Parks and Rec - "Ron & Tammys"

Season 4, Episode 2

Of Tammys and yearly traditions

“When Ron’s with Tammy 2 he turns into a demonic sex maniac

But this? Neutered wimp? This is much worse.”

-Leslie

It’s quite obvious early on in the proceedings that “Ron and Tammys” would be something of a companion piece to “Ron and Tammy: Part Two”, but luckily it differentiates itself enough to feel like a worthwhile outing, and not a retread. Given that "Ron Tommy: Part Two” was a follow up to season two’s “Ron and Tammy”, it feels like the show is trying to make an annual tradition out of these episodes (remember, “Part Two” was originally written to be aired in the fall of 2010, before NBC backed the premiere date up), which is weird because A) “Ron and Tammy” and “Part Two” are very stylistically and B) doing so is a game of diminishing results and dashed expectations.

For the record, I don’t find “Tammys” to be on par with “Part Two”, but I still enjoyed it, and what I respect most about the episode is probably what kept it from firing on all cylinders. Instead of having Ron go absolutely hog-wild as he did with Tammy 2, the show went the opposite direction and made Tammy 1’s effect on the man be that he became more mild-mannered and cheerful, and shave off the mustache (aka, the source of his power). While Ron turning into a sex maniac is something that feels like something that’s already inherent to his character, him turning into a completely balls-less dope doesn’t, and it makes for some fairly shocking comedy. However, this is also an aberration that doesn’t lend itself to a lot of gleeful fun, and while the episode snapped along quite nicely – and hilariously – it just wasn’t as wild as “Part Two” was, and that can feel like kind of a letdown.

And to the show I say: good for you. I don’t know how many more iterations the show can do on the formula, but one thing’s for sure – if they keep trying to top themselves in the insanity department, they’ll quickly burn out and just won’t be fun anymore. By taking this episode in a calmer, less over-the-top direction, the writers obviously acknowledge this trap, and though I don’t think they should carry this tradition much further, I at least feel more confident in their endeavors now that I know that they will try to mix things up each time.

And that brings us to Ron’s mother, Tammy 0, who didn’t get a whole lot to do tonight, and it personally feels like kind of a letdown. Now, part of this obviously comes from the fact that the writers let the episode evolve naturally, and that they didn’t try to force her appearance earlier, and I’m grateful for that. There’s probably an impulse to overload on the Tammys, since they’re such a rich minefield of comedy, and I respect the writers for having some impulse control. But the upside of this is that the show now has an out for its next Tammy-centric episode, one where Ron becomes even more of a mountain-man than he already is. Now that’s something that sounds like great comedy.

Anyways, though the episode focuses on the effect that the two of the three Tammys have on Ron, there’s also one other special lady who grabs his attention: Leslie Knope. I know that the show has gotten a lot – some might say too much – mileage out of the pair lately, but there was something truly sacrificial about Leslie getting hammered in an ill-advised attempt to get Ron to stay that was sweet without drawing attention to itself. (Also, it allowed Poehler to show off her awesome skills at playing drunk.) It was a move that was motivated by both selfless and selfish reasons – as Leslie both wanted Ron to return to his normal self, but she needed that normal self to “win” and the annual Local Government Battle Royal – but considering that Ron himself took charge by the end by finishing off the rest of the mash liquor, it’s a sentiment that he obviously reciprocates.

Two other subplots rounded out the episode – one focusing on Ann and Chris’ attempts to make a new diabetes PSA, and the other on Ben’s attempts to help Tom (and Jean Ralphio!) wrangle the finances at Entertainment 720 – and while they did a nice job of allowing the A-plot to stay fleet, this was clearly Ron’s episodes. There was of course some forward momentum in the two side plots- perhaps we’re seeing the beginning of Ann and Chris reuniting, but were certainly aren’t seeing the end of E720 just yet – but this episode was more about the character than the plot, and that’s just fine with me.

Quotes, Etc:

“So make a list of why other departments suck, and I’ll go get out secret weapon.”

“Every time a department asks for more money, he just stares at them until they back off and/or wet themselves.”

“Jail, Ron. You could go to jail. Jail, jail, jail.” “Are you broken?”

“Operation ‘Rescue Ron’ is starting. Don’t worry, I will think of a better name for it by tomorrow.

“I’ll just put on my Star Wars pajamas and sit in my mom’s basement and pour over some spreadsheets. It sounds great.”

“It’s almost too easy.” “I can hear you.” “I know you can, Ben. That’s how easy it is.”

 “That is a gentleman’s agreement. I made that man a dining room table in exchange for 60 feet of copper pipe and a half pig.”

“My mom’s name is Tamara…She goes by Tammy.”

“Causal? Formal? Semi-formal? Sporty? Scary? Posh? Baby? Those are the Spice Girls. I just got caught up in my own thoughts.”

“Your tie looks weird on you. It make your head look like a fish.”

“How did you meet Tammy 1?” “Technically I’ve known her since I was born. She was a candy striper at the hospital. She helped deliver me.”

“She’s the cold, distant mother I never had. I love her.”

“Tammy pointed out that my face looks better with no hair on it. And it did collect a lot of food crumbs, which is very unsanitary.”

“So let’s do one more, then five more, then twenty in a row.”

 “We’re here to serve you, friend. I hope the rest of your day is cool beans.”

“Let’s take it from the top, everybody.” “There’s no one else here.”

“Can you just move your butt around, or wear a dress made out of meat?”

“Why do you have so many guns.” “This is America, isn’t it?” “Yes.” “Then I don’t have to answer stupid questions when I’m standing on my own property.”

“That Swanson family mash liquor, made from the finest corn ever grown on American soil. It’s only legal use is to strip varnish off of speed boats.”

“We use that to burn warts off of the mules.”

“Leslie, you don’t have to do this.” “Go to sleep, Jimmy.”

“Everybody pants now! Pants, pants, bum-bum, pants, pants.”

“That’s decoy gold. You think I would leave my gold locked in a safe underground where anyone could find it? You don’t know me at all.”