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annakovsky) wrote2012-02-02 04:11 pm
annakovsky) wrote2012-02-02 04:11 pm
Entry tags:
Parks and Recreation and Mediocrity
I wrote this whole thing after last week's Parks episode, and it might be a really unpopular opinion but whatever, I'm going to post it now before tonight's because I am pretty concerned about the direction the show is going and I don't knowwwwwww, you guys. There hasn't been an episode I super loved and instantly wanted to rewatch since The Treaty back in November, and even before that there was a lot more mediocrity than last season, and with the campaign I'm worried they've painted themselves into a corner they won't be able to get out of. HOPEFULLY TONIGHT'S EPISODE WILL BE BETTER, BUT I AM WORRIED.
First of all, established relationships are boring, and all this focus on Leslie/Ben has been super boring. I thought once they were back together we could all move on with our lives and get back to the regular ensemble show, but Leslie is still spending most of her time interacting with Ben and ughhhhhhhhhhh. THEY'RE LIKE THE SAME PERSON, THERE'S NO TENSION HERE, LET HER TALK TO RON OR ANDY OR SOMETHING.
Then to GET tension in that relationship they keep -- like, okay. Full disclosure, I HATED Ben in the episode with the negative campaign ad. I did not see both sides. Most people did, and that's fine, but I REALLY DID NOT. I feel like going negative as the FIRST THING a campaign does is a shitty thing to do in the first place (especially when you're spending all your money on it, so it's the ONE THING that people will see about your candidate), and then wanting to go negative for LESLIE KNOPE is just like, have you ever met Leslie Knope? And then when Leslie said she would never do that in a million years, to keep pushing it? Uh, it was a pretty clear statement of what she wanted, and she's the candidate -- it's her name on the ad. So if she doesn't want to go negative, YOU DON'T GO NEGATIVE. And it didn't help that his first ad sounded like Gob Bluth's negative ad against Steve Holt. Like, I was fine with the compromise ad they eventually got to, but omg, so unacceptable before that.
Last week's episode wasn't as bad, because obviously Leslie was being obsessive (which was adorable as always) -- but. Basically Leslie was being the way she always is in that kind of situation, and Ben spent the whole episode being like, "BAD DOG. NO." It's not HELPFUL. You're never going to stop Leslie by acting like that! Ron Swanson would know never to act like that with her because it's pointless! And I just feel like lately Ben thinks things are wrong with Leslie ALL THE TIME. You're a steamroller, Leslie! No, wait, you have to be tougher, Leslie! Stop being so fixated, Leslie! That's not sexy fighting, that's just being kind of awful, even when you have a point. YOU'RE HER BOYFRIEND AND YOU USED TO THINK SHE WAS GREAT, WHY AREN'T YOU ON HER SIDE ANYMORE. And why is it always Leslie who has something wrong with her to manufacture tension between them? I CAN THINK OF A LOT OF THINGS WRONG WITH YOU, BEN, WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO START ENUMERATING THEM. 1) YOU'RE A WET BLANKET AND A NEGATIVE NELLY.
I mean, whatever, sometimes I still like them, and the kissing last week was super hot, but overall, Leslie/Ben is just getting old and there's too much of it and Ben is going to have to be a lot nicer/more delightful to win me back.
So that's a problem. And then overall I seem to come out of every episode feeling like the whole thing just didn't quite hang together, in a way I can't put my finger on. I think maybe with the campaign they just have too many balls in the air? Everyone feels scattered and not that funny, and I don't know what they should do to fix it, but it's just not quite working.
I think also maybe a lot of characters have gotten kind of one-note, so it feels more repetitive than great. Like... Tom hasn't done anything new and delightful since Treat Yo Self, just the same old schtick. April has had barely any storylines, and they all seem to revolve around her and Andy as a unit. Andy is sometimes literally too dumb to function. Donna NEVER gets storylines. Chris for some reason is still around, being a shallow insincere dbag and taking up screentime that should be given to Donna, who is funnier and more interesting.
And I am REALLY worried about the campaign issue. I feel like they brought the campaign into the mix as an obstacle for Leslie/Ben, without thinking through the implications. And now I worry that we're in a Pam Beesly situation, where we have brought up Leslie having big dreams, and raised the possibility of her getting those dreams, but because of the PREMISE OF THE SHOW, AS SEEN IN ITS TITLE, she cannot get those dreams while remaining on the show, so she will have to fail at them. And I swear to God, if Leslie fails at her dreams, I am going to burn Utica to the ground. IT WILL BE TEN TIMES WORSE THAN PAM FAILING AT HER DREAMS, AND THAT IS QUITE POSSIBLY MY #1 TV DISAPPOINTMENT OF ALL TIME.
And it's not going to be better if Ron gets to be assistant city manager so Leslie can be promoted, because if Ron and Leslie and April aren't in the same department I am going to SCATTER UTICA'S BURNT ASHES TO THE WIND AND PEE ON THEM, and so then I don't know how they're going to get themselves out of this one in a satisfactory manner, and if I think about that I basically go into a depression spiral. DDDDDDDDD:
Ugh, I might be stating this all a little strongly, because the episodes, with the exception of the negative ad one, have mostly been... fine. And maybe it's too much to ask that I should have a joysplosion every week like during season 3. But it is really sad to me that the show is going from joysplosion to just fine! It being Parks Day doesn't cheer me up anymore! BUMMER CITY. It's only season 4, and two of those seasons weren't even full seasons, WE SHOULD NOT BE HITTING THE SITCOM DECLINE YET.
First of all, established relationships are boring, and all this focus on Leslie/Ben has been super boring. I thought once they were back together we could all move on with our lives and get back to the regular ensemble show, but Leslie is still spending most of her time interacting with Ben and ughhhhhhhhhhh. THEY'RE LIKE THE SAME PERSON, THERE'S NO TENSION HERE, LET HER TALK TO RON OR ANDY OR SOMETHING.
Then to GET tension in that relationship they keep -- like, okay. Full disclosure, I HATED Ben in the episode with the negative campaign ad. I did not see both sides. Most people did, and that's fine, but I REALLY DID NOT. I feel like going negative as the FIRST THING a campaign does is a shitty thing to do in the first place (especially when you're spending all your money on it, so it's the ONE THING that people will see about your candidate), and then wanting to go negative for LESLIE KNOPE is just like, have you ever met Leslie Knope? And then when Leslie said she would never do that in a million years, to keep pushing it? Uh, it was a pretty clear statement of what she wanted, and she's the candidate -- it's her name on the ad. So if she doesn't want to go negative, YOU DON'T GO NEGATIVE. And it didn't help that his first ad sounded like Gob Bluth's negative ad against Steve Holt. Like, I was fine with the compromise ad they eventually got to, but omg, so unacceptable before that.
Last week's episode wasn't as bad, because obviously Leslie was being obsessive (which was adorable as always) -- but. Basically Leslie was being the way she always is in that kind of situation, and Ben spent the whole episode being like, "BAD DOG. NO." It's not HELPFUL. You're never going to stop Leslie by acting like that! Ron Swanson would know never to act like that with her because it's pointless! And I just feel like lately Ben thinks things are wrong with Leslie ALL THE TIME. You're a steamroller, Leslie! No, wait, you have to be tougher, Leslie! Stop being so fixated, Leslie! That's not sexy fighting, that's just being kind of awful, even when you have a point. YOU'RE HER BOYFRIEND AND YOU USED TO THINK SHE WAS GREAT, WHY AREN'T YOU ON HER SIDE ANYMORE. And why is it always Leslie who has something wrong with her to manufacture tension between them? I CAN THINK OF A LOT OF THINGS WRONG WITH YOU, BEN, WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO START ENUMERATING THEM. 1) YOU'RE A WET BLANKET AND A NEGATIVE NELLY.
I mean, whatever, sometimes I still like them, and the kissing last week was super hot, but overall, Leslie/Ben is just getting old and there's too much of it and Ben is going to have to be a lot nicer/more delightful to win me back.
So that's a problem. And then overall I seem to come out of every episode feeling like the whole thing just didn't quite hang together, in a way I can't put my finger on. I think maybe with the campaign they just have too many balls in the air? Everyone feels scattered and not that funny, and I don't know what they should do to fix it, but it's just not quite working.
I think also maybe a lot of characters have gotten kind of one-note, so it feels more repetitive than great. Like... Tom hasn't done anything new and delightful since Treat Yo Self, just the same old schtick. April has had barely any storylines, and they all seem to revolve around her and Andy as a unit. Andy is sometimes literally too dumb to function. Donna NEVER gets storylines. Chris for some reason is still around, being a shallow insincere dbag and taking up screentime that should be given to Donna, who is funnier and more interesting.
And I am REALLY worried about the campaign issue. I feel like they brought the campaign into the mix as an obstacle for Leslie/Ben, without thinking through the implications. And now I worry that we're in a Pam Beesly situation, where we have brought up Leslie having big dreams, and raised the possibility of her getting those dreams, but because of the PREMISE OF THE SHOW, AS SEEN IN ITS TITLE, she cannot get those dreams while remaining on the show, so she will have to fail at them. And I swear to God, if Leslie fails at her dreams, I am going to burn Utica to the ground. IT WILL BE TEN TIMES WORSE THAN PAM FAILING AT HER DREAMS, AND THAT IS QUITE POSSIBLY MY #1 TV DISAPPOINTMENT OF ALL TIME.
And it's not going to be better if Ron gets to be assistant city manager so Leslie can be promoted, because if Ron and Leslie and April aren't in the same department I am going to SCATTER UTICA'S BURNT ASHES TO THE WIND AND PEE ON THEM, and so then I don't know how they're going to get themselves out of this one in a satisfactory manner, and if I think about that I basically go into a depression spiral. DDDDDDDDD:
Ugh, I might be stating this all a little strongly, because the episodes, with the exception of the negative ad one, have mostly been... fine. And maybe it's too much to ask that I should have a joysplosion every week like during season 3. But it is really sad to me that the show is going from joysplosion to just fine! It being Parks Day doesn't cheer me up anymore! BUMMER CITY. It's only season 4, and two of those seasons weren't even full seasons, WE SHOULD NOT BE HITTING THE SITCOM DECLINE YET.
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Even thinking about something like How I Met Your Mother or Friends, that aren't based around a workplace -- like, either they start having babies and the show changes, and it can't hold it together anymore, or else they stay exactly the same, which just gets depressing. I can't think of any perpetual sitcom that managed to keep the interest going, because they really are stuck between that rock and hard place. Haha, maybe this should teach me to stop getting invested in sitcoms. Or, um, television.
(Though on the plus side, I've been pretty into 30 Rock since it's been back, more than I was before the break, so maybe shows can pull me back in later?? Haha especially if they have Jack being super inappropriately into Liz.)
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How have we not even talked about Liz's secret boyfriend situation? And Jack's betrayal face? I don't even ship it, really! And yet!
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(Haha, like, I want stupid weird babyfic where Liz mothers Jack's baby and stuff. EW, SELF.)
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(I am leaving you comments about this because thinking about the demise of Pam Beesley still makes my heart bleed tears forever.)
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(ON PARKS RIGHT NOW I LEGIT WANT LESLIE TO CANONICALLY LEAVE BEN FOR RON. SO.)
P.S. I rewatched the Michael Scott Paper Company arc last week, and it still makes my heart soar. And me ship Pam/Ryan. And Pam/Michael.
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Dude, all those great Yuletide fics got me on the Ron/Leslie train too. Even despite my mustache racism. Also the show has been 'shipping them pretty hard this season. Especially wrt the "jerky dude has secret feeeeelings" trope I may have recently been emailing with someone about.
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Yesssssssssssss, the Ron/Leslie train!!!!!! OH GOD, I HAD ACTUALLY NEVER THOUGHT TO COMBINE THE JERKY DUDE HAS SECRET FEELINGS TROPE WITH RON/LESLIE BUT OH NO I'D BE SO INTO IT. Sometimes I actually feel like the show is canonically putting forward a Ron who is secretly in love with Leslie -- haha, like, at one point he says something wistful about people changing and it KIND OF SEEMED TO ME LIKE IT MIGHT BE SECRETLY ABOUT LESLIE DATING BEN. Also he was pretty upset when he found out they were secretly dating. Hahaha, ::writes ship manifesto:::
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I NEED IT
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Also ugh apparently I need a Liz/Jack icon these days, this one 30 Rock icon is not adequate.
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LET ME ESSPLAIN MY SITUATION TO YOU
MICHELLEK HAS STOPPED WRITING FIC. HARDLY ANYBODY ELSE IS WRITING FIC. THERE IS NO MORE FIC TO BE HAD. THERE IS TONS OF *TROPEY* FIC AND SO I CAN READ ABOUT BABIES BUT IT SUCKS. AND IT JUST MAKES ME WANT GOOD TROPEY FIC THAT MUCH MORE.
But since the new season started I've been having fun in my head with a super tropey apocalyptic 30 Rock idea that I'll never actually write, so I guess that is almost as okay. It involves sleeping in old RVs and scavenging in New Jersey suburbs and trying to be survivalists while Tracy Jordan is there. And eventually finding hold-outs in underground bunkers and sharing rooms and jealousy in the mess hall and lots of other stuff that is not really funny so this is why I will never write it. But can you tell I grew up on post-colonization XF fic??
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Oh God, I would be SO INTO THAT FIC, haha, you can tell I grew up on post-colonization XF fic too. I feel like that gave me as much of an apocalypse thing as growing up in Rapture church culture did. I NEVER STOOD A CHANCE.
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But I've also been really happy with the new season of 30 Rock! I think several of the things that disappointed me in s4-5 are better so far, which makes me happy. (And the inappropriate fixation as mention above, ahem!) But I still don't think Liz is really going to succeed at anything significant (in terms of what she's wanted) until it's time to end the show. So now I just hope that they do it well when the time comes.
You know, speaking of over-investment in TV shows, I think it's funny that TXF is sort of a by-word for what happens to shows that go on too long, when REALLY, it's amazing that it didn't start its real decline until the 6th season. Six seasons of a hit drama is a long time. Of course, they took two seasons to sort of reach maturity, and I think viewers were less critical then.
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Yeah, I really feel like 30 Rock is so much better! Haha, getting rid of Avery was a good move, even though it was also 100% ridiculous. But yeah, also coming to terms with how they are just going to make Liz a failure until the end helps, probably. Oh God, I'd never thought to hope they do that well when the time comes, b-but now I am hoping that really hard and also pretty concerned about it, haha.
So true on XF! Now that you mention it, I feel like dramas often have a little bit longer of a lifespan before their decline in general, though? Like, even SVU -- I mean, it is a TERRIBLE SHOW, but it did get remarkably more terrible at a certain point. But that was NOT at season 3 or 4, it was more like season 6-8 (uh... or thereabouts, my timeline of SVU is a lot shakier), which is much more the XF timeline! Though this is off the top of my head, so I'm not sure this is usually the case, because the static sitcoms don't decline so much, and also some dramas start sucking pretty early, haha. So who knows.
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I DID NOT LIKE SEASON FOUUUUUUR
But yes, I am hoping that they will end it in ways that will be ACTUALLY heart-warming, like the end of season one, or season two. Those were the days!
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Ugh, anyway, HOPEFULLY the actual happy ending will be actually heart-affirming and not come out of nowhere! And Liz and Jack will just get together, despite everything Tina ever says!!!
(Haha, hilariously one time Sudeikis got asked basically if he was a Liz/Floyd shipper and he was like, "Well, everyone just wants her and Jack to get together, right?" Like he totally shipped them and this was a natural way to feel. I LIKE THAT OPINION, SIR.)
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It's crazy, but I still have hope that when they write the end, they might just say -- screw it, we convinced them all it was never going to happen, let's just SPRING IT ON EVERYONE NOW and make it awesome.
Yesss, I remember that! AND IT IS TRUE. It made me like Sudeikis even despite my natural disdain that he divorced Kay Cannon and dated January Jones. Yeah, I have opinions.
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Heeeee, your natural disdain for Sudeikis is COMPLETELY WARRANTED, seriously, worst downgrade ever. And full disclosure, I mostly like him because in my personal headcanon that ships him/Kristen Wiig, he fulfills the douchebag-in-love-with-a-lady role, sooooooooo yeah. HIS DBAGNESS WORKS FOR ME, I CAN'T EXPLAIN IT. But I would def never argue that he's, like, a good person, haha.