Parks and Recreation

The return of Parks and Recreation this week featured Ann trying to rebound from Chris, Leslie growing closer to Ben, Jerry chowing down on some corn and, oh yeah...

An appearance by Lil Sebastian!!!

This 25-year old mini horse stole the episode on "Harvest Festival. It's hard to figure out which result was funnier: Ben's constant consternation over the uproar caused by the ancient colt, or the smile etched on Ron's lips any time Sebastian was on screen.

Seriously, the guy hasn't been that overjoyed since his last meat-filled breakfast.

As always, Parks and Recreation did a masterful job giving every character a moment or two to shine throughout this half hour.

Leslie was her typical, chipper, well-intentioned self; Tom tried to shill for the Snakehole Lounge; Ron grew exasperated by his co-workers, yet proved he actually knows them well; Jerry ate a lot; Donna helped Ann get her muscle-headed first base on; and Andy gave new, romantic meaning to the term "awesome sauce."

He also helped me understand why Indians refer to corn as "maize." Thanks, man.

The only drawback to the Harvest Festival? The fact that we can't actually attend and be greeted by Leslie Knope. Instead, we'll need to relive the installment via a set of Parks and Recreation quotes that combined humor with heart.

From Leslie and Chris; to April and Andy; to Ron and Lil Sebastian, the episode was full of moments between characters that displayed what this show does so well: merge the ridiculous with the sweet. It's something we can appreciate on a weekly basis without even needing to climb to the top of a ferris wheel for a better view.