Ant Invasion! Cold Open

Ant Invasion! is the cold open from the Season Two episode, The Defense Rests. It acts as a stand alone joke.

Video

Ant Invasion!

Plot

Jake Peralta notices the ants that have taken over the 4th floor of the 99th Precinct. He blames Hitchcock and Scully and they retort that they clean up the crumbs, not create them. Amy Santiago, whose desk is across from him brags that there aren't any on her desk because she sanitizes it daily. When he points out that they're actually on her desk she tries to separate hers from Jake's under the theory that they're coming from his desk to hers via the computer cables. Raymond Holt comes out of his office and remarks that it's the ants and Terry tells him they've gotten worse and have begun biting.

Holt theorizes that they're trying to escape the cold from outside and recommends they freeze them out. With all the windows open and everyone in winter coats, shivering he announces that they've won. Gina announces that the ants are now in their coats and everyone begins to strip out of their winter-wear.

Cool Cool Cool Things

Trivia

Amy sanitizes her desk daily
Boyle buys his cologne from Penn Station

Running Gags Mentioned

Terry Loves Yogurt

Featured Relationships

Quotes

Jake Peralta
Are we sure everyone cleaned up the food and crumbs?
Norm Scully
Why is everyone looking at us? We're the ones who eat up all the crumbs
Michael Hitchcock
Yeah. We're the solution

Jake Peralta
Now they're destroying our technology? This is an invasion
Terry Jeffords
They're in my yogurt. Now it's personal.
Jake Peralta
Alright that's it. We've gotta fight back. This is our planet!

Behind The Scenes

This cold open was inspired by the ant infestations that were common in the Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Parks and Recreation offices that were located at CBS Studio Center.^[1]
Stephanie Beatriz and Joe Lo Truglio appear but don't have any lines.

Known Filming Locations
Filming Location	City, State	Details	Scenes
CBS Studio Center	Studio City, California	Stage 12	Scenes that take place in the 99th Precinct including: Bullpen Amy's Desk Gina's Desk Jake's Desk Scully's Desk Terry's Desk

References

↑ UPROXX, 02/23/2015, You Go Big Or You Go Home: An Oral History Of The Creation And Evolution Of ‘Parks And Recreation’ "Kate Dippold: Dan Goor once tried a science experiment, leaving a pencil or something in a cup of Coca-Cola over the long weekend to see what would happen. We had ants in the writer’s room for the rest of the year. Dan Goor: I put a pencil in a glass of Red Bull, and it was before our two-week hiatus. When we got back, it wasn’t just an infestation. The ledge of my office window – it was like a four-inch deep ledge – was black, and I was like, why is my window ledge black? Then it started to move. Sheets of ants had invaded our office. You have never seen so many ants. It was like a David Attenborough film. It was crazy. We had a similar infestation in our office at Brooklyn Nine-Nine and it led to a cold open where they were trying to freeze the ants out."

[1] UPROXX, 02/23/2015, You Go Big Or You Go Home: An Oral History Of The Creation And Evolution Of ‘Parks And Recreation’ "Kate Dippold: Dan Goor once tried a science experiment, leaving a pencil or something in a cup of Coca-Cola over the long weekend to see what would happen. We had ants in the writer’s room for the rest of the year. Dan Goor: I put a pencil in a glass of Red Bull, and it was before our two-week hiatus. When we got back, it wasn’t just an infestation. The ledge of my office window – it was like a four-inch deep ledge – was black, and I was like, why is my window ledge black? Then it started to move. Sheets of ants had invaded our office. You have never seen so many ants. It was like a David Attenborough film. It was crazy. We had a similar infestation in our office at Brooklyn Nine-Nine and it led to a cold open where they were trying to freeze the ants out."

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