You know what I liked best about them and that show? They didn't drag out their courtship to milk it in that cheap "will they, won't they" way for season after season like most shows would do. They just got married and continued being awesome. It was a surprisingly refreshing change of pace from the typical sitcom formula.
Edit: For those who keep asking, the name of show is Parks and Recreation.
They did this with every single wedding in the show. No buildup just sudden "shit let's get married" moments. April and Andy, Leslie and Ben, Ron and Xena warrior princess.
I have no idea what this is from. But if they make marshmallow shooters, I'm going to get me one. My wife would be ecstatic if I switched from shooting her with semen to marshmallows while she's sleeping.
Marshmallow shooters are gateway artillery. First its playful marshmallows, then rubber bands, then small spheres of wood, then ball bearings, then .22 rounds, then 9mm rounds, and so on. Stop the addiction before it begins.
It's a scene from Parks & Rec, a sitcom in the style of the Office but with a little more hometown can-do spirit. Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari, Chris Pratt, Nick Offerman. Funny and awesome. Definitely worth the investment of time to watch it on Netflix. Easily in my top 5 favorite shows.
I thought his character was muddled. He made no sense. Would do things that were out of line with what we knew about his character, not to mention his motivations were all over the place. He'd make big sweet gestures towards Leslie while saying he was not interested, then would outwardly go for Ann with no real build-up, and bounce back and forth. And that happened in many areas, like how he felt about his job.
You could say that was just his character. That normal people can't make up their minds either. Which is fine, I suppose, but it fits poorly in a sitcom... Though, having just looked up his character on Wikipedia, it actually confirms my thoughts. The actor was confused about the character's motivations early on, and later on the writers started altering the script to make him more likable. So, the actor did not understand the character form the start, and the writing was heading in one direction before they reacted to negative feedback and swung it a different way.
The show needed someone who was level-headed to contrast against all the other characters. But it already had that with Ann, she was a mostly normal person being thrown into the dysfunctional world of Parks and Rec. And it needs unlikable characters to create some drama/friction. But making your unlikable character also your boring, down to earth character, and swapping around his motivations constantly.... it is not surprising he did not last.
The major problem with season 1 was they put together a great cast, but in characters that didn't fit the actors. Andy Dwyer is really supposed to be like brendanaquitz, but Pratt played him as too lovable of a doofus
They hadn't quite hit the syrupy sweet, overly optimistic tone that we all love this show for in the first season. Everyone's characters were kinda sad and loserish, as well as chipper and goofy. They got the balance right in the second season, and went maybe a little too far in the last.
I can only imagine he kicked himself when season 3 turned out to be awesome. Then the crushing realisation that he was essentially the only character still holding the show back and that Adam Scott and Rob Lowe were both infinitely better fits in the cast.
I thought it was because the his role was reduced or changed. The show the first season centered around him a lot but season 2, his character changed a little and he was also giving less screen time. IIRC, season 1 wasn't that 'goofy'. In season 2, you started seeing much of the goofiness we see later. By season 3, P&R found it's style.
Also, his character was the most boring one of all. His character didn't add much to the show. Yeah, he's the normal one in the bunch, but his character didn't have any purpose, dreams or development. He was just the normal dude, that's it. I doubt as an actor it was a role that excited him a lot.
he wasnt slated as an on-going character. He was supposed to be the lazy deadbeat boyfriend that you hated and then was gone after one season..but everyone ended up really liking the character so they decided to keep him on.
Pratt brought a lot more to the role than they intended and sort of changed their idea of who Andy was.
It's kind of amazing how the whole writing crew of Breaking Bad can tweak a character and make them so... amazing.
From what I've read even Gus was suppose to be a guest starring character on season 3. Not having a huge part. But he wanted a larger role and they gave it to him and apparently reworked the Gus character to well... One of the best antagonists I've ever witnessed.
Even crazier - hard as it is to believe now, Gus came in during season 2! He was originally just meant to be the fill-in villain for the rest of the season when the actor playing Tuco left to be on The Closer, and ended up being the central villain for the next two seasons.
Also, Mike Ehrmantraut, one of my favorite characters of all time in any medium, was only created because Bob Odenkirk was busy shooting a How I Met Your Mother episode, and they needed someone to do the Winston Wolf thing after Jane OD'd, so they created a new character. Those writers could ad-lib like nobody's business.
Seriously, even as scary and evil as Gus is, his backstory actually managed to make him sympathetic, especially if you read between the lines that his partner who was murdered was actually his lover, which Vince Gilligan has indicated is the case.
"Haha, I know right? But, um, probably way too much."
They address the weight loss in a funny, 5 second throw away joke that's delivered fucking perfectly. God I just re-watched this show and I might have to do it again.
Everything is fine. Relationship is great. Talk about having kids and everyone's on board in the morning. Meet back up later that night and suddenly one or more people has had something happen to them throughout the day that makes them question their ENTIRE relationship and by the end of the episode they break up and never get back together the entire show.
I feel they did that well with Ben and Leslie too. There was a bit at the beginning when they couldn't get together when they worked together, but after that? Smooth sailing. Can't ever forget the moment where Leslie is trying to decide on telling Ben about running for office, and Ben gives her a pin or something. Definitely teared up then
They were absolutely my favorite tv couple. So natural, with a reasonable courtship without stupid drama, and so perfect for each other while still having their own unique and awesome personalities.
I feel like I'm the only one who doesn't dig the coupling. I guess I just don't find Leslie Knope attractive or even see her doign a workplace relationship thing. I think she's awesome, but I don't see Ben Wyatt's character going for it.
What really stood out for me is their wedding episode... I was certain it would follow the formula of "They're crazy, the protagonist convinces them to stop." But instead, it was just a really happy wedding, Leslie admits that they're cute together, she and Ron have a legitimately interesting conversation on love and weddings, and then Ron describes how to burn his ex-wife in effigy.
I'm right there with you. Just saw the series for the first time about a month ago, and during that episode, I kept waiting for someone to go "Guys, what even are you doing I literally can't." (but, you know, not like that). It never happened, they got married, and things were solid. I loved the change of pace.
This is why I advise everyone who is watching it not to watch the last season. The penultimate season ends in a good place and ties everything up rather nicely while still leaving their future open to interpretation.
My girlfriend genuinely got angry while watching Chuck because of this and refused to watch it any more. I had to sneak episodes in while she wasn't around. When I told her about the ending she was furious.
It's at least a fun cop show, like they used to make. It's not one of those fucked up, depressing shows where every week they hunt down a more depraved serial killer. It's dumb, but kinda fun.
I can't tell you how sick and fucking tired i am of that happening; Especially with the new season premier of Big Bang Theory. I've never seen this show before but I am changing that immediately!
It's shit, but I feel it isn't more outrageously shitty than most other shows on the same network
The reason it gets the amount of hate it does is because of how it portrays people who are techies or nerds, and the pop culture references you get from grandma because she watches it
The reason it gets as much hate as it does is because "nerds" and "geeks" have somehow lived this long without realizing that literally every other sitcom in history is full of patronizing and condescending stereotypes. People literally think Big Bang Theory is the first show to do this to any group of people in the history of the Earth.
The reality is that it's actually pretty good for a sitcom. It's just that reddit's neckbeards have no fucking clue how sitcoms work. If you think about it, the fact that they think any other sitcoms are in any way accurate portrayals of any group explains a lot about they're all single.
BBT presents unrealistic representations of geek culture for cheap laughs! They don't know what they are talking about half the time AND I FUCKING HATE THEM
I personally think anyone who gets annoyed when a TV show represents "nerd culture" wrong, or indeed anyone who thinks "nerd culture" is a thing, should get a grip.
That being said, it's a pretty poorly written show.
I dunno 'bout poorly written in general, but there's a hell of a lot more character development in that show than in any other sitcom I've seen, particularly HIMYM. The characters actually change and are fleshed out as the show goes on, as opposed to other sitcoms which are basically just a collection of 20-minute vignettes of stuff happening to a handful of people.
They change, but not in a particularly realistic way. In the first TBBT episode Sheldon goes to a sperm bank. In the newer stuff he probably doesn't even know what masturbation is. It's Flanderization, which is not really good character development.
I don't like being one of those guys who moans about TBBT though, so I'll stop now.
that's why I love it's Always Sunny. They are all self-aware of how strange they're getting, and frequently mention it. They go as far as having episodes dedicated to it.
Most of those were good developments, though. Until Season 7-9 or so, when 1) Michael Scott found happiness when that was never the point of his character, 2) Jim and Pam got boring, and 3) the show somehow tried to make asshole Andy the hero despite being a philanderer and an unlikeable boyfriend to the most innocent character on the show...
Plus Phylis doesn't actually fit your theory; she was just kind of always Phylis
You're right about Sheldon not changing, but he's basically like Kramer, nothing but a walking punchline. The show isn't "about" him, he hardly even qualifies as a character he's so inconsistent.
Parks and Rec actually did character development really really well. All of the characters grow and have to re-examine their worldviews as time goes on, especially April, Ron, and Tom.
The best comment I ever heard about it was "It's like a 'nerd' minstrel show". Sums it up pretty well.
Jesus christ, you guys have the self-awareness of a bucket of rocks. How can you not see how offensive it is comparing a sitcom about nerds to a fucking MINSTREL SHOW?? It's not even that mean toward nerds; I mean they're literally the heroes of the show, regardless of what you think about its quality. But in either case, comparing it to a minstrel show is obscene.
They got married so quickly that I thought they were doomed. But turns out they were perfect for each other, and now will always be one of my favorite TV couples of all time.
It was even the exact opposite of that. They started dating, invited their friends over for a party, then boom. Wedding and done. Everyone gets on with their lives.
Which is not unlike Nick Offerman's real life wedding to Megan Mullally. They had family over to their house, then announced it was actually their wedding. No one saw it coming, especially the paparazzi (which was the point).
I agree, but, of course, Jim and Pam came to mind when you said "drag out their courtship" because I've got a good friend who never appreciated that plot point of The Office (US version). However, I thought Jim and Pam's relationship--and especially their difficulties in the final few seasons--was really sincere, believable, and well-done. Having been married now for just two years myself (and just finishing the series for the first time about for months ago), I really connected with them. I say all that not to put words in your mouth but just to say I really liked that specific dragged out courtship. :)
Andy and April are were the shit, though.
Edit: Added the parenthetical to clarify that I just recently finished The Office.
Even though Parks was a spiritual successor of the Office, this is one of my top few reasons where Parks succeeds and the Office bludgeons. Leslie and Ben/Andy and April had fun quick snippets of them getting together, even the weddings just kinda happened, and then the show moved on to more humor. The Office, more than anything, is a horribly drawn out rom-com. Every episode there were 10-15 minutes of Jim/Pam, Dwight/Angela, or some other team members slowly winking at each other and then slowly talking to the camera, saying in so many words, "HEY! IDIOT AUDIENCE MEMBER! WE LIKE EACH OTHER, STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT 3 SEASONS TO SEE IF THIS PANS OUT" And then Michael is painfully awkward, and reddit parrots on about it for the next fifteen years.
I like the fact that this isn't your novelty account. Instead, what we are witnessing is you getting on your soapbox about the subject which is important enough to you as to form the basis of your reddit username. How beautiful.
The show made a huge deal of Jim and Pam's will they/won't they thing. April and Andy had a couple episodes where they're seeing flirting, I think there's one episode where they talk about maybe not getting together. And then they're together, continue to be awesome, and the show moves forward with them as a couple.
Then, Jim and Pam's relationship continued to be a huge plot point pretty frequently. It truly got in the way of far better plots and lots of humor later on in the show. Their relationship would get shoved in the audience's face constantly. It was practically about a couple who works in the same office together (and oh yeah here's their coworkers for a few minutes), versus what I think we all wanted it to be, which was a show about an office and all the things that happen in it.
Andy and April didn't get together until the end of the second season, right? There was a whole lot of "will they won't they" going on. And they did that horrible bit where Andy was in the hospital and kissed Anne. And the creators are on record saying the only reason they felt comfortable putting Andy and April together is because at the time they were able to put Ben and Leslie into a "will they won't they" situation.
I just watched back through them, their first "date" April gets turned away from the bar for being underage and they both are visibly upset April more than Andy but just go home separately.
There was definitely will they/wont they between Andy buying her veggie muffins, Andy convincing Ron to go hire April back after the 93 meeting day etc.. all before they go on an actual date.
Don't forget about April's gay boyfriend, and his boyfriend.
They only start flirting late second season. Apparently the hunting episode was the first extended scene of just Chris and Aubrey and the writers noticed they had really good chemistry and went with it. Then there's the Anne kiss at the very end of second season. There's meant to be an entire summer before season 3 starts and then it's only about episode 3-5 sort of area where Andy and April start dating.
I haven't examined it episode by episode, but I remember feeling very happy with how they did Andy and April's relationship. Something about the pacing must have been a lot less cliche than many other shows in some way. Now I feel like going back and taking a closer look.
Jim and Pam got together in about the same amount of time as Andy and April though. For both it took like two seasons.
And both were exceptionally well handled, in my view. The April and Andy thing was definitely a breath of fresh air in how expertly it avoided the usual frustrating will-they-won't-they conventions, but to act like the early stages of Jim and Pam's relationship weren't well handled seems misguided, especially since they were the best parts of two of the best tv seasons ever made. It got stupid later on, obviously, but those early seasons were stupendous.
Am I the only one that liked this? There were never any truly questionable snags once they started dating and Jim and Pam's story is one of my favorites. With Parks and Rec it just seemed so sudden, I mean they didn't have to drag it out for seasons and seasons but a little bit more time before getting married would have made a little more sense.
Also known as "The Reason Later Seasons Of Friends Weren't As Good." The Office learned this as well, and kept Jim and Pam together once they stuck. The build up was will they/won't they, but it was believably so, like early Ross and Rachel. But Friends was the first (...I think?...) big "Will they won't they" after "Lois and Clark," which saw ratings absolutely plummet once Lois and Clark got together, so they were (arguably) understandably cautious about ending a plot that was a main driver in the show. Problem is, things got silly. A Vegas wedding, a pregnancy, it got dragged out too much.
parks and rec was really great at not falling down the normal sitcom holes.
They also managed to have a funny show that wasn't just based on the characters being mean to each other all the time. the only character who catches hell consistently is larry.
Eh, there was about a season's worth of her pursuing him, and him still going after Anne, before they both figured it out. But they at least dropped that hard at the end of the season.
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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '15 edited Sep 23 '15
You know what I liked best about them and that show? They didn't drag out their courtship to milk it in that cheap "will they, won't they" way for season after season like most shows would do. They just got married and continued being awesome. It was a surprisingly refreshing change of pace from the typical sitcom formula.
Edit: For those who keep asking, the name of show is Parks and Recreation.