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
Monday, November 9
St. Denis Medical - "Is That a Dinosaur?" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Ron refuses to be babied on his first day back; Alex faces off with Val over some I.O.U.'s; Bruce deepens his relationship with Dr. Emerson.
The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins - "The Spaghetti Loop" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Tobin and Rusty both attempt to become financially independent of the Dinkins family, but Reggie has other ideas.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 9)
Monday, November 9
- Andy Richter (Andy Barker, P.I./Quintuplets/Andy Richter Controls the Universe) - Watch Andy on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Pete Davidson (Bupkis) - Pete is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep/The New Adventures of Old Christine/Watching Ellie/Seinfeld/Day by Day) - Julia appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Caroline Rhea (Sydney to the Max/Sabrina the Teenage Witch/Pride & Joy) - Caroline will be on Funny You Should Ask at 12:37am on CBS.
- Rachel Dratch (Grimsburg/Imaginary Mary/30 Rock), Sara Foster and Erin Foster (Producers of Nobody Wants This) - Andy Cohen interviews Rachel, Sara and Erin on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10pm on Bravo.
- Danielle Fishel (Girl Meets World/Boy Meets World), Rider Strong (Girl Meets World/Boy Meets World/Julie) and Will Friedle (Boy Meets World) - Danielle, Rider and Will are guests on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
- Rose Byrne (Platonic/Physical) - Rose talks about The Good Daughter on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
- Bobby Moynihan (The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins/Mr. Mayor/Me, Myself & I) - NBC's Today catches up with Bobby in the 9am hour.
- Julianne Moore (Sirens) - NBC's Today catches up with Julianne in the 10am hour.
- Ali Wong (Big Mouth/American Housewife/Are You There, Chelsea?) and Stephanie Hsu (Laid) - Ali and Stephanie talk about Steps on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Niecy Nash-Betts (Reno 911!/Getting On/The Soul Man/Do Not Disturb) - Niecy tells Drew all about the upcoming season of All's Fair on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
08/25/26 - Perfect Strangers - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/08/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 3 (Blu-ray)
09/22/26 - Bridget Loves Bernie - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/29/26 - Happy's Place - Season Two (Blu-ray) (DVD)
10/20/26 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Fifth Season (DVD)
10/20/26 - The Brady Bunch - The Complete Original Series (2026 Release) (DVD)
10/20/26 - The Quick Draw McGraw Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
10/20/26 - Shrinking - The Complete First and Second Seasons (DVD)
10/20/26 - South Park - The Complete Twenty-Seventh and Twenty-Eighth Seasons (DVD)
11/03/26 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete Second Season (DVD)
11/03/26 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Ninth Season (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/03/26 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Sixteenth Season (DVD)
11/03/26 - Superstore - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/24/26 - The Yogi Bear Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
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