So...I've become the kind of person who watches tv series. I went through these pretty much in a single, hazily jetlagged, week and found them pretty delightful - season 1 is kind of bad, but it picks up dramatically after that.
There are a range of things that make it work, but foremost amongst them is the way it matches Amy Poehler's energetic-on-the-verge-of-manic comic persona perfectly with the character of Leslie Knope that the show creates. Over these three seasons, the show has got to a point where it has the balance - between the quirks, foibles and situations that drive all sitcom characters and a kinder, more humane perspective on its characters and their relationships - pretty much right for her (and for the other characters), so that you can't help but find her basically adorable while rooting for her in her somewhat monomaniacal do-gooding. Then there's Ron Swanson, who is basically great - plus a good, and well-used, ensemble cast (again, the balance seems right with the arrival of Adam Scott's Ben as straight man and Rob Lowe's ridiculously positive Chris).
All up, it's funny, smart and likeable (and occasionally deliciously crude) - all round good.
There are a range of things that make it work, but foremost amongst them is the way it matches Amy Poehler's energetic-on-the-verge-of-manic comic persona perfectly with the character of Leslie Knope that the show creates. Over these three seasons, the show has got to a point where it has the balance - between the quirks, foibles and situations that drive all sitcom characters and a kinder, more humane perspective on its characters and their relationships - pretty much right for her (and for the other characters), so that you can't help but find her basically adorable while rooting for her in her somewhat monomaniacal do-gooding. Then there's Ron Swanson, who is basically great - plus a good, and well-used, ensemble cast (again, the balance seems right with the arrival of Adam Scott's Ben as straight man and Rob Lowe's ridiculously positive Chris).
All up, it's funny, smart and likeable (and occasionally deliciously crude) - all round good.
