What The World Needs Now Is Parks And Recreation

Parks And Recreation is not The Office.

I'm not sure how many times I've had to repeat that to people whom I'm trying to convince to watch the show. Even fans of The Office often balk when faced with the similarly-formatted comedy, citing rip-offs or it simply being too similar. But really, the format is the only real similarity. Oh sure, it takes place in a workspace and has a cast of quirky characters, but P&R deals with small-town government, which is a completely different world than private sector business, and you can find quirky characters in any ensemble comedy ever. SO - quit your griping and join me in celebrating just what makes Parks And Recreation unique.

To begin with, P&R has none of the meanness or selfishness that The Office revels in. I've been watching episodes from The Office season 2, and the thing that struck me most is that Jim Halpert is kind of a smug asshole. I mean, sure, he's perfect for Pam and I still root for the character, but some of the things he does to Dwight are just dick moves, not to mention the way he breaks up with Amy Adams on the booze cruise. But because this is The Office and Michael and occasionally Dwight are usually leaps and bounds ahead of Jim in terms of dick moves, it simply becomes part of the tone of the show. I also recently rewatched the original BBC Office, and though I found myself having a renewed appreciation for Ricky Gervais' version, the cold tone and the sense that jokes have to come at someone else's expense absolutely carried through into at least the first two seasons of the American version (can some expert also tell me for once and for all if Steve Carell got hair plugs or just a really good stylist?).

Parks And Recreation, thankfully, doesn't have a predecessor to live up to. The similarities that creators Greg Daniels and Michael Schur (you may recognize him as Dwight's cousin Mose) brought with them from The Office are all positive ones; in fact, it feels a little like P&R is an outlet for them to express a feeling besides cynicism. Now, I happen to be a great fan of the mockumentary format (although I hate that word), because I think the talking heads are a great way to reveal to the audience a character's motivation without them having to reveal it to everybody else, but even if you're not I would encourage you to give Parks And Recreation a shot. They're used in a fresh way here - Leslie enthuses to the camera while on a date and her date, in the background, acknowledges that he just heard her positive revelation - and to nowhere near the extent that The Office uses them. The format almost makes more sense in this context - wouldn't you be more likely to watch a documentary about a small-town government than about people working at a paper company? I know I would.

Mostly, as with all good comedies, the strength lies in the writing and the actors' ability to carry it off. There is not a bad or weak character in the whole cast, and for someone who has hated Rashida Jones for years I know the writing has to be spectacular for me to actually find myself liking Ann Perkins. Amy Poehler, who (sacrilege!) I actually prefer to Tina Fey, has made Leslie Knope into a much stronger leader than Michael Scott. She's good, no, great at her job, and the humor comes more from her relentless enthusiasm and the limitations of bureaucracy than anything else. Her relationship with her boss, the anti-government libertarian Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman), is refreshingly non-sexual, and they make an astoundingly great team. Leslie's love of providing government services balances out Ron's desire for the government to do nothing (much like the team of Chris and Ben, as we later see), and it is obvious that they would both go over their respective boards if the other wasn't around. Let me just say again, for the record, how much I love Ron Swanson, Nick Offerman, and their shared mustache. Ron manages to be a man's man without being heteronormative, even being, dare I say, feminist, possibly because his foil is Aziz Ansari's Tom Haverford, a teenage boy's mind inside a little boy's body, desperately trying to be a ladies' man, man's man, man about town. Ansari is a brilliant physical comedian who brings an honest tenderness to the role to balance out his chest-puffing doucheness - Tom Haverford is who Howard Wolowitz (The Big Bang Theory) wishes he could be.

I mean, the rest of the cast are all stellar. Aubrey Plaza as the dour April Ludgate inhabits the character so thoroughly I can't imagine anyone else playing her. Ditto Chris Pratt as the hapless Andy Dwyer, whom I look forward to watching woo April with his bright-eyed boyish charm. Tragically the hilarious and underrated comedian Paul Schneider isn't a part of the regular cast this season, but that's all the more reason for you to go back and watch Mark Brendanawicz being awesome in seasons 1 and 2. Although they're not listed in the credits, the show would not be complete without Donna (played by the mysteriously-named Retta), the sassy black lady who somehow manages to not be a stereotype and Jerry (Jim O'Heir), the office punching bag. Some people may object to my characterization of P&R as kind and positive when it comes to Jerry, but he is such a fuck-up and has so little sense of humor about himself that I actually think one of the best jobs the writers do is not letting you feel sorry for Jerry. Murinal!

Entering the ensemble this season are Adam Scott as the ex-child mayor turned hard-nosed budget assessor Ben Wyatt, and his vitamin-popping, staccato-speaking, insanely optimistic partner, Chris Traeger, played by Rob Lowe. Scott is a comedy veteran who is perfect for the straight-man role, and surprisingly enough, somebody realized that Rob Lowe was pretty AND funny, and he plays Chris with enough sincerity that the character balances on the right side of that thin line between being hilarious and being a parody of itself. Lowe's character also, from what I've seen, brings out the best in Jones' often problematic Ann Perkins. The addition of both of these characters expands the scope of the show and makes it more currant and relevant, since small towns all over the country are being forced to reduce their government services. Plus, you know...romantic interests!

The Office will survive without Michael Scott - it's possible it'll do even better once there's not this giant baby-like narcissist whom they have to coddle all the time. But Leslie Knope is the heart and soul of Parks And Recreation - she's the one who brings all these characters together and motivates them in whatever way she can. It's exciting to root for a character like her - someone so unburdened by the cynicism that most of us carry around, especially when it comes to government. If I had to choose one word to describe this show, it would be 'earnest'. Because that's what Leslie Knope and Parks And Recreation are. They try hard, they put themselves out there, and they're not afraid of a good-natured joke or even a little old-fashioned sentiment. And at the end of the day, Parks And Recreation is one of my favorite shows for one simple reason: it is laugh-out-loud hi-fucking-larious. End of story. Oh, and just a reminder, it's not The Office.

"Pants queen!"

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