Quick thoughts on last night's "Parks and Recreation" coming up just as soon as I go to The Glitter Factory... This show has really struggled in the ratings its first two weeks of the season. Having the Thursday "SNL" shows (which seem superfluous in a non-election year, even if Bill Hader and Darrell Hammond do good impressions of John Malkovich and Dennis Franz) as a lead-in hasn't helped, but the larger problem is that most of the episodes from last spring weren't that great. There's a school of thought in the TV business that it's harder to get back viewers who watched and left than it is to start small and attract new viewers over time. So even though "Parks and Rec" is much improved - with "Beauty Pageant" being another winner - I fear the audience has already given up on it based on that brief spring sampling. And I worry that putting "Community" (which took a big deep from its premiere ratings to its week two numbers) as the lead-in starting next week won't help matters.
And it bugs me because this show has become increasingly funny, and confident, whether in throwaway jokes like Leslie extolling the virtues of the "Lively Fisting" painting of the reverend beating up the widow, or more obvious jokes like the quick cut from Leslie asking the other judges to look into their hearts to the shot of Trish the racist hottie being named the winner. The show is working on both the silly stuff (Andy hiding behind the screen), the deadpan humor (April's "impressions" of her sister and Leslie) and even the sweetness of Leslie realizing how much she likes Dave the cop. Even with no Ron (Bleeping) Swanson, this one was a winner.
So I really want the show to succeed, and I'm feeling antsy about seeing the fast national ratings within the hour.
What did everybody else think?
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