Parks And Recreation - Season 7 [*Spoilers*]

AnonoBoy

Louis never showed up again.

But he wasn't in it for long I suppose.

phasers

Ah I forgot about Orin! I loved him, he was my favourite side character after Jean Ralphio

WoollyRedHat

LizT wrote: »

Apparently they had stuff written for Jamm and Shauna but they didn't fit it in.

Shauna was in it though, Leslie was suggesting headlines for her newspaper article when they were fixing the swing
"The gang swings one last time"

ETA: Sorry unless you mean they shot scenes for their futures that didn't make it in.


Also the guy who comes to them and asks them to fix the swing was the same guy who was drunk and in the slide at the very start of season one.

pixelburp

Oh dear, is it dusty in here? Someone cutting onions?

See you around Pawnee, I genuinely enjoyed my stay in your weird, wonderful town.

Lordy, so it's all over. What a delightful, perfectly encapsulated send-off. I'm always on the fence about codas and epilogues in any story: sometimes it's nice to leave characters' futures a mystery, something for the reader/viewer to imagine and speculate on, while other times it's gratifying to see how those lives panned out, for better or worse. Parks & Rec. managed to accomplish a satisfying middle-ground, giving lovely little vignettes for each of the main cast & a few of the more notable side characters, while keeping some things a mystery - most notably Ben and Leslie's future careers.

I honestly couldn't pick a favourite, though I think from an emotional point of view, Ron's story had the strongest punch. All things being equal the man could be a bit of a caricature in many respects, yet the little moment holding Leslie's hand & her getting him that job as a park ranger showed how deftly the writers handled even the most fundamentalist of characters, yet never betraying the core person behind it all.

A perfect end to a nigh-perfect show (bar the season 1 of infamy). Now if anyone needs me I'll be over here... please ignore any sniffling you might hear...

Machismo Fan

NinetyForNone wrote: »

Councilman Jamm and Li'l Sebastian didn't get mentioned I think.

There's an extended cut on the NBC website at the moment with ~10 minutes of extra content that featured flash forwards for both Jamm and Shauna Malwae Tweep. Just watched the whole thing and it's certainly worth a watch.

And 5000 Candles in the Wind is playing in the background of some of the 2025 scene so Li'l Sebastian is still there in spirit.

jack presley

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

Also the guy who comes to them and asks them to fix the swing was the same guy who was drunk and in the slide at the very start of season one.

Great spot. I would never have noticed that.

Agent Coulson

https://twitter.com/FBI/status/570642204399681536

Fred Swanson

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WoollyRedHat

jack presley wrote: »

Great spot. I would never have noticed that.

Ha I couldn't take the credit for that, read it in some article covering the finale.
I'm quite like Burt Macklin when it comes to my observational skills or when trying to solve riddles :pac:

OU812

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-DME0vU5pI

Just after watching the producer's cut on Hulu and it really was just the perfect end to one of the truly great sitcoms. Each story was just the perfect note to end on for characters whom I have came to care for but I think that emotionally and thematically Ron's was the most successful. Nick Offerman has done such a great job with a character who could so easily be a caricature, he brings out Ron's human and vulnerable side and that smile that lingers on his face as he rows out into the lake was, well it was perfect.

Ron's story works because it sees him evolve as a character, we see a different side and while in the past we've seen Ron exposed he's never take that genuine step forward, here he does. He finally recognises that no man is an island, so to speak and the shot of him sitting on the bench with Leslie is one which the show has been hinting at over its seven year run. It's taken him a long time to get to where he and we want him to be, content with his lot in life and happy. It's an emotional high point in an episode which is full of them and really is just 53 minutes of wish fulfillment.

The transitioning device of having each fast forward follow an image of Leslie holding hands with each of her friends as she tells them how she admires them is shamelessly heart tugging and all the better for it. It may be trite, a little too chessy but you know what it's taken a long time to get here and there is no better way that it could be accomplished.

Coming back to Ron, the future life of Craig and Typhoon was rather sweet and the moment where there best man turns out to be Ron which is not just a tender and sweet moment but a nice end to a relatively new relationship. That Craig is still a loud, angry old man is a bonus as while, like Ron he often felt like a caricature but has evolved into such a great character.

I think that the only issue with "One Last Ride" is that it's a little light on the laughs but Andy and April's segments more than made up for this. Once again they're the affable and sweet heart of the show and the way in which April comes around to children is wonderfully played. The writers stay true to her character throughout the previous seven series and yet change her in a rather nice way.

The rest of the segments play out with just as much heart, in particular Garry's story is the perfect end to his character. He gets everything he always wanted and more and that final gag at his expense is one of the few times where I've enjoyed a gag at his expense. It's the natural conclusion for his story.

As far as finales go there really isn't a whole lot that comes close to matching "One Last Ride", it's everything that fans would want and more and shows up that rather pathetic last episode of Weeds for the shallow and bland waste of time that it was.

don ramo

Deleted User wrote: »

As far as finales go there really isn't a whole lot that comes close to matching "One Last Ride", it's everything that fans would want and more and shows up that rather pathetic last episode of Weeds for the shallow and bland waste of time that it was.

im sure someone already said it, but i think scrubs season 8 finale (which to me was the real finale, season 9 wasnt scrubs), was probably the last great finale to a comedy series, perfectly poignant just like Parks,

their few and far these days, two and a half men showed how not to do it last week, just like last year when Dexter and Breaking Bad finished within a week of each other, polar opposites also,

pixelburp

Here's a question for all you Parks and Rec fans; so say I'd like to get someone into the show, start them off - do you think I should tell them to watch Season 1 at all, or should we just jump into season 2 anyway and fill in the blanks outside of the viewing? I kinda don't want to watch the first season myself, and be reminded about how poor it was at the start, but at the same time it might be useful just to see where all the characters start off...

jack presley

pixelburp wrote: »

Here's a question for all you Parks and Rec fans; so say I'd like to get someone into the show, start them off - do you think I should tell them to watch Season 1 at all, or should we just jump into season 2 anyway and fill in the blanks outside of the viewing? I kinda don't want to watch the first season myself, and be reminded about how poor it was at the start, but at the same time it might be useful just to see where all the characters start off...

I'd watch them all, if only for completeness sake. The first series is only 6 episodes and while it isn't great, it's not like it's unwatchable altogether. If the person is aware that the quality picks up in series 2, they shouldn't be too upset at having lost 6 x 22 mins out of their life. And as you say, it sets up the characters etc.

OU812

Watch them all. As bad as it was, all the relationships are established in that one.

I'm surprised I stuck with season one, but so glad I did.

Machismo Fan

I watched the first four episodes last night and they're not THAT bad. The characters are much better off in season two after some tweaking and it does smartly move away from being an Office clone to something much better but there's plenty of good stuff in season one aswell. I'd watch it.

don ramo

being honest if i started watching park when it initially started season 1 would have put me off, and i probably wouldnt have come back for more, and that would have been a shame,

thankfully i started watching it when it was on season 5, so i just ploughed through season 1, i did find that it was necessary to watch, even if it has shortcomings,

FortuneChip

I went back and watched Season 1 with a mate before Christmas.
It didn't put him off at all, he's fully caught up.

It's the weakest season by far, but it's still got some decent moments, and it's only about 2 hours long.

pixelburp

Yeah, I think everyone has about the right idea; figure it makes sense to blast through Season 1 and I suppose it's not like it goes on forever; 6 episodes and then the good stuff comes along

Dozen Wicked Words

Well just watched the last half a dozen episodes, great way to end it. Really nice all the characters ended up happy, and it got right back on form after the first iffy couple of episodes. Sad it's gone but probably about right to finish on a high.

ixoy

Just a small bump - I had a look at the episode titles for Game of Thrones and the third one is called "High Sparrow". Maybe Leslie's mention of Jack Sparrow marrying Daenerys isn't far off

The Golden Miller

Sorry to bump up this thread. But started watching the show and thought it was excellent until they introduced this Chris character in season 3. Has to be the worst character ever. This annoying forced positiveness isn't funny in the slightest and has worn thin after one or two appearances in season 3. Am actually at the point where I can't watch it anymore as he's being forced into every episode and story now. It's a pity, was such a great show until they brought him in imo.

Dozen Wicked Words

I literally don't know what you mean. His partner in crime is more important going forward.

LizT

I didn't love Chris the first time I watched Parks and Rec but when I rewatched it all, he grew on me.

Penn

Yeah he grows on you a lot more when they start messing with his positivity and he intertwines more with characters like Andy, April & Ron.

sky88

I always like chris he complemented all the characters well.

The only thing i didnt like was that rob Lowe's youthful looks and the fact he younger then me and hes like 25 years older

JP Liz V1

Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally show coming to Dublin's Olympia Theatre on 6th September

Fred Swanson

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Boom_Bap

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

it's their stand up routine they are touring.

Mr.Nice Guy

I started watching Parks and Rec a few months back after finishing The Office US. I figured this was a suitable replacement to fill the void, and I had to quickly binge the final episodes as Prime are removing it. I'm pleased I watched it as it turned out to be a fun show. Tough to sum up 7 seasons in a post, so here's a few thoughts that come to mind...

• Yeah, season 1 is as bad as they say. I was warned this was by far the weakest of the series and so it proved. Leslie comes across like a Michael Scott wannabe. Very few laughs to be had. Had it not been for Chris Pratt's performance as Andy I may not have stuck with the show. He was the one that kept me hanging in there.
• The characters do improve as the show develops. Leslie becomes much more likeable, Andy made me laugh more than any of the cast, Ron beneath the gruff exterior has a heart of gold, and April is a weird character but interesting. I really disliked Tom in season 1 and a lot of season 2 but he did grow on me. I wasn't keen on Ben and Chris initially either but they too grew on me. I didn't mind Brendanowicz either. A pity he couldn't come back as a guest at some point. Might have been an interesting dynamic with him and Ben, plus his history with Ann could have resulted in fun scenes with Chris. I read the actor wasn't keen to carry on with the show.
• Not all the characters resonated with me. Ann felt almost always like a spare wheel to me. Bringing her away from the nurse job seemed to be a way to address that but it didn't really work for me. She is important for her friendship with Leslie but it's a shame she never really had anything meaningful to get to grips with on the show. The baby storyline seemed to me a bit forced. Maybe an unpopular opinion but I preferred Rashida Jones as Karen on The Office than as Ann. I really disliked Jamm. I know he's supposed to be an antagonist but he was really insufferable for a lot of the show and made it a lot less fun. Worst character of all by far imo was Craig. I hated this guy and the way he would JUST SHOUT FOR NO GOOD REASON. I can't fathom how anyone could find this guy funny, nor why he was kept on.
• The finale itself seems to have been well received but I found it a bit underwhelming. It wasn't bad, but I suppose I wasn't a big fan of the concept of skipping years ahead to the future. I would have preferred leaving most of that stuff to the audience's imagination, although I did like what they came up with Ron.

Overall, I enjoyed it. I'd recommend any new viewers really brace themselves for season 1 to be a bit of a chore, and to trust that it will be rewarding in the long run.