Parks and Recreation

The fact that ratings for this show exist with a score lower than 9 is surprising as this show naturally encourages me to laugh, a rare experience to be sure. I'm the kind of person that enjoys the comedies of Archer, the Office, Family Guy, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Curb Your Enthusiasm, I'm all over the map... and this show appeals to my zany side, my clever side and the side of me that enjoys watching character development.



I'd rate this show a 10/10 but there's the possibility a show could one day appear that will make me laugh harder.

Parks and Rec was a so-so show to start with but by the end of the first season and the start of the second the character development was making the show worth watching. Leslie's misguided over enthusiasm was easy to over look due to her rigorous work ethic and competency, leaving me with the feeling that I could put up with the stupidity of government if there were people with dedication like that. Ron Swanson of course was brilliant and easily provided the funniest moments in the show. But as the season has drudged on the insertion of the producers and actors obvious love affair with the democrat party and Leslie's gushing over Joe Biden, inserting partisan politics into the show has left me with a bad taste in my mouth. At the same time they have subtly changed Ron's character into a charactiture of what it was, he is now portrayed as an obstinate, sometimes ignorant, reckless, foolish and misguided representative of some type of obstructionist party who needs to be dragged into understanding the "right" position on issues.



By episode 10 of season 5 they had beaten any desire out of me to follow the show, and I sit here having just watched episode 22 of the last season of the office (not great either, just the sap in me finishing up the story lines), looking for something to entertain me and I still can't bring myself to click play on s5 episode 11.

As pathetic, moronic and stupid as "The Office". Hard to believe this is still running, I was never able to endure a whole single episode, Poehlers permanent stupid expression and clueless jokes are worse than a root canal.

I love this show even more now that 30 Rock has died. It's great to sit back and just be entertained. Cheers.

This is seriously my favorite show of all time. It has funny, original ideas and the characters all have a funny story line and character, and it's just hilarious. Like, how did Jerry get such a hot wife or how is Leslie not the President? It's just hilarious, don't know why this show is getting a 7.3.

It's not an Office clone. Get past the first season and you'll be hooked as it gets substantially better.

This is one of the smartest and most addictive show on TV today.

I was a little worried when I heard that the creators of the show had been the creators of The Office, because, let's face it, The Office sucks. I realized rather quickly, however, that Parks and Recreation far surpasses The Office. I hate to make the comparison between the two shows, but seeing as how they are both "mocumentaries" of sorts, it's difficult not to. I should explain myself and say that the faux documentary aspect is annoying in The Office, and it tends to bore me, which is one of the reasons for my concern that it would be another Office. I gave Parks and Recreation a chance because a friend with a markedly reliable taste in comedy recommended it to me. Boy, was I glad I took his recommendation seriously, Parks and Recreation is an incredibly funny show, and the mocumentary aspect serves as an enhancement, not a detriment, especially because the documentary-esque clips/interviews are not so predictable, like they tend to be in some shows, and they're typically funny and charming. The opening scene of the pilot had me believing the show was another Office. Amy Poeler interviews a child in a park about the amount of fun she's having. I figured it would be old people humor, which is what I consider The Office to be. However, I watched all of season 1 and some of season 2 in one shot and discovered that the characters develop well, are charming, and are deserving of episodes that center around them, as opposed to every episode being "Leslie-centric". These episodes centered around characters surface well into season 2, but they really assist the viewer in falling in love with the cast. Aziz Ansari can't miss, so I knew he would be funny, Amy Poeler's incredibly funny, and I'm becoming more and more of a fan of hers, Nick Offerman's Ron Swanson character is potentially the funniest sitcom character of all time (actually, I heard somewhere he was voted "funniest sitcom actor since Michael Richards as Kramer, which I agree with), Chris Pratt is awesome and classic as Andy, Aubrey Plaza is a great yin to the yang of the overly energetic Leslie, and is always funny, Rashida Jones is a cool "best friend" character, Adam Scott is cool, and a great match for Leslie, Rob Lowe is funny (and too much of him would be bad, so they do a fantastic job of using him with a proper amount of restraint), Retta's one-liners are funny (and, again, the small doses of her character are perfect), and in the true spirit of the show, I saved Jerry for last - awesome fall guy, and a good sport. My only complaint in terms of cast was Mark Brandanewicz, but he's gone anyway, so what's the difference? I highly recommend this show!

The great thing about the show is that it does not take the easy way out. The characters are developing well and are going in directions that are far from predictable. The Tom Haverford character is refreshngly non-sterotypical without trying too hard to be. Also the character is funny without even saying a word. His facial expressions are priceless. The Leslie Knope character plays well with the other characters. She maintains her innocence without coming off as as cartoon character. However, it is the Tom charater that is the star of the show. The writers have been careful not to feature him too much at the expense of the other characters. Finally, the secondary characters as well as the one-shot characters contribute to the quality of the show because they are given great lines and are involved is meaningful storylines.

Extremely hilarious, one of my favorite comedys, with a fantastic cast. character are likable and funny in a different ways. even the Jerry joke never gets old. highly recommend it!

I never watched the show, but was always interested in it. So i bought season 2 on itunes, and fell in love with the show. I bought seasons 3 and 4 so im all caught up now and i must say its much better then most of the comedys on tv right now. Recommend it to anyone!

Parks and Recreation is an NBC sitcom somewhat similar in premise to The Office, but with the focus being on government politics rather than business politics. It's from the same people who do SNL and The Office so go figure.



First off, the first few episodes are bad, but once you get through the first 4-6 episodes the show is nearly as good as The Office, and starts to come into its own. The series suffers in the beginning because it was trying way too hard to be the second coming of The Office. The show is shot documentary style, like The Office, with characters giving side interviews. Amy Poehler from Saturday Night Live plays Leslie Knope, the leader of the Parks Department. Amy's problem in the first few episodes is that she came off less like a sitcom character and more like an SNL Skit character by overacting too much. Will Sasso from Mad TV has the same problem. Anyway, the Leslie character starts off as basically a female version of Michael Scott before hitting her own stride later on.



Rashida Jones (Karen Filipelli from The Office) plays Ann Perkins, but early on you can't really tell the difference between her Ann Perkins character and the character that she played on The Office (Karen Filipelli). As the show wears on though, she starts to distinguish Ann Perkins from Karen Filipelli.



Another thing that plagued Parks and Recreation early on was miscasting. Paul Schneider played Mark Brendanawicz, who was given the back story of a bad boy/playboy but it wasn't believable because Mark's character had absolutely no personality and came off more like a poor man's Jim Halpert. He was supposed to be this handsome playboy, but he just came off like a geek with no personality.



April Ludgate is basically the ANTI-Kelly Kapoor. She's the exact opposite. While Kelly had the personality of a mindless, shopaholic, shallow tween... April is a sarcastic, quiet, emo kid who doesn't care about anything.



Ron Swanson is like a more manly Dwight Schrute. He's not quite as over-the-top, but he fills the same sort of anti-government survivalist role and he's hilarious.



Jerry Gergich is basically the punching bag of the group. Everyone picks on him similarly to Phyllis on The Office.



Tom Haverford is another comedic character who hits it well. He's sort of like a younger more immature Indian version of Barney Stinson.



Andy Dwyer is the resident moron that every sitcom has who seems to get dumber as the show wears on.



Donna Meagle sort of fills comedic voids. She's alright too.



Once the second season starts, the show gets really good. I urge EVERYONE who likes The Office to just hold on through the first season (Luckily, season one is only 6 episodes). The show takes about 6-8 episodes to really start to get into it. The series gets even better once Rob Lowe and Adam Scott join the cast as the "good cop/bad cop" supervisors who come in to fix the department. PLEASE give this show a chance. It's awesome once you get out of the first season.

I may have started watching the show mid-second season but since then I have watched every episode and what I can tell you is one of the best show's on TV. Seriously don't know why people have such a hard time liking it. I watched the first season. loved it. 2nd 3rd 4th they have all made me laugh so much. As far as people comparing this show to the office. I know they are similar but they are still seperate shows. Try watching the show with a more open mind you'll like it :)

I just watched the pilot in light of Chuck ending and being caught up on everything else. I made it to about minute 21 and just shut it off. I was only ever able to muster up one little chuckle during the entire pilot and it was a weak one anyway.



The star (can't remember her name) is a little irritating. I liked Rashida Jones a lot in the Office and she seems to have a good role going for her on this show, but the premise of the show is kinda strange and the characters aren't as funny as they are advertised in my opinion. I'm sure there are plenty of people who can find the beauty in this show but I am not one of them.



In all fairness, I still think it's better than, say, Friends or Big Bang Theory for example. But then again, those shows are beyond awful. My rating is entirely objective, I have no real biases here. If someone can convince me that the show gets funnier after the pilot then I will think about giving it another shot later on.



Oh and by the way, the Indian guy seemed like he'd get funnier as the show goes on. I recognize him but I can't recall from where. The show gets a 6.5 instead of a 6 for that.

ppl who dont like this either dont get it or hav'nt watched it and are jumping on a bandwagon, seriously one of the funniest things on t.v watch it!!!

I truly don't care for the show.

Im not gonna lie, the first season of Parks and Rec was slow to me and almost turned me away. But I'm so glad I did not stop watching this show. My friend convinced me to just stick with it and promised it would get better and wow, this show blows my mind. Best cast ever. This show is cute, FUCKING HILARIOUS, and there's a character for every type of viewer and they make it all work so well. If you like the Office, then you're gonna like this. This show needs a hire rating than 7.

I also believe the world would be such a better place if every girl looked up to Leslie Knope and aspire to be just as Involved, committed, and caring. She's an example every person should follow actually.

Well, Deedle Dee productions figured what worked once will work again...hence, Parks and Recreation. But it just doesn't work as well this time around. Parks and Recreation seems to me to be a testimony to the television industry's fear of creativity and originality and the stick to the old formula mentality at any cost. The Office, based on a hit British series worked quite well...I liked it a lot for my own reasons (see my review for The Office) but I found Parks and Recreation a little difficult to sit through. None of the characters managed to strike a nerve with me one way or the other. I'm surprised this one's been around for three seasons.

This show has turned into the best show on the Thursday night line-up. I just love it! he first season didn't start off the best, but you could sense that it was going somewhere great...and it did! They have developed the characters so well, without tiring them out. A wonderful show that just keeps getting better. Really two words sum it up perefectly...Ron Swanson. BTW-Whitney sucks.

Similar humor to the office but with a refreshing setting and scenario. I love this show!! It's light hearted and funny-perfect for unwinding after work and hanging out on the weekends! Gives you insight to "government work." I highly suggest giving it a shot!!


The first episode of season one may not call to your heart as much as the later episodes-the first time I saw Parks and Rec I saw an episode from season 3 and got instantly interested. My boyfriend and I began at episode 1, season 1 only a few weeks ago and we JUST finished season 2 last night! I love how realistic some of the scenarios are-financial crisis + TONS of lazy employees + one woman, Leslie, who is ready to conquer everything and become president! I love Leslie's sense of responsibility and moral responsibility-and that the show plays with her extremes in different situations (both good and bad). I also really respect the relationship that has developed between Leslie and her best friend, Anne (even if they do have some issues).

It doesn't make any sense this show can be still so poorly rated? It's like reviewers came once to this page and rated the show during its first season, and then when the show got better and became the comedy gold that it is now...people just forgot to update their rating to a more appropriately higher score.





Comedies work best when the ensemble work, and Parks and Rec is a show that has used this to their advantage. How unbelievably sweet is Andy and April making the cover of the Parks magazine? One of the best revelations on TV last year!

Parks and Recreation: Worst Thing You've Ever Seen or So Abysmal you Wanted to Rip your Eyes Out?





I can't decide. First, let's look at the pros, if there really are any in the first place. The boss guy with the mustache was, in my opinion, freaking hilarious! And in the end when he had that sod-off shot gun. Seriously died of laughter. So, he's good in my book. Aziz was also humorous, but I feel like they need to give him better lines or writing cause it seemed like they ignored his character's potential as being amazing. Like a Dwight. That's it. Cons: First, Amy Poehler. Don't get me wrong she was one of the funnier ones on SNL, but her character A.) Isn't funny. B.) Tries too hard to be funny. C.) Is like a woman version of Michael Scott, but not funny and D.) Just plain annoying! They need to change her character and soon and start coming up with a better way to make her humorous because its not working. Second, Rashida Jones. Can't stand her. Couldn't stand her on The Office. Can't stand here now. She's not that good of an actor. She isn't funny. She's kind of awkward. Plus, her being in the Office and now in this show doesn't help the viewer try to distinguish the two. Third, Carbon Copy of the Office. Now, this is kind of a given as its by the producer and writers of the Office and originally was going to be an Office spin off until they changed that idea. But, it's TOO much like The Office. But it also removes all the awesome things about why we like The Office. So it's kind of a crappy, half-hearted version of The Office. Fourth, mediocre writing. The comedy wasn't there. The story was boring. The premise is just lame. There is nothing making me want to keep watching. I have no connection to the characters. It feels like they just slapped a ton of garbage together and said "This should work". Did they even screen the show? Did they like seriously say those lines and think "that's funny"?





Synopsis:


They best get their act together otherwise it'll get canceled after 5 episodes. Rating: D+

i watched every episode of this show in it's first season run and i thought it was just okay. mediocre at best, and after watching every episode of season two, i got to say that this show has improved allot! whatever they have been doing with it has really changed my feeling for this show and i actually look forward to watching it now. for me, the characters who were not all that enjoyable before, but passable, have become characters that you care about now. i love the NBC thursday prime-time line up this season! community is awesome, parks and recreation is good now & the office is brilliant like always. :D

This is possibly my new favorite show. This is by no means an Office knockoff, this is better in that the show's pace is quicker and the main topic is much more interesting. Each of the main characters quirks and eccentricity complement each other nicely and make each of them lovable in their own way. The jokes are quick witted and smart and delivered just perfectly. This is truly an ensemble cast. Although Amy Poehler's character is the main character (Leslie), all other characters get about the same amount of screen time. Each character is essential in the show's storyline and it's clear that the writers do this purposely to maximize the show's effectiveness





If you like the Office, as I once did, you'll like Parks & Rec. If you're a fan of Aziz Ansari, be prepared to laugh your butt off too. Parks & Rec is a fresh departure of the average NBC sitcom, and I hope the writers are able to continue writing quality episodes in the future.

Watching Amy Poehler's character of Leslie Knope be this wellspring of enthusiasm despite the utter disregard of the people around her and the mundane nature of her job is fabulous. I can't see anyone else playing this role with any degree of believability other than Poehler. Add to that the forced smile that she practically freezes onto her face for the benefit of the documentary camera that's following her every move and the positive spin she tries to put on every gaff and foible makes this show a genuine joy to watch. Perhaps we are finally past the days when canned laughter has to be added to let people know when something funny happened. Shows like this assume the audience knows what is going on and doesn't need everything spoon-fed to them. Well done. Very well done. Keep up the good work!

Where do I start... should I start with how the show in not original (carbon copy of The Office); or with how Amy Poehler is not funny; or that NBC is trying waaaay too hard to compete with the other networks. They cancel good shows like My Own Worst Enemy; keep horrible shows like the new Knight Rider, The Apprentice, Friday Night Lights, Kath & Kim, My Name is Earl, Howie Do It, 30 Rock; and then bring us unoriginal shows like Parks and Recreation.





As for Parks... watching it was almost painful. I watched the whole episode but almost turned it off twice. Amy is not funny... she is trying to be quirky and uncomfortable like Michael Scott from The Office. It's already been done, no need to do it again. As for Aziz Ansari (Tom in the show), he too was not funny, nor was he funny on Scrubs this year - maybe that's why he's not on the show anymore. And I did not care for Nick Offerman's character Ron. The show and it's so called comedy, felt very forced.





Stop TRYING to be funny, and just BE funny. But I don't think it's going to happen with this show.

After watching the first two episodes of this show, I have been pleasantly surprised by this new series and I plan to give it a chance to develop and grow. Some of the other people who have written harsh reviews for this show, however, have not even tried to give the show a chance. Several users have even stated in their "review" that they haven't even seen the show once. Sound familiar, cactusjack39? Worst of all, they put ratings and reviews to episodes that HAVEN'T EVEN AIRED YET! It seems so silly and so pointless to rant all over a show for no reason than to annoy others. To then make your profile private is just plain cowardly and childish.





Let me remind everyone that these forums are to put forth genuine reviews and valid arguements as to why a show is worth watching or not. To simply say "It sucks" is little more than vandalism of the show guide. If you don't like the show or a particular episode, then explain why in an articulate and intelligent manner. Don't just scribble a few profanities and then run away.

Season 1 of this show really sucked but season 2 has been pretty good thus far. Now this show is by no means any where near as good as the office but it is still a funny and enjoyable show. The characters are likable and funny. Tom is hilarious and so is leslie and that guy who is the boss or whatever is the funniest one. For thursday nights this season the office is top, this is second, 30 rock(REALLY overrated) is third, and community is last. I'm really excited to see how this show goes and i enjoy watching it whenever i have the time

To be honest, I am not really a comedy show guy but I do watch them. This show made me laugh my ass off. I was so surprised to see how this show turned out to be. I thought it was going to be good, but not that good. I did know Amy Poehler before by Mean Girls, Baby Mamma, and I watched a little bit of Saturday Night Live so I was thrilled to see what she brought in her own show and it was something great. She is one of the main reasons why this show succeeded in the beginning and why it got renewed for the second season. I can't wait to see the storylines of season two, but I know they're going to be good.

As The Office is getting more and more annoying, Parks and Recreation fills that Thursday night mockumentary hole you love you much. The Office is currently in its 6th year, and barely manages to bring in some laughter to the table. If you find the character of Michael Scott annoying and immature, you might just fall in love with Leslie Knope, who is sort-of Scott's female version, but with much more charm and much less annoyance. Every episode is significantly more enjoyable than the previous one, and it's safe to say, it's quickly growing to be one of the television's premier shows.