The hubbie and I watched NBC's new documentary style comedy, Parks and Recreation starring Amy Poehler, with all of the anticipation a mother would watch their little chick perform in a piano or dance recital.  She worked so hard and we want her to be good.

So from the get-go, based on what I saw last night, Parks and Recreation will not be renewed for a second season.  It was still much funnier than most other 22 minute sitcoms, but it just isn't as good as The Office or 30 Rock, and that is the mesure Ms. Poehler needs to live up to.  Which is sad because I want Amy to be wildly sucessful.  Its a part of my "Hell yes women are funny on their own" mantra.

I felt like I was watching a copy of The Office set in the government.  Amy is the Michael Scott and all of the other characters fulfill a mix of the other Office rolls.   All through the episoded we were saying "Thats the Pam" or "There's the Jim" and "He's their Dwight."  The American Office had a lot going for it in its pilot because theirs was based completly on the Golden Globe winning Ricky Gervais/Stephen Merchant British series.

What I like about this show is that it had women being funny on their own, without any men for them to play off of.  That is what I love about 30 Rock's Jenna/Liz dynamic.  Like them, Amy Poehler (and increasingly Kristin Wiig) can be funny without a single solitary dude in the room, and that is incredibly satisfying.

Regardless, even though the pilot wasn't the greatest 22 minutes of halarity, I hope Ms. Poehler can manage to pull it off.  The show (and her character) have a lot of potential.