Parks & Recreation Season 2 - Page 2

Wendy Wheelchair?

I'd like to think I'm not Larry David bad.

P&R is still the stinker of the lot for me, but that says more about the incredible competition on NBC's current line-up than it does about P&R: "Community" is perhaps the best comedy NBC has aired since "Seinfeld" (maybe even "Cheers"). "The Office" will be remembered as a comedy classic, right up there with "All in the Family" among the best cross-Atlantic translations. And "30 Rock" is better than anything Tina Fey came up with writing for "SNL." Would I rather "My Name is Earl" survived another year? Absolutely. Comparing the last season of "My Name is Earl" and the first season of P&R, there's no question that "My Name is Earl" was more deserving of the renewal.

All of that being said, P&R has made huge strides this season. I still don't particularly like Lesley Knope, but her role has been scaled back dramatically and Amy Poehler has toned down her performance significantly. Both decisions have been to the enormous benefit of the show; it works much better as an ensemble than it did as a star vehicle. The introduction of Louis CK was an excellent decision, since his character is as genial and likeable as Lesley's character was grating and cringeworthy. Last night's episode proved the show could remain solid even with him anchoring things, though.

I don't think it's fair to compare this show to "Modern Family"; other than the single-camera documentary conceit, it has almost nothing in common with P&R and "The Office". For one thing, the humor in "Modern Family" is long form, whereas the humor in P&R is much more immediate.

"You shot my Mercedes?!?!"

Anyone? I was on the floor. Rewound it 10 times.

"I have my brothers over every year for the Super Bowl. Why don't you come over and SHOOT ME IN THE HEAD."

I'm going against the grain here, but I think of the 4 NBC comedies on Thursday night P&R might consistently be the funniest show of them all. I've been a fan of The Office since day one and the first two seasons were some of the funniest television I've ever seen, but it seems like the show has been hit and miss from week to week for quite a while now. This past week's episode was extremely weak and I can't remember laughing even once while the P&R episode had me rolling from start to finish. Community can be pretty funny at times, but to compare it to Seinfeld or Cheers is bordering on heresy IMHO....it's not nearly that good. Again just my opinion. As for 30 Rock, at times it can be absolutely brilliant while at other times it drives me completely nuts. The Al Gore cameo this week almost had be swearing off the show for good! Which brings me back to P&R, it's got that great comedic timing The Office had the first couple seasons with a fantastic supporting cast that consistently delivers. Again, I know this won't be the popular opinion around here, but given a choice of the 4 shows if I had to watch just one right now it would be P&R.

Same here. I thoroughly enjoy all 4 shows (even Community, which I didn't care for at all at first, has quickly grown on me) but Parks And Recreation is my favorite of the lot.

"If sugar is so bad for you, why did Jesus make it taste so good?"

This show is really starting to win me over, and I am a hostile viewer. Everything with Andy and April is gold.

I like everyone in the cast, but for me it's Tom that steals the show. The opening with him trying on the different outfits and DJ Roomba had me on the floor. Glad to see the show is getting viewers now as well....AICN said it posted a season high Thursday night.

"DJ Roomba"

What about the ghost of DJ Roomba?

That was great too.

Yeah, Amy Poehler and Rashida Jones are funny but the Tom and April characters steal the show in my mind.

I've gotta throw some love toward the Ron Swanson character too. He's absolutely hilarious in just about every scene. Loved his dinner of "turf and turf".

Proof yet again that John Larroquette makes everything better. I liked this episode a lot. It wasn't the funniest, but it showed a lot of affection for the characters. I love the paternal relationship Ron has with Leslie, and the fact that he likes Leslie despite hating everything she stands for. I like Mark Brendanawicz is way more into Ann than Ann is into Mark, but both characters are so low key you have to really pay attention to tell. I like that Ann and Andy are finally okay with each other. I like how Tom can be so earnestly scummy. I like that the Parks & Rec office has shaped April, from someone who despised everything these people represents to someone who is one of these people and wants many of the same things they want. The scene where she dumps her sometimes gay boyfriend and compliments the elderly couple in love was one of my favorite moments of the season. Everything about this episode was so small town, but in the best and warmest sense of the label.

The chat Ron had with Lesie near the end was golden.

Chris Pratt's Andy is my favorite character. He is such a gifted physical comedian.

Rashida Jones's Ann is the one character I don't find funny. She's the closest thing the show has to a straight man, except a supporting character instead of one of the leads. She exists to act amused/shocked/appalled at the hijinks of the other characters.

This episode was a bit of a backslide into nails-on-chalkboard Leslie, but I liked the other plot lines. I'm not a big fan of Mark, but I was happy to see that he takes his job seriously. Ron has a terrific way of being an ass while still getting you to like him. That is one massive workshop he's got there. I know I'm sounding like a broken record, but I love April on this show. Aubrey Plaza has a great way of showing vulnerability through her monotone dismissive tone. I love that she can be so out there on something but react just like every teen and college-age girl when the guy she likes does something inadvertantly hurtful. Despite the fact that Andy's very fond of April, I'm not even sure he has considered the possibility of dating her. There's something delightful about this dance between one of the smartest characters on the show and the far and away dumbest character on the show. I don't think April's ever explicitly stated anything she sincerely feels, but she's going to have to spell it out to get the idea into dumb as a brick Andy's head. I doubt she has the self-confidence to do that, though; she likes the way Andy makes her feel now, and she clearly doesn't want to risk that.

Some really funny stuff in last nights episode.

Sweater swap!

April hands Leslie a picture of all the parks department heads with their faces badly photoshoped onto the bodies of young, naked men apparently having sex with each other.
Leslie: April, this disgusting.
April: What? Look how generous they're being with each other.

Leslie accidentally hands the picture to Ron.
Ron: Oh god! I don't remember this happening.

April, Ron and Andy really make this a hilarious show.

This show definitely gets the award for most improved in its second season. It is far less episodic than "The Office", and that works because I care enough about the characters in the continuing plot lines. I like that Ron and Leslie disagree on just about everything but still like each other as colleagues. I like that the embarrassment at the bar, as Andy realizes just how young April is, was followed by the reveal of the spring catalog which used one of Andy's self-portraits with April as the cover. I think it's the first time we've seen April smiling. I like the out of left field bits, like Tom with Ron's coonskin cap. I like the interconnectedness of all these bizarre personalities each fill their own little niches within municipal government.

NOTE: The only thing I found unrealistic is how nice the spring catalog looked. I worked from 2003 to 2007 for a town parks & rec department. We put out four programs catalogs a year, one for each season, and we never once had the budget for that kind of printing. Hell; we never had budget for photocopying. All our catalogs, for a town of 31,000, were run off by mimeograph. I think since I left, they've upgraded to four color printing but I could be wrong about that.

You didn't have Ron Swanson working there though. Ron knows how to grease a few wheels I'll bet.

Is it just me or did Leslie and Ron seem to have something going during the dinner scene last night? They would make quite a couple.

It seems a cast member is set to leave the show:

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show) EDIT: The links were showing in the spoiler boxes
Edited by Adam Lenhardt - 3/26/10 at 7:51pm

I hate to post twice in a row, but I just realized that Ron's predecessor probably planted the pot garden in the Pit.

NBC has also posted the complete catalog online:
http://www.pawneeindiana.com/parks-and-recreation/summer-catalog/

It's mostly exactly how we'd do it -- the formatting for the courses is dead on -- but of course with some unique quirks appropriate to these characters.

April showing the love for greenish-transparent!

"Parks & Recreation" finally returned tonight with a really strong episode that played to all of the show's strengths. We discovered that Andy is 28, and the age difference really was what threw him off. We discovered that April thought March only had 30 days. And we were reminded again of the perverse influence of corn syrup manufacturer Sweetums on the town of Pawnee.

What struck me is that when April quit after Ron blew up at her, I genuinely cared. At some point I became invested in the show I loved to scorn, which is arguably the best show on the Thursday line-up right now. I loved the final scene at April's house, top. Considering that she was, until recently, apathetic to the point of nihilism, I guess I assumed her home life was unsatisfactory. What a terrific surprise that April's greatest secret is that she comes from a warm, loving home life with two wonderful parents that she gets along well with. The sister who almost perfectly mirrored April's behavior from the pilot was a nice touch, as well. Revelations like that that defy expectations without feeling forced are terrific ways to develop characters.

This show started out mean, cynical and pessimistic. While the world it inhabits is still all of those things, the show itself has created a bubble around these characters that keep it from being any of those things. When Leslie takes on a cause, she still usually loses. But unlike the first season, that show admires her for trying instead of scorning her for putting herself out there. That is a subtle but crucial difference.

They came across to me as being almost like "Stepford" parents.

To my mind Stepford wives are docile, submissive partners. The satire here was more Pleasantville-esque, with basically Ward and June Cleaver for parents (and more along the ethnic lines of "I Love Lucy"). The joke works because their bland, wholesome enthusiasm is at such a contrast with the generally bizzare, subversive lethargy of April. I assume she gets along well with them since she's told them all about Ron Swanson.

"That must be terrible." "Only when I'm losing."

 

Ron. Fucking. Swanson.