Rock Show
- Episode aired May 14, 2009
- TV-PG
- 21m
Leslie doesn't realize that a dinner with a much older man from the zoning commission is actually a date set up by her mom. Andy gets his cast taken off, but Ann gets mad when she finds out ... Read allLeslie doesn't realize that a dinner with a much older man from the zoning commission is actually a date set up by her mom. Andy gets his cast taken off, but Ann gets mad when she finds out it could have been off two weeks ago.Leslie doesn't realize that a dinner with a much older man from the zoning commission is actually a date set up by her mom. Andy gets his cast taken off, but Ann gets mad when she finds out it could have been off two weeks ago.
- Jerry Gergich
- (credit only)
- Director
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- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaChris Pratt does his own singing and guitar playing. He also wrote the song "Ann" for the finale of the first season.
- GoofsIn the beginning while singing about the ham or turkey sandwich, the halves of Andy's fake casts are blatantly obvious.
- Quotes
[at the show]
Ron Swanson: Hey, Mark! This is Beth, my ex-wife Tammy's better-looking sister.
Beth: [shakes Mark's hand] Nice to meet you.
Mark Brendanawicz: Nice to meet you. You guys are... together?
Ron Swanson: Yep. My ex-wife Tammy cheated on me, then we divorced, then last week I ran into her sister Beth here; turns out she hates Tammy too, so we started dating. It's like a fairy tale!
Beth: Yeah, Tammy stinks.
- ConnectionsReferences Today (1982)
- SoundtracksParks and Recreation Main Theme
Composed by Gaby Moreno and Vincent Jones
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.
- zkonedog
- Jul 4, 2019
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