As a government employee, I love Parks and Recreation and see a little Leslie Knope in me. Unlike Michael Scott from the Office, I don't cringe at identifying with Amy Poehler's character. The entire cast is a great ensemble and continues the excellent chemistry. Between Ron's libertarianism, Chris's overwhelming optimism, Leslie's faith in government's potential good, Ben's cute nerdiness, Tom's pop culture obsession, Andy's naiveté, April's millennial cynicism, Ann's realistic views, Jerry's (or should I say Gary?) bumbling, and Donna's reactions, they all pull the show together and make it a lot of fun.

I especially liked the cameos in this season, particularly the political entities appearing in the season premiere.

If you are new to the show, don't start with season 5. Start with season 1 and work your way to really enjoying season 5.

I usually find that shows experience a sharp decline by their fifth seasons, if not long before. So imagine my happy to surprise to find that the fifth season of Parks & Recreation was actually my favorite of the series. As others have pointed out, the show's characters are amusingly flawed yet still such eminently lovable people. Instead of seeming to loathe one another, the basis for many of today's comedies, the characters on this show generally adore one another...and somehow the show manages to be funny anyway! Parks, which centers around the government of a small town in Indiana, is incredibly heartwarming without being sappy, smart without being preachy, and energetically silly without being too over the top. It's honestly the most infectiously happy show I've seen (but, again, without being saccharine or corny!) It's almost impossible not to be in a better mood after watching it. The humor stems mostly from knowing the characters, so the more you watch, the funnier the show seems. And the more you'll love and even admire these people despite their shortcomings.

My favorite aspects of this season: Leslie's adjustment to being a Councilwoman, discovering the ridiculously and amusingly antiquated laws that still technically exist in their town, Tom's relationship with his friend's horrifically crazy sister and his development of "Rent a Swag", the advancement of the Andy/April and Ben/Leslie relationships, and Ron allowing himself to care about Diane and her children while still remaining the Ron Swanson we know and love. (It's hard to even explain Ron to those unfamiliar with the show...suffice it to say that my friend got into Parks by watching clips of Ron on Youtube!) The season flows smoothly and features very little relationship angst---instead, we get minor but more interesting conflicts, insights into society and politics, and tons of joy and laughs. VERY highly recommended!!!

I point my fingers at you, smile, and say in my most cheerful voice, "Hey! Amazon Viewer! You made a great choice today to watch Parks & Rec! This is ... literally ... thee best show on television!"

Ok. You are reading this review, which means you haven't watched the show yet and are deciding as to whether or not this is something you might be interested in. Because you haven't seen it yet, the opening paragraph of my review will not make much sense to you. It is my tribute to one of my favorite characters on the show, Chris Trager, played by Rob Lowe. (I have 10 favorite characters ... that's how good the writing and acting is for this show!)

It is a show that a large part of the humor relies on you knowing the characters. This was the mistake I made. Back in the day, when watching tv live was a thing, I caught an episode of Parks and Rec. It happened to be the Season 5 finale. I have to say it didn't impress me. I didn't get it and put the show out of my mind. Precisely 1 year, 3 months and 20 days later, I find myself burnt out on drama/suspense streaming binge watching and actively searching out a light-hearted comedy to watch. The search was more difficult than I thought it would be. I used to enjoy such comedies like The Office, Seinfeld, Family Guy, Cheers, and MASH among others, and I didn't think it would be hard to find a recent comedy that would be able to fill the comedy hole that had been missing in my life. I didn't like what I saw when I began searching through what was available on Amazon Prime. I will admit that I chose to begin watching Parks & Rec not because I thought it had the most potential, but rather because it seemed like the least likely to be just plain awful.

Not high hopes going in, but I was quickly won over after the first few episodes. I laugh out loud at every episode. I find myself rooting for the characters to rise above whatever obstacle they find in their way. I watched seasons 1-5 in a 2 week time period which just ended an hour ago and I feel like I just broke up with an amazing girlfriend. I'm sad but I am looking forward to watching the next season once it makes it to Prime.

If you are on the fence trying to figure out what to watch, jump off that fence and start with the Pilot episode of Parks & Rec. The old adage that you should never judge a book by its cover applies 100% to this show. A sitcom about a small Midwestern town's Parks department isn't sexy and glamorous, but if you take a peek inside you may just find something magical that may impact your life in such a profound way you never imagined possible. Yes, it really is that good!

Most shows have trouble living up to the hype of their success after several seasons, but Parks and Rec keeps going strong in season 5. There are so many great moments in this season, and there is quite a bit of character development for all of it's characters. It's a great blend of personalities, and they all get a chance to shine here.

Such a funny show! The characters are likable and the humor clever and well-timed. Though the series did lose some steam towards the end, I enjoyed most of the seasons.

I LOVE this show...my absolute fav in the past 10 years. I had planned on buying all 7 seasons and downloading to my computer. But after purchasing the 1st season, learned that Amazon no longer allows these purchases to download and view offline.
That means you can never cancel your Amazon account, or if Amazon goes under, you lose everything you bought. Far-fetched? MySpace was king of social media until Facebook came along, so yeah, Amazon can bite the dust too.
When I BUY something, I want to OWN it. So I purchased the complete series on DVD...they my be on discs, but they're MINE.
F- U AMAZON!