(#12) Slapstick Silliness Beats Cringeworthy Awkwardness
The Office introduced America to the intense awkwardness that made the British version so great. No one was better at it than Michael Scott, but that just meant everyone around him had to constantly play the straight man. Once Michael left Dunder Mifflin, The Office ended up completely aimless without Steve Carell's brilliantly intense performance.
Parks and Recreation went for more silly sight gags and slapstick physical comedy than The Office, and that kind of stuff never gets old. Unlike The Office, Parks allowed all of their characters to explore this space, which made the show incredibly likeable and gave it plenty of replay value. No one ever tires of seeing Leslie and Ron "deprogram" Councilman Jamm by slapping the living crap out of him.
(#1) Two Words: Ron Swanson
One character can't make an entire series, but Nick Offerman's performance as the stern, yet loveable Ron Swanson makes a pretty strong case. The intensely-mustachioed department director could have easily become a one-note man's man but the writing staff turned him into a complicated and complete character and Offerman hit every note perfectly.
Ron is wise and cranky, kind and fair, easily triggered, and has complicated relationships with women named Tammy. He hates Canada. He hates Europe. He leads a double life as sexy jazz saxophonist Duke Silver in the next town over. He uses the Internet to get the addresses of people and places he hates, and then writes them strongly worded letters from his typewriter. Oh, and he marries Xena herself, Lucy Lawless, late in the series.
(#2) Ann Is Way Better Than Karen
Karen was just awful on The Office. It wasn't Rashida Jones's fault – she was saddled with a character whose whole presence on the show was to be "not Pam." She was basically a pretty person in business clothes, and viewers knew she was never going to end up with Jim.
On Parks, though, Jones started out as an angry citizen at a zoning meeting and the caretaker of Andy Dwyer. She quickly became best friends with Leslie, and their relationship defined a central part of the whole Parks experience. She had a hilarious love/hate feud with April, and had plenty of great scenes with almost everyone in the cast. Some of her narrative twists and turns made no sense at all (dating Tom?), but she ended up standing out as a strong character on a show with a whole lot of strong characters.
(#8) Parks Had Much Better Guest Stars
The Office featured just a handful of guest stars, and the most significant ones (Will Ferrell, Ray Romano, Will Arnett, Jim Carrey) were all in the same episode. Tim Olyphant played sexy salesman Danny Cordray, Idris Elba spent a few episodes playing Michael's nemesis/boss Charles Miner, and Oscar winner Kathy Bates was shoehorned into a truly silly role as the rich, tough, Southern belle-type CEO Jo Bennett.
Parks and Recreation featured Louis CK, Paul Rudd, Megan Mullally, Lucy Lawless, Parker Posey, and Kristen Bell in some pretty significant roles. Not to mention the D.C. power people who showed up, including Michelle Obama, Barbara Boxer, Madeleine Albright, Newt Gingrich, John McCain, and Joe Biden, who Leslie might leave Ben for. And oh yeah, '90s R&B star Ginuwine played Donna's cousin, Questlove played her brother, and director Werner Herzog had a cameo, as well.
(#6) Parks's Writing Team Understood What Made The Show Funny
Understanding why your show connects with an audience isn't as simple as it sounds. Sometimes, studio execs (and, yes, even showrunners) don't understand the formula, and a show with plenty of promise dies way too early. The Office had its British counterpart (and Steve Carell) to build hype for the show, but Parks and Recreation didn't have the same built-in audience and Amy Poehler didn't have the same name-brand recognition Carell brought to the table.
Parks stumbled out of the gate, largely because the writers didn't know what to do with Leslie Knope, and she needed to, well, carry the show. Then, they made her less ditzy and more Tracy Flick-esque, and that's when Parks took off. They kept April aloof and dark, while filling out her love life. Tom lost some of his silly over-the-top materialism. And Ron revealed his heart of gold.
Showrunners Michael Schur and Greg Daniels kept the show relevant and entertaining because they knew what worked and what didn't.
(#3) Parks's Character Additions Were Much Stronger
Parks and Recreation added two of its most significant characters, Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott) and Chris Traeger (Rob Lowe), after dumping the useless Mark Brendanawicz (Paul Schneider). Both Traeger and Wyatt were featured prominently as the love interests of Leslie and Ann, in addition to being a central part of the Parks narratives throughout their tenure on the show. Lowe and Scott left an indelible mark on the Parks legacy, and the show was at its best when they were in the cast. Even Leslie's City Council nemesis Jeremy Jamm (Jon Glaser) was nice fresh arm out of the bullpen in the later seasons.
The same cannot be said for The Office. The original cast was already pretty darn strong, but they didn't add too many worthwhile characters after the first handful of seasons. Outside of Andy Bernard (Ed Helms), no one really left a lasting impression on the offices of Dunder Mifflin. Even Gabe (Zach Woods), Erin (Ellie Kemper), and Holly (Amy Ryan) were largely forgettable.
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"Classic sitcoms have never been as popular as it is today." CNN expressed when analyzing the entertainment industry under the epidemic. Thanks to the information dissemination of social networks and streaming media, classic TV series more than ten years ago such as Friends, The Office, Parks and Recreation, are now being popular again, and even some once niche dramas are also famous in the special period.
The rebroadcast of classic dramas is not accidental. Many people often review and compare TV shows of the same genre at the same time. Here the random tool shares 15 reasons why most people think Parks and Recreation is better than The Office, it is sure that you can have completely opposite view.
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