More (positive) thoughts on the Parks and Rec finale

[author_by_night]

I rewatched the P&R finale, and I actually liked it better the second time.

I think the way I'm looking at it is this - there's really two finales. Season six was a straight series finale; we wrapped up character arcs, we had callbacks to earlier seasons and episodes (bye, bye Little Sebastian...), and the former rival towns of Pawnee and Eagleton successfully merged. Season seven was almost more what a movie may have been like - we see the characters at a later point when the town's changed a lot, and we see them going away. Then we get an idea of what it might have been like for them moving forward from that. So this finale was an epilogue to an epilogue, or to a movie version, and as clunky as that sounds, it actually worked well for those purposes. There really wasn't supposed to be a grande finale in the same way season six  had one.

So season six's finale is more of a series finale to me, but I also like season seven's finale as a "where are they now?" finale. :)
One of my LJ friends asked if there's any shows with similarly great female characters and dynamics currently on the air.  I couldn't think of any. Anyone?

I think there's shows now off the air that come close. FRIENDS actually has pretty well written dynamics between the female characters,  and Buffy did in the beginning with Buffy and Willow, but I'm not sure what else even in the past, let alone now. I think TV is almost afraid to write female characters having any non-volatile relationships. Same with movies. (Books do, although I feel like a lot of them go the other extreme, where one of the friends dies in the end. Or you realize all four friends were melodramatic southern belles who traumatized their children for life. I love Ya-Ya-Sisterhood, I really do, but...)

Comments

[thesunifollow.livejournal.com]

I don't know if you're watching it, but Brooklyn Nine-Nine has some great female characters and is overall doing great things with a diverse cast.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

I wasn't, but since basically everyone in the comments rec'd it I ended up watching the first two episodes last night. It's definitely a diverse cast, and I love the humor - I wasn't actually aware that it was a comedy, I thought it was another cop show. (I mean, it is, but... as a comedy.)

[dolorosa-12.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I second the recommendation for Brooklyn Nine Nine. I would also argue that Orphan Black has some great (if messed-up) female characters, although they're almost all played by the one actress. Orange Is the New Black is entirely female-centric and has a huge and diverse cast.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

I have to admit I always get Orphan/Orange mixed up! Perhaps that's a sign to try both.

I have started to watch Brooklyn Nine Nine, and it's definitely good so far.

[ragnarok-08.livejournal.com]

Brooklyn Nine-Nine is definitely great :)

[chocolatepot.livejournal.com]

It depends what one means by "similarly great female characters". Because I get a similar vibe from The Mindy Project, but at the same time Mindy is a COMPLETELY different type of person than Leslie. Re: dynamics, assuming it's total show dynamic we're talking about rather than inter-female character dynamics, Brooklyn Nine-Nine absolutely (not surprising, it's got the same creator).

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

The show fell off my radar, but yes, I felt Mindy was/is a good female character. It's kind of ironic because on one hand she was totally the stereotypical "I want a man I want to be pretty" etc. etc. type, but she could be that AND also be smart with huge goals. (Which is also more realistic - I had a friend in school a bit like that - she wasn't as shallow as Mindy, but she was smart and career driven while at the same time had a more flaky, overly-romantic side. As well as Mindy's general tendency to say inappropriate things.)

The show also had great female character dynamics in the first season, and I think part of the reason I lost interest was that they decided to ditch that aspect, which had also given way to Mindy's better qualities. So I would say it's just as much about inter-dynamics for me.

I'm watching Brooklyn Nine Nine now, thanks to the suggestions, and while so far I haven't actually seen much in the way of inter-dynamics (though I've only seen the first two episodes), I will say it's given me a lot of laughs. :)

[rhoda-rants.livejournal.com]

Sleepy Hollow does pretty well on multiple fronts. Also, Orphan Black, which is coming back soon-ish. I've heard good things about Rizzoli & Isles, but I've never watched it. We were talking about this in my retrospective not that long ago--how a given show or movie might have some decent female characters, but rarely has multiple female characters working together as a team.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

how a given show or movie might have some decent female characters, but rarely has multiple female characters working together as a team.

Exactly! I haven't seen this past season of SH, but I know last season we barely saw Abbie and Jennie. That's what I like about Parks and Rec, the female characters really work together.

[rhoda-rants.livejournal.com]

Oh, there's lots more of Jennie this season. It's not perfect, still pretty formula-driven as far as plot goes, but she's a fully integrated part of the Team now, which is cool.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

I'll have to catch up. I think I heard there was drama between Katrina and Ichabod, too... not that I have anything against them as a couple and want them to suffer (although it was also a bit hard for me to care about them as a couple), but that's certainly a twist.

[musicpsych.livejournal.com]

I like your take on the Parks finale. It was interesting to read that the writers had written a few episodes throughout the seasons as finales in case the show was cancelled.

I think Nashville does a decent job with relationships between female characters. There is some volatility at times, but the characters will support each other, too.