The Comeback Kid
| "The Comeback Kid" | |||
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| Parks and Recreation episode | |||
| Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 11 |
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| Directed by | Tucker Gates | ||
| Written by | Mike Scully | ||
| Original air date | January 12, 2012 | ||
| Episode chronology | |||
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| List of season 4 episodes List of Parks and Recreation episodes |
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"The Comeback Kid" is the eleventh episode of the fourth season of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation, and the 57th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on January 12, 2012. In the episode, Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) and the parks department prepare to organize a rally to save her campaign, while Chris (Rob Lowe) suspects that Ben (Adam Scott) is depressed.
[edit] Plot
Leslie (Amy Poehler) and the parks department are planning a big comeback for Leslie's campaign. She asks Ann (Rashida Jones) to be her campaign manager, turning down Ann's suggestion of the unemployed and experienced Ben (Adam Scott) since his presence may remind voters of their scandal. They all decide she should give a speech during a high school basketball game, and Ann manages to land high school basketball legend "Pistol" Pete Disellio. Pete will endorse Leslie, but he refuses to allow the campaign to associate him with basketball or even use his nickname since he is tired of the town always bringing up his one famous game, and he continues to open up more about his life problems to an uncomfortable Ann.
Chris (Rob Lowe) visits Ben at his home, where he sees Ben very involved in a variety of hobbies, such as claymation and calzone making, neither of which are very good. Chris guesses that Ben is actually very depressed and is using the hobbies as a distraction, but doesn't say anything and decides to let Ben figure it out for himself. Meanwhile, as the parks department is driving to the sports complex, they are pulled over by a police officer who makes them abandon the vehicle due to Ron (Nick Offerman) not being licensed to drive the truck. They are forced to leave behind most of the supplies and cram into a car. Leslie discovers that April (Aubrey Plaza) failed to learn when she booked the rally that the basketball court had been converted into an ice hockey rink. Even worse, due to most of the supplies being abandoned, only a portion of Leslie's campaign banner is displayed and the podium is built without stairs.
When Leslie goes out on the ice to give her speech, Tom's (Aziz Ansari) red carpet ends abruptly, so she and the whole department slip and fall all the way to the podium, while Andy (Chris Pratt) and April's new dog Champion pees all over Ron. Leslie finally gets to the podium, but her index cards are out of order and her speech falls flat. Suddenly, Pete arrives – having sorted out his issues with Ann – and endorses Leslie to the crowd's delight. Pete attempts to dunk, but he immediately slips and breaks his arm. The event is a complete disaster. Ben eventually realizes how pathetic his life has become after showing Chris a five second claymation video that took him three weeks to produce. Chris cheers Ben up and Ben is touched by his friend's efforts to help. He later accepts an offer from Leslie to become her new campaign manager.
