Pawnee: First in Friendship, Fourth in Obesity
1. The other day a friend of mine posted a question on Facebook: what TV show would you most like to live in? I invested it with way too much thought. There were easy ones to cross off: The Wire, Breaking Bad, Lost. I suppose it says something about who you are — and who you aren’t — when you pick one. My friend picked The West Wing, which sounds terrible to me: I couldn’t handle the pressure of knowing my decisions actually mattered. I can imagine someone who treasured adventure might go with Firefly; the quirky might take Northern Exposure; Quantum Leap probably satisfies some nostalgic itch in some people. I thought about The Americans, but that’s mostly because I’d like to be married to Keri Russell (if not necessarily Elizabeth Jennings). I finally settled on Parks & Recreation. Everybody on that show is happy and friendly and loves one another. I can imagine no better shangri-la.
I had to catch this screencap without pausing, otherwise Netflix wouldn't have included the "triumphant music" closed caption. The sacrifices I make for my art.
2. P&R’s evolution was strange and magnificent. I think I’d put it like this:
Growing pains: Season one, and maybe a little bit of the start of season two, during which the show was still operating in the shadow of — and with the sensibility of — its parent show, The Office. Leslie was too much like Michael Scott, and the jokes came from that show’s signature wince moments too often.
Early peak: What’s the female version of “bromance”? Most of the second season is about the friendship between Leslie and Ann. There’s a lot of other stuff, but this is where the show sloughs off The Office and becomes something much better: an earnest, funny show with three powerful comic engines in Amy Poehler, Chris Pratt, and Nick Offerman.
Ben & Leslie & Ann & Chris: So often the introduction of a love interest for an established character is a terrible disaster. Somehow, the people behind Parks & Rec made the show better as its main character found love. It helps that the new additions — Chris and Ben — are unique, and powerfully funny characters all their own. This is probably the best version of the show.
Small Town Hero: The show slips off its peak a little bit once Leslie wins election to city council, but it also transforms itself into something slightly different: a subtly wicked satire of politics and media. Glancing off media events like the Murdoch phone tapping scandal and birtherism, the show follows Leslie’s rise and fall as a small time pol attempting to fulfill her dream. That Leslie remains Leslie— bright, hilarious, optimistic, a bit nutty — through what turns out to be a pretty crushing ordeal is a minor miracle.
Post-peak wish fulfillment: The show’s last two seasons weren’t deeply urgent, but they remained funny. This was when the show became so warm and smiley that I started wishing I could live in it. Leslie becomes Queen of All Parks, Ben becomes a Congressman, everybody has babies! There’s not a lot going on here — other than pretty consistent laughs. And I maintain that making people laugh is as high a purpose as any.
3. I have never seen a sitcom whose finale managed pull off happy/sappy so beautifully. Borrowing liberally from maybe the greatest finale of all time — Six Feet Under’s “Everybody’s Waiting” — we follow even minor characters to the ends — or close — of their universally rewarding and successful lives. It's all fairly preposterous, but goddamn if watching Ron Swanson paddling a canoe into a big lake, knowing that the rest of his life is going to be exactly that, exactly what he has always wanted and been best at, didn’t make me cry.
4. A friend asked me this afternoon, “Who do you identify with on that show?” The answer is nobody. I guess the closest any character comes on that show to me is Ron, but I’m not particularly macho or handy — I’m just introverted and grumpy. The people on P&R are much happier and more satisfied than I am. I wish I identified with Andy, who is like a human labradoodle. But I don't.
5. If I could come back as any animal, it would be as a labradoodle who belonged to some family that lived out in the country.
6. Is Chris Pratt a ginger? Inquiring minds want to know.
7. This blog entry will probably be illegible if you haven’t seen the show a whole bunch of times. How many times have I seen the show? It’s hard to say, but it’s somewhere in the neighborhood of 6, front to back. Other things I have seen or read as many times: Alien, Casablanca, Star Wars, The English Patient (the movie — I’ve only read the book twice), all seven Harry Potters (the books — the movies blow), and Buffy. Maybe Close Encounters. Close: Fringe and Scrubs.
8. JEAN-RALPHIO! DANCE UP ON ME!
9. From the “a little goes a long way” file: Jean-Ralphio & Mona Lisa; Tammy 2; the Eagleton clones (other than Kristen Bell); Jeremy Jamm; Dennis Feinstein; the Gergich Girls; the Animal Control guys; Crazy Ira & the Douche; Ken Hotate; Derry Murbles.
10. From the "failure" file: Andy Samberg’s one-off; anything and everything to do with Fred Armisen (the sister city episode is the only one I’ve only watched once); Mark Brendanawicz (his best moment, tellingly, is when Leslie calls him “Mark Brendanaquits”).
11. From the “coulda used more” file: Duke Silver; Leslie’s boyfriend Dave; Perd Hapley; Bobby Newport; Lord Eddie Covington; Detlef Schrempf; and, of course, Lil’ Sebastian.
12. Okay, I’m done. I could go on about this show basically forever. Look forward to a list of favorite quotations from the show on one of those days when I have nothing to say.