Parks and Recreation: The Stakeout

Parks and Recreations seems to really be picking up steam in it’s second season. The premiere last week was far better than anything from last season, and this week with The Stakeout things continued in a good direction.

The episode centered around Leslie and Tom finding weed in the garden they had planted in the pit. They decide to have a stakeout that night to see if they can figure out who planted the marijuana. Of course, Leslie brought all the supplies one would need on a stakeout, a camera, bags of candy (including candy necklaces) and a mix tape mostly about watching people.

The other characters were mostly kept busy as well. Ann and Mark head out on their first date after Leslie gave the okay. Back at the office Ron Swanson, who just suffered a hernia, couldn’t move his head or his torso without being in pain. After being stuck in his chair into the night, April comes in suspecting something is wrong and drives him to the hospital. I didn’t really like anything about the Ron Swanson character until this episode. I really got a laugh out of him being stuck in his office as the night cleaner went by.

The real conflict of the episode was when Ann and Mark came home from their date and saw Tom trying to get back into the stakeout van after getting himself locked out. He ends up getting arrested and thrown in jail until Leslie comes to his rescue. I thought the interaction between Leslie and Tom was really great. It made them seem like real people, but it was still hilarious. I think Tom Haverford is one of the funniest characters on TV right now.

The Stakeout was a great way to follow up from a strong premiere. I am now just as excited to watch this show on Thursday nights as I am to watch The Office. The characters are starting to seem more real, and the humor on the show is really being amped up. Hopefully things continue to get better as the season progresses.

Parks and Recreation: Pawnee Zoo

Parks and Recreation got off to a bit of a slow start with the handful of episodes in last year’s season. There were some funny moments but no real opportunities to connect with the characters. It was marketed as being very similar to The Office, which should have been a good thing, but it needed to find it’s own voice.

I knew right from the beginning of the season premiere that it was going to be good. It started with the main character, Leslie Knope, spontaneously breaking into rapping “Parents Just Don’t Understand”. So awesome.

The episode centered around Leslie accidentally “marrying” two male penguins at the zoo and the fallout that ensued. After she inadvertently becomes a hero for the local gay community she is asked to resign from her job by an anti gay marriage organization.

There were plenty of good laughs in the premiere, but more importantly I felt like I was finally getting to know the characters. Last season it felt like the show was trying really hard to be a funny show. It came across as being forced and simply not funny. Finally it seems like I’m watching the stories unfold rather than actors trying to be funny in a show. Hopefully that makes sense.

I’m really looking forward to watching Parks and Recreation as the season goes on. It looks like NBC is really building a nice block of comedy on Thursday nights this season.

Parks and Recreation: Make My Pit a Park

I was really looking forward to seeing the first episode of Parks and Recreation. From the previews on NBC it looked like it was similar enough to The Office to be funny, but unique enough to make me want to watch. 

The plot revolved around Leslie Knope attempting to keep her promise to fill in a dangerous pit in the community and turn it into a park complete with basketball courts, football fields, tennis courts, an amphitheater, etc. (at least she isn’t afraid to think big) after Ann Perkins complains that her boyfriend fell into the pit and broke both his legs.

While it may share a few too many similarities with The Office (including a cast member), I think it will find it’s own voice as it continues. Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope was clearly the Michael Scott equivalent, but she wasn’t a total copy. She believes in government and puts herself right up there with Hilary Clinton and Sarah Palin. While there were some very predictable moments like her excitement for the not so great turnout at the town meeting, there were some genuinely funny moments. Leslie putting a “neck brace” on a after she supposedly broke her clavicle was hilarious. Her constantly nagging her boss to form a sub-committee to create a park where a giant pit now sits was great.

The supporting cast seems strong enough for a first episode. It’s easy to compare them all to their equivalent characters from the Office, but again I think they will settle in to what makes them unique once we get to know them more and they get deeper into the show. 

Overall I thought it was a really strong premiere and I’m looking forward to watching it evolve away from The Office into it’s own entity. Amy Poehler is really funny so I think she’ll have no trouble carrying a show like this. What did you think? Was it too similar to The Office? Let me know.