The first season I didn’t really care for it. I mostly watched because Rashida Jones is the most beautiful woman in Hollywood and if anyone disagrees they’re wrong.
But over the years it has really grown and has become one of my favorite shows.
I will shortly list a lot of things I love about the show. I’m going to start with my absolutely favorite:
1: Jerry. He’s such a loser. I watch him at work and I can’t blame anyone for mocking him. But, what I love most about the show, is that Jerry, despite his loser tendencies, has the best home life. His house is almost as beautiful as his family, who absolutely adore him, he’s artistically talented, etc. I like that someone so incompetent at work has such a fulfilling life.
On trying to figure out how Jerry married his hot wife: “Do you think she’s a Russian Spy?”
“Ben, let it go.”
“No I can’t. It keeps me up at night.”
2: Rashida Jones
3: Mona Lisa Saperstein. She is literally the worst. For me, some insults are gender specific. I’d never call a woman an “asshole” while a man isn’t a “bitch” (except in certain circumstances). “Douche bag” is solidly on the male side, except for Mona Lisa. I was watching the show with the wife and when we saw her we decided the best way to describe her was that she’s a douche bag. And it’s incredibly fitting.
4: Leslie’s completely inexplicable and misplaced love for Pawnee. That place is horrible but she seems to really care for it. My favorite scenes are of the town hall meetings and the insane townspeople. Their insanity reminds me of this youtube video of a crazy guy at a real town hall meeting.
I will say, there are times when I want a Child-size drink.
I, too, didn’t like it the first season. In fact I think I started a thread somewhere decrying it as a pathetic “The Office” rip-off; an example of NBC sniffing success with one formula and then beating it to death with a shitty carbon copy. (I was summarily dismissed and booed by other posters.)
But now I think it has far surpassed “The Office.” Ron Swanson makes the show for me, although the rest of the characters are well-written as well.
There was a very funny moment when Leslie visited Jerry’s home after her retired. She met his four gorgeous daughters and his wife, all of whom love him. (And did you notice that he didn’t fumble the teacup at home; it’s almost as if his at-work ineptitude is because of a lack of support from his co-workers.) And he showed her multiple photo albums from his vacations, all to Muncie, as I remember. Leslie is completely fulfilled by her work life, while for Jerry, it’s all about getting home to the family that he loves and loves him.
And then there’s Ron Swanson, who despite working in government is an avowed libertarian. And yet his best friend is Leslie Swanson who is as far from a libertarian as possible. There’s Ben Wyatt, who is an absolute nerd. I remember when they asked what he wanted for his bachelor party and it was simply a night of beer and board games. And so on. I like that all of the characters are fully realized. None is a stereotype.
Though it may sound like an oxymoron, I’d’ve said they were nuanced stereotypes. I guess what I mean is, these characters all fall very firmly and directly into a stereotypical archetype–but the details found in their character interactions seem to reveal real people despite this. That’s part of what I like about the show.
This show wakes up the mother instinct in me. I just want to eat these guys up. I love them so much.
I’ve like Parks & Rec from the beginning, but there’s only a few good episodes each season. Nick Offerman is incredible and Aubrey Plaze is a hoot. Christie Brinkley plays Jerry’s wife, seems he’s the only guy who’s ever been able to satisfy her. I think the very best episode was Ron & Tammys.
I’ve never said I had a favorite show until Parks and Rec. I love it so much (although the first season isn’t very good). I have several episodes memorized, I’ve watched them so many times. My favorite is the one where Leslie and Ann have a big fight at the Snakehole Lounge while Tom is trying to sell his Snakejuice. The bit with drunken Ron dancing joyously while wearing April’s hat makes me happy no matter how sad I am.
One of my very favorite things about the show is that it’s not mean. The only person that gets treated really badly is Jerry, but as was mentioned, the show goes out of it’s way to show that he’s probably one of the more fulfilled people outside of work. It doesn’t use jokes that marginalize women, or gay people, or racial minorities. I think that’s part of why the humor seems so fresh.
I agree with exception to Andy. He’s crossed over to “too stupid to function” territory like Kevin Malone on the Office. If they could reign him back in before it’s too late and show more humanizing aspects of him like when he’s with animals and/or April it’ll be better for the character overall.
One of the shows you might like is Fox’s “Raising Hope.” I know I’ve said this on the board multiple times, but one of the things I like is that it’s not a mean show. The main family, although they’re poor “trashy” types is that they genuinely care for each other. They actually like each other.
I wish I he weren’t so stupid but it doesn’t mother me because he’s such a nice person. He’s always been a man-child and I think he’s balanced by his great marriage to April.
I’ve been watching episodes here and there on Netflix, though I’m still somewhere in the second or third season. I’d love to sit down and just mainline it for a weekend, but I haven’t had the time.
Last night, however, I saw the episode where everybody gets the flu. There’s a moment where Rob Lowe is staring at himself very seriously in the mirror in his hospital room, and very sternly tells himself to “Stop. Pooping.” I watched it twelve hours ago, and I am still giggling every time I think about it.
