Favorite and Least Favorite Episodes and Seasons

[godonlyknows]

I definitely think the show did relationships well. The only problem I ever had with it was that in the later seasons the couples were more likely to be paired up in storylines together and we got less variation with who teamed up with who and I think Leslie & Ann's relationship suffered as Ben took over Ann's role of calming Leslie down when she goes cuckoo (although I'm biased as Ann was always my favourite character - until she left and then it was Jerry).

[amensisterfriend]

Godonlyknows, I'd love to hear more about why Ann is your favorite! 

 

suffered as Ben took over Ann's role of calming Leslie down when she goes cuckoo

 

Yeah, as I probably rambled about before, I've become strangely torn on how their relationship affected the overall show. On one hand, I absolutely love Leslie/Ben---they're just so adorable, sweet, refreshingly devoid of dysfunction and melodrama and, as they say, they love AND like each other, which is a lovely change from many TV couples whose constant bickering and inability to connect or just enjoy each other on any level has me wondering how they even made it to a second date, let alone choose to embark on a multi-season romance. The thing is, though, the show was sometimes so focused on reminding us of Leslie/Ben's epic soulmate sweetness at every turn that making them genuinely funny seemed to take a distant backseat. (I think most of what I said about Leslie/Ben regarding how awesomely adorable and well matched they are apply to Andy/April as well, by the way, but Andy and April are both still such flawed individuals that their being happily together didn't change as much for me about how humorous they were---in fact, I almost always prefer April when she's around Andy than I do when she's around any other character :) )

 

I'm usually not a fan of 'opposites attract' couples who have depressingly little in common (like the very popular Luke and Lorelai from Gilmore Girls...but I digress!), but Dave not understanding aspects of Leslie's job and her political interests as wholly as Ben did could have led to some funny and interesting scenes. Plus, Dave's job could have led to some really fun storylines about the town's cops and local crime (Greg Pitikis!) Maybe we'd even get Burt Macklin consulting on some of the cases :)   

Edited July 19, 2015 by amensisterfriend

[godonlyknows]

 

Godonlyknows, I'd love to hear more about why Ann is your favorite!

 

Sure, amensisterfriend! I've spent the last few hours trying to find a good way to articulate my love for Ann. Admittedly a lot of this is based on Ann pre her boy-crazy-dating-every-man in Pawnee stage. 

 

I think most of it is her friendship with Leslie. She's there to tell her she's being crazy, weird or making a dumb decision but totally accepts Leslie's going to do it and join in or support her anyway. It's nice to see female friends love each other unconditionally without cattiness or drama. I know others have complained about how "normal" or "undefined" Ann is as a character but I liked the fact she was never given a label or tied down and flanderized. So many shows have "the dumb one" or "the sarcastic one" who just become unbearable by the end of their run because writers have forgotten to give them any other personality traits or rely too hard on ones they already know they can get an easy laugh out of.

 

This is probably my favourite Ann quote. She'd simultaneous do absolutely anything for Leslie and still get annoyed by the little things.

 

 

 

Ann: “Listen, I know she can be strong-willed and difficult, okay. She once made me eat an entire cheese cake at a pot-luck so she didn’t look bad. But I really think she’s ready to listen.”

Ben: “You ate an entire cheesecake? Why didn’t you just throw it away?”

Ann: “Because with everything she’s done for me, I would eat ten cheesecakes for her. Also, P.S., it was delicious and amazing like everything she does. Will you please just talk to her for my sake. I don’t have unlimited texting, and when she can’t talk to you she texts me.”

 

I've had exactly the same problem with not having unlimited texting with real friends and an argument with my best friend about how much cheese I'd be willing to eat to save her from dying (a hypothetical situation (obviously) revolving around my hatred of cheese). It just makes her seem like a real person rather than a character on a show who exists to make me laugh.

 

I also agree with most of this blog post, especially #8, 9 & 10 - http://www.itsjustaboutwrite.com/2014/01/top-10-reasons-ill-miss-ann-perkins-as.html

[amensisterfriend]

This list is from February, but I'm curious as to whether you guys agree with it! How different is your own top 10 list?

 

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/the-10-all-time-best-episodes-of-parks-and-recreation-20150224?page=1

 

godonlyknows, Ann is a character who's grown on me a lot, and I love your explanation as to why she connects with you! 

[Spicymustard]

I don't know what it is but this is the first and only show I've ever been actually obsessed with. As in I've googled all the actors to find out what else they are in and I've watched the Amy and Adam Hart to Hart adult swim thing on youtube several times. I never watch anything more than once. Ever but yet I've repeated episodes of this show even though I'm not 100% done with the series yet.

I'm towards the end of season 5 and I've seen flu season 2, 1 in 8000, and the finale from season 6. I've also watched the series finale.

I think so far my order would be

3

5

2

4

1 ....I didn't really mind season 1 as much as some people though.

The campain stuff in 4 got a little old and tom with his studio 720 stuff? I thought it was funny for 1 episode but it got annoying after that.

I didn't like when Ben was in dc. I really like Ben and I love Leslie and Ben in the same scenes. I liked the build up in season 3. Very sweet. At first I thought I loved them as a romantic pair but I've realized after watching their banter on Hart to hart and rewatching the last couple of episodes from season 2 and 3 that I really like the personalities of adam and any together. She's so hyper and he's more of a funny calm. They compliment each other well.

Favorite episodes probably are:

Flu season

The fight

That camping trip in season two boys club or something like that

Ron and Tammy 2

Halloween surprise

Edited October 9, 2015 by kariyaki
deleted duplicate post

[BoogieBurns]

I don't know what it is but this is the first and only show I've ever been actually obsessed with.

 

I strongly suggest buying the DVDs from the first 3 seasons. Your obsession will be fed from the DVD extras. If you only buy one, I would get Season 3 because Amy and Adam do two commentaries together. 

[Spicymustard]

Uh oh. Don't feed my addiction. Lol. I have actually bought some episodes on amazon. First tv show I've actually bought episodes from. Are the extras only on DVD? I don't know if I actually have a working DVD player...

Edited October 9, 2015 by Spicymustard

[BoogieBurns]

They are only on DVD. I see the DVDs at used books stores, so you can buy them cheap. May be able to watch on a laptop with a disk drive. 

[amensisterfriend]

Flu season

The fight

 

Welcome! You're in very good company since these two always tend to be among fan and critics' favorites...so of course I'm the oddball who doesn't especially love either episode :) I'm not a big fan of 'drunk humor' (though these writers/creators adore it both here and on Brooklyn 99!), so The Fight doesn't fully work for me...come to think of it, Leslie acts drunk while sick in The Flu,  so maybe that helps explain why I love that episode less than most do :) S3 in general isn't as awesome for me as it is for most---at this point I actually prefer S2, S4 and S5 to S3.

 

Re. S4: I'm with you on not necessarily loving a lot of the campaign/politics stuff in S4, but I do appreciate how the campaign gave the season an overall focus and direction while other seasons seem more all over the place. And I derive way too much enjoyment from Bobby Newport and Jenn Barclay, both of whom are easily among my favorite minor P&R characters. There's lots of great friendship/relationship stuff in this season, and I've even come to see Tom/Ann as mildly entertaining rather than as annoying as I found them initially! (I've already rambled enough about S2 and S5, so I'll spare you guys!)

 

Actually, the first third or so of S4 is probably the best stretch of the entire series for me...or at least the one I'm tempted to watch most often :) The End of the World and Smallest Park are both among my top five episodes of the whole show.

 

What's the best stretch for you guys?! And if you could save just 3-5 episodes from each season, which would they be?! (Feel free to skip the very short S1!) 

Edited October 9, 2015 by amensisterfriend

[BoogieBurns]

What's the best stretch for you guys?! And if you could save just 3-5 episodes from each season, which would they be?! (Feel free to skip the very short S1!)

 

Oh, I'm not sure how many episodes it is, but I would start at Harvest Festival and end at The Fight. 

My second stretch would be The Debate to Win Lose or Draw.

My third (I'm clearly terrible at following rules) is Emergency Response, Ben and Leslie, Correspondent's Lunch.

[Spicymustard]

I think I must like the drunken Humor the most. I don't know what that says about me but some some of my favorites are flu season (acted weird), the fight (drunk), flu season 2 (Ben drunk), and today I watched the partridge episode for the first time where Ben goes back to his home town and thought it was hilarious (Ben on meds).

I also realized that I pretty much like all the episodes where they go camping.

[Inquisitionist]

The fight

 

"Jean-Ralphio, dance up on me" gets me every time.

[amensisterfriend]

I LOVE Jean-Ralphio. Just seeing his name typed out in Inquisionist's post made me smile.  I'd despise him in real life, but nearly all of his scenes delight me beyond the telling of it. I also like the way he made Tom a more human and relatable character since in their duo Tom was (scarily enough!) the more sane, rational, down-to-earth, ethical, pragmatic, etc. while usually he's...none of those things :) 

 

Boogie, I'm much worse at asking questions than you are at answering them :) I loved your replies! Attempting to accept my own challenge about selecting 3-5 favorites from each post-S1 season (episodes are listed in chronological order because attempting to list them in order of preference would be virtually impossible!):

 

S2: Sister City, Leslie's House, Galentine's Day, Woman of the Year, Telethon 

 

S3: Time Capsule, Fancy Party, Jerry's Painting, Eagleton, Road Trip 

 

S4: End of the World, Smallest Park, The Comeback Kid, Sweet Sixteen (I'm guessing that Spicymustard must like this one since they're at a cabin in the woods!), The Debate 

 

S5: Sex Education, Women in Garbage, Ann's Decision, Leslie and Ben, Are You Better Off? 

 

S6: The Pawnee-Eagleton Tip Off Classic, Doppelgangers, Farmers Market, Galentine's Day, Prom 

 

S7: Realized I haven't watched enough to pick! 

 

 It was actually hardest to narrow down my lists from S4 and S5---there are just so many episodes from those seasons that I love. 

 

And I'm pretty sure there's no pattern whatsoever to which episodes I like most :) 

[Inquisitionist]

Hunting Trip!! 

[Spicymustard]

Just finished recall vote in season 6. I have to add that to the list of favorite episodes.

What happened to Chris Pratt this season and why did rob Lowe and rashinda jones leave?

[BoogieBurns]

What happened to Chris Pratt this season

 

He got super fit and famous. He was filming Guardians of The Galaxy during the episodes he was missing. 

[amensisterfriend]

Who are your top 5-10 favorite characters? Favorite friendships/relationships? Favorite season premieres/finales? Favorite anything else you feel like chatting about?!

 

It's funny how certain real life experiences affect your feelings about shows. My mom was diagnosed with cancer a couple of weeks ago, and this show has been my most effective antidepressant ever since :) 

[Inquisitionist]

It's funny how certain real life experiences affect your feelings about shows. My mom was diagnosed with cancer a couple of weeks ago, and this show has been my most effective antidepressant ever since :) 

 

Sorry to hear about your mom, but glad you found P&R to help you cope. 

 

I love Leslie, but I think my favorite character is Ron Swanson, mostly because of Nick Offerman.  I met Nick at a book-signing just before the last season aired and I got to ask him a question about working with his wife, Megan Mullally.  He said his favorite scene with her was one that hadn't aired yet, so I watched her S7 appearance with great anticipation, and it did not disappoint!

[amensisterfriend]

Thanks so much, Inquisitionist :) 

 

This show has so many lovable characters, but I think my very favorites are Ben and Andy. And Leslie, though I have a very complex relationship with her ;) I think she's incredibly admirable and inspiring and a very well-written mixture of strengths and flaws. I adore her optimism, energy, and how fiercely she loves (especially Ben and Ann, of course!) But I do find her/Amy P.'s acting kind of grating sometimes.

 

As for favorite relationships/friendships: Andy/April, Leslie/Ben, Leslie/Ann, Leslie/April (mostly!), Ron/Leslie, Ben/Chris, and, of course, the Sapperstein siblings ;)  

Edited October 12, 2015 by amensisterfriend

[Spicymustard]

Sorry about your mom!

I also love Ron. Ron and Ben are my favorite characters I think. I like Chris in most scenes. Chris and Ben together are great. Also like Ron and Leslie together and Leslie and Ben. I feel like both Ron and bens characters help even Leslie out a bit.

[amensisterfriend]

Since it's on now, I just have to nominate Indianapolis for one of the most underrated episodes of the series. It's rarely mentioned among anyone's favorites (including mine!), but every time I see it I'm struck all over again by how much I love it. 

[Spicymustard]

Finished the series today. My least favorite episode was the farewell Johnny karate one. I mean the way they did it was an interesting idea but I didn't like it with 2 episodes to go after it.

[amensisterfriend]

Congrats on completing the whole series! Now that you've seen it all,where would S6 and S7 fit into your above season rankings?! 

[BoogieBurns]

First, sisterfriend, I hope your mom gets better so fast. I'm happy Parks is easing the bad news a bit.

 

Second, my hands-down favorite friendship is Ann-Donna. "Are you Nell? From the movie Nell?" I always act like a huge nerd around cool people like Donna. So, it felt real. "If you get a man. I don't get that man."

 

It's not the most original choice, but I love Ben and Chris. Especially on their first episode. "Ben says no." 

 

Favorite season premiere is a tie. Go Big or Go Home, from season three was so energetic. However, season two's Pawnee Zoo started off with Leslie rapping for the entire cold open. No need to argue, parents just don't understand. Season seven gets 3rd place for the premiere. I have a thing for bangs.

[Spicymustard]

I'm going to have to think about my season ranking for a bit. It's hard to rank them because there are elements in each season that I liked.

[Spicymustard]

My favorite episodes in season 7 were Donna and joes wedding, pie Mary, and Leslie and Ron. Also enjoyed gryzilbox. The opening scene where Ron shows up on Leslie and bens doorstep was great.

Edited October 15, 2015 by Spicymustard

[amensisterfriend]

Thanks so much to all of you for the kind words! It really means a lot. Cancer is literally the worst thing ever, but P&R fans are just as literally the best I've come across :) 

 

Which friendship would you guys have wanted to see more of? I would have adored more Ben and Andy, due in no small part to the fact that both Ben and Andy are among my favorite TV characters ever :) Andy/Ron was always a sweet and fun one as well. And I really wish at least someone had been consistently awesome to Jerry---maybe April, since it would have been a nice way to reveal the softer sides of her character and a subversion of our expectations. 

 

Premieres: I'm Leslie Knope may actually have been my favorite. But Go Big or Go Home DOES give us the Ron Swanson Pyramid of Greatness and that amusingly disastrous basketball game, so that has to factor into my decision as well :) 

 

Finales: This one probably ranks low on most people's lists if only because so many of the other season finales were really memorable, but I just have such a soft spot for Are You Better Off? Any episode that gives us a classic town meeting and my beloved Burt Macklin is pretty much a guaranteed favorite of mine, and I find the scene with Tom and the Sappersteins absolutely hilarious. 

[BoogieBurns]

A friendship I wanted to see more of is Jean-Ralphio and JelloShot (aka Benji). "So at this accounting company, you'd have the boring job?" 

 

I always wanted Leslie to have more fun. In the first half of season 4, she misses every social activity. So, more Leslie with Andy or Leslie with Donna. There is nothing on this show that I wanted less of! Ooh, maybe more Chris and Leslie. 

[scrambled eggs]

Since it's on now, I just have to nominate Indianapolis for one of the most underrated episodes of the series. It's rarely mentioned among anyone's favorites (including mine!), but every time I see it I'm struck all over again by how much I love it. 

 

I think it gets lost coming right before Harvest Festival, but I agree. I like that you get to see Ben start to establish relationships beyond Leslie, and April and Andy have really cute moments together. Plus, one of the all-time great Leslie/Ann scenes, when Leslie discusses all her embarrassing breakups. "Skywriting isn't always positive" is one of my favorite lines from the show. 

[scrambled eggs]

Which friendship would you guys have wanted to see more of? 

 

 

I'd like to have seen more of Ben and Tom. They had some moments in Season 3, including one of my favorite deleted scenes from Eagleton, when they're talking about hair care products and admiring Lindsay's car. Tom had a tendency to harp on Ben's nerdiness, but I think they had a lot in common and wish they had hung out more. 

[amensisterfriend]

I was totally remiss in not naming Barney the accountant when we were chatting about favorite minor characters. How can I not love a guy who's always as ridiculously excited to see Ben Wyatt as I am?! 

[biakbiak]

And copyrighted Cones of Dunshire!

[TyranAmiros]

First impressions after the marathon; 2/3 are my absolute favorite seasons, followed by 5, 1/7, and then 4. 6 is several ranks below 4. I mean, it had some good moments, but I barely recognize most of the characters.

Put it this way: I was already 3 episodes into S4 before I realized it was a new season, and only Mark leaving told me S2 ended. But when S6 started, I thought Netflix had switched to a different show.

[amensisterfriend]

Tyran, I would love to hear more about why S6 felt so radically different for you! I think each season was a little different from the preceding one in both good and sometimes less-than-good ways, but I don't think S6 felt any more different than the rest of them, at least to me :) 

 

The show has---IMO, obviously---a mostly silly, goofy, weirdly random sense of humor that doesn't really work for me , so I always watched primarily for the characterizations, spirit-lifting optimism, sweet portrayal of friendships and relationships, some interesting looks at local government, etc...and because it just makes me so happy that I smile constantly despite the fact that it almost never makes me laugh. So I love S5 and have grown to love S6 purely because there are so many warm, sweetly inspiring relationship moments and (arguably!) a lot of character growth. But, objectively, I TOTALLY get why many fans prefer the S2-S4ish years---Leslie was more of a root-worthy underdog in certain ways, the characters experienced more small scale and therefore relatable triumphs  (as opposed to the more 'everybody has nearly perfect lives, everyone has the best job ever and the best friends ever and the truly perfect romantic partner, and every dream that you didn't even know they ever had comes true!' feel of later seasons which, while sweet and even inspiring, can be a bit much!)

 

The biggest Parks-related mystery for me is why I don't love S3 nearly as much as everyone else I know does. I adore Leslie/Ben, Andy/April etc., the Harvest Festival is a nice arc, etc., but somehow this season just doesn't delight me much.

 

The second biggest Parks-related mystery may be why I've grown to love S2 so much. I don't like the amazingly personality-free Mark Brandanowicz and think his relationship with Ann is among the most dull and pointless I've ever seen on TV;  Chris and Ben (who I love) don't show up until the very end, and even then they're not really THEM yet; Ann kissing Andy in the finale JUST when he and April are finally getting together has me groaning out loud; the  beginning episodes are still really clunky IMO...etc. But there's just something about S2 that I love. Leslie is so interesting this season to me---becoming more empowered and super competent yet still flawed, vulnerable, and received with a realistic mixture of admiration, adoration, alarm and annoyance (as opposed to later seasons, when everyone worth caring about is just consumed with  how AMAZING Leslie is...which she is in many ways, but there's no need to lay it on quite so thick, it doesn't make for very strong comedy, and realistically many people---even good ones---would become irked by Leslie very frequently.) This is arguably April's best season for me---she smiles more, she grows in realistic yet significant ways, her crush on Andy is adorable, etc. Speaking of Andy, he's highly amusing this season, and I love how he starts to get himself together and finally gets over Ann.

And, for reasons I can't even explain, S2 at its best is the funniest season for me---just somehow more witty, sharp, clever and satirical or something?! Clearly I can't explain it :) I know many say the show was still much like The Office this season, so I guess it makes a weird kind of sense that I would find it the funniest, as I always really connected with The Office's sense of humor. 

 

I'd also love to hear more about your thoughts on S4, Tyran---it had some of the show's best episodes for me, but I also got a little weary of the election stuff :) 

[TyranAmiros]

Thinking about it, there are quite a few things about S6 that rub me the wrong way. First, Ron and Leslie. Early on, Ron was not always right. I mean, he makes pronouncements but is often contradicted or small or selfish. In S6, he's always right. He becomes Yoda-esque in his pronouncements.

Leslie, similarly, becomes a caricature of herself. I know Leslie basically spends the season getting beat down, but her obsessiveness goes from the pragmatic (like at the Unity Concert) to the absurd. I also really hated the way S6 broke the 4th wall during the recall election. Normally, Perd and the rest (Jamm, etc) are good occasional jokes, but they become downright self-parodies in S6 (Perd redeems himself with The Perdple's Court in S7).

I also normally like April, but she's OTT with the creepy blood/violence. She's not as good without Andy to temper her.

It's also clear that the actors have started moving on--Andy and Tom take breaks to accommodate their other projects, Ann and Chris leave, and the gang really feels less like a team. It's what Ron picks up on in S7.

Finally, the cameos. A couple basketball stars being ignored by Tom and Jean Ralphio is one thing, but I hate the fawning in S6 and 7.

[amensisterfriend]

I also normally like April, but she's OTT with the creepy blood/violence. She's not as good without Andy to temper her.

 

I agree that April is much, much, MUCH(!) better around and in relation to Andy, and since Andy is one of my very favorites, I, too, really felt his absence at the beginning of S6. But I actually think April showed a tiny bit of growth this season overall, admitting that she cares a little more about finding the right profession, about all things related to Leslie, reaching out to both Tom and Donna, and even admitting she "loved" her nemesis Ann. She even showed a little human compassion towards Jerry! Only when she thought he was dying, but still :) And April telling Andy how no one REALLY knows what they're doing in their jobs is a personal favorite moment of mine...which would make sense if you knew what a mess I've made of my professional life :) She still definitely has moments when I can't stand her this season and things like Ron giving her the cabin JUST BECAUSE drive me nuts and fits in with that 'she's constantly showered with rewards that she doesn't deserve, work towards or even especially want much' thing that drives people nuts about the character, but overall S6 is definitely one of April's best seasons for me. 

 

Other random reasons why I've come to really like the understandably not very popular S6:

 

1) I really enjoy Craig and the weird energy he brings. I hate myself for that, but there it is. I think he reminds me a bit of a male Paris Geller (Gilmore Girls), who's also always been a favorite of mine. I'm very strange :) 

 

2) Ben gets to indulge some of his geeky pleasures even more than usual! 

 

3) Chris Pratt looks gorgeous this season and, yes, I AM that shallow ;) More seriously, while I really miss him while he's not around, he actually has some of my favorite moments when he IS around. I absolutely love when he surprises April by popping back from London for a day, when he tries to level the playing field with Ron/Duke Silver by admitting some of his own secrets, and when he plays at that kid's party. I'd have loved to see Andy as a cop, but playing at kid's parties is just so awesomely Andy.

 

4) Donna gets more to do than in any other season IMO.

 

5) So I hold the UO of actually liking a lot of Leslie's S6 story. The issue of whether to stay or move on, how she'd deal with having her political career temporarily derailed, etc. actually worked for me. There was something just a little more relatably, poignantly bittersweet and therefore interesting to me about this season that the more over-the-top 'everybody gets all wins all the time and nothing but love and has every single dream come true in every episode---some of which you never knew they had!' of seasons like S7. (Which I also enjoy, but for different reasons!) 

 

6) Rent a Swag was my favorite of Tom's many ventures, but he actually shows a lot of growth---ie, annoys me less than almost any other season!----in S6, and the bistro seems like a really good fit for him.

 

7) Ann and Chris depart. I loved Chris but am not sure there was anything left for him to do there. It felt like the show never knew quite what to do with Ann other than having her date, and as much as I love her friendship with Leslie, I can't claim I missed her. More to the point, the fact that Ann and Chris were departing gave us some highly entertaining and very sweet scenes leading up to their departure and even some afterwards, like in Galentine's Day.  

 

8) Henry Winkler as the OBGYN delights me to no end. 

 

9) Ben's face when he finds out Leslie is pregnant is one of my favorite moments in TV history :) 

[Spicymustard]

I'm rewatching this and I orginally rated season 4 next to last but I'm really liking it more on rewatch. I love how the whole team is working together on one goal ...Leslie's campaign. I still really enjoyed the later seasons but nothing beats them all focused on one task. It's also why I loved episodes like harvest festival.

[betterthisway]

I recently rewatched this series and confirmed that it's even better the second time around. I'm not usually a sitcom person, but there are very few shows in any category that I love more than this one. 

Putting the seasons in order is hard since I really love all of them, but I think I would rank them Season 3, Season 2, Season 5, Season 4, Season 7, Season 6 and Season 1.  

Season 3 is almost perfect television. Season 2 is higher than I would have expected it to be since like most of you I was indifferent to Mark and his relationship with Ann, but Season 2 is the season I laughed the most. I also agree with whoever said that April is the easiest to love in the second and third seasons and Leslie and Ron have some of their best interactions in Season 2 too. Andy is his warm, hilarious self without being quite as stupid as he is later on, and Andy and April is one of the best relationships I've ever seen on TV. I love them just as much as Leslie and Ben and in some ways more. Season 4 is probably better than Season 5 but I don't find political campaigns as fun to watch even though I loved Bobby Newport and his ruthless campaign manager, so Season 5 is just more enjoyable to watch despite Jamm. I agree with people who like the focus on the Parks department making small differences in Pawnee in the second and third seasons more than when Leslie becomes an increasingly successful politician and everyone else finds bigger jobs. The growth is great for the characters and kept the show from growing stagnant but it also changed the feel of the show.  

I keep staring at the episode list but can't pick just a few favorites. Most of the second half of Season 2 and nearly all of Season 3 would make my list. Ben and Leslie's wedding episode would definitely make the list too.  I don't think there's any episode I hated. Even some of the worst episodes have some great scenes. I agree with people who think this the happiest, most warmhearted show ever made and am excited to see that other people here love it too!  

Edited July 7, 2016 by betterthisway

[Kip Hackman]

One of my co-workers recently binged the series, which got me to thinking about binge watching, in general.

There's no way this show (and its characters) would mean as much to me if I had spent 6 weeks watching it, rather than 6 years. While I love shows like "Orange Is The New Black" and "Lady Dynamite", I pretty much forget about them a month after I finish. Maybe you can only get that kind of attachment from network tv. For now, anyway.

[amensisterfriend]

Okay, so you're on a desert island (one with a conveniently working DVD player, of course) and can take just 10 episodes of Parks with you. Which do you pick as your special most endlessly rewatchable favorites?! 

My admittedly weird list: Fancy Party, Eagleton, End of the World, Leslie and Ben, Are You Better off?, London, Filibuster, Moving Up, Pie Mary, One Last Ride

In general, I have a weirdly deep attachment to the show's later seasons, which is weird since S2-S4 seem the generally best regarded of this (and most other!) series. 

[BoogieBurns]

On 1/5/2017 at 5:46 AM, nosleepforme said:

The only streaming show that I got really attached to, even though I binged it, is Bojack Horseman, but that's only because the show really  is designed to have "profound meaning" and because I kept rewatching after I watched it for the first time, but I think the majority of people does not keep rewatching the same show. They move on to the next content.

So much yes on Bojack. Rewatching really pays off. I also binged Chuck and The West Wing and became very attached. Chuck was because I watched it during a hard time in my life and it sort of got me through. The West Wing because I am a slow binger and it took me over a year, also it's likely the best written network show of my lifetime. 

I am so happy I watched Parks in mostly real time. I bought the DVDs for season 2, I missed those episodes when they aired but was a weekly viewer for season one and again after two. I got a bit frustrated when my friend finished in 3 weeks on Netflix and acted like we had equal respect for the show. I'm like, watch all the DVD commentary, the Paley fest panels, follow the instgram fan accounts, listen to Mike Schur on every podcast appearance, and then call me in 5 years.

[roseha]

16 hours ago, BoogieBurns said:

 I'm like, watch all the DVD commentary, the Paley fest panels, follow the instgram fan accounts, listen to Mike Schur on every podcast appearance, and then call me in 5 years.

Ha, now I don't feel so bad that I have a few episodes left to go on Season 7!

[snapdragon12]

I recently started watching Parks & Rec on Netflix.  Not sure why I never watched the show when it came on tv, but I really wish I had.  I am loving this show so much.  I've been trying to get my husband to watch with me, but he refuses because he says he doesn't like Amy Poehler.  So fans, I need your help!  If there were a few episodes that I could show him, to convince him to watch with me, what would they be?  I am only on season 4 now, so it needs to be episodes before the end of season 4.  Preferably episodes where Leslie isn't too annoying or over the top.  I think my husband would find Tom really annoying too, so the episodes need to be minimal on Tom.  My husband said his friends made him watch a few episodes, and he hated them (because of Amy Poehler).  He doesn't remember what season it was though.  I asked if he recognized any of the other actors but he didn't (which tells me the episodes probably didn't have Rob Lowe in them, since he would surely recognize Lowe since he's a big fan of West Wing).  So I'm thinking it may have been season 1 or season 2 that he saw.

Since I've been binge watching, it's hard to remember specific episodes since they all sorta just run together.  I do know that season 3 has been my favorite.  Should I just start with showing him season 3?  Would he be lost if he didn't see seasons 1 or 2?  I'm not hopeful that he'll watch any episodes beyond the few I show him, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. It's hard for me to understand how someone couldn't like this show!  He likes How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang, Community, and Brooklyn 99.  I think he just needs to get over his dislike of Amy Poehler!

[Dots And Stripes]

2 hours ago, snapdragon12 said:

I recently started watching Parks & Rec on Netflix.  Not sure why I never watched the show when it came on tv, but I really wish I had.  I am loving this show so much.  I've been trying to get my husband to watch with me, but he refuses because he says he doesn't like Amy Poehler.  

I don't know if it's possible to love this show if you don't really like Amy. There's almost always a strong Leslie plot. Episodes where Ron has a good rant, such as when he coached the basketball team or when he ran the Boy Scout-esque group might be good. 

I've been rewatching and I really love the stretch in season 4 when Leslie and Ben are hiding/broken-up/finally get together. The Model UN, Leslie realizing she's a steamroller, the hearing, Leslie's first campaign event are all among my favorite episodes of the entire series.

The end of season 4 when Bobby appears is now so much more depressing for me in light of real world events. The rich clueless guy with the campaign manager who will say absolutely anything up against the smart hardworking public servant is not nearly as fun as it once was. 

[BoogieBurns]

5 hours ago, snapdragon12 said:

If there were a few episodes that I could show him, to convince him to watch with me, what would they be?

I would just go with "Go Big or Go Home" through "The Fight" because Amy is pregnant is most of them, so her role is a teensy bit smaller. Maybe skip Time Capsule, Soulmates, Jerry's Painting, and Eagleton. Soulmates is Tom at his best, which to your husband may mean Aziz at his worst.

Oh, and Lil' Sebastian, Season 3 Finale. Seasons 1 & 2 were a different balance of Amy/others than the more recent seasons. It became a legit ensemble once Rob and Adam joined. If he doesn't like the episodes I just hand picked for him, he won't ever like this show. 

[snapdragon12]

Thanks for the suggestions. My birthday is Saturday and I told my husband that for my birthday I want him to watch Parks & Rec with me! 

Think I'll try starting with the season 3 episodes that were suggested. 

[Kip Hackman]

On 4/2/2017 at 2:55 PM, snapdragon12 said:

My husband said his friends made him watch a few episodes, and he hated them (because of Amy Poehler). He doesn't remember what season it was though.

Unless he was watching Season 1, it's probably a lost cause. Because there's not a huge difference between S2 Amy and S7 Amy, character-wise.

[snapdragon12]

26 minutes ago, Kip Hackman said:

Unless he was watching Season 1, it's probably a lost cause. Because there's not a huge difference between S2 Amy and S7 Amy, character-wise.

I guess I just can't fathom how someone couldn't like this show!  I didn't particularly like Amy Poehler either, but once I started watching, I really liked her character.

[msani19]

Yes! I totally agree with you about season 1. It is rough! I remember telling one of my sisters that it was a great show but to pick it up in season 3, she didn't listen cause she thought she'd miss plot/character development, so she started with season 1. She called me like...why do you like this show?

I didn't think Mark was terrible but I wasn't sad when he left the show. He didn't quite seem to fit in. He had no sense of quirkiness. I feel like Ben and Ann played the "straight" man to some extent, even though they had plenty of wacky and quirky moments. that made sense for their characters. That's what I feel was missing with Mark. I always felt like he thought he was too good for everyone. 

I look forward to reading your blog!

[Kip Hackman]

It doesn't really start to become "Parks" until "Rock Show". That is a great episode. 

As far as the rest of Season 1, I don't think it's terrible. It's just a show trying to find its feet and get a handle on some of the characters (Leslie & Ron, in particular). Thank God NBC didn't bail on it.