Does Parks and Recreation hold up?

Ron "the government is evil" Swanson for sure hasn't aged well. I liked Andy at the time, but Chris Pratt has ruined him for me now. Never found Rob Lowe's character funny in the slightest, and that's the only character I couldn't stand even back then.

Hard to watch anything with Chriss Pratt in it.

Honestly, I never watched "Parks and Recreation" the 1st time it was on TV. It's on my TV watch list once I retire.

I never watched "The Office" either, it's on the list!!

To be fair even when it was airing I couldn't stand half the characters. I can't see that having improved over the years.

I do think it's still funny, but it is PURE fantasy. Indiana is a shithole MAGA state now--Pawnee would be a MAGA stronghold and Leslie and some of the other liberals/Democrats would be receiving non-stop death threats. And the ending---SPOILER---where Leslie, a Hillary style Democrat becomes President? Pure fantasy.

I never got this show. I tried so many times to watch, but it wasn't for me.

I just tried watching this show for the first time.

Why do people love it? It's the exact same show as the Office which I also never liked either.

Never watched it, it's on my list like The Office.

I loved it, but hated the first season which did seem like The Office in the Midwest. But in season 2 they found their footing and it got better. If you’ve tried watching from season 1, you’ll likely give up. I agree with the Chris Pratt disgust. And yeah, definitely a fantasy.

I don't think I could stomach Chris Pratt and Aziz Ansari. They were fine on the show but they've both turned into utter douchebags.

[quote] Ron "the government is evil" Swanson for sure hasn't aged well

People who liked the character when it first aired would still like him. Nothing has changed.

There are episodes, such as when they stay at the B&B called "The Quiet Corn," that are still hilarious.

The things that the show mocked are still deserving of being mocked today as they were then.

Mocking a vegan:

I’m sorry the link appears not work

Gave it a try a couple of times and couldn't get into it. The Office is much more entertaining and holds up.

It’s included within this.

Some funny site gags, for example the murals on city hall.

Looking at the camera and looking irritated is not comedy. Garbage. Just like The Office

[quote]People who liked the character when it first aired would still like him. Nothing has changed.

Couldn't be more wrong. In fact, Ron's character is the number one complaint on Reddit when posts similar to this thread pop up – libs who found him highly amusing at the time now can't stomach him because all they see is Trump. It's the same with me, or I wouldn't have brought up this point in the first place. So yes, things have very much changed, a lot.

"libs"?

[quote]In fact, Ron's character is the number one complaint on Reddit when posts similar to this thread pop up – libs who found him highly amusing at the time now can't stomach him because all they see is Trump.

I could see people lying about originally liking him so they can now claim that their view has changed, but it’s not believable that the kind of people who understandably dislike Ron would somehow have liked him in the past. Nothing has changed.

It was innocent by today's standards.

Mr. Karen Walker's character was so flamingly over-the-top uptight, paranoid, and right-wing. Still cracks me up. Plus, that ginormous, fake Daddy 'stache. What's not to like? He loves Scotch, guns, hates cats, vegetables, government, and probably science. And yet he works for the government and would likely have had cardiovascular surgery and drives a truck designed by lesbian MIT engineers.

Back in the day, I had a crush on Chris Pratt. Over the years, I've heard that he was heading towards stupid, Jesusy Trumpism. So sad.

It doesn’t hold up all that well but the saving grace is Amy Poehler every single episode. Everyone is good, the writing is funny - though a pure fantasy of the best of America, how one person can make a difference bla blah, but AP plays Leslie like a modern day Pippi Longstocking and she’s great. The moment the shoe hooked me is when some snotty brats are whipping bags of dog poo at each other and Leslie so she starts whipping it back and admits that it’s kind of fun and gets into it. I also love the pawn shop guy.

Very unbelievable but a fun cute show.

Ron is clearly the butt of the joke, r13. You deserved to be mocked for failing to understand that. The viewers are supposed to laugh at Ron Swanson and his batshit beliefs.

Yeah, I don't understand how people don't understand that Ron Swanson is a satirical character. You aren't supposed to think he's wonderful or even sane. You're supposed to laugh at his stereotypical beliefs and behavior.

It would be like saying All in the Family hasn't aged well because now we know that racism is bad and therefore Archie is "problematic." We knew racism was bad back then, too and that was the whole point of Archie's character. He was meant to be ridiculed, and so is Ron.

Maybe people don’t get satire anymore.

It's only like 10 years old, of course it would hold up.

"Does Parks and Recreation hold up?"

27 comments in six months would indicate.....'no'.

R26 No, they don’t.

I saw a bunch of episodes on a plane flight. The show never piqued my interest, but there was nothing else to watch and I couldn't sleep. It's actually pretty funny. There's something unmemorable about it though. I never sought it out again.

I don’t think Ron would have been MAGA… he was gay friendly and all about personal freedom

I don't think he would have been MAGA either, r31. He was intelligent and emotionally mature, even if he believed some crazy things.

He was the definition of a libertarian, ie: he made no sense.

People don’t understand satire or irony these days.

[quote]He was the definition of a libertarian, ie: he made no sense.

It was a TV comedy. Leslie and all the other characters intentionally made no sense. That's why they were funny.

Ron was like Alex Keaton in that for whatever reason the audience really liked and admired the characters, which was not the writers' intention, but the producers embraced the audience's reaction and ran with it.

I watched the show in its original run (though I don’t think I ever finished the final season.) I enjoyed it at the time but like r30 I’ve never sought it out again. Same with 30 Rock which I thought was even funnier at the time