Entertainment Weekly’s Michael Ausiello: Poehler Deserves Emmy Nod

Image Credit: Mitchell Haaseth/NBC; Martin Segal/Showtime; Adam Larkey/ABC; Mitchell Haaseth/NBC; Paul Drinkwater/NBC

Last week Entertainment Weekly’s Michael Ausiello suggested Nick Offerman receive an Emmy nomination for his role as Ron Swanson on Parks & Rec (which is moot, because as much as he deserves it, we all know how Ron feels about awards: “Awards are stupid.”)

Now Ausiello has released his ideal list of  nominees for Best Lead Actor and Actress in a Comedy, and guess who made his lists? Amy Poehler!

Here’s Ausiello’s complete list:

Best Lead Actress (Comedy)
* Courteney Cox (Cougar Town): At last, a role as good as, if not better than, Monica.
* Portia de Rossi (Better Off Ted): Her ice queen was headed for legendary status. Damn you, cancellation!
* Julia Louis-Dreyfus (The New Adventures of Old Christine): The best revenge for having your show axed? Emmy!
* Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie): Carmela who?
* Tina Fey (30 Rock): She’s what keeps us from declaring the rare off episode a deal breaker.
* Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation): Makes Leslie as endearing as she is daffy. And she’s REALLY daffy.

Best Lead Actor (Comedy)
* Alec Baldwin (30 Rock): There’s a reason he already has two of these under his belt.
* Steve Carell (The Office): Dunder Mifflin’s bad times brought out the best in Michael and his portrayer. (See “Murder” for more.)
* Jay Harrington (Better Off Ted): The funniest performance no one (with a Nielsen box) watched.
* Zachary Levi (Chuck): He epitomized a new kind of superhero: Everyman!
* Joel McHale (Community): Made an honor role of his snarky underachiever.
* Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory): What could’ve descended into shtick ascended into madness.

Get 5 Friends to Watch Parks & Rec This Summer!

Good morning Parks & Rec fans!

Thanks, Norman! http://normandapito.com/

So, what do we do next? We’ve grown to (as of the time I’m writing this) 1,717 members on our Facebook group, we’ve gathered 779 signatures for our online petition, and we’ve had our goings-on retweeted by the show’s co-creator, actors, writers, and fans on Twitter.

Well, we here at Save Parks & Recreation have a lot of ideas about what to do next, ones we’d like to roll out throughout the summer. But first things first: Ratings. Parks and Recreation, for some reason I just cannot wrap my mind around, is last in the ratings for NBC’s Thursday-night comedy lineup. It’s a hard fact to face, but it’s true (save for last week’s finales when it came in third, narrowly beating Community). If we want our favorite show not just to come back for a full season, but to come back for several more, we’ve got to pump up these ratings.

Here’s what we do, Pawneeans: Get five friends this summer to watch Parks & Rec reruns. Get them hooked on NutriYum Bars the hilarious antics of Leslie Knope & Co. Not only will this give Parks a summer ratings boost, but it will ensure the show has a larger, stronger following when it gets back on the air.

Come on, guys — you know you can do this.

Good Morning, Faithful and Determined Parks & Recreation Fans!

Pawneeans,

Thanks @swanronson

First, thanks to the nearly 1,700 members of our Facebook group, “Parks and Rec is Not a Midseason Show. Period.” I can’t believe so many fans have come together so quickly to push for a fall start to this brilliant comedy! Nicely done. If you’re reading this and you have not yet joined, please do so. Get a friend to do so. Hell, get 20. In the drunken words of Leslie Knope, “Let’s do this bitch!”

(Sidenote: Speaking of Facebook, if you haven’t yet changed your profile picture to our “I’m with Knope” rally image, please do! It’s a great way to show solidarity, and it’s also just a kickass pic!)

Second, thanks to the 750 of you who have signed our online petition! If, like all of us here at Save Parks & Recreation, you’re either:

1. Feeling white-hot rage at NBC’s decision to bench Parks & Rec until January 2011 (with a shortened 13-episode run!), or
2. Feeling light-headed and dizzy like a Victorian lady experiencing whatever “vapors” are at the prospect of not seeing Ron’s devilish grin for another eight months, or
3. Just appreciate plain ol’ well written comedy with solid character development that consistently leaves you in stitches from week-to-week,

Then please consider signing the petition, and following us on Twitter @saveparksandrec. To achieve any results, we need strength in numbers. Every member matters!

“Despicable”: NY Mag Puts Parks & Rec Decision on Approval Matrix

via NY Magazine

New York Magazine has long been a champion for Parks & Recreation. They’re huge fans of the show. (See their finale recap here, and their hopeful theory about why Parks was bumped here.)

This week, they put the decision to bump Parks & Rec to midseason on their Approval Matrix, which is a the mag’s weekly list of their opinions of current goings-on. Everything included in the matrix is ranked on two scales: The first from Brilliant to Despicable, and the second from Highbrow to Lowbrow.

Where did the decision to delay Parks & Rec fall? Firmly on the Despicable side of the Approval Matrix.

If you agree, be sure to join our Facebook group “Parks and Rec is Not a Midseason Show. Period.” Sign our online petition.

And for all the latest updates, follow us on Twitter @saveparksandrec.

Facebook Group Still Going Strong After Finale!

Hello, Pawnee-lovers!

I just wanted to inform everyone that the Save Parks & Rec-affiliated Facebook group, “Parks and Rec is Not a Midseason Show. Period.” has passed the 1,500 member mark! Huzzah!

Those are some impressive numbers. Our online petition (found at http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/saveparksandrec) has gathered nearly 650 signatures in less than three days. Additionally, our Twitter account (@saveparksandrec) has been retweeted by show creators, writers and actors!

This is clearly becoming a movement. This summer, let’s all become “Knope Pushers” — that is, get buddies to tune into summer reruns of Parks & Rec. Let’s add some new followers to this fantastic comedy!

Sign the Parks & Rec Petition!

In the aftermath of the awesomeness that was the season finale, we’re gathering signatures to let NBC know that we need our Parks & Rec for a full season starting in fall 2010, not January 2011.

So say yup to Knope and sign the petition!

By the way, folks, our efforts are being noticed. EOnline had an article yesterday with comments from the cast that we here at Save Parks and Rec believe were directed right at us.

“Apparently, there’s a bit of a public outrage taking place. It makes us feel good,” Nick [Offerman, aka Ron Swanson] tells us. The ridiculously funny Chris Pratt (Andy) adds: “We’ve got a lot of great fans. You go to work and you do your best and hopefully enough people watch it.”

Chris added that he’d “like to do Parks and Recreation for a hundred seasons.” We hope you do just that!

http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b182169_parks_recreation_cast_ok_with_midseason.html?cmpid=rss-000000-rssfeed-365-topstories#ixzz0oWo52RxE

Facebook group hits 1,000!

And by day 4, we’ve done it! Parks and Rec is Not a Midseason Show. Period. has hit 1,000 members on Facebook!

Thanks to everyone who has shared the group, this blog, or our twitter feed with their friends. Let’s keep the momentum going–make the “I’m With Knope” image your profile pic or brag in your status that you’re definitely with Knope.

Because, like Andy Dwyer, we’re allergic to jerks. And NBC is definitely a jerk.

Notes for the End of Day 3:

Are YOU with Knope?

Tomorrow is the season finale of Parks & Recreation. This is perhaps the last time this year we can show our support for the show via ratings.

Make sure to tune in tomorrow. Get a friend to tune in. Let’s drive these ratings through the roof!

Outsourced–South Park style

Found an interesting post from Monday over at Macleans.ca about Outsourced, which again, is the invader show taking over the Parks and Rec timeslot next fall. Comedy is Back! Except the Good Ones Aren’t dubs Outsourced as the “most-mocked premise so far” of new shows announced earlier this week.

What’s fantastically unique about the post is a video that absolutely punches Outsourced right in the gut. If you haven’t guessed from my post title, it involves some rolly-polly, pissed-off animated children.

Seriously, go visit and watch the video!

Ron: Leslie, what do we do when we get this angry?
Leslie: We count backwards from 1,000 by sevens and we think of warm brownies.

UPDATE: “Parks and Rec is Not a Midseason Show. Period.” Up to 587 Members on Facebook!

Hello Pawneeans!

Our affiliated Facebook group, “Parks and Rec is Not a Midseason Show. Period.” is up to 587 members as of 1:40 p.m. central! That’s something to be proud of, and we appreciate each and every one of you. If you’re not already a member, check out the group here:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=119794408054125

Think we can hit quadruple digits soon?

Also, feel free to Twitter it up. Our Twitter handle is @saveparksandrec, and be sure to put #parksandrec in the body so we can start trending. Parks & Rec’s very own co-creator, Michael Schur (@KenTremendous), tweeted about our Facebook group yesterday evening, and I’m sure we owe a large portion of our membership bump to him. Thanks, Michael Schur!

To leave everyone on a (an?) hilarious note, here’s a deleted scene from the “Sweetums” episode.