(S6Ep20) One in 8,000!

Did you know Mike Schur doesn't love Hawaiian Pizza? Such an informative, jam-packed episode and this is just the beginning of the end! (Of Season 6) ALSO the similarities I found between Friends (the TV show) and Parks is kind of hilarious! 

Deleted scenes, a TON of blooper reel scenes, surprises (and reproductive information) at the doctor's office, Keegan Michael Key AND guest star voice memos?! WHAT A DAY! Plus, the writers did such a great job showing us the amazing love and balance that Leslie and Ben share. 

Thank you so much to Teresa Reilly aka Kitty Goodbye, our pharmacist that tells Leslie she most likely doesn't have the flu. What an amazing memory and the joy of her story is SO fun and wonderful. 

Teresa: https://www.teresa-reilly.com/about

Thank you also to Caroline Hall, our lovely "crying mom" at the elementary school with Keegan Michael Key! Amazing mic pack stories, and working with Keegan plus, the surprise person she knew before she got to set! 

Caroline: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1009439/

Kevin Symons aka Dexhart Interview: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yhyQxuvSFo

Cooper Thornton aka Cooper Thornton Interview: 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/our-conversation-with-cooper-thornton-aka-dr-harris/id1551856074?i=1000569857241

Sources: 

IMDB.com

https://www.reproductivefacts.org/news-and-publications/fact-sheets-and-infographics/multiple-pregnancy-and-birth-twins-triplets-and-high-order-multiples/#:~:text=Also%2C%20more%20women%20are%20waiting,multiples%2C%20especially%20with%20fertility%20treatment.

https://www.huggies.com/en-us/resources/getting-pregnant/pregnancy-planning/fraternal-triplets#:~:text=Eat%20a%20diet%20which%20is,11%20to%2015%2Dplus%20pounds.

Transcript

Holly Constant
Alrighty, hello everyone, welcome in. my gosh, we have such an incredible episode. There's just truly so much to do. So I'm just gonna dive right in and then if we miss anything or I have to do some recaps, this is the start of the episodes that they threw so much in, which they should. It's the second to last episode before the penultimate, is that the word?

episode before all of the finales. The finales are coming up next and if you follow our social media you know how much they have stacked in these finales. This is insane. And I say finales plural because we'll talk about it a little bit later but it was you know one episode and then it kind of is credited as two. But anyhow so as a recap and also first of all Maddie's not with me today she may be able to join me later but she did send in a summary so at least we have that.

But she'll definitely be here for the finales, I hope. We shall see. But as a recap, so Teresa Riley, who played the pharmacist that asks Leslie if it could be anything other than the fever. So this was during flu season. And she also had a deleted scene that was actually aired on the Peacock version, but she had a deleted scene where she said Leslie could die. And it's her first day that.

also was not true. Last episode I looked it up and that whatever she said was not true. that was a funny line that she said it was her first day. But anyhow, Teresa plays the character name is Kitty Goodbye, first name Kitty, last name Goodbye. And she sent us in a great voice memo. So let's go ahead and take a listen to that. Fair warning, it is kind of long, but I'm excited to hear it all. So I might pause in the middle and everything.

Holly Constant (06:08.516)
my gosh, I'll pause it right there. That is so fun. my gosh, amazing. First of all, yeah, I love the audition feedback of just try to be real. Just try to be like a human person because I've run into that all the time. I think a lot of us that are really expressive and excited definitely get that energy across that we're just like, it's too hard to be like a real normal, like grounded person. Speaking of the word grounded, yeah, that's if you're an actor, you know that word grounded.

that's in every single breakdown description of every character ever, especially for commercials when like it's kind of hard to be grounded because the writing is just so like outlandish sometimes but

Yeah, just be like a normal human being, which makes a lot of sense because the comedy, a lot of the times, comes from these people being real humans that just think that whatever they're saying is true. And that makes it even funnier. So yeah, it's really hard to do. I do love the confidence of coming out into the waiting room. that was, you're like, sorry, I booked it. I feel really good about that. yeah, that's cool that you got a chance to get that direction and do something different. We don't get that a lot these days with how self-tapes are.

Every now and again you'll get it, but a lot of the times if you didn't do the exact right thing the first time you're just kind of like the casting directors just don't have time anymore to be like let's try it a different way. So yeah, maybe if you get the call back, but yeah, anyhow. Hilarious about the anxiety for trying to get there on time. This is absolutely me. I absolutely relate. Thinking that traffic is gonna be terrible. I've done this.

and then thinking I'll be late because of something else that happened. then I do this, I used to do this with the airport and then you get there early. I would be like at the airport three hours early in front of my gate, like already through security and everything. Cause I just feel like the anxiety is crazy. And to be truthful, I think that's better. I mean, I know it doesn't really help with the mental state, but for me, I think it helps because in a way, because it's like, at least you're there. At least you know that you have known, you've taken everything.

Holly Constant (08:15.84)
in control that you can control, you know what I mean? you know, so I totally get it. my gosh. And that is an early call time. That is a really early call time. Yeah, but nobody's out at 430 in the morning in LA. That's so funny. But yeah. my gosh. OK. And great tidbits on the costume fitting and how fast it all was and that there wasn't time for a costume fitting. I like that a lot. OK, let's keep listening.

Holly Constant (14:18.934)
Yay! my gosh. Okay, I'm gonna pause it right there so that we can fully immerse ourselves in Amy introducing herself to you. First of all, my gosh, the trailer. Love that. Your first trailer, your first co-star. That's so exciting. I can't imagine. And I feel like, I don't know, the way that you're describing it too, I can feel it in my body as well, how exciting this is, because I'm a huge fan of Amy Poehler as well and the show and everything. So the amount of excitement that you must have had to kind of like, not tamper, but just kind of keep in check so that you were still able to focus and do your

job. can absolutely imagine that. my gosh. Funny about learning about like an airplane toilet in the trailer. I don't think I ever knew. I mean that would make sense because it's like an RV essentially. You know what I mean? So really funny tidbit on that.

So funny that you guys had the same idea for your costumes. I love that you were on the same page. That works out so well. I bet the costume designer was so excited. Like, great, we're done. Yeah, I would have been starstruck with Amy too. And yeah, that makes absolute sense the way you're mentioning it. It was really early. She had kids. And even if she didn't have kids, it was like, I'm just trying to get my life together. I mean, we do that at the, if you work in an office job too. It's like you're not really trying to talk to anybody or.

complete any tasks until you've had your coffee and you can like feel like a human. So I totally understand that. But also I see the other side too where you're just like, my gosh, I want to say hi to her though and like make her know that like, first of all, I love her. But second of all, this is going to go so well. I'm so excited. Like I know my shit and I'm going to make you so proud. I I would have absolutely been starstruck, but it almost kind of sounds like Steve Carell too, which is another great, you know, leader of a show.

because Steve Carell from The Office has been known from his other co-stars talking about how he's not like, know, super like crazy, outgoing, bubbly all the time when he's outside of his trailer or in between takes or episodes or whatever. Like a lot of the times he's really just calm and just trying to lead the ship and get his shit right and focus and work and all that kind of stuff. But very, very kind and nice, but not like, you know.

Holly Constant (16:26.974)
his character, you know what mean? Like what you would think Michael Scott would be, you know what mean? Which is really interesting and cool and I like learning that. Yeah matching that dynamic at 5 30 a.m would be really hard to do. Love of Ann's story to location, my gosh so many details. I love this memory that Teresa has that

It's just so detailed for how long ago it was. And I think that probably has to do with how excited you were. I'm sure you can remember the feelings in your body as you're telling this story. So that is so cool. I'm so excited to be getting all these amazing details. And so fun that you and Nick had a moment and could bond over theater. Because yeah, Nick has definitely talked about this before. And we've heard from other people in the van that Nick, in particular, is so like, hey, I was a theater actor just bopping around.

I'm just like, you know, trying to be a working actor. And he kind of always stayed that way. He was like, I know I'm on a TV show now, but I still am just like a regular old, you know, actor guy that's trying to make his way. So I really love how nice he has been to the co-stars. Okay, let's continue.

Holly Constant (24:20.374)
Yay, Teresa, thank you so much. That was so lovely. I'm so glad we listened to all of it. my gosh. And the fact that you remembered so much is truly astounding and amazing and impressive. my gosh. Thank you so much. Yeah, it sounds like it was a short time. I took notes as I was listening. It sounds like it was a very short time for the actual shooting of the scene. You said it was like 30, 45 minutes, which makes total sense because by this time, I think with the costar roles, they really took only like an hour from everyone that I've heard of like tops.

If they did a bunch of takes, maybe it would take like two hours. But by this point, they really knew what they were doing. They knew what they wanted. And I will say to your point about the improv, that's first of all, I loved the jokes. think those jokes that you came up with would have been fantastic if they maybe had more time or whatnot. However, I will say it's so hard not to take it personally and not to be like kind of like.

dear, I did something wrong because you absolutely didn't. And secondly, it was nice the way that Nick handled it. And I think that Ken Whittingham, who's also director, has done that. speaking, because Ken just directed, I think, our last episode or maybe the episode before. Regardless, so when I've been hearing from co-stars lately, they don't

I could be wrong, but they haven't done as many fun runs, which is, if you're new here, when you do all the takes that you need to do scripted and then you can have some fun with it and improv with it, they haven't been doing as many fun runs in these later seasons. And I think, again, it's because they're jamming packing the episode, jam packing the episode. So they don't really have time for a ton of improv. Number two, they are...

not having as many or they have too many co-stars I feel to do that. And number three, they know what they're doing now. They know what they want. Whereas I feel like in the first couple of seasons, they could kind of just like play and see kind of what the tone was and just like add in extra things. But now the writers know what the F they're doing kind of vibes. Not that they didn't at the beginning, but you get what I'm saying where they had a little bit more room to play a little bit of wiggle room. You know what mean? Because they're still playing and being creative. But yeah, that makes sense.

Holly Constant (26:27.63)
Yeah, the gummy bears. That's so funny. you're, the deleted scenes. Yes, I did mention this in the last time. If you didn't know, Teresa, if you're listening to this, you your scene actually is in the peacock version, the full episode, the full scene that you had. Yes, it is. It was cut in the original air. And I definitely make note of this because if I see a deleted scene on the DVDs, I record it and then share it with the podcast.

but this one is actually on Peacock. So take a look for that if you want to put it on your reel or just whatever, just if you want to relive that memory. my gosh, I love that very much. Love that, you know, the book that Amy Poehler was writing. I did not really even put that together or look up when she wrote that book. I obviously have the book. I've read it a couple of times. It's called Yes, Please, if anyone is interested. It's so good. But I didn't know that she was writing it during this, but of course she was. my gosh, of course.

Oh my god, I love that. And yeah, I love that you went back to your car and just said I could die happy because that's exactly how I feel whenever I talk to co-stars and, you know, guest stars and big people from this podcast. It's just like amazing. So what a dream. And yes, I love that. I love that Pratt was nice to you as you were walking. So, oh my gosh. And yeah, you're talking about the emails that you had to come back to and your boss was calling you or whatever when you got back in your car.

getting back to life must have been such a culture shock. Like, wait, what? Why? Why am I doing anything else except for this? What a dream. And yeah, I love that you mentioned that it is just a normal part of life for them and kind of what I talked about with Nick, as far as like, we're just living what we want to do and this is our job and we really like our job and that's that. And we have fun and we go home and live our lives. And it's such a great part of the show that you could be.

So I'm so glad that that worked out. my gosh. Yes, Kitty Goodbye will live in infamy as the pharmacist who tells Leslie that she does not actually have the flu during flu season and leads her to maybe think that she's pregnant. So amazing. my gosh. So well done. I love this very, very much. So thank you, Theresa. And I think you're on Instagram, so I'll go ahead and tag you and I'll link everything in the show notes. That was such a fun and detailed.

Holly Constant (28:48.002)
voice memo, so I appreciate everything. One of the other things she wrote in her email was, it's such a joy to talk about Parks and Rec. It's such a beloved show for good reason and so wonderful it continues to have such loving fans like you. One thing I forgot to mention, maybe the most important thing, is that the cast and crew are exactly as you imagine them to be, absolutely kind, generous, and lovely to work with. And then she attached some photos that she took that morning, notably mostly of the trailer.

She said, you can tell how excited and insanely energized I was. So I'll definitely post those as well in our stories. my gosh, so fun. Thank you so much. Yeah, love that. Okay, the other episode or the other follow up was from the prom episode. I think this is the last prom episode note we have. I just had to say that Ron definitely says airships. If you would listen to that episode, I was like, wait, why did I write airships? Because I had just forgotten, but yes, he definitely says airships.

when we're talking about helium uses. And I did not know what airships were, but they are essentially blimps. But they also have modern airships, which are not used as frequently, but they can carry cargo and passengers. But that's what he means. He means blimps when he says airships, just in case anyone was curious. Okay.

So this episode, one in 8,000, is the last disc before the last two episodes. There's a gag reel on here, and I really need to play these clips. And I'm only playing episodes from the ones that we have already reviewed. And Tom makes a commercial, which I do think could be played in the next episode. But I'm just going to play it for you now, because it's just so lovely. I, oh my gosh, I want you to hear it.

Holly Constant (30:59.214)
my god, that went so fast. really hope he was reading off of something. It didn't have to memorize all that. But it's T Dazzle. It's like T Dazzle, but now it's for Thomas Bistro's where you can get all these breadstick points and all these other grizzle points and whatever. So I just thought that was really interesting and so funny. The next.

one that I'm going to play is that we touched a little bit on this in the recent episodes, but there's a longer version when Andy is telling Ron all his secrets because he knows Ron has the secret of being Duke Silver. And again, I think I said it already, but these are all on the gag reel for this DVD, so for the DVD extra scene. So let me just play this because then they start laughing. I love how long it's gone.

Holly Constant (32:21.486)
Love that they just keep going Andy just keeps going prat just keeps going even though they're laughing in this and all of those pauses are them trying not to laugh which I think is so funny and I just can't get over how many Lines he had that he just kind of either made up or they wrote as alts or whatever. It just keeps going Okay, the next one is about the skates the roller skating party that Ben had for the 90s roller skating party and it's just so funny. my gosh, this is when he comes when

And when Ben comes into Leslie's office and she has the skates

Holly Constant (33:57.039)
I had those were back-to-back so I just recorded them at the same time but my gosh with Adam Scott is basically like orgasming when the skates And then I love that we see John Relfio like was bit Yeah, he was improvising those singing moments because that's not what it ended up originally airing the melody is but not the words And Henry Winkler just laughing. my gosh. Love that. And then we have a Game of Thrones scene gag reel I really have to play that for you

Holly Constant (34:57.582)
Why don't you get a job?

Adam's version or his voice, Clare, what's up, players? He's so serious, so it's so funny and it takes you off guard. Okay, the next one almost over is Officer Kilnose. This is after Ben has been pranked. He's played by Will McLaughlin and he's amazing. They did a little improv moment and yeah, just like we talked about with Teresa, they cut the improv moment, but it was still so funny, so it's in the gag reel. Side note, this is also in Mike Schur's interview about his favorite character names, Officer Kilnose.

So yeah, and then you will hear it, but April slaps Ben. So just wanted to set that up.

Holly Constant (36:06.926)
So Andy was reaching for the gun in Officer Kilmose's belt and he was like, just ask for it, it's fine. And then he gives him the gun and he's like waving it around. And that's why they cut it also because that's dangerous and not good. But I love that they had a little laughing moment. That's cute. Okay, let's see. The last one is not really a gag, but more of an extra behind the scenes with Roblo and Rashida leaving. And I think it's really sweet.

Holly Constant (37:36.447)
That part was the ending part was at the Unity concert when Mouse Rat is playing and Dean is the director of that episode. So that's why he said that. Why Pratt said that. But I do love how sweet and precious Rashida and Rob Lowe's goodbyes were. That's so sweet. And they were both crying and it was really emotional. And I can't imagine how emotional that would have been. my God.

Okay, the last thing before we get to one in 8,000 is not really a gag more or not a gag reel or anything like that. But I did want to follow up on Bo Burnham's role Chip McCapp. I did talk about his career, but I just wanted to reiterate that what he was already doing.

It was this kind of musical comedy before he got on parks and while it's not really stated publicly in any interview that I saw I really think Mike Scherr slash the writer team slash somebody in the crew Reached out to him because he had this similar character in his stand-up already and in his YouTube and it just fits so perfectly I did talk about how he had already had this kind of comedy, but I didn't know it was before the show I thought it was kind of all happening simultaneously, which I guess is also true But he was one of the original YouTube stars like Vine stars. He was way back like

In the early 2000s, mean, when YouTube was just popping off with the influencer vibes, but it wasn't really influencers. It was more so like sketch and comedy scenes and things like that. And he was slash is so popular on that outlet. Much like Jeff Tweedy's character, Scott Tanner for Land Ho, that he was already kind of doing this.

Side note, I think I called Bo Burnham's outside, but it's called Inside, which is so dumb of me because the whole special is about staying inside. So you guys should definitely watch it. It's so good. my gosh. Wonderful. Okay. Well, thank you to Teresa Riley. Thank you guys for listening to this. Thank you for the, thank the crew for the gag reel. my gosh. I had to play all those things. So let's move on then to one and 8,000. Our next episode, Original Airdate, April 17th.

Holly Constant (39:30.529)
2014, this is episode 20 of Parks and Rec of season six. Oh my god, this is crazy. I just can't get over that we are almost to the finale and the finale and this episode is just jam-packed. So this was written by Donnett Carey and Joe Mandi. So both of these people have worked on Parks before. They are writers, producers on the show.

Donnick was also a writer producer for a lot of late night TV, New Girl and The Simpsons. And then Joe Mandy was also a writer producer for The Good Place, Hacks. He is also the guy that I mention every time so that you guys can visualize. He's the one who watches Iron Man on his phone and is like, Leslie's like, Bailiff, take him out. And he's like, it's fine. I'm just, you can get anything on the internet. I'll just see myself out. That's Joe Mandy.

This is directed by our superstar Dean Holland. If you're new here, even though I say it every single time, he is the backbone of editing and the mockumentary style of the office and now parks. And the whole mockumentary style is due in part to Greg Daniels, but the editing part is Dean Holland for sure. It's just like the quick cuts and the mockumentary kind of shaky camera vibes. That's really amazing because he was also a camera operator slash like cinematographer, I believe. I'll fact check that for next week.

Definitely editor. And he's gone on to do amazing, incredible things. So we've seen each of these amazing writer directors before, so not too much is needed to be said. We've got an amazing dream team. So let's go ahead and listen to our summary.

Holly Constant (46:32.254)
Yay, awesome. Yes. my gosh. So many great things. Like I said, they just stuck so much stuff in here. Yay. Dr. Saperstein comes back. I love that. Yeah. Pointing out that it's a small town because we just keep bringing back the same people, which is beautiful. Like, why wouldn't you bring back Henry Winkler? And yeah, sucks that Tom still has him as an enemy, but we, I guess we've moved on because he's the only OBGYN. So what's she going to do? She's not going to drive to, you know, what's the other one?

Snarling, she's not gonna drive a snarling. Yeah, with a one elementary school, yeah, Leslie not being stressed. Yeah, I feel the same way. I'm so proud of her. And it's really interesting because we had just talked about last week where we were in a bulldozing era of Leslie. And so it's really nice that we got a chance to see her take on the stress for Ben.

and not the other way around. And what a great partnership they have. And yes, I have that in my notes too with the McConaughey thing. That is so funny. Yeah, think I know, I don't think I really noticed it either until I analyzed it and was really like paying attention a ton. Because the way he says it is not like McConaughey, so it doesn't really track. But then when you, yeah, when you're reading it or when you notice it, it's like, my gosh, so smart. The writers are great.

And yeah, I'm proud of Andy too for keeping this secret. And a part of me was kind of frustrated with April for saying, you you have to tell me instead of just kind of trusting that Andy is.

keeping this secret for a good reason. I can see both sides. But yeah, my gosh, Joe, my gosh, I have a whole little breakdown on him. I love him so much. It's not really a breakdown. It's just like me expressing how much I love him and how every role he does. I am so excited. my gosh, so wonderful. Okay, yeah, great casting. All right, let's get started, people. So we're at another Unity concert meeting and Ben is saying we need.

Holly Constant (48:28.898)
big ticket items for the auction. April says she got the Red Hot Chili Peppers to sign a signed guitar because she's catfishing Anthony Kiedis, which by the way, if you did not know who that is, he's a singer for Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Side note, I thought it was kind of funny because in Mike Schur's book, he pretty much says that he doesn't like the chili peppers. So I'm not really sure where this came from. Somebody in the writer's room probably likes chili peppers. And Mike Schur was like, my god, OK, fine. I that's what's happening. I don't know if I said this in the last episode, but I finished Mike Schur's book, How to Be Perfect. It's about philosophy and breaking it down with the schools of thought. And it really more so mentions the good place, because that's really what the good place is all about. How do you become a good person?

and get to the good place or get to the bad place. So yeah, very interesting. And that's where he talks about the chili peppers and how he doesn't like that or Hawaiian pizza. Fun tidbits you didn't know about Mike Schur. So they are currently throwing a huge auction to raise money for the Unity concert. They need big fancy things to sell. Leslie has a talking head where she says she wants to raise this money to sing Islands in the Stream with the Sacagawea hologram. dear. I don't know if that's...

appropriate. That might be quite problematic, I feel. But I see her sense of joy and respect for Sacagawea. So that's the only thing that would be really good, probably here. Plus, you this joke of, you you need generators, water microphones, like whatever the boring stuff. You also need that too. Side note, there is a deleted scene here where Jam is having a telethon to raise money for seceding from Pawnee. This was a whole kind of cut plot line, which

To be honest, I'm kind of glad they did. But just keep in mind as you watch this that there's a whole secession going on behind the scenes where, yeah, J.M. and his band of dumbasses, he's basically like the Maga Cult, they are trying to secede and make things worse and just be in their own little land, but they're trying to take people with them. If J.M. wants to go start his own little colony somewhere, okay, fine. But we are not gonna drag Pawnee down with it. You know what I'm saying?

Holly Constant (50:40.246)
And Leslie says this thing that the secessionists are ramping up, which is putting even more pressure on making this concert great and fighting for unity. But I do like this deleted scene because I do like that we get to see who came up with this idea to have the naming rights to the tent and to auction that part off. So I will play it anyway, even though I'm annoyed with Jam.

Holly Constant (51:12.718)
you

I actually don't know where it is.

Holly Constant (52:01.023)
The pressure is on to make this concert even better.

Holly Constant (52:19.584)
screaming about Justin Guarini's disappointing sophomore effort and I find that this metallic blanket calms him down.

Holly Constant (52:57.575)
I thought that was so interesting and different. think that's cool that Madison got to come up with that and that, you know, we still have the kind of millennial attitude being shown here. So I love that. I am glad they cut the jam part because he's really dumb and it's kind of like a scene of him talking to the camera at his tele at the telethon that he's having, which is so weird because he's trying to raise money for the opposite, you know.

cause but anyway a side note Justin Guarini is was I think he was either the runner-up or the second winner of American Idol just in case anyone was interested because if you look up a picture of him which I'll post if you look up a picture of him right now on your phone just Google his name Justin Guarini G U A R I N E R R I

And I, you will absolutely remember who he was because yeah, I looked him up and I was like, my God, I totally remember him. Where'd he go? So it makes sense that Craig would be interested in him. Anyway. okay. So then let's see, Ben gets weird and says, okay, well maybe we should put a pin in this because we got to go do that thing. And it's because of the baby. Ben confirms that Andy hasn't told anyone that Leslie is pregnant. So.

That's good. And Andy can't handle it. He's about to explode from keeping the secret. And I can't believe they brought back Kyle for this short, cute moment. I love that they brought him back because it was so fast. I can't imagine what that day on set was. It was probably just like, you're in and out in like 20 minutes. I mean, he's been in the series forever now. So like I said, they are just bringing back everybody for this small town, like wrap up, if you will. Love that. And his wife is cheating on him. my gosh, poor guy.

So now Leslie's having a doctor's appointment and then they can tell everyone. That's what they're trying to get through to Andy. Like just hold it in for a little bit longer and then we'll make sure that we'll tell everyone and you won't have to keep the secret anymore. But he's like, yeah, sure, whatever. I can keep a secret. And then Andy says that his neighbor has been in witness protection. my gosh, he cannot keep a secret. But also how did Andy even find that out? Like that's on the neighbor, honestly, because the neighbor clearly told him when he shouldn't have told him that.

Holly Constant (55:12.142)
So Ron asks Donna into his office to ask for a favor, which we can tell it pains him to ask for. And of course Donna doesn't let that slide. What? Ron Swanson is asking for help? I love this. Keep your voice down, woman. And then I love that we see the door shutting. I love whenever we get a chance to see the remote control doors.

So we learned that part of the Unity concert is a youth review about the history of Pawnee and he wants her to come to the public elementary school to help make costumes. Side note, just like the Matthew McConaughey thing, I really feel like I did not really put two and two together about the youth review. I kind of feel like that was just kind of, I don't know, a throwaway line. I don't think I really paid attention to that. So that's really interesting that the kids are getting involved too with the history of Pawnee. I think that's a great...

you know, part of the Unity concert. Okay, this is where we learn about slash meet Donna's ex, Joe. She sets him up as this terrible person and asks Ron to help her keep an eye out for him. And they kind of agree to exchange these services for each other. They both share this problem with their exes, which is why Ron is like, yeah, sure, I'll do that. Although we'll soon learn why Tammy and Joe are definitely not at all alike. But like Maddie said, yeah,

They're the same in the sense that each person doesn't like who they are when they are with the significant other, but Tammy's worse. I mean, hands down, hands down, no question, no contest. So $30,000 needs to be raised for this concert or they're in trouble, which is, woof, that's a lot of money, but they can do it. They've done it before. They can absolutely do it. It's just kind of stressful right now because we don't know the end game or if it can, if it's actually like tangibly, we can't see that it's happening yet. You know what I mean? So yeah, they're stressed.

And Ben is like, well, you need to not stress as much with the baby. And Leslie is like, well, I cannot slow down. Like, there is no way. We're doing this in three weeks. Like, we have to keep pushing and keep going. And then I love that line, that little throwaway line of like, wonder how much we could get for that fish in the doctor's office? Like, could we sell that and put that towards the Unity concert? And Dr. Saperstein comes in and interrupts them and says, let's saddle you up and put some jelly on the belly.

Holly Constant (57:30.35)
Yeah, Dr. Zapperstein, very weird, very strange. Love that both of them are like, okay, a little weird. Craig now says he wants to auction off a personalized Johnny Karate song, so Andy needs to be at the auction. But April is like, be careful because you have three shows tomorrow, which is, first of all, that's so cute that he has so many shows. He's gotten really popular. I love that we're seeing.

his job or his side gig thing taking off and is probably making him money. He's really happy doing it. Sounds like obviously it's stressful because there's so much to balance with the Unity concert going on. yeah, and I love that April's like, I'll make you an itinerary so you can keep track of your schedule. That's really sweet because Andy right now is writing everything on his arm, which yikes, that is.

not gonna work. Side note, I don't know if any of you guys watch Friends, but Joey does the exact same thing. He doesn't have as many things going on, Joey, but he writes down that he has to pick up his grandma at the airport and he writes it on his arm and has long sleeves. So I don't know if that was a fun nod to Friends, but Joey and Andy are absolutely similar. They're both artists. They're both a little dumb, but sweet, but so sweet.

So yeah, that's a really funny correlation for me. So anyway, Andy says he has to go back to work now. And yeah, I love this. Back with his body essentially being his itinerary, his inside of his shirt is his office. He's like, I have to go back to work now.

All right, so Donna and Ron are at the elementary school and Donna is taking pictures for blackmail purposes so that she can hold this over Ron's head if she needs to. And then Joe comes over. my gosh, yay. I love that we're meeting Joe. Keegan-Michael Key. my God, he's so super sweet, super nice. We are confused at this point why Donna sees him as a bad guy because she compared Joe to Tammy.

Holly Constant (59:33.203)
So this is not the guy we were thinking he would be. And we're kind of like Ron. We're here like, what are you playing at, friend? Is this a facade that you have and you're actually really terrible? Or are you just really nice and we don't know what to trust? I would do a breakdown on Keegan, but I really feel like you guys know him.

Like I said before, it's not so much a breakdown as it is me just loving everything he's in. And he is in so many things. I mean, when he shows up, it's like, my God, you're in that too. He just recently did a state farm commercial for the Super Bowl with the guy from Righteous Gemstones and Hailey Steinfeld. He was in Modern Family. Of course, he's known for Key and Peele with Jordan Peele.

always makes me laugh. Their sketches are so smart, so funny. They are all over the internet now. I feel like they're having a little bit of a resurgence with like Instagram and TikTok and stuff. But you can always go on YouTube and watch episodes or if you have Comedy Central, that's what it's on too. It's so good and so funny and I just love all of their sketches. They make me laugh so much. Ron is like, to Joe says tread lightly and Keegan's like, or Joe is like, okay. It just has this positive attitude.

So Saperstein says that there's no reason not to be herself. Leslie can continue to do what she needs to do, slash not work any slower. You know, she doesn't need to take it easy. But then we look at the baby, the sonogram picture thing, and surprise, we have twins. And then another surprise, triplets. my god, what?

No, I did not expect this at all. I gotta say, I did not see this coming. Obviously, I've seen the episode before, of course, but I'm just saying, as a first-time viewer, I don't think I would have expected triplets. No, that is so wild, especially with everything else they have going on. But it's also perfect because they've wanted to start their family. So they set it up really nicely, but my god, triplets, that's crazy. And this brings us back to the setup episode, which was four years ago, 2010.

Holly Constant (01:01:35.491)
the episode with Will Arnett, who plays Leslie's date. He does an MRI because of that crazy date that they went on and he's an MRI tech. And he tells her she has a quote, nice oven. Like you could start with triplets. Isn't that crazy? I want to say that that's intentional or not, but I just don't know. It could go either way. Because these writers really do pull back from previous episodes, just like random lines that they had and are like, we mentioned that.

So it could have been. I did not find anything on the internet as far as Mike Scherb being interviewed or anything like that, but maybe I missed it. So if somebody finds it, please let me know. Ben is so stressed at this point, and Leslie is just very smiley. I love that we got two different reactions here with them and their dynamic. It's so interesting how Leslie is like, oh my god, we knocked it out of the park the first time, and Ben just cannot handle it. Like, this is insane.

There is a bit on the gag reel with Adam and Amy and to set it up, it starts with the merger and Chris Trager makes a joke that the beautiful new town is like a baby. So this scene was back when they were in the town hall trying to merge the town or like going over how each town was going to operate now with all logistical things and Chris Trager like leans down to Leslie's belly and is like, oh my God, you're a new town, you're a little baby. And Leslie's like, no. And then

After that, it cuts to Dr. Saperstein in this episode. So I'll just play that for you, because it's amazing.

Holly Constant (01:03:56.709)
my God, I love that! How crazy and wild that we just had that flashback. What a time warp. my God, crazy. I love that that's how she's feeling in real life, even though Leslie is very excited about all of this. gosh. All right, so.

Let's see, okay, so this is where Dr. Saperstein that actually it's not one in a million, because Leslie's like, I knew we were one in a million, now we got the proof. It's actually one in 8,000 for triplets. Leslie says that, yeah.

Holly Constant (01:04:35.84)
And Saperstein is like, they actually occur more frequently than you think, especially at your age. Releasing multiple eggs, and I don't mean to be insensitive. We doctors like to say going out of business sale. my gosh. I had to look it up. I had to know if this was biologically true, if this was false or not. And it turns out that yes.

It is true. Triplets and other higher order multiples are more common in women over the age of 30, particularly those over 35 compared to younger women. And this is due to a higher likelihood of releasing multiple eggs during ovulation and increased use of fertility treatments like IVF, which doesn't apply in this situation for the episode. However, overall triplet rates have declined since their peak in 1998. I'll post all of these links on here. So if you want to read the actual articles, you absolutely can.

Sounds like women over 30 have a higher than average chance of having twins or triplets. Women 40 and older have the highest rates of triplet and higher order births compared to other age groups. I love that they wrote higher order. we only, this is again reminding me of friends when they have twins and she's like, we only ordered one. As women age, the body may produce higher levels of follicle stimulating hormone, which a lot of doctors say FSH as the, as a short term.

shorter term, which can trigger the release of more than one egg during a cycle. Like I said, this is also linked to IVF and fertility drugs, which can cause the release or implantation of multiple embryos, which is similar to when Phoebe and friends did the... my gosh, what's it called? Surrogacy for her brother.

But again, that doesn't apply here, but I just wanted to give you all the information. So while more common in older women, the rate of triplet births have fallen significantly, over 60 % between 1998 and 2023. So it sounds like even though your body may be producing less eggs as you age, your body releases the eggs that you do have during ovulation the older you get. So yeah, was true. Dr. Saperstein knows his stuff. And Ben is freaking out. He is like, what do we do? How do we do this? This is crazy.

Holly Constant (01:06:47.372)
And the doctor is like, forget everything I said, you need to slow down, you do need to rest and not stress. This is not going to be good for your body. And both of them really, because they need to work as a team together. So not just Leslie, because she's the pregnant one, Ben also needs to just calm the fuck down. And then yeah, this is where Dr. Saperstein says you're Matthew McConaughey on a beach in a hammock.

And yeah, I did not really put that together until I was analyzing it either that, yeah, Ben says, all right, three times, all right, all right, all right. But you don't catch it because he says it so differently than Matthew McConaughey would. But definitely intentional has to be. Gosh, yeah, but both of them are stressed in any way because the calmness kind of feels impossible. mean, Leslie is more excited, but you can tell she has some of like a shock. So that's really where her stress is kind of left. And then, you know,

She's trying her best not to behave like her normal self. So she does struggle with this as well. Then we cut to Ben's accounting expertise and he's input all the numbers for three kids, college expenses, know, yearly plans, interest earned, and he is freaking out. Like, it's not good for him. He is really just spiraling. And I love that they're faking their non-stress together. I'll be ready in two flaps of a butterfly's wing.

And I love you. We're so fucking screwed. my gosh, just the quick flip of that dynamic of I'm really calm. Fuck, you know. Also, he threw away the check that he got from the lake house. Why did you do that? It's money. I know he didn't know that they were about to have kids, but it is money. And I know that it was also like a spiritual moment. But I thought of this as this isn't on any like.

know, online forum or anything like that. maybe other fans have thought of this, but I was like, my God, why did you throw your check away? Are you kidding me? my God. But yikes. Okay, so back at the elementary school, Joe is with parents that are crying and they're crying because Joe found their son's dog. He put in so much effort. He made muffins. and at first, Ron thinks that this is a terrible thing because the woman is crying.

Holly Constant (01:09:04.002)
but no, this is just such a beautiful and warming moment. And then this mom is so funny. She cries again when the muffin is the best muffin she's ever had. We got voice memos from this mom. my gosh. She is played by Caroline Hall. Her character name is Barbara Brabra Brar, which, my gosh, is just a mixed up version of Barbara. It's just a word jumble, or letter jumble.

my gosh, I love that so much. She was in Fresh Off the Boat, Monk, The Bridge, another TV show, and then she did, you know, a bunch of other things, theater, and yeah, I mean, she did a great job. I loved it so much. I was like, my god, this lady crying is hilarious. The comedy crying is hilarious. So let's listen to the first voice memo.

Holly Constant (01:10:26.286)
That's awesome. I love that very much. Yeah, really cool tidbit about knowing Mike Scherr and the theater. I studied in Boston, so I know American Repertory Theater, ART, A-R-T is what they call it. And a lot of Broadway shows will start there and kind of get their feet wet and then head to Broadway. But yeah, so cool. I love that little moment. Okay, let's listen to the second one.

Holly Constant (01:12:19.918)
think that was such a fun voice memo. Oh my gosh, you packed in so much information in that short little voice memo. Oh my god, so cute. Yeah, weird about the husband talking to you. I don't know, maybe he was just trying to make conversation, but that's not what we do when we're on set, when cameras are literally in front of us, but I don't know. I'm sure I know it all worked out, so I'm glad that.

It was amazing and I didn't notice anything. So the way they cut it or the way you did it with focus was great. The crying was just hilarious. I did ask Caroline if she had to cry in the audition and what that was like, if she got direction. And she said she didn't really quite remember, but still. she was like, I think she said I'm sure that she did because she had to, it was scripted, that was the character. So I'm sure she did, but.

Yeah, not too much detail there. But my gosh, the detail about your mic falling into the toilet. my gosh. That is such a thing that I don't think people think about because that like, would you if you're not on set? But this happens frequently, especially for theater. my gosh, because you have your costume on and then you have to go to the bathroom and you sometimes people, especially in theater, take off the mic pack or

like just take it off the bra or wherever it is and turn off the mic just in case it's on because you don't want anyone to hear you peeing. But the idea that the sound guy was really nice is very nice and very, my gosh, thank God I'm safe. Like I didn't fuck everything up. You know what I mean? That's really nice because obviously you felt horrible. So it's nice that the sound guy didn't make you feel more horrible.

very very helpful and I'm sure they have like a bunch going on and maybe they could just put it in rice you know what I mean? I they have so many mic packs. With theater it's a little different I feel because they're always on your ass about like we only have this much amount of mic packs we can't just be spending money blah blah blah so you have to be like intense about it I feel but

Holly Constant (01:14:22.658)
Who cares? I'm glad that it all worked out and I love that story so much. So thank you so much, Caroline. I love the crying lady. That's what I'm gonna call you. I know your name is technically Barbara in the show, but the crying lady with Keegan is your official name to me. That's a really good muffin. my God, love it. Okay, so now we're at a Johnny Karate show and it turns out it's Dex Heart's kids.

He doesn't know which kid's birthday it is because he just gets all of his kid's birthdays out of the way on one day. I love the sign that says, birthday various Dexhearts. my God, just very like, it is your birthday vibes from the office. Except for this time, it's at least not brown and beige and gray.

But yeah, the fact that he has so many kids with so many different women and all the women are there too. That was so funny. The shot of all the ladies like just glaring at Dexheart and my God, that was really funny. Ladies, I love his line there. So I did message Kevin Simons, just a friendly reminder. We did do a full interview with him a long time ago and he is so not Dexheart by the way. He's so sweet, so nice. And he kept in touch with me frequently when he was on the episode or when he was on the show frequently, you know, kind of back to back.

So this is the first time I've reached out to him in a while and it was so nice. So I'll post the link to his episode in our show notes because it was really, really great and he gave us so much great information. So anyway, let's see, what did he say? yeah, he emailed me back. He said that he's been auditioning for theater here and there and still auditioning for TV and film in LA and New York because he actually moved. So he doesn't live in LA anymore.

As far as the scene in one in 8,000, again, I'm reading his email. This is what he said. As far as the scene in one in 8,000, I love that Dexheart has so many children with different women that he just throws one big party a year for all of them. Hilarious. We shot on location in someone's house out in the San Fernando Valley. There were children running around everywhere on set and the shot of all the ladies that are the mothers glaring at Dexheart is so funny. And then just.

Holly Constant (01:16:31.746)
This is where I'm stopping reading the email really fast. There is a scene in the gag reel where Jim O'Hare is actually talking while they're shooting. And I will play that for you after I finish Dexheart's email, but that's what he's about to talk about. So I just wanted to preface it. He says, the best thing I remember is what you mentioned from the blooper reel.

Chris Pratt and Aubrey Plaza were filming a scene in the kitchen and Jim O'Hare is talking to the kids in full voice while he's setting up some speakers, very clumsily if I recall. It was so loud and distracting that they had to stop the scene in the kitchen. It was truly a Jerry Gurgich moment in real life and Jim was so embarrassed. I got to spend a lot of time with Jim that day talking about our careers and we're still friends to this day. I was a guest on his podcast, Parks and Recollection also, such a nice person.

Hope that helps. Let me know if you need anything else. Always happy to help. Side note, I don't know where Parks and Rec Collection went. They took a break and I haven't seen them come back. But I'm glad that he was on that because they always end up talking about different things that maybe I didn't cover. it was a nice kind of back and forth of a research moment. But yeah, I don't know what happened. But yeah, OK, let me see if I can find this blooper reel for you.

Holly Constant (01:18:35.405)
Okay, I'll do it again. But yeah, I just love when he's like, my gosh, we're shooting over here. then Aubrey's like, why don't we just fire him? my God. And I love that he's talking to the kids. Jim O'Hare was having a nice moment with the kids and kind of like being sarcastic of like, you know, don't save anyone else. That was really funny.

Okay, let's see. So April's going over the itinerary. can take, Andy can take a wet nap shower in the car in between. So funny. my gosh, a wet nap. I love that Andy responds with, yeah, good. need one.

Holly Constant (01:19:16.195)
Let's see, and this is where Andy won't tell the secret. I'm so proud of him. Like Maddie said, this is so hard to do, especially when you love the person that you're keeping the secret from. You know what I mean? Like, that sucks. And so to not be able to share in this, especially when it's something joyful too, I don't know, it sucks. But I love this, that he keeps making up stories and keeps making up.

not lies, you know what I mean? So he says Jerry is sick from a disease and April actually says poor guy, which shows growth and kind of a shock for me, like that April is actually feeling empathy or sympathy even for Jerry, which goes on even longer than we would have thought. So anyhow, let's see. Then we're at the auction and Leslie is doing this so slowly saying the auction things very calmly.

so that she can stay calm and not stressed. But this is the opposite of how we need auctions to go. This is not how you sell things. Two VIP tickets sell for only $50, which as Craig says, that is less in face value. Like that's no good. Also, why didn't Craig just do it? Like Leslie can give up this job for the Go to the Unity concert. That's totally fine. Craig could do it. I mean, I know he might get mad at people, but he would definitely have the energy and like the vibes that you need for an auction. You know what I mean? I think he could hold it together to not like

scream at people meanly, he would just be screaming for the good of the Unity concert. You know what mean? But it's okay. The tiny gavel bump does make me laugh though when she puts the gavel down so quietly. Ben says that he's the stress ShamWow. And for those young people who don't know, ShamWow is a towel cleaning thing and he's clearly losing his mind. I had to go back and watch the infomercials for ShamWow because

My god, you guys, like, it was such a huge part of the infomercial world. I don't think that many people see it now because that was like such a cable TV thing. But I do want to say that the name for ShamWow comes from the word shammy, which is a real word. A shammy is a highly absorbent, soft and durable cleaning cloth originally made from sheepskin or chamoy, I think that's how you pronounce it, leather, though often synthetic in modern high performance versions. It is prized for streak.

Holly Constant (01:21:29.679)
drying of cars, boats, and household surfaces capable of holding up to 30 times its weight in liquid. Who'd have thunk it? That's crazy. So that's why it's called ShamWow. Shammy. Wow. I did want to play an infomercial for you. I just have to, you guys. Listen.

Holly Constant (01:22:52.655)
Watching this without the visual of the video and just hearing the audio is so freaking hilarious. So many things. The RV, yeah, because everybody has an RV that you need to dry off. Everybody would love to have the Olympic diver level towel. my gosh, so funny. You follow me, camera guy? my God. And then it ends. It goes on for so much longer, but it ended with the like.

testimonials from people. It seems like they're at like some farmers market situation and people are giving like their testimonies of like, my gosh, I would never use anything else. I have to buy like 20 of these because they're so good and I use them for everything. my God. I just, it's so funny. You know, the Germans make really good things. What? Who? It's just like such chaos. It's so funny. So I had to play that for you. Okay.

So he says that, Ben says that Leslie's already the queen of stress. This is where the ShamWow line comes in. So he says, now I have to soak up her stress and then when the kids are born, someone can squeeze me out into a bucket. And Adam Scott does such a good job of being like, just spiraling. He is overwhelmed, burnt out with this thought and he is just losing it.

So back at the school, the kids are being very loud, running around while Ron has sharp tools. And Joe steps in to sing this listening song. my God, I love this. Eyes are watching, ears are listening, lips are closed, hands are still, feet are really quiet, you should really try it. Listen well, listen well. I had to sing the whole thing because it was so good. He was such a Jedi. And yeah, that's true that children respond to melody and rhyme. Studies have absolutely been shown that that's how we learn better. Adults do too.

So that is, my God, so cute. I love it so much. And that melody that is already familiar to them, because that's like another nursery rhyme, it's so good. my gosh. So Ron finds himself getting charmed by Joe. Like who wouldn't? Like he knows how to treat children well. He makes muffins. He can do carpentry slash woodworking. Like are you kidding? This is Ron's like dream man, feel, obsessed. He feels...

Holly Constant (01:25:03.723)
Joe feels like a non stressful Leslie in a way, like with his overachieving, his positivity, his optimism. He feels like him and Leslie in the same room, like the world would implode with happiness and joy. Let's see here. Okay. April helps Jerry, which is so nice, but so gross.

my gosh, because she apologizes to him for that like sleeping pill, fiasco thing that she filmed and shared at his birthday parties, showing all of the ways that April has been so terrible. But then she scratches his back as a way to make it up to him. Like I cannot get over that this is the same April from season one. Like she would never, she would never at all. Like, my gosh. And Jerry doesn't like.

stop asking for this? I can't or stop this from happening? Like don't I would never I would never ask someone to itch my back especially when I know that I'm sweaty. dear it's just a perfect storm. She needs like a rake or something else to scratch his back with like her bare hand. god April wow wow wow wow and Andy sees this and is like fuck this is terrible I should

like I'm making this worse for April. So he calls Ben and asks if he can tell him, but Ben is like, no, like don't say anything to anyone ever about anything. And my gosh, Ben is just freaking out. And I love that Andy listens to Ben and doesn't even say goodbye because he's like, my God, I can't say anything. So back at the auction, the naming rights for the children's tent gets $1,000 and...

Or we want to get $1,000 rather. That's the bidding price. And Jam bids $100. my god, Jam, get out of here. John Glaser does such a great job of playing this awful person. It's terrible. And this is hilarious that Leslie tries to make up people in the audience so that we can get momentum up. A lady with a diamond encrusted eye patch bid $1,000. But don't look at her. She's not real. But she's there.

Holly Constant (01:27:11.183)
Making up this other person for $2,000 about the crazy hat and the monkey on her shoulder or monkey on his shoulder rather this gentleman. I love that she can't be vague about people. She can't just say $1,000 to that person, $2,000 to that person. She has to make up very specific, very obviously fake things. I also love the...

name of the business, Spani. I don't know if we've seen that before. Maybe we have, but I love that. This little pun here. So it's a spa in Pawnee called Spani. I'm sure for like a gift certificate or something. That's a fantastic idea. So back with Andy and April. I cannot believe April says like, if you need to talk to anyone, she's saying this to Jerry. Like I'm there as in like, I'm just kind of near you around. I am in shock.

Truly, I cannot believe this keeps going. Even after she scratches his back, she's like, I'm here for you. What? I am just stunned. As the kids say, I am shooketh that she even cares to say anything. Like, wow, wow, wow, wow. That was okay, April. You're growing. So Larry Jerry is like, thank you so much for your sympathy. I swallowed my wedding ring and he says this isn't the first time.

gross and ew I wrote this in all caps like ew he's gotten good at passing it my god and then he has to get out the calendar or calendar colander no no no that's my gosh the god the writers do such a good job like I always say of making us both love and hate him you love him one second you hate him the next but anyway we find out or April finds out and we are confirmed that he's not actually dying

Jerry thinks that he's being nice to her because of the she's being nice to him because of the wedding ring thing. So April did all of that for nothing. So Leslie is trying to make Pearl bid because she threatens to pull the permits for his businesses. Pearl is played by Mike Scully, who Friendly Reminder also worked on The Simpsons with a bunch of people that also work on Parks Now.

Holly Constant (01:29:21.803)
and he's written a bunch of episodes for Parks as well and he also appeared as the guy who makes like tiny stuffed animals. One of them is Ron, like a pig Ron Swanson. I don't know if you guys remember that, but that was him. Scully is what they call him in real life, but Pearl is his character name. Ben says to take a whale sounds break at the auction. Like Ben, we can't be doing this in the middle of the auction. Okay, like I understand that you can't be stressed, but can we just focus on being stressed when we're not at work maybe?

Like maybe we have some boundaries, but maybe that's the point because Ben is just like so freaked out that he's trying to fix everything all the time. But my gosh, Ben, you're making it worse. And yeah, that's kind of the note that I had where it's almost like the stress of trying not to be stressed is more stressful than if you had just gone in there passionately and gotten the shit done that you needed to and left. So Ben finishes up now. He's like, Leslie, I'll take over because you're stressed, which really she wasn't doing poorly at all. I mean, she wasn't.

having the energy and the zest for the auction, but she was doing fine. But Ben is like, no, I got to fix it. I got to fix it. Which is, you know, what you do when you're anxious. You just make everything worse in a lot of ways because you're having a panic attack or you freeze. That's also the other thing that you do. The other option, but Ben clearly is going insane. So he finishes up, which is dumb because the guitar is on sale now and our very own Herman Lerpiss from the

the infamous Pawnee Lerpiss family is here. He comes back and he says, he'll do $30 for the guitar. And Ben is like, this is easily worth $500. Honestly, just for the guitar, not even the signature. You know what I mean? That guitar is expensive looking. And so funny that this guy with the muscle shirt and the tattoo says he's more of a Jack Johnson guy, which is like an acoustic, if you don't remember Jack Johnson, which is so funny that they're bringing back all these 90s vibes. But yeah, Jack Johnson.

probably early 2000s, not just 90s. Very acoustic, calming music. So, my gosh, what a funny opposites world. Then Ben and Herman start fighting and Ben gets cut and it's very scary. He's bleeding. Craig is like, call the coroner. I don't really understand how he got cut. It all happened so fast. So I feel like that quick cut, like his hand isn't the thing that should be bleeding. I feel like.

Holly Constant (01:31:42.378)
Maybe he knocked his head on something. I don't know, whatever. It all happened so fast, but I'm sure it was from the guitar. Maybe a string was loose from the guitar or whatever. But yeah, looks really... The way he falls actually does look really scary. So yikes. And that's bad.

And now at the hospital, Dr. Harris comes back. my God, we love Dr. Harris. Dr. Harris is played by Cooper Thornton. We did a full interview with him as well. And much like Dexheart, he is the opposite of Dr. Harris. He is so friendly and so nice and was so wonderful to us. So I'll post that link in the show notes as well. I love that Dr. Harris's line is, have very weak hands. Like, why would you say that? Just making an observation.

my god, I'm so glad for that tiny little line. He had one line and they bring him back. I just think that is so fun. So I'm glad that he got to, you know, continue this world of the doctor and Pawnee. You know what I mean? They, Leslie says that the doctor said or the nurse said that if Flea had sent you his base, you could have lost the thumb. That's a really funny joke. I think that was really smart. And it's, it is a joke I think about actually frequently because chili peppers are around.

Ben is still trying to keep up his fake comp, like he's not stressed. Like, do you want to do some like Tai Chi or do you want to do some meditation? Everything's A-OK, Coolio beans. And Leslie's like, no, he can go, right, Anne? Aw, that's cute that they brought in Anne whenever they're at the hospital. So let's see, at the elementary school, Ron tells Donna that he likes Joe because he's smart and patient and good with kids. And Ron is basically like,

I don't really get it, but I'm just telling you straight up that I like him. And Donna's like, yeah, that's why he's my Tammy because I turn into someone else with him and I don't like who I am. And I'm, it's really boring. And I love everything that she said. It sounds so ideal. I meaning, I love all of the things that her and Joe do. This sounds like a perfect relationship, but yeah, it's not Donna, or at least it's not her yet, you know? So she doesn't want that for.

Holly Constant (01:33:51.472)
you know, a little bit. she, yeah, she says they have sex, eat homemade pasta, have sex again. He's always wanting to connect with me, is respectful, wants to spend time with me. And I'm like, oh my God, that sounds so nice. Especially in this day and age, my God, men are terrible and do not do that. So this dating world is hard. So I was like, Jo, I'll date you, it's fine. But no, I love this because Ron just keeps getting better at this wisdom thing. And I don't know yet if he's done the, his mentorship moment.

slash friendship moment with Donna yet, quite like this, but he says, live your life how you want, but don't confuse drama with happiness. And I do think a lot of people think that way. They think because there's drama and intrigue and sparks flying and all these kinds of things, that it means that you're doing something right. And I think this is really interesting for Donna to get this perspective from Ron and kind of see like, you can be happy by doing all of those things if you come to a-

like a compromise, which is what relationships are so much about. So I really like that we'll see that a little bit later that Donna kind of doesn't give in completely to letting go of herself as she shouldn't because that's not what relationships are either, but she kind of comes to a balance. And I think that's a really cool thing to see here. And especially that Ron and Donna are friends because they are very similar, like I talked about in previous episodes.

So April and Andy have a moment, and Andy makes up these other lies. Like, everyone's dying, essentially. And something's wrong. Tom has something wrong with his butt. They are, Ann and Chris are moving to Chinatown in France. So good. I don't know where Tom is. I don't know what Aziz was doing around this time. He was not in this episode. So yeah, very intriguing. I'm sure he was doing something.

Donna interrupts Joe from telling this nice lady that he patched her tire, but no preamble. Donna just starts talking and interrupts. She's like, I like to do things, opera, nightclubs. I might disappear because I'm fly fishing. Love that. And then she gets to the point saying, I promise not to cheat on you if you don't pin me down too fast. Those are their rules, their boundaries. And it's so cute because Joe's like, you know what? I can handle that. That's fine. But his only request is that I see you in that red thing.

Holly Constant (01:36:09.303)
And she sets her boundaries and says again, and is like, I will wear that red thing when you deserve to see me in that red thing. Very Queen behavior. She must be a Virgo. Like very Virgo behavior of like, I know what I need, holding you accountable, but I'll do it if you get on my good side, essentially. So Leslie and Ben are going over how they can raise more money for the concert. And Leslie is being positive, but Ben just can't get over that it's triplets. They're in his office.

And it's a great point that Leslie makes. They'll get scholarships. They'll be smart. They'll be ready. They will not have to spend all that money. Your data that Ben put into his computer does not account for how they'll be geniuses. And the kids will just make their own way because they have Ben and Leslie as their parents. But also, this goes back to Ron's guidance that he gave Leslie. And Leslie is fully using that blueprints for the future are a fool's errand. You can't super mega plan this when you didn't even know this was going to happen anyway.

Like you can't put all of the numbers into a box and just stick yourself in that, you know, very small minded mindset. And I get it. Kids are expensive. And I think it's good that he's planning and having an idea of what this is going to be for them, but you cannot plan the future.

you cannot plan a life. You can't plan your own life, let alone how your kids' lives are gonna go. You can do your best, and that's about it. And that's all they want. And the scholarships are gonna be great. She got a scholarship from, which is called Pretty Blondes Who Like to Read, which has since been changed to the Virginia Woolf Prize. Love that. So yeah, I think it's nice that Leslie is using Ron's guidance for good to Ben now. And I just...

Love, love, love, love, love this moment next. I mean, this whole little scene is great, but this moment where Ben is spiraling and steamrolling, he's taking on all of Leslie's qualities because he is trying to be a good partner. But now it's Leslie's turn to calm him down. And they have this beautiful balance that they do on the show so well. He also makes a joke about, spent our savings on a trip to Paris, which like, maybe I can get a discount on the Louvre. We didn't even see the Mona Lisa, whatever. Maybe we should move. Maybe we should stay here because we'll get paid.

Holly Constant (01:38:25.173)
different amounts and it's all about money and you know all this planning. So I know I do love this mention of the money that they spent to go to Paris because I think a lot of us were like wait what how did you just go to Paris the next day like how did you just make that happen? So I'm glad that they did bring that up and gave us some clarity on that but I don't know why this moment here makes me so emotional I'm not gonna lie I was kind of tearing up here because she really calms him down she laughs.

at the head massager being on his head, she says, all of the things that we've been through, Harvest Festival, the recall, the election, Larry somehow made the cut in her list of things that they've been through, changing his name for some reason. And all of that has been preparation for this. And she is immune to stress because she has been, because I have you. She's been through all of this with him. They have been partners in this. She's dealt with worse, honestly.

This is a family and a love that those other things that she went through could not provide. look at how far we've come. My God, it's just so special. And to see this growth illustrated is just perfect. I mean, the Unity concert was the best idea, I think, for this show that I have seen in a sitcom. They really tie a bow on how we can come together and the end of the season.

And we're setting it up so perfectly. It's not just kind of thrown in your face, like all in one episode. We've been working toward this. And I don't know, this is random a little bit, but I just sometimes wish we could look at our own lives through the lens of a TV show. Like looking back to season one thinking, my God, look what we've overcome. I wish you could go back to season one of your life and be like, look how far I've come and what we've been through, how strong we are now, no matter how strong you feel.

I mean, you can do this because you've done it before and you have it visualized. That would be, I really feel like that is such a lesson to learn from. And it's so beautiful here. So I really, really appreciate it. And I just love that it shows that they're true partners in this, the growth that Leslie has come to the dynamic here that Leslie's not steamrolling. And it takes you back to the park episode where she says like, I know I seem role, but I love you. And

Holly Constant (01:40:41.961)
I don't want to do life without you, essentially. It's just so beautiful to see all of those reminders and to go back in time to see where you came from, to where you are now, and how these lovebirds are just so perfect for each other. And it's written so beautifully because they each have their flaws. This has not been a perfect love all the time, but that's what they're guided by. And I think that is the most important thing, that they stick up for each other and they're there for each other all through love.

the balance that these two have are just so well written. I'm just, I really respect the writers and the show and the actors and it's, it's perfect. Okay. Next up, let's see. Leslie says she has an idea. and yeah, I mean, just really briefly, you can skip ahead if you need to, but I really would encourage everyone to look at what you have, you know,

had to deal with and changes and seeing how it might have worked out for the better. It might not be the way that you thought it would happen. They didn't think they would have triplets, but it worked out the way that they needed it to at that time. I really related to this with my move last year and seeing all the changes and the things that I had to go through for this moment in particular. And just having moments in your life where something really hard comes up and I'm having something going on with a side job now where I feel like I handled that way better than season one Holly would have handed that.

handled that. You know what I'm saying? Like I really encourage you guys to find a time in your life because you probably have been through so much that you're not even giving yourself credit for. And I just, I love it so much. And I love this dynamic that Leslie feels like she crushed it. Like they knocked it out of the park and Ben's like, nope, can't do it. Okay.

So back at the school, Ron is King Sparkle of Cupcake Forest. He's happy about this too. He has a crown on his head. He's not mad, upset, annoyed. I love seeing this every time I watch this part. I'm like, Ron, you've gotten to such a good place in your life. And Donna says it's always good to see someone change for the better. And Ron thinks she's talking about Joe, but she's talking about him. And I don't think it's been said yet to him directly how much he's changed for the better. I don't think anyone has come up to him and been like,

Holly Constant (01:42:56.301)
Wow, you're doing so well and you've changed really in a good way. How much it suits him, how proud we are all of him. And so I love to see that it came from Donna, that they're both kind of helping each other with their, and encouraging each other in these steps forward for their life. And like I said, I mentioned in the last episode how Donna and Ron are more alike than not. So to hear from his work proximity associate that you've come close to is really nice.

So now Andy's trying to hide from April with camo and blending into the wall of the picture in the conference room, which I think is really funny to me that he just did face paint. Well done, makeup department. He thought that was going to work. And I love that just the show at the beginning or that the show in general just did this.

that they spent a lot of time probably doing this for his face or maybe they just slapped on some face paint. I don't know. But the fact that they left that in for like a two minute little second or was it even two minutes? Probably 30 seconds of him hiding in the camo. But he almost breaks and April is like, whatever, you don't have to hide it from me. It's fine. And I really like this. I think she is coming from a genuine place where she's like, I do trust you. She finally realizes like, I don't think you're like hiding anything like that. You wouldn't not tell me if you had to.

If you needed to share something with me, you would, essentially. I don't know. Maybe it is a bit of reverse psychology because he almost breaks and tells her, but I think she's being genuine. So, but then Leslie and Ben come in to save him because they break the news. And my gosh, poor Larry Jerry. This soil testing was not at all a real project. It looks so real and maybe he can still use that research for something. my God. Cause it looks like he's almost done and maybe, I don't know. I feel bad, but it's okay.

April scratched his back today, so I think that makes up for it. So April is so glad the secret didn't come from Andy. She is really happy and proud of him too, I think, when she finds out, which is so nice. And Andy's like, yeah, I know, I'm incredible. And Larry Jerry, oh my gosh, he has everything they need for clothes because they kept everything from Gail and his kids. And they have three girls. They have three kids. So he's like, don't buy anything because we have everything. Ron says that a triple crib sounds like a challenge. So he's going to make.

Holly Constant (01:45:16.633)
Pine and oak, does he say? He makes two of those triple cribs. So, my gosh, the stress is already alleviating, especially financially. And I don't know if they did this on purpose, but it really does illustrate that telling people, especially your friends, opening up a little vulnerably can really help. They might provide you with tangible things like these clothes and cribs and whatever, but they also might just provide you some respite of...

the stress that you're feeling in the moment. You know what mean? It might just be nice to share this and get it off your chest. So yeah, if you have good people and good friends to lean on, like this can really help to tell them. But I understand that they needed to process it on their own. So that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying, you know, once you do process, if you can, it's nice to share. And if you need to process with your friends, that's great too. Andy and April can babysit during work hours. I love that. Donna has Joe for preschool recommendations. Like all of them are

saying ways that they can help and it's just really, really beautiful. So Craig comes in and says he sold everything from the auction, which like I said, he should have been in charge of anyway. Like he would have, I hope he got more money for that guitar and went back and yelled at Herman Lerpiss to get more money. Okay, because that's crazy. 50 bucks or 30 bucks or whatever the hell that that was sold for, it was unacceptable. But anyway, his accomplishments are always overshadowed. He's just like, congratulations, I guess.

And I like that everybody's like, yeah, okay. And Leslie's like, I'll take that. Like that was nice of him. For Craig, that's kind of what we expect. Okay, that's fine. But honestly, credit where credit's due. Craig did a great job selling everything. So I think that Craig really was an instrumental part of the Unity concert in putting that on. And so was Madison. Madison didn't have as much screen time, but she absolutely helped and came up with some great ideas. So credit where credit is due. I'm a real credit bitch. Okay, well.

That was one in 8,000, you guys. Next we have the finales, which is insane. We're gonna split it up into two episodes. Honestly, I could do four episodes of just the finales. There is just so much information. There's trailers, there's deleted scenes, there's more gag reels that I have. There's just so much. And John Ralphio, Mona Lisa, Comeback, they really pulled out all the stops. Wow, we are in for a treat.

Holly Constant (01:47:41.708)
We're going to put some reshares on there on the podcast so you guys will be able to listen to some interviews that maybe you haven't had a chance to listen to. And yeah, thank you guys so much for listening. Don't forget to rate, review, subscribe, do all the things. I know this administration has everybody fucked up in the head. There are so many things going on all of the time and it's really easy to get distracted and frustrated and all of the things. So I just hope that we can provide some joy for a little bit, but also just a reminder to

You know, when you can, don't look away from what's happening and post about it, retweet about it. I know that this is like annoying because we think that social media doesn't actually do anything, but I think it turns the tide. I think it helps somebody or some people see that, you know, this isn't right. And if they're speaking up about it, maybe I can speak up about it. Or maybe they're just needing to be informed. Maybe they don't even know what the hell is going on, which...

I know that you guys are probably thinking, how could they not know what's going on? But sometimes they don't. so retweeting and sharing on your stories, posting about it actually does help, I think. And it has helped because I've seen people repost what I've reposted or liked what I've reposted didn't know that that was going on. So that's not me giving myself credit. That's just literally other people posting something and I'm sharing it. You know what I mean?

Thank you for all the people that actually do work hard on making those posts, fighting for us, staying informed. And I just, I hope that we can move past this, because this is ridiculous and I hate the timeline that we're living in. I know that there are things to be positive about, but let's call a spade a spade. This is really hard out here and this sucks and so much hatred is spreading. So thank you so much again.

Sorry to end it on that note, but I also think that all we can do is come together and try our best to resist. we will see you for the next episode. We hope that you have a lovely start to your spring and hope everyone's staying safe in the snow or whatever weather you're dealing with. And hopefully you'll tune in for the next one. Thank you all so much. Okay, talk to you soon. Bye.