Parks and Recreation: Pilot
In it’s premier episode, NBC’s new mockumentary follows Leslie Knope, a bureaucrat for the Parks and Recreation department, as she tries to get approval to turn a colossal pit into a community park.
The good: Lead character, Leslie Knope, will undoubtedly be compared to Steve Carell’s Michael Scott, so they needed to cast a comedic actor capable of demanding the spotlight in the intelligent, ignorant, self indulgent, ambitious-like dreamer kind of way; and Amy Poehler more than lives up to the billing. Where Michael can be a bit of a selfish jerk, Leslie genuinely cares about others and wants to change the world for the better (her goal is to be the first woman president). Both have their flaws, but both are amiable in their own ways. And both are definitely passionate about their profession. Much like Carell, Poehler’s comedic presence is evident, and her star shines the brightest. The story, while a bit underwhelming in the pilot, will benefit from the long term direction they’re headed in. The narrative will have a more consistent flow, which can only amount to a good thing. There are lot of political-inspired, laissez faire government talk, which helps appeal to current viewers.
The bad: Save for the undermining, womanizing, reluctant assistant Tom Haverford, played by Aziz Ansari, the rest of the cast and characters just aren’t that memorable. Rashida Jones, in particular, while I adore her, is probably better served not being on the show. While I understand she’s a familiar face that helps bridge the gap between Office viewers and potential Parks viewers, the fact that she’s a familiar face sort of hurts the experience. She plays Ann Perkins the nurse, but she might as well be Ann Perkins the salesman. You can’t help but feel like this is a Karen Filippelli spin-off. The show really beats it into your head that while Leslie loves her job, her coworkers have nothing but contempt for it; coming off dour and apathetic. While the concept is certainly interesting, the supporting cast is too much of a one note. The show also lacks an authentic feel. Granted it’s suppose to be a mockumentary, but it feels too much of a copy cat to The Office; down to the way the camera pans in, to the mini-interviews. There were a few laughs, but it was more miss than hit.
This show will need time to get its footing. 30 Rock, itself, took a few episodes before it really got going. The problem is that it’s not a show like 30 Rock, it’s modeled after The Office. And one of the main things that made the pilot of The Office succeed was the development of the core characters, their relationships, and the way they functioned with one another in the work environment. It actually made you interested in a show about a paper company. This pilot failed in that instance, making a show about a department of the show’s namesake less than interesting, and quite frankly, boring. There’s certainly potential, especially if they flesh out the characters, making them a bit more dynamic. I’ll definitely give it a few more viewings before giving it complete judgement.
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