Parks and Recreation

[Prometheus]

In my quest to catch up on shows that were popular years and years ago, I finally watched P&R. To be honest, I don't really know how it got picked up for a second season because Season 1 wasn't that funny. Season 2 had a couple moments but thankfully Season 3 actually coalesced into something that I could actually enjoy. But still, I didn't actually get a true belly-laugh until Season 5.

Let's look at the characters/actors:

Amy Poehler: She's the lead but I wasn't a fan before seeing this show... and I'm still not. She's essentially a neurotic, compulsive do-gooder. It would be nice if all government employees were as dedicated and diligent but her character never made me laugh.

Nick Offerman: He plays a rugged individualist libertarian... or at least a caricature of one as perceived by lib writers. Sadly, I suspect that a lot of self-styled libertarians aspire to be the same caricature. He was very much an "America First" type but he lost my respect by not drinking bourbon.

Aubrey Plaza: She's dark, twisted, and gorgeous. I want to marry her.

Jim O'Heir: The stereotypical office fuck-up that gets no respect from his co-workers regardless of how nice he is to them. He's kind of the reason you end up hating almost all of the other characters in the show.

Aziz Ansari: Just hearing his voice made me want to put my fist through the screen, but the character itself was enough to make me want to throw my computer out of a window.

Retta: Her character was intelligent, strong, empathetic, sympathetic and hilarious.

Chris Pratt: "Idiot with a heart of gold." Now I understand why he got the part of "Starlord" in "Guardians of the Galaxy."

Rashida Jones: Another of the few sympathetic characters is the show as she played the beleaguered best friend of Poehler's character

Adam Scott: Love interest of Poehler and really the only reason to watch the show as he's the foil for everyone else' neuroses.

Rob Lowe: Outrageously upbeat, OCD health nut and the source of some of the best laughs of the series.

Where the real laughs in this series originate are from the tertiary characters like the drunken nympho talk show host, the newscaster who states the obvious, the sex-crazed librarian who is also the ex-wife of Offerman's character, etc.

It wasn't a bad show, but I wouldn't rank it as highly as others seem to have done. I'll give it 3 out of 5 stars and most of the credit really goes to the aforementioned tertiary characters.