"Parks and Recreation," much improved

As occasional bit players go, does it get any better than Jean-Ralphio? I submit that it does not.

"K to the N to the O-P-E, she's the dopest little shorty in all of Pawnee...Indiana."

 

Jean-Ralphio is great. The show's characters are so great that it's going to stay good for a while.

I watched the pilot again last night out of curiosity. Much better than I remembered it. Big part of that is now that I know the characters. Funny to see Ron in a suit. Tom is a lot more subdued, and I think they were wanting to make him a cheating married guy. I imagine that didn't test well, so they brought in the greencard marriage plot to free him up and also make him likable.

Pilots are always tough in comedies because you have no context for the characters. Makes me really appreciate movie comedy writers, actors, and directors.

 

I've seen Pawnee called live-action Springfield, which I think is pretty accurate.

 

C'mon... You gotta end on the syllable that rhymes.

 

R to the O to the N and then I say Swanson got swagger the size of Big Ben

clock

 

B to the O to the double S...Do what he say and you'll be success...ful.

 

Ron giving the girl a claymore mine and getting scolded by the mother later was classic

 

It was a good idea at the time.

 

Crucial use of "Wild Horses" and "Horse With No Name" in the Lil' Sebastian service. Single tear. Sniffle.

 

And a great "Operation Shutdown" reference.

 

So who plays Tammy #1? I know they've mentioned her, but has she been on the show before? The way they obscured her makes me think not.

Also, while I think I speak for all of us when I say, "Welcome back, Detlef," I'm holding out hope that SevenTwenty Entertainment goes under by the time the next season starts. If they write Tom off the show, I'm going to be extremely disappointed.

 

Love this show, but kind of worried with the direction they seemed to take with the finale: Tom off to a new job, April now Andy's manager, Leslie into politics/dating Ben, etc. I'm hopeful they'll pull it off - or rein it in - as the show really is fantastic. But I worry when they get away from the core reason for the show in the first place (i.e. the title).