TV Review: 'Parks and Recreation' season premiere recap: '2017'

Welcome,Parks fans, to the futureand to the beginning of the end. Last season's feel-good finale ended with a surprise twist as the Parks and Rec universe leaped forward to 2017. The Knope-headed Pawnee branch of the National Parks Department was humming, the Knope-Wyatt triplets (2 sons, 1 daughter) were toddlers, Jerry was Terry, and an employee more incompetent than Jerry had been hired and fired (Ed, we hardly knew ya). Before jumping into the meat of the premiere, let's check in with our favorite Pawneeansthree years into the future.

Leslie Knope: Running the Pawnee office of the National Parks Service. Oversees over 1,200 people, all tireless creative geniusesexcept Terry and Ed (John Hamm). She's got bangs and is nursing a hell of a grudge.

Ron Swanson: Left the Parks Department two years ago to run his own company, the Very Good Building and Development Company.

Ben Wyatt: Still working happily in Pawnee city government, and being awarded Man of the Year for spearheading the Pawnee Bicentennial Celebrationhis biggest civic endeavor since the Icetown fiasco.

Tom Haverford: Tom's Bistro has taken off, and its eponymous owner is officially a mogul, named one of 35 under 35 by Indiana Business Monthly. Owns four eateries including the Tommy Chopper (chopped salads served from a decommissioned military helicopter). His fashion sense hasn't changed at all.

Andy Dwyer: Working part-time for Leslie and starring in his own TV show, The Johnny Karate Super Awesome Musical Explosion Show. Sprained a shoulder cleaning out a gutter.

April Ludgate-Dwyer: Also working for Leslie, purchasing renters' insurance, and no longer eating cereal out of frisbees, much to her horror. Deeply concerned that she's become boring.

Terry (Larry/Jerry/Gary) Gergich: Works for Leslie, still the office punching bag. Renamed Terry because there was already a Larry at National Parks. Appears as Mailman Barry/literal punching bag on The Johnny Karate Super Awesome Musical Explosion Show.

Donna Meagle: Running Regal Meagle Realty and freshly engaged to paramour Joe.

With that out of the way, let's get into it. The premiere picks upright where we left off in season 6, with Leslie talking a mile a minute to an ever-patient Ben en route to a meeting. Advancing Leslie toruna branch of the National Parks Service was an important move for a character whose ambition and skill had outgrown the municipalParks Department. But it should surprise no one that she still takes an interest in the doings of Pawnee, particularly when those doings could include the creation of a new national park right in her belovedcity.

Here is the original post:
TV Review: 'Parks and Recreation' season premiere recap: '2017'