Finishing "Parks & Recreation"

Spoilers for the full series ahead!

I'm taking a minute to enjoy the fact that I've finished my biggest series in a while.  125 episodes (plus a pandemic special), covering 2009 to 2015.  There are a ton of deleted and extended scenes, interviews, and ancillary material that I still want to catch up on, but it's very satisfying to reach the end of a long series like this, and see the payoff to all the character arcs, running jokes, and worldbuilding.

The second half of the show has its ups and downs.  I liked the fifth season for the most part, because we got back into episodic hijinks, Leslie found a new battleground on the city council, and several characters grew up a bit, particularly Ron and Tom.  The villains, like Councilman Jamm (Jon Glaser) and Mona Lisa Saperstein (Jenny Slate) got more annoying and cartoonish.  The romances - Leslie and Ben, and Ron and Diane (Lucy Lawless), progressed nicely, and we hit the first of the many points that were designed as potential series finales.  However, there were also several episodes in season five, and especially season six that felt like filler, with people sliding back into bad habits or just treading water.  Chris and Ann prepping for the departures of their actors was honestly the most interesting thing that had been done with either of the characters in ages.

The sixth season saw a lot of changes that simultaneously felt like they were happening too quickly and too slowly.  Rob Lowe and Rashida Jones left halfway through, making room for Retta and Jim O'Heir in the opening credits for a few episodes.  Leslie got recalled - relatively quickly - but took forever to make up her mind about taking a new federal government job.  We got the Cones of Dunshire, the Unity Concert, Johnny Karate, and a new Parks employee named Craig (Billy Eichner), but there were also some significant low points.  Chris Pratt was gone for most of the first half to shoot "Guardians of the Galaxy" and the reasons to keep everyone in Pawnee together kept getting more and more unconvincing. 

So, I have to admit that it was something of a relief to get to the final stretch of season seven, which begins with a time jump into an alternate future version of 2017, where apparently Trump didn't win the presidential election and everyone uses holographic displays created by new Big Bad tech company Gryzzl.  The Leslie and Ron grudge was a great mini-arc, Ben running for Congress lasted exactly as long as it should have, Tom finally found love in a non-cringey way with Natalie Morales' Lucy, and all the characters got fun spotlight episodes leading up to the epic finale.  Oh, and the guest stars were amazing.  I will treasure the appearances of Orlando-bound Werner Herzog and dead Bill Murray forever.  

 

"Parks & Recreation" is one of the only series of this length that I can think of that has been this consistently good.  I can nitpick about the weaker episodes and characters, but honestly the show avoids so many traps and so many cliches that have caused other sitcoms to stagnate.  The romances aren't dragged out.  People have kids that don't end up taking over the show.  People's careers progress, and they move on.  They grow up and their priorities change.  We slowly learn more about minor characters like Donna, Jerry/Terry/Larry/Garry, the Sapersteins, Shauna Malwae Tweep (Alison Becker), Joan Callamezzo (Mo Collins), Perd (Jay Jackson), and so many more familiar faces from Pawnee.  

The last handful of episodes were so satisfying, because they gave us concrete, well-considered endings for everybody.  Were they too unrealistically happy?  Sure, but "Parks & Recreation" isn't "Community" or "The Office," and has always existed in a cartoonish, off-kilter universe.  Letting Leslie Knope attain her dreams is pure wish fulfillment, especially in hindsight, but it's also the ending that feels right for her.  Nostalgia plays a big part in the finale, as everyone is saying their goodbyes, and I think it's a big part of the show's continuing appeal.  2015, and the waning days of the original "Must See TV," already feels like it was a million years ago.

As for me, this was a thoroughly rewarding and enjoyable experience, and I'm happy to have filled in another media blind spot.  The top ten list will be coming shortly.

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