Hunting Trip (Parks And Recreation)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

"Hunting Trip" is the tenth episode of the second season of
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...
comedy
television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...
'' Parks and Recreation'', and the sixteenth overall episode of the series. It originally aired on
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
in the United States on November 19, 2009. In the episode,
Leslie Leslie may refer to: * Leslie (name), a name and list of people with the given name or surname, including fictional characters Families * Clan Leslie, a Scottish clan with the motto "grip fast" * Leslie (Russian nobility), a Russian noble family ...
tries to prove she can hang out with the guys by attending
Ron Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...
's annual hunting trip, where Ron is accidentally shot. The episode was written by Daniel J. Goor and was directed by series co-creator
Greg Daniels Gregory Martin Daniels (born June 13, 1963) is an American screenwriter, television producer, and director. He has worked on several television series, including writing for ''Saturday Night Live'' and ''The Simpsons'', adapting '' The Office'' ...
. It also introduced a romantic subplot between the characters Andy and
April April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian and Julian calendars. Its length is 30 days. April is commonly associated with the season of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, where it is the ...
which continued throughout the second season and into the
third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...
. Series co-creator
Michael Schur Michael Herbert Schur (born October 29, 1975) is an American television writer, producer, director, and actor. He started his career as a writer for ''Saturday Night Live'' (1998–2004) before gaining acclaim as a writer and producer of the si ...
said the pairing was not previously planned but grew when it was discovered actors
Aubrey Plaza Aubrey Christina Plaza (born June 26, 1984) is an American actress, comedian, and producer. She began performing Improvisational theatre, improv and sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. After graduating from New York University ...
and
Chris Pratt Christopher Michael Pratt (born June 21, 1979) is an American actor. His films as a leading actor have grossed over $14.1billion worldwide, making him the fifth-highest-grossing film star of all time. Pratt was named by ''Time'' as one of t ...
had strong comedic chemistry together. According to
Nielsen Media Research Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
, "Hunting Trip" was seen by 4.61 million viewers, a slight drop from the previous week's episode, " The Camel". The episode received generally positive reviews, with commentators particularly praising the Andy and April subplot, as well as the continued development of Leslie Knope's character.


Plot

The episode opens with Andy giving piggyback rides to everyone in the parks department. Later,
Ron Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...
,
Jerry Jerry may refer to: Animals * Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National * Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes Arts, entertainment, and media * Jerry (play), a 1914 American play ...
and
Mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...
look forward to their annual "trail survey", which is actually a yearly secret hunting trip. Determined to prove she can be just like one of the guys around the office, Leslie insists the ladies of the parks department attend the trip this year, as well as
Tom Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name. Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tom'' (1973 film), or ''The Bad Bunch'', a blaxploitation film * ''Tom'' (2002 film) ...
, who has also never been invited. Ron is visibly disappointed. Leslie asks
April April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian and Julian calendars. Its length is 30 days. April is commonly associated with the season of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, where it is the ...
to check on a budgeting request while they are gone. What should be a simple chore, however, has April waiting on hold at the phone for hours. When she desperately has to use the restroom, Andy agrees to wait by the phone. When she returns, the two start to bond by making up their own lyrics to the hold music, playing a non-water game of
Marco Polo Marco Polo (; ; ; 8 January 1324) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known a ...
around the office, and seeing who can make the best
spit-take A spit-take is a comedic technique or reaction in which someone spits a drink, or sometimes food, out of their mouth as a reaction to a surprising or funny statement. An essential part of the spit-take is comedic timing. The person performing th ...
. When Andy says he is jealous that his ex-girlfriend
Ann Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie and Ana. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in ...
is going to the hunting trip with Mark, April offers to give him a
hickey A hickey, hickie, or sometimes referred to as a love bite, is a bruise or bruise-like mark caused by biting or sucking the skin of a person, usually on their neck, arm, or earlobe. While biting may be part of giving a hickey, sucking is suffi ...
to make Ann jealous, which Andy accepts. Meanwhile, the others arrive at the cabin for the hunting trip.
Leslie Leslie may refer to: * Leslie (name), a name and list of people with the given name or surname, including fictional characters Families * Clan Leslie, a Scottish clan with the motto "grip fast" * Leslie (Russian nobility), a Russian noble family ...
proves to be an excellent hunter and bags the first quail. Growing increasingly threatened, Ron agrees to a challenge that Leslie cannot shoot more birds than he can, and they split up. After a few hours of hunting, Ron screams and the others rush to his side and find he has been shot in the head, with the gun also shooting out the window of Donna's Mercedes. Ann takes Ron back to the cabin, where he is absolutely furious even though the injury is not serious. Ron asks whether Leslie shot him, but she insists she did not. Ron takes several pain pills and washes it down with
scotch Scotch most commonly refers to: * Scotch (adjective), a largely obsolescent adjective meaning "of or from Scotland" **Scotch, old-fashioned name for the indigenous languages of the Scottish people: *** Scots language ("Broad Scotch") *** Scottish ...
, which forces Ann and Leslie to hold his mouth open and induce vomiting, despite fierce opposition from Ron himself. The others discuss who shot Ron, and Tom creates a minor panic when he suggests perhaps an outsider is hunting them. Ann takes Leslie aside and says she knows who shot Ron, and a few minutes later Leslie admits to the group that she was the shooter, even though Ann knows this is not the case. A park ranger arrives and interrogates Leslie, implying that the accident is the result of her femininity. Leslie knows that she is a good hunter, but goes along with the ranger's sexist implications in order to appease him. Later, a bandaged Ron repeatedly berates Leslie, prompting Ann to insist Tom come forward. Tom admits he shot Ron, and that Leslie covered for him because he did not have his
hunting license A hunting license or hunting permit is a regulation, regulatory or law, legal mechanism to control hunting, both commercial and recreational. A license specifically made for game hunting, recreational hunting is sometimes called a game license ...
, which could have resulted in a $25,000 fine and possible prison time. Ron is impressed with Leslie, whom he calls a "stand-up guy". The episode ends with a get well party for Ron, where Ann is unimpressed with Andy's hickey, and the whole party is horrified by Ron's head wound.


Production

"Hunting Trip" was written by Daniel J. Goor and directed by series co-creator
Greg Daniels Gregory Martin Daniels (born June 13, 1963) is an American screenwriter, television producer, and director. He has worked on several television series, including writing for ''Saturday Night Live'' and ''The Simpsons'', adapting '' The Office'' ...
. The episode introduced a romantic subplot between the characters Andy and April which continued throughout the second season and into the
third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...
. Series co-creator
Michael Schur Michael Herbert Schur (born October 29, 1975) is an American television writer, producer, director, and actor. He started his career as a writer for ''Saturday Night Live'' (1998–2004) before gaining acclaim as a writer and producer of the si ...
said the pairing was not previously planned, but grew when it was discovered during the filming of "Hunting Trip" that actors
Aubrey Plaza Aubrey Christina Plaza (born June 26, 1984) is an American actress, comedian, and producer. She began performing Improvisational theatre, improv and sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. After graduating from New York University ...
and
Chris Pratt Christopher Michael Pratt (born June 21, 1979) is an American actor. His films as a leading actor have grossed over $14.1billion worldwide, making him the fifth-highest-grossing film star of all time. Pratt was named by ''Time'' as one of t ...
had strong comedic chemistry together. However, Schur also said the idea to pair them together in "Hunting Trip" stemmed in part from a line Plaza improvised in the first season finale "
Rock Show Rock Show may refer to: * " Venus and Mars/Rock Show", a 1975 song by Paul McCartney & Wings * ''Rockshow ''Rockshow'' is a 1980 American concert film released by Paul McCartney and Wings, filmed during the band's 1976 North American tour. The ...
", when Andy explained his style of music and April replied that she completely understood him. Schur said, "At the time, it was this little nothing, throwaway thing, but when we watched it, we thought there might be something there." During a November 2009 panel at the
Paley Center for Media The Paley Center for Media, formerly the Museum of Television & Radio (MT&R) and the Museum of Broadcasting, founded in 1975 by William S. Paley, is an American cultural institution in New York City with a branch office in Los Angeles. It is de ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, Plaza said, "You're going to see more scenes with Andy and April. There could be a love connection for them." Daniels said some of his favorite moments from the series were in "Hunting Trip" and he particularly loved the "interpersonal stuff" between Andy and April, who he described as "two characters that you didn't know had any interest in one another". Pratt specifically sought to make Plaza laugh during their scene together and was ultimately successful. He told Daniels before filming, "I'm gonna get something out of her." "Hunting Trip" included a scene in which Leslie tells the state trooper multiple reasons or excuses for why she apparently shot Ron, all of which were edited together in a series of
jump cut A jump cut is a cut (transition), cut in film editing that breaks a single continuous sequential shot of a subject into two parts, with a piece of footage removed to create the effect of jumping forward in time. Camera positioning on the subjec ...
s. The technique has been commonly used throughout the ''Parks and Recreation'' series to condense multiple takes of
improvisation Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...
from Poehler.


Reception

In its original American broadcast on November 19, 2009, "Hunting Trip" was seen by 4.61 million viewers, according to
Nielsen Media Research Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
. "Hunting Trip" drew a 2.0 rating/6 share among viewers aged between 18 and 49. It constituted about a five percent drop in viewership from the previous week's episode, " The Camel", which itself was a five percent drop from the previous episode, "
Ron and Tammy "Ron and Tammy" is the eighth episode of the second season of '' Parks and Recreation'', and the fourteenth overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on November 5, 2009. In the episode, the library depart ...
". The episode received generally positive reviews, with several particularly praising the subplot between Aubrey Plaza and Chris Pratt. Reviewers also praised the continued developed of the Leslie Knope character, who proves to be intelligent and capable in "Hunting Trip", rather than the clueless protagonist she appeared to be in earlier episodes. In 2011, ''
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
'' magazine writer called it "one of the breakout episodes that saw the show finding its momentum and figuring out how to transfer the dynamic outside of the office".
Alan Sepinwall Alan Sepinwall (born October 19, 1973) is an American television reviewer and writer. He spent 14 years as a columnist with ''The Star-Ledger'' in Newark until leaving the newspaper in 2010 to work for the entertainment news website HitFix. He ...
of ''
The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' was the largest circulation newspaper in New Jersey. It is based in Newark, New Jersey. The newspaper ceased print publication on February 2, 2025, but continues to publish a digital edition. In 2007, ''The Star-Ledger''s ...
'' said "Hunting Trip" was not as funny as the previous episode, " The Camel", but that it included excellent physical comedy like Ron's refusal to throw up, and Andy's piggyback rides throughout Pawnee town hall. Sepinwall also praised Leslie's intelligence and savvy, which he said differentiates the show from Greg Daniels' other show, ''
The Office ''The Office'' is the title of several mockumentary sitcoms based on a British series originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as '' The Office'' in 2001. The original series also starred Gervais as manager and primary charac ...
'' and its protagonist
Michael Scott Michael Scott, Michael Scot, or Mike Scott may refer to: Academics * Michael Scot (1175 – c. 1232), mathematician and astrologer * Michael L. Scott (born 1959), American academic and computer scientist * Mike Scott, British linguist and designer ...
. ''
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
'' writer Matt Fowler particularly praised the pairing of Aubrey Plaza and Chris Pratt, which he called simultaneously funny, naturalistic and sweet. Fowler said the main hunting plot was funny, but "I'm not a huge fan of horrific personal injury as a vehicle for humor". Steve Heisler of ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' said he liked the episode, but that the main hunting subplot was messy because there was too much action involving too many supporting cast members. Heisler said the Andy and April subplot was more effective. ''
Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
'' magazine writer Jonah Weiner praised "Hunting Trip", especially the scene in which the characters become convinced they are being stalked by the
Predator Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...
, the alien antagonist from the 1987 film of the same name. Weiner called it a "detour into an inspired absurdity that tugs against and tweaks the show's bureaucratic backdrop". ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine television critic
James Poniewozik James Poniewozik (; born July 12, 1968) is an American journalist and television critic. He is the chief TV critic for ''The New York Times''. Earlier in his career, he wrote '' Time's'' ''Tuned In'' column for 16 years. Early life Originally fro ...
said "Hunting Trip" demonstrated how far Leslie Knope had developed since the first season. Poniewozik praised the "ultra-deadpan" pairing of Andy and April, which he said was another in a continued line of "interesting combinations for its side players". Steve Penner of ''
The Portsmouth Herald ''The Portsmouth Herald'' (and ''Seacoast Weekend'') is a six-day daily newspaper serving greater Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Its coverage area also includes the municipalities of Greenland, New Castle, Newington and Rye, New Hampshire; and ...
'' said the sequence of Poehler's statements to the park trooper was "worthy of her absolutely best SNL impressions".


DVD release

"Hunting Trip", along with the other 23 second season episodes of ''Parks and Recreation'', was released on a four-disc
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
set in the United States on November 30, 2010. The DVD also included deleted scenes from each episode. It also included a commentary track for "Hunting Trip" featuring Amy Poehler, Nick Offerman, Aziz Ansari, Rashida Jones, Chris Pratt, Jim O'Heir,
Retta Marietta Sangai SirleafJung, E. Alex Vulture.com, May 23, 2018. rchived https://web.archive.org/web/20180523214634/https://www.vulture.com/2018/05/retta-has-a-story-to-tell.htmlon 05-23-2018
, Aubrey Plaza, Michael Schur and Greg Daniels. "Hunting Trip" was also included in the DVD box-set for the sixth season of ''The Office''.


References


External links


"Hunting Trip"
at the official ''Parks and Recreation'' site * {{Parks and Recreation 2009 American television episodes Parks and Recreation season 2 episodes Hunting in popular culture Television episodes directed by Greg Daniels