Why This Was The WORST Episode Of Parks And Recreation 

To be fair, if your worst episode is your pilot, then you’re an amazing show.

For me the series really hit its stride when Ben and Chris were introduced.

whenever I pitch the show to friends, I show them "Hunting Trip" as a pilot. It shows off all the characters without making you feel like you're missing anything while also just being a REALLY funny episode. If they enjoy it (which they always do), I tell them to start in the beginning. I think season 1 (and the pilot) are still worth the watch because they're still really REALLY funny episodes, they just don't have the same heart that season 2 on has.

I'm glad they pivoted away from "leslie is michael scott but with boobs". The show really grew and became wonderful.

Season 1 is such a slog to get through, but the rest of the show is SO worth it. If you were turned off by the pilot or the rest of season 1, know the show becomes amazing from season 3 onwards

It started to improve by Season 2. They did mention that the first season was also crammed into a limited shooting timeline since Amy was pregnant. Unlike other sitcoms, filming had a breather wherein the creative team could check the audience pulse and make changes along the way. Thank god, it picked up in season 2. I'm a big P&R fan so I still watch the first season but for non-fans, I would sometimes recommend to skip it.

On rewatches, I always start at season 3. There are some good episodes prior to then, but I love the additions of Ben and Chris and the subtraction of Mark.

I know people largely didn't like the first two seasons, but I still find them just as funny as the rest of the series -- just in a different way.

Only Rashida Jones can replace Rashida Jones

What i love about Parks and Rec is it actually gets better as the series goes on. The Office bad down points and finished awful, Friends had down seasons in the middle and other sit coms. The first season was awful, 2nd was a lot better and as soon as Mark left and Chris and Ben joined it really started to rise.

I think you hit the nail on the head when you talked about cynicism - I think what's wrong with the first season is the *tone*. Parks & Rec is funny and absurd but at its core, it's wholesome and hopeful. That's when it's at its best.

The show basically became iconic and beloved because the writers systematically pivoted away from all the problems season one had. They listened to the audience without pandering to them, and as a result, threads like the Andy-April romance felt sincere and earned. The show earned its 'heart' because of how sorely that heart was lacking in s1.

It was still enjoyable to watch on some level and it was the cast that caused me to stick with the story. As weak as the pilot for Parks and Rec was, the office was painful throughout the entire first season due to Michael, but his character growth was the most satisfying thing to watch.

Season 1 almost turned me off the entire show because it just seemed like a worse version of The Office. I'm glad I continued watching into Season 2

I remember watching it and not finding it funny and not watching anymore. Years later I gave the show another shot after hearing amazing things. Thank god I did because Parks is now my all time favorite sitcom. Season stumbles. But season two finds it’s feet and 3 onward it spread its wings and fly (spread your wings and fly)

I feel kind of bad for the actor who plays Mark. Imagine being a part of one of the world's most beloved shows, only it didnt BECOME beloved untill you got fired and replaced 😬

7:55 - With how the first season of The Office was, I almost wonder if it's less about losing sight of what made the show great, and more about having a hard time with first seasons

It felt like they were all just learning their own characters for the first season or two. I’ve always liked how happy and upbeat the series felt overall.

How can people not find this show funny, after you get into it, there are tons of good jokes. So many classic moments that are hilarious, tons of great characters.

Honestly, the pilot is so bad that you can skip the 1st season entirely and not miss a thing. If you haven't watched yet, start from the 2nd season. You will save time and be able to enjoy the show.

honestly i’m just glad chris pratt stayed on after s1 - i cannot imagine the show without him

My wife and I stick mainly to season 3-7 because Ben and Chris being introduced really helped the show feel completed. Also all the characters seemed to settle into their roles more definitively during 3.

I agree completely about this lacklustre pilot. I had to convince my husband to give the show several episodes before it picked up steam. To be fair, I said the same thing about The Office. Both shows had the same rocky start.

i saw parks and rec before the office and honestly on my first watch i didnt really notice any of the flaws. i rewatched it during the first lockdown after binging the office for the first time and yeah it became really obvious what the problems with those first few episodes were... im really glad they fixed them ! its such a comfort show of mine and id be lying if i said it didnt play a small part in me becoming a local government employee ahah

The pilot was underwhelming for most of the episode, but absolutely amazing at the final scene. It introduced one of the greatest TV show characters, and his hatred for government. By the end of the episode I decided not to continue watching parks and rec, but then Ron said he wants to privatize the parks department. I was sold right there on the spot. I will watch this show just to see more of this man. That was it. It's a great show.

After watching season 1 of Parks and Rec I stopped watching for years thinking it could never be anything close to what The Office created. Coming back to it literally years later, I can say it is possibly my favourite show with possibly my favourite tv character Ronald Ulysses Swanson.

My siblings are OBSESSED with Parks & Rec and The Office. One year, I came home for Christmas and my siblings were on the couch, kicking off a holiday binge of all of Parks & Rec up until that point. I watched the pilot episode with them and peaced out because digging out my long-buried childhood N64 was a way more intriguing venture than sitting through that episode again.

absolutely agree. I was one of the people whose first attempt at watching this show failed only to try again years later and fall in love with it. I know multiple people who love the Office, but refuse to listen when I tell them how good this show is, simply because they hated the pilot. It's a darn shame

I liked how uncomfortable the Pilot can be, it reminds me of the phase of awkwardness when first meeting new people, once you get used to them they'll open up and become your friends and that's exactly what the first seasons were for me.

I'm so glad they turned it around after season 1.. Parks & Rec is probably my favorite series ever and it almost didn't happen because of this pilot and season

I hear the “Season 1 is the worst” “Wait till Ben and Chris are introduced, then it’s worth it” stuff a lot. But I have to say, I disagree. I usually have little patience for Pilots and if I’m not hooked pretty much instantly I won’t touch it. P&R immediately hooked me, immediately got my laughs and my interest in the story it was about to tell. If anything, the show started to decline in quality the longer it went on - mainly just due to Flanderization. Characters got boiled down to one character trait, stuck to one type of joke etc. That being said, there are still fantastic moments within that make it a fantastic series. I have restarted the series immediately after I had got done watching it lol. The caveat to all this though is that I haven’t seen The Office, so the criticisms that they were too similar is probably valid, I just had no reference for it and enjoyed it all the same

Yeah, Honestly I watched that 1st episode when it first aired and checked out thinking it was a bad office knock off. It wasn't until years later when it was on Netflix and hearing how great it was I gave it another shot and once I got past that first episode by the time I got to season 2 I was a solid fan. Ron made the show for me. Depending on what day you ask me I'll give you a different answer but I might like it more than the office... they're really neck and neck, especially if you pretend the last 2 seasons of the Office never happened (except the finale).

The saving grace for season 1 is its only 6 episodes and watching it leads to better jokes and call backs later on

Yo what was that song called playing in the last minute of the video?

This is why so people don’t continue on with it. They watch the pilot and think it sucks so they don’t give it a try. Understandable. But I would encourage anyone to push through or to just start at season 2! Season 2 is good and by season 3 it’s all a home run Also I notice that people who have only seen season one or have barely watched the show assume it’s just an office rip off and don’t want to watch it. When honestly by season 3 it’s really nothing like the office. The only similarities they end up sharing at the talking heads, fast zooms, and looks to the camera. But the looks to the camera are used way less and there’s barely any acknowledgements to the camera crew or why they are there. The Office was more meta in that way. And like this video said, Parks focuses more on warmth and heart while a lot of the humor of The Office comes from shock value/second hand embarrassment/offensive behavior

I mean, it's hardly a surprise. They did the same exact thing with the introduction to The Office (US). They just copy and pasted the old UK formula, then back-paddled and fixed what didn't fit. Seems like they knew exactly what they were doing.

I think the problem is the exact same thing that happened with the office. The started out trying to make a show about a bunch of government workers that hated their jobs and acted like government workers who hated their job, but like the office they quickly realized that that makes for shitty tv. Nobody wants to watch an office of people who are just mean, and snarky, and disinterested all the time. Like the office you start out looking at all the characters thinking "I hate all these people". They are all lacking in personality and are even dressed in a way that evokes a black government office environment. To me this is exactly on par with the Office pilot. I know lots of people who just bailed on the office because of how it starts. I've even had people try to go back and watch it on Netflix but they give up after a couple episodes.

After watching the show a few times, the first season isn't really that bad, because I know what is coming. But it felt like work the first time I watched it though haha

It took me (and most people I know) two tries to get through the first season, but the good thing is it goes by quickly with only 6 20-minute episodes, and if you're binging it that's basically an evening. However, in hindsight the first season is so endearing to me, I really like watching how all the characters started out. I feel the same way about season 1 of the office; I guess it's mostly because we know what's coming.

They were feeling out their characters and had the disadvantage of using the office as a template. I call the first season the “Xanax season” since they were all trying to play it straight and when Chris appeared with his zaniness, it opened up everyone else’s characters.

Parks and Rec is to the Office what American Auto is to Superstore. The biggest difference being that American Auto started god awful and will remain as such

Ryan WISHES he was Tom Haverford. Doesnt even come close, Tom is an absolute hero

I hated the first episode. I remember looking forward to it then commenting to my friends about how much I disliked it. Took a few years to even give it a chance again. Glad I did. Became one of my favorite shows ever.

This so succinctly reflects my feelings when I first watch the pilot episode. I remember looking at my wife and saying did they seriously just cast a person from the office in a show that's a blatant and bad rip off of the office. It ended up being one of my favorite shows ever.

I remember Hulu's description of the show as being a "droll workplace comedy". If whoever wrote that only watched the first episode they'd be correct. I'd tell my friends they didn't have to watch the first season because I wanted them to stick with it. My S1 summary would be a pit, Ann and Andy dated and broke up. S2 was the soft reboot.

See, that issue of sitcoms or any TV program faces. Treating their audience like adults instead of children is why Better Call Saul, my favourite TV show, works so well. We don't need Mike in season 3 to tell the guys at the dump "I think someone bugged my car, so I'm gonna look for it." We just need to see Mike rip his vehicle to shreds, looking for a LoJack. Another recent example for me is Arcane, now, I've never seen/done anything League of Legends related but, I heard pristine reviews of the first season. Treating the audience like adults is one of the things Arcane does best for sure. There's a scene early on where Vi points out a stuffed bunny on a powerline to Powder, Vi says, as a child, she accidentally threw it up there and every night she'd try and get it down because, it's implied, she doesn't quit. So, when one episode later Vi walks into Powder's room carrying that stuffed bunny, says she loves Powder, and determined, walks out the door, we understand what's happening.

I recall the writers saying that the major change in the first season was the ways in which the cast perceived and interacted with Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler). She is cut from the same cloth as those Liberal Democratic public figures, but without the actual power to do anything meaningful in Pawnee, but still conducts herself with the familiar self-assuredness and ego that those women have. The dialogue first reads her as self-centered and condescending, while the rest of the cast are irritated by her and her high-minded ideas and relentless desire to claim any success. By season two, they found a way of softening Leslie's character without getting rid of the reasons she is driven to succeed in a small town government - they made the characters realize that she's not some bossy bureaucrat who's out for herself, but someone who is an optimist and ideologue who sees the best in people and wants them to achieve their potential. That's why she pushes April to become a civil servant, that's why she wants Anne to become the head of the city's health department, and why she admires Tom for his entrepreneurial spirit. She is partnered with Ron Swanson who is the libertarian antithesis to her centralized government structure, yet he can see her passion for upholding civic duties and does nothing to obstruct or sabotage her work in the department; not because he's some closeted progressive, far from it, but because she recognizes his value system and manages to work with it, representing a seat at the table for all political views (and she also provides him cover for refusing to do anything productive or that costs the city money while he's the head of their department.) That's mostly where the humor changed, was admiring people's shortcomings or foibles, instead of mocking or ridiculing them for them. Even if the ideas were hairbrained and possibly ill-advised, they were still supportive of one another, as friends, colleagues, and ultimately citizens.

Not surprising this is being labeled the worst episode in the show’s runtime. I remember watching season 1 and feeling like it was a different kind of show trying so desperately to be another “The Office.” So glad it became what it did, cause I love Parks & Rec

Parks and Rec first season was such a pain to go through, but so worth it, after that the series became one of my favorites, i love the characters, the story, everything

It's one of the only shows that ever got better with time, season 1 I always skip, season 2 is good, and then when Ben and Chris are written in the show sky rockets, and it never comes back down again, I mean the top 2 highest rated episodes on IMDB are both season 7 episodes, and 3 of the top 10 episodes are from season 6

I have to agree with you. The show didn't hook me until the end of Season 1 and the start of Season 2. The moment Chris Pratt said "The Pit works in mysterious ways," I fell in love with the series.

The intro synopsis is correct as I remember NBC's advertising was mostly "If you like The Office..." Parks & Rec was setup in the same faux-documentary format so they could use the "confessionals" for quick jokes. Fortunately, the evolving cast and good writing eventually helped it stand on its own.

I think Parks & Rec is the poster child for shows that had a rough start, but became incredible later on.

Parks and rec replaced my name is Earl which was really hitting it's stride in terms of character growth. So to see something so derivative of the office (which I've never been 100%) on i didn't give it a chance. HOWEVER, binging this on Netflix was a fantastic idea. It really grew into a wonderful show. I loved it

"Leslie I just searched your symptoms and it says you may have network connectivity issues."

the last season has all the worst episodes...

Im pretty sure the Entire final season of Parks and Rec is the worst episode

I often suggest people suggest people skip the first season and start with the second. It ain't bad, just there's so much of rework that it's almost a different show.

I always got to skip through the first episodes of the first season on my rewatches, they're such a drag to get through imo

The pilot was the very reason I didn't watch the show. I don't even think I finished the episode at the time. It wasn't until the show's last season that my girlfriend at the time (now my wife) convinced me to give the show a shot. It was a little difficult to get through the first season but by the second season, I was HOOKED! It finally picked up and now I LOVE going back and rewatching.

02:15 "reassembled the creators of The Office." I honestly had no idea that Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant were the masterminds behind Parks and Rec.

My least favorite episode is the one where Leslie is set up on a date with Ann’s coworker played by Will Arnett.

What was the original channel that OG voice guy had? Does anyone remember its pissing me off

The show is VERY different in the first season but I honestly have always enjoyed season 1 (but I always agree it’s the weakest)

Oh yeah definitely agree the first episode kinda put me off on the show cus my first exposure from this show were clips of the later seasons So I dropped parks and recs thinking it was very lackluster until someone told me "yeah just watch season 2 episode 1 you won't lose much context but you can start actually enjoying the show" and thanks to that I fell in love the show

For some reason, I just never got into Parks and Rec. I loved The office, 30 rock, AD, Seinfeld and everything but Parks and Rec I watched all seasons just to get through with them

0:23 “slightly modified characters from the office” *literaly the same person”

To be fair the Ron Swanson ending is fantastic. The Bobby knight stuff and him asking the documentary crew if they got a grant to film them is so funny

Despite it’s similarities to the Office, I love how Parks and Rec is just completely enjoyable, apart from the pilot, and there’s never any moments that are genuinely painful or uncomfortable to watch which tends to happen in the office due to Michael and his ability to make us hate him in a moment.

0:23 that went by so quickly i was like "why is ann there twice" and i had to pause to realize that was actually karen

That first season was rough tbh

I would love to see a video about Psych if you ever watched that show

I always skip to the second episode of Parks and Recreation when introducing the show to everyone. Still not the best, but it usually gets people interested into watching more episodes. Then I just skip right into the Stakeout episode in season 2. Again not ideal but it has worked for me.

While a show like The Office has a rocky start and then gets good for a few seasons, then dips in quality towards the end, from what I remember, Parks and Rec had that rocky start, and then just kept getting better and better. Definitely the "Pam and Jim" dilemma was fixed. Pam and Jim's relationship was why people watched the first few seasons of the office, but after they got together... well that's not really much you can do. With Leslie and Benji Wyatt, so much grew from them being together, especially since Ben was brought in so much later.

Maybe I'm crazy but I enjoyed the pilot. I always go in to new shows knowing that the first couple of episodes can sometimes be a little rough and I thought this one was worth watching a few more episodes

It's a good thing that this shows weakest episode is the pilot, because there was only one way for this show to go and that was up. For me, this show is way vetter than the office itself.

I feel like “The Pit” was the tipping point for the show. It endears Andy Dwyer, it portrays Leslie as having both logical and emotional intelligence, and does a great job of getting the rest of the cast in their starting positions for the future.

Honestly, I thought the whole first season of Parks and Rec was very average - I also thought as much of the Office. Thankfully, they're short seasons, and they vastly improve from the second seasons onwards.

Agree. If it wasn't because of April and Andy's relationship's creen grabas and memes (that motivated me to start watching when the series was on Netflix) I wouldn't have passed the first episode. The entire first season is rough, but it got better to the point that it is one of my favorite tv shows of all time. But I have never rewatched season 1.

As previously stated, that first season was kinda rough.

I actually argue that the worst episode is episode 4, Boy's Club. The only thing I could tell you about that off the top of my head is "a 19-year-old April gets drunk and the funniest part is when teenagers literally throw shit at Leslie". The b-plot is probably the only time Andy is a good boyfriend to Ann, yet I totally forgot it existed until I looked at the Wikipedia page. I think an unfunny, unmemorable first-season episode is much worse than a dull pilot. At least the pilot got me to watch the rest of the series bc they set up a story I really wanted to see the conclusion to. Ultimately, I think that's why we keep watching Parks and Recreation- the story is really simple yet strong, it becomes really compelling as it adds complexities.

Love your videos!

I never had to think of "writer earning my trust", or "dragging me on where and why" when watching a show to enjoy it, or not but not due to those reasons

We all know Ron April and Andy ended up the favorites but faith in Amy Poehlers SNL reputation is why we got an episode 2,3, etc

As an insomniac I love this show. Put on episode and I'll be asleep with in 10 minutes. I have suggested to my doctor that she recommends this show for all insomniacs. Turns out was right, and she thanked me for the suggestion. She told me many of patients use this show to sleep now! If you trouble sleeping watch this show.

To be fair,I find Season 1 of Parks and Recreation more entertaining than season 4 and 5 of Arrested Development

Nerdstalgic videos always seem like a good option when you see the thumbnail and title, and then they say a whole lot of nothing and waste your time

Andy's comment at the Grand Canyon is one of my all-time favorite lines from any series, ever. Absolutely DEAD from laughter. :D

The scene where Leslie pushes the drunk guy out of the slide is silly. I’m a maintenance worker my city’s park services department. I would be called to take care of that, not one of our administrative employees. I didn’t see anything wrong when I watched this back in high school tho lmao

for me the show only really starts when andy and april get together, and it really gets going when ben and chris are introduced

When it comes to Season 1, I at least watch the finale because some of the stuff that is built up to kinda starts there (most notably Ron name dropping Tammy, Ann breaking up with Andy, April showing a slight interest in Andy’s music).

I remember watching part of the pilot and not wanting to continue but I came back years later and loved it. Really doesn’t set the stage well

The 30 Rock pilot was pretty bad too. I dismissed Parks and Rec as an Office clone for it's entire run because of the pilot and had friends and family convince me to try again.

I always felt the Leslie-Ron dynamic in the pilot felt leaned hard on the Liz Lemon- Jack Donague, high ranking woman in the office with a man as her boss and sometimes mentor

Michael Schur mentions in his new book about how P&R was basically given a freebie for season 1 and how he was still a very green writer coming off his work on the office. Characters were struggling to find their spot and a lot of the characters grew by working alongside actors strengths. It makes sense then the criticisms as they are exactly what even the showrunners were thinking at the time.

I think weakest pilot (compared to later episodes) probably goes to Everybody Loves Raymond. I LOVE that show but when I saw the pilot I thought, "Wow. I'm surprised this survived."

For me, I watched a bit of Parks and Rec (Right before Ben and Chris) then dropped it cause I didn't feel any spark. A few months later, my friend was over and suggested we watch Parks and Rec as he's never seen it, but I said it wasn't great, but we should watch it anyway since there wasn't anything else to binge. Then as we're binging, the show comes onto the Ben and Chris part and I tell him, "Yo, I think I was wrong, this show is actually pretty funny."

Like in The Office, the boss/main characters (Michael/Leslie) start off really unlikeable and end up being wholesome and lovable.

I know this isn’t necessarily a point this video hit, but I think it’s pretty obvious that the majority of people view Ben and Chris’s arrival on the show as when it really hits its stride. I think because Mark’s departure happens around the same time, we assume that Mark leaving is a part of what made the show better. I think this is untrue. I recently rewatched the series after not having watched through it for a few years, and I totally misremembered how that went down; I thought Mark’s departure and Chris and Ben’s arrival happened pretty simultaneously, but there was a bit more overlap than I originally thought. I also recognized the way they tried to develop Mark’s character by pairing him up with Ann and turning him from the cynical womanizer to an attentive, dedicated boyfriend and all around good guy (other examples being the way he helps Tom move out after his divorce, helps Ron get his shop up to code, draws up plans for a park for Leslie, etc). I believe that they could’ve continued developing his character, maybe not giving him as much time in the spotlight, but to at least have a reoccurring role on the show- potential love triangle with Ann and Chris? I don’t know, all I know is that the notion that Mark made the show bad seems to come from the same logic that Andrew Garfield is the reason why TASM movies weren’t as good as they could’ve been (which I think people are finally realizing is untrue after No Way Home). Going further, I think to assume that Paul Schneider was let go because he was incapable of portraying a better version of Mark on the show is a naive assumption. I feel there was a lot more the writers could’ve done with Mark and more Paul Schneider could’ve done had he been given the chance. I’m not saying I wish they had kept him necessarily, I’m just saying I believe almost all the Mark hate out there is misguided, and that it really stems from the reasons stated in this video on why the pilot (and almost all of the early episodes) failed to live up to its full potential.

It’s amazing how the worst season is the first season (and the shortest). It’s weird too see that on any series not only sitcoms