Christmas Scandal
Encyclopedia
"Christmas Scandal" is the twelfth episode of the second season
of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation
, and the eighteenth overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC
in the United States on December 10, 2009. In the episode, a meeting with a disgraced councilman puts Leslie
in the middle of a sex scandal that forces her to hide from the press.
The episode was written by series co-creator Michael Schur
and was directed by Randall Einhorn
. "Christmas Scandal" marked the last of a string of guest appearances by stand-up comedian Louis C.K.
as Dave Sanderson, Leslie's police officer boyfriend.
According to Nielsen Media Research
, "Christmas Scandal" was seen by 5.62 million households, the highest viewership of the season
. The episode received generally positive reviews, although some commentators felt the central story risked becoming too busy and chaotic.
), who was recently discovered to be involved in many bizarre sex scandals. Leslie
(Amy Poehler
) is later asked to meet Dexhart for lunch, where she learns the sketch was accidentally accurate about another bizarre sex scandal that has not been made public. After assuring Dexhart that it was merely a coincidence, Leslie discovers that the local tabloid, The Pawnee Sun, has taken pictures of their lunch and is reporting that Leslie is Dexhart's new mistress.
The speculation about Dexhart and Leslie quickly spins out of control, upsetting Leslie because it is distracting her from overseeing the Christmas village that she set up in Lot 48. Ron
(Nick Offerman
) decides to give Leslie the day off to lie low and distributes her daily duties among the rest of the staff. Everyone is amazed how much Leslie does by herself each day and the entire group struggles to complete their tasks. Leslie has lunch with Dave (Louis C.K.
), who reveals that his unit in the US Army Reserve has been called up to active duty in San Diego for a year to eighteen months, and he invites Leslie to join him since he has fallen in love with her. Leslie confides to Ann
(Rashida Jones
) that she is considering the move, as the treatment of her in the media has soured her on Pawnee.
The local show "Pawnee Today" digs up an old video of Leslie shaking hands with Dexhart and overanalyzes every aspect of the short clip. Ann brings Dexhart to her home, where Ann and Leslie demand he clear Leslie's name. Dexhart refuses because the fake scandal is so docile compared to his real transgressions that it is actually positive press for him. Soon after, Ann is horrified to discover that a news crew secretly followed Dexhart to her home and took a photograph of the meeting, resulting in speculation that Ann is Leslie's lesbian lover in a three-way relationship with Dexhart. A furious Leslie schedules an appearance on "Pawnee Today" to clear her name once and for all. On the show, host Joan Callamezzo (Mo Collins
) surprises Leslie by bringing out Dexhart, who tries to prove their affair by claiming that Leslie has a mole on her buttocks. To finally end the scandal, Leslie pulls down her pants on live television and moons Callamezzo. Since there is no mole, Dexhart is forced to admit that he fabricated the sex scandal.
Over dinner, Leslie tells Dave that she will not move to San Diego with him, as her life is in Pawnee. Dave, although sad, understands her choice and the two split up amicably. At Pawnee's tree lighting ceremony, Leslie is congratulated by everyone, including Leslie's mother Marlene
, who is proud that her daughter successfully fought off the media. Leslie returns to work the next day much to Ron's immense relief, as he could barely handle just a portion of her daily duties. Everyone is visibly glad that Leslie is back.
In a B plot, April
(Aubrey Plaza) asks Andy
(Chris Pratt
) what to get her gay boyfriend for Christmas. All of Andy's ideas are well-meaning but dumb, although it seems that April is just happy to talk with him. To thank Andy, she gets him a Reggie Wayne
jersey for Christmas.
"Christmas Scandal" was written by series co-founder Michael Schur
and directed by Randall Einhorn
. The episode featured the last of a string of guest performances by stand-up comedian Louis C.K.
, who reprised his recurring role as Dave Sanderson, Leslie's police officer boyfriend. Louis C.K. left the show to devote more time to his own upcoming series, Louie
, which was to air in early 2010. Louis C.K. was widely praised for his brief stint on the show, where he adopts a deadpan, technical tone of voice far different from his usual comedy persona. Matt Fowler of IGN
said, "Louis C.K., known for being a raucous, raunchy comic, is almost frightening in his ability to play against his stage persona and give us a wonderfully caring, and deadpan, character".
"Christmas Scandal" also featured Kevin Symons
as Pawnee Councilman Bill Dexhart. Dexhart was previously introduced in "Practice Date", where his sex scandals served as a parody of the real-life 2009 scandal
of South Carolina
Governor
Mark Sanford
, who publicly admitted to a long-time extramarital affair with an Argentinian
woman. Jay Jackson also reprised his prior role as Perd Hapley, a Pawnee television news reporter. "Christmas Scandal" is the first episode to feature the former Pawnee pit location serving a legitimate town purpose. Filling a giant construction pit and turning it into a park had been a central plot-point of Parks and Recreation throughout the first season
and the first half of the second season. The pit was filled in the episode "Kaboom
", and the space is turned into the town's Winter Wonderland Christmas village in "Christmas Scandal". The Christmas village scenes were filmed in the same location as the past pit scenes in Van Nuys
, a district of Los Angeles
, California
. During one scene, Ron expresses concern about dangerous raccoons at the Christmas village. This is a reference to a running gag, established from the series, that Pawnee has a terrible raccoon infestation problem.
, a 2005 film about a romance between two men in the American West
. As a gift, Andy receives a jersey for Reggie Wayne
, the wide receiver
of the Indianapolis Colts
. While discussing gifts, Tom tells Mark all women love diamonds, "even the super left-wing chicks who saw Blood Diamond
", a 2006 film about diamonds mined in Africa
n war zones.
. It was the highest rating of the season, and a 10 percent increase in viewership from the previous episode, "Tom's Divorce
". "Christmas Scandal" drew a 2.3 rating/6 share among viewers aged between 18 and 49. Commentators said NBC may have been received a boost in the ratings due to the lack of competition from repeats on ABC
on December 10; NBC shows The Office, Community
, 30 Rock
and The Jay Leno Show
also saw rating jumps that night.
The episode received generally positive reviews. The A.V. Club
writer Leonard Pierce said the story in "Christmas Scandal" was so busy that it risked running awry, but was kept together by a number of strong comedic moments and subplots. Pierce particularly enjoyed watching the parks department scrambling to do Leslie's work, and the chemistry between both April and Andy, and Leslie and Dave. Alan Sepinwall, television columnist with The Star-Ledger
, said he "thoroughly enjoyed" the episode, especially the subplot of the parks department employees realizing how much work Leslie does due to her absence. However, he said way the sex scandal consumed the entire town and local media countered the central conceit of the series, "that Leslie treats her mundane, small-town civil service job as if it were a high-stakes national politics job, while everyone else sees their world for what it is". Matt Fowler of IGN
said the episode was "a sweet and clever way to celebrate the holiday season", but that the media frenzy in "Christmas Scandal" was "a little out of place in an episode filled with a ton of subtler, character-building moments". Fowler said the parks department employees splitting up to do Leslie's work was "a great element" that helped develop Leslie's character.
set in the United States on November 30, 2010. The DVD included deleted scenes for each episode.
Parks and Recreation (season 2)
The second season of Parks and Recreation originally aired in the United States on the NBC television network starting September 17, 2009, and ended on May 20, 2010. The season was produced by Deedle-Dee Productions and Universal Media Studios, and series co-creators Greg Daniels and Michael Schur...
of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation
Parks and Recreation
Parks and Recreation is an American comedy television series on NBC that focuses on Leslie Knope , a mid-level bureaucrat in the parks department of Pawnee, a fictional town in Indiana. Created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, the series debuted on April 9, 2009; it has run for three seasons and...
, and the eighteenth overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
in the United States on December 10, 2009. In the episode, a meeting with a disgraced councilman puts Leslie
Leslie Knope
Leslie Barbara Knope is a fictional character in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. She is portrayed by Amy Poehler. Poehler garnered two Emmy Award nominations for Best Lead Actress in Comedy Series for her role.-Background:...
in the middle of a sex scandal that forces her to hide from the press.
The episode was written by series co-creator Michael Schur
Michael Schur
Michael Herbert Schur is an American television producer and writer, best known for his work on the NBC comedy series The Office and Parks and Recreation, the latter of which he co-created along with Greg Daniels...
and was directed by Randall Einhorn
Randall Einhorn
Randall Einhorn is an American television director and cinematographer. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio.Einhorn is best known for his work on The Office . He also directed The Accountants, a ten-part webisode spinoff of The Office which appeared online between the second and third seasons...
. "Christmas Scandal" marked the last of a string of guest appearances by stand-up comedian Louis C.K.
Louis C.K.
Louis Szekely , known professionally as Louis C.K., is a stand-up comedian, television and film writer, actor, producer, and director...
as Dave Sanderson, Leslie's police officer boyfriend.
According to Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, "Christmas Scandal" was seen by 5.62 million households, the highest viewership of the season
Parks and Recreation (season 2)
The second season of Parks and Recreation originally aired in the United States on the NBC television network starting September 17, 2009, and ended on May 20, 2010. The season was produced by Deedle-Dee Productions and Universal Media Studios, and series co-creators Greg Daniels and Michael Schur...
. The episode received generally positive reviews, although some commentators felt the central story risked becoming too busy and chaotic.
Plot
The parks department performs in the annual Pawnee City Government Follies that riffs local politics, including one sketch that skewers Councilman Bill Dexhart (Kevin SymonsKevin Symons
Kevin Symons is an American actor, who is best known for role as Dr. Kevin Adams in the television series Darcy's Wild Life. His other television credits include Joan of Arcadia, iCarly, Medium, Models, Inc., Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Veronica Mars, The West Wing and Parks and Recreation...
), who was recently discovered to be involved in many bizarre sex scandals. Leslie
Leslie Knope
Leslie Barbara Knope is a fictional character in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. She is portrayed by Amy Poehler. Poehler garnered two Emmy Award nominations for Best Lead Actress in Comedy Series for her role.-Background:...
(Amy Poehler
Amy Poehler
Amy Meredith Poehler is an American comedian, actress and voice actress. She was a cast member on the NBC television entertainment show Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2008. In 2004, she starred in the film Mean Girls with Tina Fey, with whom she worked again in Baby Mama in 2008. She is...
) is later asked to meet Dexhart for lunch, where she learns the sketch was accidentally accurate about another bizarre sex scandal that has not been made public. After assuring Dexhart that it was merely a coincidence, Leslie discovers that the local tabloid, The Pawnee Sun, has taken pictures of their lunch and is reporting that Leslie is Dexhart's new mistress.
The speculation about Dexhart and Leslie quickly spins out of control, upsetting Leslie because it is distracting her from overseeing the Christmas village that she set up in Lot 48. Ron
Ron Swanson
Ronald Ulysses "Ron" Swanson is a fictional character played by Nick Offerman in the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation on NBC. Ron is parks department director in the Indiana city of Pawnee and the immediate superior of protagonist Leslie Knope...
(Nick Offerman
Nick Offerman
Nick Offerman is an American actor best known for his role as Ron Swanson in the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation. He is also a skilled woodworker.-Early life and career:...
) decides to give Leslie the day off to lie low and distributes her daily duties among the rest of the staff. Everyone is amazed how much Leslie does by herself each day and the entire group struggles to complete their tasks. Leslie has lunch with Dave (Louis C.K.
Louis C.K.
Louis Szekely , known professionally as Louis C.K., is a stand-up comedian, television and film writer, actor, producer, and director...
), who reveals that his unit in the US Army Reserve has been called up to active duty in San Diego for a year to eighteen months, and he invites Leslie to join him since he has fallen in love with her. Leslie confides to Ann
Ann Perkins
Ann Meredith Perkins is a fictional character in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. She is a nurse and best friend of Leslie Knope. She is portrayed by Rashida Jones.-Season one:...
(Rashida Jones
Rashida Jones
Rashida Leah Jones is an American film and television actress, comic book author, screenwriter and occasional singer. She played Louisa Fenn on Boston Public and Karen Filippelli on The Office as well as roles in the films I Love You, Man and The Social Network...
) that she is considering the move, as the treatment of her in the media has soured her on Pawnee.
The local show "Pawnee Today" digs up an old video of Leslie shaking hands with Dexhart and overanalyzes every aspect of the short clip. Ann brings Dexhart to her home, where Ann and Leslie demand he clear Leslie's name. Dexhart refuses because the fake scandal is so docile compared to his real transgressions that it is actually positive press for him. Soon after, Ann is horrified to discover that a news crew secretly followed Dexhart to her home and took a photograph of the meeting, resulting in speculation that Ann is Leslie's lesbian lover in a three-way relationship with Dexhart. A furious Leslie schedules an appearance on "Pawnee Today" to clear her name once and for all. On the show, host Joan Callamezzo (Mo Collins
Mo Collins
Maureen "Mo" Ann Collins is an American actress and comedian. Collins is perhaps best known for being a member of the ensemble on FOX's sketch comedy series MADtv. She became well known for several characters during her tenure on the show...
) surprises Leslie by bringing out Dexhart, who tries to prove their affair by claiming that Leslie has a mole on her buttocks. To finally end the scandal, Leslie pulls down her pants on live television and moons Callamezzo. Since there is no mole, Dexhart is forced to admit that he fabricated the sex scandal.
Over dinner, Leslie tells Dave that she will not move to San Diego with him, as her life is in Pawnee. Dave, although sad, understands her choice and the two split up amicably. At Pawnee's tree lighting ceremony, Leslie is congratulated by everyone, including Leslie's mother Marlene
Marlene Griggs-Knope
Marlene Griggs-Knope is a fictional character played by Pamela Reed in the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation. She is the mother of the show's protagonist, Leslie Knope, and an important political figure in the school system at the fictional Indiana town of Pawnee, where Leslie...
, who is proud that her daughter successfully fought off the media. Leslie returns to work the next day much to Ron's immense relief, as he could barely handle just a portion of her daily duties. Everyone is visibly glad that Leslie is back.
In a B plot, April
April Ludgate
April Roberta Ludgate is a fictional character in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. She is an apathetic college student employed by the Pawnee Department of Parks and Recreation as Ron Swanson's assistant. She is married to Andy Dwyer. She is portrayed by Aubrey Plaza...
(Aubrey Plaza) asks Andy
Andy Dwyer
Andrew Maxwell "Andy" Dwyer is a fictional character in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. He is Ann Perkins' ex-boyfriend, a talented-if-yet-unsuccessful musician, a shoe-shiner at Pawnee City Hall, and April Ludgate's husband. He is portrayed by Chris Pratt.-Background:At the start of the...
(Chris Pratt
Chris Pratt
Christopher Michael "Chris" Pratt is an American actor, best known for his roles as Harold Brighton "Bright" Abbott in the television series Everwood, the recurring character Winchester "Ché" Cook in season 4 of The OC, Andy Dwyer in the television series Parks and Recreation and for portraying...
) what to get her gay boyfriend for Christmas. All of Andy's ideas are well-meaning but dumb, although it seems that April is just happy to talk with him. To thank Andy, she gets him a Reggie Wayne
Reggie Wayne
Reginald "Reggie" Wayne is a professional American football wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. Wayne was selected in the 1st round of the 2001 NFL Draft by the Colts...
jersey for Christmas.
Production
Michael Schur
Michael Herbert Schur is an American television producer and writer, best known for his work on the NBC comedy series The Office and Parks and Recreation, the latter of which he co-created along with Greg Daniels...
and directed by Randall Einhorn
Randall Einhorn
Randall Einhorn is an American television director and cinematographer. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio.Einhorn is best known for his work on The Office . He also directed The Accountants, a ten-part webisode spinoff of The Office which appeared online between the second and third seasons...
. The episode featured the last of a string of guest performances by stand-up comedian Louis C.K.
Louis C.K.
Louis Szekely , known professionally as Louis C.K., is a stand-up comedian, television and film writer, actor, producer, and director...
, who reprised his recurring role as Dave Sanderson, Leslie's police officer boyfriend. Louis C.K. left the show to devote more time to his own upcoming series, Louie
Louie (TV series)
Louie is an American comedy television series on the FX network that began airing in 2010. It is written, directed, edited and produced by the show's creator, stand-up comedian Louis C.K., who stars as a fictionalized version of himself, a comedian and newly divorced father raising his two...
, which was to air in early 2010. Louis C.K. was widely praised for his brief stint on the show, where he adopts a deadpan, technical tone of voice far different from his usual comedy persona. Matt Fowler of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
said, "Louis C.K., known for being a raucous, raunchy comic, is almost frightening in his ability to play against his stage persona and give us a wonderfully caring, and deadpan, character".
"Christmas Scandal" also featured Kevin Symons
Kevin Symons
Kevin Symons is an American actor, who is best known for role as Dr. Kevin Adams in the television series Darcy's Wild Life. His other television credits include Joan of Arcadia, iCarly, Medium, Models, Inc., Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Veronica Mars, The West Wing and Parks and Recreation...
as Pawnee Councilman Bill Dexhart. Dexhart was previously introduced in "Practice Date", where his sex scandals served as a parody of the real-life 2009 scandal
Mark Sanford disappearance and extramarital affair
For six days in June 2009, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford's whereabouts were unknown and there was media coverage of what was described as his disappearance. Subsequently the Governor reappeared and reported that he had been in Argentina with a woman with whom he was having an extramarital...
of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
Governor
Governor of South Carolina
The Governor of the State of South Carolina is the head of state for the State of South Carolina. Under the South Carolina Constitution, the Governor is also the head of government, serving as the chief executive of the South Carolina executive branch. The Governor is the ex officio...
Mark Sanford
Mark Sanford
Marshall Clement "Mark" Sanford Jr. is an American politician from South Carolina, who was the 115th Governor of South Carolina from 2003 to 2011....
, who publicly admitted to a long-time extramarital affair with an Argentinian
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
woman. Jay Jackson also reprised his prior role as Perd Hapley, a Pawnee television news reporter. "Christmas Scandal" is the first episode to feature the former Pawnee pit location serving a legitimate town purpose. Filling a giant construction pit and turning it into a park had been a central plot-point of Parks and Recreation throughout the first season
Parks and Recreation (season 1)
The first season of Parks and Recreation originally aired in the United States on the NBC television network between April 9 and May 14, 2009...
and the first half of the second season. The pit was filled in the episode "Kaboom
Kaboom (Parks and Recreation)
"Kaboom" is the sixth episode of the second season of Parks and Recreation, and the twelfth overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on October 22, 2009...
", and the space is turned into the town's Winter Wonderland Christmas village in "Christmas Scandal". The Christmas village scenes were filmed in the same location as the past pit scenes in Van Nuys
Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California
Van Nuys is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California.-History:Look at the two photos of Van Nuys' first year—and then listen to what the Los Angeles Times wrote on February 23, 1911, the day after the Van Nuys town lot auction--"Between dawn and dusk, in the...
, a district of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. During one scene, Ron expresses concern about dangerous raccoons at the Christmas village. This is a reference to a running gag, established from the series, that Pawnee has a terrible raccoon infestation problem.
Cultural references
When April seeks gift ideas for her "gay boyfriend", Andy suggests a DVD of Brokeback MountainBrokeback Mountain
Brokeback Mountain is a 2005 romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee. It is a film adaptation of the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx with the screenplay written by Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry...
, a 2005 film about a romance between two men in the American West
Western United States
.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
. As a gift, Andy receives a jersey for Reggie Wayne
Reggie Wayne
Reginald "Reggie" Wayne is a professional American football wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. Wayne was selected in the 1st round of the 2001 NFL Draft by the Colts...
, the wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
of the Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
. While discussing gifts, Tom tells Mark all women love diamonds, "even the super left-wing chicks who saw Blood Diamond
Blood Diamond (film)
Blood Diamond is a 2006 political thriller film co-produced and directed by Edward Zwick and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly and Djimon Hounsou...
", a 2006 film about diamonds mined in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n war zones.
Reception
In its original American broadcast on December 10, 2009, "Christmas Scandal" was seen by 5.62 million households, according to Nielsen Media ResearchNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
. It was the highest rating of the season, and a 10 percent increase in viewership from the previous episode, "Tom's Divorce
Tom's Divorce
"Tom's Divorce" is the eleventh episode of the second season of American comedy television series Parks and Recreation, and the seventeenth overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on December 3, 2009. In the episode, Tom gets a divorce and Leslie tries to...
". "Christmas Scandal" drew a 2.3 rating/6 share among viewers aged between 18 and 49. Commentators said NBC may have been received a boost in the ratings due to the lack of competition from repeats on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
on December 10; NBC shows The Office, Community
Community (TV series)
Community is an American television comedy series created by Dan Harmon that airs on NBC. The series is about a group of students at a community college in the fictional locale of Greendale, Colorado. The series heavily uses meta-humor and pop culture references, often parodying film and television...
, 30 Rock
30 Rock
30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey that airs on NBC. The series is loosely based on Fey's experiences as head writer for Saturday Night Live...
and The Jay Leno Show
The Jay Leno Show
The Jay Leno Show is an American comedy show created by and starring Jay Leno, that aired from September 14, 2009 to February 9, 2010 on NBC following the May 29, 2009 conclusion of Leno's first tenure as host of The Tonight Show...
also saw rating jumps that night.
The episode received generally positive reviews. The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
writer Leonard Pierce said the story in "Christmas Scandal" was so busy that it risked running awry, but was kept together by a number of strong comedic moments and subplots. Pierce particularly enjoyed watching the parks department scrambling to do Leslie's work, and the chemistry between both April and Andy, and Leslie and Dave. Alan Sepinwall, television columnist with The Star-Ledger
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 which are owned by Advance Publications.The Newark Star-Ledgers daily...
, said he "thoroughly enjoyed" the episode, especially the subplot of the parks department employees realizing how much work Leslie does due to her absence. However, he said way the sex scandal consumed the entire town and local media countered the central conceit of the series, "that Leslie treats her mundane, small-town civil service job as if it were a high-stakes national politics job, while everyone else sees their world for what it is". Matt Fowler of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
said the episode was "a sweet and clever way to celebrate the holiday season", but that the media frenzy in "Christmas Scandal" was "a little out of place in an episode filled with a ton of subtler, character-building moments". Fowler said the parks department employees splitting up to do Leslie's work was "a great element" that helped develop Leslie's character.
DVD release
"Christmas Scandal", along with the other 23 second season episodes of Parks and Recreation, was released on a four-disc DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
set in the United States on November 30, 2010. The DVD included deleted scenes for each episode.
External links
- "Christmas Scandal" at the official Parks and Recreation site
- "Christmas Scandal" at TV.comTV.comTV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...