"Parks and Recreation" Is it the best sitcom on TV right now?

Okay, I'm bored waiting for my flight, and have been thinking a lot about this after watching the last two episodes of the show...

"Parks and Recreation" could be one of the best sitcoms on TV right now. It's smart, it's funny, and the subplots usually have something to do with the characters and are totally believable, if a bit outrageous. The acting is superb from top to bottom, and the show has grown a TON from the first two seasons.

"Modern Family" has received all the accolades (Golden Globes, Emmys, etc.), but the show is kind of formulaic and relies a lot on situational humor that revolves around the various members of the family interacting with each other. P&R is a true ensemble effort, and while they do mix a few storylines, most of them stick to the point, and tangents actually develop the characters.

I'm prompted to write this after the hilarious episode that aired two weeks ago, where Leslie Knope (played perfectly by Amy Poehler) has a rally to support her run for city council. Suffice it to say, it doesn't go as planned... since the planning was haphazard to begin with.

Any thoughts on this?

Quote: Tiltpoul

Okay, I'm bored waiting for my flight, and have been thinking a lot about this after watching the last two episodes of the show...

"Parks and Recreation" could be one of the best sitcoms on TV right now. It's smart, it's funny, and the subplots usually have something to do with the characters and are totally believable, if a bit outrageous. The acting is superb from top to bottom, and the show has grown a TON from the first two seasons.

"Modern Family" has received all the accolades (Golden Globes, Emmys, etc.), but the show is kind of formulaic and relies a lot on situational humor that revolves around the various members of the family interacting with each other. P&R is a true ensemble effort, and while they do mix a few storylines, most of them stick to the point, and tangents actually develop the characters.

I'm prompted to write this after the hilarious episode that aired two weeks ago, where Leslie Knope (played perfectly by Amy Poehler) has a rally to support her run for city council. Suffice it to say, it doesn't go as planned... since the planning was haphazard to begin with.

Any thoughts on this?

The first season was too awkward, and they tried to make Leslie the "Female Michael Scott"; she's too ditzy and stupid. Season two was a remarkable turnaround, and everything else has been absolutely golden. I look forward to it more than any other comedy currently on TV. Ron Swanson is one of the best characters on television. If you've been disappointed in The Office the past three years, you need to catch up on this program if you aren't watching it.

I fear that too many people tuned out after Season 1.

Quote: cclub79

I fear that too many people tuned out after Season 1.

Yeah, I'd say I fall into that category, so maybe I'll try it again
this year. Thanks for the tip.

Quote: cclub79

I fear that too many people tuned out after Season 1.

I never tuned in.

It would help if it ran on daytime syndication on my next vacation. That's how I happened upon shows like L&O SVU, Stargate SG-1 (and thence to Atlantis and, ugh!, Universe), The Big Bang Theory, and last year Bones.

Quote: Nareed

I never tuned in.

It would help if it ran on daytime syndication on my next vacation. That's how I happened upon shows like L&O SVU, Stargate SG-1 (and thence to Atlantis and, ugh!, Universe), The Big Bang Theory, and last year Bones.

For stripping purposes, a show needs to run at least 4 seasons to be successfully syndicated. 30 Rock just began this fall. Parks and Rec is probably still a year and a half away.

From wiki:

In broadcast programming, stripping is the practice of running a television series at the same time daily (or at least on Mondays to Fridays), so that it appears as a strip straight across the weekly schedule. It is commonly restricted to describing the airing of television shows that were weekly in their first run: The West Wing could be stripped but not Jeopardy!, as Jeopardy was originally intended to be run daily. However, it can also refer to shows in prime time that run daily, such as with the failed The Jay Leno Show in 2009 and 2010.[1]

For much of the 1960s and into the early 1990s, stripping for syndication was one of, if not the primary profit component of the studio production model in American television. A show became far more profitable if it succeeded in getting three full U.S. seasons (about 75 episodes) or more, as then it was possible to strip it for fifteen weeks (15×5=75) before needing to repeat episodes. Once a series attained five seasons (which would push the show over the 100 episodes threshold), it would be a full six months before it would repeat. For Star Trek, in particular, this was relevant. Only due to an unprecedented letter-writing campaign was the show renewed for its third season, and it did not begin to attain wider popularity until appearing in syndication for a number of years. If it had failed to obtain a third season it would not have been syndicated, and its subsequent popularity and influence would likely not have occurred. Many other shows with lukewarm response in their initial runs became widely appreciated cult favorites as a result of syndication, or helped keep cultural memes associated with them far more widely known than if the shows had only been viewable during their initial timeframe.

Quote: cclub79

For stripping purposes, a show needs to run at least 4 seasons to be successfully syndicated. 30 Rock just began this fall. Parks and Rec is probably still a year and a half away.

Consider things don't work quite the same outside the US. I think the Big Bang Theory was on its third season when the cable network that carries it in prime time began stripping it.

But then the local (or regional) basic cable nets here like to repeat shows. Not that I mind. With my work schedule, a repeat of the new eps on the weekend spares me the expense of a DVR.

The new one on CBS following the Big Bang called "Rob" with Rob Schneider is hilarious so far!

Quote: thlf

The new one on CBS following the Big Bang called "Rob" with Rob Schneider is hilarious so far!

This is officially the first time this has been said about something where Sheneider plays the lead ;)

How I Met Your Mother is still my favorite show on tv right now. I've seen a few episodes of Parks & Rec and they just haven't done it for me. I'm not a huge fan of Amy Poehler so that may be affecting my judgment a bit but the episodes I've seen just werent that good IMO. i'm not sure if they were season 1 or not, so maybe that's why I'm so down on it.

For the record, I'm not a huge fan of either the office or It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. I love Steve Carrell and I think he is quite funny in nearly everything he touches, but even when he was still on Office, I didn't enjoy it to the point where I would make sure to watch.

To each their own.

Quote: sunrise089

This is officially the first time this has been said about something where Sheneider plays the lead ;)

I totally agree and I also hope it is the first time it comes true. I think Cheech Marin helps the show.