is it worth the asthma?

It's gorgeous, but is it worth the asthma?

Parks and Recreation

It is said here that Pawnee has georgeous sunsets due to the cloud of pollution created by the Sweetums factory. We learn a few more things about the town. Pawnee also has a bed and breakfast infested with cats and run by a killjoy who serves German muffins* before the crack of dawn. Pawnee also has a campground that is lovely to see Chris Pratt fall around as Andy. Toting a guitar, tent, and balloons for his beloved, camping-averse April, whose response to a babbling brook is "Shut up!"

The characters on this show, my current second favorite, are just lovely. Oddly for TV, they all seem to share a genuine affection for each other. A possible exception may be series scapegoat** Jerry, who perfectly spoils Ron's fishing (like yoga for him, but he still gets to kill something) by wondering aloud if his sixteen-year-old daughter should be allowed to take birth control and pondering conducting a teen abstinence workshop.

Adam Scott and Aziz Ansari continue to cultivate an odd couple chemistry as Ben and Tom, both of whom share names with famous partners/antagonists of characters named Jerry. Note that this show also had Andy initially dating Ann, who dressed as Raggedy Ann for Halloween. The show's mid-season debut this season robbed us of another great Halloween episode.

Rashida Jones (Quincy's daughter) as Ann is finally getting funny on this show. She suffered for a little while with the Pam Paradox, wherein the attractive female supporting lead on a Greg Daniels show is stuck being the voice of reaon for a crazy supporting cast. Pam has blossomed as a corrupt office manager showing her geek side with a lovably corny sense of humor. Ann is getting her moments playing a ridiculously attractive person ("sweet, beautiful Ann" as Leslie is apt to describe her) confronted in full adulthood by getting dumped for the first time by another ridiculously attractive person (Rob Lowe giving good cartoon positivity). Ann finally has an oppurtunity to be stupid and act foolishly.

Donna gets to pitch a luxury dog park at the campground before drinking gin from a flask while reading a book called Your Erogenous Zones. Hopefully one day the show will develop its heavy black woman a little bit more, but it is good to know that for now she seems to be the most independent and erotically satisfied character of all.

With all this yapping about this supporting cast, I have been withholding the truth that this is very much an episode about Leslie. Her (so far) charmingly chaste chemistry with Ben is teased nicely. Those two kids are good together and good at their jobs. That last part marks a big disparity between Leslie Knope (rhymes with "hope" and sounds like "nope"), and Michael Scott. Amy Poehler and Steve Carrell share a similar improv-wizard lunatic enthusiasm and commitment in their lead performances on Greg Daniels mockumentaries. But where Michael Scott is very dumb and usually incompetent while fumbling his way to the endzone, Leslie Knope is very smart and professionally hypercompetent, pushing the ball forward as her team accidentally covers her.***

Andy shares more with Michael Scott than Leslie does. They are both soulful, charismatic idiots blessed with an outsized romantic streak. Andy could be very much like Michael if he ever was erroneously placed in an authority position. Come to think of it, he coaches youth basketball much like Michael runs his office.

I don't intend to damn Parks and Recreation with constant comparisons to The Office, but they are inevitably stylistically very similar. More relevant, I would say that Parks and Recreation is in the thick of its sweet spot, much as The Office was in seasons 2-4. That is to say, it is one of the all-time sitcom greats at the moment.

For most of Parks and Recreation's run, Leslie has been the underdog battling institutional apathy and budget cuts that stymie her limitless well of great ideas. Now, after executing her biggest idea to resounding success ("Harvest-Best!" trumpets the same paper that ran the headline "Knope Grope Is Last Hope" after a city official clutched her breast while having a heart attack) her script is flipped. Everybody defers to her expecting a triumphant follow-up to her recent home run.****

Poehler gets to spend most of the episode in a manic showcase of poignant self-doubt and type-A determination to work through the problem, and she is majestic. Leslie is lucky enough to have Ron Swanson to characteristically spend most of the episode avoiding involvement with anything before solving problems with a little bit of grudging paternal intervention towards the end. After an existential crisis, it comes as no surprise that Leslie's still got it and is a fountain of positive inspiration and good ideas. She needed only a good night sleep and Ron to lock her in a room full of cats to get it.

*"...the fuck is a German muffin?" -Ron Swanson

**much like Toby on The Office, except the whole cast seems to indulge in the irrational hatred that Michael Scott inflicts upon that character

***i'm not very good at sports metaphorism

****george, you just told yrself stay away from sports metaphors. don't push it