I did enjoy the main character, Leslie, from what I was to see from The character
In the first season. I usually have little expectation of characters when I start new shows so that they don't disappoint me, but I was pleasantly surprised to see some competence in Leslie's character so early on. Then I was surprised again after discovering that it was partly due to some nepotism of her mom being a prominent high-profile figure. We also learned that Leslie's drive to succeed is in some way driven by the fact she wishes to be accepted by her mother, who seems only to want her daughter to get married, which seems like a very 50's mentality that one might expect from their mom at the time--a very narrow view of what her child is capable of.
I also thought that Leslie should go to counseling to express her true feelings towards all her office mates because she suppresses a lot of built-up anger. There seem to be past issues that she cannot resolve with her mother, surrounding her mother’s cold attitude towards her and limited expectations for Leslie, and all Leslie wants to do is be something similar to what her mother is. However, I think her goal is flawed because no one can copy another person's success precisely the way the original person did. I wonder why Leslie aspires so much to be like her mother, who seems to exemplify every negative quality that a politician can have: knowing everyone's dirt, blackmail, and manipulation.
The character who I think was the most competent of all the cast was Ann, who we learn is a nurse. She seems to be the only character in the entire form who realistically does her job, at least as far as I could tell. While Ann appears to be the one who has it together the most, I will say her choice of romantic partners sucks. I hope that she dumps Andy later in the show.
I found her assistant, Tom, to be highly unlikable at best and, at worst, a blatant dirtbag who doesn’t seem to care about his marriage. I don’t understand why the character feels that he should cheat on his wife no matter how poorly she realistically does her job. I know he flirts with one or two people, but he flirts with everyone. It does all seem like it is made for something else.
I thought Leslie's boss, Ron, was one of the worst television bosses I’ve ever seen, at least from what I've seen. I mean, the guy blatantly doesn’t care about his position and wants to hire the most incompetent people, and he seems to want to do as little work as possible.
In conclusion, I like Leslie the best so far because even though her head was in the clouds and she was filled with big dreams that would most likely never come true, she still tried to be good at her job, and she was the only one who seemed to be enthusiastic about what she did for a living. And, of course, Ann would be a close second. The rest of them hate their jobs and seem only to want things to do as little work as possible, which is an attitude that I hate. Does anyone else who's seen Parks and Rec have similar feelings? Should I watch the rest of the show?