Parks and Recreation and changes

        NBC's sitcom, Parks and Recreation, came to the end of this season last night with "Freddy Spaghetti".  It was sort of a tumultuous episode for the series, with a lot of changes going on in characters and jobs and relationships.  After a rough, short spring premiere a year ago, the show is arguably the most improved on the air this year.  This technically second season was hilarious, and while it's sad to see the end of a few thing, it's nice to know it's already been picked up for next season, even if it's not coming back in the fall with the rest of the Thursday night comedy lineup.

     Trouble began brewing last week when bad cop Ben (Adam Scott, Party Down) and way-too-happy good cop, Chris (Rob Lowe, Brothers & Sisters), state auditors, arrived to help the town's budget, and promptly shut down the government.  This week, Ben, despite an attraction to Leslie (Amy Poehler), decided that she was unnecessary and must be cut.  Her boss, Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman), who had delighted to the slashing up til then, went to bat for Leslie.  While all this was going down, Leslie was staging a concert in the former hole that she had gotten filled in, even though she wasn't actually working the job at that point.  It shows just how dedicated she is to Pawnee's parks and, well, recreation.  But somehow, the department will have to lose something, and we just don't know yet what it will be.

     The two interlopers are just the start of the casting shakeup.  Ben will be sticking around full-time next year, while Chris will be returning for at least six more episodes.  Also, Mark (Paul Schneider), as revealed last night, has taken a buy out, and the actor is said to not be coming park next season.  Other changes include Tom (Aziz Ansari) finally getting an awesome girlfriend, played by the lovely and funny Natalie Morales, and April (Aubrey Plaza) and Andy (Chris Pratt) kissing, only to have her walk out on him seconds later.  Not to mention who Ron is sleeping with, and who just found out.

     The series has also been thrown into slight tumult by the second pregnancy of star Poehler, and so is already filming while other shows are taking a break.  It's a fantastic little series that could about a parks department that could in a government that could not.  Please check it out when it returns to NBC next year.