Charlie and I were sitting around watching Parks and Rec this weekend, and I happened upon just what makes this show so different from other sitcoms, and why it is so much better.
Every sitcom since The Honeymooners has been driven by character tension and conflict. I Love Lucy would not have been funny if Lucy never pissed Ricky off. If Jerry was an understanding, patient, well-adjusted guy, who would have ever watched Seinfeld. Tension breading humor has been the prevailing equation since the 1950’s. Parks and Recreation has gone, very successfully, against the grain.
This is my friend John’s Tumblr. He is new to Tumblr, but he is old hat at thinking good thoughts about awesome things. You should follow him. You should also read his post on Parks and Rec, because his point is really, really good: Parks and Rec’s structures of tension are never long, drawn-out negative character interactions. When there is the occasional moment of tension, it never lasts longer than an episode- there seems to be a compulsory directive to wrap up any negative interaction positively and humanely, by the end of the episode. This differs even from the other shows of Parks and Rec’s ilk (The Office, Party Down, etc.). If you aren’t watching Parks and Rec because you thought the first couple of seasons were a little “samey” and too much like The Office (as I did), you’ve missed seeing Parks and Rec turn in to the best comedy on television.
