An Open Letter to NBC

Hey NBC. What's up? 

Let me start out by saying that I love you guys. Seriously. You've always been my favorite network. Ever since I was old enough to start watching The Office and Saturday Night Live, I've had total faith in your ability to showcase comedies that other networks might shy away from. While you may not have a flair for the dramatic like CBS or a weird obsession with animated comedies/Seth Macfarlane (I'm looking at you FOX), you've always stuck with your roots and delivered some really solid, hilarious, heartfelt shows. Let's be honest; you had your heyday back in the late 90s when you struck gold with Seinfeld and Friends, but since then, you've had The Office, the cult hit Community, and the critical darling that was 30 Rock. I like to ignore Whitney and Animal Practice altogether and just say that, hey, you've done a pretty great job.

But that's not why we're here today, NBC. You know that, and I know that, so let's not beat around the bush: it's time to stop fucking with Parks and Recreation. By now, any fan of the show has probably heard about how you've only given the Pawnee crew 2 new episodes in the month of November (postponing the Halloween episode until a few weeks after the actual holiday) and won't be airing new episodes after that until mid-January, when Community is also slated to return. In it's stead, you'll be airing reruns of the Voice, SNL clip shows, and....The Sound of Music. Vulture broke the news here and, as I'm sure you know, all hell immediately broke loose. Adam Scott, who plays Ben Wyatt on Parks and Rec, tried to cover your ass by saying that this was your intention all along and that you weren't just prepping the show for cancelation, but some of us are displeased either way.

I know what your strategy is here, NBC: your Thursday night comedies are quickly losing ground in the ratings battle, and you blame Parks and Rec for being a bad lead-in to your new shows Welcome to the Family (which was already canceled, ouch) and the Sean Hayes anchored sitcom Sean Saves the World. You want viewers at any cost. It's a business, I understand. But - if I may put things extremely bluntly - your business model sucks, as do your new shows.

Parks and Recreation is adored by everyone, fans and critics alike, myself (quite largely) included. It has a great ensemble cast, extremely witty writing, and is heartfelt to boot. It's just an all around great American show. It's far better than your biggest Thursday night competitor, The Big Bang Theory; we all know that, but the general American public seems to have missed the boat on that one. That's ok though. With a strong presence on Netflix and a good start to it's sixth season, Parks has the potential to really hit it's stride....if only you'd let it.

NBC, Sean Hayes is blaming you for the poor ratings his show is getting, and I personally agree with him, though in an altogether different way. Your ads for this show are absolutely obnoxious; and not just the commercials, but the little stupid banner ads you play 24/7 that show Sean jumping over a couch, trying to look all cutsie and single goofball dad-ish and shit. Stop. Please. This show is not good now, and I'll be damned if it's ever going to get good anytime in the future. Instead of trying to pander to the wider, mindless crowd that flocks to CBS sitcoms, give us more shows like Parks and Rec, not less. Build your comedy lineup around it; maybe even advertise it or something. I'd be happy if you even aired a single episode in the month of December.

I'm sorry if I lost my temper there, NBC, but this is something that is very near and dear to my heart. I look to Ron Swanson as the incredibly mustachioed, bacon-and-egg fueled role model I never had, and to Leslie Knope as the strong, positive leader that Pawnee - hell - that America needs right now. You've got a real gem on your hands here NBC, and while I don't know what your plans for the future are, I just want to say this: the citizens of Pawnee may want to get Leslie Knope out of office, but all I'm asking is that you don't impeach Parks and Recreation just yet.

Addiction to The Office

An addiction is defined as a persistent, compulsive dependence on a behavior or substance. For me, this substance is The Office. I spend most nights before going to sleep watching this show, but now it's getting to the point where I skip class jus to watch a few episodes. (Don't worry Arturo never your class). I even had a dream about The Office. 

I love this show because of the uniqueness and sense of humor this show has. The show is filmed in a single-camera set-up and shot sort of like a mocumentary. There are "confessionals" where the character's tell the cameras their personal opinions or thoughts about a subject, or just tell a story. For me these confessionals make the show. There will be cutaways during these to demonstrate what the character is talking about, or the facial expressions will show all that needs to be said. The characters on this show obviously are aware that the cameras are there, and the slight looks they give to the cameras directly make this show work so well. 

Although the U.S. version of the Office is a recreation of a british show, there have been many shows that base their camera style and show set-up like the Office. Currently, Parks and Rec is a very popular show that uses the same single-camera set-up with confessionals. Clearly this style seems to work, and I'm sure new shows are in the making working off of this style. Another popular show, although cancelled but being brought back next year with a similar style is Arrested Development. This show does not have confessionals but uses the single-camera method that makes you feel right there with the family. The Office is a great show for a good laugh, although there isn't much depth or complex stories. 

I'm a little obsessed with Parks and Rec...

I know I wrote about another NBC comedy, Chuck, last week, but I just had to do it again. Sorry. This past weekend I spent some time getting caught up on Parks and Recreation, and let me just say, it was a really good decision. Parks and Rec is shot in the super popular single-camera cinéma vérité style similar to The Office and Modern Family.

Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope

Parks and Rec centers on Leslie Knope, the deputy director of the Parks and Recreation department in a small Indiana town called Pawnee. Despite being happy at her seemingly boring and uneventful job, Leslie has high political aspirations. She is very optimistic and perky and she works extremely hard to keep the department from falling into ruin.

I think one of the very best things about this show is the amazing ensemble cast. Every single member of the cast adds so much value to the content, and they're really what makes the show. Nick Offerman as the stoic and hilarious Ron Swanson is by far my favorite character. While he pretends to dislike his job and his co-workers, it's very obvious that he enjoys his time there. His relationship with the intern/secretary, April, is definitely one of the highlights of the show. The similar way in which they respond to the craziness of the other characters combined with their excellent use of sarcasm really add a lot of comedy to the show.

Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson

Additionally, the rest of the department is composed of Tom Haverford (played by Aziz Ansari) whose hilarious business antics offer a constant form of amusement, Jerry Gergich (played by Jim O'Heir) who is constantly picked on by the rest of the characters, similarly to Toby on The Office, to name a few.

Overall, Parks and Rec follows along the lines of several NBC comedies, however, it does so in a way that makes it unique while still being one of the best written comedies on television. If you do decide to give Parks and Recreation a try, do yourself a favor and go beyond the first couple episodes in season one. If you do, you'll be rewarded with both a great comedy and you'll get to see Louis C.K. in his reoccurring guest role, which is really wonderful and hilarious. I hope you decide to give it a chance!

(And if you need any more incentive, here's a blooper reel from the show...)

NBC and Chuck

I know a lot of you probably enjoy NBC comedies. The Office, Parks and Recreation, and Community always seem to be mentioned when you ask a college kid what their favorite shows are. And while NBC as a network may have some issues (just ask Jack Powers about NBC if you ever get the chance) their comedies are almost always seriously underrated.

One of my favorite NBC comedies though, is Chuck.

Chuck is about a computer geek named Chuck, who accidentally downloads a bunch of CIA secrets into his brain. In order to protect him from various bad guys and criminals who don't want their identities compromised, the NSA and CIA send two of their own agents, Sara and John, to protect Chuck.

While it sounds like just another Get Smart spy-comedy, it really is a great show. Zachary Levi has excellent comedic timing, and all the characters, true to the NBC comedy way are diverse and amusing, especially Chuck's best friend, Morgan, and his sister and brother-in-law (nicknamed Captain Awesome) are equally amusing.

Despite being such a great and well-made comedy, Chuck was almost cancelled after its fourth season in 2009. However, the shows famously dedicated fan base put together a petition that got over 100,000 members. The petition, combined with a sponsorship from Subway restaurants, led to NBC renewing the show for a final, thirteen episodes.

Personally, I really love Chuck. It is such a funny, well-put-together show, and it is the type of show where you can sit down and watch one episode and then somehow mysteriously watch eight more and not realize how it happened. If you like NBC comedies, and you like good shows, I highly recommend Chuck.