by Linda Holmes

I liked last night's premiere of Parks And Recreation, the new comedy from Greg Daniels, the creator of the U.S. The Office, and Michael Schur, an Office writer who also plays Dwight's Cousin Mose. (Schur also was moonlighting under the moniker "Ken Tremendous" for years at a fantastic sports blog called Fire Joe Morgan, which has, very sadly, ceased publication. An extremely interesting guy.)

While it didn't make me laugh hysterically, the Amy Poehler comic timing still works, Aziz Ansari has perfectly captured the character of her associate and chief tormentor, and everything about the idea of transplanting the sensibility of The Office from corporate drudgery to public-sector drudgery makes perfect sense.

The community forum attended by citizens small in number but great in passion that is sometimes completely random ("I have a few things I want to say about Laura Linney!"), the guy who works in government while not believing in government...it all rings quite true, I think, the same way the diversity seminars and lame office parties ring true in Scranton.

The Parks And Recreation pilot isn't packed with back-to-back hilarious jokes, but the ideas are funny, the writing is sharp, and I absolutely already care whether Leslie gets to build her park. And boy, do I love that opening bit attempting to quantify the precise amount of fun the girl is having.

I'm curious to hear what you thought. Are you sold? Unsold? Partially sold? Finding it better than falling backwards into a pit?

categories: Television

8:36 - April 10, 2009

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