TV Review: Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (CCGC) was Jerry Seinfeld‘s talk show on the streaming service, Crackle, and later on Netflix. The aim of the show was for Jerry to pick up some celebrities (mostly comedians) in vintage cars, drive with each of them to numerous roads, check in some restaurants, sip coffee together, talk about comedy, friendship, life, and many things, and call it a day by dropping off to their residence.

I say that this was a unique format for hosting a talk show. You do not have to sit your ass in a studio and speak to your host. Instead, enjoy one fine evening with Jerry in some classic car, roaming the streets, eating and drinking somewhere, and informally chatting your heart out.

I am unsure if there has been a similar concept in the past. The closest I recall is Robert Llewellyn‘s Carpool which began three years before CCGC. Jerry was unaware of the show but apologized to Robert on Twitter for not knowing about it after CCGC was finished.

Jerry stated that he met a lot of people through this show whom he never met before and are now friends. Isn’t that a wonderful thing? Two strangers from the same showbiz talking about life while driving around, eating and drinking together, and during all this, finding common grounds in what they stand for, which eventually befriends them. Although, CCGC is a rich show with well-known people spending their time together in some expensive hotels or restaurants eating and drinking a lot. But I just imagine, what if we common people try to find common grounds and casually hang around for an evening? Will this not be a quality moment of our lives to live with?

I take this show a lot personally with an understanding that there are moments in my life that I have spent and like to spend with a particular friend in my or their cars and do exactly what Jerry and his friends did. The format of the show is fresh to me and we all can relate to that. Because there is no narrative, there is no fake exchange of mood for overdramatic and commercial appeal. Because this is what this show is about – spending quality time with someone and talking about life.

Jerry’s questions about habits, moods, aims, behaviors, and manners; his questions are very human. And then Jerry and his friends discuss these things in the car or in some restaurants at length. And makes the audience realize that this kind of communication is badly missing. We really do not point out a certain matter and speak it to a friend unless that has something to do with them.

Jerry had his fair share of celebrities to hang around with. Some were A-list comedians like Jim Carrey, Will Ferrell, Ricky Gervais, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart, Steve Martin, Martin Short, some classic-era biggies like Jerry Lewis, Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, and Don Rickles, and there were some with limited success. Yes, each of Seinfeld’s majors showed up.

It is hard to pick which was the best of all episodes because many of Jerry’s meetings had a particular room of enjoyment. Although Jerry is done with CCGC, I feel even after 11 seasons and 84 episodes, he could have invited a lot of celebrities. I feel celebrities like Steve Carell, Billy Crystal, Kelsey Grammer, Ray Romano, Wayne Knight, Woody Allen, Ed O’Neill, Amy Poehler, and many more would have made a terrific meeting with Jerry.

Why CCGC is so distinctive is because we all see ourselves in them when well-known people hang around and speak like us. And makes us believe that showbiz biggies are us who recovered from difficult paths and pushed their luck from sad stories and earned their way. All we need is an inspiring story that can motivate us after listening to or watching them speak about their struggles.

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TV Review: Parks and Recreation

PARKS AND RECREATION — “One Last Ride” Episode 712/713 — Pictured: (l-r) Chris Pratt as Andy Dwyer, Aubrey Plaza as April Ludgate, Retta as Donna Meagle, Rashida Jones as Ann Perkins, Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson, Aziz Ansari as Tom Haverford, Rob Lowe as Chris Traeger, Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope, Adam Scott as Ben Wyatt, Jim O’Heir as Garry Gergich — (Photo by: Colleen Hayes/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)

If a sitcom happens to be created, produced, or written by Greg Daniels, enter the name on your watchlist because there is a chance that you develop a fondness for his show. Personally, I had watched his American adaptation of The Office, Space Force, and then Upload before Parks and Recreation, and none of these disappointed me. In fact, The Office is one of my all-time favorite sitcoms.

Parks And Recreation give you the same vibes as The Office. Why not? After all, both the sitcoms have been set up in the office. If The Office was based on a fictional Dunder-Mifflin Paper Company in Scranton where that crazy Michael Scott was the Branch Manager then ‘Parks And Recreation’ is based on a fictional Pawnee City Hall where Leslie Knope is the deputy director in Parks and Recreation department.

Amy Poehler‘s Leslie character went through changes with time. Leslie was a bit silly in the first season and then her attitude towards her responsibilities changed especially when she involved herself in politics when her progress began to grab attraction and got offers to run the campaign. The PR to the political journey of Leslie was excellent.

Besides Leslie, my favorite character was Nick Offerman‘s Ron Swanson, the department director. He was socially detached and had parted ways with his wife, Tammy played by Offerman’s real wife, Megan Mullaly. His dialogues were sparingly thoughtful and sometimes a soft curmudgeon’s bible.

The writing of the show gave a lot of breathing to the supporting characters and made the Pawnee diary exciting. Correlated themes like media and journalism portrayals also helped in the plot continuity. Pawnee crackdown through the failing budget was also an interesting move.

Without a doubt, Chris Pratt‘s Andy Dwyer had the best character development in the show. From being a lazy ass to becoming a television celebrity, Andy’s journey was fun to watch.

At some point in the middle, I had a feeling that the show was possessing time and wasn’t continuing well. The comic timing of the characters was getting a little flat. Aziz Ansari as Tom Haverford was an average beginning in a couple of seasons but then I began to ask myself what the significance of the character really was. Tom was getting ridiculous minutes. Especially his comic partnership with Ben Schwartz‘s Jean-Ralphio in the show was extremely boring and annoying. If the latter’s contribution to the show was a question mark, the character’s sister Mona-Lisa raised the alarm about the decline of comic quality. Thank God, Jean and Mona were not promoted as regulars.

I will surely have one deep irritation about lacking the idea of not creating its own universe of department sitcoms. PR started after three or four seasons of The Office. The same team created both the shows, Greg Daniels and Michael Schur (yep, Dwight’s Amish brother, Mose Schrute). Both shows mostly ran together and that too on the same network, NBC. How could the producers not consider possible connectivity? Imagine Scranton-Pawnee crossovers! Michael Scott and Leslie Knope on the same stage!

Without a doubt, The Office was a way better sitcom than PR but the former should vanish from the mind in order to watch the fun of PR because, in all honesty, PR is really an exciting sitcom. I very much enjoyed it and will remember it for a long long time. The Office fans are definitely recommended to watch Parks And Recreation.