[4.4/10] Phwew, this is a rough one. You can kind of see the characters start to take shape, but pretty much everyone (save for maybe Ann) feels so off-brand when rewatching the show's early seasons. The big thing here is that the show feels like it's making fun of Leslie and treating her as incompetent rather than being on her side and poking affectionate fun at her. It makes the whole thing feel kind of mean-spirited, though you can see hints of the optimistic bent the show would later take poking through in how Ann and a reluctant Mark eventually go to bat for her.
The bit with Shawna Mallway-Tweep doing a story on the pit and then sleeping with Mark is kind of a mess. I like the idea that it's a weird sore spot for Leslie -- her biggest professional achievement (getting a subcommittee to fill the pit) and her biggest personal deal (her crush on Mark) colliding. But most of the story is so cringey and not in a fun way. Again, feels more like the show's digging in on Leslie, showing her as incompetent rather than overzealous. Still, the aforementioned resolution isn't bad, it's just a bumpy ride to get there.
There's also some nice firsts in this one. It's the first appearance of Shawna, naturally. It's the first time we see the famed raccoons that plague Pawnee. It's Leslie's first effusive compliment for Ann. And it's the first we see of JJ's diner (replete with Leslie's first instance of digging into whip cream-topped waffles!) So there's some minor thrill from that stuff alone.
The B-story, with Tom letting Ron beat him in online scrabble and April threatening to mess up the whole deal is brief and kind of inert. None of the characters feel quite like themselves yet, so the personalities aren't as engaging on their own, and it's a pretty standard sitcom subplot. Still, Ron's final talking head, where he explains why Tom is a "good" incompetent employee in his department is easy, but amusing enough.
Overall, we're still firmly in rocky early outing territory, and that's tough to watch in places, especially knowing how these characters develop, but it's kind of interesting from an almost a forensic perspective.
"He's probably thinking with the head of his weiner, not the head of his brain."
Fantastic writing! This show is funny as hell. Love it.
Do yourself a favor and watch this show
Shout by JasperKazaiVIP 2BlockedParent2021-12-13T01:34:12Z— updated 2021-12-23T05:48:57Z
I never quite remember just how terrible of a character Mark is. To be fair, everyone is a bit rough this early on - Ron is practically a non-entity in this episode, and Leslie still is halfway into the "female Michael Scott" territory that she starts in, which she doesn't break free from until later. But man oh man does Mark suuuuuuuck.