Second Look: NBC's "Parks and Recreation"

I was curious to check out the second episode of NBC's Parks and Recreation ("Canvassing") last night to see if my feelings about the new Amy Poehler-starring series, from creators Greg Daniels and Mike Schur, had changed at all.

After watching the series' second episode, I was struck once again how the mockumentary format that the duo borrowed from The Office just doesn't work here. In fact, I believe it's what's holding the series back. Too often the characters rely on overused talking heads to convey information that would be far more humorous if they were said to actual people (I'm thinking of Leslie's bit about returning to the park on her birthday with her White House staff as an example) than to the unseen camera crew.

Additionally, the use of the hand-held cameras works much better in the physical confines of The Office, where the Dunder Mifflin crew works in bullpen-style seating rather than in tiny, cramped offices. Far too often, the shots on Parks and Recreation are hidden camera-style, filming the action inside the office of, say Nick Offerman's Ron Swanson, through the slats of the window blinds.

I did roar with laughter when Leslie and Ann (Rashida Jones) stumble into her house to discover Leslie's colleagues playing Guitar Hero: World Tour with Ann's boyfriend Andy (Chris Pratt) and Andy's band name: Just the Tip, but much of the episode felt flat. The canvassing scenes in particular were about as interesting as actual canvassing and I thought it was far too early to introduce the notion of Leslie's mother, much less one who also happens to work in local politics.

But I am curious to know what you thought of this week's installment of Parks and Recreation. Was it an improvement over the pilot episode? Are you as bothered by the series' mockumentary format as I am? And will you continue to watch?

Next week on Parks and Recreation ("Reporter"), Leslie (Amy Poehler) invites a reporter to do a story on her park project but she and her committee have trouble staying on message; Mark (Paul Schneider) is called in to help save the story but only makes the situation worse; Tom (Aziz Ansari) kisses up to his boss (Nick Offerman).