On Thursdays, I go through classic series with a critical look at each season. Today I am looking at Season One of Parks and Recreation! A reminder about my breakdown in ratings of episodes:
9-10: Exceptional
7-8: Strong
5-6: OK
3-4: Mediocre
1-2: Terrible
PARKS AND RECREATION: SEASON ONE
2009
6 episodes
2009
6 episodes
The first season of Parks and Recreation is pretty infamous among its fans. It was a show that was real slow coming out of the gate. Before the show became Parks and Rec, it was initially conceived as a spinoff of The Office. Despite the fact that they got away from that conceit, the first season seems like a very poor imitation of The Office. Most specifically, Leslie Knope seems like a pale imitation of Michael Scott. The first season is by far the most uneven of the series despite only being six episodes. There are no real standout moments and it's easy to see why so many (including me) had to be convinced to give the show a second chance. They are lucky they got a second season or else this would have been a little remembered flop.
Starring
Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope (6 episodes)
Rashida Jones as Ann Perkins (6 episodes)
Paul Schneider as Mark Brendanawicz (6 episodes)
Aziz Ansari as Tom Haverford (6 episodes)
Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson (6 episodes)
Aubrey Plaza as April Ludgate (6 episodes)
Chris Pratt as Andy Dwyer (6 episodes)
Jim O'Heir as Jerry Gergich (6 episodes)
Retta as Donna Meagle (4 episodes)
Pamela Reed as Marlene Griges-Knope (3 episodes)
1. Pilot (4/9/09)
Leslie Knope is an overeager employee of the Pawnee Parks and Recreation Department who attempts to help a local nurse whose boyfriend fell into a giant pit.
It's very interesting to watch the first episode of Parks and Recreation after knowing where the show went and how it developed. There are glimpses of the show it would become and the characters we have grown to love. But it also isn't firing on all cylinders by any means. Amy Poehler has some of the wide-eyed, government loving Leslie Knope down but her character is way too close to Steve Carell's Michael Scott on The Office. Perhaps the most clearly defined character from the jump is Nick Offerman's Ron Swanson thanks to his monologue about government.
RATING: 5/10
2. Canvassing (4/16/09)
Leslie enlists her new subcommittee on filling the pit and building the park to go canvassing in support of the project.
One of the things that hurt Parks and Recreation in its much maligned first season is it was far too reliant on the one project of building a park in the pit. That plot consumed a lot of episodes in their entirety and I think that hurt the show with finding its footing because it's not very character friendly and it's honestly not that interesting a plot. Another thing the show has committed to wanting to do but hasn't figured it out completely is the public forum. These became a great source of hilarity in later seasons but there's not a ton of laughs here.
RATING: 2.5/10
3. The Reporter (4/23/09)
Leslie has trouble with a reporter writing an article about the park and Mark tries to help but ends up sleeping with the reporter.
This episode is a step up from the first two primarily thanks to Amy Poehler coming into her own a little bit more. It is a little heavy on Mark and just helps prove the point that he was such an unnecessary character and they made the right move in getting rid of him after two seasons. There are some funny moments particularly involving Leslie's interactions with the reporter and some good lines from Chris Pratt. Slowly, the show was finding its way but wasn't there yet.
RATING: 6/10
4. Boys' Club (4/30/09)
Leslie violates ethics codes while trying to get in with the unofficial boys' club. Andy cleans the house while Ann is at work.
One of the things that's interesting about the first few episodes of Parks and Recreation is how minor of a character Ron Swanson is. His opinions and character are well defined but he is just not on camera an awful lot in these early episodes. He has a little more to do in this episode but it feels like we've barely seen him since the pilot. The best part of this episode is Andy cleaning the house which is ripe for some sight gags and funny cuts.
RATING: 5/10
5. The Banquet (5/7/09)
Leslie goes to a banquet honoring her mother and uses the opportunity to make connections with important people of Pawnee.
This is a good episode to bring most of the cast together in the same place. This is also the first episode where we start to see some of Tom's personality and we get some more Ron moments. One of the things that's interesting about Leslie early on is while her drive and zest are very apparent, her competence is questionable. She had a very difficult time with the reporter in the third episode and giving a speech here. It seems in later episodes like challenges are from the outside and not from Leslie's own incompetence. I'm pretty sure that was a conscious change the writing team made.
RATING: 7.5/10
6. Rock Show (5/14/09)
Andy gets his cast off and invites everyone to a concert for his band. Leslie's mom sets her up with a much older man who loves village codes. Ann finds out that Andy delayed getting his cast off.
It's easy to see why the show decided to promote Chris Pratt from a "guest star" to a regular. In many ways, he was probably the MVP of Season One. He was the most consistently funny and comfortable with his character compared to the many others who are still finding theirs. Nick Offerman is probably his closest competition but Andy is more prominent than Ron early on. I'm also curious when the show had ideas about getting April and Andy together. It seems even this early that there's a little bit of chemistry between them. There are some fun moments in this episode but entirely too much Mark.
RATING: 5.5/10
AVERAGE RATING FOR SEASON ONE:
5.3/10
The Best Episodes:
1. "The Banquet" (#5) - 7.5/10
2. "The Reporter" (#3) - 6/10
The Worst Episodes:
1. "Canvassing" (#2) - 2.5/10
2. "Boys Club" (#4) - 5/10
Starring
Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope (6 episodes)
Rashida Jones as Ann Perkins (6 episodes)
Paul Schneider as Mark Brendanawicz (6 episodes)
Aziz Ansari as Tom Haverford (6 episodes)
Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson (6 episodes)
Aubrey Plaza as April Ludgate (6 episodes)
Chris Pratt as Andy Dwyer (6 episodes)
Jim O'Heir as Jerry Gergich (6 episodes)
Retta as Donna Meagle (4 episodes)
Pamela Reed as Marlene Griges-Knope (3 episodes)
Alison Becker as Shauna Malwae-Tweep (1 episode)
Andrew Burlinson as Burly (1 episode)
Jim Meskiman as Martin Housely (1 episode)
Phil Reeves as Paul Iaresco (1 episode)
Cooper Thornton as Dr. Harris (1 episode)
Jaima Williamson as Wendy Haverford (1 episode)Susan Yeagley as Jessica Wicks (1 episode)
Leslie Knope is an overeager employee of the Pawnee Parks and Recreation Department who attempts to help a local nurse whose boyfriend fell into a giant pit.
It's very interesting to watch the first episode of Parks and Recreation after knowing where the show went and how it developed. There are glimpses of the show it would become and the characters we have grown to love. But it also isn't firing on all cylinders by any means. Amy Poehler has some of the wide-eyed, government loving Leslie Knope down but her character is way too close to Steve Carell's Michael Scott on The Office. Perhaps the most clearly defined character from the jump is Nick Offerman's Ron Swanson thanks to his monologue about government.
RATING: 5/10
2. Canvassing (4/16/09)
Leslie enlists her new subcommittee on filling the pit and building the park to go canvassing in support of the project.
One of the things that hurt Parks and Recreation in its much maligned first season is it was far too reliant on the one project of building a park in the pit. That plot consumed a lot of episodes in their entirety and I think that hurt the show with finding its footing because it's not very character friendly and it's honestly not that interesting a plot. Another thing the show has committed to wanting to do but hasn't figured it out completely is the public forum. These became a great source of hilarity in later seasons but there's not a ton of laughs here.
RATING: 2.5/10
3. The Reporter (4/23/09)
Leslie has trouble with a reporter writing an article about the park and Mark tries to help but ends up sleeping with the reporter.
This episode is a step up from the first two primarily thanks to Amy Poehler coming into her own a little bit more. It is a little heavy on Mark and just helps prove the point that he was such an unnecessary character and they made the right move in getting rid of him after two seasons. There are some funny moments particularly involving Leslie's interactions with the reporter and some good lines from Chris Pratt. Slowly, the show was finding its way but wasn't there yet.
RATING: 6/10
4. Boys' Club (4/30/09)
Leslie violates ethics codes while trying to get in with the unofficial boys' club. Andy cleans the house while Ann is at work.
One of the things that's interesting about the first few episodes of Parks and Recreation is how minor of a character Ron Swanson is. His opinions and character are well defined but he is just not on camera an awful lot in these early episodes. He has a little more to do in this episode but it feels like we've barely seen him since the pilot. The best part of this episode is Andy cleaning the house which is ripe for some sight gags and funny cuts.
RATING: 5/10
Leslie goes to a banquet honoring her mother and uses the opportunity to make connections with important people of Pawnee.
This is a good episode to bring most of the cast together in the same place. This is also the first episode where we start to see some of Tom's personality and we get some more Ron moments. One of the things that's interesting about Leslie early on is while her drive and zest are very apparent, her competence is questionable. She had a very difficult time with the reporter in the third episode and giving a speech here. It seems in later episodes like challenges are from the outside and not from Leslie's own incompetence. I'm pretty sure that was a conscious change the writing team made.
RATING: 7.5/10
6. Rock Show (5/14/09)
Andy gets his cast off and invites everyone to a concert for his band. Leslie's mom sets her up with a much older man who loves village codes. Ann finds out that Andy delayed getting his cast off.
It's easy to see why the show decided to promote Chris Pratt from a "guest star" to a regular. In many ways, he was probably the MVP of Season One. He was the most consistently funny and comfortable with his character compared to the many others who are still finding theirs. Nick Offerman is probably his closest competition but Andy is more prominent than Ron early on. I'm also curious when the show had ideas about getting April and Andy together. It seems even this early that there's a little bit of chemistry between them. There are some fun moments in this episode but entirely too much Mark.
RATING: 5.5/10
AVERAGE RATING FOR SEASON ONE:
5.3/10
The Best Episodes:
1. "The Banquet" (#5) - 7.5/10
2. "The Reporter" (#3) - 6/10
The Worst Episodes:
1. "Canvassing" (#2) - 2.5/10
2. "Boys Club" (#4) - 5/10
Tomorrow: The Friday Five - Top 5 TV news stories of the week!
Next Thursday: A look at the second season of Parks and Recreation!
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