When it comes to television, comedy is hard. It's difficult enough to sustain a funny premise for a single movie, let alone many seasons with dozens of shows. Luckily, producers sometimes get it right, and a show will come along that consistently tickles the audience's funny bone week after week.
One of these comedies is Parks and Recreation, an NBC sitcom which airs Thursdays at 9:30 p.m.. If you never have seen this show, now in its third season, you are missing out. The writing is hilarious and the cast is superb. If you need other incentive to watch it, I have one for you: Much like the beloved The Office, it is a mundane office comedy filmed in a mockumentary style, and in many cases the characters in Parks are quite similar to those on Office.
Parks' Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) is similar to Michael Scott (Steve Carrell). Leslie is the daffy but lovable deputy director of the Parks Department in the fictional town of Pawnee, Ind. She is a crusading feminist, and let's just say that she takes her job way too seriously. Poehler does a great job of creating an eccentric character that somehow still manages to be sweet and relatable at the same time. Her comic timing is perfect, and she was a great choice to headline the show. Michael and Leslie both share an endlessly hyperactive and immature personality, but you can't help but root for them. There's just something about a slightly idiotic character that makes audiences fall in love.
Another noteworthy character on Parks is Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) who is the head of the Parks Department and, ironically, a staunch libertarian. Offerman is a master of deadpan humor, and he has the rare ability to elicit laughs while being totally silent. Swanson doesn't care about anything that goes on in the department and regularly can be seen engaging in tasks such as whittling or playing Scrabble. Does this behavior ring any bells? That's right, how could we forget the imminently lazy Stanley (Leslie David Baker)? He would rather do his crossword puzzles than do a single ounce of work. These two deadpan slackers are great foils to their animated coworkers.
And lastly, there is Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt), a man whose stupidity knows no bounds. His ignorance could be annoying, but Pratt creates a character so likeable that you laugh with him rather than at him. His over-the-top antics perfectly compliment the understated humor of many of the other characters, and he gives the show a more energetic feel than it would have had without him. His character is similar to Office's Andy Bernard (Ed Helms). They are both the incredibly dorky dunces of their respective shows, and neither Parks and Recreation nor The Office would be quite the same without them.
If you're a big fan of The Office, then you must watch this show. It is an amazing sitcom with amazing characters. With Steve Carrell leaving, many feel that Office is moving past its prime. Perhaps now ardent fans can shift their attention to Parks and Recreation.
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