S06E09 - Cones of Dunshire

Live from Pawnee: A Parks and Recreation Fan Rewatch Podcast

It’s all about the Cones! This week Mark and Allen break down the Episode where we are first introduced to the legendary game, "The Cones of Dunshire"! With Leslie's time on the City Council soon coming to a close, as her final task, she seeks to guarantee the longevity of the project that started it all ... the "Sullivan Street Pit", which after getting filled in became "Lot 48", and finally became the intended site for the architectural park design that is now referred to as "Pawnee Commons". Specifically, the money set aside for Pawnee Commons is in a discretionary fund. Leslie wants to move this money to a lock box to ensure it is used for that project. Unfortunately, once again seeking to thwart Leslie, Councilman Jeremy Jamm moves to table any decision on the money until Leslie is out of office. Determined to succeed with this final action, Leslie (assisted by Chris as mediator) confronts Jamm at his house and insists on hashing things out. Jamm agrees to have her and Chris stay the night, with the goal being to begin negotiations the next morning. Negotiations continue while Jamm makes them breakfast, and for some while afterwards, but Jamm continues to play hard ball, and Leslie has to think on her feet regarding her next move. Meanwhile, Ron has purchased a new cabin that will provide a more friendly environment for Diane and the kids. As a result, Ron decides it is time to sell one of his four (I mean TWO) cabins. Reluctantly realizing he might need help, he enlists Donna (and by proxy, Tom) to assist him as realtors, with April tagging along out of pure interest and curiosity. As one might imagine, Ron does not like or understand Donna and Tom's frou-frou approach to sprucing up his cabin. Making things worse, Ron very much dislikes the types of people looking to buy it, such as one bidder who wishes to buy the property purely for the land, and will thus end up demolishing the cabin. Finally, Now that Ben is no longer working for Sweetums, he had to make a decision as to his next job ... and decided to take the offer from the accounting firm that Barney Varmn works for, Tilton and Radomski. However, he had a week off until he started there, so he used his spare time creating a very nerdy and complex board called "The Cones of Dunshire" ... which I think Leslie mentally categorizes along with some of his other strange short obsessions, like clay-mation. On Ben's first day, Barney is overjoyed to see him, as always, but an employee named Frank Mann is not impressed with Ben, or his legendary status around the office, and is looking to see him fail. Ben gets put to the test on his first day, when Barney apologetically gives Ben their toughest case. As always, we tackle the tough questions, such as ... Will Jamm continue to play hardball? Can Ben crack the case, or will Frank end up gloating in his face? Will Donna give Ron the friends and family discount? Will Ron ACCEPT the friends and family discount? Can Chris figure out what is really driving Leslie to do this? Can Tom leverage this opportunity to become the mogul he's always dreamed of? Does Ben break the "Barney Curse", and finally keep his job with Tilton and Radomski? Does Leslie succeed in ensuring the future of Pawnee Commons? Does Ron end up selling his cabin, and if so, to who? Will Ben ever find a worthy home for "The Cones of Dunshire"? Who is Jamm's best friend? Loyal viewers, this one will decide the future of the Sullivan Street Pit / Lot 42 / Pawnee Commons! What will happen? Tune in to find out! Many thanks to our fantastic sponsor, "Pawnee Community Theater" ... now performing the famous musical and Hollywood sensation, "Grease"!