Admittedly, I am an unabashed lover of all things "Parks and Recreation." I was an early adopter of the show, which centers around Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) as Deputy Director of the Pawnee, Indiana Parks and Recreation department. From the start, the show has felt like it holds something special up its sleeve. Over the last three and a half seasons, the show's writers and actors have teamed-up to consistently deliver what is in my never-to-be-humble opinion the best sitcom on television right now.
Oh sure, that's lofty praise, perhaps hyperbolically so. But if the Internet isn't the place for potentially hyperbolic opinions that you can't necessarily "prove," then where is that place? Here now are a few reasons why "Parks and Recreation" is indeed the best sitcom on television right now.
Leslie Knope - It may seem obvious, but considering how many sitcoms fail year after year, it should be noted that "Parks and Recreation" has a strong central character that audiences immediately sympathize with and relate to. Bonus points should be awarded for this central character being a woman; a smart, driven and successful woman at that. But to the show's credit, they have not placed Knope on a pedestal, but rather they've been unafraid to expose her weaknesses and flaws, to great comedic effect.
"B" Plots You Care About - In so many sitcoms there are secondary story lines that feel more like toss-offs or quickly tacked on subplots that don't do much but give a distraction from the main story line of the episode. What "Parks and Rec" does so brilliantly is to engage the audience even further with the "B" story lines. How many amazing Andy pratfalls or Ron Swanson food and/or government rants have we gotten thanks to the "B" story adventures of this show? Speaking of Ron Swanson...
Ron Swanson! - That exclamation point is much deserved. In my estimation, Ron Swanson, played by comedic genius Nick Offerman, will go down as one of the greatest characters ever created for American television. He's brash, very conservative, eats terribly and somehow found himself a job in government even though he hates the very idea of government. He is the embodiment of everything that is so perfect about this show. He's a borderline cartoon character, but yet he gives off an air of authenticity and reality. Every episode could use more Ron Swanson.
The Town of Pawnee - I grew up in a small town. In no way am I implying that the folks that I grew up with in a sleepy mountain town in Southern California were as "simple-minded" as the citizens of Pawnee, but the writers of the show have definitely captured the "small town" mentality. Whenever the plot of an episode gives us a town meeting where the citizens get to speak, I get giddy. There are so many great lines in every town hall that you have to rewind the DVR just to catch them all.
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