Peacock's 'Parks' and 'Parenthood' play primetime possum

The zeitgeist can be a sneaky, pernicious beast — kind of like a possum. So maybe it shouldn't be so surprising that possums popped up on two NBC scripted shows within a 48-hour period last week.

It certainly couldn't have taken NBC by surprise, since the word "Possum" was in the titles of both episodes. On Tuesday, the second episode of "Parenthood" ("Man vs. Possum") featured a storyline with series lead Peter Krause doing battle with a possum on his property. Two nights later, "Parks and Recreation" ("The Possum") brought us Fairway Frank, a four-legged critter who plagued a golf course in pseudo-"Caddyshack" fashion.

I'd say "Parks" got more mileage out of its possum — in terms of story and certainly in terms of comedy — though when yet another possum emerged later in the episode, I thought it was a bit inexplicable that the characters didn't try to capture him as well. However, though my attempt to make "just get the other possum" a catchphrase describing holes in a show's plot has yet to catch on, I'll still always remember Possum Week on the Peacock.

Update: Here's a possum-related deleted scene from last week's "Parks."