The Stakeout (Parks and Recreation)
Encyclopedia
"The Stakeout" is the second episode of the second season
of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation
, and the eighth overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC
in the United States on September 24, 2009. In the episode, Leslie
conducts surveillance on a community garden in an attempt to find out who planted marijuana
there.
The episode was written by Rachel Axler
and directed by Seth Gordon
. It marked the first in a series of guest appearances by stand-up comedian Louis C.K.
as Dave Sanderson, a Pawnee police officer who develops a romantic interest in Leslie. A scene in which Sanderson arrests Tom Haverford in his own van mirrors the real-life controversial 2009 arrest
of Henry Louis Gates.
According to Nielsen Media Research
, the episode was seen by 4.22 million households, a 800,000-household drop from the previous week's season premiere, "Pawnee Zoo
". "The Stakeout" received generally positive reviews, with several commentators saying it marked a continued improvement over the first Parks and Recreation season
.
), who is preparing for her first date with Mark (Paul Schneider
), worriedly asks Leslie (Amy Poehler
) if she has any reservations, since Leslie previously had feelings for him. Leslie insists she is fine. Later, Leslie and Tom (Aziz Ansari
) visit a community garden in the Pawnee pit, where they find what appears to be marijuana
.
That night, Leslie and Tom don black and watch the pit from a van. Leslie eventually spots Ann and Mark leaving for their date, and starts snapping photos of them. Later, Leslie and Tom see Ann's ex-boyfriend Andy (Chris Pratt
) in the pit. They assume he is the kingpin, but he insists he is actually living in the pit and eating the vegetables from the garden.
Back at city hall, Ron (Nick Offerman
) remains immobile in his chair all day due to a hernia
which causes excruciating pain if he moves. Ron remains immobile in his seat well into the night, until the janitors turn the lights off on him. The intern, April (Aubrey Plaza), returns to check on him, and wheels Ron out to the car on his office chair to bring him to the hospital.
Leslie and Andy walk off to get fast food. Back at the pit, Tom is locked out of his van and tries to break back in. Ann and Mark return from their date and call the police after they see him, assuming him to be a prowler. Officer Dave Sanderson (Louis C.K.
) arrives and confronts Tom, who mouths off at Dave until he places him under arrest.
Leslie goes to the police station. Initially angry, she eventually confesses about the marijuana. Dave releases Tom, who thanks Leslie for sticking up for him. The next day, Leslie and Dave go to the garden, but he finds no marijuana. Dave guesses Leslie orchestrated the whole thing to spy on Ann and Mark. Later, Dave privately admits he is attracted to Leslie.
and directed by Seth Gordon
. It marked the first in a series of guest appearances by stand-up comedian Louis C.K. He played Dave Sanderson, a Pawnee police officer who develops a romantic interest in Leslie, and speaks about intimate feelings in a deadpan, technical tone of voice. C.K. improvised the line, "I was attracted to her in a sexual manner that was appropriate" during his discussion about Leslie near the end of the episode.
During a scene in the van, Tom Haverford tells Leslie he changed his name because his original name was too foreign sounding for a career in politics. When Leslie points about U.S. President
Barack Obama
has a foreign-sounding name, Tom gets upset. The reference to Obama's name were originally featured in a scene that was cut Parks and Recreation pilot episode
. Offerman, who barely moves and is often quiet throughout the episode, said he learned to use humor amid silence while serving as an altar boy and lector at his church. Offerman said, "I had a cousin in the congregation, and I would speak with the utmost, august stoicism, and everyone would think I was a very effective speaker. But he knew I was being facetious. He'd get in trouble for cracking up."
Within a week of the episode's original broadcast, three deleted scenes from "The Stakeout" were made available on the official Parks and Recreation website. In the first 75-second clip, a panicked Leslie asks Tom whether the marijuana plant could be a "non-marijuana weed". In the second 80-second clip, Dave says he hates arresting people because he "never wants to go". He also discusses his strategies for calming people down, including using a soft voice, eye contact and tasing
them. In the third minute-long clip, Ron tries unsuccessfully to eat his lunch and throw away the garbage without moving.
professor who was arrested
after police mistakenly thought he was breaking into his own home in Cambridge
, Massachusetts
. The arrest received national attention. When a police officer asked Gates to step outside, he replied, "I'll speak to your mama outside," which was parodied in "The Stakeout" when Dave asked Tom to step out of the van and he responded, "I'll step out of your mama's van!"
During the opening scene, Tom pretends to know the names of all the plants in a community garden and assigns them all fake names based on real-life rappers. He refers to one plant as Souljaboy Tellems, a reference to the performer Soulja Boy Tell 'Em
, and another as Ludachrysanthemums, a reference to rapper Ludacris
. When Ron says he has a "minor medical issue," April incorrectly guesses it is AIDS
, a serious immune system disease.
. It constituted a nearly 800,000-household drop from the previous week's season premiere, "Pawnee Zoo
". The episode received a 1.8 rating/5 share among viewers aged between 18 and 49, the lowest rating for Season Two so far. The Star-Ledger
television columnist Alan Sepinwall said although the quality of Parks and Recreations was improving, season two
was struggling in the ratings based on the lower quality of the season one
episodes. Sepinwall said, "There's a school of thought in the TV business that it's harder to get back viewers who watched and left than it is to start small and attract new viewers over time." "The Stakeout" received generally positive reviews. Sepinwall said the episode was funny, but also notable because it developed a stronger personal connection between Leslie and Tom, and because it featured more references to topical events like the Henry Gates controversy.
Steve Heisler of The A.V. Club
said "The Stakeout" was "the best Parks & Recreation episode by a long shot". He said Poehler seemed more at ease with the Leslie character, and thought "the intersection of business and personal stress" served the episode well. He also praised the supporting cast and particularly the Ron Swanson subplot. Matt Fowler of IGN
said with "The Stakeout", the second season of Parks and Recreation continued to be "significantly funnier" than the first season. Fowler said he thought the pairing between Leslie and Tom helped ground both characters, and said he was interested to see Leslie dealt with the growing romance between Ann and Mark. Entertainment Weekly
writer Henning Fog said "The Stakeout" showed growth improvement for the series, and praised the guest performance of Louis C.K. Fog said the disparate pairing of Leslie and Tom, Mark and Ann, and Ron and April, created a sense that the characters "really knew each other [and] had lives outside of Leslie's immediate orbit". Chicago Tribune
columnist Maureen Ryan particularly praised the performance of Offerman, of whom she said, "His pained reactions and stoic silence are hilarious."
set in the United States on November 30, 2010. The DVD included deleted scenes for each episode.
Category:2009 television episodes
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 eighth 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 September 24, 2009. In the episode, 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:...
conducts surveillance on a community garden in an attempt to find out who planted marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
there.
The episode was written by Rachel Axler
Rachel Axler
Rachel Axler is an American television writer and playwright. In television, her credits include New Girl, Bored to Death, Parks & Recreation and The Daily Show....
and directed by Seth Gordon
Seth Gordon
Seth Gordon is an American film director, producer, and film editor. He has produced and directed both film and TV for various film and television studios, including PBS, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the United Nations 1% For Development Fund...
. It marked the first in a series 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, a Pawnee police officer who develops a romantic interest in Leslie. A scene in which Sanderson arrests Tom Haverford in his own van mirrors the real-life controversial 2009 arrest
Henry Louis Gates arrest controversy
On July 16, 2009, Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., was arrested at his Cambridge, Massachusetts home by a local police officer responding to a 911 caller’s report of men breaking and entering the residence...
of Henry Louis Gates.
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...
, the episode was seen by 4.22 million households, a 800,000-household drop from the previous week's season premiere, "Pawnee Zoo
Pawnee Zoo
"Pawnee Zoo" is the second season premiere of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation, and the seventh overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on September 17, 2009...
". "The Stakeout" received generally positive reviews, with several commentators saying it marked a continued improvement over the first Parks and Recreation 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...
.
Plot
Ann (Rashida JonesRashida 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...
), who is preparing for her first date with Mark (Paul Schneider
Paul Schneider (actor)
Paul Andrew Schneider is an American film actor.-Early life and career:Schneider was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina. He graduated from the North Carolina School of Arts...
), worriedly asks Leslie (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...
) if she has any reservations, since Leslie previously had feelings for him. Leslie insists she is fine. Later, Leslie and Tom (Aziz Ansari
Aziz Ansari
Aziz Ansari is an American actor, writer, and stand-up comedian. He currently stars as Tom Haverford on the NBC show Parks and Recreation....
) visit a community garden in the Pawnee pit, where they find what appears to be marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
.
That night, Leslie and Tom don black and watch the pit from a van. Leslie eventually spots Ann and Mark leaving for their date, and starts snapping photos of them. Later, Leslie and Tom see Ann's ex-boyfriend Andy (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...
) in the pit. They assume he is the kingpin, but he insists he is actually living in the pit and eating the vegetables from the garden.
Back at city hall, Ron (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:...
) remains immobile in his chair all day due to a hernia
Hernia
A hernia is the protrusion of an organ or the fascia of an organ through the wall of the cavity that normally contains it. A hiatal hernia occurs when the stomach protrudes into the mediastinum through the esophageal opening in the diaphragm....
which causes excruciating pain if he moves. Ron remains immobile in his seat well into the night, until the janitors turn the lights off on him. The intern, April (Aubrey Plaza), returns to check on him, and wheels Ron out to the car on his office chair to bring him to the hospital.
Leslie and Andy walk off to get fast food. Back at the pit, Tom is locked out of his van and tries to break back in. Ann and Mark return from their date and call the police after they see him, assuming him to be a prowler. Officer Dave Sanderson (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...
) arrives and confronts Tom, who mouths off at Dave until he places him under arrest.
Leslie goes to the police station. Initially angry, she eventually confesses about the marijuana. Dave releases Tom, who thanks Leslie for sticking up for him. The next day, Leslie and Dave go to the garden, but he finds no marijuana. Dave guesses Leslie orchestrated the whole thing to spy on Ann and Mark. Later, Dave privately admits he is attracted to Leslie.
Production
"The Stakeout" was written by Rachel AxlerRachel Axler
Rachel Axler is an American television writer and playwright. In television, her credits include New Girl, Bored to Death, Parks & Recreation and The Daily Show....
and directed by Seth Gordon
Seth Gordon
Seth Gordon is an American film director, producer, and film editor. He has produced and directed both film and TV for various film and television studios, including PBS, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the United Nations 1% For Development Fund...
. It marked the first in a series of guest appearances by stand-up comedian Louis C.K. He played Dave Sanderson, a Pawnee police officer who develops a romantic interest in Leslie, and speaks about intimate feelings in a deadpan, technical tone of voice. C.K. improvised the line, "I was attracted to her in a sexual manner that was appropriate" during his discussion about Leslie near the end of the episode.
During a scene in the van, Tom Haverford tells Leslie he changed his name because his original name was too foreign sounding for a career in politics. When Leslie points about U.S. President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
has a foreign-sounding name, Tom gets upset. The reference to Obama's name were originally featured in a scene that was cut Parks and Recreation pilot episode
Pilot (Parks and Recreation)
"Pilot" is the first episode of the first season of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on April 9, 2009. The episode was written by series co-creators Michael Schur and Greg Daniels, and directed by Daniels...
. Offerman, who barely moves and is often quiet throughout the episode, said he learned to use humor amid silence while serving as an altar boy and lector at his church. Offerman said, "I had a cousin in the congregation, and I would speak with the utmost, august stoicism, and everyone would think I was a very effective speaker. But he knew I was being facetious. He'd get in trouble for cracking up."
Within a week of the episode's original broadcast, three deleted scenes from "The Stakeout" were made available on the official Parks and Recreation website. In the first 75-second clip, a panicked Leslie asks Tom whether the marijuana plant could be a "non-marijuana weed". In the second 80-second clip, Dave says he hates arresting people because he "never wants to go". He also discusses his strategies for calming people down, including using a soft voice, eye contact and tasing
Taser
A Taser is an electroshock weapon that uses electrical current to disrupt voluntary control of muscles. Its manufacturer, Taser International, calls the effects "neuromuscular incapacitation" and the devices' mechanism "Electro-Muscular Disruption technology"...
them. In the third minute-long clip, Ron tries unsuccessfully to eat his lunch and throw away the garbage without moving.
Cultural references
The confrontation between Tom Haverford and Dave Sanderson before Tom's arrest in his own van mirrored the real life arrest of Henry Louis Gates, a black Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
professor who was arrested
Henry Louis Gates arrest controversy
On July 16, 2009, Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., was arrested at his Cambridge, Massachusetts home by a local police officer responding to a 911 caller’s report of men breaking and entering the residence...
after police mistakenly thought he was breaking into his own home in Cambridge
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. The arrest received national attention. When a police officer asked Gates to step outside, he replied, "I'll speak to your mama outside," which was parodied in "The Stakeout" when Dave asked Tom to step out of the van and he responded, "I'll step out of your mama's van!"
During the opening scene, Tom pretends to know the names of all the plants in a community garden and assigns them all fake names based on real-life rappers. He refers to one plant as Souljaboy Tellems, a reference to the performer Soulja Boy Tell 'Em
Soulja Boy Tell 'Em
DeAndre Cortez Way , better known by his stage name Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, or simply Soulja Boy, is an American rapper, record producer, actor, entrepreneur, and internet personality....
, and another as Ludachrysanthemums, a reference to rapper Ludacris
Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges , better known by his stage name Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Along with his manager, Chaka Zulu, Ludacris is the co-founder of Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings...
. When Ron says he has a "minor medical issue," April incorrectly guesses it is AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
, a serious immune system disease.
Reception
In its original American broadcast on September 24, 2009, "The Stakeout" was seen by 4.22 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 constituted a nearly 800,000-household drop from the previous week's season premiere, "Pawnee Zoo
Pawnee Zoo
"Pawnee Zoo" is the second season premiere of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation, and the seventh overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on September 17, 2009...
". The episode received a 1.8 rating/5 share among viewers aged between 18 and 49, the lowest rating for Season Two so far. 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...
television columnist Alan Sepinwall said although the quality of Parks and Recreations was improving, season two
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...
was struggling in the ratings based on the lower quality of the season one
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...
episodes. Sepinwall said, "There's a school of thought in the TV business that it's harder to get back viewers who watched and left than it is to start small and attract new viewers over time." "The Stakeout" received generally positive reviews. Sepinwall said the episode was funny, but also notable because it developed a stronger personal connection between Leslie and Tom, and because it featured more references to topical events like the Henry Gates controversy.
Steve Heisler of 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...
said "The Stakeout" was "the best Parks & Recreation episode by a long shot". He said Poehler seemed more at ease with the Leslie character, and thought "the intersection of business and personal stress" served the episode well. He also praised the supporting cast and particularly the Ron Swanson subplot. 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 with "The Stakeout", the second season of Parks and Recreation continued to be "significantly funnier" than the first season. Fowler said he thought the pairing between Leslie and Tom helped ground both characters, and said he was interested to see Leslie dealt with the growing romance between Ann and Mark. Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
writer Henning Fog said "The Stakeout" showed growth improvement for the series, and praised the guest performance of Louis C.K. Fog said the disparate pairing of Leslie and Tom, Mark and Ann, and Ron and April, created a sense that the characters "really knew each other [and] had lives outside of Leslie's immediate orbit". Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
columnist Maureen Ryan particularly praised the performance of Offerman, of whom she said, "His pained reactions and stoic silence are hilarious."
DVD release
"The Stakeout", 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
- "The Stakeout" at the official Parks and Recreation site
- "The Stakeout" 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...
Category:2009 television episodes