"Rock Show" is the sixth episode and season finale of the
first season of the American comedy television series ''
Parks and Recreation
''Parks and Recreation'' (also known as ''Parks and Rec'') is an American political satire mockumentary sitcom television series created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur. The series aired on NBC from April 9, 2009, to February 24, 2015, for 125 ...
''. It originally aired on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
in the United States on May 14, 2009. It was written by
Norm Hiscock
Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) and technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORM) consist of materials, usually industrial wastes or by-products enriched with radioactive elements found in the envi ...
and directed by
Michael Schur
Michael Herbert Schur (born 1975) is an American television producer, writer, director and actor. He was a producer and writer for the comedy series ''The Office'', and co-created ''Parks and Recreation'' with ''Office'' producer Greg Daniels. ...
. In the episode,
Andy
Andy may refer to:
People
* Andy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Horace Andy (born 1951), Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer born Horace Hinds
* Katja Andy (1907–2013), German-American pianist and pi ...
gets the casts removed from his legs, and
Ann
Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie.
Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...
starts reevaluating their relationship when she learns he kept them on longer than necessary so she would keep pampering him. An intoxicated
Mark
Mark may refer to:
Currency
* Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic
* Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927
* F ...
flirts with
Leslie, who feels conflicted about whether she wants to move forward when he is drunk.
The episode generated positive reviews. Several commentators claimed "Rock Show" represented a turning point in the series, in which the show found its own tone and broke away from similarities to ''
The Office
''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries.
The original series of ...
''. According to
Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
, it was watched by 4.25 million viewers in its original airing, the lowest viewership for the season. "Rock Show", along with an "Extended Producer's Cut" of the episode, was included on the ''Parks and Recreation'' Season One
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
, which was released in the United States on September 8, 2009.
Plot
The parks and recreation department have cake to celebrate
Andy
Andy may refer to:
People
* Andy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Horace Andy (born 1951), Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer born Horace Hinds
* Katja Andy (1907–2013), German-American pianist and pi ...
(
Chris Pratt
Christopher Michael Pratt (born June 21, 1979) is an American actor. He rose to prominence for playing Andy Dwyer in the NBC sitcom '' Parks and Recreation'' (2009–2015). He also appeared in The WB drama series ''Everwood'' (2002–2006) an ...
) having his leg casts removed, and
Ann
Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie.
Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...
(
Rashida Jones
Rashida Leah Jones (; born February 25, 1976) is an American actress.
Jones appeared as Louisa Fenn on the Fox drama series ''Boston Public'' (2000–2002), as Karen Filippelli on the NBC comedy series ''The Office'' (2006–2009; 2011), and as ...
) invites everybody to a local bar to hear Andy's first rock concert since he broke his leg.
Leslie (
Amy Poehler
Amy Poehler (; born September 16, 1971) is an American comedian, actress, writer, producer, and director. After studying improv at Chicago's Second City and ImprovOlympic in the early 1990s, Poehler co-founded the improvisational-comedy tro ...
) is disappointed she cannot go, because
her mother (
Pamela Reed
Pamela Reed (born April 2, 1949) is an American actress. She is known for playing Arnold Schwarzenegger's hypoglycemic police partner in the 1990 movie ''Kindergarten Cop'' and as the matriarch Gail Green in ''Jericho''. She appeared as Marlene ...
) has set up a business meeting with a local town manager. Later at the hospital, Ann learns from Dr. Harris (Cooper Thornton) that Andy could have had his casts removed two weeks earlier and she realizes that he postponed it because he wanted Ann to keep pampering him. Angry, Ann begins reevaluating her relationship with Andy. Later that evening, Leslie realizes the dinner with 62-year-old George Gernway (
Ron Perkins Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald.
Ron or RON may also refer to:
Arts and media
* Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character
* Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character
*Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...
) is actually a
blind date
A blind date is a social engagement between two people who have not met, usually arranged by a mutual acquaintance.
Structure
A blind date is arranged for by a mutual acquaintance of both participants. The two people who take part in the blind ...
set up by her mother. George, who tells the documentary camera crew he is getting "very positive signals", invites himself to go with Leslie to the rock show.
Mark
Mark may refer to:
Currency
* Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic
* Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927
* F ...
(
Paul Schneider) feels lonely because he is the only one at the concert without a date:
Tom (
Aziz Ansari
Aziz Ismail Ansari (; born February 23, 1983) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. He is known for his role as Tom Haverford on the NBC series '' Parks and Recreation'' (2009–2015) and as creator and star of the Netflix series '' Mas ...
) is with his attractive surgeon wife
Wendy Haverford (
Jama Williamson
Jama Williamson (born March 12, 1974) is an American actress. She was active in New York City theater throughout the early 2000s, during which she appeared in such shows as Avery Crozier's ''Eat the Runt'', Hunt Holman's ''Spanish Girl'', A. R ...
),
Ron Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald.
Ron or RON may also refer to:
Arts and media
* Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character
* Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character
*Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...
(
Nick Offerman) is dating his ex-wife's sister Beth (Stephanie Erb) and
April
April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian and Julian calendars. It is the first of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the second of five months to have a length of less than 31 days.
April is commonly associated with ...
(
Aubrey Plaza
Aubrey Christina Plaza (born June 26, 1984) is an American actress, comedian, and producer. She began her career performing improv and sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. She starred as April Ludgate on the NBC sitcom ''Pa ...
) is with, "like the gayest person I've ever met, but I make out with him when I'm drunk sometimes." Noticing Ann is angry with Andy, Mark makes a pass at her, but Ann angrily rejects him. Leslie and George show up and are mocked by Tom. After the concert ends, Andy tries to stay as long as possible to avoid a fight with Ann, but she insists they leave. George goes home because he was falling asleep and Leslie starts to leave, but an intoxicated Mark asks her to stay and have a beer with him.
When Leslie notes to the camera crew that they seem to be getting along just like when they made love five years earlier, she realizes he was drunk then too. When the bar closes, the two decide to keep drinking alongside the pit outside Ann's house, which Leslie plans to turn into a park. When Leslie asks whether he thinks the park will ever be made, a pragmatic Mark says it will be a difficult process with a lot of red tape, but she remains optimistic. During a fight, Andy admits to Ann that he postponed having the casts removed, but explains it was because, "I really, really like it when you serve me food." Ann throws him out, and Andy sees Mark kiss Leslie. Leslie stops his advances because she does not want to move forward when he is drunk. As Mark starts to leave, he falls into the pit. An amused Andy tells Ann, who rushes out to help him while Andy goes back inside and watches television.
Production
"Rock Show", the
first season finale of ''Parks and Recreation'' was written by
Norm Hiscock
Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) and technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORM) consist of materials, usually industrial wastes or by-products enriched with radioactive elements found in the envi ...
and directed by series co-founder
Michael Schur
Michael Herbert Schur (born 1975) is an American television producer, writer, director and actor. He was a producer and writer for the comedy series ''The Office'', and co-created ''Parks and Recreation'' with ''Office'' producer Greg Daniels. ...
. Schur said he felt "Rock Show" marked a change in tone for the series and struck a better balance between personal and professional stories than any of the other episodes from the season.
Schur said: "We treated that whole six-episode season like a pilot. If you go back and watch those episodes now, you can see us making changes. The sixth episode is different in tone than the first. And we made some character tweaks, like every show ever does".
Amy Poehler said she believed "Rock Show" would end what she described as the inevitable comparisons between ''Parks and Recreation'' and ''
The Office
''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries.
The original series of ...
'', which is also produced by ''Parks'' creators Schur and
Greg Daniels
Gregory Martin Daniels (born June 13, 1963) is an American screenwriter, television producer, and director. He has worked on several television series, including writing for ''Saturday Night Live'' and ''The Simpsons'', adapting ''The Office'' f ...
. Poehler said, "I think it was something we had to work through in the beginning, and I’m kind of hoping we’re on the other side of that and people will start to judge the show on its own, for what it is and realize it’s just a completely different world in a similar style.”
Schur made his directorial debut with "Rock Show", and had only one day of preparation before directing the episode. While preparing to direct the episode, Schur was asked to make an appearance on ''The Office'' as
Mose Schrute
''The Office'' is an American television series based on the British television comedy of the same name. The format of the series is a parody of the fly on the wall documentary technique that intersperses traditional situation comedy segments wi ...
, the cousin of
Dwight Schrute
Dwight Kurt Schrute III () is a fictional character on ''The Office (U.S.)'' and is portrayed by American actor Rainn Wilson. Dwight's character was a salesman and the assistant to the regional manager, at the fictional paper distribution compan ...
and a popular minor character, in the
fifth season finale episode, "
Company Picnic
"Company Picnic" is the fifth season finale of the American comedy television series ''The Office'', and the 100th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on May 14, 2009. In the episode, Michael plans to ...
". Schur regretfully declined because he needed the time to work on "Rock Show", leading ''Office'' episode writers
Paul Lieberstein
Paul Bevan Lieberstein (born February 22, 1967) is an American actor, screenwriter, television director and television producer. A Primetime Emmy Award winner, he is best known as writer, as executive producer, and as supporting cast member Toby ...
and
Jennifer Celotta
Jennifer Ann Celotta (born November 11, 1971) is an American television producer, writer, and director. Among her credits are ''The Office,'' Cobra Kai, Abbott Elementary, ''Malcolm in the Middle'', '' The Newsroom'', ''Greg the Bunny'', '' Andy ...
to create the character
Rolf Rolf is a male given name and a surname. It originates in the Germanic name ''Hrolf'', itself a contraction of ''Hrodwulf'' ( Rudolf), a conjunction of the stem words ''hrod'' ("renown") + ''wulf'' ("wolf"). The Old Norse cognate is ''Hrólfr''. A ...
, Dwight's friend played by
James Urbaniak
James Christian Urbaniak (born September 17, 1963) is an American character actor. He is best known for his roles as Simon Grim in three Hal Hartley films: '' Henry Fool'' (1997), '' Fay Grim'' (2006) and '' Ned Rifle'' (2014), Robert Crumb in ...
, as an alternative.
Andy's bandmates during the rock show scene were played by Mark Rivers (drums), Andrew Burlinson (guitar) and
Alan Yang
Alan Michael Yang (born August 22, 1983) is an American screenwriter, producer, director and actor. He was a writer and producer for the NBC sitcom ''Parks and Recreation'', for which he received his first Emmy nomination. With Aziz Ansari, Yang ...
(bass).
All four actors performed their own instruments live during the filming. Originally, they planned to pre-record the songs and pantomime them for the episode, but after practicing a few times around the extras, they decided to shoot it live.
The band performed each song twice, and Schur said he tried to shoot and direct it as if it were a music video. Yang is a writer with ''Parks and Recreation'', and wrote the previous first season episode, "
Boys' Club". Rivers is a composer who has worked on the sketch comedy show ''
Human Giant
''Human Giant'' is a sketch comedy show, starring writer/performers Aziz Ansari, Rob Huebel, and Paul Scheer, and directed primarily by Jason Woliner. The show ran for two seasons on MTV. In interviews, the group has mentioned that they were o ...
'', which starred ''Parks'' star Aziz Ansari. Rivers wrote the songs performed in "Rock Show",
which Pratt said took him only "about fifteen minutes". Hiscock wrote the lyrics for "The Pit" in the initial outline for the episode and they were handed to Rivers who then fleshed them out. The songs were designed to resemble the music of the American rock band ''
Hootie & the Blowfish
Hootie & the Blowfish are an American soft rock band that were formed in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1986. The band's lineup for most of its existence has been the quartet of Darius Rucker, Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, and Jim Sonefeld. The band w ...
''. The only song not written by Rivers was "Ann", a romantic ballad Andy played for Ann, which was written by Pratt himself. "Ann" first appeared in "Boys' Club".
Like most episodes of ''Parks and Recreation'', a great deal of the scenes in "Rock Show" were improvised by the actors. Paul Schneider made up his own dialogue during the scene in which he and Poehler sit next to the pit and he talks about it as if it is already a park. Poehler's laughter at his jokes in this scene is her genuine reaction. Pratt also improvised much of his own dialogue, including his rationale to Ann for why he lied about his leg casts: "I really, really like it when you serve me food." Pratt also changed the reaction his character had to Mark falling into the pit. The script originally called for Andy to be serious and concerned, but Pratt changed it so his character thought the fall was funny.
Pratt also improvised the songs he sang during an early scene in the episode, in which Andy makes up songs about random items in Ann's living room out of boredom from wearing the casts for so long. One of the songs he sings is about a lamp, and included the lyrics, "I wish you were a lamp that would light up when you get touched." Pratt thought of the song because he had recently gotten such a lamp as a gift from a friend.
During a scene when Andy describes his style of music, April responds that she completely understands him, although the other characters seemingly do not. That line was improvised by Aubrey Plaza, and later helped inspire the writing staff to place the April and Andy characters into a romantic relationship. Schur said of this, "At the time, it was this little nothing, throwaway thing, but when we watched it, we thought there might be something there."
The scene with Mark making a pass at Ann at the rock show, and Ann's angry reaction to the attempt, were a last-minute addition to the episode.
Although Mark and Ann would develop a romantic relationship in the second season, the ''Parks and Recreation'' writers had not decided what would happen between the developing romantic plotlines between Leslie and Mark, or Leslie and Ann, at the time "Rock Show" aired. In the original pilot script, Mark helped Leslie solely because he was attracted to Ann and felt that green-lighting Leslie's project would give him an excuse to spend more time with her; the shooting version was retooled to make Leslie less pathetic and Mark less unlikable, by having him won over by Leslie's determination to fight against the odds. Immediately after "Rock Show" was originally broadcast, NBC set up an official website for "Scarecrow Boat", Andy's band featured in the episode. The site, at scarecrowboat.com, included ringtones, band posters, songs for download and photos.
George Gernway was played by
Ron Perkins Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald.
Ron or RON may also refer to:
Arts and media
* Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character
* Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character
*Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...
, the husband of ''Parks and Recreation'' casting director Nancy Perkins. Aubrey Plaza conceived the idea of her character dating a gay man who she occasionally makes out with. Her "gay boyfriend" would become a major part of April's character in the second season. The scenes about Mark's efforts to have a speed bump lowered were inspired by Scott Albright, a
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
city planner who works as a consultant on the show. Albright said it would only be realistic for a city planner to lower a speed bump if a large number of residents complained about it. The hospital scenes in "Rock Show" were filmed on-location in an actual California hospital.
Cultural references
Andy describes the style of his band's music as a mix between
Matchbox Twenty
Matchbox Twenty (also known as Matchbox 20 and MB20) is an American rock band formed in Orlando, Florida, in 1995. The group currently consists of Rob Thomas (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Brian Yale (bass guitar), Paul Doucette (drums, r ...
and
The Fray
The Fray is an American rock band from Denver, Colorado, formed in 2002 by schoolmates Isaac Slade and Joe King. Their debut album, ''How to Save a Life'' released in 2005, was certified double platinum by the RIAA and platinum in Australia, ...
.
George says his favorite rock band is
The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...
, a country-influenced rock band from the 1950s and 60s.
Andy finds Ann's lost
iPod
The iPod is a discontinued series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first version was released on October 23, 2001, about months after the Macintosh version of iTunes ...
, a portable music player by
Apple Inc.
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...
, inside his leg cast after it is removed.
When Andy starts watching television while Ann rushes off to help Mark at the end of the episode, he is watching the reality series ''
The Real Housewives of Atlanta
''The Real Housewives of Atlanta'' (abbreviated ''RHOA'') is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on October 7, 2008. Developed as the third installment of ''The Real Housewives'' franchise, it has aired fourteen seaso ...
''.
The scene between Mark and Leslie at the pit was mirrored in the
second season finale "
Freddy Spaghetti
"Freddy Spaghetti" is the second season finale of the American comedy television series ''Parks and Recreation'', and the 30th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on May 20, 2010. In the episode, as Ro ...
", which aired in May 2010 and was Mark's final appearance as a regular cast member. During that scene, the two overlook what was once the pit, but was now a filled-in lot, and Mark gives her construction plans for a park before kissing her goodbye on the cheek and leaving. Schur said of the scene, "It's great because Leslie and Mark, it was such a disastrous moment last time (at the pit) and he didn't really respect her, and a lot's happened in a year." Goor said of using that setting, "I liked the symmetry of having it play a critical, and opposite role in this finale. Last year, they sat on the bench and kissed, and it seemed like they might be getting back together. This year, they sat on the bench and Mark kissed Leslie goodbye."
During one scene, Andy goes through a list of previous names his band has had. Pratt said about half the band names featured in the episode came directly from the script, but after he made up one on the spot, the directors encouraged him to keep improvising. Pratt said he went through about 200 fake band names during the take.
The various names of Andy's rock band include:
*A.D. and the D Bags
*The Andy Andy Andies
*Andy Dwyer Experience
*Angelsnack
*Crackfinger
*Death of a Scam Artist
*Department of Homeland Obscurity
*Everything Rhymes with Orange
*Fiveskin
*Flames For Flames
*
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...
Sexpants
*Fourskin
*
God Hates Figs
*Handrail Suicide
*Jet Black Pope
*Just The Tip
*
Malice In Chains
*Mouse Rat
*Muscle Confusion
*Ninjadick
*Nothing Rhymes with Blorange
*Nothing Rhymes with Orange
*Penis Pendulum
*Possum Pendulum
*Punch Face Champions
*Puppy Pendulum
*Rad Wagon
*Razordick
*Teddy Bear Suicide
*Threeskin
*
Two Doors Down
*Scarecrow Boat
Reception
In its original American broadcast on May 14, 2009, "Rock Show" was watched by 4.25 million viewers, according to
Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
, marking the lowest viewership for the season. Although the rating was almost the same as the previous week's episode, "
The Banquet", Bill Gorman of ''TV By the Numbers'' still called the rating "pitiful."
The episode received a 1.9 rating/7 share among viewers aged between 18 and 34, and a 2.0 rating/6 share among viewers between 18 and 49.
"Rock Show" received generally positive reviews, with many critics claiming it to be the best episode of the series up to that point. The scene in which Leslie rejects Mark's kiss in the pit was considered by some reviewers to be a critical turning point both for the show and for the development of Leslie Knope's character. Kona Gallagher of
TV Squad
Weblogs, Inc. was a blog network that published content on a variety of subjects, including tech news, video games, automobiles and pop culture. At one point, the network had as many as 90 blogs, although the vast majority of its traffic could be ...
wrote in a 2010 article, "Leslie finally realized that she can move on from Mark and the show realized that it could actually make her a real character".
Alan Sepinwall
Alan Sepinwall (born October 19, 1973) is an American television reviewer and writer. He spent 14 years as a columnist with ''The Star-Ledger'' in Newark until leaving the newspaper in 2010 to work for the entertainment news website HitFix. He ...
of ''
The Star-Ledger
''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to ''The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of wh ...
'' said after six episodes, he felt "Rock Show" was the episode where the ''Parks and Recreation'' found the right tone for the series and Leslie Knope character. Sepinwall said all the characters were very likable, the jokes seemed natural and the awkwardness of the show was turned down enough to work properly.
''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' writer Tim Goodman said while the first five episodes of the season had been disappointing, "Rock Show" marked an improvement in which "the characters were more defined, their quirks and rhythms understood". Matt Fowler of
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
said he did not find the episode especially funny but that it did a good job of fleshing out the characters. He said Chris Pratt was especially funny, and that his band's song "The Pit" was stuck in his head after the episode.
''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' writer Keith Phipps, who had mixed feelings about ''Parks and Recreation'' throughout the season, said "Rock Show" was very funny and restored his faith in the potential of the series. Phipps said he believed the show would become very popular in the second season, and that people would later claim to like the first season more than they did the first time they saw it.
In October 2009, while reviewing the second season episode "
Sister City
A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties.
While there are early examples of inter ...
", ''A.V. Club'' writer Leonard Pierce said he believed ''Parks and Recreation'' showed a streak of vast improvement that started with "Rock Show" and continued into the second season.
Jeremy Medina of ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' said the episode was "solid all-around" and especially liked Leslie's blind date with the elderly man and Chris Pratt, especially his listing of all his previous band names. Medina said, "Parks and Recreation is only six episodes in, and it's already better than I anticipated. It has its own tone, a talented cast, and a plot that's advancing toward something, at least as fast as governmental red tape will allow it to."
Richard Lawson of
Gawker
''Gawker'' is an American blog founded by Nick Denton and Elizabeth Spiers and based in New York City focusing on celebrities and the media industry. According to SimilarWeb, the site had over 23 million visits per month as of 2015. Founded in ...
said the episode was the best of the season and that he liked the wistful pacing and Poehler's performance. Lawson said, "Anyone who dismissed this show after its first sorta underwhelming episode made a mistake. The show has only gotten tighter and sharper, culminating in last night's funny/sad finale."
''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' television reviewer James Poniewozik said the episode was the best yet for developing Poehler into a "more multi-facted, less risible character". He also said the supporting staff played "flawlessly" off each other in the rock show scene, and thinks there is "huge potential" in the dynamic between Leslie and her undermining mother. Not all reviews of the episode were positive. Maureen Ryan of the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' said the Leslie Knope character was unappealing in "Rock Show" and throughout the first season, which she said surpassed the ''
Friends
''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...
'' spin-off ''
Joey
Joey may refer to:
People
*Joey (name)
Animals
* Joey (marsupial), an infant marsupial
* Joey, a Blue-fronted Amazon parrot who was one of the Blue Peter pets
Film and television
* ''Joey'' (1977 film), an American film directed by Horac ...
'' as "the worst example of NBC's tendency to extend its franchises well beyond what is desirable or logical."
Home media
"Rock Show", along with the five other first season episodes of ''Parks and Recreation'', was released on a one-disc
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
set in the United States on September 8, 2009. The DVD included cast and crew commentary tracks for each episode, as well as about 30 minutes of deleted scenes.
The disc also included an "Producer's Extended Cut" of "Rock Show", which incorporated scenes that were cut from the originally broadcast episode. Many of the deleted scenes were improvised dialogue from the actors in brief extensions of episodes already included in the originally broadcast episode. In one of the cut scenes, Marlene Knope tells the audience that Leslie's business meeting is actually a date. The producers decided to cut the moment, so the audience would find out at the same time Leslie learns it. In another cut scene, Andy tries to convince Ann that the doctor lied to her about Andy requesting more time with the leg casts because the doctor wanted more money. One of the longest cut scenes from the extended edition was a conversation between Leslie and Mark at the bar, in which Mark explains his ideals about city planning when he attended college are much different than the practical, technical aspects of his job. Although the scene was cut, Michael Schur said the monologue did a great deal to help develop Mark's character.
References
External links
"Rock Show"at the official ''Parks and Recreation'' site
*
{{Parks and Recreation
2009 American television episodes
Parks and Recreation (season 1) episodes