Thursday, January 30, 2014
Antenna TV Kicks Off with Flying Nun on Super Bowl Sunday; Episodic Review: Parks and Recreation - "Ann and Chris" Airing Tonight on NBC
On the next...Parks and Recreation (NBC, Thur 8:30pm):
By: Skees
NBC's Thursday night comedy starring Amy Poehler airs at 8:30pm and we have just watched the next episode that airs tonight (January 30). In the episode airing tonight, "Ann and Chris," on Ann (Rashida Jones) and Chris's (Rob Lowe) last night in Pawnee, Leslie (Amy Poehler) throws a grand farewell party and attempts to fulfill one last promise. Meanwhile, Tom (Aziz Ansari), Ben (Adam Scott), Ron (Nick Offerman) and Andy (Chris Pratt) struggle to find the perfect going away gift for Chris.
In "Ann and Chris," a bittersweet day has arrived in Pawnee. Ann and Chris are about to leave Pawnee for good and head north to Michigan. But before this can happen, Leslie is determined to make sure that they get the proper send-off. After all, Ann is Leslie's best friend and she can't let her best friend leave without doing something special for her. It is at this point that we're reminded of how Ann and Leslie met, through flashbacks to the pilot episode, when Ann wanted a giant hole next to her home filled, and Leslie promised to build a park on that land. Now, all these years later, that hole is still there, and Leslie is determined to make good on that promise in the few hours remaining before Ann leaves. Meanwhile, at the farewell party, Chris is leaving and has great gifts for everybody... unfortunately, the gifts that are given to him are woefully disappointing in comparison, leaving everybody scrambling to do something better for him before it is too late.
It is a bit sad to see these two characters leaving the series. Ann has been an important part of the series since the very beginning, and although Chris didn't come in until the end of the second season, he has also become a very important part of the series. It is one thing to see one major character leave a series, but much more for two to leave at the same time. Sadly, I feel like the exit of these two characters from the series came with an episode that wasn't quite up to the Parks and Recreation standards. The episode seemed to somewhat drag on without much of a story aside from "Ann and Chris are leaving." I did, however, enjoy how they brought the series back to the promise that Leslie made to Ann in the very first episode. It seems that story somewhat faded into our memories over the years, but Leslie finally did make good on that promise. As for the series itself, if it can withstand the ratings slump it has been in (and it appears that NBC has given it a vote of confidence that it will, something that I'm very happy to hear), I think that the series can carry on just fine with the remaining cast and perhaps some new players, but I hope that they don't try to artificially fill the roles of Ann and Chris with Ann and Chris clones (as so many series do when a cast member leaves). B-
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Friday, April 19
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 15)
Friday, April 19
- Joey King (Bent) - Watch Joey on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Esther Povitsky (Dollface/Alone Together) and Haley Joel Osment (Future Man/Alpha House/The Jeff Foxworthy Show/Thunder Alley) - Esther and Haley Joel are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Christine Taylor (Search Party/Arrested Development/Hey Dude and David Lascher (Sabrina the Teenage Witch/Blossom/Hey Dude) - Drew is handing the show over to Hey Dude…The 90s Called! Podcast Hosts Christine Taylor and David Lascher to interview her show for a special Drew's Download edition of the show. Christine and Drew reminisce on filming The Wedding Singer together and reveals which role she auditioned for but Drew got instead. Plus, they have a big surprise in store when they reunite Drew with a former castmate on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Michaela Watkins (Dinner with the Parents/Search Party/The Unicorn/Casual/Trophy Wife) and Daniel Thrasher (Dinner with the Parents) - Michaela and Daniel talk about Amazon Freevee's Dinner with the Parents on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Lauren Ash (Not Dead Yet/Superstore/Super Fun Night) - Lauren talks about ABC's Not Dead Yet on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- DulcĂ© Sloan (The Great North) - DulcĂ© shares easy Mother’s Day craft gift ideas on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Alison Brie (Community/GLOW) - Alison is a guest on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
New on DVD/Blu-ray
12/05 - Father Knows Best - The Complete Series
12/05 - The Odd Couple - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/12 - The Dick Van Dyke Show - The Complete Series
12/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)
12/12 - That Girl - The Complete Series
12/15 - Letterkenny - Season 11
12/19 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Official Restored Complete Series
12/22 - Three's Company - The Official 40th Anniversary Collection (includes The Ropers and Three's a Crowd)
01/09 - South Park - Seasons 11-15 (Blu-ray)
01/16 - Ghosts (UK) - Season Five
02/13 - Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/27 - The Really Loud House - Season One
03/12 - Ghosts (UK) - The Complete Series
03/12 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
03/12 - Rick and Morty - Season 7 (Blu-ray Steelbook) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
04/03 - Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series (VEI)
04/08 - Check It Out! - The Complete Series (VEI)
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