S06E11 - New Beginnings

Live from Pawnee: A Parks and Recreation Fan Rewatch Podcast

This week Mark and Allen break down the Episode where Ben has his first day as Pawnee City Manager! As Leslie returns to her position as Deputy Director of Parks and Rec on a full-time basis, she expects everything to be the same as it was when she left. However, she instead sees many differences: April is handling Animal Control with ease, and Tom's firing on all cylinders in his new role of Business Liaison. Tom mentions his project to enlist a juice company to run a lemonade stand in one of Pawnee's parks to replace a retiring hot stew chef, and states he will be pitching the idea to the Pawnee Small Business Coalition. While somewhat impressed with Tom's initiative, Leslie is NOT impressed with Tom's decision to do things HIS way, instead of following her presentation guidelines that have been a Parks Department staple for 10 years. Worried Tom will fail in his presentation, Leslie decides to convince the hot stew chef to NOT go into retirement, deciding to represent him, and ultimately planning to go head-to-head with Tom in front of the Small Business Coalition. Meanwhile, Ben has an open house on his first day as Pawnee City Manager. He attempts to show everyone (particularly April, Andy, and Donna) that he is very cool, calm, and laid back. However, he ALSO implements a number of new rules to assert his position as a no-nonsense boss. Sensing Ben is wound very tight, the trio decide to prank him with a false arrest to "lighten him up". Two Pawnee police officers end up escorting a terrified Ben down to the station, trumping up ridiculous charges the whole way, until Ben thinks he'll never see the light of day again ... until April, Andy, and Donna come to the police station and reveal the prank. Even though the trio thinks it's hilarious, Ben is NOT amused. Finally, in the middle of taking pictures around City Hall to show their unborn baby where they met, Chris and Ann consider their situation and their plans for the future, and spontaneously decide they should get married. They head to a jewelry store in Pawnee, where they begin shopping for an engagement ring. Listening to another engaged couple also shopping there, they realize how much forethought is typically put into something like this, and start to question not only whether or not they want to buy the ring, but whether or not they want to get married. As always, we tackle the tough questions, such as ... Can Tom get his lemonade stand idea going? Did Ben pee his pants at the police station? Will Ann and Chris decide to get married? What will happen to the hot stew stand? Will Ben try to do anything in retaliation? What will Ann and Chris buy at the jewelry store? Will Leslie be able to get back into the rhythm of things? Did Andy like the illegal french cheese? Will Jerry die of cracker-dust inhalation? Loyal viewers, Mark and Allen are really on their game during this episode - tune in and enjoy! (EDIT BY CONSTANTINE: Subtle, guys.) Many thanks to our incredible sponsor, "Strackwell Hardware".