Product Details

• Actors: Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones
• Studio: Universal
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B002N5N5PW
• For more information about "Parks & Recreation: Season Two [Blu-ray]" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

What a difference a season makes. If they gave an Emmy for most improved series, Parks and Recreation would have been a shoo-in for its turnaround second season that ranks atop the Ron Swanson Pyramid of Greatness (check out the season 3 sneak preview included as an extra). An Emmy for being TV's funniest series would not have been out of line either. Everything works, from the seamless ensemble and pitch-perfect character-based humor to the deft direction in the mockumentary style of The Office. Unlike Michael Scott, however, Emmy nominee Amy Poehler's Leslie Knope is competent to a fault. The deputy director of the Pawnee, Indiana, parks department, she's a stick-in-the-mud, dyed-in-the-wool bureaucrat. But her insane work ethic and maniacal devotion to her job has earned her the grudging respect of her less-than-enthused coworkers, including Swanson (Nick Offerman, a master of the deadpan), her libertarian, antigovernment boss; Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari), always on the make but a sheep in wolf's clothing; April Ludgate (Aubrey Plaza), a disaffected Daria type; the hapless Jerry (Jim O'Heir), who gets less respect than Meg on Family Guy; and sassy Donna (Retta Sirleaf). Unlike other workplace comedies, Knope is not the calm center around which an engaging group of goofballs orbits. The voices of reason in this series belong to Leslie's best friend Ann (Rashida Jones) and her boyfriend Mark (Paul Schneider), whose relationship is one of the through lines of this season. The breakout star this season is Chris Pratt as simple-hearted lug Andy, who gets a job running the city hall shoeshine stand where he can pursue Ann, his former girlfriend, but who enters into a sweetly played Jim and Pam-like friendship/romance with April. Very special episodes include "Ron and Tammy," featuring Megan Mullally (Offerman's real-life wife) as Swanson's scheming ex-wife Tammy, who works for the library, the inexplicable bane of Leslie's existence; "Hunting Trip," in which Leslie proves herself worthy after imposing herself on a guys-only bonding weekend; and "Practice Date," in which Leslie panics over her first date with a decent, straight-shooter cop (Louis C.K.). As in Modern Family, each episode is brimming with hilarious bits of business (like Andy's "I am on hold" song and April's lesson in the art of the spit take in "Hunting Trip"), character grace notes (Ron's alter ego, a smooth jazz smoothie named Duke Silver), and unexpected touching moments that ground the series. This four-disc set works overtime with prodigious extras, including hilarious deleted scenes for every episode, several convivial audio commentaries, webisodes featuring Pratt, and dated but still gold medal-worthy Winter Olympics promos. --Donald Liebenson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best show of the 2009/10 TV season, June 8, 2010

By 

Michael Wo (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Parks & Recreation: Season Two (DVD)

Parks & Recreation started promisingly enough in its (short) first season, but the in its second season, it has developed into my favorite thing currently on TV. Every episode is sharply written, and each character is well-defined, as are the relationships between the characters. This show has some of the best cast chemistry I've ever seen.

I think where this show went from being a good comedy to a great TV show is when the character relationships started developing more thoroughly. As the show progresses, there are more "serious" moments that show how these people care about and take care of each other. Make no mistake, these scenes are as funny as the "wacky" moments, but the show's heart shines through.

I highly recommend Parks & Recreation for fans of quickly paced sitcoms and strong ensemble acting

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most underrated series of the 2009-2010 Season, August 6, 2010

By 

Rick Rea - See all my reviews

This review is from: Parks & Recreation: Season Two (DVD)

The title of my review says it all.

The 2009-2010 season was incredible. Both veterans such as the Office and 30 Rock and brilliant new series like Modern Family, Glee, and Community made this one of the best TV seasons in years. But in its second season, Parks and Recreation rose above it's weak first season and is at LEAST as funny, well acted and written as the best comedies of the season. But not only that, it (perhaps along with Modern Family) was the most consistent. There were no "meh" episodes... I wouldn't rate any of them below a B+. And the addition of Rob Lowe to the show is a Godsend. Not only does he bring an incredible energy to the show, it may be his best work that I've ever seen.

Something that sets successful shows like the Office, Modern Family, and Parks and Recreation from the rest of the pack is having a big heart. And Parks and Rec. exemplifies this. It simply is not a cynical show, and while packing big laughs week after week, there is a deeper level of humanity and sincerity that in my mind makes it simply about as wonderful as television gets.

First season, while not without merit, failed to fully find it's voice, and ultimately led to a low rated second season. On any TV critic's score card, Parks and Recreation's second season was up there with the best of them. Worse still is that aside from Amy Poehler, it was unfairly snubbed of Emmy noms, and this is a shame. Fans questioned whether NBC would cancel the show, but happily, it will get a third season; sadly it will enter as a mid-season replacement. I'm hoping NBC's faith in the show is manifest in many marketing dollars so that this gem stays on the air.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Has Firmly Taken over for The Office as BEST NBC Sitcom!, November 26, 2010

By 

Jared Ferree - See all my reviews

This review is from: Parks & Recreation: Season Two (DVD)

If you haven't seen this show, you are in luck just because you can grab the first two seasons and watch them back to back. Over the last couple of years, in my mind The Office has run out of fresh ideas and just keeps having people in the office hook up, break up, hook up, and break up again, and it's getting old. THANK GOD for Parks and Recreation. I am NOT the biggest Amy Poehler fan out there, but the main reason to watch this show is Aziz Ansari. The guy is amazing, and I think that in Season 2 Amy was able to step into her role better than Season 1, and the show hasn't looked back. There is a great supporting cast on this show, and Nick Offerman and Aubrey Plaza are both fantastic as well. I used to look forward to Thursday Nights for The Office, but now I look forward to Parks and Recreation, and then watch The Office to see if Dwight and Angela are together or not together, or back together, or not together, or back together...I forget.