Precise German shooting touch can't completely save Parks and Recreation

I love Ron Swanson almost as much as this puppy.

Detlef Schrempf was the marquee guest on this past week's Parks and Recreation, which seems totally appropriate for a town like Pawnee. This seemed like a one-off episode from the main plot, meaning, it had little to do with the continuity of the overall season, excluding the story with Mark and Ann. Basic premise of the episode: The recreation department is taking part in a 24-hour telethon, except that Leslie, in complete Leslie move, signs them up for the 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. time slot. Also, Leslie being Leslie, she stayed up the night before the telethon, and plans to stay up the night of the telethon, for a total of 48 straight hours.

This gives the recreation department an excuse to show off some cheesy, funny skills that wouldn't really fit in any other episode. You know, like Ron showing off (in a sleep-inducing way) how to make a wicked chair, and Jerry demonstrating his skills at classical piano. Predictably, Leslie was a nut, and Detlef managed to get waylaid en route to the telethon because Tom insisted on bringing him buy the strip club that he is part-owner of.

(An aside about Detlef Schrempf – I know him almost entirely as the white dude in NBA Jam who bombs 3-point shots. Therefore, imagine my surprise when I looked him up on Wikipedia and found out he is essentially the German basketball version of Forrest Gump. For example, he somehow managed to make three all-star teams. This was despite a shaky start to his career, because of being initially drafted by the Mavericks, as it took him starting for the Pacers for people to realize he was a decent NBA player. He was the first German player to reach the NBA finals, followed by Dirk Nowitzki, and he shot an insane percentage from 3 one year – 51.4 percent in 1994-95.)

Outside of a few brief moments between Andy and April, the only emotional development in the episode occurs between Mark and Ann. He is unsure about proposing to her, and Leslie convinces him this is a good idea – and that he should do it during the telethon. However, in the meantime, Ann comes up to her and says she is thinking about breaking up with Mark. As a result, Leslie frantically tries to distract Mark from proposing on television, and as a last resort, drops her pants on live television.

This whole part of the episode was very meh and cliched – I felt like I was watching a bad NBC sitcom from the early 1990s. Like, this is something that would have happened in Wings or Empty Nest or Blossom. It definitely detracted from an otherwise excellent episode.

Grade: B+

No, thank YOU for being our friend, Betty White. And for saving SNL.

Considering how much I've been down on Saturday Night Live this season, I was honestly hoping that they didn't manage to mess up what should have been a slam dunk. After all, my anticipation was high, since I had been following the "Betty White for host!" movement in two different posts, here and here. Plus, Jay-Z was the musical guest, and I love Jay-Z! (You know, in a ghetto thug way, because I'm street.)

There was electricity in the air from the opening skit, as Betty White got such a reaction from the studio audience that she could barely sputter out her first line. This, and the digital short that closed the show, were moments that brought a smile to my face. Similar to the Super Bowl or the clinching game of a World Series or election night, you just got the feeling that you were watching something special. The episode probably did a great rating - I'm going to guess the highest of the season for a kind of mediocre one for Saturday Night Live.

With that as background, this episode was... pretty average. Unfortunately, there were a slew of rehashed skits, like the spoof of Lawrence Whelk and the dancing Spanish language sketch, that left Betty with small cameo roles. Most of her humor derived from saying dirty words in sketches, like one that consisted of her saying "Lesbian!" about a dozen times.

The two best sketches, outside of the always good Weekend Update, were rehashes. It was the prison outreach sketch, with Kenan and Betty yelling at kids to stay straight. It wasn't original in the slightest, but Betty got plenty of lines, unlike a lot of the other sketches. In the skit before the goodbyes, Tina Fey played a census taker, a funny re-do of a skit from a couple years ago featuring Tim Meadows and Christopher Walken.

Spicing up a lot of the show were a slew of guest appearances by former female cast members. I spotted Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Molly Shannon, Ana Gasteyer, Rachel Dratch and Maya Rudolph, who pregnancy has been very, very good to. In fact, the only person I was surprised not to see was Cheri Oteri; I would have figured her as a participant. And while I was really hoping for a super-special-surprising cameo, like Julia-Louis Dreyfus or Sarah Silverman, it wasn't meant to be.

Oh, and by the way, Jay-Z performed! His first "song" was actually a shockingly long medley of several songs that lasted about six or seven minutes. I'm for it, since I'm a big fan. The second song was merely average though, and the dedication at the end to Betty White felt a bit cheesy. Plus, hey, no Beyonce? C'mon Jay, pull out all the stops!

All in all, this was one of the better episodes of the season, which is like being the beauty queen of Bumfuk, Indiana. However, the reaction Betty got made it worth watching and experiencing.

Grade: B

The bumper picture from SNL is from this review of the show.