on sitcoms

When Parks & Rec started out, like most comedy pilots, it was largely driven by plot. Leslie had a pit to fill and turn into a park, so each week was largely centered on her go-get-’em attitude and the obstacles that got in her way. But I don’t think it’s a coincidence that roughly around the time the pit was abandoned (and later filled—they dropped it before that happened), Parks & Rec got a whole lot better. I don’t tune in week after week to watch a comedy because I’m waiting for something to happen; I watch comedies because I love surprises. Sitcoms can establish a goal and throw hurdles up as much as they want, but we all know things will get resolved at some point. What’s truly surprising is when we learn something astounding about a character we’ve grown to love just because they’re around, not because they serve a larger part of a story.

I absolutely loved “Ron & Tammys” because it completely caught me off guard. After last week’s episode establishing Leslie’s run for office, I expected at least one small part of the episode that followed to set up the rest of the season. I should have remembered that pit, though, and that Parks & Rec is at a place in its run where it’s just so giddy to let its characters have fun with one another. “Ron & Tammys” was just that: great one-liners, ridiculous send-ups, and silliness just because it felt like being silly. It was a hilarious ode to Parks & Rec’s characters.

And Ron Swanson is a hell of a character—one of the best on TV today. What makes him so compelling is that the more we learn about him, the more mystery remains. It’s counterintuitive, too: Parks & Rec introduces very specific facts about Ron, like his fondness for breakfast food and the fact that he invests heavily in gold buried in several places around Pawnee (Or does he?). But rather than answering my questions about the character, the new information opens more doors, because I’m forced to think logistically about how Ron would have the time to go around Pawnee and bury all that gold. Assuming he does it at all.

http://origin.avclub.com/articles/ron-tammys,62356




pump up the jams!! http://ask.metafilter.com/192768/Pump-up-the-jams

http://what-fresh-hell-is-this.blogspot.com/2006/02/stick-fork-in-it.html

http://what-fresh-hell-is-this.blogspot.com/2005/07/failure-is-not-option.html

http://scriptshadow.blogspot.com/