Go Big or Go Home

After three months of closure due to the Pawnee budget crisis and government shutdown, Leslie excitedly informs her fellow employees that the parks department has been reopened, although on a shoestring budget. State auditors Chris and Ben announce they may only conduct existing park maintenance, but Leslie wants to offer better programs and services. Meanwhile, the always-optimistic Chris continues trying to convince Ann to go on a date with him. Ann finds him too intense, but Leslie convinces her to accept a date and try to persuade Chris to increase the parks budget.

Due to popular demand from citizens, Ben restarts the youth basketball league, although with only two teams. They are coached by Ron, who is extremely strict and disciplined with his players, and Andy, who is very laid back and lets his kids get out of control. Tom, who referees the game, becomes jealous when his ex-wife Wendy arrives to support Ron. Tom insists he is happy with his new girlfriend Lucy and does not mind that Wendy is dating Ron. However, Tom repeatedly calls false fouls against Ron's players until all of them are disqualified from the game. When Ron and Wendy get angry, Tom ejects them from the game and declares it a forfeit, which concerns Lucy.

Ann finds she enjoys her date with Chris. When she asks why he is always so positive, he explains he was expected to die as a baby due to a blood disorder, so he now feels fortunate to be alive every day. Leslie crashes the date to help Ann persuade Chris to increase the parks budget, but to her surprise, Ben also arrives, having predicted Leslie's plan. The four end up taking their date to a gay bar called The Bulge, where Chris tells Leslie he will consider increasing the parks budget. Leslie excitedly declares "mission accomplished", accidentally giving away her scheme and prompting Chris to leave, hurt that Ann had an ulterior motive for the date. Later, however, Ann apologizes to Chris and asks for another date, to which he happily agrees.

Meanwhile, April shows up to work after having disappeared three months earlier. Andy still has a crush on April, who previously liked Andy until she learned Ann had kissed him. Andy had been leaving messages for April ever since, but she did not return them because she was in Venezuela, where she met her new boyfriend, the handsome Eduardo. A discouraged Andy seeks advice from Leslie, who encourages him not to give up and to "go big or go home". Inspired by her own advice, Leslie proposes restoring the parks department with a Harvest Festival, which was once a Pawnee tradition until eliminated by budget cuts. Leslie and the other parks employees agree that if it is not a success, the parks department will shut down. Impressed by their enthusiasm, Chris and Ben agree to the idea.

"Go Big or Go Home" was the first Parks and Recreation episode to feature Rob Lowe (left) and Adam Scott (right) as regular cast members rather than guest stars

"Go Big or Go Home", the third season premiere, was written by Alan Yang and directed by Dean Holland. It was the first to feature Adam Scott, Rob Lowe, Jim O'Heir, and Retta as regular cast members rather than guest stars. Frequent guest performers Jama Williamson and Natalie Morales also reprised their roles.^[2] The episode was originally expected to debut in September 2010 and, due to Amy Poehler's pregnancy, the Parks and Recreation producers decided to write and film the first six episodes of the season early so it could meet that air date. However, to accommodate their new comedy series Outsourced, NBC opted not to put Parks and Recreation on the fall schedule, and instead delayed the third season premiere to a mid-season date of January 20, 2011.^[1][3][4][5] Due to the delay, "Go Big or Go Home" is set in the fall, when it was supposed to air, rather than the winter when it was actually broadcast.^[6] NBC chief executive officer Jeff Gaspin said this move was not a reflection on Parks and Recreation, and suggested the extended hiatus would not only have no negative effect on the show, but could actually build anticipation for its return.^[3]

"Go Big or Go Home" was the first original episode since "Freddy Spaghetti" in May 2010, and executive producer Michael Schur said while he believed it was a strong episode, there were fears the hiatus would hurt the momentum of the series: "Of course, any time you're not on the air, you run the risk of people forgetting about you; that's the sad thing about the mid-season show."^[1] The week of the third season premiere, Amy Poehler said of the hiatus, "It was an NBC decision and certainly we were confused. But I think, weirdly, there's a momentum that comes from people waiting for us, which is nice."^[5] Poehler also said the long hiatus made an ironic sort of sense for the script, since at the beginning the characters have "taken too much time off and we've all gone a little crazy".^[7] While Parks and Recreation previously aired on 8:30 p.m. EST on Thursdays, "Go Big or Go Home" marked the first episode in a new 9:30 p.m. Thursday time-slot between the two popular shows The Office and 30 Rock.^[4][8][9] Poehler said of the time-slot, "'The Office' is such an amazing show and to be behind it is an honor."^[10] In anticipation of new viewers due to the Office lead-in, "Go Big and Go Home" included an introductory sequence describing the previous events of the series.^[11]

"Go Big or Go Home" introduced the subplot of restoring the parks department budget through a harvest festival, which continued to be a major story arc throughout the first seven episodes of the season.^[12][13][14] It also marked a major development in the romantic subplot between Ann and Chris. Rashida Jones said of her character: "I think women over-correct from their last boyfriends, and Chris is very much the opposite from Mark," a reference to Mark Brendanawicz, a character eliminated the previous season.^[15] During one scene at Ann's house, Leslie suggests outlandish and inappropriate ways for Ann to try to seduce Chris into increasing the parks department budget, including wearing a sleeveless tuxedo dress that suddenly bursts open. Amy Poehler said she and Jones improvised much of the scene. Poehler said of the scene, "I think it's really funny how little game (Leslie) has with guys. She's not a fool, it's just not her expertise, so when she talks about how to be sexy or hot to get someone's attention, it's always really crazy."^[5]

While coaching basketball, Ron Swanson shows his players what he calls the "Swanson Pyramid of Greatness", a guide to living similar to the "Pyramid of Success" used by John Wooden. The pyramid includes several different categories, with honor at the top, and others below it such as America, buffets, wood working, welfare avoidance and deer protein. A poster of this pyramid was included in promotional materials given to media in advance of the episode's broadcast,^[16][17] and images of it were later placed on the official Parks and Recreation website.^[18] During the basketball game, Ron wears a red sweater and, at one point, angrily throws a chair into the court. These are references to the basketball coach Bobby Knight,^[11][12][19] for whom Ron had professed great admiration in the pilot episode.^[20]

During scenes at the gay bar, a stylized stencil poster of Leslie hangs on the wall. It is designed in a similar way to the Barack Obama "Hope" poster designed by artist Shepard Fairey, with the word "Knope" instead of "Hope". This poster was previously featured in the second season premiere "Pawnee Zoo", where Leslie is praised as a gay rights hero for marrying two male penguins at a ceremonial wedding at the zoo. During the parks department shutdown, Tom gets a part-time job at Lady Foot Locker, a retail sportswear and footwear store. He wears the store uniform, which resembles a referee shirt, when he actually referees the youth basketball game later in the episode. Tom's part-time job is a reference to the second season episode "Woman of the Year", where it is revealed Tom's friend Jean-Ralphio Saperstein also worked at a Lady Foot Locker.^[11][21]