The Some Like It HOT TAKES thread

bhchrist wrote:

Ooooohhhh!!!! This is feeling like a superhot take, even though it breaks the first rule of a true hot take by starting with "HOT TAKE" like a football player that wears their own jersey out in public.

HOT TAKE: Don't post a HOT TAKE that starts with HOT TAKE anymore. It's lame!

Apparently, I suck at editing posts. But not nearly as bad as Park and Rec sucks at being funny.

well, maybe.

You don't need to post farm, you have your damn tag already!

bhchrist wrote:

You don't need to post farm, you have your damn tag already!

HOT TAKE: No he doesn't.

Alz wrote:

It may be that I already have a natural dislike for the "Confessional" gag, overused in The Office or Modern Family. It may be that I already believe Amy Poehler is not funny without Tina Fey. It may also be that I dislike shows about bad people, and most of the characters I've seen so far in Parks and Rec are bad people.

But if those were the only failing of Parks and Rec, I wouldn't be posting in HOT TAKES.

Probably have better luck if you just skip season 1 entirely. Those are similar to my first impressions, but man, Parks & Rec is so worth watching.

Grenn wrote:
bhchrist wrote:

You don't need to post farm, you have your damn tag already!

HOT TAKE: No he doesn't.

You are not helping the EXTREME IMPOSTER SYNDROME I am going through right now!

Alz wrote:
Grenn wrote:
bhchrist wrote:

You don't need to post farm, you have your damn tag already!

HOT TAKE: No he doesn't.

You are not helping the EXTREME IMPOSTER SYNDROME I am going through right now!

Sorry, Alz. If that is, in fact, your real name!

Grenn wrote:
Alz wrote:
Grenn wrote:
bhchrist wrote:

You don't need to post farm, you have your damn tag already!

HOT TAKE: No he doesn't.

You are not helping the EXTREME IMPOSTER SYNDROME I am going through right now!

Sorry, Alz. If that is, in fact, your real name!

It's actually the edited version of a stupid nickname I jokingly gave myself a long time ago, before I realized how terrible it really was and wasn't a joke at all, but somehow became part of me and now I'm stuck with it because if I use anything else it feels like being called by my middle name, which I recognize but don't identify with.

Sorry, I mean, haha, you're funny

Alz wrote:

HOT TAKE: Parks and Rec is the worst written, worst acted cringefest I've ever watched. Nothing about it is redeeming, everything about it is awful, it's not even "so bad it's ironically good."

It's terribad, and I feel bad for having watched it. I'm tempted to delete my Netflix account and blow up my Roku just to be rid of the reminder of the time I tried to watch it.

funnily enough, I only just started watching it recently myself, and couldn't disagree with that statement more. It's BY FAR the best sitcom I've seen in AAAAGES! (Currently on season 4, for reference)

Parks and Rec really went for the better when stopped making Leslie into such a buffoon.

Hot Take: I like almost everything, so does that invalidate my opinion?

I wasn't too hot on the show until Adam Scott and Rob Lowe joined the cast. It really picks up from then on (though maybe lasts one season longer than it should have).

I couldn't make it through the public meeting in episode 2. Watching it made me physically uncomfortable.

Alz wrote:

It may be that I already have a natural dislike for the "Confessional" gag, overused in The Office or Modern Family. It may be that I already believe Amy Poehler is not funny without Tina Fey. It may also be that I dislike shows about bad people, and most of the characters I've seen so far in Parks and Rec are bad people.

I've never been a fan of British cringe comedy, and the American version of it descended from our adaptation of The Office is different but not more appealing. It's mostly assholes with single-note personalities who treat people poorly and then confess to the camera some kind of ironic juxtaposition with their behavior seen elsewhere.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

It's mostly assholes with single-note personalities who treat people poorly and then confess to the camera some kind of ironic juxtaposition with their behavior seen elsewhere.

That's a pretty apt description of The Office. I love the show but it's absolutely how it is. But Parks and Rec steps away from that pretty quickly after the first season. With the exception of everyone's treatment of Jerry/Gary/Larry(which is a gag but can be annoying since it's so out of character) they're all genuinely good people that you hope achieve what they want. Tom was by far the worst but they put his character through some difficult times and he grew from it.

ClockworkHouse wrote:
Alz wrote:

It may be that I already have a natural dislike for the "Confessional" gag, overused in The Office or Modern Family. It may be that I already believe Amy Poehler is not funny without Tina Fey. It may also be that I dislike shows about bad people, and most of the characters I've seen so far in Parks and Rec are bad people.

I've never been a fan of British cringe comedy, and the American version of it descended from our adaptation of The Office is different but not more appealing. It's mostly assholes with single-note personalities who treat people poorly and then confess to the camera some kind of ironic juxtaposition with their behavior seen elsewhere.

I think early P&R falls into that trap for sure. It is very clearly using the American version of The Office as a starting point.

But once the show finds it voice, it is actually the opposite of the "mostly assholes" thing. They make a choice to be incredibly upbeat and positive. The brilliance of the show from late 2 on is that it manages to still have conflict between the core cast characters, but that conflict all comes from a place of mutual respect and love. It is actually quite remarkable that there is an American comedy show that is so unabashedly positive and rooted so firmly in a place of empathy.

I find lots of American comedy is rooted in clever / cantankerous people putting other people down. Or it is in the Office / Arrested Development mold and it is a bunch of assholes being harmful to themselves or others with a little irony or mild absurdity thrown in for good measure. That model can work, of course. But P&R upends that formula, and in a way directly responds to it. And I think that gets lost in the conversation about it, in part because the early seasons are so clearly using The Office as a touchstone.

When Rashida Jones was on the Office, there was a running joke about how she was attractive except for her face. It was always off-putting to me for many reasons (most of which I suspect are maddeningly obvious.) I'm comfortable with a well executed, interesting joke that rooted in being mean. But this particular running gag always felt completely devoid of wit.

Notably, Parks & Rec made a choice for Leslie Knope to constantly tell Jones's character that she was beautiful. And the manner in which she'd do so was sometimes quite funny (she'd find elaborate and surprising ways to do it) but always incredibly genuine and witty in a way that the put-downs on the Office just weren't. I actually started watching those two shows back-to-back and it was clear to me that this was a direct response to that "gag" on The Office. It happened early in P&R's run - before the show got its legs - and I think you can actually see the show decide in real time over the course of the second season that that impulse is where it needed to live. Which is why so much of the series after season 2 feels like a direct attack on the very comedic ethos of the Office. Even as they all make fun of Gery / Gary in a way that is very Office-like, that itself feels so absurd as to be a direct callback to The Office - especially because the show itself gives Gary an amazing, happy life and goes out of its way to point out Gary is just an all-around decent person (and they give him an amazing button at the end of the series.)

So I have tremendous respect for Parks & Rec. In aggregate it is an uneven show for sure, but from the Adam Scott / Rob Lowe introduction on I think it is doing something unique and important incredibly well. It is certainly not going to be everyone's cup of tea, as the comedic tone of it is very particular, but it is worth highlighting that even if you don't care for the humor there are some important and unabashedly positive things it is doing that are praise worthy. Not the least of which is recognizing that Anne is a poetic noble land-mermaid.

TheHarpoMarxist wrote:

Not the least of which is recognizing that Anne is a poetic noble land-mermaid.

I always saw Ann more as a cunning, pliable, chestnut-haired sunfish.

The worst thing about BioWare RPGs is every conversation that anyone has ever had about BioWare RPGs

The worst thing about BioWare RPGs is every conversation that anyone has ever had in BioWare RPGs

Honestly, I've written off Parks and Rec because Ron Swanson memes are obnoxious, and there seems to be a direct correlation between how often people reference him and how likely I am to not enjoy their company.

Brooklyn 99 takes the Parks and Rec formula and refines it to purest gold.

HOT TAKE: TV sucks.

Spoiler:

No really, it sucks.

All of it.

Aaron D. wrote:

HOT TAKE: TV sucks.

Spoiler:

No really, it sucks.

All of it.

Except Rick & Morty. The highest of high-concept sci-fi.

It is weird because Swanson feels like the least meme-worthy character on that show.

ClockworkHouse wrote:
The worst thing about BioWare RPGs is every conversation that anyone has ever had in BioWare RPGs

Honestly, I've written off Parks and Rec because Ron Swanson memes are obnoxious, and there seems to be a direct correlation between how often people reference him and how likely I am to not enjoy their company.

Ron Swanson is a lot like the Colbert Report version of Steven Colbert, in that a lot of people don't realize he's a satire and not meant to be a role model.

ClockworkHouse wrote:
The worst thing about BioWare RPGs is every conversation that anyone has ever had in BioWare RPGs

Honestly, I've written off Parks and Rec because Ron Swanson memes are obnoxious, and there seems to be a direct correlation between how often people reference him and how likely I am to not enjoy their company.

if it helps, I utterly LOATH the Office and love P&R a LOT.

In fact I avoided it for a long time for much the same reasons, but I'm glad I took a chance on it - I am a huge Lesley Knope fangirl in particular

If it has a downside for me (in the first couple of seasons) it would be that Chris Pratt's character is a bit of a stalky sleazeball initially, albeit a goofy harmless one, but by the time you get to season three he's much more likeable.

Mixolyde wrote:
Aaron D. wrote:

HOT TAKE: TV sucks.

Spoiler:

No really, it sucks.

All of it.

Except Adventure Time. The highest of high-concept Fantasy.

fixed.

pyxistyx wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:
The worst thing about BioWare RPGs is every conversation that anyone has ever had in BioWare RPGs

Honestly, I've written off Parks and Rec because Ron Swanson memes are obnoxious, and there seems to be a direct correlation between how often people reference him and how likely I am to not enjoy their company.

if it helps, I utterly LOATH the Office and love P&R a LOT.

In fact I avoided it for a long time for much the same reasons, but I'm glad I took a chance on it - I am a huge Lesley Knope fangirl in particular

If it has a downside for me (in the first couple of seasons) it would be that Chris Pratt's character is a bit of a stalky sleazeball initially, albeit a goofy harmless one, but by the time you get to season three he's much more likeable.

His character was only supposed to be in the first season, but they liked Chris so much they kept him (and let his character evolve).

So should we just rename this thread to the Parks and Rec Catch-All or what

muttonchop wrote:

So should we just rename this thread to the Parks and Rec Catch-All or what

Lukewarm take. Mild burn. Return to sender, postage due.

muttonchop wrote:

So should we just rename this thread to the Parks and Rec Catch-All or what

IMAGE(http://tashasays.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/words_hurt_by_lissy1605-d4ul0tv.jpg)