Parks and Recreation/Headscratchers


 * As with its counterpart The Office, the show's Mockumentary format makes for a lot of Fridge Logic. Sometimes the characters don't acknowledge the fact that people are always filming them. The episode "Christmas Scandal" makes a big deal out of the paparazzi taking pictures of Leslie with Dexhart, but no one seems to remember that Leslie is already being followed around everywhere by a filming crew. Ultimately the documentary style is just used for presentation, and should not be examined too closely.
 * April's personal assistant position seems to be a regular nine-to-five type job, but "Media Blitz" indicates she's still in college. It's unclear how or when she's taking her classes.
 * The Pawnee book and "Smallest Park" confirm that she's in community college and only taking a few credits per semester.
 * Ron is supposed to be libertarian. He even says in the episode Sweetums people have the choice to put what ever crap they want into themselves no matter how damaging. However, only five episodes later he vehemently speaks against the legalization of marijuana. This might be an intentional moment of hypocrisy caused by his dislike of Michael Tansley's "hippie" lifestyle.
 * I don't think he ever says he's really against legalization of marijuana. It's just that Tansley (1) goes on and on about legalization (Ron's reaction appeared to be a simple "Jesus Christ here we go again" to me) and (2) Ron considers him a hippie loser. I mean, he gets high on the job.
 * Exactly: Not hypocrisy, just disgust. Just because you think alcohol should remain legal doesn't mean you'd appreciate someone endlessly talking about it and using it on the job. [Not exactly the same thing, but in a lot of people's mind close]
 * How could Donna afford a Mercedes-Benz on a low-level municipal employee's pay?
 * A couple of deleted scenes have her addressing this in talking heads. Both times, she answers "I'm in over my head". Not especially funny (hence deleted scenes), but there's your explanation.
 * Finally explained. Her family is fabulously wealthy, and Ginuwine is her cousin.
 * What the hell is with Ron's decision to have April take over some of Leslie's responsibilities? She treats everyone around her like trash, especially poor Ann. Her character has always seriously bothered me from day one, but since she never did anything of consequence before I could just ignore her. If she's going to get a bigger role, though, I might actually stop watching the show. Andy managed to grow the hell up and stop being a Jerkass, why can't she?
 * She is growing up. She comforted Chris over Millicent, she smoothed things over between Tom and Ann, and then there's "Campaign Shake-Up", the episode you're basing this complaint on. She's maturing and beginning to care about her co-workers...she's just fighting it every step of the way because she's afraid of growing up and being an asshole is a cornerstone of the image she's cultivated.
 * She was extremely insufferable before she did all of those things, though. She wished that Chris's happiness would go away and she had to get drunk to be around Tom and Ann. We never actually see her solve the water fountain thing, which I think probably would have helped. If she was shown in a position where she fixed a problem without treating everyone around her terribly, the newfound duties she'll be getting would probably be easier to swallow. I just don't want to see her use her new position to continue disrespecting people.
 * I don't think you're looking at Ron's decision from Ron's point of view. Ron likes April, and likes the idea of nothing getting done... how she's treated coworkers in the past has never really been an issue to Ron. And being a Jerkass is her character. If she stops being a Jerkass, she stops being April.
 * Chris doesn't allow employees to date but is perfectly fine with Andy and April getting married.
 * Chris only has a problem with an employee dating a subordinate.
 * How can Chris condone Ann interviewing for the position of new Health person when he's so strict on rules? First she is interviewed by Leslie, who's her best friend. Then her second interview is with Chris, who she dated for quite a while. Those are –literally– the two least-objective people when it comes judging her skills for the job. Why didn't Chris mandate for other people to take the interviews?
 * Tom Haverford invented his name, having changed it when he decided to go into politics to avoid the stigma against Muslim-sounding names. It seems odd, given his later characterization for vanity and style, for him to have chosen such a bland name. Even if he wanted to fit into white middle-America, he could have chosen something much more snappy and memorable.
 * Why would they have "Welcome Taliban Soliders" and "Welcome Viet Cong Soliders" in a red state?
 * Presumably they were expecting spectacular losses in those wars and subsequently invasion. They'd want to please them, right?