Protagonist: The main character of the entire series is Leslie Knope. In all honesty, she's kind of boring. This isn't a bad thing. She still has some really good moments. Usually, the main character of any TV show or movies is the least interesting. The supporting cast is usually the best part. Leslie's main love interest is Ben Wyatt. He's the straight man to play off all the craziness around him. He's a pretty funny character and love interest. There's Leslie's boss Ron Swanson. His character is just an over the top "Manly Man" character type. He's one of the funniest characters in the show in my opinion. There's Leslie's other boss Chris Traeger. He's an overly positive health fanatic and a foil for Ron and they both work off each other really well. There's Leslie's best friend Ann Perkins. She has a similar role to Ben and works off the insanity around her. There's Leslie's friend Tom Haverford. He's an over the top egotistical business character and I think he's pretty funny. There's also Leslie's other friend April Ludgate. She's a sarcastic jerk. Occasionally she can become a bit too jerkish but that can be overlooked most of the time. And last but not least there's musician/shoe shiner/TV show host/FBI agent Andy Dwyer. He's the goofy idiot type of character and I think he's very funny and makes a good foil to April. So overall a good main cast. But let's see how the villains stand up.
Antagonists: For a comedy show this has a lot of villains. But I'm only counting the villains that make more than one appearance. One of the weaker points in the show is the villains. But let's get to the ones I like. First off is the main villain of season five and six Jeremy Jamm. He's an obnoxious jerk who exists to make Leslie's life miserable. Despite being a terrible person his actor really plays it up and I honestly really like him. There is also Bobby Newport. He wasn't much of an antagonist despite opposing Leslie in season four. He didn't really know what he was doing and that made everything he did funny. There's the two radio show hosts (Whose names currently escape me). Like Jeremy, they're written to be intentionally annoying. Honestly, I have heard radio hosts like them in real life. And one of the two hosts is actually shown to be quite intelligent. With them, their annoyance annoys the characters and not the viewers. In the middle of the spectrum is Joan Callamezzo. She's the host of a morning talk show. She's less interested in news and more interesting in mocking people. Unlike with Jeremy and the radio hosts, their annoyance annoys both the characters and viewers. But they aren't the most annoying. On the end of the spectrum is Nick Newport and Jessica Wicks. They basically serve as the evil corporation that controls the town. They're a pretty overused character type and overall not very interesting. And last but not least my least favourite villains in the show: Macia and Marshal Langman. They are what the website TVTropes.org defines these types of characters as Strawmen. They only serve to be the opposite of the writer's beliefs and have the main characters deliver the moral of the episode. All they want everything they disagree with to be censored. They are like Ned Flanders from the Simpsons minus any likeability. I get that it's a comedy show and can't have villains as interesting as say a crime show but other shows have had antagonists that had something to them other than "The writers oppose this issue and I am here to represent it badly". So overall the villains are just "Meh".
Other Characters: Here are some more characters that can't be considered major but are worth mentioning. There's Jerry Gergich. He's the guy that works as the goofy character that nobody likes him. I like him and think he's a good example of an unfortunate character done well. There's Tom's best friend Donna Meagle. She's very fun-loving and one of my favourite side characters on the show. There's Tom's friend Jean Ralphio Saperstein. He's like an even more over the top version of Tom and I like him. In the first two seasons, there was a character named Mark Brandanowitz. He was like a prototype version of Ben. In that, he was the straight man only with anything that made Ben interesting. He was just kind of boring. Not much else to them other than boring. Craig was a character introduced in season six. He was constantly shouting no matter the situation and always in an over the top manner. And of course, there's the best character in the entire show.... Li'l Sebastian the Mini Horse! Actually.... He's just adorable. Not much else to them. So overall it has a strong supporting cast..... And Mark.
Plot: Each season has their different story arch. For the first two seasons it focuses on the Parks Department filling in a giant pit outside of Ann's house. The first season is boring and I skipped to season two after three episodes. Season two got better but was still finding out what the show was about. Season three is the main characters getting used to the new management of the government by Chris and Ben. It got a lot better in that season. Season four is Leslie running for city council against Bobby Newport. This is my favourite season in my opinion. Season five and six is Leslie working on the city council. I like it but I personally think the show should have ended after season six. Season seven is set in the distant year of ... 2017! It mostly shows what the characters are doing in the: DISTANT FUTURE OF 2017! I like the season but I think it should have ended after season six.Conclusion: Parks and Recreation is a great show. One of the best parts of the show is the main cast. I remember a lot about the characters like Ron, Andy, Tom, April, Chris, and many more. Some of the characters are like real people that exist. Of course there are some characters that aren't so great like Marcia and Mark. But the good outweighs the bad in this situation. It also teaches some good morals which are also a bonus. And of course, the show has a great sense of humour. So I do recommend that you watch it if you haven't.
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