The producers of the hugely successful "The Office" take their model to rural America,in this case small town(I forget the name of the town)Indiana,where the central figure is chipper,high-minded go-getter Leslie Knope(Amy Poehler,an actress who,I must admit,is kind of a "Love her/Hate her" talent;I happen to like her a lot)is dedicated to trying to serve her electors to the most noble and best of her abilities. Of course,her constituency doesn't hold her or her responsibilities in quite the same sunny,idealistic realms as she does,and she initially seems to be a rudderless boat in the world of local politics until a "cause" falls into her lap:namely,the gaping,abandoned construction project in town that is a more than a little bit of a safety hazard and eyesore.
From there,she is spurred into action by the girlfriend of a guy who was injured falling into the pit(Rashida Jones,lovely and warmly likable)and,by association,said boyfriend(Chris Pratt),who turns out to be a shiftless loser who wants his day in the spotlight. The movement leads to a spearheaded plan to make a park in that area,but there couldn't be a series without a series of social and political obstacles and pratfalls along the way.
A sometimes mismatched bunch of government peers and cohorts(Nick Offerman as a grouchy,dyspeptic superior; Paul Schneider as a fellow local councilperson who seems to have his own agendas;Aziz Ansari as the weaselly and nervous underling of Leslie's and Aubrey Plaza as a young intern who is perpetually bored)flank these stories. I cannot lie: the elements,writing and character interplay isn't real consistent,and the aping of "The Office"'s confessory style makes comparisons not only inevitable but also possibly unfavorable. Still,the talent assembled and the potential for this show makes it worth more than one look.
I am pretty sure that this show is getting the chances its getting because of the pedigree of the producers(among them Greg Daniels,the brains behind stuff such as "King of the Hill" and,big surprise,"The Office"). As such,I hope this show takes advantage of this opportunity and improves,because there's enough good feel and potential for just that. A flawed-but-worthy offering for NBC's near-esteemed Thursday night comedy line-up.
From there,she is spurred into action by the girlfriend of a guy who was injured falling into the pit(Rashida Jones,lovely and warmly likable)and,by association,said boyfriend(Chris Pratt),who turns out to be a shiftless loser who wants his day in the spotlight. The movement leads to a spearheaded plan to make a park in that area,but there couldn't be a series without a series of social and political obstacles and pratfalls along the way.
A sometimes mismatched bunch of government peers and cohorts(Nick Offerman as a grouchy,dyspeptic superior; Paul Schneider as a fellow local councilperson who seems to have his own agendas;Aziz Ansari as the weaselly and nervous underling of Leslie's and Aubrey Plaza as a young intern who is perpetually bored)flank these stories. I cannot lie: the elements,writing and character interplay isn't real consistent,and the aping of "The Office"'s confessory style makes comparisons not only inevitable but also possibly unfavorable. Still,the talent assembled and the potential for this show makes it worth more than one look.
I am pretty sure that this show is getting the chances its getting because of the pedigree of the producers(among them Greg Daniels,the brains behind stuff such as "King of the Hill" and,big surprise,"The Office"). As such,I hope this show takes advantage of this opportunity and improves,because there's enough good feel and potential for just that. A flawed-but-worthy offering for NBC's near-esteemed Thursday night comedy line-up.