Friday Flashback: Rec. #119: Parks and Recreation, season 3

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

[Come baaaaack, Parks & Rec! We miss you! You've been gone for a month, and life has been very difficult without you.]

What: Parks and Recreation, a smart and character-driven comedy, has been my favorite television show this year.* This (sadly abbreviated) season opened with the now-internet-infamous Ron Swanson Pyramid of Greatness, but for me things really gelled with episode 2, "Flu Season." There's nothing like illness to reveal character, and all the characters in this episode are perfect concentrated versions of themselves. Leslie overachieves, Ron eats a meat tornado, Tom schmoozes and smarms, April is bitter and sullen, Chris is unhealthily health-obsessed, Ann is rational in a slightly frazzled way, and Andy is genially incompetent.

*Sorry, all the shows that don't center on the amazing Leslie Knope. You are working from a distinct disadvantage. I cannot overemphasize how great it is to see a female character who's good at her job, is respected for being good at her job, and isn't regarded as soulless/conniving/trying to fill a baby-shaped hole in her life. It's also pretty great that she identifies as a feminist without it being portrayed as an aggressive fringe position.

Representative quote: "Skywriting isn't always positive."

You might not like it if: To steal a line from a recent episode, "I guess some people object to powerful depictions of awesome ladies."

How to get it: It airs on Thursday nights, and you can watch the five most recent episodes on Hulu. The season finale is May 19, so you have two full weeks to catch up. 

[Edited to add: According to nbc.com, which ought to know, the show isn't back until April 19. That gives you almost two weeks to catch up on the eighteen episodes of Season 4 that have aired so far. You can do this.]

[Originally posted 5/4/11.]