Parks and Recreation

Parks and Recreation (also known as Parks and Rec) is an American political satire mockumentary sitcom television series created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur. The series aired on NBC from April 9, 2009, to February 24, 2015, for 125 episodes, over seven seasons. A special reunion episode aired on April 30, 2020.

Plot
Leslie Knope, a mid-level bureaucrat in an Indiana Parks and Recreation Department, hopes to beautify her town (and boost her own career) by helping local nurse Ann Perkins turn an abandoned construction site into a community park. However, what should be a fairly simple project is stymied at every turn by oafish bureaucrats, selfish neighbors, governmental red tape, and a myriad of other challenges. Leslie's colleague Tom Haverford, who delights in exploiting his position for personal gain, is as likely to undermine her efforts as to help her, while her boss, Ron Swanson, is adamantly opposed to government in any form, even though he's a bureaucrat.

Why It Has a Step on the Swanson Pyramid of Greatness

 * 1) It has a great, original premise surrounding local government, which would even get government-hating viewers interested in government work.
 * 2) The show is consistently good from the second season on, with every episode being well-made and consistently funny. Only a few episodes in the seventh and final season (which is a "time jump" season set in the future) were either poorly written, boring, or inconsistent.
 * 3) Great acting, particularly from Amy Poehler (Leslie), Nick Offerman (Ron), Aubrey Plaza (April), Chris Pratt (Andy), and Adam Scott (Ben).
 * 4) Some of the recurring and guest actors, like Ben Schwartz, Mo Collins, Jenny Slate, and Patton Oswalt, for example, have wonderful performances that make them extremely memorable.
 * 5) Great chemistry in the relationships between characters like Leslie and Ben, April and Andy, and Chris and Ann.
 * 6) Various funny and dramatic moments that always keep the audience engaged.
 * 7) A good soundtrack and theme song. "5000 Candles in the Wind," a song written and performed by Chris Pratt as Andy when Lil' Sebastian (Pawnee's beloved town animal mascot) dies, is only one of several examples.
 * 8) Great recurring jokes, including:
 * 9) Andy saying "new band name, called it!" any time someone says something that sounds funny to him.
 * 10) Ron's love for breakfast food and brunette women (and his hatred of taxes and technology).
 * 11) The Parks department making fun of Jerry.
 * 12) Leslie's hatred of libraries.
 * 13) Ben's love for calzones (and everyone else's hatred of it).
 * 14) Many memorable moments, with a lot of them even turning into memes:
 * 15) "It's beautiful...I've looked at this for five hours now."
 * 16) "That is no pony! That is a MINIATURE. HORSE."
 * 17) "I LIKE PEOPLE...PLACES...AND THINGS!"
 * 18) Chris dancing behind Andy.
 * 19) "...and at this point, I'm too afraid to ask."
 * 20) Jean-Ralphio singing "the woooorst" to describe his sister.
 * 21) Ben's board game, The Cones of Dunshire.
 * 22) Many good morals to come from the show.
 * 23) The show ultimately leaves behind a legacy of great episodic storytelling.
 * 24) The fandom is filled with very kind and creative people who have even felt inspired to go into bureaucracy and local government as careers.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Tammy Swanson, Ron's ex-wife and the director of the Pawnee library, seems somewhat out-of-place as a character because of her status as a violent, homophobic misandrist and her sexual coercion towards Ron. For something advertised as a "family show" by NBC, it does seem a little too much.
 * 2) Some storylines, like Leslie's City Council campaign and Andy's time in community college, go on for a little too long.
 * 3) Rob Lowe (Chris) stands out among the cast for his slightly forced performance, alongside (somewhat) poor acting on his end in a few episodes.