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Parks & Recreation Season 2

post #1 of 89
9/19/09 at 1:03pm
Thread Starter 
I wanted to start this thread as an apology for bashing it in the Community thread.  As I saw Community before P&R, some of my unkind comments were based soley on season one, which was terrificly unfunny.

From the cold open with Amy rapping out Parents Just Don't Understand, the KNOPE posters in the style of the Obama HOPE posters, the gay marriage theme, and so on and so forth, the season premiere of P&R was something like a gajillion times funnier than season 1 in total, which isn't that big of a feat considering I laughed exactly once during the entirety of season 1 (when Rashida Jones' boyfriend was listing the history of his ever changing band names -- "Just the Tip" had me howling).  P&R was such a chore to get through that if a) it hadn't been the Thursday night comedy block sandwiched between two shows I wanted to watch and b) the new TV season isn't quite yet in full swing so I had the 24 minutes to spare, this might have been deleted from my DVR.  I think this show is so much better when Leslie is someone you want to root for -- last season, she was such a pathetic wannabe that her presence was grating.  Seeing her take a real stand made her more likable and a better center for the show.  Freeing her from the will they/won't they dynamic with the tall white guy is also a plus -- he was too much of a tool for anyone to want to see them hook up.

When 30 Rock returns, the lineup of P&R, 30 Rock, The Office, and Community will be about as solidly funny as any 2 hour block in recent TV history.
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post #2 of 89
9/19/09 at 1:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hanson Yoo View Post

...the season premiere of P&R was something like a gajillion times funnier than season 1 in total, which isn't that big of a feat...

 


I completely agree. If the rest of the episodes can keep up that pace, I'll be glad that I stuck with the show through the rocky first year.

My personal favorite joke was the spraypainted "God made Flipper and Eve, Not Flipper and Steve" on the wall at the zoo.
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post #3 of 89
9/19/09 at 2:10pm
Based on your comments I will have to give it a try this season.  I watched one and a half episodes of S1, and that was too much.
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post #4 of 89
9/20/09 at 10:27am
I actually enjoyed season 1 so needless to say I really thought the s2 premiere episode was hilarious. If the show can be that consistently funny it will be on par with The Office and 30 Rock.
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post #5 of 89
9/20/09 at 4:52pm
The biggest problem with the show remains the fact that Amy Poehler wasn't funny on SNL, and she wasn't funny here. If I met Tracy Knope in real life, I'd try to extract myself from the conversation ASAP so why would I want to welcome her into my home 30 minutes each week? In the last couple episodes of last season and the second season premiere, the writers have found ways to use Knope as a catalyst for funny stuff that happens around her. It doesn't change the fact that the show is built around its most grating and least interesting character. What the show needs is a straight man like Rashida Jones's character to be our window into its world. The rest of the cast and show have come along way. Steve Carrell gets the top billing on "The Office", but it's enough of an ensemble that Jim and Pam get at least as much screen time as he does.

The best move they made was bumping Chris Pratt up from his weird "Guest Starring" but in the credits status to a full on regular. Every scene with that character is gold. I was howling at the reveal that he's now living in a tent at the bottom of the pit, where he needs to keep his suit elevated so the rats won't trample on it.
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post #6 of 89
9/20/09 at 8:12pm
True, the Leslie Knope character is just not my cup of tea for a lead character for a sitcom, which drains a lot of the fun out of the show for me.
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post #7 of 89
9/20/09 at 8:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam Lenhardt View Post
 If I met Tracy Knope in real life, I'd try to extract myself from the conversation ASAP so why would I want to welcome her into my home 30 minutes each week?
 

I think the same could easily be said about Michael Scott, but it doesn't make his character any less entertaining IMHO.
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post #8 of 89
9/21/09 at 7:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam Lenhardt View Post

The biggest problem with the show remains the fact that Amy Poehler wasn't funny on SNL,

 

You lost me right there.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam Lenhardt View Post

 If I met [Leslie] Knope in real life, I'd try to extract myself from the conversation ASAP so why would I want to welcome her into my home 30 minutes each week?
 

If I watched more TV, I'd invite you to name your top 15 shows, because I'm sure they contain numerous characters of which the same can be said. One of the essential pleasures of fiction is the ability to spend time safely with people you'd never want to meet in real life.
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post #9 of 89
9/21/09 at 9:27am
I've enjoyed P&R and the second season premiere was very good. I haven't seen Community yet, but NBC seems to have built a pretty solid line-up once again for Thursdays with this, the Office and 30 Rock, not to mention the SNL Weekend Update.
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post #10 of 89
9/21/09 at 8:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brent M View Post

I think the same could easily be said about Michael Scott, but it doesn't make his character any less entertaining IMHO.

This is actually the reason it took me until the third season of "The Office" to get into the show. The first season was absolutely merciless toward its characters, which lead me to wonder why I should like them since the show itself didn't seem to. It took me a long time to tolerate Michael Scott, who has the advantage of being played by a likeable persona.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Reuben View Post

If I watched more TV, I'd invite you to name your top 15 shows, because I'm sure they contain numerous characters of which the same can be said. One of the essential pleasures of fiction is the ability to spend time safely with people you'd never want to meet in real life.

Would they be the protagonists, though? The closest other protagonist is House, and he's interesting enough that I doubt I'd bail on the conversation even if I didn't like him personally. Lesley Knope doesn't have any depth to her; she's Ned Ryerson each and every week: friendly, well-intentioned and completely unbearable.
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post #11 of 89
9/21/09 at 9:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam Lenhardt View Post


Would they be the protagonists, though?

I don't know. You haven't named the shows.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam Lenhardt View Post


Lesley Knope doesn't have any depth to her; she's Ned Ryerson each and every week: friendly, well-intentioned and completely unbearable.
 

I'm not trying to convince you that you should enjoy Lesley Knope. The inescapable fact, though, is that a large number of people do enjoy her, at least enough to keep the show on the air. And I'm one of them.
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post #12 of 89
9/22/09 at 9:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Reuben View Post

I'm not trying to convince you that you should enjoy Lesley Knope. The inescapable fact, though, is that a large number of people do enjoy her, at least enough to keep the show on the air. And I'm one of them.

Fair enough. To borrow a phrase from DaveF I appreciated in another thread, Knope (and Poehler generally) represents "a comedy style I don't enjoy". It's a tactful way of putting it.

This show represents the enduring power of timeslots on viewing habits: if it weren't sandwiched between shows I do enjoy watching, there's no way I'd be sticking around -- even though I do like the rest of the show to varying degrees. But because I like "The Office", await the return of "30 Rock", and enjoyed the "Community" pilot, "Parks & Rec" isn't bad enough to walk away for a half-hour. Only the Thursday Weekend Updates have risen to that level so far.
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post #13 of 89
9/22/09 at 10:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam Lenhardt View Post


This show represents the enduring power of timeslots on viewing habits: if it weren't sandwiched between shows I do enjoy watching, there's no way I'd be sticking around

 

I have to be reminded from time to time that timeslots are still relevant, even in this age of DVR, on-demand, Hulu and other internet sources. Even when I watch a show on the night it's broadcast, it's been years since I've watched anything in its timeslot.
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post #14 of 89
9/25/09 at 11:45am
Thread Starter 
PSSSSssssssssss... That's the sound I heard throughout the second episode of P&R.  It's the sound of air slowly leaving a tire, and after last week's memorable outing, this one deflated back to season one standards.  Not even the great Louis CK should pull this one out of mediocrity.

I hope this show doesn't follow the Heroes trajectory where every fourth or fifth show, as I'm about to give up on it, is good enough to keep me around for another four or five episodes of wheel spinning boredom.

OK, I admit the part with the hernia was pretty funny.  But it should have been funnier.
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post #15 of 89
9/25/09 at 3:25pm
It wasn't as good as last week's episode but I liked this one. The "Do you have syphillis?" line followed by "You could have two things wrong with you" made me laugh out loud.
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post #16 of 89
9/25/09 at 3:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hanson Yoo View Post

OK, I admit the part with the hernia was pretty funny.  But it should have been funnier.

I wish they could make a show around just Aubrey Plaza and Chris Pratt's characters. They're the two I find most consistently entertaining. April talks so seldomly, but every time she does it's so incredibly offbeat I'm practically howling. I loved the completely oddball way she went about helping Ron Swanson.

But the shot of Chris Pratt hopping at the edge of the pit trying to spy on Rashida Jones and Mark's date while munching on a carrot from the community garden was the highlight of the episode for me. The weirder and more pathetic his character, the more enjoyable I find him.
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post #17 of 89
9/25/09 at 7:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by TravisR View Post

It wasn't as good as last week's episode but I liked this one. The "Do you have syphillis?" line followed by "You could have two things wrong with you" made me laugh out loud.

I loved that--like Adam said, the intern and Andy are really the only characters who deliver consistently. Ron is decent too but kind of predictable.

I think they're trying way too hard with Tom. I can't fault Aziz Ansari, who does a fine job portraying him, but it almost feels like they're trying to make him the big comic relief character...in a sitcom.
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post #18 of 89
10/9/09 at 1:39pm
Thread Starter 
Last week's Beauty Pageant episode was on the meh side, but some of the scenes from the practice date in this weeks show were gold, especially Leslie's enumeration of bad date incidents.  Some of the digging up dirt storyline was also pretty good, especially the picture of Tom Haverford dressed like Osama (he was actually dressed as a Jedi).  The punchline about Chris Pratt being a jazz musician was a bit obvious and flat, but overall I'd consider this one a keeper.
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post #19 of 89
10/9/09 at 2:02pm
Was Chris Pratt's character at the jazz club? I only saw Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman).
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post #20 of 89
10/9/09 at 2:13pm
Thread Starter 
 Jeez and crow I can't keep the names straight.  Maybe you can be my editor.  I'll PM you my posts before hitting submit 
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post #21 of 89
10/9/09 at 2:18pm
I'm the guy who posts in most threads by referring to characters as [ethnicity] [character archetype] [guy/gal], so I wouldn't feel too bad. I watched Chris Pratt for many years on "Everwood", that's the only reason I knew it wasn't him.
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post #22 of 89
10/10/09 at 4:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hanson Yoo View Post

some of the scenes from the practice date in this weeks show were gold, especially Leslie's enumeration of bad date incidents.
"Whiz Palace" is possibly the funniest thing I've heard on TV this year.
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post #23 of 89
10/11/09 at 8:36pm
Very funny episode.
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post #24 of 89
10/24/09 at 6:35am
Parks and Recreation got picked up for a full 2nd season.
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post #25 of 89
10/24/09 at 9:34am
Apparently NBC just renews everything now. I do think the show has improved, but the ratings are still in the toilet.
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post #26 of 89
10/24/09 at 9:40am
In comparison to what?  The rest of their lineup?  NBC has nothing else it can plug in to go there. When Parenthood got set back, the cupboard went bare.
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post #27 of 89
10/24/09 at 2:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mattCR View Post

In comparison to what?  The rest of their lineup?  NBC has nothing else it can plug in to go there. When Parenthood got set back, the cupboard went bare.

Parenthood is going to be an hourlong anyway. But yes, in comparison to the rest of their lineup. It even does worse that "Community", which hasn't had a season to find its audience. The show does CW ratings.
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post #28 of 89
10/24/09 at 3:34pm
Where do you get your data from Adam? That's not at all what I've seen, though the couple of sites I read only report 18-49.

Parks has held its audience all season, with last weeks episode still matching it's premiere. I'm sure it could do better if it had a stonger lead in, but right now it regularly outpaces Community which took a big hit when it moved to 8.
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post #29 of 89
10/24/09 at 7:02pm
From my ever-increasing sieve-like memory, P&R does about 5.5-5.8 million this season, while Community hovers around 5 million when it moved to 8 p.m.  The Office is more in the 7.5-8.5 million range, while 30 Rock loses about 1.0-1.5 million from its lead-in, The Office.
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post #30 of 89
10/24/09 at 10:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zack Gibbs View Post

Where do you get your data from Adam? That's not at all what I've seen, though the couple of sites I read only report 18-49.

Parks has held its audience all season, with last weeks episode still matching it's premiere. I'm sure it could do better if it had a stonger lead in, but right now it regularly outpaces Community which took a big hit when it moved to 8.

Zap2It. Last week, "Community" tallied 5.1 million viewers while "Parks & Recreation" tallied only 4.7 million viewers. This past Thursday, "Community" tallied 5.2 million viewers while "Parks & Recreation" only tallied 4.9 million viewers. It's not a huge difference, but "Parks & Rec" was renewed with the idea that its ratings would grow like "The Office"'s ratings have grown. They have stagnated. And it loses audience from its low-rated lead-in.

I think Matt hit the nail on the head. The show was one of Ben Silverman's pet projects, and since NBC cancelled the rest of its half-hour comedies it has nothing else to replace it with. When "My Name is Earl" was cancelled after last season, it was averaging over 6 million viewers.
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