History Recap / ParksAndRecreationS04E11

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
** Leslie's comeback rally goes terribly since Ann is not a professional political campaign manager and doesn't know how to run a political campaign. This inspires Leslie to bring Ben aboard, as he has the experience to actually manage things going forward.
** Animation takes a ''really'' long time to have anything of note accomplished. Anyone with any experience in claymation (or animation in general) would've known from the moment Ben said that he'd spent two weeks on his project that it would've been incredibly short.

* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Ben really loves calzones. In this episode, a depressed Ben becomes obsessed with learning how to make calzones and opening up a fast food calzone restaurant.

Andy and April reveal they've adopted a new dog, a three-legged pitbull they've named Champion. Ben is annoyed but lets them keep the dog as long as they don't make him take care of Champion.

Leslie is able to convince the officer not to arrest her team, but he says they can't drive the truck. They are forced to leave behind most of the supplies of wood that won't fit in the car.

As Leslie and her team head out to the stage, the red carpet Tom ordered doesn't reach to the stage so they have to stagger their way across the ice. When Leslie finally gets on the stage, some of her speech cards are missing. She apologizes to the crowd, but then they all start laughing. Pete then comes out to endorse Leslie, and he attempts to make the dunk but slips on the ice and breaks his arm.

** Leslie's entire comeback rally is easily one of both the funniest and most cringeworthy moments in the history of broadcast television: the venue, a multipurpose sports arena, is set up as a hockey rink instead of a basketball court. Tom couldn't afford enough red carpet to get all the way from the rink entrance to the stage, forcing everyone to gingerly shuffle across the ice. Ron didn't have enough wood to build stairs to the stage platform, meaning he has to attempt to boost Leslie up onto the stage. Leslie's speech note cards shuffle out of order, causing her to say, "We can defeat obese children". And when local basketball legend Pistol Pete actually shows up and is willing to do his slam-dunk, he obviously slips when he tries to jump and breaks his arm. And the whole time, a ten-second clip of "Get on Your Feet" by Music/GloriaEstefan keeps repeating on a loop.
** Similarly, Ben's claymation video lasts for only a few seconds. He plays it a couple times and realizes that those few seconds were the culmination of nearly three weeks' worth of work.

* OverlyLongGag: The team's attempts to go over the ice hockey rink is very long and tedious, but it doesn't make it any less gut-bustingly hilarious.

* RealityEnsues:
** Leslie's comeback rally goes terribly since Ann is not a professional political campaign manager and doesn't know how to run a political campaign. This inspires Leslie to bring Ben aboard, as he has the experience to actually manage things going forward.
** Animation takes a ''really'' long time to have anything of note accomplished. Anyone with any experience in claymation (or animation in general) would've known from the moment Ben said that he'd spent two weeks on his project that it would've been incredibly short.

** Claymation takes a ''really'' long time to have anything of note accomplished. Anyone with any experience in claymation (or animation in general) would've known from the moment Ben said that he'd spent two weeks on his project that it would've been incredibly short.

Meanwhile, Ron, Andy, April, Tom, and Champion pile into a truck with the supplies and red carpet for the stage that Ron will build. On the way to the sports center, they are pulled over by a cop for multiple violations. They call Leslie to help, so she leaves Ann to convince Pete to do the dunk. Through the day, Pete continues to open up more about his life problems to an increasingly uncomfortable Ann.

Leslie is able to convince the officer not to arrest her team, but he says they can't drive the truck. They are forced to leave behind most of the supplies of wood that doesn't fit in the car.

Ben finally realizes he's depressed after showing Chris a five second long claymation video that took him three weeks to produce. Chris cheers Ben up and Ben is touched by his friend's efforts to help.

* EpicFail: The '''entire''' comeback rally, with it being pretty much one long HumiliationConga for poor Leslie.

* IwoJimaPose: [[invoked]] According to WordOfGod from Creator/MichaelSchur, Leslie getting pushed onto her tiny podium on the ice rink was intended as a {{Homage}} to the raising of the American flag at Iwo Jima.

--->'''Andy:''' The police even love it. They're sirening back to us.

** Leslie's entire comeback rally: the venue, a multipurpose sports arena, is set up as a hockey rink instead of a basketball court. Tom couldn't afford enough red carpet to get all the way from the rink entrance to the stage, forcing everyone to gingerly shuffle across the ice. Ron didn't have enough wood to build stairs to the stage platform, meaning he has to attempt to boost Leslie up onto the stage. Leslie's speech note cards shuffle out of order, causing her to say, "We can defeat obese children". And when local basketball legend Pistol Pete actually shows up and is willing to do his slam-dunk, he obviously slips when he tries to jump and breaks his arm. And the whole time, a ten-second clip of "Get on Your Feet" by Music/GloriaEstefan keeps repeating on a loop.
** Ben's claymation video lasts for only a few seconds. He plays it a couple times and realizes that those few seconds were the culmination of nearly three weeks' worth of work.
* JadedWashout: "Pistol" Pete Disellio is an inversion. He's a former high school basketball star who won the BigGame against the Eagleton team with a last-second dunk, and the entire town adores him for it decades later. However, he is the only person who doesn't care anymore, and is sick of being considered a hero for something he did when he was seventeen and just wants to move on with his life.
* OverlyLongGag: The team's attempts to go over the ice hockey rink is very long and tedious, but no less hilarious.

* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Ben really loves calzones. In this episode, a depressed Ben becomes obsessed with learning to make calzones and opening up a fast food calzone restaurant.

Chris visits Ben, who is involved in a variety of hobbies such as claymation and calzone making now that he has lot of free time on his hands. Chris suspects that Ben is actually very depressed and is using the hobbies as a distraction, but Ben denies he's depressed and tries to impress Chris with his claymation project.

Ben finally realizes he's depressed after showing Chris a five second claymation video that took him three weeks to produce. Chris cheers Ben up and Ben is touched by his friend's efforts to help.

* OverlyLongGag: The team's attempts to go over the icy hockey rink is very long and tedious, but no less hilarious.

Chris visits Ben, now with a lot of free time on his hands, who is involved in a variety of hobbies, such as claymation and calzone making. Chris suspects that Ben is actually very depressed and is using the hobbies as a distraction, but denies being depressed and tries to impress Chris with his Claymation project.

Leslie comes to the office to announce her choice of campaign manager. Everyone avoids eye contact and tries to hide. She then announces that Ann will be campaign manager. Everyone else is relieved, but Ann says she knows nothing about running a campaign. She suggests Ben, but Leslie calls him "poison" for her campaign.

Andy and April have a new dog, Champion the three-legged dog. They make sure that Ben is ok with having a dog, and he informs them that he will not help take care of the dog.

Leslie's campaign staff has a meeting, where Ann announces the launch of Leslie's campaign comeback. The team is given assignments to help prepare for the upcoming campaign rally at the Pawnee Sports Center.

Ben, with a lot of free time on his hands, is making calzones. Chris, who thinks that Ben might be depressed, comes to visit him. Ben denies being depressed and tries to impress Chris with his Claymation project.

Leslie and Ann meet with Pawnee basketball legend "Pistol" Pete Disellio, who will endorse her at the rally. He is famous for a dunk he performed in a high school basketball game several years ago. However, he is trying to live this down, so he doesn't want to dunk at the rally.

Ron, Andy, April, Tom, and Champion pile into a truck with the wood for the stage that Ron will build. On the way to the sports center, they are stopped by the police for multiple violations. They call Leslie to help, so she leaves Ann to convince Pete to do the dunk.

Leslie is able to convince the police officer not to arrest her people, but he says they can't drive the truck. They are forced to leave behind some of the wood that doesn't fit in the car.

Ann tries to draw Pete out, hoping he'll agree to do the dunk.

Ben shows Chris his Claymation video and is shocked that what he spent weeks working on only lasts for a couple of seconds. Ben admits he is depressed.

At the sports center, April informs Leslie that the court is now an ice rink. Ron couldn't make a large enough stage because he didn't have enough wood. The banner didn't turn out how Leslie wanted it. She hopes that Jerry, who was in charge of gathering a crowd, failed in his task, but for once he did well – there are 100 people in attendance. Ann arrives to announce that she brought Pete, but she doesn't know if he'll dunk or not. Leslie and the rest want to give up, but Ann rallies the team.

As Leslie and her team head out to the stage, the red carpet doesn't reach to the stage and they stagger their way across the ice. When Leslie finally gets on the stage, some of her speech cards are missing. She apologizes to the crowd, but then they all start laughing. Pete then comes out to endorse Leslie, and he attempts to make the dunk but slips on the ice.

After the event, Leslie and Ann inform Ben that he must be the campaign manager. He agrees, to Ann's relief.

Leslie and the Parks Department are planning a big comeback rally for Leslie's campaign. She asks Ann to be her campaign manager, turning down Ann's suggestion of the unemployed and experienced Ben since his presence may remind voters of their scandal. The team organize a rally at the Pawnee Sports Building, and Ann has gotten into contact with high school basketball legend Peter "Pistol Pete" Disellio. Pete says he'll endorse Leslie, but he refuses to allow the campaign to associate him with basketball or even use his nickname because he's tired of the town always bringing up his one famous game. Leslie won't relent though and she leaves Ann with him to convince him to change his mind. Through the day, Pete continues to open up more about his life problems to an uncomfortable Ann.

April and Andy reveal they've adopted a new dog, a three-legged pitbull they've named Champion. Ben is annoyed but lets them keep the dog. Chris later visits Ben, where he sees Ben involved in a variety of hobbies, such as claymation and calzone making. Chris suspects that Ben is actually very depressed and is using the hobbies as a distraction, but Ben denies that.

Meanwhile, as the other department members are driving to the Pawnee Sports Building, they are pulled over by a police officer due to Andy honking the truck horn and the unsafe way they're sitting in the truck. Officer Len makes them abandon the vehicle due to Ron not being licensed to drive the truck. They are forced to leave behind most of the supplies for the stage Leslie was going to use for the campaign announcement and cram what they can into Leslie's car. Upon arriving at the venue, it's discovered that the basketball court April supposedly booked has in fact been converted into an ice hockey rink. Even worse, due to most of the supplies being abandoned, only a portion of Leslie's campaign banner is displayed, while Ron is only able to create a miniature podium with no stairs.

When Leslie goes out on the ice to give her speech, the red carpet Tom made ends abruptly, so she and the whole department slowly creep their way to the podium, while Andy and April's dog Champion pees all over Ron. Leslie finally gets to the podium, but her index cards are out of order and her speech falls flat. Suddenly, Pete arrives – having sorted out his issues with Ann – and endorses Leslie to the crowd's delight. Pete attempts to dunk, but he immediately slips and breaks his arm. The event is a complete disaster.

Ben eventually realizes how pathetic his life has become after showing Chris a five second claymation video that took him three weeks to produce. Chris cheers Ben up and Ben is touched by his friend's efforts to help. He later accepts an offer from Leslie to become her new campaign manager.

** Leslie's entire comeback rally: the venue, a multipurpose sports arena, is set up as a hockey rink instead of a basketball court. Tom couldn't afford enough red carpet to get all the way from the rink entrance to the stage, forcing everyone to gingerly shuffle across the ice. Ron didn't have enough wood to build stairs to the stage platform, meaning he has to attempt to boost Leslie up onto the stage. Leslie's speech notecards shuffle out of order, causing her to say, "We can defeat obese children". And when local basketball legend Pistol Pete actually shows up and is willing to do his slam-dunk, he obviously slips when he tries to jump and breaks his arm. And the whole time, a ten-second clip of "Get on Your Feet" by Music/GloriaEstefan keeps repeating on a loop.

-->'''Leslie:''' It's true. I no longer have highly trained, professional campaign managers. So what? Are most murders committed by highly trained, professional assassins? No, they're committed by friends and coworkers! That analogy was way better in my head.

Leslie and the Parks Department are planning a big comeback rally for Leslie's campaign. She asks Ann to be her campaign manager, turning down Ann's suggestion of the unemployed and experienced Ben since his presence may remind voters of their scandal. The team organize a rally at the Pawnee Sports Building, and Ann manages to land high school basketball legend Peter "Pistol Pete" Disellio. Pete says he'll endorse Leslie, but he refuses to allow the campaign to associate him with basketball or even use his nickname because he's tired of the town always bringing up his one famous game. Leslie won't relent though and she leaves Ann with him to convince him to change his mind. Through the day, Pete continues to open up more about his life problems to an uncomfortable Ann.

April and Andy reveal they've adopted a new dog, a three-legged pitbull they've named Champion. Ben is annoyed but lets them keep the dog. Chris later visits Ben, where he sees Ben very involved in a variety of hobbies, such as claymation and calzone making. Chris suspects that Ben is actually very depressed and is using the hobbies as a distraction, but Ben denies that.

Meanwhile, as the other department members are driving to the Pawnee Sports Building, they are pulled over by a police officer due to Andy honking the truck horn and the unsafe way they're sitting in the truck. Office Len makes them abandon the vehicle due to Ron not being licensed to drive the truck. They are forced to leave behind most of the supplies for the stage Leslie was going to use for the campaign announcement and cram what they can into Leslie's car. Upon arriving at the venue, it's discovered that the basketball court April supposedly booked has in fact been converted into an ice hockey rink. Even worse, due to most of the supplies being abandoned, only a portion of Leslie's campaign banner is displayed, while Ron is only able to create a miniature podium with no stairs.

Ann becomes Leslie's new campaign manager and schedules an event at a local basketball court with help from Ron, Andy, April, Jerry, and Tom. Things do not go well.

Meanwhile, Ben has been indulging in a few hobbies. When Chris visits, he suspects Ben is depressed.

April and Andy adopt a new dog.

After the failure of Leslie's campaign event, the team decides that Ben should be Leslie's campaign manager.

** Leslie's entire comeback rally: the venue, a multipurpose sports arena, is set up as a hockey rink instead of a basketball court. Tom couldn't afford enough red carpet to get all the way from the rink entrance to the stage, forcing everyone to gingerly shuffle across the ice. Ron didn't have enough wood to build stairs to the stage platform, meaning he has to attempt to boost Leslie up onto the stage. Leslie's speech notecards shuffle out of order, causing her to say, "We can defeat obese children". And when local basketball legend Pistol Pete actually shows up and is willing to do his slam-dunk, he obviously slips when he tries to jump and breaks his arm. And the whole time a ten-second clip of "Get on Your Feet" by Music/GloriaEstefan keeps repeating.
** Ben's claymation video lasts for only a couple seconds. He plays it a couple times and realizes that those few seconds were the culmination of nearly three weeks' worth of work.

April and Andy have a new dog.

* CringeComedy: Leslie's entire comeback rally: the venue, a multipurpose sports arena, is set up as a hockey rink instead of a basketball court. Tom couldn't afford enough red carpet to get all the way from the rink entrance to the stage, forcing everyone to gingerly shuffle across the ice. Ron didn't have enough wood to build stairs to the stage platform, meaning he has to attempt to boost Leslie up onto the stage. Leslie's speech notecards shuffle out of order, causing her to say, "We can defeat obese children". And when local basketball legend Pistol Pete actually shows up and is willing to do his slam-dunk, he obviously slips when he tries to jump and breaks his arm. And the whole time a ten-second clip of "Get on Your Feet" by Music/GloriaEstefan keeps repeating.

* RunningGag: A depressed Ben becomes obsessed with learning to make calzones and opening up a fast food calzone restaurant.

-->'''Leslie:''' It's true. I no longer have highly trained, professional campaign managers. So what? Are most murders committed by highly trained, professional assassins? No, they're committed by friends and coworkers!... That analogy was way better in my head.