Media Blitz (S3E5)

Get your stories straight, because it's another great day in Pawnee. Today Rob Lowe and Alan Yang tackle the fifth episode of season three of Parks and Rec. In "Media Blitz" Leslie hits the Pawnee media circuit to promote the Harvest Festival, but Ben freaks out on air when his past is exposed. In today's episode you'll hear the writing team's favorite line ever delivered on the show, why some characters had goofier names than others, and why UCB performers did so well on the show. Got a question for the Pawnee Town Hall? Send us an email: [email protected] Or leave a 30-Second voicemail at: (310) 893-6992
 

Leslie, Tom and Ben promote the upcoming Harvest Festival on several Pawnee media outlets, starting with the local morning radio show "Crazy Ira and The Douche" (Matt Besser and Nick Kroll). The duo begin asking Ben questions about his time as a teen mayor in Partridge, Minnesota, having discovered he bankrupted the town. Ben responds awkwardly, and is unable to defend himself against Crazy Ira and The Douche's taunts. Tom proposes dumping Ben from future media interviews, but Leslie insists they cannot because he is the only one who can handle complicated questions about the budget. 

Meanwhile, April accepts an offer from Chris to move to Indianapolis to be his secretary. Andy begs April to reconsider, offering to perform all the tasks she hates doing for a month. Ron volunteers to help, claiming that he does not want to lose April as an assistant while denying he cares about April and Andy's relationship. Ann is increasingly frustrated that Chris has not asked her about coming to Indianapolis with him, and is concerned about where their relationship is headed.

Ben's past comes up again during Leslie's interview with newspaper reporter Shauna Malwae-Tweep, who asks why Pawnee should accept financial guidance from someone with a poor budget managing record like Ben. Tom and Ben go on the television show "Ya' Heard? with Perd" in hopes of redeeming Ben’s image, but this interview is even worse. Ben launches into a furious, incoherent rant when his past is brought up. As a result, several businesses consider pulling their sponsorships from the Harvest Festival. 

Trying one last ditch effort, Leslie decides to use her upcoming interview on "Pawnee Today" with Joan Callamezzo to perform damage control. During the interview, Joan asks biased questions about the festival and Ben's past. Annoyed, Leslie brings Ben on stage to give him a final opportunity to explain himself. Ben again begins to freeze up at the questions from people calling in, but finally pulls it together and vigorously defends himself. By the end, the questions switch back from Ben to the festival itself, making the media blitz a successful one after all.

Meanwhile, Chris tells Ann that after Indianapolis, he will be sent to a different city. The two agree they need to talk about the future of their relationship. Andy's difficult day of running errands for April culminates with him getting arrested after April's sister Natalie claims he is kidnapping her when he is merely picking her up from school. Ron approaches April and tells her that she should either forgive Andy or cut him loose, believing that she is only stringing Andy along and going to Indianapolis to spite him. When Andy returns, April finally forgives him and the two kiss.