Thursday, February 3, 2011

Parks and Recreation - They're Back!


After a much too long hiatus, Parks and Recreation returned to the NBC lineup a couple of weeks ago. What a joy! I have loved this show since its premiere. It took awhile to gain its steam for some viewers, but I always new this show would be here for the long haul.

Frankly, NBC doesn’t get enough credit for airing some of the better sitcoms out there right now. Community, Parks and Rec and 30 Rock are all laugh-out-loud solid sitcoms. I know all the attention goes to The Office, but that show doesn’t really do it for me. I’m a forever snob for the original Ricky Gervais incarnation.

Parks and Rec has endearing characters, not to mention that last week’s episode with Leslie Knope had me laughing my ass off! It’s a show with heart, but it can bring the funny. One of the things I enjoy about this show is how much these people love their little town and the tireless work they do. In real time, we see so many negative things about our government and we’re often led to believe that government, city and state workers don’t really work at all. It’s refreshing to shed a light on people who work hard, none of them more than Leslie Knope herself.

I live in California and there have been lots of cutbacks and furloughs in my state, yet I constantly hear stories of workers coming in on those furlough days because it’s important to them that the work gets done. So sure, this show is played for laughs and the characters are over the top and quirky, but it warms my heart to watch Leslie “round up the troops.” They are all excited to get back to work.

Parks and Recreation is a show that accurately reflects our times in more ways then one. On one side, it shows the little guy who works hard amidst budget cuts and a struggling economy. As a television show, it also shows the network bigwigs that sitcoms do still have a place on our prime time lineup. After a hard day’s work, I don’t want to watch cops shooting people or crime scene investigators, man, I just want to laugh!

If you haven’t discovered this great show yet, do yourself a favor and get acquainted with the residents of Pawnee.

1 comment:

THUNDERCAT said...

Sadly, I've never seen the show. To be honest, I haven't tuned into NBC in YEARS!! If they're stepping their game up with this show, I won't be a hater...I'll at least check it out ;)