Several Good Reasons To Follow NBC’s Parks & Recreation.
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Having seen the entire six-episode first season of Parks & Recreation, I’m very much looking forward to more. The show’s been renewed for next year, so thankfully it’s not a question. Clearly, the show hasn’t reached its full potential yet, but the exact same hesitant reservation was generally suggested of the first U.S. episodes of The Office, and look how that turned out.
(Awesomely.)
Here’s why the show is well worth catching up on:
A) The creative team, headed up by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, using the same pseudo-documentary style used on The Office. If you like the parent show, you’re going to see plenty of promise here already.
B) The setting. Local government is a potential comedy goldmine. I’ve done time in city government, and even in a city as large as Los Angeles, I was astounded by the stampede of comically-inflated egos and stubborn self-importance, flying in the face of all logic, evidence, decorum, propriety, and reality itself. If Parks & Recreation can take that admitted in-joke and make it accessible to a wide audience, the show might yet become as mass-relatable as The Office is.
C) The cast. The producers went about assembling this group with impeccable acuity, and as the actors all settle into their roles, expect great chemistry ahead.
1. Amy Poehler, most recently of SNL, headlines as Leslie Knope, the idealistic and hopelessly enthusiastic mid-level Midwest Parks & Recreation official. Amy Poehler is one of those cult comedy heroes who has gotten so popular in the mainstream that it’s easy to forget how brilliantly funny they actually are -- like Jack Black, only much smaller and blonder and generally easier to look at.
2. Speaking of easy to look at: In the role of the nurse whose complaint leads Leslie to her first public works project, there’s Rashida Jones, the thinking man’s Megan Fox. I’d like to write more about her ace comic timing and her proficiency at making sarcasm likable, as demonstrated by two seasons on The Office, but I put that picture up there and got distracted.
3. In the role of Leslie’s co-worker/ crush object, there’s Paul Schneider, in from indies like All The Real Girls and Lars And The Real Girl. [The guy’s got a major thing for girls and reality, apparently.] He’s good casting as the Jim Halpert analogue; dreamy for the ladies, not at all hate-worthy for dudes.
4. Aziz Ansari, who along with Poehler, entirely owns the show so far. I’m not sure how consistent his character has been (Is he a ladies’ man or is he not? Is he well-liked by his colleagues or is he not? Is he smart or is he not?), but most importantly out of the gate, his one-liners and delivery have been right on time. The rest will be worked out.
5. Nick Offerman as Leslie’s bored bureaucratic boss. Like Brian Baumgartner (Kevin on The Office), here’s an actor who looks as if his face was specifically designed for this very role. I’m sure the guy’s done other stuff before, but he is just so perfectly cast and plays his character with invisible effort.
6. Aubrey Plaza as the high school intern in the department. Very convincing as an eye-rolling teenager amidst all of these insane adults, but it’s hard to imagine how far they can take this character. Hopefully as the show goes on, her character will evolve.
7. Chris Pratt as Rashida Jones’ dickhead boyfriend. He’s funny and all, but also very good at his role so I don’t like him. He’s not nice enough to Rashida Jones. (It’s possible I may have developed a crush.)
Watch Parks & Recreation episodes at www.NBC.com or www.Hulu.com.
