The Possum
Encyclopedia
"The Possum" is the eighteenth episode of the second season
of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation
, and the 24th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC
in the United States on March 11, 2010. In the episode, Leslie
forms a task force to capture an opossum that bit the mayor's dog, but she begins to fear she has caught the wrong animal.
The episode was written by Mike Scully
and directed by Tristram Shapeero
. Despite the title of the episode, the mammal featured in the episode is an opossum, not a possum
. "The Possum" featured a guest appearance by Alison Becker
, who reprised her previous guest role as reporter Shauna Malwae-Tweep. Supporting character Ron Swanson
is revealed to have a large woodshop in "The Possum", which was inspired by actor Nick Offerman
's real-life carpentry skills.
According to Nielsen Media Research
, "The Possum" was seen by 4.6 million viewers. Its rating among viewers between ages 18 and 49 constituted a nine percent drop from the previous week's episode, "Woman of the Year
". "The Possum" received generally positive reviews.
(Amy Poehler
) to form a task force to capture it. Leslie, Tom
(Aziz Ansari
), Andy
(Chris Pratt
) and two incompetent animal control workers, Harris (Harris Wittels) and Brett (Colton Dunn) go to the golf course and quickly find the animal. The animal control workers are useless and Tom immediately runs away, but Andy dives toward the animal and captures it. Evelyn is impressed with Leslie and promises her a special favor from the mayor's office. However, Leslie sees a second opposum and fears they have captured the wrong animal. She later finds out that the mayor doesn't care about catching Fairway Frank, but rather about securing a trophy animal for his bathroom.
Back at the department office, reporter Shauna Malwae-Tweep (Alison Becker
) interviews Andy for a newspaper article. After he brags about the capture, the reporter suggests his heroics might win him back the affections of Ann
(Rashida Jones
), his ex-girlfriend, much to Andy's excitement. April
(Aubrey Plaza), who has romantic feelings for Andy, overhears this and leaves jealously. Evelyn demands delivery of Fairway Frank. Leslie responds that there is uncertainty about the identity of Fairway Frank. She refuses to hand over the captured opossum and creates a ketchup-blood diversion so that April can escape with the caged animal.
Leslie and April take the opossum to Ann's home, where April has been paid $50 to housesit. April lets the opossum out of its cage, and it causes havoc and minor damage. While hiding from the animal, April reveals her feelings about Andy to Leslie for the first time. When Leslie refuses to hand over the opossum, Evelyn angrily takes back her promise of a favor from the mayor's office. Andy, still oblivious to the reasons behind April's jealousy, delivers coffee to April, as well as the day's newspaper, containing a story which credits April for providing moral support to Andy. It is later revealed that Leslie has donated the opossum to the Pawnee zoo.
Meanwhile, Ron
(Nick Offerman
) plans a woodshop expansion in his home and seeks the approval of city planner Mark
(Paul Schneider
). Mark informs Ron that an inspection is needed to ensure that the facility meets all current zoning code standards, and an obviously lying Ron claims it does, clearly underscoring his vexation with governmental regulations. During the inspection, Mark finds numerous code violations, including oily gloves placed above a wood-burning fireplace and a long-outdated fire extinguisher. Later, Mark takes a half-day off so that he can help his friend's woodshop meet city code. Ron thanks Mark by building a wooden canoe and leaving it in his office.
"The Possum" was written by Mike Scully
and directed by Tristram Shapeero
. Despite the title, the animal featured in the episode is an opossum, a marsupial species native to the Americas which is commonly called a possum, though that name refers to a species
native to the Eastern Hemisphere
. Some commentators said the main plotline involving the opossum served as an allegory for capital punishment
. The episode featured actress and comedian Alison Becker in a guest appearance as Pawnee Journal reporter Shauna Malwae-Tweep. The actress and character first appeared in the first season
episode "The Reporter
", in which she had sex with Mark, which Andy bluntly recollects upon first seeing Shauna in "The Possum". Rashida Jones appears only in the opening and closing scenes of "The Possum" because she was filming scenes for The Social Network
, an upcoming David Fincher
film about the founding of the social-networking website Facebook
.
In "The Possum", Ron is revealed to have a very large woodshop. This element of Ron's character was inspired by actor Nick Offerman, who in addition to comedy runs an independent carpentry
business called Offerman Woodshop. This was also referenced in the previous second season episode "Sweetums
", in which Ron builds a harp from scratch to prove to Leslie he is not intoxicated. During one scene, Leslie shows a list of the Pawnee Parks Department's Most Wanted Pests, which includes several raccoons. This is a reference to a running gag, established from the series, that Pawnee has a terrible raccoon infestation problem. Shortly after "The Possum" originally aired, a downloadable PDF
file was made available on NBC's "City of Pawnee" website of the most wanted pests list, which included images of the 10 most animals including raccoons, the opossum, a bat, a feral cat and a crow. The site also included a PDF file of the front page of the fictional newspaper's The Pawnee Journal, which included the newspaper article referenced in the episode about Andy's capture of the opossum. A printed copy of the newspaper article can be seen taped to the wall of Andy's shoeshine stand in the subsequent episode, "Park Safety
".
, until his extramarital affairs scandal was revealed, and then he considered him a god. One of the raccoons featured on a list of Pawnee's Most Wanted Pests List was named Zorro
, a reference to the sword-wielding title character of several books, films and television programs. Another pest is named "Jangle Bo Jangles", a reference to the pop song "Mr. Bojangles
".
. Although it was the same amount of viewers as last week's episode, "Woman of the Year
", "The Possum" had a 2.1 rating/6 share among viewers between ages 18 and 49, a nine percent drop from the previous episode. In the 9 p.m. timeslot on March 11, Parks and Recreation was outperformed by American Idol
on Fox
, which drew 20.46 million viewers, and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains on CBS
, which drew 12.17 million viewers. "The Possum" outperformed a repeat of Grey's Anatomy
on ABC
, which drew 4.5 million viewers, and The Vampire Diaries
on The CW
, which drew 1.37 million viewers.
The episode received generally positive reviews. Alan Sepinwall, television columnist with The Star-Ledger
, said the episode featured strong physical comedy, political satire, romantic tension and character moments. He said he "loved virtually every beat of the possum story" and finds the developing Andy and April relationship funny and believable. Entertainment Weekly
writer Sandra Gonzalez said "The Possum" was a very funny episode, and particularly praised the development of the Andy and April relationship. She said Plaza and Pratt did some of their best work to date in the episode.
Matt Fowler of IGN
praised the April and Andy relationship and the subplot with Ron and Mark, although he claimed Ron was the funnier of the duo and Mark's character is too normal and boring for the show. Fowler also liked the way Leslie's political ambition conflicted with her conscience in the episode. New York
magazine writer Steve Kandell praised the main plotline with Leslie and the performances by Pratt and Offerman, particularly praising the jokes surrounding Ron's woodworking hobby. Kandell pointed out the episode did not suffer from Ann's absence and suggested although Rashida Jones is charming, the show does not need her. Leonard Pierce of The A.V. Club
said the episode's main story was "a bit of a trifle" and the subplots were lacking, but that "The Possum" included several laughs and demonstrated Ron and Leslie's opposing attitudes about local government.
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 24th 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 March 11, 2010. 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:...
forms a task force to capture an opossum that bit the mayor's dog, but she begins to fear she has caught the wrong animal.
The episode was written by Mike Scully
Mike Scully
Mike Scully is an American television writer and producer. He is known for his work as executive producer and showrunner of the animated sitcom The Simpsons from 1997 to 2001. Scully grew up in West Springfield, Massachusetts and long had an interest in writing. He was an underachiever at school...
and directed by Tristram Shapeero
Tristram Shapeero
Tristram Shapeero is a British director of television comedies, including Brass Eye, Smack the Pony, Green Wing, Community and Absolutely Fabulous.- Director :...
. Despite the title of the episode, the mammal featured in the episode is an opossum, not a possum
Possum
A possum is any of about 70 small to medium-sized arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi .Possums are quadrupedal diprotodont marsupials with long tails...
. "The Possum" featured a guest appearance by Alison Becker
Alison Becker
Alison Helene Becker is an American actress, comedian, writer, and TV personality. She is the previous host of VH1's Top 20 Video Countdown and currently the co-host/sidekick on the FuelTV panel talk-show The Daily Habit.-Early life:...
, who reprised her previous guest role as reporter Shauna Malwae-Tweep. Supporting character Ron Swanson
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...
is revealed to have a large woodshop in "The Possum", which was inspired by actor 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:...
's real-life carpentry skills.
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 Possum" was seen by 4.6 million viewers. Its rating among viewers between ages 18 and 49 constituted a nine percent drop from the previous week's episode, "Woman of the Year
Woman of the Year (Parks and Recreation)
"Woman of the Year" is the seventeenth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation, and the 23rd overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on March 4, 2010. In the episode, Ron is presented with a woman of the year...
". "The Possum" received generally positive reviews.
Plot
After the infamous opossum "Fairway Frank" bites Mayor Gunderson's dog at a golf course, mayoral representative Evelyn (Judith Moreland) asks LeslieLeslie 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...
) to form a task force to capture it. Leslie, Tom
Tom Haverford
Thomas Montgomery "Tom" Haverford , born Darwish Sabir Ismael Gani, is a fictional character in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. He is a sarcastic, underachieving government official for the city of Pawnee who is revered for his high levels of swagger and unmatched entrepreneurial skills...
(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....
), 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...
) and two incompetent animal control workers, Harris (Harris Wittels) and Brett (Colton Dunn) go to the golf course and quickly find the animal. The animal control workers are useless and Tom immediately runs away, but Andy dives toward the animal and captures it. Evelyn is impressed with Leslie and promises her a special favor from the mayor's office. However, Leslie sees a second opposum and fears they have captured the wrong animal. She later finds out that the mayor doesn't care about catching Fairway Frank, but rather about securing a trophy animal for his bathroom.
Back at the department office, reporter Shauna Malwae-Tweep (Alison Becker
Alison Becker
Alison Helene Becker is an American actress, comedian, writer, and TV personality. She is the previous host of VH1's Top 20 Video Countdown and currently the co-host/sidekick on the FuelTV panel talk-show The Daily Habit.-Early life:...
) interviews Andy for a newspaper article. After he brags about the capture, the reporter suggests his heroics might win him back the affections of 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...
), his ex-girlfriend, much to Andy's excitement. 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), who has romantic feelings for Andy, overhears this and leaves jealously. Evelyn demands delivery of Fairway Frank. Leslie responds that there is uncertainty about the identity of Fairway Frank. She refuses to hand over the captured opossum and creates a ketchup-blood diversion so that April can escape with the caged animal.
Leslie and April take the opossum to Ann's home, where April has been paid $50 to housesit. April lets the opossum out of its cage, and it causes havoc and minor damage. While hiding from the animal, April reveals her feelings about Andy to Leslie for the first time. When Leslie refuses to hand over the opossum, Evelyn angrily takes back her promise of a favor from the mayor's office. Andy, still oblivious to the reasons behind April's jealousy, delivers coffee to April, as well as the day's newspaper, containing a story which credits April for providing moral support to Andy. It is later revealed that Leslie has donated the opossum to the Pawnee zoo.
Meanwhile, 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:...
) plans a woodshop expansion in his home and seeks the approval of city planner Mark
Mark Brendanawicz
Mark Brendanawicz is a fictional character in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. He is the city planner for Pawnee, Indiana, one of Ann Perkins's ex-boyfriends, and Leslie Knope's colleague. He is portrayed by Paul Schneider...
(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...
). Mark informs Ron that an inspection is needed to ensure that the facility meets all current zoning code standards, and an obviously lying Ron claims it does, clearly underscoring his vexation with governmental regulations. During the inspection, Mark finds numerous code violations, including oily gloves placed above a wood-burning fireplace and a long-outdated fire extinguisher. Later, Mark takes a half-day off so that he can help his friend's woodshop meet city code. Ron thanks Mark by building a wooden canoe and leaving it in his office.
Production
Mike Scully
Mike Scully is an American television writer and producer. He is known for his work as executive producer and showrunner of the animated sitcom The Simpsons from 1997 to 2001. Scully grew up in West Springfield, Massachusetts and long had an interest in writing. He was an underachiever at school...
and directed by Tristram Shapeero
Tristram Shapeero
Tristram Shapeero is a British director of television comedies, including Brass Eye, Smack the Pony, Green Wing, Community and Absolutely Fabulous.- Director :...
. Despite the title, the animal featured in the episode is an opossum, a marsupial species native to the Americas which is commonly called a possum, though that name refers to a species
Possum
A possum is any of about 70 small to medium-sized arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi .Possums are quadrupedal diprotodont marsupials with long tails...
native to the Eastern Hemisphere
Eastern Hemisphere
The Eastern Hemisphere, also Eastern hemisphere or eastern hemisphere, is a geographical term for the half of the Earth that is east of the Prime Meridian and west of 180° longitude. It is also used to refer to Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australasia, vis-à-vis the Western Hemisphere, which includes...
. Some commentators said the main plotline involving the opossum served as an allegory for capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
. The episode featured actress and comedian Alison Becker in a guest appearance as Pawnee Journal reporter Shauna Malwae-Tweep. The actress and character first appeared in 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...
episode "The Reporter
The Reporter (Parks and Recreation)
"The Reporter" is the third 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 23, 2009. The episode was written by Daniel J. Goor and directed by Jeffrey Blitz...
", in which she had sex with Mark, which Andy bluntly recollects upon first seeing Shauna in "The Possum". Rashida Jones appears only in the opening and closing scenes of "The Possum" because she was filming scenes for The Social Network
The Social Network
The Social Network is a 2010 American drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin. Adapted from Ben Mezrich's 2009 book The Accidental Billionaires, the film portrays the founding of social networking website Facebook and the resulting lawsuits...
, an upcoming David Fincher
David Fincher
David Andrew Leo Fincher is an American film and music video director. Known for his dark and stylish thrillers, such as Seven , The Game , Fight Club , Panic Room , and Zodiac , Fincher received Academy Award nominations for Best Director for his 2008 film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and...
film about the founding of the social-networking website Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
.
In "The Possum", Ron is revealed to have a very large woodshop. This element of Ron's character was inspired by actor Nick Offerman, who in addition to comedy runs an independent carpentry
Carpentry
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
business called Offerman Woodshop. This was also referenced in the previous second season episode "Sweetums
Sweetums (Parks and Recreation)
"Sweetums" is the fifteenth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation, and the 21st overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on February 4, 2010. In the episode, the Parks and Recreation Department hosts a public...
", in which Ron builds a harp from scratch to prove to Leslie he is not intoxicated. During one scene, Leslie shows a list of the Pawnee Parks Department's Most Wanted Pests, which includes several raccoons. This is a reference to a running gag, established from the series, that Pawnee has a terrible raccoon infestation problem. Shortly after "The Possum" originally aired, a downloadable PDF
Portable Document Format
Portable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
file was made available on NBC's "City of Pawnee" website of the most wanted pests list, which included images of the 10 most animals including raccoons, the opossum, a bat, a feral cat and a crow. The site also included a PDF file of the front page of the fictional newspaper's The Pawnee Journal, which included the newspaper article referenced in the episode about Andy's capture of the opossum. A printed copy of the newspaper article can be seen taped to the wall of Andy's shoeshine stand in the subsequent episode, "Park Safety
Park Safety
"Park Safety" is the nineteenth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation, and the 25th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on March 18, 2010...
".
Cultural references
While visiting a golf course, Tom said he used to love golf pro Tiger WoodsTiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods is an American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Formerly the World No...
, until his extramarital affairs scandal was revealed, and then he considered him a god. One of the raccoons featured on a list of Pawnee's Most Wanted Pests List was named Zorro
Zorro
Zorro is a fictional character created in 1919 by New York-based pulp writer Johnston McCulley. The character has been featured in numerous books, films, television series, and other media....
, a reference to the sword-wielding title character of several books, films and television programs. Another pest is named "Jangle Bo Jangles", a reference to the pop song "Mr. Bojangles
Mr. Bojangles (song)
Mr. Bojangles is the title of a song originally written and recorded by American country music artist Jerry Jeff Walker for his 1968 album of the same title...
".
Reception
In its original American NBC broadcast on March 11, 2010, "The Possum" was seen by 4.6 million viewers, 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...
. Although it was the same amount of viewers as last week's episode, "Woman of the Year
Woman of the Year (Parks and Recreation)
"Woman of the Year" is the seventeenth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation, and the 23rd overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on March 4, 2010. In the episode, Ron is presented with a woman of the year...
", "The Possum" had a 2.1 rating/6 share among viewers between ages 18 and 49, a nine percent drop from the previous episode. In the 9 p.m. timeslot on March 11, Parks and Recreation was outperformed by American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
, which drew 20.46 million viewers, and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, which drew 12.17 million viewers. "The Possum" outperformed a repeat of Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
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...
, which drew 4.5 million viewers, and The Vampire Diaries
The Vampire Diaries
The Vampire Diaries is a young adult vampire horror series of novels written by L. J. Smith. The story centers around Elena Gilbert, a high school girl torn between two vampire brothers. The series was originally a trilogy published in 1991, but pressure from readers led Smith to write a fourth...
on The CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
, which drew 1.37 million viewers.
The episode received generally positive reviews. 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 the episode featured strong physical comedy, political satire, romantic tension and character moments. He said he "loved virtually every beat of the possum story" and finds the developing Andy and April relationship funny and believable. 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 Sandra Gonzalez said "The Possum" was a very funny episode, and particularly praised the development of the Andy and April relationship. She said Plaza and Pratt did some of their best work to date in the episode.
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...
praised the April and Andy relationship and the subplot with Ron and Mark, although he claimed Ron was the funnier of the duo and Mark's character is too normal and boring for the show. Fowler also liked the way Leslie's political ambition conflicted with her conscience in the episode. New York
New York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
magazine writer Steve Kandell praised the main plotline with Leslie and the performances by Pratt and Offerman, particularly praising the jokes surrounding Ron's woodworking hobby. Kandell pointed out the episode did not suffer from Ann's absence and suggested although Rashida Jones is charming, the show does not need her. Leonard Pierce 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 episode's main story was "a bit of a trifle" and the subplots were lacking, but that "The Possum" included several laughs and demonstrated Ron and Leslie's opposing attitudes about local government.
DVD release
"The Possum", 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 Possum" at the official Parks and Recreation site