This is awesome. In an episode of Parks and Recreation earlier this season, character Ron Swanson is coaching a kids' basketball team. He introduces them to the Swanson Pyramid of Greatness, a calibrated system of personal achievement that he's been working on for years.
Entries include:
- Capitalism: God's way of determining who is smart, and who is poor
- Greatness Itself: The best revenge
- Discipline: The ability to repeat a boring thing over and over again
- Intensity: Give 100%. 110% is impossible. Only idiots recommend that
- Honor: If you need it defined, you don't have it
Tomorrow night, Thursday 1/20, NBC launches a 3-hour comedy block starting at 8pm. This would be kind of revolutionary if it wasn't really 2 hours of comedy (Community, The Office, Parks and Recreation,and 30 Rock) padded with 1 hour of garbage (Outsourced and Perfect Couples).
To be fair, I've never actually seen an episode of Perfect Couples...but it looks pretty fucking bad. I doubt I will be proven wrong.
Anyway, the real headline is that after being 'benched' for the fall, Parks and Recreation is back for a 3rd season! This show has developed into one of the best comedies on television, and the fact that it was left off the fall schedule is criminal.
If you haven't seen it before, Parks and Rec follows the adventures of a parks department government office, employing the pseudo documentary style of The Office. What makes the show work is a really strong all around ensemble cast.
9:30pm tomorrow on NBC. Set your DVRs.
NBC Parks and Recreation
The NBC Thursday 'Must See TV' (remember that?) comedy lineup premieres tonight at 8pm. A straight block of comedies that I'll actually watch is a rarity. For example, ABC is doing a comedy block on Wednesdays including the excellent Modern Family...but I don't watch anything else they play that night (The Middle is okay). CBS does a block of comedies on Monday including How I Met Your Mother, which I really like, but everything else they play that night is fucking terrible! You get the idea.
Here's the breakdown of NBC Thursdays:
30 Rock - I believe this show replaced Arrested Development for super smart fast paced humor, loaded with references and blink-and-you-might-miss-it jokes. It's primarily about NBC exec Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) and SNL-type-sketch-comedy show head writer Liz Lemon (Tina Fey). One of the best shows currently on TV.
Community - This new show about a hotshot lawyer forced to go back to school at a community college got really good over its first season. The paintball episode was genius. Definitely excited for its second season.
The Office - This show has kinda been on too long and is past its prime. Early on in the show it was all like "ooh, Jim likes Pam" and stuff, and now they're married and have a kid. BUT the show might get a shot in the arm from the fact that Steve Carell, who plays blundering boss Michael Scott, will be leaving after this season.
Parks and Recreation - Will NOT be premiering tonight. This excellent show about a parks & recreation government office, done in The Office style, has been 'benched' until the midseason. Really a fucking shame, because this show has gotten really good, and its replacement looks fucking terrible.
Outsourced - Comedy about an American who gets transplanted to an Indian call center. Early word is that the show is super racist and just all around awful. Seriously, you put Parks & Rec on hold for THIS? You suck, NBC.
This show premiered last season and I thought it was okay then, but it really seems to have hit its stride now in its second season. I've upgraded it from "I'll catch it if I'm bored" to "must-see television" status, and I can consider it to be a suitable replacement for The Office.
The central character of the show is Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), an idealistic, feminist, and ambitious public official. However, this is really an ensemble show with a strong cast all around. Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari) and Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) are great characters. Tom is a loudmouth and kind of a perv, and he's a lot of fun. Ron is Leslie's boss, he's very world-weary, and he loves brunettes and breakfast food.
Questlove, the drummer for The Roots, had this to say about the show: "Parks and Recreation is the Wu-Tang of comedy. An ensemble cast of which all the cast shines."
Questlove goes as far as to match up each Parks & Rec character with a corresponding member of the Wu.
Leslie/Poehler = The Rza
Tom/Aziz = ODB
Ann/Rashida = Method Man
Ron/Nick Offerman = Ghostface Killah
Andy/Chris = Raekwon
Mark Brendanawicz/Paul = Inspectah Deck
April/Aubrey = Gza
Jerry/Jim = Masta Killa
Donna/Retta = U-God
Dave/Louis CK = Redman
