Hey, at least we still have Parks & Rec! And The Michael J. Fox Show, which is not quite up to the levels of the aforementioned NBC Thursday sitcoms but looks like it could get there eventually! So let's talk about those. Just...please, let's not talk about those horrible Sean Saves the World promos. Please, let's talk about anything but those.
Parks & Recreation
I consider myself a fairly big fan of Parks & Rec - particularly Seasons 2 & 3, which was some of the most perfect comedic television made in the past 20 years. But I had some significant issues with the show last season - it seemed to lose all sense of direction after Leslie won the City Council seat, and spent most of the year sending its characters through rehashed, cartoony plots that provided some mild amusement but mostly failed to make any sort of impact. This was incredibly disappointing coming from a show that once knew how to pack every single episode with tons of great comedy and even stronger emotional punches. There were some high points - Leslie and Ben's wedding could easily stand with the best of the show, if you pretend Councilman Jamm wasn't there - but the most part, it felt like the show was kind of coasting on its former glory.
I'm happy to say that tonight's hour-long premiere, "London", doesn't share those same issues. It's not perfect - the Chris/Ann baby plot still can't help but feeling like a last resort for those characters, even if it's sort of worth it for the reaction from the rest of the Parks department - but it's an episode that has stakes that feel real, emotion that feels earned, and a lot of good old-fashioned Pawnee humor. (In London!) It's an episode that made me excited for the rest of the season, something that I feared wasn't possible after a string of highly unsatisfying episodes last spring.
There's a whole lot going on in "London", but we'll start with the episodes' central story, the Leslie "recall" plot. I had some issues with the way this plot was introduced in last seasons' finale - mainly that it happened so suddenly and wasn't grounded in anything that had actually happened on the show while Leslie was in the City Council seat. But I actually liked what the show did with it here, showcasing Leslie's growing annoyance at Pawnee and its ungrateful citizens, and - most promisingly - setting up some actual stakes for her going forward. I don't want Parks to ever lose its sunny disposition, because that's part of what makes it stand out from the rest of TV comedies - but in recent seasons, the show has sometimes used its optimism spirit as a way to avoid actual conflict, which comedy (and really, television in general), tends to thrive off of. The thing that made Parks' optimism so appealing in its earlier days was that it often came as a shining light to times of great turmoil. The Harvest Festival arc - perhaps the shows' best run of episodes - was so powerful because Leslie's determination and optimism led to her saving the entire Parks department. The show raised the stakes to huge degrees, and it made the end result all the more satisfying. Leslie's campaign arc, while filled with some all-time classic episodes and moments, wasn't as successful on the whole because we never had any real doubt that Leslie Knope wasn't going to win that election. Her opponent was a moron, and this was Parks & Rec, where everyone always gets what they want. That vibe continued in Season 5, which washed, rinsed, and repeated the "Leslie faces a ridiculous opponent -> Leslie defeats the opponent with her charm and optimism" over and over again. It was pleasant to watch, but the strong emotions that Leslie's accomplishments once brought were gone, because she wasn't really being tested anymore. So I guess that's why I like what the show is doing here. I have no doubt that this is somehow going to end up well for Leslie, but I don't mind because the show is going to throw her around a little bit and test her patience. She's going to get angry, and she's going to feel defeated, and we're going to feel for her, and that's good, because it's going to let us connect to her and root for her again, which makes for much better and, ultimately, more uplifting television. That's why the end of this episode worked so much better for me than any of the similarly sweet endings to Season 5 episodes. April's letter about Leslie was sweet, but it was even sweeter knowing it's coming at a time when Leslie truly, honestly needs it.
I also really liked the Andy plotline, even if it seemed like a bit of an excuse to explain why Chris Pratt isn't going to be around for a few months. Andy and April have been two of the shows' most interesting characters in its later years, as they've both grown leaps and bounds from where they were at the start of the show - and done it completely naturally. This felt like a continuation of that - Season 5 actually had some pretty good development for Andy, with him finally deciding it's time to get on his feet and do something with himself. So seeing him finally being able to do that - with full support from his wife and while still allowing to be...well, Andy...is really nice to see. Plus, Chris Pratt is still one of the best comedic actors on television, and can sell the hell about just about anything he is given. It's too bad that the show has to go on without him for a little while, but I'm confident that there will be plenty of great material for him upon his return.
Oh! And I haven't even talked about Ron fucking Swanson! Ron's "look at this closed off guys' heart opening" arc was a little trite last year, but I also found it pretty effective - effective enough that I thought the cold open was genuinely sweet and earned. I also loved how the show chose to completely forgo any kind of hoopla over Ron and Diane's wedding and just pushed these two together. Just how Ron Swanson would want it, indeed. And even better was Leslie showing her enthusiasm but not doing so in a way that went against Ron's desire for a non-event. The entire cold open was just pretty fantastic and a great way to start off the season.
This is getting ridiculously long, so I'll wrap it up by saying the Tom storyline wasn't anything special, but was very funny and put guest star Henry Winkler to great use. I'm really happy I have so much to say about this show again, because too many of last seasons' episodes would've added up to little more than "eh, it was okay I guess" if I were writing about them. I really hope this continues for the rest of the season.
The Michael J. Fox Show
This was both one of my most anticipated and feared pilots of the season. Like any reasonable human being (*cough* Taylor Swift *cough*), I like Michael J. Fox a lot and want to see him succeed. I also like a lot of the other talent on this show, both on-screen and off, and I think the idea of a comedy about a man struggling with Parkinsons is pretty risky and interesting and could be something really special if it works out. At the same time, it also easily seemed like this show could be bogged down in NBC's desperate attempt for a broad-reaching hit and become something cloying, manipulative, and little more than a Modern Family rip-off (so, basically The New Normal). Luckily, it is not that. It's not that at all - except for maybe the Modern Family rip-off part, right down to the wholly unnecessary mockumentary set-up. But this is looking like it has all of the potential to be a great and even somewhat powerful show, even if it's not quite all there yet.
Unsurprisingly, the show's stongest aspect is Michael J. Fox himself, who continues to be a masterful comic actor, Parkinsons be damned. Betsy Brandt also deserves some major credit as his wife - the two already have really great chemistry and a well-drawn and believable relationship, even when their relationship is left to deal with some pretty by-the-numbers sitcom schlock, as it was in the second episode tonight. If absolutely nothing else, this show should be a nice showcase for both of them, who are pretty fantastic and feel right at home in these roles.
But I don't expect that to be the only thing the show has going for it. Even if the plots too often border on typical family sitcom territory, the writing itself is sharp and nuanced, following the snappy pace of edgier single-camera fare. (Not surprising for a writing staff with a handful of 30 Rock, Happy Endings, and Community alumni). If it plays its cards exactly right, I could maybe even see this becoming the rare show to become both a critical darling and a mainstream ratings hit, something that often seems almost impossible these days.
At the end of the day, though, this show is mostly interested in being a family sitcom, which is something fans of the NBC line-up of the old will want to keep in mind before skyrocketing their hopes up to unreachable levels. It's not attempting to push the sitcom formula to new dimensions like 30 Rock and Community, or even trying the ambitious character work of shows like Parks & Rec and New Girl. And that's fine! If everything works out, this show could easily become a wonderfully written and acted family sitcom with some serious emotional impact. That's more than enough for me, and as long as it gets a bit more ambitious than the stock family sitcoms that it displayed in its second episode tonight, it shouldn't have too much of a problem reaching those levels.
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