Show Review: Parks and Recreation
Season 1
Created by the same producers of the hit show, The Office, comes another situational comedy involving a small town department set in the middle of Illinois. There’s a lot going for it. But there are a lot of questions like “Will it be just the same? Will I like the same if it were the same? What if it’s different? Too different? Do I want something different? Will I still like it if it were different?”
These are big questions I pondered as I watched the entirety of season 1 over the course of 5 years. In not so many words, it was a long watch, the whole 7 episodes. What can I say? It’s been out. I know who’s in it and the gist of the personalities involved and how well it’s been received. It should be good.
What I really understand from season 1 of Parks and Rec is that there’s a pit. It should be called Pit and Rec because almost every episode features some thing about the pit. How the pit is bad. How the pit should be fixed. How someone lives in the pit. How they can’t fix the pit. The people though, we know less about. Yes, they have history. Yes, there’s the talking head. It’s the format from The Office and it’s a good thing.
Is Leslie Knope supposed to be Michael Scott of Parks and Rec? Yes and no. She’s okay. She’s a caricature of her persona much like Michael Scott was in season 1 of The Office. He was dumb; he was silly; he was like the imbecile boss type who got promoted for some unknown reason. Leslie has that “can do” attitude to a fault. Unfortunately, after 7 episodes, we don’t really get to know her too much. We do get a good smattering of all of the other characters. The show is really supposed to be about this group of people and no one person really stands out. Maybe that’s a lesson they learned from The Office. The show just wasn’t the same without Michael Scott.
I still don’t know why I dragged myself through watching the first season of Parks & Recreation. Most people say “it’s okay” in a reluctant tone when asked. Maybe I’m a completionist and I like to just watch the whole thing. Maybe I just like Aubrey Plaza. (There is some of that going on too. Not gonna lie.) Who knew that it would take me 5 years to watch 7 episodes though? That’s on me. (Probably because there wasn’t enough Aubrey Plaza to begin with.)
With that being said, Parks and Recreation, Season 1, is okay. It does what the first season of every show should do. It introduces the characters, highlights the main premise, and also demonstrates some potential for further antics (the pit). But as most first seasons go, it is still very crudely executed. I really liked Rashida Jones’ character. She was the most grounded out of all of them and probably had the most screen time. Brendanawicz is in the same boat as well. They’re striking. They’re attractive and you want to see more of them. I am currently watching the second season via Peacock and going at a faster rate… which really means nothing.
The Good:
There’s a lot of background about the pit. (This is important for season 2, by the way.) The relationship dynamics between characters are touched upon and we see where there could be conflict but also cooperation with entertaining results.
The Bad:
Nothing really happens. If you skipped season 1, you might not even miss it. Just know that there is a pit. The personalities of every character come out swinging, but also missing… most of the time.
Conclusion:
Don’t watch it if you don’t have to. It’s literally the skeleton of the show. No bells or whistles here. It’s essentially reflective of the television industry in general. Producers want to prove that there’s an audience out there and that there’s potential for growth for the studio execs. They literally are on an episode-by-episode basis and it’s just hard to weave together a story when you almost know you can’t. Be happy that there’s season two and many more seasons after that. It just shows that they had to start somewhere. And it’s good! (or so they say…)