Hunting Trip

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"Hunting Trip"
Parks and Recreation episode
Episode no.Season 2
Episode 10
Directed byGreg Daniels
Written byDaniel J. Goor
Original air dateNovember 19, 2009 (2009-11-19)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"The Camel" 		Next →
"Tom's Divorce"
Parks and Recreation season 2
List of episodes

"Hunting Trip" is the tenth episode of the

television series Parks and Recreation, and the sixteenth overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on November 19, 2009. In the episode, Leslie tries to prove she can hang out with the guys by attending Ron
's annual hunting trip, where Ron is accidentally shot.

The episode was written by Daniel J. Goor and was directed by series co-creator Greg Daniels. It also introduced a romantic subplot between the characters Andy and April which continued throughout the second season and into the third. Series co-creator Michael Schur said the pairing was not previously planned but grew when it was discovered actors Aubrey Plaza and Chris Pratt had strong comedic chemistry together.

According to

Nielsen Media Research, "Hunting Trip" was seen by 4.61 million viewers, a slight drop from the previous week's episode, "The Camel
". The episode received generally positive reviews, with commentators particularly praising the Andy and April subplot, as well as the continued development of Leslie Knope's character.

Plot

The episode opens with

piggyback rides to everyone in the parks department. Later, Ron (Nick Offerman), Jerry (Jim O'Heir) and Mark (Paul Schneider) look forward to their annual "trail survey", which is actually a yearly secret hunting trip. Determined to prove she can be just like one of the guys around the office, Leslie insists the ladies of the parks department attend the trip this year, as well as Tom (Aziz Ansari
), who has also never been invited. Ron is visibly disappointed.

Leslie asks

hickey
to make Ann jealous, which Andy accepts.

Meanwhile, the others arrive at the cabin for the hunting trip. Leslie (Amy Poehler) proves to be an excellent hunter and bags the first quail. Growing increasingly threatened, Ron agrees to a challenge that Leslie cannot shoot more birds than he can, and they split up. After a few hours of hunting, Ron screams and the others rush to his side and find he has been shot in the head, with the gun also shooting out the window of Donna's Mercedes. Ann takes Ron back to the cabin, where he is absolutely furious even though the injury is not serious. Ron asks whether Leslie shot him, but she insists she did not. Ron takes several pain pills and washes it down with scotch, which forces Ann and Leslie to hold his mouth open and induce vomiting, despite fierce opposition from Ron himself.

The others discuss who shot Ron, and Tom creates a minor panic when he suggests perhaps an outsider is hunting them. Ann takes Leslie aside and says she knows who shot Ron, and a few minutes later Leslie admits to the group that she was the shooter, even though Ann knows this is not the case. A park ranger (Jay Johnston) arrives and interrogates Leslie, implying that the accident is the result of her femininity. Leslie knows that she is a good hunter, but goes along with the ranger's sexist implications in order to appease him. Later, a bandaged Ron repeatedly berates Leslie, prompting Ann to insist Tom come forward. Tom admits he shot Ron, and that Leslie covered for him because he did not have his hunting license, which could have resulted in a $25,000 fine and possible prison time. Ron is impressed with Leslie, whom he calls a "stand-up guy". The episode ends with a get well party for Ron, where Ann is unimpressed with Andy's hickey, and the whole party is horrified by Ron's head wound.

Production

"Hunting Trip" was written by Daniel J. Goor and directed by series co-creator Greg Daniels. The episode introduced a romantic subplot between the characters Andy and April which continued throughout the second season and into the third. Series co-creator Michael Schur said the pairing was not previously planned, but grew when it was discovered during the filming of "Hunting Trip" that actors Aubrey Plaza and Chris Pratt had strong comedic chemistry together.[1] However, Schur also said the idea to pair them together in "Hunting Trip" stemmed in part from a line Plaza improvised in the first season finale "Rock Show", when Andy explained his style of music and April replied that she completely understood him. Schur said, "At the time, it was this little nothing, throwaway thing, but when we watched it, we thought there might be something there."[2]

During a November 2009 panel at the

Paley Center for Media in New York City, Plaza said, "You're going to see more scenes with Andy and April. There could be a love connection for them."[3] Daniels said some of his favorite moments from the series were in "Hunting Trip" and he particularly loved the "interpersonal stuff" between Andy and April, who he described as "two characters that you didn't know had any interest in one another".[4] Pratt specifically sought to make Plaza laugh during their scene together and was ultimately successful. He told Daniels before filming, "I'm gonna get something out of her."[2] "Hunting Trip" included a scene in which Leslie tells the state trooper multiple reasons or excuses for why she apparently shot Ron, all of which were edited together in a series of jump cuts. The technique has been commonly used throughout the Parks and Recreation series to condense multiple takes of improvisation from Poehler.[5][6]

Reception

I could literally watch Andy and April for a full half-hour. Their pairing was amazing, and might I add, very naturalistic. It didn't feel like they were just two quirky characters, I felt like they were really interacting on a sweet and real level.

 — Matt Fowler, IGN[7]

In its original American broadcast on November 19, 2009, "Hunting Trip" was seen by 4.61 million viewers, according to

Nielsen Media Research. "Hunting Trip" drew a 2.0 rating/6 share among viewers aged between 18 and 49. It constituted about a five percent drop in viewership from the previous week's episode, "The Camel",[8] which itself was a five percent drop from the previous episode, "Ron and Tammy".[9] The episode received generally positive reviews, with several particularly praising the subplot between Aubrey Plaza and Chris Pratt.[6][7] Reviewers also praised the continued developed of the Leslie Knope character, who proves to be intelligent and capable in "Hunting Trip", rather than the clueless protagonist she appeared to be in earlier episodes.[5][7] In 2011, New York magazine writer called it "one of the breakout episodes that saw the show finding its momentum and figuring out how to transfer the dynamic outside of the office".[10]

Predator, the alien antagonist from the 1987 film of the same name. Weiner called it a "detour into an inspired absurdity that tugs against and tweaks the show's bureaucratic backdrop".[11] Time magazine television critic James Poniewozik said "Hunting Trip" demonstrated how far Leslie Knope had developed since the first season. Poniewozik praised the "ultra-deadpan" pairing of Andy and April, which he said was another in a continued line of "interesting combinations for its side players".[12] Steve Penner of The Portsmouth Herald said the sequence of Poehler's statements to the park trooper was "worthy of her absolutely best SNL impressions".[13]

DVD release

"Hunting Trip", along with the other 23 second season episodes of Parks and Recreation, was released on a four-disc

sixth season of The Office.[16]

References

  1. ^ Martin, Denise (March 12, 2010). "'Parks and Recreation': Mike Schur tells us why Paul Schneider is leaving the show, plus more details on Adam Scott and Rob Lowe". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 7, 2011. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
  2. ^ a b Heisler, Steve (March 24, 2011). "Interview: Michael Schur". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on May 20, 2011. Retrieved May 22, 2011.
  3. ^ Abrams, Natalie (November 18, 2009). "Parks and Recreation: Leslie and Co. Have Love Woes". TV Guide. Archived from the original on June 2, 2011. Retrieved November 22, 2009.
  4. ^ Fowler, Matt (November 18, 2009). "Parks and Recreation's Cast Speaks Out". IGN. Archived from the original on November 21, 2009. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  5. ^ a b c Sepinwall, Alan (November 20, 2009). "Parks and Recreation, "Hunting Trip": Who shot Ron Swanson?". The Star-Ledger. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
  6. ^ a b c Heisler, Steve (November 19, 2009). "Parks and Recreation: "Hunting Trip"". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on February 26, 2011. Retrieved November 22, 2009.
  7. ^ a b c d Fowler, Matt (November 20, 2009). "Parks and Recreation: "Hunting Trip" Review". IGN. Archived from the original on March 19, 2011. Retrieved November 22, 2009.
  8. ^ Gorman, Bill (November 20, 2009). "Updated TV Ratings: FlashForward Slides, Vampire Diaries Down, Greys Ties Series Low". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 16, 2011. Retrieved November 22, 2009.
  9. ^ Gorman, Bill (November 13, 2009). "TV Ratings Thursday: ABC Edges CBS; Fringe Recovers; Bones Beats FlashForward". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on December 30, 2010. Retrieved November 14, 2009.
  10. ^ Kandell, Steve (March 25, 2011). "Parks and Recreation Recap: Steal My Sunshine". New York. Archived from the original on October 3, 2011. Retrieved March 28, 2011.
  11. ^ Weiner, Jonah (December 2, 2009). "You Really Should Be Watching Parks and Recreation". Slate. Archived from the original on February 2, 2011. Retrieved December 6, 2009.
  12. ^ Poniewozik, James (November 13, 2009). "NBC Sitcoms Watch: Four on the Floor: Parks and Recreation, "The Camel"". Time. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved December 6, 2009.
  13. ^ Penner, Steve (December 4, 2009). "Are mockumentaries saving the sitcom?". The Portsmouth Herald. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
  14. ^ Goldman, Eric (November 24, 2010). "Parks and Recreation - Season Two DVD Review". IGN. Archived from the original on January 3, 2011. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
  15. ^ a b Bailey, Jason (November 30, 2010). "Parks & Recreation: Season Two". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on March 15, 2011. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
  16. ^ Fowler, Matt (September 10, 2010). "The Office Season 6 DVD Review". IGN. Archived from the original on September 14, 2010. Retrieved February 2, 2011.

External links

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