“Parks and Recreation” (7:30 p.m. Central Thursdays on NBC) is my pick for best network comedy. It still ranks fourth on my overall list because while cable shows like “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and “Futurama” seem to have no restraints on what they can do, “Parks” is still slightly boxed in by the network sitcom mold.
That having been said, it’s a much more risqué network comedy than we would’ve seen 10 or 15 years ago. Thursday’s Season 4 premiere actually has Rob Lowe’s Chris telling Ann Perkins: “Your inbox is literally filled with penises.” There are so many references to male genitalia in this episode that it would make the writers of “Seinfeld’s” “The Contest” blush.
It’s not just about being shockingly uncouth, though; “Parks” is also quite clever, especially in the quick throwaway moments. I never get tired of Pawnee’s local TV news man, Perd Hapley, a spot-on parody of his type. “And there you have it,” he summarizes for the home audience. “‘It’ being whatever she just said.”
For the honor of best background character, Hapley is neck-and-neck with the sleazy head of the sewer department, who tweets pictures of his private parts to all of Pawnee’s female government staffers a la Anthony Weiner. Give “Parks” credit for being topical right out of the summer break.
Other parts of Thursday’s episode didn’t work quite as well: Tom Haverford distributes Entertainment 720 swag to his co-workers to build buzz for his new company … which at the moment, doesn’t do anything. And I’m not on board with Ron Swanson’s dealings with Patricia Clarkson’s Tammy 1, although it was amusing to see him with a beard hiding out at a cabin in the woods where he gets his dinner by shooting fish with a rifle.
I like how the writers eased out of Leslie’s conflict — she can’t run for city council and date Ben, her boss, at the same time — by having Ben give her his blessing to pursue politics. They nicely avoided an angry or sad scene and made it bittersweet instead, while also leaving an opening to return to it.
Leslie’s pursuit of the city council seat should provide plenty of laughs this season, with some of them coming from Andy, who has been installed as her campaign assistant, and many more no doubt coming from Perd Hapley, who I’m sure will keep us in the loop with this story — the story of this story is that it just won’t stop unfolding.
What were your thoughts on the season premiere of “Parks and Recreation” and what are hopes for the season at large?