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
Thursday, January 30
Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "Diet Crap" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Tensions rise when Georgie intrudes on Mandy’s new sales gig. Meanwhile, Audrey’s conflicted when Jim makes it a point not to coddle Connor.
Ghosts - "The Not-So-Silent Partner" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Sam and Jay are forced to cover when Mark demands to meet the silent investor in Jay’s restaurant who has been holding up construction.
Animal Control - "Hot Dogs and Lobsters" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Trivia night turns wild for Animal Control when Frank and Emily team up; Victoria's sister visits from New Zealand; Patel finally garners attention when he subs in as bartender.
Going Dutch - "Nazi Hunters" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
The troops of Stroopsdorf participate in their quarterly war games; when an unidentified drone hovers over the base, The Colonel recruits Captain Maggie, Major Shah and Sergeant Dana to take a trip to the owner's house to confirm he is not a spy.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 27)
Thursday, January 30
- Pamela Anderson (Home Improvement/Stacked) - Catch Pamela on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Will Sasso (Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage/United We Fall/Mom/$#*! My Dad Says/Less Than Perfect) - Will appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Pete Davidson (Bupkis) - Pete drops by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Will Forte (HouseBroken/MacGruber/The Last Man on Earth/The Cleveland Show) - Will is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Conner O'Malley (Shrill) - Conner stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Will Ferrell (The Office) - E! News has an interview with Will at 11pm on E!.
- Garcelle Beauvais (The Other Black Girl/Survival of the Thickest/The Jamie Foxx Show/Merry Happy Whatever) - Garcelle stops by an interview on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Isla Fisher (Wolf Like Me) - Isla is telling Drew about her latest film Dog Man on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- George Wallace (Clean Slate/The Parkers/Arli$$/Tall Hopes) - George stops by to tell Sherri about his new show Clean Slate on Amazon Prime on Sherri, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
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