The Completion of Lot 48: or The Almost Perfection of Parks and Recreation

A look back at one of the best TV comedies in recent memory.

I’m going to start this by saying I have no real idea what this is going to be about other than perhaps a eulogy (maybe that’s a bad use of the word) for one of the finest comedies on television. I originally published this over a year ago once the show rolled onto its final season, but nostalgia kicked in today and I decided to publish it again here.

I feel, at the end of its life, that there’s something fundamentally different about Parks and Recreation. A small blip in NBC’s radar over its seven year life, but part of what could be considered a once golden hour of comedy that brought the likes of 30 Rock and The Office all sandwiched together to make a Thursday night (or Friday, if you’re in Australia) you couldn't miss.

If you’ll allow me to put things in perspective in terms of things that have happened in my life from the start of this show until now: in the time Parks and Recreation has been on the air, I've moved out of university housing, graduated university, moved into three different homes, changed States twice, and have started another stint at university. I feel like I've grown up with this show, because I was 19 years old when it first aired and I’m nearly 25 when it airs for the last time. And with my growing up, I feel like I've also grown along with the rest of the characters that inhabit the world of Pawnee, Indiana.

Parks and Recreation was a show that went from a clone of The Office to its own complete beast through a remarkable uptick in quality at the start of its second season, and continued that winning stretch for, I’d say, two seasons. During its fourth season, when people posted their “I’m looking for something to watch” on their respective social media page, this show is the one I would recommend, but I would also tell them to skip the first season. In hindsight, this is a decision I ultimately regret, because if you haven’t watched this show, I implore you to start from the beginning if only to see how much of an insane improvement season two is over its six episode debut.

The show found its true footing through the sheer energy of Leslie Knope, played by Amy Poehler. Poehler’s performance anchors every other character and actor that comes onto the screen; her strength and power of will and love of LIT-rally everything drives each and every character that comes into contact with her into achieving, over years, mind you, their true potential (see: April Ludgate, played by Aubrey Plaza).

Parks and Rec also bolstered its main cast with some really wonderful depth in its supporting and main characters who would come off the bench to deliver even more emotional punch and gags even if it was just a one and done thing for the episode.

Andy (Chris Pratt), Tom (Aziz Ansari), April, Chris (Rob Lowe), Ann (Rashida Jones), Donna (Retta), Jerry (Jim O’Heir), all had their slice of greatness. Andy, who, initially, was a massive jerk when Ann and he were dating, turned into the most lovable of goofballs on TV; there’s April, whose ideals lined up with Ron’s perfectly with her dry, “I hate everything” attitude; Tom, who bought a modern touch to Pawnee through ridiculous dreams of greatness he had; Ann, who played Leslie’s foil until Ben showed up; Chris, who planned on running the moon and that LIT-RALLY everything was amazing; Donna’s greatness surfaced when her Mercedes was shot in “Hunting Trip”; Jerry’s probably came from his misuse of the word “mural” in “The Camel”.

However, while the supporting cast of the show delivered in spades, it was Leslie’s relationship with Ron (Nick Offerman) that stood tall time in and time out. This was a relationship built on experience and, most importantly, respect, despite the fact that Ron and Leslie’s ideals never lined up. Ron Fucking Swanson is notoriously distant from everyone, anti-government, and gives landmines to little girls as gifts, but, somehow, each episode and over the life of the series, he and Leslie still managed to butt heads only to have them come to a solution that works for both of them. Ron understood and understands Leslie better than anyone else which is borne out their experiences together, but also the differences they have. It’s the reason why when Leslie found out about Ron’s birthday she found him a quiet room to watch Bridge Over the River Kwai with some scotch and a steak instead of what the audience was expecting something crazy. It’s small things like that that make this relationship essential to the core of the show, and the only person that comes close to that level of Leslie-understanding would be Ben (Adam Scott), who was supposed to be only in the show for six episode apperance as a guest star, but ended up locking in full time after Adam Scott and Rob Lowe stole the show in “The Master Plan” and “Freddy Spaghetti”- the two final episodes of the second season.

The introduction of Ben Wyatt and Chris Traeger towards the end of season two paved the way for one of the best and funniest seasons of television of all time in season three. To use a basketball analogy: if you’ve been watching this season of the NBA think of it as the Hawks 19-win streak or Warriors 16-win streak, you’re sitting there thinking “When is it gonna end?!” Well, technically season three’s hot streak didn't end at all despite the shortened season due to the birth of Amy Poehler’s second child.

The story behind the first six episodes of season three was that in order to allow time for Amy to have her baby the writers’ room and show continued writing and shooting in the off season. A choice which seemed wise, because the show continued on the high that was the end of season two continued well into the third. The multi-pronged arc of Ben and Leslie’s relationship, April and Andy’s relationship, and the Harvest Festival organisation all flowed effortlessly, delivered some of the series’ finest jokes which I’ll list (some) below, and culminated in an utterly beautiful moment for Andy and April’s goofiness in episode nine “April and Andy’s Fancy Party” as well as Ben and Leslie’s relationship getting the partial answer everyone had been waiting for: yes, they like each other. A lot. (Yes, I cried when they finally kissed.)

Regarding Leslie’s illness: “Leslie, I typed your symptoms into the thing up here and it says you could have network connectivity problems” — Andy Dwyer — Flu Season (Season 3, Episode 2)

“Stop Pooping” — Chris Traeger — Flu Season (Season 3, Episode 2)

“I’m getting healthier snacks for the shoe shine stand. Chris is food genius. Did you know that the food you eat becomes energy?” Andy punches the air, “Boom, that’s spaghetti.” He punches the air again, “Nachos”, he fly kicks the air really poorly, “Cookie.” — Andy Dwyer — Soulmates (Season 3, Episode 10)

“Baba Booey” — Ben Wyatt — The Fight (Season 3, Episode 13)

Season four made the big step of giving Leslie a chance to hit her dream of gaining a seat on city council; the arc of which maintains a greatly steady pace over 22 episodes, but also makes some odd pairings in the form of Ann and Tom towards the back end of the season, but also announces to the world that Ben and Leslie were dating. The resulting shakeup threw Ben out of his job and set him firmly as a grand supporting player for Leslie’s council campaign and created a force to be reckoned with as Leslie, in the final moments of the season, gets elected to the council.

It’s a heartwarming moment when she walks up to the ballot box, breathes for a moment and then places her vote. Think about it: we’re getting emotional over someone putting the number “1" in a box; and, remember, the show realised early on that Leslie is the essentially the sun and everyone else needs to orbit her. Her sunshiney attitude, while wonderful and happy everyday, was also the Achilles heel of the show in some respects. The forceful nature of Leslie’s demeanour also made her character unlikable for episodes over the course of the series; her drive to constantly improve and achieve also would grind against the grain in the wrong ways — although, at the time of writing this I struggle to remember which episode(s) that this featured prominently in in season four.

Season five also delivered some truly wonderful moments in the form of Ron finding someone who he loves whose name isn't Tammy, Ben and Leslie finally getting married (of which makes me cry to this day — I watched it yesterday and cried. Seriously.) The show didn't stop trying to change things up for the better, just like Leslie from day one, but the audience became used to Leslie and her success, of which everyone was overjoyed for, and the show chose to put a spanner in the works as the town sought to boot her from her place on the city council as the season came to a close.

In particular, as the season dealt with Leslie’s ascension to city council it also had Ben propose to her, a surprise that was kept until the very end of its episode. While the major arc of season five was keeping Leslie on her toes in balancing city council duties and her friendship with the Parks department, the show also found time to draw up Leslie’s first real “villain” in Councilman Jeremy Jamm. Councilman Jamm is an anomaly for the show and not an overly great one. He presented himself as a foil for Leslie with no real goals other than to make sure she didn't fulfill anything she wanted to do. On one level it didn't work because Jamm was too one dimensional to exist for an extended period of time within the show, and on the other it felt like a wonderfully calculated move to bring to light the misogyny that existed within city council and within Pawnee itself.

And season five arguably was the peak for the show in the form of the episode “Leslie and Ben” whereby Leslie would find her true happiness — marrying Ben Wyatt, the Ice Clown who built Ice Town which lost him his town crown. The show probably could have ended with “Leslie and Ben” because the moment the two deliver their vows is magic, and, yes, that’s the part I cried most at.

Season six suffered a little bit with Chris Pratt’s absence due to his shooting schedule on Guardians of the Galaxy, but allowed for a fantastic start with the gang visiting London in the first two episodes. It also signaled a possible end in sight for the show with Chris and Ann given leave off the show as the creative team began to realise that their story had really come to an end. The loss of Chris and Ann paved the way for Donna and Jerry to get their role as key players on the show towards the end of season six.

And to further the notion that Parks and Recreation was on its way out, the sixth season decided to knock the wind out of Leslie’s sails as her time spent in city council comes to an end and she returns to the department; an oddity in the journey of Knope in which she, despite everything, managed to fail to keep her position. It’s almost jaw-dropping, but this felt like a necessary turn for her. She legitimately made Pawnee a better place from her previous years, but the council and its townsfolk would never change like that and I think that’s something she came to realise — bitterly, I might add, during the season opener, “London”.

But she doesn't lay down for long, and her relentless, and sometimes stubborn, can-do attitude yielded results in the best way possible. In what could have been a final season that existed with Leslie and Ben having kids and dealing with babies, the show took a rather surprising turn in its sixth season finale.

When NBC announced that season seven would be the show’s last you couldn't help but feel that show creator, Mike Schur, and his creative team understood that the show needed to tie up its stories. Low ratings and no signs of uptick after a constant rotation with other shows meant that it had to be put out, and perhaps the creative team learned from The Office (Parks took a few writers and producers from The Office) in its post-Carrell years whereby the leading arcs of the show had well and truly matured and that the time had come to put them to rest (The Office went on to season nine in a truly sad fashion —especially the dire showing that was season eight).

Season seven, so far (the series finale airs today) has been a strong final lap for Parks and Recreation, with the writing staff finally putting to rest and making one odd hump for Leslie and Ron to hop over with the Morningstar story. The final season has wrapped everything up so well, while it may not have been the funniest season of the show or near its peak it’s been a terrifically nostalgic ride watching these stories finally come to a conclusion in the most Parks and Recreation ways ever.

And tonight marks the final two episodes of the series with some appearances yet to be shown, I’m almost in tears thinking about the fact that it’s coming to an end. I can only describe why this is one of the most important comedies in a way that it affected me. There was something positive about this show from day one, Leslie’s relentlessly positive attitude was a beacon for the rest of the show to follow and it was a nothing but pure joy to come back to week after week.

I would be doing the show an injustice recommending specific episodes. I do have my favourites but I just can’t feel like I can list them here. You have to watch this front to back. That’s the only recommendation I can give with something as nearly flawless as this. You’ll be missed, Parks Department, for finding the light in the dark times and for bringing to life the joy of friendship, love, and life itself over a wonderful seven years.