Enlarge By Mitchell Haaseth, NBC Parks and Recreation team: Mark (Paul Schneider), left, Tom (Aziz Ansari), Leslie (Amy Poehler), Ann (Rashida Jones) and Ron (Nick Offerman). ABOUT THE SHOW ABOUT THE SHOW Parks and Recreation

NBC, Thursday, 8:30 ET/PT

* * out of four A WALK IN THE PARK A WALK IN THE PARK What you find in Parks and Recreation is a style in search of a show. Worse yet, it's not even a new style, or one that seems particularly well-suited to the character being played by the star, Saturday Night Live's Amy Poehler. Instead, the show's producers — who also do the American version of The Office — have simply decided to replicate that almost-hit, from the small-is-stupid tone to the mockumentary visuals. We've seen and heard this all before, done brilliantly by the British original and less adeptly by the American imitation. Yet here it is again: the monologues; the mysterious, ever-present camera crew; the contrasts between what people say and what's actually happening; the reliance on clumsily defended overstatement. It's as if the producers had two assets — their star's ability to play guileless and clueless, and their own ability to shoot a mock documentary — and hoped that would be enough to support a series. Odds are they're wrong. In place of a paper company, we're transported to the world of small-town government, where Leslie Knope (Poehler) works as a midlevel manager at the Parks and Recreation Department. Her job may be small, but her dreams are big: All that separates her from Hillary Clinton is the right opportunity. For Leslie, the ticket out of local government arrives in the person of Ann Perkins (The Office's Rashida Jones), who complains about an abandoned pit in her neighborhood. Ann just wants the pit filled in, but Leslie wants a park. She finds few allies. Her closest colleague, Tom (Aziz Ansari), mocks her relentlessly behind her back. Her boss, Ron (Nick Offerman), hates all government projects, including parks. But Leslie is unstoppable: "The chance to build a whole new park from scratch? This could be my Hoover Dam." And there's the problem. Leslie may be deluded and a bit full of herself, but her heart's in the right place, and Poehler makes her instantly, innocently appealing. Thanks to Poehler, Leslie comes across as sweet and well-intentioned, a public servant who is able to view being yelled at as "people caring loudly at me." And yet the show merrily tortures her, pushing her in the pit, belittling her efforts, letting the deeply unlikable Tom undercut her with knowing, sarcastic glances to the camera, as if she were Michael from The Office. Parks never expends enough energy to even approach funny, but even if it were more amusing, that sour whiff of gratuitous cruelty would still linger. You want to ridicule her? Fine. But at least find an original and entertaining way to do it. Parks isn't it. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more