'Parks and Recreation' Beats 'The Office'

First, let me say that I love The Office. This little-show-that-could persisted over several years and even survived a couple more after its leading character, Michael Scott (Steve Carell), exited. Full of funny and heartwarming moments, this comedy with its motley crew certainly holds a special place among my pop culture fandoms.

When I heard Greg Daniels (who adapted The Office for the American screen) and Michael Schur (writer-producer-actor for The Office) were creating Parks and Recreation, I didn’t think much of the news. When the show started gaining traction, I admit that I hesitated in giving it a chance. After watching the mockumentary style of The Office for so many years, I really didn't want to get invested in another show of the same exact format.

Man, I'm glad I snapped out of that insanity. Several years have now passed since I first watched the spirited Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) and the eclectic Parks and Rec gang of Pawnee, Indiana (First in Friendship. Fourth in Obesity), and this show has never lost its prominent spot in my set of beloved TV programs.

Lately I've been rewatching the seasons of Parks and Recreation and have come to a conclusion that I never thought I would: Parks and Recreation is better than The Office.

Though the two do favor each other in certain ways, here are some strengths Parks and Rec have over The Office:

Its central character...

Before I start, let me state that I do understand that Michael Scott's mannerisms were already predetermined by the original version of The Office. However, in comparing the two leads, Leslie Knope wins the title of best leading character.

I'm already a sucker for a solid female lead, but Leslie took that image and catapulted it to another level. In addition to being sharp and smart, she is dorky, nutty, sweet, and loyal to a T. While she can be stubborn and pushy, she always has the best intentions, wholeheartedly commits herself to making the lives of other people better, and constantly inspires those closest to her.

Michael did grow as a character, I will admit that. Amidst his arrogance and ignorance, we are given glimpses of his kindness, and no one can dispute the World’s Best Boss’s loyalty to his staff and Dunder Mifflin. Still, most of the time, Michael kind of makes you cringe more than fill you with the euphoria that Leslie does.

The focal workplace...

I will give the creative team of the American Office their props. They dragged Dunder Mifflin through quite a few hurdles, such as the challenges of keeping up with big box stores and technological trends, all of which made for intriguing TV.

However, having a paper company serve as your central workplace does prove limiting.

Here is another area where Parks and Recreation benefited by being a completely new show. By being able to set the characters’ jobs within a governmental system and to create a political dynamite as a leading lady, the show gave itself a breadth of conflicts, characters, and storylines from which to pull.

There are a lot of nuisances and layers to a government, even in a small town such as Pawnee, and Parks and Recreation was able to have fun exploring them. Putting the Parks and Rec gang out into the community allows the viewers to actually view the town for ourselves and observe the people of Pawnee. The town’s citizens are also regularly brought into the picture through the public forum scenes, which further depict the town’s slanted, questionable priorities and morals.

While The Office gives us access to the various facets of Dunder Mifflin, the jobs of Leslie and the gang take us on a tour of not only the Pawnee government but of the town itself.

Also, the government, local, state, and federal, is ingrained into several aspects of our lives; we can all name at least one political issue that frustrates or angers us. Watching the Parks and Rec staff fight and question the operations of the Pawnee government provides the show another way to connect with its audiences.

The focus on its ensemble...

For me, the tie between the two programs is a pretty close, but Parks and Rec still outweighed the competitor in my book.

Fans of The Office can tell you at least one fact about each character’s personal life. However, throughout the course of the series, we really aren't able to observe a good chunk of the cast outside the office unless they are out on sales calls or spending together as a group. The attention on the ensemble isn’t evenly distributed, as some characters, such as Jim, Pam, and Dwight, regularly receive more airtime than others, such as Phyllis, Kevin, and Stanley.

This does change more when Michael leaves and in the later seasons, but Parks and Recreation does an overall better job spotlighting its ensemble from the beginning.

Even with Leslie heavily in the forefront of the action, you still get to witness the other characters frequently engage in activities outside of City Hall. The two core ensemble characters that receive the least amount of attention are Jerry and Donna, but they still get more attention than some of the “Office” cast do, such as we meet Jerry’s family more than once, and Donna is often spotted socializing around town.

Actively writing characters in settings other than their work environments gives the audience a better sense of who these people are, what drives them, and what's important to them outside the office.

I could list quite a few other points of why I view Parks and Recreation as a stronger, more refreshing show. If The Office hadn’t come first, I don’t believe Parks and Rec would be the same show. I feel that The Office provided Daniels and Schur a chance to experiment with what worked and didn’t and they, in turn, applied that knowledge to craft Parks and Rec.

While I have started favoring Parks and Recreation more than The Office, the more senior program does possess one feature that I loved seeing.

It made the mockumentary technique more than just a style.

The Office actually committed to the premise of the show being a documentary, instead of just using the mockumentary format for visual purposes.

In the last season of The Office, the characters start talking informally to the camera crew, and we meet one of the cameramen. We are able to observe the Dunder Mifflin employees freak out when they learn exactly how much of their lives were filmed, watch the documentary themselves, and then participate in a panel discussion.

I thought bringing these aspects into the show was a genius move and a fitting way to help conclude its run. Realistically, a paper company in a random city in Pennsylvania is, well, a random subject for a documentary, so I enjoyed watching the staffers, these regular people, react to being so closely watched and given a level of attention that the typical average person doesn't receive.

By concluding the documentary, it made The Office feel, in a way, real, like we, the viewers, were actually watching the documentary about real people, instead of a fictional TV show.

In conclusion, while yes, Parks and Recreation checks off more pluses, both of these shows are stuffed with astounding casts, several memorable moments, and a lot of heart.

Here's to you, 'Parks and Recreation' and 'The Office.'

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