YES OR KNOPE?

I mentioned in an earlier post that Parks and Recreation has been my inspiration for writing New Zealand's own Mockumentary Sitcom.  I've been watching a lot of it.

The character of Leslie Knope played by Amy Poehler is my favourite character in television.  First of all, the irony of her name is a beautifully, well-thought out thing.  Secondly, she embodies a handful of female characteristics that I wish I didn't identify with but absolutely do; she's anxious, irrational, emotional... She loves cute animals, is a goody-two-shoes and at her core a naive and enthusiastic optimist/nutbar - depending on how you look at it.

The other characters in the show are all very loveable, depending on what you're into.  Some of them are inherently good, others not so much (I'm looking at you Tom Haverford) but no matter what they do or say, I would give up an afternoon of exploring Italy to sit inside and watch my best friends fail miserably (and succeed every now and again) in their small town lives.

Apart from the joy that punch zooms give me, it is the optimism of all the characters in Parks and Recreation that keeps me watching the show.  A conversation with Emma about how much I love optimistic humour reminded me that this style works because it's American's executing it, and they're always on cloud nine.  In New Zealand however, we have a serious case of Tall Poppy syndrome, so Talking Heads with smug/determined/positive characters isn't as easy as it sounds.  ALAS, I might be naive enough to do it.

I also think we've yet to discover our own comedic voice.  Flight of the Conchords offers a distinctly awkward flavour of New Zealand comedy, though we didn't fund in the first place, and in my humble opinion, the only man I like watching perpetuate this style is Jermaine Clement himself.  And this is where the distinction is important to me; There's comedy (kiwi/american), then there's style (optimistic/self-deprecating).  While I was incredibly impressed by The Dark Horse and I'm happy to have seen that story, I'd choose a comedy over a drama any day.  Just a personal thing.

Apart from Singer of Songs, there hasn't been a Mockumentary Sitcom made in Wellington (that I know of anyway).  Wellington has a lot of talented writers, crew and actors, but all of the television is set up in Auckland.  So that's another reason I'm setting out to write some content; because why not?  Everyone's doing their own thing these days - thanks to the power of the internet, Alanah has an online store, Tama has his own personal training company, Lucy offers her design skills remotely.  So I'm going to be optimistic about it and see what I can achieve.  Because I know there is an audience for it and I'd much rather watch someone laugh than watch someone cry.  

EDIT:  Though I'd also rather watch someone fail than watch someone succeed...  What a great way to summarise the trials and tribulations of my characters and the tone of the show; They laugh, enjoy themselves and their lives, but they fail miserably.  Crying and succeeding then becomes a cherished rarity.