Something funny happened the other day. I was perusing sitcom writer Ken Levine’s entertaining blog, reading his post about how important casting is on a sitcom. One of the examples that he points to in the post is the cast of Parks and Recreation. It was a cast photo from season one and when I looked at it, I realized something: Mark Brandanawicz (as played by Paul Schneider) has been completely absent from the show this season.
I suppose that fact alone isn’t really a big story. If you recall, Mark left the Pawnee offices for a private sector job at the end of last season, but I figured that he was going to stay a part of the show. The big thing that struck me was that I completely forgot that the character even existed until I saw that photo. That certainly can’t be a good sign. The sad fact is that the character left almost no impression on me at all.
This isn’t meant to be a condemnation of Parks and Rec. Quite the contrary, I think the show has been better than ever this season, and the cast changes have been a huge part of that. There was always a great core cast on the show, with Amy Poehler, Aziz Ansari, Aubrey Plaza, and of course, Ron Swanson himself, Nick Offerman. With the addition of Adam Scott (though I still miss the overlooked Party Down) and Rob Lowe the show has just gotten stronger. I was also thrilled to see Jim O’Heir and Retta promoted to series regulars this season. I’ve written before about how much they both add to the show.
Chris, Rob Lowe’s character has just the right amount of quirk. There is a fine balance between a character being quirky and a character being over-the-top. I think in the first season of the show Leslie Knope was real close to being over-the-top, but the writers brought her down to Earth enough since then to make her a great character.
The only real problem that I can see is that the additions to the cast came a little late. Since the first season, the ratings for the series have struggled. Count me as one of the many viewers who have enjoyed the much improved show, but it’s certainly hard to get people to revisit a show they have already given up on — even with a bunch of cast changes.
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Mar 16, 2011 @ 11:00 EST5EDT
I may be in the minority on this, but I’m actually catching up on Parks and Rec because of Rob Lowe and Adam Scott. Though I’m not up to their introductions yet, I am loving the first two seasons so far. Good to hear that they’re fitting in nicely
Party Down was awesome! That show totally made me fall in love with Adam Scott. I like Rob Lowe but Adamm is what makes Parks & Rec work for me.