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TV Media Weekly | January 10 - 16, 2015 two episodes each week begin- ning Tuesday, Jan. 13, and wrap- ping up Tuesday, Feb. 24, essen- tially turning the season into seven hour-long installments. Whether you've been faithful- ly following Pawnee's politics or you've been giving it a miss, this will be the last chance to see this talented cast bring small- town government to the small screen. Don't blink, or you might miss the condensed final season of "Parks and Recreation," pre- miering Tuesday, Jan. 13, on NBC. its stride in its second season. With a reworked and more intel- ligent lead, as well as more fleshed out supporting charac- ters, the show won over the crit- ics. Despite its success, audienc- es weren't swayed, and average viewership dropped by 1.5 mil- lion viewers between the six-ep- isode first season and the 24-episode second season. The fact that a show with such low audience numbers has survived so long on a major net- work speaks to the changing landscape of television viewing. For "Parks and Recreation" spe- cifically, research indicates that 37 percent of viewers between 18 and 49 (a demographic ad- vertisers are keenly interested in) watched the show through digital methods, which don't feature into the all-important Nielson ratings. Additionally, Nielson ratings primarily ac- count for audiences watching the show on the first night it airs, but DVRs and digital streams have made it easier for viewers to watch throughout the week, which doesn't boost the show's numbers. The small-town government mockumentary has spawned a sizeable following on the Inter- net, with Ron Swanson, played by Nick Offerman ("Sin City," 2005), becoming a phenome- non. The macho, mustachioed libertarian in charge of Paw- nee's park's department has a "Pyramid of Greatness," which contains what he considers to be important life aspects and has inspired many "memes" on- line. (A meme is usually an im- age that is copied, often with subtle changes, and spread quickly on the Internet.) At the very top is "Honor: if you need it defined, you don't have it." Oth- er tidbits include "Crying: Ac- ceptable at funerals and the Grand Canyon" and "Buffets: Whenever available. Choose quantity over quality." The ensemble cast behind "Parks and Recreation" has been one of its greatest strengths. In addition to Poehler and Offerman, the series stars Aziz Ansari ("30 Minutes or Less," 2011) as Tom Haverford, Aubrey Plaza ("Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever," 2014) as April Ludgate, Chris Pratt ("Guardians of the Galaxy," 2014) as Andy Dwyer, and Adam Scott ("Party Down") as Ben Wyatt. Rashida Jones ("I Love You, Man," 2009) and Rob Lowe ("The West Wing") also starred as Ann Perkins and Chris Trae- ger, respectively, before leaving midway through season 6 after their characters married and had a child together. Jones has since been tapped as a writer for the upcoming "Toy Story 4," with an expected release date some time in 2017. The upcoming final season of "Parks and Recreation" will be the shortest since season 1, which only had six episodes. NBC experimented with a few different lengths before settling on 22 episodes for the past three seasons, but has only ordered 13 episodes for season 7. The final run will seem even shorter, though, as NBC will be airing By Jacqui Wiens TV Media M any critically ac- claimed television series fail to capture the audiences — and highly coveted ratings — that their premise might prom- ise. Shows such as Fox's "Fire- fly" and NBC's "Freaks and Geeks" acquired devoted fan bases but failed to get renewed for second seasons. Another NBC fare, "30 Rock," won six Golden Globes and 16 Prime- time Emmys over its seven-sea- son run, but it never broke the nine million viewer mark. In lat- er seasons, the show averaged fewer than five million viewers. Another fantastic, hilarious and criminally underrated com- edy series on NBC is coming to an end in 2015, and this time it's the residents of Pawnee, Ind., who are saying goodbye. Tune in for the season premiere of the seventh and final season of "Parks and Recreation" when it casts its final ballots starting Tuesday, Jan. 13, on NBC. Initially conceptualized as a spinoff of another NBC mocku- mentary, "The Office," "Parks and Recreation" took on a life of its own once Amy Poehler ("Satur- day Night Live") was cast in the leading role. The show follows Poehler's character, Leslie Knope, as she works in the parks depart- ment of the fictional Pawnee as a mid-level bureaucrat who loves her town. The spinoff idea was eventually abandoned, but vari- ous relics of the inspiration re- main, such as the workplace set- ting and filming techniques. In season 1, "Parks and Rec- reation" suffered from harsh feedback. In particular, critics felt that Leslie missed the ener- getic and optimistic mark and came off as too ditzy and high strung. This may have been one of the unintentional bits that transferred from "The Office," as the boss from that series, Mi- chael Scott (Steve Carell, "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," 2005), of- ten advanced the plot through his socially oblivious or com- pletely obtuse behavior. "Parks and Recreation" took the criticism to heart and found The cast of "Parks and Recreation" Parting ways NBC's political comedy 'Parks and Recreation' zips through final season 2 | Cover story CHANNEL GUIDE Comcast Walton Cable- Vision Sammo ns of Indiana Tipton Cable TV Oak Hill Cable Swayzee AT&T U-Verse

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