S05E11 - Women in Garbage

Live from Pawnee: A Parks and Recreation Fan Rewatch Podcast

This week Mark and Allen break down the Episode where Ron says "I love you" to Diane! Realizing there is a criminal lack of women in their government, Leslie decides it is time to do something about it. She meets with Chris, and he wholeheartedly agrees, arranging a meeting to discuss a course of action. During the male dominated meeting, Leslie points out the number one offender of gender inequality is the sanitation department, who acknowledges there are no female garbage collectors, but points out the job is too physically demanding for the average woman. Rising to the challenge, Leslie and April gear up and work a route the next day. They start off well, working quickly and beating the average man's time! However, just as they are becoming confident, they end up getting an "unscheduled request" ... Meanwhile, back at the Parks Department, we see Ron with both of Diane's kids (Zoe and Ivy) in his office. He has apparently agreed to babysit them for the day, and appears to be a bit over his head. Ron even looks to Ann for help, but she is very awkward and not very good with kids. At day's end, Diane asks Ron to babysit again the next day, and while Ron puts on a brave smile, he's clearly worn and ragged. That's why, shortly into day two, he once again reluctantly recruits Ann's help, despite her seeming to have no connection with children. Surprisingly, Ann starts to have some success with Zoe and Ivy when she whips out her nurse's kit and they all play doctor with stuffed animals ... Finally, wanting to do everything in his power to bring in more business for Rent-A-Swag, Tom recruits Andy and Ben to teach him everything they know about basketball, since it seems to be all the kids (i.e. his clients) are talking about these days. To this end, they get on the court, where Andy and Ben start with the basics. However, it becomes very clear that Tom is hopeless. After some "questionable" training, Tom decides it would be a great idea to challenge a group of pre-teens to a basketball game. (This could only go poorly.) As always, we tackle the tough questions, such as ... Why is April so gung-ho to help Leslie? Does Ann continue to have success with Zoe and Ivy? Can Tom, Ben, and Andy make a good showing playing basketball with the pre-teens? What is the unscheduled request Leslie and April have to deal with? Can Ron survive a second day of babysitting? Does Tom ever learn to "do basketball"? Can Leslie and April keep up their momentum? Will the stuffed animals all survive surgery? Will any of this craziness result in more business for Rent-A-Swag? Viewers, get yourself a tasty snack and strap in - this is gonna be a good'un! Many thanks to our incredible sponsor, Hanson's ... er ... PERKINS' Day Care.