Parks & Recreation: The 5 Best Cold Opens On The Show (& The 5 Worst)

One of the best parts of any sitcom or mockumentary are the cold opens. Cold opens are a way of introducing the viewer to the episode without much background information and before the opening credits roll. For Parks and Recreation, most cold opens occurred at Pawnee City Hall, where the Parks and Recreation Department is.

Over seven seasons, Parks and Recreation fans have seen over 120 cold opens but none are created equal. From Leslie Knope’s antics to Ron Swanson’s judgmental views, the people of Pawnee know how to make viewers laugh.

10 Best: “The Trial of Leslie Knope”

In the cold open for “The Trial of Leslie Knope,” Ron calls April into his office to question her about his computer. He was researching something earlier and now he was getting ads for his research. How did the computer know?

April explained to Ron what browser cookies were, which infuriated him. But the cherry on top was when she showed him what Google Earth was. After Ron saw his home via Google Earth, the camera followed him outside where he threw out his computer.

9 Worst: “Filibuster”

In season 6, Andy was still in London doing long distance with April. Because of the time difference, April had to Skype him at work as part of their nightly Skype session. In “Filibuster,” April is gearing up for her Skype call with Andy when she hears his music playing in the City Hall hallway.

Andy pops out of nowhere singing and tells her he’s home for 19 hours. Jerry makes a sweet remark on their relationship before Andy tells him to leave, as per usual. The cold open was endearing but not necessarily the funniest.

8 Best: “Boys’ Club”

At the start of “Boys’ Club,” Leslie and Tom roll up to the park when they heard teenagers were taking the doggy bags out of the trash can and flinging them at each other. Leslie refused to believe that teens were having a dog poop fight and showed up at the park to see for herself. Lo and behold, they were.

Leslie tried scolding the teens for littering and causing a disturbance but they soon began throwing the bags filled with dog poop at her! Leslie grabbed a trash can lid to use a shield and defended herself before she joined the “fun” and started throwing bags back at them. She couldn’t help herself but join in of reprimanding them.

7 Worst: “Summer Catalog”

In the cold open for “Summer Catalog,” Ron strolled into the office with a raccoon hat on his head. Shockingly, Tom called the hat “dope” and asked him if he could wear it for a little. Tom then proceeded to strut around City Hall with Ron’s hat on his head as a way to pick up women.

Sadly for him, none of the women at City Hall found his hat appealing and they rejected him. But as soon as Ron put the hat back on his head, a woman tried hitting on him. The situation was silly but not as funny as others.

6 Best: “Pawnee Zoo”

In “Pawnee Zoo,” Ron ran into Leslie’s office to tell her about a fire in Ramset Park. But as soon as he said “Okay, here’s the situation,” Leslie picked up the lyrics and began saying “Parents Just Don’t Understand” by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. She walked around the office singing the lyrics without being interrupted until she finished the song. When she was finally done, Ron let her know the serious news, which only made it more hilarious.

5 Worst: “Doppelgangers”

In “Doppelgangers,” Pawnee is absorbing Eagleton and it’s their first day on the job with their counterparts from the former city. In the cold open, Leslie greets the former Eagleton city hall employees and catches everyone up on how the connection is going to work. She explained that there were two departments in Eagleton’s city hall that Pawnee did not have: the Department of Infinity Pool Design and the Department of Dressage.

She assumed the Department of Dressage was a “fancy horse-riding thing” but was soon corrected by a man named Alonso. “It is horse dancing, madam,” he said coldly. Overall, the jokes fell flat.

4 Best: “April And Andy’s Fancy Party”

During a morning meeting at the Parks and Rec. Department, Ben is talking about street parking when Ron starts groaning in pain. He told the table he had a toothache, so he took out plyers from his pocket and ripped his tooth out in front of everyone. Tom fainted, Ben ran out the door, and Jerry screamed in shock. It was grotesque!  As blood spurted from his mouth, Ron told the cameras that he had the tooth pulled the day prior and slid it back in as a prank.

3 Worst: “Camping”

Paul Laresco was once the City Manager of Pawnee before Chris Trager took the job. In “Camping,” Paul is having a press conference where he’s thanking Leslie and the Pawnee Parks and Rec. Department for their stupendous work at the Harvest Festival. But while doing so, he suffers a heart attack. On his way down to the ground, he grabs Leslie’s breast for stability as everyone looked on in horror. It was a darker intro compared to the other cold openings.

2 Best: “Flu Season”

When the flu takes over Pawnee, April is sent to the hospital where she needed rest and fluids. Much to her chagrin, Ann was her nurse. As a professional, Ann treated April as she would any other patient regardless of how much April hated her. April wanted another nurse but the hospital was stretched thin — she was the only person available.

Fans loved watching April and Ann in awkward encounters, and “Flu Season” did it perfectly.

1 Worst: “Ann’s Decision”

In “Ann’s Decision,” Ann takes a break from dating different men and tries dating herself. After years of being in a relationship and liking the things that her partner liked, Ann explored her own interests and preferences.

In this cold open, Ann is at breakfast with Leslie, Ron, and Ben where she orders two completely different meals. Everyone is bewildered by her meal options but she assures them it’s so she can find out who she really is. It was one of those cold openings that were more charming than funny.

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Lynn Gibbs
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Lynn is a nomad who travels the globe on the hunt for her next adventure with her husband. A lover of being outside (and finding the best latte in town), Lynn is typically hiking, walking, or jogging when she’s not focusing on her love of writing. When it comes to shows streaming on Netflix or anything Bravo-related, Lynn’s your gal.

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