Rock Show

I had heard good things about his show recently and decided that I would give it a try rather than miss out. I had seen a handful of episodes on airplanes and found them pretty funny so I started on this short first season. None of the episodes I had previously seen were from this season and generally I didn't find the episodes here to be as good as those that I had seen. In fairness the short number of episodes (British- sitcom short) suggest that the whole season was somewhat of a pilot. The approach of the show is very much in the mould of The Office and the style of humor is also similar. This first season focuses on one specific plot which I'm not sure always helps it particularly in terms of getting the jokes flowing, but it does show potential in terms of its setting.

How similar this first season was to The Office did start to bug me though which was odd as other episodes I had seen from later in the series hadn't done this. I think it was the lack of real spark and color to the delivery; it was solid for sure and had plenty to enjoy but it didn't seem to have enough going on – which again is perhaps due to the season-long plot. The cast are good though and you can see the potential in the majority of them as they all display certain quirks while also having to deliver the narrative. Poehler is good and very good when the material is strongest. She works well with Jones who is very likable in her character and I think she makes that relationship work even outside of the pit storyline. Ansari I personally don't care for but I still found him funny here but Offerman is particularly good and hopefully the coming seasons make more use of the extremes of his character. Plaza and Pratt are straightforward but funny, however I didn't think Schneider had much to work with in Mark – I can see the use of his character but he was pretty dull.

I know the show can be better so I look forward to more and I'm glad of this because this first season didn't really set me on fire. It is funny and has enough about it to show there is potential, but mostly this season seemed to be about showing that potential rather than delivering on it.

Due to the fact that I consider "The Office" & "Modern Family" as among my favorite TV shows, I finally decided to give this short (six episodes) Season One of "Parks & Recreation" a try, as it seems to be created in a similar vein. Perhaps I'm just getting worn down by these "mockumentary-style" shows, or maybe "Parks & Rec." just didn't bring anything new to the format (more likely). Either way, I didn't find much to enjoy in these six episodes.

For a basic summary, "Parks & Rec." is set up much like "The Office", except that the location is now a government office, and thus plays off those themes. The main character is Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), a go-getter of the highest order who truly believes in her small-town government post. The main theme of this first season chronicles the beginning of her struggle to turn a community dumping pit into a beautiful park, complete with all the struggles such a seemingly simple task shouldn't have to face but does because, well, government. There are also a number of supporting cast members, including: -Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman), a high-level bureaucrat who wants nothing to do with government. -April Ludgate (Aubrey Plaza), a fresh-faced intern who is completely bored by any and all proceedings. -Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari), a comic stooge who realizes the ridiculous of every situation. -Mark Brandanawicz (Paul Schneider), Leslie's confidant and potential love interest. -Ann (Rashida Jones) and Andy (Chris Pratt), the couple who brings the pit to the city government's attention and have numerous personal issues of their own.

It's clear from the very start that this show is set up to capitalize on the success of "The Office", even poaching Rashida Jones straight from that show. Unfortunately, it lacks two key attributes that "The Office" had in spades:

1. There is no dramatic presence to this show (until it is rushed and contrived in the final scenes of the sixth episode). Where "The Office" had Jim and Pam to create high drama to go along with the comedy, "Parks & Rec" has none of that. It could have, with Ann and Andy, but it doesn't try to capitalize on it until the final episode, and even then does so in a haphazard fashion. There are many, many average sitcoms on the airwaves at any given time, and what usually sets the good apart from the mediocre is that the good ones include enough dramatic elements to take themselves just seriously enough to transcend the comedy genre. This show doesn't do that with these episodes.

2. Amy Poehler just isn't as good as Steve Carell's Michael Scott. Maybe that isn't necessarily a fair comparison, as the Scott character was both brilliant and first, but the point still stands. I felt like I knew who Leslie Knope was right from her opening scene and didn't have that opinion changed one bit through the end of the season. Having such a static lead character is going to be a problem.

Thus, despite the fact that I can tell "Parks & Rec" is made with care and efforts are being given all around, I just don't feel like this first batch of episodes adds anything new to this genre. The laughs weren't their for me, and (as previously mentioned) there isn't a drama component as a counterpoint. I've heard that this show vastly improves even as quickly as the second season, so maybe in the future I'll try to jump back into it, but right now I'm pretty low on the entire concept after Season One.

The first season of this show was short but quite slow, the episodes were dull but started to get better and better, and I know that the next season and the ones after that will be better than this one.

Season one was really just the show finding its way and what it wanted to be, at least that's what I think anyways. It started to pick up and find what it wanted to do the more it went on, and it got more funny and entertaining later on too.

This episode is funny and it wraps up the first season well, it has some pretty funny moments and it really helps to further develop some characters which is great for the progression of the show.

So here we are, at the finale of Season 1. The season was short at only 6 episodes, but for some, it may have felt a lot longer. Whether you liked the show's first season or not, I think most people can agree that "Rock Show" is up there among the best of the season. I personally believe it's the best episode yet, and back when I first saw the series in 2010, was the episode that got me hooked to the show. Now, I won't go into any spoilers, but I do want to talk about why I think it's the best episode yet, and also talk about the entire season as a whole, and even briefly preview Season 2.

"Rock Show" is a risky episode because it centers around an unlikely character. Not Leslie, Ron, or even Tom, but Andy Dwyer. Now, up to this point, Andy has been a very minor character, a pretty unlikable character if I say so myself. But it's obviously clear early on that the writers saw something in Mr. Pratt (don't we all?), and wanted to give him more screen time. And this episode works, because Andy is a great character, and Chris Pratt is a funny guy. All of a sudden, before our very eyes, we see Andy become a fully-developed character. We see his quirks and even his flaws. And of course his band! "The band has had a few different names over the years. When we started, we were Teddy Bear Suicide, but then we changed it to Mouse Rat. Then we were God Hates Figs, Department of Homeland Obscurity, Flames for Flames, Muscle Confusion, Nothing Rhymes With Orange, then Everything Rhymes With Orange, Punch Face Champions, Rad Wagon, Puppy Pendulum, Possum Pendulum, Handrail Suicide, Angel Snack, Just the Tip, Threeskin... "

The B-Plot is great too. Leslie, who thinks is going on a business meeting, actually is set up on a blind-date by her mother. And the person she's been set up with is a really old dude named George. I don't know where they found the actor who played George, but he is absolutely hysterical in this. This side plot is the perfect example of the outlandish, silly humor that the show will move towards in the next seasons. The town of Pawnee is full of characters like George, and that's why we love Pawnee so much.

Without spoiling anything, "Rock Show" is perfectly executed, and builds towards a hysterical climax. It does a great job of setting up Season 2, which is exactly what a finale needs to do. I wouldn't go as far to say that this episode is Parks "in its prime", but it is a step toward the right direction.

Season 1 is only 6 episodes, and despite its flaws, really shouldn't be criticized too much. It is just a first season after all. Some of the great sitcoms of all time like Seinfeld and The Office (US) had weak first seasons, but were given another opportunity to get better, and they absolutely did. I believe Parks does the same thing, and Season 2 is a great season from beginning to end. It has classic episodes, characters start to come into their own, and we get introduced to even more classic Parks characters. The show as a whole really starts to come into its own, and it sure is a joy to watch!

My overall rating for Parks and Recreation Season 1:

6.2/10

Parks and rec starts VERY softly in its first season. Sure, it will make you laugh occasionally, but I think it was trying too hard to be classic "the office", but also tried to infuse it's own humor into it. This mix does not work, and leaves the jokes to be over the top and the characters to be bland.

Leslie is an idiot this season, and I absolutely hate that. Yes, she continues to be a ditz in later seasons, making questionable decisions and having more than a few odd quirks, but this season she is only portrayed as odd, with no other distinguishable qualities.

Ann is another character that lacks spark. She is always the voice of reason, but does the voice of reason have to be sooo normal. She is portrayed as this voice so often that she doesn't even push forward a personality.

Mark seems to be thrown into the show solely to build any romantic attachment with Leslie. He is also very VERY bland and boring, and kind of seems like a cheap rip-off of Jim a lot of times.

Andy is shown as a dead-beat and lazy, which still appears in later seasons, however it is never attempted to make him lovable, and for that, his character and I got off on a bad start.

April is so down and negative that her lines come across as depressing and she often made me wonder if her character was actually severely depressed based on her actions.

Ron has no quirks, and although his hatred of the government provides a few laughs, he comes across as an impenetrable steel wall.

Tom is bored by nearly everything, and in turn, forces the audience to bored along with him.

In conclusion, the downfall isn't the quirkiness or the plot, it's the severe blandness that seems to permeate through the entire season. Yes it'll make you laugh sometimes, but mostly, you'll just be wishing they did this instead of that.

However, do stick through and watch...this show becomes amazing and worth the 6-episode wait for it to become that.