The day I heard that Amy Poehler was leaving SNL I literally thought my world was crashing down around me. I mean, the wound Tina Fey’s departure left in my heart was still pretty fresh and I didn’t think I could handle losing my other favorite cast member. So when I heard Poehler was developing a new show for NBC I was both relieved and deeply, deeply concerned. Because honestly, how many cast members have left SNL to pursue other things only to crash, burn, and fade into oblivion? I didn’t take into account, however, that Amy is one talented broad. Not only is her show Parks and Recreation the funniest sitcom on prime time  TV, it also has the most heart. I’m embarrassed by how much I love  this show. Seriously, even just thinking about it now makes me kind of giddy. This one scene, for example, makes me laugh so hard my head hurts…

I believe I can guess what your thinking. “Whitney, you hate The Office, which is basically the same premise as P and R! Whats the deal?” Valid, totally valid. I think what sets Parks apart is that I actually like and care about the characters on the show rather than just cringing and laughing uncomfortably whenever they do or say something stupid, which was my basic reaction to The Office. Case and point: here is a clip of Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt) endearing himself while acting stupid. Michael Scott, eat your heat out.

And I really couldn’t talk about Parks and Rec without mentioning my ever-increasing crush on Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott), the boffable nerd who successfully captured Leslie Knope’s (Amy Poehler) heart last season. And really, what lady could say no to this?…

The message boards aren’t the only ones going nuts, Ben.

I leave you with a clip that Ellen and I quoted for a solid six months. Jean Ralphio, take me there!

-Whitney