Parks and Recreation

What’s the Story?

In PARKS AND RECREATION, an unseen camera crew documents the efforts of Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) -- an idealistic parks and rec official working for the town of Pawnee, Ind. -- to turn an abandoned lot into a public park in response to a complaint from a local nurse (Rashida Jones). Aiding Leslie on her quest -- and often standing in her way -- are her opportunistic colleague Tom (Aziz Ansari); her skeptical boss, Ron (Nick Offerman); an unenthusiastic intern (Aubrey Plaza); and a city planner with whom she shares a past (Paul Schneider).

Is It Any Good?

Poehler -- who first found fame in Saturday Night Live's sketches -- tackles a new kind of comedy in this mockumentary, which attempts to do for small-town bureaucrats what The Office did for misguided middle managers. It's funny, if not rolling-on-the-floor hilarious -- and character-driven comedies like this one tend to get even better as audiences become more familiar with the players involved and come to embrace their quirks and foibles.

If you're still on the fence about Parks and Recreation, ask yourself this: Do you really think that the woman who played Sen. Hillary Clinton opposite Tina Fey's Gov. Sarah Palin -- and gangsta rapped on SNL's "Weekend Update" with the real Palin -- would let you down comedically as a deluded public servant with a can-do attitude? We're hoping for the best and voting no.