Parks and Recreation premiered on April 9, 2009. At the time, NBC marketed it as “if you like The Office, you’ll LOVE this,” which is only half-true. They share comedic DNA, including Ken Tremendous himself, Michael Schur, who wrote for The Office before creating Parks, and they likely appeal to the same comedy nerd fanbase, but the similarities end there — when Parks tried to straight-face emulate The Office, as it did in season one, it was disappointing. There was no room for the small-town weirdness mixed with equal parts enthusiasm and April Ludgate that have since come to define the show, and separate it from the more droll Office.
That all changed in the first scene of season two, when Leslie busts out “Parents Just Don’t Understood.” It was fun, loose, and loyal (note the everyone, sans Ron, cheers her on), and Parks has been one of the best sitcoms on television ever since. But it’s all coming to an end soon, beginning tonight with the first two episodes of the show’s seventh and final episode. And man, are we going to miss Pawnee. Here are but 20 reasons why.
1. The adventures of Burt Macklin, that son of a bitch.
2. Ron Swanson’s love of meat…
3. …a passion rivaled only by hating things that aren’t meat (also, cats).
4. April and Andy’s romance, which unlike Jim and Pam’s, never got obnoxious.
5. The music of Mouse Rat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=na9BNsqTbW0
6. Pawnee’s resident weirdos, second only to The Simpsons.
7. The Parks writers regularly showing up as extras and recurring characters.
Harris Wittels
Megan Amram
Chelsea Peretti
Katie Dippold
Joe Mande (and many more here)
8. Making Mark Brendanaquitz jokes.
9. Ben Wyatt’s ecstatic nerdiness.
10. Tammy II finding new ways to torture Ron.
11. The evolution from Retta playing Donna to Retta playing herself.
12. The quotes that have made it into everyday conversation.
13. The words you are about to read are a series of letters read by Perd Hapley.
14. The glee that comes from Jean-Ralphio scenes. He’s not the WwOoRrSsTt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd2rWeswwGw
15. Chris Pratt’s brilliant improvisations.
16. Jerry’s life being one big “fart attack” (minus his wife and daughters).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkmN5_AulNY
17. Leslie fighting casual sexism.
18. All the drinking and/or dancing scenes.
19. The endless enthusiasm Amy Poehler brings to what could have been a caricature.
20. Parks has already been moved to Tuesdays, but I REALLY miss NBC Thursday nights.
Community into Parks into The Office into 30 Rock? Those were the days.
