Last night marked the end of NBC’s Parks and Recreation, which ran for seven great seasons. Sure, it never got high ratings, but it did bring the phrase “Treat Yourself” into the lexicon. Let’s see Two and a Half Men invent something that gives you an excuse to go shopping for toys.

Parks and Rec was good for more than just a laugh (although, it delivered plenty of those), it marks the end of an era for network sitcoms as NBC tries to wade in the murky waters of the current TV landscape of streaming and cable. There was something about Parks and Rec that made me feel warm and fuzzy inside each time the opening credits rolled.

But there is something else that sets it apart from all other sitcoms. All of you literary snobs out there might be familiar with the Great American Novel, which is the idea that one book possibly encapsulates the culture and values of the United States. Some think its The Great Gatsby. Others say its The Catcher in the Rye. I say its whatever you were forced to read in English class during sophomore year of high school. Anyway, the idea of America seems to hard to capture in just one thing, but if there ever was a Great American Sitcom, it would be Parks and Recreation.

And why not? If something is going to be “great” and “American,” it might as well be a TV show, which has the luxury of time to explore a lot of huge ideas. And much like our soft drinks and our cars, the idea of America might be just a bit too big.

Parks and Rec is a beautifully uncynical look at American politics, highlighting everything from the inefficiency to the effectiveness of local government. If you have ever attended any kind of public forum, then the town hall meetings depicted on the show, which mainly turned into (sometimes physical) shouting matches, rang all too true. Parks’ satire extended far beyond the reaches of bureaucracy; it always seemed to have a strong grasp on the lexicon. After all, season seven was set in the future and was partially about data mining and drones. From Entertainment 720 to Gryzzl, Parks and Rec was about the only show on television addressing startup culture. That is, of course, until Silicon Valley came along.

Part of what makes this show the Great American Sitcom is that each character inhabits and defines some part of the social or political landscape. Wide-eyed Leslie Knope embodies strength, optimism, and the idea that people actually want to do good things for each other. For years, Ron Swanson was her ideological counterpart. As a libertarian who enjoys hiding out in his cabin in the woods, Swanson is basically Henry David Thoreau by way of Ron Paul. Despite their differing beliefs, the two of them formed one of the truest friendships in TV history. Mainly, they were able to find common ground over JJ’s Diner, a Pawnee institution. Seriously, is there anything more perfectly American than kibitzing in a diner? Edward Hopper probably wants to create a painting about it.

One of the most impressive parts about Parks was its ability to give life to its entire ensemble. Plenty of other American archetypes were present as well. Beloved Jerry (or Garry or Larry or Terry) represents the mentality of doing the least amount of work possible that still gets you paid and home to your family. So of course, he became the mayor. Tom is the worst of the tech bubble, yet for every terrible idea he had, there was one or two that he actually put a lot of thought into. This show had such a bright and sunny point of view that, in the end, Tom’s greatest success ended up being a book he wrote about all of his failures. Few things define the show as well as that.

At first, it might sound strange to label this as the Great American Sitcom. When people look for the Great American TV Show, they probably look right to HBO. Sure, it is just human nature to view the current time as dark and gritty. But Parks and Rec is the show people will look at in the future when they want to feel nostalgic for the 2010s. I am not sure if that is a good thing or not, but it plays into what is so great about this show. Parks and Rec is partially about the America that exists, but mostly about the one that should exist. What Michael Schur, Greg Daniels, and Amy Poehler have put together is an America in which red tape is no obstacle and goals can actually be accomplished. It showed that it takes a lot of hard work to get these things done, but they are not impossible. This is the kind of skeptical optimism not seen anymore. Cynicism is fun and funny at times, but at a certain point it just gets unproductive.

The fictional town of Pawnee which Leslie Knope and her work family inhabits is a special place. Sure, it isn’t perfect. It’s a little unsanitary and it suffers from a candy addiction. The neighboring town of Eagleton seems a lot nicer from a distance. However, Pawnee is a place that all of these people can love and call home both in spite of and because of its flaws. And thus, the most truthful and nuanced view of patriotism came from a sitcom on NBC once meant to be nothing more than a spinoff of The Office. I would say that I want to move to Pawnee, but I feel like I already live there, because Pawnee is both the America that currently exists, as well as what America could potentially become.

Goodbye Harris.

I come to you today, ranting about awards, not because I want to, but because I need to.

You see, as somebody who doesn’t watch sports, I need some place to let out the insane amount of masculine aggression that lies inside me. So while I can’t complain about that ref who needs to get his eyes checked, I can complain about that voter who needs to stop accepting bribes from Chuck Lorre.

This year, the good news is that the amount of snubs probably come from the fact that there are just so many good shows on television, and not enough awards to give out. I accept the fact that most of my choices aren’t necessarily the ones that beg for awards. However, it just seems wrong that the Emmys almost completely ignored the Comedy Central Renaissance. Seriously, put on Comedy Central at some point. You will be surprised to find that they have a lot more than Tosh.0 re-runs now.

Without much further adieu, here is my list of this year’s most egregious Emmy snubs:

Broad City

Because of the random absurdness and poop and dildo jokes, Broad City never seemed like a likely choice for the Emmys. However, it received far better reviews than many of the shows that did get nominated, so I sense just a bit of snobbishness on the part of Emmy voters. Simply put, Broad City is the best new comedy of the year. Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer act as if they have been doing this for decades, yet their show was a radical breath of fresh air. It’s like somebody threw Louie, Workaholics, and Girls into a blender. These two Jewish ladies are television’s most dynamic duo. It is no wonder Amy Poehler put so much faith into this show. Speaking of Ms. Poehler.

Parks and Recreation

Parks and Rec has been on for over half a decade now. Despite critical praise and an audience that seems to grow by the year, Parks still feels greatly underappreciated. Most people think the traditional sitcom is dead, but Parks and Rec is as traditional as they get. It happens to be an incredibly fresh example of something old. Sometimes, I wonder if the creators of Parks and Rec feel like Leslie Knope, who is hardworking and incredibly capable, yet the voters are not too big a fan of her’s.

Nick Kroll (Kroll Show)

Okay, so maybe Kroll Show was too much of a giant inside joke for voters to follow. I mean, it might be the most innovative sketch show of our time, but fine (not really, but I’ll live with it). What might have at least made up for that loss was a nomination for Nick Kroll, who juggles so many roles in a show that bears his name. In a given episode, he can play an old Jewish man, a woman, and a punk kid with a lisp. It’s a performance of Sid Caesar like proportions. And yes, I did just compare Nick Kroll to Sid Caesar.

Dean Norris (Breaking Bad)

This finally looked like the year Dean Norris would get a nomination for his work in Breaking Bad because this was finally the year where he truly got to shine as Agent Hank Schrader. Perhaps one of the most anticipated moments in the series was when Hank and Walt would finally look at each other face to face, with no more secrets to hide. Norris made the moment worth the wait. In five seasons, he went from goofy comic relief to the only source of morality in a dark, dark world.

I want to give a special shout out to Tatiana Maslany. I can’t judge her especially well, because I haven’t seen season two of Orphan Black yet. However her work in season one definitely deserved an Emmy nod. I also hope she hosts SNL one day.

Image via E! Online

In 2012, 21 Jump Street became one of the best bad ideas Hollywood ever had. It was a reboot of a TV show that nobody asked for, yet it has more heart and originality than most “original” ideas have nowadays have. But of course, when a movie works well, a sequel must be made.

22 Jump Street proves that lightning only strikes twice in Hollywood. It is by far the best movie to come out this summer all while making fun of everything that we have come to know about summer movies.

Just as its predecessor did, 22 Jump Street announces exactly what it is as soon as it possibly can. After Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) botch another mission, the police chief (Nick Offerman) tells them they have to play it safe and do everything exactly as they did before. He talks about unnecessary reboots and budgetary concerns. This is about as meta as you can get without completely deconstructing yourself into a corner.

So Schmidt and Jenko go back to school (college, to be specific) with the same identities and a similar goal of finding a dangerous drug supplier. But of course, they get carried away in their newfound college careers. Schmidt gets a girlfriend (Amber Stevens), Jenko joins the football team, and before, after, and in between, the two of them get involved in some wild parties and do the kind of dumb things that you can only get away with when you are in college.

Like any sequel, 22 Jump Street repeats plenty of elements from its predecessor. While being self-aware of this fact, it does right by building upon, rather than just imitating, an already existing foundation. Yes, 22 Jump Street also has a drug trip sequence, and while this one cannot surpass the sheer joy in the surprise of the original one, it also doesn’t want to be anything like it at all. 22 Jump Street is a lot of familiar premises with very different punchlines.

That there is the spirit of Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who are now one of the best director duos working today. With this and The Lego Movie, they are having a banner year of showing that putting a new spin on something old can be just as good as an original idea. Because few ideas are ever completely original, anyway. Every Lord/Miller joint shows that one pop culture item is simply a layer for somebody to build something new on top of it. There’s something radical and rebellious that I really like about that attitude.

Okay, I am getting a little up my own ass here. That is too bad, as 22 Jump Street never does that when it could have in so many places. 22 Jump Street goes meta but then stops before it can be unbearable. It realizes that buddy cop movies need to be taken down a notch, but also that is what everybody came here to see. In that respect, 22 Jump Street is an improvement over 21 Jump Street, as it manages to combine action and humor in a much more seamless way. Not to mention, Hill and Tatum have an unparalleled odd couple chemistry. They are like two improvisors that just can’t read each other and amazingly, that works to their advantage.

22 Jump Street is far and away the funniest movie so far this year, and it is definitely the best blockbuster so far this summer. By the end, you will realize that the Jump Street series doesn’t need a third installment. In fact, that would possibly be dangerous to the legacy of this series. Yet, I still want to see that movie, and that is something I never thought I would say.

Brain Farts From The Edge (Some Spoilers)

• Somebody made an excellent video about how few American directors know how to do visual comedy and that Edgar Wright is the only one who has figured this out. I would like to make an updated version of this video that includes Phil Lord and Chris Miller on the shortlist of people who have figured out visual comedy.
• The 21 Jump Street series has become the comedy equivalent of the Scream franchise.
• Normally, I am not a fan of movies using current pop music. But for some reason it just makes sense here. After all, college kids listen to dubstep. That’s how it is.
• There is a part where Channing Tatum says he wants to be in the secret service and protect the president. Maybe he should check out White House Down.
• The fake sequels in the credits were an act of pure genius. I don’t know which one was my favorite, but I do know that the Seth Rogen and Bill Hader are cameos were much appreciated.
• I never thought jokes about budgets and spending could be this funny.
• For the lunch scene alone, Ice Cube is the MVP of 22 Jump Street.
• I like how they changed the dynamic between Hill and Tatum in 22 Jump Street.
• 22 Jump Street is so openly self-aware that writing a review seems pointless. However, I had a lot of fun writing this.
• At this point, Phil Lord and Chris Miller could direct a Justin Bieber 3D concert movie and I would still pay money to go see it.