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Parks and Recreation

Eagleton

Season 3, Episode 12, Aired May 05, 2011

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A fence is put up between Pawnee and its neighboring town Eagleton which sparks an old rivalry for Leslie. Meanwhile, Ron is upset to learn that the Parks crew has learned it's his birthday.

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8.0

"Great"

By Canogaparkcindy, Oct 08, 2011

Okay, so the whole story line was a bit far-fetched but it remained consistently funny, and better than The Office. Something that this show seems to always pull off. We got a lot of funny gags like the rich jail cell or the difference in the public meetings.

Finally, after 11 episodes of watching Ann with some guy, she has a story line involving Leslie. That's definitely something to write home about. The birthday surprise was really great, it was definitely unexpected.

We got a really nice moment between Ron & Leslie too, something the show had been lacking of recently. Overall, solid installment from Parks and Recreation, but as all of us know, this isn't unusual.moreless
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Leslie faces her old friend, who runs the rival town Eagleton.

8.8

"Great"

By JaCkKbAuEr2424, May 14, 2011

I'm pretty sure Eagleton has been mentioned in previous episodes of the show, but never to the extent that it was today. Here, we got an episode that not only reminds of why Pawnee is the funnest town in television but also reminds us of why we love these characters so much. We've gotten dozens of Ron/Leslie moments here, but the ones in this episode were among the best.

I've always thought that Parks and Recreation is able to get away with all the extremely goofy moments that it does because right from the get-go, in order to differentiate it from The Office, it made sure people knew that this was going to be a show that wasn't afraid to do ridiculous things despite the documentary format. As a result, we get Leslie doing ridiculous things to get back at Eagleton for placing a fence in the middle of a park that Pawnee and Eagleton share. In the middle of this is Leslie's old friend, who in the process of taking a job as the Parks Department Director of Eagleton, has become snobbish. She goes as far as to feed one of JJ's waffles to her dog, something that pushes Leslie over the edge, tackling her old friend into a pile of trash and fighting (Andy yelling "Garbage fight!" and hitting Tom with a bag of garbage was the highlight of my week.

We also got a great subplot involving Ron's birthday being discovered by Leslie and with Ron worrying that Leslie is going to go over the top, something that scares Ron to death. I loved watching Ron grow more and more anxious as his birthday approaches, and when we learn that Leslie, all along, was planning on simply letting Ron have a dinner with his favorite food and his favorite movies, you can't help but marvel at how great these characters have become since Season 1. They all have their strengths and have grown into their own.

I also have to comment on how well the show has used Ben and Chris. Some people may not be huge fans, but I've always liked Adam Scott in everything, and his role as Ben Wyatt here has been a stand-out. Obviously him and Leslie have chemistry, but his facial expressions at Pawnee's suggestions for what to do with the fence ("We should light it on fire and burn it down.") and Eagleton's snobbiness were classic, and as for Chris, seeing him kiss Ron right on the mouth was hilarious, especially Ron's reaction.

I'd say that this ranked among the better episodes of the season. It had some stand-out lines from every character (except maybe Jerry) and also brought us even deeper into the mythology of Pawnee. It's quickly becoming one of the best towns to watch, even if its people are shorter and eighty pounds heavier on average...moreless
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The Fence

8.5

"Great"

By sh811a, May 11, 2011

This is another good episode if once again not a hard hitter but close. I like the plot a fence it's true it's absurd, it's sort of their version of the Berlin Wall, though I don't think that fence does much good when all people would have to do is simply go around it or over it, though I heard they have security posted for it but even that wouldn't do much good since you could get past them by not going on one side of the park at all and simply driving to the other side.

I really loved getting a glimpse of Eagleton for the first time, in a way that place is what Shelbyville is to Springfield on "The Simpsons" sort of an alternate version of Pawnee but with them things are better and cleanner. There was the little issue of class conflict brought up, the people from Eagleton are from the upper class which makes them a bit snobby when one woman at the meeting scene said something disrespectful I thought, well may'be Pawnee would be cleaner if you got off your butt and spent your money to fund the process instead of buying another yaut, car, or whatever else you don't need. I can honestly never understand that kind of prejudice.

I really like Parker Posey in her role, that actress has always been known to play strange characters, in this show she fits right in. She is a good antithsis for Lesile because both do want the best for the town they represent their just on different sides of the spectrum. My favorate moment is when she feeds her dog a walfee which was from Pawnee to her dog and that is the last straw for Lesile and then both of them fight in the garbage. And of course it's even funnier when we see Lesile go to the Eagleton jail which was supprisingly the nicest jail I've ever seen, I almost wouldn't mind visiting that every once in a while. Comic Silver

But in the end Leisle figures out a rather odd but well meaning compromise. Where she makes her side of the park with the fence into a Softball stadium and if anyone ever hits balls over the fence the kids from Eagleton whom are playing would fetch those balls and throw them back to the other side, even though all they could do is just get another ball from the supply bucket they carry. But this odd solution sort of teaches both factions to work together and creates unity. And Leisle and Parker Posey's character make peace, for now anyway.

But I really loved that sub plot with Ron whom for some weard reason doesn't want anyone to know when his birthday is. It goes so far as to blot out the information from the goverment. In a way this sub plot kinda plays out a bit like a suspense thriller, Ron is the spy and Lesile and the rest are the spy hunters trying to nail him. It was just funny seeing Ron in a state of fear and how he is physically breaking down a bit, and we see the days Monday and Wednsday displayed sort of an homage joke to "The Shining". I could sort of emphaisize with Ron, there are people out their that really don't like parties for their birthday but quiet celebrations, I like quiet celebrations myself. But in the end it turns out to be a plesent supprise and also shows how true the friendship between Ron and Lesile is.moreless
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Amy Poehler as Lesley Knope on Parks and...

© 2011 NBCUniversal, Inc.
Amy Poehler as Lesley Knope and Rashida ...

© 2011 NBCUniversal, Inc.
Parker Posey as Lindsay Carlisle Shay on...

© 2011 NBCUniversal, Inc.
Aziz Ansari as Tom Haverford, Chris Prat...

© 2011 NBCUniversal, Inc.

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- April: Hey Ron, how's the street parking at your house? Can you handle like 20 cars or a double decker party bus?
  Ron: There is no street parking at my house. My house is not even on a street.
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- Ron: I don't like loud noises and people making a fuss. And I especially don't like people celebrating because they know a bit of private information about me.
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- Leslie: Do you remember what you said to me five years ago when Eagleton offered me that job and I asked you for your advice? Ron: Do whatever the hell you want. What do I care? Leslie: Right, but then after, when I pressed you, what did you say? Ron: I believe I said that I thought we worked well together, and that I might disagree with your philosophy but I respected you. And I said that you'll get a lot of job offers in your life but you only have one hometown. Leslie: Yes, that's how I remember it.
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