| "I'm Leslie Knope" | |||
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| Parks and Recreation episode | |||
| Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 1 |
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| Directed by | Troy Miller | ||
| Written by | Daniel J. Goor | ||
| Original air date | September 22, 2011 | ||
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| Episode chronology | |||
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| List of season 4 episodes List of Parks and Recreation episodes |
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"I'm Leslie Knope" is the first episode of the fourth season of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation, and the 47th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on September 22, 2011. In the episode, Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) faces trouble telling Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott) that she is running for public office, which will cause them to have to end their secret relationship. Meanwhile, Ron braces himself for the arrival of his first ex-wife, "Tammy I".
Written by Daniel J. Goor and directed by Dean Holland, the episode marks the beginning of Leslie Knope's campaign for public office. During the episode, Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt) is given a promotion and becomes Leslie's campaign assistant.
The episode featured an appearance by guest star Patricia Clarkson as Ron's first ex-wife Tammy, who is currently signed on for a multi-episode arc. According to Nielsen Media Research, "I'm Leslie Knope" was seen by 4.11 million viewers.
The episode received positive reviews from critics. IGN’s Matt Fowler wrote that the premiere “brought both the laughs and the heartache” and that Parks and Recreation “has always been great at giving us just enough of its characters' relationships and then ending them before they out-stay their welcome.”[1][2][3][4]
Taking place later the same night as last season's finale, Leslie (Amy Poehler) tells Ann (Rashida Jones) that she was approached by William (Johnny Sneed) and Elizabeth (Antonia Raftu), political scouts who recommended that she run for higher office. Leslie is conflicted about running due to her romantic relationship with Ben (Adam Scott), which would cause a possible scandal since he is Assistant City Manager. Meanwhile, upon learning that his first ex-wife Tammy I (Patricia Clarkson) has arrived in town, Ron (Nick Offerman) grabs an emergency survival bag and flees to live in the wilderness for several months.
Picking up several weeks later, an e-mail with a picture of a man's genitals is sent to all of the female employees. While Chris (Rob Lowe) and Ben investigate, Leslie is sent to do damage control by having an interview with reporter Perd Hapley. The interview goes so well that the scouts decide to have Leslie announce her candidacy for city council that Friday, rather than their original plan of eight months later. Leslie panics because she had been putting off ending things with Ben, and she panics further when Ben presents her with a gift during a dinner, causing her to also flee to the wilderness to hide out with Ron. Tom (Aziz Ansari) visits the parks department with promotional material from his new job at Entertainment 720, where he works with Jean-Ralphio (Ben Schwartz), but not even he is sure what Entertainment 720 does. He offers Andy (Chris Pratt) a job, but Andy turns him down, unsure of where to go with his life.
Ann tells Chris that the genitals in the picture show symptoms of mumps. Chris and Ben discover that Joe (Kirk Fox) from the sewage department sent the e-mail and fire him, and Chris announces Ann's discovery to everyone. This prompts male employees to e-mail Ann pictures of their genitals because they are worried that they caught the mumps from Joe, so Chris has Dr. Harris (Cooper Thornton) come in to perform tests on everyone. At Ron's cabin, Leslie and Ron both realize they cannot run away from their problems and return to the parks department. Ron tells everyone that Leslie is going to be running for city council and will need an assistant to help her with the extra work, so April (Aubrey Plaza) suggests Andy, who is hired. Leslie later meets with Ben to break up with him, but to her surprise, the gift she left unwrapped at dinner is a "Knope 2012" button; Ben deduced by how Leslie was acting that she was offered to run for elected office, and the two break up amicably. She later announces her candidacy for city council. Tammy I—who is an IRS agent—later meets up with Ron in his office and serves him audit papers.
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