Parks & Recreation

The pseduo spin-off of "The Office" on NBC, "Parks & Recreation," is getting a faster start than that show did, as it spent its first several episodes simply recreating what happened on the BBC original.

With Amy Poehler in the lead, P&R uses the same documentary and interview style as The Office, and its creators are already having a lot of fun with the incompetence of some of the characters. Supporting player Nick Offerman makes an impression as Poehler's boss, a right-wing anti-government true believer who just happens to work for a government. Jester noted his gift as a completely different type of character on the short lived Comedy Central show, American Body Shop, where he played a spacey savant mechanic and was the only good thing about that show.

Also, Aziz Ansari, another Upright Citizens Brigade-spawned performer, gets more screen time and gets to do much more than on his brief stint in the final season of "Scrubs," as a subordinate who enjoys undermining Poehler and sucking up to Offerman. And UCB player Lennon Parham (see interview: http://www.jesterjournal.com/IntParham.htm) had a memorable cameo on the show recently, as an opponent of Poehler's park plans.

Just as great Daily Show and UCB players have added to "The Office," "Parks & Recreation" benefits from a premise and situations that might be spawned in improv performances that the UCB is known for.