Make My Pit a Park

Episode Summary & Review

Summary

From Emmy Award winning executive producers of “The Office” comes a new mockumentary that looks at the exciting world of local government. The documentary cameras follow Leslie Knope a mid level bureaucrat in the Parks and Recreation Department of Pawnee, Indiana. In an attempt to beautify her town Leslie takes on what should be a fairly simple project: help local nurse Ann Perkins turn an abandoned construction pit into a community park. Leslie is alternately helped and undermined by her colleague, Tom Haverford, who cheerfully exploits his government position for personal gain. She is also thwarted by her boss Ron Swanson who is philosophically opposed to government in any form. Helping Leslie and Ann navigate the Pawnee bureaucracy is charismatic city planner Mark Brendanawicz, whose outlook has been soured by 15 years of public service. If they can pull it off, Leslie hopes that she also will have inspired her uninterested college intern April and April’s whole generation – all the while moving one step closer to her ultimate goal: becoming the first female president of the United States.

Our Take

A pretty rough pilot that mostly coasts on Amy Poehler’s energy while everyone else finds their footing. Leslie comes off too ditzy here compared to what she’d become, and the mockumentary format feels like an Office retread. Still, the pit storyline gives the show a spine, and Ron Swanson’s deadpan lands immediately. Worth watching mostly to see where it all started.