Parks And Recreation | TV Review

Story by Greg Bright 

| Published Feb 1, 2011

When NBC chose to hold the sitcom “Parks and Recreation” back until January I feared that the show, which in its last season was the best comedy on NBC if not all of TV, may had lost some steam in the already filmed episodes of the third season. Luckily, it turns out that NBC was (is) just stupid.

The third season of this remarkable show picks up right were it left off. Amy Poehler continues to turn Leslie Knope into one of TV’s most complex and likable female comedic characters and continues to prove, with Tina Fey, that TV needs more leading ladies in comedy.

The supporting cast hits on all cylinders with all the characters building off each other. No character “steals” a scene because there is no weak link here; though I would like to single out the uber-libertarian boss Rob Swanson, played by Nick Offerman. Maybe it’s just because of the Tea Party rise but he has become the funniest character on TV.

The addition of Rob Lowe and Adam Scott, which could have been overwhelming, has instead created a great sense of stability to the show. I’ve heard they are sticking around for the whole season and I hope they do.

What started off as a rip-off of The Office has really turned into the ultimate American show. On one hand it praises what is great about America, the constant optimism and dreaming, and also pokes fun at the some of the ridiculous, the obsession with unhealthy foods and overly bureaucratic government. In recent episodes it has even gotten pretty serious, and rightfully nasty, in its satirical portrayal of the impact of the recession on local governments.

This is the only show that I beg my friends and family to watch because it is TV’s finest half-hour at the moment. A show you, the reader, should definitely be watching.