How “Parks And Recreation” Created A Futuristic Pawnee

Parks and Rec co-creator Michael Schur tells BuzzFeed how those snazzy gadgets — including Gryzzl — were brought to life.

The final season of Parks and Recreation — which takes place in the year 2017 — has been a whirlwind of campaigning, tiny ninjas, and calzones.

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This season has also introduced a handful of eye-catching technological inventions. So how did the creators come up with the slick designs of the not-too-distant future?

Comedy and forecasting ultimately dictated the gadgets’ form, Parks co-creator Michael Schur told BuzzFeed in a phone interview. After looking three years into the past to see how rapidly our current electronics morphed, they decided to stick to one overarching rule: No hoverboards. “That was a shorthand of saying we’re only going to 2017. This is not Bladerunner,” he added.

So they focused on two big innovations: clear plexiglass and 3D images.

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“It was just extrapolating into the future and reading about Oculus Rift and stuff like that that seems to portend a three-dimensional future for all of us,” Schur said.

The tablets and phones are a product of Gryzzl, a chill internet company that’s bunking in Pawnee and is an amalgamation of Google, Amazon, and social media. And while their customized Gryzzlboxes may be comedic hyperbole, they’re not too far from reality.

In one scene, Gryzzl’s CEO, played by Workaholic star Blake Anderson, nonchalantly mentions that maybe Sweetums’ cohort Jessica Wicks (Susan Yeagley) should shut her device off before going to sleep. “Every year that goes by, this stuff gets a little more creepy and a little more invasive, and we turn a little more of ourselves over to it,” says Schur.

Except for Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman), of course, whose feelings on technology were perfectly encapsulated with one scene that featured him standing in a darkened threshold holding a battered drone.

When the show started shooting, the cast didn’t really know what the final products would look like.

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They were instructed to treat the phones and tablets like they’ve seen them a million times before. The special effects were built to match what the actors were doing, which was just randomly swiping at the plexiglass, Schur said.

But when they began to edit the show, they found even more moments of actors doing scrolling motions. “And we’re like, goddamn it, now we gotta do another visual effect, because every time they move their hand, that means that the image has to change,” Schur recalled. “It’s been really funny because it’s not their fault! They were just standing there looking at nothing, and they were reacting just the normal way they would react.”

And if you consider an iPhone 3 vintage, that’s exactly the mentality the actors were told to portray. Andy (Chris Pratt) casually cycles through the news, and Ben (Adam Scott) wafts through each of his PowerPoint slides as though this feature has been around since Microsoft launched.

“The main thing that we said to all the actors was, ‘These are not interesting to you,'” he said. “Never express any amazement about what you’re seeing, because no matter how crazy and amazing we make it, to you it’s like second nature at this point.”

But aside from a few fashion tweaks, everything else pretty much stayed the same.

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“The world doesn’t change that much from 2013 to 2015, and it won’t change that much from 2015 to 2017,” said Schur. “People still wear pants and shirts and still have hair and stuff like that. The tech world is the main place where you’re ever going to notice a difference.”

The time jump also gave the writers the ability to tear Ron and Leslie (Amy Poehler) apart without having to watch it in real time.

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“[Their friendship] is sort of like the beating heart of the show, and so that was something we wanted to do this year,” he said.

As for the pivotal lock-in scene in the fourth episode of Season 7, titled “Leslie & Ron,” Schur was the one who configured the Billy Joel lyrics as a method of torture. “We tried to figure out what would make Ron really break and crack — and break his silence — and Leslie making up rapid-fire lyrics to ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’ aggressively in his face was like, ‘Yeah, that would work,'” he said. “I think that would work on any military prisoner too.”

But Poehler was the one who nailed the “ridiculous” lines, he said. “That’s Amy Poehler for you.”

The Parks and Recreation series finale will air Feb. 24, and while it is — understandably — sad to say good-bye to the acclaimed show, Schur knew it was the right time to sign off. “We’re very lucky, because there are very few shows that last as long as we lasted and get to go out on our own terms,” he said. “The sadness was mitigated very strongly by a feeling of accomplishment and a feeling that we had really been able to do things — we did it our way, as Frank Sinatra said.”

The Parks and Recreation series finale airs Feb. 24 at 10 p.m. on NBC.

Read more: http://www.buzzfeed.com/kasiagalazka/parks-and-recreation-farewell-season-gadgets

28 Applying This Funniest Performing Jokes On “Parks And Recreation”

take-in your rips with your good a few ideas. Warning: Spoilers ahead.

Parks and Recreation is shutting tonite, as well as once we gather 5,000 candle lights featuring its honor, it is the right time and energy to reminisce.

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We’re maybe not sobbing, okay?! We’re attentive to series finales.

Let me share of the finest flowing jokes for show’s seven months.

1. The Bermuda Triangle of Tammys.

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Tammy 1, Tammy 2, and Ron’s mother, Tammy.

2. Ben’s persistent love for calzones.

Because pizza pie pie pie dessert pie will probably be your grandfather’s calzone.

3. Leslie’s colorful compliments.

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Vulture produced all of Leslie’s language into one wonderful record consequently we can not forget people like “Ann, you cunning, flexible, chestnut-haired sunfish.”

4. Ron’s enthusiasm for break fast dishes…

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Strippers do-nothing for him, but they can simply take a totally free of price buffet whenever, anyplace.

5. …and things meat.

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as he makes use of, it’s the foodstuff that’s scared of him. He even had a food car title a bacon-wrapped turkey knee after him.

6. Tom’s unlimited entrepreneurial ideas.

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get more info than two dozen of these at Vulture, or see a supercut of all the amongst these.

7. Leslie’s adoration of waffles.

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“we must remember what’s essential in life: friends, waffles, and work. Or waffles, buddies, work. But work must come 3rd.” —Leslie Knope, philosopher/tropical butterfly

8. Together with the lady admiration of Ben’s butt.

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generally she furthermore foretells it by themselves.

9. The girl run-ins with Councilman Howser during worst possible times.

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NBC

 

Like when she was chanting “Knope axioms, Jamm sucks!” into a megaphone.

10. Orin.

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with regards to his cheery demeanor.

11. The Cones of Dunshire.

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Due To unemployed Ben.

12. Ben over and over repeatedly accepting and stopping his / her accounting work.

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NBC

 

together with his manager Barney’s overjoyed face whenever Ben cracks credit cards merchant account.

13. Thin company’s undying love for him despite their unique departures.

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might ac-count on him as it won’t be also tax-ing.

14. Pawnee City Hall’s offensive murals.

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Its record is a bit…gruesome.

15. Jerry/Larry/Terry/Garry.

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NBC

 

regarding record, their particular real title’s Garry.

16. The inexperienced dog control staff.

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NBC

 

We’ll miss you dearly, Harris Wittels.

17. And Pawnee’s subsequent raccoon issue.

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NBC

 

It’s so very bad that city established the Raccoon Eradication Initiative.

18. Town’s reliance on AltaVista.

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the most crucial search-engines is old, it’s not around any longer.

19. April’s dislike each and every types of love.

(excluding Andy, in a positive way.)

20. And Leslie’s distaste about city’s librarians.

They’re remarkably well-read, making all of them actually dangerous.

21. The whirlwind which can be Joan Callamezzo.

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that may we get a duplicate about girl guide, Game of Joans?

22. Ron’s giddiness over riddles.

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He’s really, great at scavenger hunts, most likely because he conceals success gear and gold around town.

23. Pawnee vs. Eagleton.

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they think they’re better with regards to clean areas and cupcake factory that creates environment aroma like vanilla.

24. Jean-Ralphio and Mona Lisa doing.

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Because they’re the wooOooorst.

25. Perd Hapley’s literal interpretations of each small thing.

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“Let’s begin the tv show by beginning it.”

26. Duke Silver.

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NBC

 

maybe it is actually cool exterior, but it’s likely to get hot all up within jazz.

27. Li’l Sebastian, Pawnee’s popular small horse.

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NBC

 

Whose celebrity was beautifully encapsulated with Ginuwine’s tribute.

28. Manage yoself.

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Because we could all get a hold of any such thing from Tom and Donna’s yearly day’s deluxe.

what is your selected? Inform us the following, and we also’ll all group-hug.

And constantly browse our meeting with Parks co-creator Michael Schur about Gryzzl, Ron and Leslie, whilst the last times on ready.

have significantly more information: http://www.buzzfeed.com/kasiagalazka/the-low-cal-calzone-zone