and Leslie are in the house looking at it with the real estate agent and she decides she'll take it. And when she says it, there's like no excitement. They're expecting. She's like, oh, I was kind of expecting more from the real estate agent who was like, okay, great. And then Anne says...

Say it again. I'll take it. And then Ant plays the music and they start dancing. I love the dance. And then I love the surprise. That's a special one. That was a great one. That's a great episode. It's a special. And the two of them together. I mean, I think we talked about this when we talked about this episode. You almost forget they're actors. Right. Right. They're just so real in this moment that you just believe it. And they, you know, they stayed away from each other that day until that scene. Oh, really? Adam and Amy. Yeah. Which I love. You know, just...

an actory kind of thing. They would have pulled it off either way, but I love that. Oh, it was sweet. I loved it. And I have to jump in and say, because there's so many great moments, but one of my favorite episodes I've said many times is Hunting Trip. And to me, two of the greatest Dada moments came in season two.

when your Mercedes was shot and Anne thinks you're having a heart attack and you are screaming about your Mercedes, I go back and forth. I just keep going back and forth watching the moment where you're just sobbing at your silly Mercedes. And then in that episode, when you think it was Amy that shot or Leslie that shot your Mercedes and they cut to you and you were like, bitch, you're going deaf. Oh my God. I'll,

So that episode, that episode kind of was like, there was an arc for me. I was very stressed because I had to wear shoes that I wasn't comfortable in.

And I had to run in. I have a bad ankle and I have to wear very flat shoes. And the costume department had got me shoes that have a little heel on it. And I was like, I cannot walk in these. And then I was supposed to run out to the car. And I had panic. I had panic all day about these shoes. I was like, there's no way I'm going to be able to run outside in these shoes. Because there was like, you had to run down steps, then run down the gravel. I was so nervous. So I was so sick to my stomach, nervous about it.

So when the time came, my anxiety was so high that by the time I got to the car, I just let that crazy feeling

Because I was like, I don't want to have to shoot this a thousand times because I was scared Greg was going to make me do it. So I said, I don't think I can do this a lot. And he was like, that's fine. We'll only do it once. So I had a little bit of ease. So when I got to the car, I just went nuts. You're probably just so relieved to have made the car. Yes. And I just remember everybody coming, all the crew coming back from the back. First, they didn't know what was going on.

because they didn't understand who was screaming and why. And then they were dying. And Greg, I just remember Greg saying, that was great. And I was like, woo! I'm about to get a nanny, motherfucker!

I felt so good about it. I mean, there's so many. That is such, it is an iconic. It's iconic. I think so. And treat yourself, treat yourself. And these are the, people must say that to you, right? Yeah. Oh my God. Yeah. I mean, at this point, it's not every day anymore. You know, I told that story about how,

For years, I used to do a thing. I was like, if Treat Yourself has been tweeted in the last five minutes, you buy lunch.

And I always would. Wow. I ate free lunch for a long time. That's smart. But even now, if you check it, it's probably within the last three hours. But you've also done... You haven't had lunch in a long time. Yeah, really. No, but you've also, I mean, after Parks, you did Girls Guide to Divorce, and then you did Good Girls. I mean, so you've had other huge shows that you've done. But out of those three, is Parks the one you're most noted for, or Good Girls, or...

I mean, I don't know that I'm most noted for. Yeah, because it's older, but it's different demographics. When I see the glint in someone's eyes, I can tell demographically what show it is that they...

we're into and and park's moments enter like the lexicon like you know like we talked there are terms that people use yeah and galentine's day exactly yeah um one more question i don't know we do have to move on it's very exciting this is probably like this isn't a two-hour it's just so fun to have ready i knew it would be but listen i i would be remiss if i didn't jim has talked a lot about how your uh um trailers trailers double bangers we're next to each other right yes

And then a lot of hijinks. So people understand they were attached. What are they called? They're double bangers. Which means it's just a super long trailer with

Something in the middle. A wall in the middle. And I have my stuff on my side, my toilet, my TV, my couch. The problem is our toilets were back to back. That was, yes, our toilets were back to back. And he was always, he was always, whenever he left the bathroom, he would bang the wall, says, got it. Got the troublemaker. So he did tell the story. That's exactly what I wanted to know. Yes, I did. Always. Is that real? Oh, that was real. Oh, is it? Got it. Oh, my God.

Because I wanted her to feel better knowing I felt better. Because you know, you're always happy for people. Exactly. I've shared a room for the last year. Trust me. You know, when you discover a new binge worthy show or a song that you bump on repeat and you have to share it with your friends so they can experience just how awesome it is. That's kind of what it feels like when you discover that Mint Mobile offers premium wireless for $15 a month when you purchase a three month plan. It's,

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We are talking about a fantastic episode. It is Are You Better Off? It's written by Mike Shore, directed by Dean Holland. It originally aired on May 2nd, 2013. It's the season five finale, and Jim will read a blurb. Leslie receives a slew of negative feedback from the community during a public forum, leading to a possible recall election. Meanwhile, Andy finds a positive pregnancy test at Ron's cabin and is intent on finding out which member of the Parks Department is expecting. Leslie,

And Tom gets an offer to purchase Rent-A-Swag from an anonymous investor. Diddy? Yeah, let's just call it out for a second. Diddy? There are some references that may not have aged well. And not only is Diddy mentioned once, it's like, oh, it is a thing. Yeah. So we'll just call that out. This episode has cameos everywhere.

Galore. Galore. Jason Schwartzman, Dennis Lurpis, Jenny Slate, Mona Lisa Saperstein, Mara Marini, Brandy Maxx, Darlene Hunt, Marcia Langman, Todd Sherry, Marcia Langman, Mary Faber, Catherine Finewood, Jonathan Jost, Ken Hotate, Mark Evan Jackson, Trevor Nelson. I think this is the first...

appearance of Trevor Nelson, of Mark Evan Jackson, who would then go on to do many episodes and then to Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Good Place. He became like Mike's Yeah, he's Mike's boy for sure. Lucy Lawless as Diane Lewis, Harris Whittles and Colton Dunn as Harrison Colton, Mike Mitchell as another Lurpus, Bjorn Lurpus,

There's another Lurpus. It's a Herman Lurpus, I think, is in this. He is. And Alison Becker, Shauna Mulway-Tweep. It's like we brought all of our friends back for the season five finale. It's very satisfying to see them. Shauna Mulway-Tweep. Shauna Mulway-Tweep. Shauna Mulway-Tweep. Hold on a second. What is this? What is that? You don't know what Shauna Mulway-Tweep is? The singing? Yeah. Correct. What?

Oh my God. So we used to sing all the time on set. And Aziz particularly sang

So we would always sing, Sean, I'm all the way to you. Sean, I'm all the way to you. Even when she wasn't in. Because one of our camera two. Oh, because of Sean. Yeah. So we always, so whenever I hear Sean, I'm all the way to you. I think. Sean, I'm all the way to you. Oh my God. Oh my God. We sing it all the time.

You know, you know, it's always doing the moves. Oh, my God. Well, what's great about this episode and the reason there are so many of these people in it, we had, you know, town halls. Whenever you have a town hall, you have gold. You have absolute gold. Every crazo comes out from the woodwork. And over the years, when you're out in the world and you meet people who work in these kind of departments, they will tell you, you know,

those town halls are accurate. What people are seeing on our show is what goes on in the world. And this episode's town hall, which we'll get to, is built around the fact that a bunch of people who've been here all season, impacted by Leslie as city councilwoman, are here to speak about it. It has like an eclipse package kind of feeling. It's a very special episode. Let's talk about it. We have our synopsis, which we'll start now.

With test scores on the rise and raccoon attacks on the decline, Leslie walks into the Founders Week public forum expecting a warm welcome, but instead gets a shocking reality check from a number of disgruntled citizens.

Meanwhile, with business booming at Rent-A-Swag, Tom is approached by an anonymous investor looking to buy his business. And after unearthing a positive pregnancy test at Ron's Cabin, Burt Macklin, a.k.a. Andy Dwyer, goes on a mission to suss out who is expecting. You know, just three great home run storylines. Okay, so I'm going to start with the pregnancy test. Can I say that I didn't remember who was pregnant?

When I watched it last night, I was like, did Leslie lie? I really thought Leslie was going to say that she was pregnant. Like, I was like, because he took her off guard when she was standing there and brought it up. I completely, truthfully, I completely forgot. It wasn't until he was sitting there talking to Ron that I was like, oh, that's right. Yeah, because now that, obviously, we know where it's going. We know that she's going to be pregnant next season. Like, oh, yeah, this is when she...

is pregnant. Are we not saying who? No, we could talk because we're going to get to that part of the episode. Right, right, right. But I mean, did you know what the... It wasn't until Andy was sitting in Ron's office saying, I don't know who it could be. And I was like, oh, right.

Wow. So when she walked in, I was like, that's right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But what I like about that storyline is a lot of good work was done to give plausible people, right? Right. So we know that Anne is trying to have a baby, but first she admits it's not her and she's going to be part of the investigation. But you have...

April getting that phone call. You have Leslie saying, I feel off. I don't feel like myself. You have little hints for everybody, really. Mona Lisa's upset tummy. Yeah, she's sick and throwing up. It's really good work, I think, to make it an actual investigation. And so what I liked about that story, especially, is... There were no hints for Donna! Donna was like, go find yourself. Yeah, yeah. And

I think it says, like, I'm a grown woman or something like that, right? I don't take care of myself. I literally don't remember. I do not remember that. I remember the scene because I remember them building that little hallway. Yeah. Which, Macklin's office. It was really weird to walk out there. I was like, wait, what'd this come from? Um...

But I didn't remember that line. Like, I was like watching it like, oh, I was like, first of all, hi, full face. Second of all, I was like, oh, your makeup looks good. And third, I was like, oh, I don't remember this line. The priorities. Yeah.

All about the makeup. It's all about... I get it. It's fun to see Andy, obviously, as Burt Macklin. Oh, my gosh. He knows it's a job built for Burt. And it's fun to have him with his sunglasses on and his jacket. So it's fun to be at Ron's Cabin. They're brainstorming ideas for Founders Week, which usually includes a pie-eating contest, a giant petting zoo, and an epic parade. The last time we were at Ron's Cabin was for Tom's Tech Detox this season in Sex Education. So...

Just fun to be there. I love Ron also saying that he hates the fact that they all know he has a cat. He hates any detail about his life. And we get another glimpse into the secret life of Donna Meagle. Right? She has a condo in Seattle because she likes the rain and the fish markets. People used to bring that up to me all the time. Really? Yeah, it was an odd thing. But, I mean, people from Seattle loved that Donna was, you know, spending some time out in Seattle. And I...

It took a while for me to catch because they would be like, don't you like fish? And I was like, what are you talking about? And they were like referencing one line that Donna said. And I'd be like,

Oh, it's because somebody finally said it to me. Don't you like the fish markets? And I'm thinking to myself, I hate fish. I hate the smell of fish. I don't eat fish. Not interested. And then I was like, oh, you mean Don Amigo. Yeah, yeah. Got it. And then it started to make sense. What's so fun about Donna is...

Over the seasons, there's a great game, I think, that was created, a comedy game of just like this casual dropping of massive facts. Right? Either Cousin is genuine. I mean, it's a spoiler for next season. Donna will find out how to set two annulments. You know,

Things that would be life-changing moments for other people are just a casual Sunday in a way for a Don Amigo. Okay, and so we have Leslie's Founders Week public forum. What's great about it, it's a great way to touch on these

initiatives from early this season. It's a reminder of all the things Leslie has done to set up this recall that's going to be happening later. We get Catherine Pinewood, and I love the way Amy plays at the moment that she sees Catherine up there to speak to her. Oh, boy. Because she's so feeling herself before this moment. She's like, it has been great. We've done amazing things. The energy is all good. Right. She gets up there and she's like, you know, in her head. Right. Right.

Right. And what I like about it is there's this episode title kind of moment when, you know, talking about are you better off now than you were a year ago, which is such a great, I mean, it has its roots in politics, right? When someone's running for reelection, you're like, well, are you better off than you were four years ago? Do you want to elect this person as president again? Just this basic...

principle and a question. And if you can answer that, you're going to want that person back. And if not, you're going to want to recall them. And so what's great is it starts off with a bunch of people saying, I'm not better off than I was. But then Leslie, as we'll get to, takes over and say, no, are you better off? Feel it. Tell me honestly. So I love also when we get a title moment. Right. You know, um,

Okay, let's move on with our synopsis. After Burt Macklin clears Anne of any pregnancy suspicions, Anne joins his investigation and the two of them pay Donna a visit to see if she could be the one with the baby on the way. Meanwhile, Tom checks in with his investors regarding the potential sale of Rent-A-Swag and Leslie's public battering continues at the public forum.

Let's jump into the Tom story because we didn't mention this earlier. But yes, Tom has been approached. Someone wants to buy his company. There's some mystery around it. There's a aforementioned person that Tom is referring to that potentially is the investor. It's absolutely not the investor. And I had this moment watching this episode in prep for today, which I felt very...

happy for Tom. I don't know if that's the right... If that's the right word, but like this guy who's tried to do a lot of things and has had really ridiculous ideas for companies, products,

And had some big failures. Yes. Underdame in 720. Yes. Disaster. I mean, he created an alcohol snake juice that pretty much got everyone on the near death of alcohol poisoning. And there's something like, so I did this thing. I worked really hard for it. And someone sees merit in it. Right. Now, obviously, it's a comedy show and there's a lot of comedy to be built around it. But I don't know. I felt happy for him. And then I liked the conversation that followed.

in which, you know, you have Donna saying, let's make our money. Sell it. Pedicures on pedicures on pedicures. Which, what is that? Is that just like a lot of pedicures? Like,

I wonder if they're just getting like, you get a pedicure. And then you're like, you know what? Let's get another pedicure. And I know Jim knows exactly what I'm talking about as a man who recently had a pedicure. Oh yeah. I had a nightmare experience. Well, listeners have heard the story, but I'll give you the one line version was Jim went to get a pedicure and there's a misunderstanding and he wound up, uh,

with gels. You know what gel is? You ever hear of gel? Yes. They put it on my feet. I thought she was going to rub my feet with gel. I thought gel was a lotion. I was all excited. Like, let's get in there, baby. Get between those toes. She didn't. And then it doesn't come off.

I had a screwdriver. I was using a screwdriver. Oh, no, Jim. Yes. I was watching television with a screwdriver trying to peel it off. You could have bought a business. Just let it grow out and clip them off eventually. No, it was so bright. I could have taken down a plane. It was so bright. I'm telling you, when the when the light hit it, it was crazy. I'm not joking.

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Okay, so when Anne and Andy are together, and Andy confronts Anne about being pregnant, obviously she's disappointed it's not her. It's a delicate thing you have to walk. She's like, you know, obviously congratulations to whoever it is, but boo, no, we want it to be me. I thought Rashida played that so well. But I love this moment when she says, I'm going to join you in the investigation. And then he's like, but

Like, Burt Macklin works alone. And Anne's like, I'll buy you lunch. You can have as many burgers as you want. Welcome to the FBI. Welcome to the FBI. And the two of them shake hands. And I felt like, oh my God, look at the trajectory of Anne and Andy. I mean, he was a joke kind of

shitty boyfriend. And now he's married. She's in this thing. She's trying to start her family. They're equals. I thought it was very satisfying. Yep. I think so too. You do? I do. I'm going to let you go with that because I agree with it. Thank you. We won't cut that. Thank you. All right. Well, then let's talk about the main part of this story. It's the public forum. It's this town hall. And it is a great chance just to have so many great characters show up.

Obviously, we talked about Catherine Pinewood is not happy. We have the guy Dewey from Sanitation from the Women in Garbage episode. Oh, is that who that was? Yeah, he was in the previous episode. Oh, yeah, when he says, you made us. Yeah. You made us. We had to give up a bathroom. Yeah, we only have one bathroom now. We referenced it earlier, Retta, but when Andy bursts into the forum to ask Leslie if she's pregnant,

It was so funny because it has to do several things, right? It has to do this. It has to progress the investigation story. And to which Amy played it so well, I'd be like, no. But that no works. I'm like, no, I'm not pregnant. But no, look around you. What was odd for me in that scene is that Anne went along with that.

I don't see Ann Perkins. She does try to kind of stop him. Kind of. Oh, him busting in? Him busting in. I kind of think she'd be like, oh, God, no, no, no, no, no, no. Right, right. But, you know, for the story, it works. Right. But we also have this little moment where you see Ben and he kind of has this concerned and surprised look. Right. It's like both, what is this happening? But is this about me? Right. All of it is doing the long work of who is actually pregnant, which is great. And Burt Macklin, all you have to do to get him off your case is say, no.

Oh, okay. So you could be a murderer. About face. Did you murder so-and-so? No. Oh, okay. Next. Yeah. He's simple. But as Donna would say, he's simple, but he's fine. He's fine, but simple. Wait, that reminds me of another great Donna moments from a few episodes earlier. Do you remember this? Jim was like,

Jerry, you nasty. Because I had accidentally peed myself a little. That's right. Because I was so excited that there was going to be a little Sebastian. Oh, no, there was a little Sebastian impersonator. Yes. I'm so excited that you can... Jerry, you nasty. You nasty. Oh, God, that's so funny. We cracked up.

Let's push on with our synopsis, my friends. The Founders Week celebration is underway, and this year's parade has an unexpected surprise for Leslie. Meanwhile, Tom is convinced Mona Lisa is the one who is pregnant. Okay, so, yes. Well, you want to talk about that part? No, it's terrifying. That woman should not produce children. We don't want her to be a mom here. We are rooting in favor of Tom not being a dad.

to the child of Mona Lisa. And the way Jenny will later play it is so...

Right. When she fakes it out. Oh, yeah. It's me. I love that. I love that. And it's so real. And you can see the way Jenny did it, too. Jenny Slate did it where she stops being the crazy Mona Lisa for a second. Right. No. Yes. No, that's me. And she lets it sit for a second. And you see the way Aziz plays. We're going to get to it. My God. Okay. But Anne and Andy confronting Tom about it is such a great scene.

There's a line that Jim and I were talking about before we started recording today that we both of us cracked up. When Andy says, my assistant has something she'd like to show you. And Ann says, partner. Oh, my assistant has something she'd like to show you, partner. He's so stupid. It's so funny.

Oh, God. But that's why you love Andy and Burt Macklin. Yeah. And Johnny Karate. Yeah. And Johnny Karate. Okay, let's talk about this epic parade and the part that Chris played in it. Chris has been voted in as Nipple King, the Kyrsten rubber nipple, Nipple King for the rubber nipple float. That's a hard thing to say. Not really. Go ahead. Yeah.

All right, you take it, boss. Chris had been voted the nipple king and jumps off the Kirsten rubber nipple float. It was that easy. It was easy because you said Kirsten, you asshole. Oh.

Oh, it's going down today, baby. It's going down. But yes, he comes in. He's out of breath. He's trying to warn Leslie of a float coming down the line that she's not going to like. And here is that float. It is a giant version of Leslie wearing her signature blouse and blazer, standing behind the podium, wagging her finger at the crowd, all under the banner. Leslie Knope says,

No fun for you. And what's so funny is that when Leslie jumps up on that float and starts speaking, she's wagging her finger. And then it's like, honey, maybe don't do this exact same thing. There is a moment on that float that cracked up the entire...

writing staff when we watched this cut, which was when they're on and they start chanting recall, no recall. Nope. You have Colton Dunn of Harris and Brett, right? Yeah. And he says, legalize weed. Well, they're all chanting recall. Just this one moment.

Oh, so funny. Well, that animal department likes their weed. Yes. They like their weed. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Let's forge on with our synopsis. Confident in the work she's done on city council over the past year, Leslie vows to fight the recall with her head held high. Meanwhile, Mona Lisa and April are ruled out from being pregnant, although April reveals she does have a major life change in the works.

And after Tom decides not to sell rent to swag, the anonymous buyer reveals their plan to open a knockoff version of the store across the street. Okay, so Mona Lisa continues being the worst. I'm not going to do the worst, whatever. However she does it, it's amazing. Oh, you're good. That's right, baby. Yeah, thanks, Frank. No, right in, I covered it. The worst. Right in, I covered it. I'm so sorry. Yeah.

Here's what I love about this moment when it's playing. We know Tom is being very selfish. He has done presentations for other people that turned out to be all about himself. I mean, it's all about Tom. But he steps up. He is not doing like, oh, no, that couldn't be me, whatever. He knows he has admitted she puts holes in condoms. He says this is her brand of...

A pregnancy test. Brand. How many effing tests is that girl taking? Yeah. That she has a brand. Yeah. And yet he's like, okay. Maybe I'll sell the business, put a down payment on a house. What's the brand called again? Something. A womb. There it is. There it is. That's brilliant.

He wants to do the right thing. This is an education of Tom Haverford. Yes, I love that. And thank God that

she wasn't pregnant for him. For all for the world. And honestly, for humanity. Yes. Right? But John Raphael, Ben Schwartz, who is the funniest. Oh my God. Let's stop for a second. Yes. Let's stop for a second. I know where you're going. You know what I'm saying. And you should stop for this. Yes. I hate this guy. Yes. At the moment...

Between you and Ben, when he's like, stop. And he says, I'm going to dag you on the dance floor. It's almost like it looked like... It was like a wave of nausea. A wave of nausea, right. Oh, my God.

I talk about how hard it is for me not to laugh at just Ben normally in real life. It must be fucking hard to act with him. He's crazy. I feel like we have, they're like outtakes. There are. Oh, I've watched him a million times. Yeah. Ben, he's heard me say it. I think he's a genius, like in many ways. He's so funny. And his improv is brilliant. But him going at you, I've seen it a million times on YouTube. It's so good. In your face, you're trying to keep it to you. Yeah.

Oh, I love it. It's that thing in comedy or like in improv where it's yes and, right? I have to go with this thing that's being done. But he is pushing you to the boundary of, yeah, please, I can't do this without breaking. And think about it. Donna doesn't play. I was going to say, Donna is not yes anding anything. Yeah, no, no, no. Donna's doing what Donna wants to do. So it makes sense that she's like, uh-uh. No. But watching him do that with you when you break. Yeah, it's amazing. It's amazing.

So yeah, we talk about that because the way John Raphael takes the news, it's like he's going to be the father. He's like, but I'm going to be an uncle? No, that's too much responsibility for me. I got to find another way out of this. Yeah.

That's his whole life, finding way out of things. So then by process of elimination, April must be the one who's pregnant, right? That's where we think we're landing. Because she had a phone call early on that gave us some suspicion that something isn't happy. She's not happy about something. But no, she wants to wait until they're 50 and then adopt a set of creepy adult twins from Romania. He knows that. Yeah.

It's that she got into veterinarian school in Bloomington, which is great. It's this, you know, right? I don't know if you're aware of this, but the big joke in the writer's room was gifts, parties, and jobs that every episode of Parks and Rec, someone tended to get a gift

or gave a gift, they got a new job or the party was thrown. And so here it is. And here's a new job once again for April. Obviously, it's school, but to be a veterinarian, which I don't know if we actually pull off. But that was a very satisfying experience.

right? And why she's not pregnant. It's this thing instead. And again, there's a killer Andy moment. Chris Pratt nails it. And he says, babe, as I've known about this for the last 20 seconds, this is your dream. I'm so glad I married you. She says.

They are the perfect couple for each other. Not in real life, but for each other. As I've known about you for the last 20 seconds. We talked about the fact that Tom is going to decide not to sell. And so his competitor has plans to open a competing business across the street called Tommy's Closet, a dupe of what he does. A little inside knowledge. When the storyline was being built out for Rent-A-Swag, before we had the title Rent-A-Swag, we called it Tommy's Closet. Oh.

Oh, I like that. That's a little behind this. BTS, people. BTS. Just learn that from the terminology. It's when you hit it so hard. That's when I know. That's the new shit.

It's like flirting with a new word. You can't wait to use it. Oh, God. It's like coming back from Christmas break and you're wearing all your new Christmas shit. Right. Showing it off. God, that's so funny. Anyway, the BTS on this episode. Oh, my God.

Please stop, Tim. I will. I promise. And okay. And then most importantly for Leslie, for what's going to set up a storyline for next season is Leslie vows to fight the recall. And you're very proud of her. You're excited for her. You don't know where it's going to go, but her nervous energy has her randomly referencing a bunch of dance movie titles, right? Yeah.

just by because you know you can see the writer writing this mic in the room to be like I'm gonna step up step up to the streets and then that just starts a whole riff stomped the yard you got served kind of silver linings playbook honey it's great honey honey through me when I heard it this time I was like oh my god I haven't thought about that what a reference yeah yeah yeah

And finally, in the tag is that Ron tells Andy all he cares about is that he's the same. If he's the same as he was a year ago, then he's happy. And so Andy brings up that positive pregnancy test. It's like, who's pregnant? In walks Diane. It's the thing you were talking about earlier, right? It sneaks up on you. You forget. Oh, wait a second.

Other women, one other woman, has access to this cabin. I think such a good job was done that you never consider Ron...

is totally, but here's what throws me when she enters the look on her face is like, she just found out. And I'm like, that thing was at the cabin. How many days ago? So I was like, you know, she was like, yeah, like, or maybe she went to the doctor to get the confirmation confirmation. Yeah. And she's just coming back going, dude, I think it's that. And I also think it's that thing where there's a difference between knowing it

And having to say it to the other person, right? There's a gulf between I found out I'm pregnant, but I need to tell my partner that you're going to be a father. And so that reality is there and she's nervous. But I think it's that, Jim. I think she was just at the dock and she got the okay. And it's a great moment when, just cut to Andy, oh! Oh my God. I didn't remember what that gif was from. Oh, yeah. You see it a lot. Yeah. I see it all the time. Yeah. And...

watching the episode, I was like, oh, that's the episode that I throw. Final thoughts on this episode. Let's set the stage. I think the episode did a great job of looking back all the places we've been this season in that very satisfying, clip-packaging kind of way, while also doing the good work of setting up not just Leslie's arc for her job next season, but this

these great character arcs for April and for, oh my God, and for Ron, especially a new color in Ron's life. Big time for Ron. Really coming on. And Tom, Tom's in for a challenge next season. We're setting up a big competitor to him. How do you guys feel?

first of all, three different storylines. I think they all hit. And whenever there's town halls, that makes me happy because there's so much craziness that goes on. You give me Burt Macklin, you make me happy. So I thought there was just great moments for everybody in this episode. You know, there wasn't a whole lot of Jerry going on, but his, I miss you guys rang true. Cause you know, people are always like, oh, they're so mean to him, blah, blah, blah.

He loves these guys. He loves these people. Even though a lot has gone on over the years. Right. He knows what's important in life and he does love these people. Right. So I loved it. Ready your thoughts. I enjoyed it. Oh, good. It was nice. It was nice to revisit. Like I said, I didn't. I watched it with like excitement. Like, wait, I can't remember who's pregnant. I could not remember. So it was kind of like, holy cow. So I was like, I was invested. Love it.

Can I ask you a question? I mean, I don't know unless you just watch Parks and Rec episodes all the time at home. This is your free time. Do I? Unless you did that, which we could talk about.

I mean, it must be interesting. I mean, we wrapped 10 years ago, right? It was December 2014 that we finished filming the last episode. And so, you know, do you look back on that and when you watch it to be like, oh my God, this moment in time, do you remember shooting different episodes? Like, you know what I mean? Like, you're watching it as like a time capsule. First of all, I don't watch it much because I don't have a Peacock account. Oh, we can get you that. I have had it for a second because I got it free with my phone. Oh, wow.

I watched... Verizon gave it to me, damn it. So I only get to watch the show on Comedy Central and I don't... Yeah. I don't really catch it. So every once in a while, knowing I had to do this, I kind of like actively was watching it. I really...

put it off because I want to enjoy it and watch the whole thing. You know, you have your go-to-bed show. I've watched all different things. That's how I did Brooklyn Nine-Nine. And so I've really been saving parks to like go back and enjoy. I see what it is everybody likes so much. Like, what is it? So

Having watched it recently, I was like, I forgot this. It's kind of fun because there's some stuff I don't remember. So it's like a nice surprise to see something. Those town halls...

Those middle school auditoriums. Yeah. I have a, like a sensation washes over me when I see them because I remember being there, walking on the angle, walking down, walking, sitting uncomfortably in those wooden seats. Oh God, yeah. Like it's, it's pretty, it's a pretty interesting, nostalgic feeling to watch the episodes. Yeah.

So I'm probably not going to watch them again. I'm going to wait till I go back and start when I get a Peacock account. And now I'm going to start from the beginning. Yes. And last but not least, I think we need to call it our episode MVP. This is our character moment, our character in the episode that sticks out the most to you and why. And I'm going to put you under the gun. I'm going to toss it to Retta. Do you have an MVP for today's episode? Uh,

I mean, it's Burt Macklin. You know, when you can get that much of Burt Macklin in one episode. I'm with you 100%. Yeah. I ride that way. Absolutely Burt Macklin. Yeah. Absolutely Burt Macklin. Yeah. No, I'll go with you guys. I do feel... I feel like...

When it comes to the Leslie story, it was more about the other people coming up to threaten her than it was Leslie's story. It wasn't as Leslie as she usually is. I mean, Leslie Amy is always MVP just because she does so much great stuff in every episode and she's the lead of the show. It makes sense.

But when you have a Burt Macklin come in. Yeah, no, you're right. I'm team Macklin in this episode. Well, listeners, let us know who your MVP is by tweeting at Team Cocoa Podcast or by using the hashtag, hashtag Parks and Recollection.

Retta, thank you for being here. Oh, my God. This is so awesome. We knew it. First of all, you talked more than you said you were going to, for the record. Well, that's because you didn't step up, Jim. Oh, I stepped up. No, this was the one I was looking forward to the most, just because...

Right into your buddies. Yeah. Yeah. And I'll say is that from the writing room side and now just being friends, it's so great that I think the two of you and your friendship, I think that comes through on screen too. The fact that Donna and Jerry. Especially towards the end. Yeah. I love that at the end. Yeah. And there's a clip in one of the blooper reels.

where Donna's walking up to Jerry's house for something and you open it like, you missed your mark. Right? Says Jim. And it's just two buddy actors at work together and you're just making fun of each other in that way. They're like, don't you all want colleagues like this? Oh, good.

Yeah. Because our trailers were test. If you couldn't find me, you went for me and read his trailer. If you couldn't write it, you went. It just what it's what it was. Yeah, it was just it was awesome. Well, thank you for recollecting with us today. It's been a thank you. Thank you. Joy to see you and to talk to Parks and Rec. Glad to be here. Thanks, guys.

This has been, of course, one of my all-time favorites. That was amazing. Because I was with one of my all-time favorites, Retta. And of course, you, Greg. Oh, stop it. You know, that's a given. But in ranking them, you put her first. I do put her first. Yes. No, I love Retta. She's...

We had a special relationship, again, because we started in the same situation and didn't know what was happening. And then we just connected. And, you know, there's highs and lows over seven years. And we were just always there for each other. You guys are friends. And we're friends. We're just friends. Yeah. And right now she is hosting season five, which is amazing, of HGTV's Ugliest House in America, where she goes all over the country. And, I mean, you got to see some of these houses. Yes. They nasty. Okay. Okay. Here's what's not nasty. Here's what's amazing. Okay.

I can't believe it. But Jim, we've reached the end of our podcast season with the season five finale that we just did. And you know what? We're going to be taking a little hiatus, but don't worry. We'll be back soon with more Parks episodes before you know it. Because we have so much, Jim, we have a lot more to talk about, right? So much more. I don't want to give too many spoilers away, but we have another wedding coming up. A trip to London. Two major figures in the Parks Department move away from Pawnee. I'm already tearing up. Okay, take it easy. We're

We're going to be covering it all next season. I can't believe it. But until then, thank you for listening. Thank you, everybody. You know what I'm going to say. Text this episode to your group chat. Use that group chat to text about this episode and all the episodes of Parks and Recollection. Give us five-star reviews wherever you're listening. And from all of us here at Parks and Recollection, goodbye from Pawnee. Bye.

Parks and Recollection is produced by me, Lisa Berm, and engineered by Joanna Samuel. The podcast is executive produced by Jeff Ross, Adam Sachs, Colin Anderson, and Nick Liao. Paula Davis, Gina Batista, and Brit Kahn are our talent bookers, along with assistance from Maddie Ogden. Our theme song is by Mouse Rat, a.k.a. Mark Rivers, with additional tracks composed by John Danek.

Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time on Parks and Recollection. This has been a Team Coco production.

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