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LttP: Parks and Recreation is not that good
- Thread starter Halbrand
- Start date
If you need your jokes constantly underlined so you know when to laugh, it's not the show for you. But then there's still 30 Rock and Andy Samberg.
Parks & Rec is a far better show than the office in that everything post season 1 is at least pretty good. It's a show with a time skip too that somehow manages to remain way more grounded and consistent than the later Office seasons which is another major accomplishment.
30 Rock is the underappreciated pinnacle of NBC comedies of the late 2000s though.
30 Rock is the underappreciated pinnacle of NBC comedies of the late 2000s though.
It's a warm, inclusive and funny show. Some of that involves poking fun at the elder Kims' well-meaning but unfortunate attitudes, especially vis a vis their children, who were born and raised in Canada.
Why jump to conclusions?
If I have a complaint about the show, it's that sometimes the B/C stories were pretty weak. "April/Donna/Andy/Tom learns a lesson about ________." They just didn't have something interesting for the rest of the core cast to do that week. But on the whole, I love the show. Yes, Pawnee is supposed to feel cartoonish and weird, a caricature of small town America.
EDIT - Does the show give a worse first impression if it's binge-watched, compared to those of use who first saw the series weekly, as it aired?
EDIT - Does the show give a worse first impression if it's binge-watched, compared to those of use who first saw the series weekly, as it aired?
Don't know if anyone else brought it up so far, but the gay penguin episode is based on real events -
Yes, there was an actual controversy over "gay" penguins in the United States because it tied into cultural wars.
Similarly, I've seen some push back in the years since it aired about the very late episode where Leslie gets grilled by citizens and the media about not wanting to participate in a time-wasting bakeoff as someone running for office. Which is very similar to something that happened in 1992 to Hillary Clinton -
Anything on Parks and Rec that seems politically outlandish is almost always based on an actual thing. Which is the point. Pawnee is a reflection on the pettiness and absurdity of local politics, but using national stories; if you've ever been to a city council meeting, the ones in Parks and Rec are not at all abnormal.
Yes, there was an actual controversy over "gay" penguins in the United States because it tied into cultural wars.
Similarly, I've seen some push back in the years since it aired about the very late episode where Leslie gets grilled by citizens and the media about not wanting to participate in a time-wasting bakeoff as someone running for office. Which is very similar to something that happened in 1992 to Hillary Clinton -
Anything on Parks and Rec that seems politically outlandish is almost always based on an actual thing. Which is the point. Pawnee is a reflection on the pettiness and absurdity of local politics, but using national stories; if you've ever been to a city council meeting, the ones in Parks and Rec are not at all abnormal.
Would have watched that nude production of Cats that he was allegedly in. :😂
Except in Parks time-skipped future people were still using Windows Phones.
Also if you dont know the family surname of the people who actually run Pawnee, you didn't watch the show closely enough.
Lerpis
People do this with every comedy.
No one mentions episodes before bits when recommending The Office, Parks, 30 Rock, B99, etc....
Fuuuu- I forgot Parks and Rec introduced me to Billy Eichner. It's the GOAT for that alone. BILLY IS THE KING! THE KING!
When I think of Arrested Development or Community I immediately think of complete episodes and storylines.
I cant. The Feds have jurisdiction in matters that cross State lines. Agent Burt Macklin should be arriving shortly.
But I can say that
OP
OP
It's one of my favorite shows, along with the Office, and along with the Office I've never watched the last ~2 seasons or w/e (or with the office the last ~3 or 4 seasons). I always drop off around the same point when rewatching it. Parks & Rec is the right amount of silly, guffaw laughs, but also heart warming. Most of the characters are really well done by about the 4th episode, and they mature into their own and stay consistent. Andy's always dumb. Jerry is always sincere and dedicated. Compared to Kevin in the Office who becomes *so dumb* by season 5 or something that he doesn't even know the alphabet, can't tie his shoes, eats glue, basically becomes Ralph Wiggins from the Simpsons except we're supposed to believe that this is also a guy who was a poker shark and had a stable relationship and is in a pretty good Police cover band?
My criticism of early seasons of Parks & Rec is mostly around Mark Brandanowicz and Ann Perkins. They're both intensely unlikeable, and their relationship grates on me, all of their interactions are like Karen and Jim on the Office which is just intensely unlikeable ... imagine being in a serious relationship with someone where all you do is shit on each other with unfunny dry humor. Mark and Ann have the same relationship. I actually like Ann when Rob Lowe comes in because her character plays so well off of Rob Lowe. The only good think about Mark and Ann is the sub-plot with Andy, as it gives some of the best lines in those early seasons ("Y'know... I get that legally now Ann is mine ... but... for some strange reason it doesn't feel that way..." or w/e it is. Or the line about not carrying those condoms he ordered, not just the small size but the strange shape).
But, your criticism of the town of Pawnee as sexist, racist, ageist, or whatever, that's the joke. Like... that's what creates the faux drama in the show. The "Leslie marries penguins" episode... that's the joke... nobody should care about two penguins being fake married ... but the local nutjobs come out of the woodwork to try to force her resignation, while the local gay scene makes her into a hero. Nobody should care about it, LEslie should be neither hero nor villain. It's a comedy, it's silly.
It's like watching The Good Place and thinking it's not good because there's no scientific proof of the after-life.
My criticism of early seasons of Parks & Rec is mostly around Mark Brandanowicz and Ann Perkins. They're both intensely unlikeable, and their relationship grates on me, all of their interactions are like Karen and Jim on the Office which is just intensely unlikeable ... imagine being in a serious relationship with someone where all you do is shit on each other with unfunny dry humor. Mark and Ann have the same relationship. I actually like Ann when Rob Lowe comes in because her character plays so well off of Rob Lowe. The only good think about Mark and Ann is the sub-plot with Andy, as it gives some of the best lines in those early seasons ("Y'know... I get that legally now Ann is mine ... but... for some strange reason it doesn't feel that way..." or w/e it is. Or the line about not carrying those condoms he ordered, not just the small size but the strange shape).
But, your criticism of the town of Pawnee as sexist, racist, ageist, or whatever, that's the joke. Like... that's what creates the faux drama in the show. The "Leslie marries penguins" episode... that's the joke... nobody should care about two penguins being fake married ... but the local nutjobs come out of the woodwork to try to force her resignation, while the local gay scene makes her into a hero. Nobody should care about it, LEslie should be neither hero nor villain. It's a comedy, it's silly.
It's like watching The Good Place and thinking it's not good because there's no scientific proof of the after-life.
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The Office (with Steve Carrell + final episode) and Parks and Rec are my favorite shows of all time.
Seeing how America turned out, it was all some pretty good foreshadowing.
Especially that old bumbling congressman.
I watched the first 2 or so seasons of P&R and didn't care for it. It felt like it was trying to hard to be The Office. The characters were just way too goofy and I didn't find the jokes funny at all.
It is also worth noting that the show takes place in Indiana specifically because a.) it should be very boring there because it's Indiana and b.) there is a stereotype of people in the midwest being nice and polite and probably not racist because they're not from the south (yes, also a stereotype). But then the show turns every positive stereotype of midwesterners on its head and says no, there are terrible people everywhere. The people of Pawnee are truly perfect. For the show.
Yeah, exactly, and the show aired ~10 years, and a lot of those jokes were things that you might see in a small town in Indiana. A do-gooder in local government tries to do good for the town children, and the local Family Values Foundation gets up in arms about it promoting gay marriage and eroding family values, while the local gay club throws a dance party for her.
And remember, in 2009, the perceived-as-liberal Democratic President of the United States was officially against gay marriage at the time...
The Congressman Dexhartd episode was in the aftermath of Mark Sandford, the SOuth Carolina politician who was "hiking the appalaichain trail" when he was actually cheating on his wife with his lover using tax payer money to fly to Brazil or w/e it was. Oddly, Mark Sandford -- who everybody thought his political career was over -- came back out of the woodwork and is now one of the most prominent anti-Trump Republicans... Like the gay marrying penguins thing, that was a national story that the show made light satire of.
I am still reeling over the OP not loving Mona-Lisa and Jean-Ralphio. I cannot fathom there being a person out there that doesn't love Jean-Ralphio.
Your are good people for this.
Truths
I think the first time Pikitas showed up really sold me on the show. First appearance of Macklin was hilarious.
The only thing I didn't like about Parks & Rec was Tom Haverford and the last season. Everything else was pretty great.
Oh and April, I never got into that whole schtick with her.
Oh and April, I never got into that whole schtick with her.
Yup. Workaholics and Brooklyn Nine-Nine are definitely better than The Office and Parks and Rec for me.
Yep, the Halloween episode is the one I play for people that want to understand why I love the show.
For both of those, I think of gifs. "I don't know what I was expecting," "It's happening," the Donald Glover walking into a room on fire gif, etc....
The townspeople are intentionally written to be annoying, its part of the joke. Anyone who has ever worked for local government can attest to how frustrating it can be that no one is ever happy no matter what. Also weird how you think this is an issue for parks but the office is literally "Michael/dwight is racist and a sexist, isn't he funny?". That the townspeople are so shitty and leslie never stops fighting for them is supposed to be an endearment of her character. Working local government can be a thankless job.
But its also funny you bring up the office since I would argue every character on the show is unlikable when its all said and done whereas the main cast of parks and rec all become much better characters as the show progresses.
Yeah idk think we just agree to disagree.
But its also funny you bring up the office since I would argue every character on the show is unlikable when its all said and done whereas the main cast of parks and rec all become much better characters as the show progresses.
Yeah idk think we just agree to disagree.
The joke with the bullying of Gary is that this bunch of people, who grow to be very loving and protective of each other, and with all their quirks considered are all decent moral people, for some reason have this blind spot when it comes to Gary. There is something about him that pisses people off. It's almost supernatural.
Chris, who is the nicest character ever written, who would probably try to help pick someone up if they tripped over whilst assaulting him, verbally roasts Gary after Gary actually tried to say something nice to him
"That literally...went on forever"
Its funny because it is so out of character and so underserved.
if you're doing a character study of these people (you shouldn't) it is awful of them and their worst quality. But the writers do show Gary to have the thickest skin ever and is genuinely not bothered by the bullying because:
1. He has a smoking hot wife
2. A perfect family life
3. Outside of work he is comically competent with Batman reflexes
Chris, who is the nicest character ever written, who would probably try to help pick someone up if they tripped over whilst assaulting him, verbally roasts Gary after Gary actually tried to say something nice to him
"That literally...went on forever"
Its funny because it is so out of character and so underserved.
if you're doing a character study of these people (you shouldn't) it is awful of them and their worst quality. But the writers do show Gary to have the thickest skin ever and is genuinely not bothered by the bullying because:
1. He has a smoking hot wife
2. A perfect family life
3. Outside of work he is comically competent with Batman reflexes
Chris was really nice when he wanted to fuck Jerry daughter