The time has come to light 5,000 candles in the wind. After seven seasons, “Parks and Recreation,” America’s highest-rated Indiana-based sitcom (hey, its ratings were never very good), is drawing to a close. But while some beloved TV shows seem badly dated soon after their cancellation — here’s looking at your homophobia, “Friends” — this mockumentary series about a small branch of local government will be appreciated for years to come. I could present a million reasons for its timelessness in a color-coded binder but to appease the Ron Swansons among us, I’ll limit the list to five–sort of.
1. The “Fine Wine” factor. The first season of “Parks” was so wobbly that it’s a wonder it was renewed. Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) was essentially a female Michael Scott; Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) was a preening bully; even Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari) was a glib know-it-all without his 1,000-thread-count underbelly. But the show soon got its bearings — phasing out Leslie’s iron maiden mom (Pamela Reed) and mopey Mark Brendanawicz (Paul Schneider); fleshing out Andy (Chris Pratt), Jerry (Jim O’Heir), and Donna (Retta); and bringing in the Frick and Frack duo of Chris Traeger (Rob Lowe) and Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott). Best of all, Knope transformed from a dumb, strident bureaucrat to a brilliant up-and-comer whose heart lacked an off switch. After that, the show got better every year, achieving an unprecedented level of character development for an American sitcom and making the careers of a handful of unknowns. (Case in point: Chris Pratt is the new Marvel darling.) This year the series even fast-forwarded to the “slight future” of 2017 to incorporate such sly-eyed elements as transparent electronics, Shia LaBeouf as a dress designer, and the rando celeb pairing of Jesse Eisenberg and Nicki Minaj. Continue Reading →
