In Praise of # 7: Parks and Recreation

I've already mentioned this show before, when I bitched and whined that it wasn't on British TV. I maintain that bitching and whining, especially while '2 Broke Girls' is  currently being advertised to ubiquity. I had heard from a couple of mates, as well as those dorky message boards where nerds bicker and quote Star Wars, that both 'Parks and Rec' and 'Community' were worth checking out. Because it was on tv, I watched Community first, and while it's good, and I like it, I prefer Parks. This is mainly because when Community is bad, it's really bad; also the disgraced lawyer is too irritating to sympathise with, as is that British professor dude - I live in Britain, where nerdish, bitchy weiners are a as common as anything. Anyway, let's look at Parks and Recreation. for those not in the know, it's a show about the goings on of the Parks and Recreation department of the fictional Pawnee, Indiana. Spoilers follow:

Despite a poor beginning, where it was obvious that it was an Office clone, it has quickly evolved into a great show. While the first season hinged around the filling of a vacant lot near Ann's house, it soon came to be much more encompassing in its scope, with later seasons following: the organisation of a successful county festival; the make and break of relationships and friendships; and Leslie running for political office. Even in its first season, it developed a few of the characters, namely Andy, the lovable musician boyfriend of Ann, who will go on to become Leslie's best friend.

Ann and Leslie have an incredibly realistic drunken fight.

Also, even in this initial series the relationship between Leslie and her Libertarian, stoic boss Ron is already in place, and is developed further in the following seasons. The development of characters has allowed a natural organic sense of human relationships to take place, while less interesting characters have been jettisoned along the way. For example, we hear and see much less of Leslie's mother after the first season, and Joe, the Sewage guy has run his course as a secondary character and was fired. The boring, dependable character of Mark, a handsome but dull city planner, and initially a crush of Leslie's, was replaced by the more interesting City Managers Ben Wyatt and Chris Traeger, who is played by Rob Lowe.

Did anyone order a dreamboat? [source]

 As the series progressed other, initially background characters have been given time to shine. For example, Jerry has gone from being a background character, to a hopeless butt of all jokes and symbol of ineptitude. Chubby and bland, he is mocked constantly, and treated poorly by everyone, so much so that he pretends to be mugged to prevent his colleagues from laughing at him for falling over chasing a dropped burrito. However, in asides he reminds of that he is happy, looking forward to retirement, sharing his life with his 3 beautiful daughters, and his beloved wife. Seeing Jerry, eating a German muffin, with a cat on his lap, looking content in one episode, is both hilarious and touching. Other characters have similarly, gradually developed, Tom is now more than an irritant with visions of grandeur, but a well-meaning show-off.

Ben and Jerry (!) listening to an early morning harpsichord performance

Guests characters are also excellent, from Indiana NBA players Detlef Schrempf and Roy Hibbert as themselves, to Will Arnett, Megan Mullally, the wonderful Louis C.K., and Ben Schwarz as Jean-Ralphio. Jean-Ralphio owns every scene he is in, and though his character is a potential irritant, his role is kept to a minimum. It is excellent direction to keep us wanting more of a tosser like that. Almost universally, all the incidental characters and special guests work well. I particularly like the arrogant Joan Callamezzo and the bizarre Perd Hapley, who host TV shows in the city. Other guest characters are pitch perfect most of the time, even Paul Rudd, who has now been in every show ever made.

Tom trying to impress Detlef Schrempf

As well as that, the town of Pawnee is also worthy of note. In terms of history and populace, it is similar to Springfield. Run for a time by cultists, it is now the 4th most obese city in the US (it's motto now is 'first in friendship, fourth in obesity'), the owners of a confectionary factory are beloved almost as much as 'L'il Sebastian' a small horse which does nothing, but is held in almost god-like regard by the beefy populace.  The city has its share of unpleasant history, all of which are chronicled on the murals in City Hall itself. In town meetings and events we meet the citizens and all of these help to add to the sense of community in the show: favourites of mine include the stultifyingly boring accountant who tries to peddle his accountant software,but whom Andy founds hilarious for some reason. Also, in the many scenes of consulting citizens, favourites include a bearded man who tries to start bizarre chants of unrelated topics, and a mustachioed, angry man, furious about things which no one sane would get angry about. To top it all off, there have even been a few appearances by Loudon Wainwright III, who plays an overly-concerned citizen.

A genuine shirt available for purchase. The world is getting better. [source]

All this gives the sense of the city as a functioning entity, which merely adds weight to the central relationships in the show. As well as the genuine, benevolent relationship between Ron and Leslie, there is the touching, genuine relationship between Leslie and Anne, who grow to be best friends over the series. They share a sweet and genuine closeness. The ongoing troubles of Andy and April, which takes place over a couple of seasons and includes other relationships, at the end becomes a justified, legitimate relationship which makes sense. At all times, the characters are drawn realistically enough to make their behaviour seem real. This allows their odd detours, such as Leslie's obsession with waffles, Ron's woman problems (his two ex-wives are terrific - one a sex mad viper lady, the other reduces him to a 'neutered wimp'), Tom's friendship with Jean-Ralphio believable too.

Andy and April branch out and role-play

All of the main characters, are funny, human characters, rather than wacky, and it makes it much more believable. However, there are times when it flirts with going too far into 'wacky' territory. This can be seen
in Chris (Rob Lowe's character) a fitness mad , health-freak incapable of delivering bad news, and Ron can sometimes go a bit far, not least when his favourite restaurant was closed down. Despite this, he is, however, hilarious and a hero of mine. He provides a stoic and macho spine to the show, and at heart he is a good guy, willing to help out his friends.

Ron tucks into a turkey leg, with added bacon

Finally we move to Leslie herself. She was drawn a little too ditzy and 'wacky' in the first season - she gets hammered at a casual drinks-do in the first episode - but has developed into a kind, clever and super competent person who combines compassion, drive and charm. If this were a just world, she would be held as a feminist icon by the masses rather than Tulisa. On top of it all, she gets some killer lines, and her ramblings are often incredible. Importantly, I'd love to have her as a friend, and importantly, I've developed a weird crush on Amy Poehler, a miracle as she was a real beast in other things I've seen her in (for example, Job's wife in Arrested Development).

Finding a picture of Leslie is tough, because she is so frantic (and I'm so lazy).

However, all this would mean nothing if the show itself wasn't funny. It is. As well as numerous laugh out loud moments every episode, there are frequent occurrences of 'subtle' comedy- things you only catch on repeat viewings - which make this such good fun. We are only reminded that this is a 'mockumentary' on the rare instances when characters (other than April, who makes near constant contact) look to the camera. Though this was overdone in the first series, it is done much more subtly after that, and when it happens it allows us to share the characters laughter. For example, look to the other characters reactions when Tom is trying on costumes and brings out ornate walking canes; or when Jerry bends over, rips his pants open and farts nervously. Aside from this, the constant barrage of constant, clever jokes are the best seen since Arrested Development. Unlike Arrested Development, most of the characters are sympathetic, rather than insane (although don't get me wrong, A.D. is probably the best thing ever).

Most significantly for me, is that after the first series, there are very few dud episodes -other than an episode where a contingent of Venezuelans from Pawnee's sister city arrive, none spring readily to mind. However, that is outnumbered by great episodes. For example, any episode with Ron's ex-wives, but especially the drink-off scene between three women called Tammy, and Leslie; April and Andy's wedding; the possum; Jerry's saucy painting; and the episode which introduced 'Snake Juice' a 70% liquor tom created in his kitchen, and which makes Anne and Leslie fight over boys. All of these are genuinely wonderful television.

Jerry's depiction of Tom

In conclusion, despite a rough start, this show has married character growth, plot, and remains incredibly funny and yet touching, all without delving into schmaltzy sentiment like so many American shows. Terrific Television, and should be a lot more popular than it is. I didn't even mention Donna, or how mean the show is to kids. Go check it out, though give the first series a bit of leeway (in fact, you could just start at the beginning of series 2).

Take care, Pascal.