"The Debate" is the twentieth episode of the fourth 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 ...

'', and the 66th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

in the United States on April 26, 2012. In the episode,

Leslie Leslie may refer to: * Leslie (name), a name and list of people with the given name or surname, including fictional characters Families * Clan Leslie, a Scottish clan with the motto "grip fast" * Leslie (Russian nobility), a Russian noble family ...

(

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 trou ...

) debates Bobby Newport (

Paul Rudd Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor. He studied theater at the University of Kansas and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, before making his acting debut in 1991. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in ...

) and the other city council candidates.

Plot

It is the day of the debate and Ben Wyatt ( Adam Scott) has everything organized:

Chris Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name * Chris Abani (born 1966), N ...

(

Rob Lowe Robert Hepler Lowe (born March 17, 1964) is an American actor, filmmaker, and podcast host. He made his acting debut at the age of 15 with ABC's short-lived sitcom ''A New Kind of Family'' (1979–1980). Following numerous television roles in ...

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 ...

), and

Tom Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

(

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 ''Master ...

) are the spin team, but Tom is upset because Ann once again broke up with him and she and Chris have been acting very close.

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 piano ...

(

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 ...

) 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 '' Par ...

) agree to hold a viewing party of the debate at their house for Leslie's donors, but unfortunately Andy forgot to pay the cable bill. At the debate, Leslie is all ready for her planned talking points, but Bobby Newport's (

) campaign manager Jennifer Barkley (

Kathryn Hahn Kathryn Marie Hahn (born July 23, 1973) is an American actress and comedian. She began her career on television, starring as grief counselor Lily Lebowski in the NBC crime drama series ''Crossing Jordan'' (2001–2007). Hahn gained prominence ap ...

) is oddly calm. Chris tells Ann that he wants to give their relationship another chance, which Tom witnesses and further upsets him, resulting in him lashing out at reporters. The debate begins and the crowd - and moderators Perd Hapley and Joan Callamezzo - are in favor of Bobby (the debate is sponsored by his father's company Sweetums), with Bobby acting innocent, naive, but good-intentioned with Leslie coming off as a bully due to her attacks against him. Also, fellow candidate and former porn star Brandi Maxxxx (

Mara Marini Mara Marini is a Canadian actress best known for her reoccurring role as Brandi Maxxxx in the NBC comedy series ''Parks and Recreation''. She has performed in several independent films and plays in the Los Angeles theater scene, as well as making ...

) agrees with most of Leslie's views, making Leslie seem unexceptional. Meanwhile, Andy entertains the donors by acting out scenes from his favorite movies while

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 A ...

(

Nick Offerman Nicholas David Offerman (born June 26, 1970) is an American actor, writer, comedian, producer, and carpenter. He is best known for his role as Ron Swanson in the NBC sitcom ''Parks and Recreation'', for which he received the Television Critics A ...

) climbs a telephone pole to illegally obtain cable for the house. Bobby's broad and unoffensive prepared answers continue to generate applause, but Leslie slowly wins more support from the crowd with her knowledge. Jennifer reveals Bobby has a secret weapon: he soon announces that if Leslie is elected, his father will move Sweetums to Mexico, therefore eliminating Pawnee's biggest employer. Bobby wins the full support of the crowd, sending Ben into a panic. Leslie convinces Ben to let her improvise her closing statements, insisting she can win the debate. In her closing remarks - which Ron repairs the cable in time for - Leslie reprimands Bobby for holding Pawnee hostage for votes in a stirring speech that wins over the crowd, the moderators, and even Bobby himself. Although Ann thinks about getting back with Chris, she decides to remain single, which saddens Chris but makes Tom happy, believing he can eventually win her back. Leslie and Ben celebrate victory, and a jubilant Bobby, who is happy that the debate is over, invites them to his lake house for a party.

Accolades

For her work on this episode,

was nominated for the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series is an annual award presented as part of the Primetime Emmy Awards. It recognizes writing excellence in regular comedic series, most of which can generally be described as situa ...

.http://www.emmys.com/nominations/2012/Outstanding%20Writing%20for%20a%20Comedy%20Series

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Debate, The 2012 American television episodes Parks and Recreation (season 4) episodes Television episodes set in Indianapolis