I knew that "Parks and Recreation" was a sitcom that I would probably like, because it's a Mike Schur property, and I've liked everything I've seen from him to date. However, "Parks" is seven seasons long, and while it doesn't have a particularly high episode count, it's still considerable for someone who has been out of practice watching sitcoms for a while. I was also warned that the first six-episode season was not a great start to the show - like so many other great sitcoms, it took a while for the creators to find their footing.
So, welcome to the little town of Pawnee, Indiana, and the Parks and Recreation department headed up by the eternally optimistic deputy director Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), and her curmudgeonly boss Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman). Initially, the show comes off as a "The Office" clone, leaning into the mockumentary format and cringe humor, mined from the misery of the endless bureaucracy of local government. The first season is almost entirely concerned with Leslie deciding to turn an abandoned development site with a gaping pit into a new park, and getting nowhere with it. The second season makes the important decision to background this storyline immediately, giving the department more events to wrangle, and tweaking Leslie so that she's less of a sad sack and more fun and competent.
It's so satisfying to watch all of the characters really develop as human beings over the course of the second season. Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones) goes from the token normal citizen to Leslie's bestie, and their friendship is definitely in the running for the biggest heartwarmer of the show. I love April Ludgate (Aubrey Plaza), the department intern who starts out a sullen cynic, and slowly warms up to Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt), who levels up from Ann's idiot boyfriend into City Hall's idiot shoeshine guy. Then there's Ron Swanson, the Oscar the Grouch to Leslie's Big Bird, whose Libertarian worldview is more fleshed out with each additional appearance, to the point where you've got to love and root for him, no matter how terrible he's being.
The one major character I'm not really gelling with is Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari), because he's playing the kind of would-be ladies' man character I'm not generally too sympathetic towards - though he's a very well-rounded, and well-considered version of this kind of guy. Then there are Donna (Retta) and Jerry (Jim O'Heir), who are very broad co-worker caricatures, and I suspect will probably stay that way. I should say something about Paul Schneider as Mark Brendanawicz, who only appears in these two seasons. He was clearly meant to be a much bigger part of the show, and Leslie's primary love interest, at the start, but was so bland in the second season that I'm not sorry to see him go.
I'm even more impressed with the show's worldbuilding, which presents Pawnee as this lovely hub of Midwestern absurdity. We get to know the local night life, the zoo, the local public access talk show, and of course the parks. Then there's the evil librarians, nutty sanitation workers, local business moguls, that one sexy reporter, and the endless parade of terrible Pawnee citizens who come to public forums to air their grievances. There's a running joke with the city's mural art depicting awful, usually racist scenes from Pawnee history. And I love the little details like the pigeons constantly outside the department's windows, and Leslie and Ron's incredibly unhealthy dietary choices.
What I find especially appealing about "Parks and Recreation" is its lightness of tone. I don't think it's a coincidence that the show's run was roughly concurrent with the Obama administration, when everyone briefly had a more positive outlook on the role of government. There's also a wonderfully nostalgic aura around it, with so much good talent involved. It's fun to see Ansari before "Master of None," Pratt before the MCU, and Aubrey Plaza before "Legion." I'm also regularly recognizing the bulk of the guest stars, who are mostly a combination of SNL vets, and actors from other Mike Schur shows.
I'm looking forward to the rest of "Parks and Recreation." Rob Lowe and Adam Scott have only just showed up, and no one has made a "Star Wars" reference yet, so I know I have a long way to go. I'll do my best not to binge it too hard, but it may be difficult.
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