The WEIRD Truth Behind Parks and Rec's Forgotten Character
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- Опубликовано: 20 май 2021
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It's not often a cast as strong as Parks and Recreation comes together so seamlessly. Each and every character is funny and memorable, with the exception of Mark Brendanawicz. He never quite found his footing between characters like Leslie Knope, and Ron Swanson. And once we are introduced to Ben Wyatt and Chris Traeger, there was just no room left for Mark to thrive. Parks and Recreation will forever be remembered for the amazing cast of characters, with the exception of Mark Brendanawicz.
#ParksAndRecreation #ParksAndRec #Nerdstalgic
Writer - Chris Teregis
Editor - David Sadvari 
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How was any of that weird?
the moment Chris Traeger and Ben Wyatt showed up the show got a million times better
I was actually quite bored by them at first, but thank god I stuck around.
@@shutdowndashr passive-aggressive season 3 Ben was daunting at first, but I liked his development into a fantasy nerd.
No, it was the expansion of Ron. Chris and Ben are boring without Ron to contrast with, especially at the beginning. Ron is the only reason I watched the whole show.
Ben was good, but Chris made me wanna die
@@phud420 I agree but I think that was great. We see Ben like Leslie does, a villain whose purpose is to ruin everything we love. He seems arrogant and intimidating. But then we realise he's just doing his job, and he's good at it, and without it, Pawnee wouldn't survive. We go on the same journey as Leslie. And he teaches us that 1) the Pawnee parks department isn't the most important thing in the world, whatever Leslie thinks, which grounds the show a lot and presents an interesting challenge 2) the parks dep is such a great family they can bring an awkward lonely accountant out of his shell.
I am so glad they changed Leslie's character from a Michael copy to her own person who is hyper competent
@@AxxLAfriku 😐
I just wish they had done that from the start, because you have this weird situation where the first season is integral plot wise (Leslie meets her closest friend and launches on her first project of the show), but it's also fairly incompatible with the rest of the show character wise.
@@saulsotelo6407 don’t give him attention lol
@@jacobd1984 every show has growing pains of some sort. Season 1 of the office features characters left and right that aren’t fully fleshed out. Mark and weird(in a different way) Leslie were part of that.
@@jacobd1984 Michael from the Office went through a similar change, but not as dramatic as Leslie's. He was way more of an asshole in the first season.
I wasn't bothered by Mark being written out of the show. I was bothered by the characters acting as if he never existed.
Yeah it definitely was strange, a throw away comment with Leslie saying “since mark got his new job in Indianapolis we won’t have him to help with our plans any more” or something, literally anything, would’ve made so much sense considering how much she initially cared for him
Even Louis CK who had that short arc gets brought back/brought up after he leaves and he was in what like 6 episodes max?!? Lol it’s just odd to me, but I guess it was personal because I’ve seen articles about the reason he left being he didn’t think the show was going anywhere and they wrote him out (thankfully, didn’t like him at all, kind of a skeevy dude masquerading as a good guy)
even weirded considering leslie was like obsessed with him for a while, and she like doesnt forget anything ever and is super intese, she would never ever have forgotten him like that. i actually was more bothered by this than i wanna admit, i liked the character. im a sucker for a straight man (as in comedy straight man you know)
Especially when there is an episode about Ann's exes and their box. He deserved a box more than Tom.
You said it best.
Yeah mark makes up plans for leslies Park as his going away gift and then there's a whole episode about them needing to find someone to make plans for the park later on.
They literally just wrote out marks time on the show. (Same with no box from ann)
Be interesting to know the reason but that is what bothers me more. Especially for shows like this that keep referencing itself all throughout its run having 1 character that they just end up completely ignoring. While it's a tiny part as well, I love how the accountant guy keeps coming back too that want to hire Ben. Still wish he got something more in the end. Gave Ben the rights for cones of dunshire. He deserves so much for that
Imagine being told you're gonna be the Jim of the show and ending up as Devon.
Devon?
@@graybirdynamnam who got fired in the office
@@graybirdynamnam Exactly!
Devon at least came back for the season finale, Mark didn’t
@@hittingyouoverthehead haha I know
So in a way, Pawnee is such a crazy town that a balanced human being could not survive there
He's Pawnee's Frank Grimes
At the same time though, that's essentially what Ben's character is for. He's introduced as the one normal guy who totally doesn't understand all the weird people and weird things that happen in Pawnee, but his development from someone who goes from finding it annoying and offputting to loving the town is done really well.
if your definition of a "balanced human being" is a mediocre douchebag, then yeah sure
@@user-iz2cb2kj4g that's true, it makes sense as to why they all took their anger out on him
@@pg9193 someone having a better life with you isn't an excuse to verbally abuse someone
They forgot Mark so hard there was even a plot about Leslie needing someone to design the park, even though he very clearly did that already.
I remember the whole time when watching that episode live thinking "are they gonna find Mark's plans and this is how they bring him back for a cameo!?" I was sorely disappointed.
@@ShinySephiroth1 Every remnant of him being there was gone after season 2, minus the picture of the park. They should have at least MENTIONED him a few times.
@@phud420 Yeah, I totally agree
@@phud420 It's similar to Micheal Scott after he left. No one barely mentioned him except in like Season 9 and I know Daryll even calls him "Mike" in passing. Of course he returned for the last episodes but it's still weird.
I forgot about that!
My favorite bit about this character leaving is that he gave Lesli plans for the park that were suppose to be perfect, and then later down the line there was an episode where they tried to make plans for the park which didn’t end with them finding those plans. Even his final send off was forgotten.
@@diebosseyyy4904 kind of. A lot of shows that run for a lot of seasons will come in conflict with older episodes. This cross in the canon just happens to have the show dropping a character be apart of it. It’s nothing majorly bad at least, but definitely does tell they forgot this character.
Yeah which was a shame they should have connected to his contribution
I mean we never even got to see the park anyway lmao it was supposed to be this huge deal and then it got built finally we still never got to see it.
@@sackthebastard the park over the pit was made tho. pawnee commons.
@@annaadams9706 I know it was made. We still never got to see it.
I totally understand why he was written off the show. What I don't understand is why he was erased from the show (aka "The Chuck Cunningham Syndrome"). Would it have killed them to have a box with Mark's name on it with all of Anne's ex-boyfriend's stuff?
Yeah, I didn’t miss him, but they didn’t have to act like he never existed.
I imagine mark never left any stuff/ Anne didn’t have his stuff to put in a box coz well he was too much of a straight guy.
Or at least a line explaining why his park plan wasn’t used.
maybe the writers of the show also forgot mark existed. Like really tho, i completely forget he was every a thing only half way through season 3.
Merp TheShow He wasn’t even alluded to in the last couple of episodes, and that brought back the bum in the slide from the first scene in the pilot!
Watching season one is so surreal. I always forget he was even on the show.
man i rerewatched recently and season one ALL the characters were surreal for me. i forgot what they were like before season 3ish when they really started to shine
@@youvegot At the end of season 7 I'm like,"Wow, this show was amazing. So amazing I'm gonna watch it again!" 3 minutes pass and I'm like "wait, who is this Mark guy? Andy's a douchebag now? Why is Leslie making clumsy remarks all of a sudden? Why is Tom acting like Jim?"
It's weird to think he was in thirty episodes.
Season 1 is definitely an oddball. I don’t know if Donna even had any lines
Seasons 1-2 are basically a completely different series
The relationship between the Mark actor and the writers sounds exactly like my relationship with my roommate in college. We got along well enough when we lived together, but then we parted ways at the end of the school year and just never saw or spoke to each other ever again. Not out of animosity, just mutual indifference.
I love this explanation! A lot of comments are making up things about how they writers and Paul Schneider hate each other, when we really don't know the story. This seems more likely.
Considering that characters are tweaked all the time, it's a pretty good guess that they didn't get along with him. Even Leslie Knope got some character tweaks along the way to make her less like Michael Scott. Plus that cast is very expressive, the fact that they never even gave him a shout out at the end is a dead giveaway. There's some personal drama here. Schurr has a famous no assholes policy so I do gotta wonder if that's what got this guy
@@jakestroll6518 Maybe, thing is that Andy's character was taking up the oxygen in the room and there was no way that Mark's story could be told adequately. Seems to me that the actor realized it, did his best with what he had, and left on good terms. He deserved to come back or at least be mentioned at the end.
So crazy that Andy wasn't meant to be a permanent character originally. I can't imagine this show without Chris Pratt, he was the heart of the show for me.
Exactly. At first it was very clear that he was just guest character but now he's such a central character you forget he wasn't always part of the main cast. He's probably the most lovable character on the show, or at least he was for me.
The downside is that the writers made Andy more and more stupid, to the point where it became implausible, e.g. "When you go the ATM, is there an actual guy standing behind the wall who slides dollar bills in there?"
@@thecroft6070 yeah there were a few lines that dumbed him down too much, but his dynamic with April made up for his worse moments
@@RandomPerson-gt1jt for me its quite hard to pick the most likable. its either Leslie, ben, donna, Andy, or tom for me. so basically like half the cast lol, and Ron and April can still be very likable often, as well as Ann and Chris.
The same thing happened with Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It's so weird how TV works out sometimes!
Also remember, Mark’s last scene is when he gifts Leslie a blueprint for the park. But, seasons later, there’s an entire episode about how they need a blueprint for the park.
Oh god! Yes, I forgot about this. And they took it from an Eagletonian too.
I know that was a low blow. It would have been sweet if they referred to it, although I know conflict is more interesting for an episode
Yeah that was strange
So what? He's not on the show. So he's not going to be mentioned on the show. He's gone.
@@winterc.2476 But, they ignored his existence in parts were it made no sense, continuity wise
Mark kind of always felt off, especially as characters became more and more detailed and complex while he just stayed the same. He rarely grew and floated around as a mediocre guy that you dont like but don't hate. Thankfully Ben and Chris were introduced quickly after
EXACTLY 🙌
I feel like he was too real. Like he correctly pointed out that there treatment of Jerry was literally office place harassment. Which basically ground that joke to a halt in the episode where they relentlessly pick on him. And I always hate this kind of joke anyway but still.
Mark was a douchebag. I was so glad to see him go
@@benjaminwatt2436 ngl I find it funny people think Mark is such a sleezeball for some questionable choices, meanwhile Tom's entire character is built on kicking the levels of sleeze up to 1000.
@@MintyArisato Mark is played off as a character that is basically manipulative. He sleeps with Lesly than refuses to have a straight up talk with her when its obvious she isn't over him. that's a douchebag thing to do, leave someone hanging and not manning up. You are right about Tom, except Tom learns from his mistakes and often apologizes for them.
Mark was an straightman/everyman character in a show that was becoming increasingly about hyper/exaggerated-characters
Yes, but that wasn't the reason he became obsolete. The show has many straightmen- Jerry, Ben, Ann, Donna and at times even Ron were straight-men characters who grounded the other eccentric ones. They didn't get written off. Mark got written off because he was a bad character- straightman or otherwise.
@@hittingyouoverthehead I disagree, Marks only character traits (cynical view on government work and sleazy/womanizer/whatever you call it) were both stronger and better represented in Tom and Ron, so all he had was being the straight man. And even being in a relationship with Ann wasn’t strong enough. But aside from occasionally filling in the straight man role Ben had his nerdiness, Donna had her love of luxury and mysterious second life, Ron had his libertarian, hyper masculinity, duke silver etc, Ann had great synergy with Leslie on top of playing the straight man better than Mark, and Jerry had his Jerryness. Mark just couldn’t compete as just a straight man any more
Not true at all
Ben worked as a straightman much better, as he was an outsider to Pawnee’s absolutely ludicrous characters, but he still had his weird personality quirks (“It’s about the cones”)
It would have been hilarious if later in the show when all the cast was together if Leslie said, "hey.. aren't we forgetting someone? Nah, everyone's here." Just to acknowledge they forgot he existed
Wow.. Good thing you're not a writer.
I think Ann stated what the audience was thinking he was just boring to the point where she wanted Andy back in her life because he was at least entertaining
Yeah Anne was the real audience surrogate character. She wasn't already working the the weird ecosystem of the Parks department, she got introduced to it when we did and formed bonds with the people at the same time as the audience.
Mark really is the definition of having no character-I feel bad for the actor though, it must of made being part of the show really difficult
@@ProfessorChaos56 Did you just feel like making something up or did you forget that the internet existed and we could verify your statement? He’s been in several shows
@@jacobj297 I didn't make anything up. I was misinformed.
He had other TV roles, but never one that lasted more than 8 episodes. More than half of them didn't go past 5 episodes.
@@ProfessorChaos56 My bad professor chaos, I went in a little hard for no reason. Just trying to spread chaos.
@@jacobj297 I appreciate the apology, and the joke. ;)
Chris Traeger is LITERALLY the best addition to the series. 🙌🏽
Rob Lowe is an amazing actor, I loved him in Californication too.
Agreed
Yes he's absolutely hilarious to watch, he's probably my favorite guy from the show
UGH.
He still doing underage chicks?
but why did they pretend like he never existed after he left? It makes you think whether there was any bad blood between the actor and the showrunners.
From what I’ve seen show writers, especially for hugely popular shows like this, grow big egos and become easily offended folks. Just look at The Office as a perfect example. Michael was written out of the show for some off the cuff remark Steve Carell gave in an interview. They never even bothered to tell him either until after it was done
@@PresidentDennis but Steve came back for the last episode while Mark was erased
@@PresidentDennis Is there a link or something?
@@PresidentDennis Don't forget that the writers of the office ruined the character of Andy only because they were mad at Ed Helms for leaving to go shoot Hangover 3. I agree they are slightly egotistical.
@@hittingyouoverthehead source for this one? I saw the source for the Steve Carell one tho, it’s from his biography that came out recently
Interesting how Andy was meant to be unlikeable guy we hate and mark was supposed to be the nice guy we root for. Yet the roles were reversed, so Andy seems to have taken Marks spot on the show.
Mark Brendanaquits
It might have been interesting to really explore the fact that he didn't connect that well with the female love interests and that maybe his philandering ways was more of a performative thing where the character was trying to fulfill the expectations of him as opposed to his own truth, thus starting a journey of discovery of what that truth actually was.
Lots of missed story potential
That's better than what the writers did with his character but that's still boring and wouldn't have warranted the existence of this character. In fact, that is exactly the same arc that Ann went through just before she decided to have a baby. She realized that she is jumping from man to man because that's what is expected of her and she goes on a journey to find herself. I remember it was one of the weaker story arcs during that time.
This the lore I filled in...in my head
The chemistry between Chris Pratt and Aubrey Plaza was “awesome sauce” the way their relationship evolved was amazing because on paper the way the characters were written it, it wouldn’t make sense to stick them together but once they spent time together in the show the chemistry was there. April hates everything and likes to act childish and doesn’t take many things seriously and Andy loves everything and is a naturally lovable childlike adult that also doesn’t take many things seriously. So them goofing off together and not taking like so seriously that kinda makes them perfect for each other.
I do appreciate it is April too that really got the ball rolling between them. They didn't just have Andy lust after her after breaking up with Ann.
I remember hating Andy at first because the first impression from season 1 stuck with me for a while, but then I found myself somehow rooting for him to get together with April, who's my favorite character altogether and portrayed by one of my favorite actors, it's crazy
I didn't mind Mark being cut off from the show, heck his send off was a nice touch to ending the character. I didnt like how the show didn't want to acknowledge his existence. Like how Leslie and Ann talks about their previous boyfriends and didn't mention him.
Because he's not on the show anymore. And he wasn't going to be brought back. So... Why mention him?
@@winterc.2476 Characters leaving sitcoms is normal, but when they do leave, their existence is still acknowledged afterwards. Like when Chris and Ann left the show, they were still mentioned.
@@thediscospider5701 But they were on it for a long and memorable time. So that made sense. Mark wasn't on it that long nor was it memorable.
That was bizarre for Ann not to mention Mark when she was listing prior boyfriends. They dated for almost the entirety of season 2.
Good Ol’ Mark Brendanaquits
Took a while to find this video
I liked Mark for what he was, and I think if the writers tried harder they might have been able to make him fit. At the same time, if him leaving it what gave us Chris and Ben then I’ve made peace with that
We already had Ann and then later on Ben there just wasn't any need for Mark
I rewatched the whole series last year and found that he was a stronger character than I remembered. I liked his "meh" attitude. But then you also have Ann, and a show can't have two straight characters to all the weirdos, of course. :p
Especially when the two straight characters start dating.
I never cared for him
I totally get why Mark left and I wasn’t even a little sad to see him go. What we got was so much better. What bugged me to my core, however, is that they gave him a sweet send off where he gives her some adorable plans for the pit park.
Cut to the season they’re actually building the thing, and she’s acting like she doesn’t have any plans at all and has to work with that Eagleton guy to get it done. Not that his weren’t good, but that they literally don’t exist. And Leslie is not the kind of person to forget such a thoughtful gift from a friend.
Hot take: Ann Perkins wasn't a great character either and wasted the talents of Rashida Jones. Always felt like a sidekick to Leslie/Andy/Chris and not an integral part of the cast.
She was very annoying in the show also not hot
@@greedojenkins9984 annoying and not hot? Are we watching the same show?
She was understated and wasn't as off the wall as a lot of the cast, but I think that WAS her character to an extent. She could've been more interesting, but it would have sacrificed her more grounded character.
@@RONALDII0 hotter in the office
There many other characters, I feel that there fake, not human. In The Office even the other characters feels to be there.
Even when Michael leaves in The Office, they still reference him and even brought him back for the finale. Mark always felt like he didn't fit in and his personality was more like a mellow douche bro. As soon as he leaves and Ben and Chris arrive, it was like the show got a new fresh start. Literally
Well I don't think thats a fair comparison, Michael was a bigger part of the office than mark was of parks and rec. Also michael had more time on his respective show. But I still agree with you
@@nickysimi9866 I mean, Mark was Leslie's love interest and then it was with Ann. He didn't fit in that well with the rest of the characters so that's why it failed. He was too "normal" lol
I can see why Mark's character had to leave, but did they really have to actively make it as if he had never existed at all after he left, like with Anne's boxes of exes? Or had the showrunners completely forgotten he had ever been a thing by that point?
I'm guessing the writers regretted making the character.
They made a normal-guy to foil the crazy characters, but the show succeeded when they made it so every character has normal parts and crazy parts.
Ben is basically the same character, just with a few quirks and better written.
Tom in later seasons didn't have normal parts, he was just a cartoon by that point.
Mark is such a nothing burger of a character. The show did not miss a beat when he left, both Chris and Ben were fantastic additions to the cast.
Wrong
@@DendyJungle correct
@@DendyJungle Name one important loss by removing Brendanawicz from the cast
I couldn't think of the best word to describe Mark but "NothingBurger" is it. A burger with nothing. I don't hate it but I don't want it.
@@jaycue7641 I ended up hating this nothing burger a lot. Like everyone around him at the time implied that he was an amazingly delicious yet bad for you burger, but was completely flavorless. The show becomes 10x better once they trash it
The first season was really rough. The second season is such a noticeable jump in quality.
When a friend and I were blindly watching through parks and rec series recently, I brought Mark up when both of us happen to be in Season 4/5. His response was, "Who?"
Mark so blatantly hitting on Anne while she is still with Andy at the end of season 1 was always so weird to me. Made me not like his character as much.
His character was just a scumbag imo. He knew Leslie had a crush on him and he lead her on, then moved on to her friend? I did not miss him at all when he left.
Andy was supposed to be a Roy type (Pam's fiancé from the Office). When Andy turned out an endearing himbo who had such great chemistry with April instead of only an abusive boyfriend and a leech with Anne, Mark looked like a sleazebag in comparison. Which is more or less how Jim Halpert was, let's not forget his awful behaviour towards Karen, Katy, Pam, Dwight and Michael.
Edited for typos.
Exactly I hated him from that moment on
Honestly though, the complete disappearance thing is how many real life working relationships go. You say you'll stay in touch, but as more time goes by you have less and less to say to each other until that person fades from your memory and you can't even remember you even worked with them.
I'm watching Parks and Rec for the first time (I'm currently in season 6). I not only didn't realize that Mark left, but completely forgot he existed until I saw this video in my RUclips feed
The moment Leslie got eyebrows, this show got so much better
This was very good, I really did not know anything about the history of Mark and wanted to know more about him. This was great and know I know about him and I feel good that I learned more things about one of my favorite shows ever. Thank you for making this amazing episode
Glad you enjoyed it!
You didn't mention the biggest issue of all: the character wasn't funny.
neither is ben but they kept him on 🤷🏼♀️
@@user-sf8ff3ir1u ben at least is likeable and wholesome
Ben was funny sometimes
@@user-sf8ff3ir1u cones of dunshire
@@user-sf8ff3ir1u Ben was the funniest one.
Now we need a Superstore video! I have no idea if the show has any interesting backstory but it’s so underrated and ended too soon.
It ended surprisingly well, considering how difficult the last 2ish seasons were for the set team
Ending was rushed but still great
I'm honestly surprised anyone ever liked him. He made it pretty clear in the very first episode that he didn't respect Leslie, he didn't think of her as a romantic partner, and he thought her dedication was stupid. I was immediately like "boo, fire this boring jerk guy! Why does Leslie like him? It makes me sad for her!"
True, but then he's the only one to ever aknowledge the constant bullying of Jerry, so that made me like him.
@@ValDCX that's a fair point that I hadn't considered.
@@ValDCX his outsider nature was always pretty amusing, and I loved that part where he actually lays it out for Lesley that their treatment of Jerry is the actual problem.
@@ValDCX ann (s5) & ben (s6) both do
damn i forgot he even existed
Nerdstalgic is easily the best video essay channel on RUclips, the way you articulate how characters and stories are made to the point where the audience can understand you easily is very impressive and I love it!
He was my favorite character while the show was being a copycat of The Office (season 1). I enjoyed Schneider's subtle delivery of the lines which was a mixture of Krasinski, Bateman and Ed O'neill. After the characters all developed into heroes of their own, his cynicism felt mean rather than clever and relatable, and an idea to keep him around could have been as a punching bag for everyone else to call him out on his downer perspective, but Jerry became the punching bag and Ben became the guy providing contrast.
I think Mark's demise ultimately came down to the higher-ups failing to recognize chris pratt's charisma and charm. I think most people liked him even when he was supposed to be an irresponsible manchild.
Yeah, pitting Andy as a villain against Mark was a bad idea. Even when he is trying to do something really sleazy and shitty like trying to break up a happy couple by being passive aggressive with the boyfriend, I found myself not hating Andy.
The weird thing is they sorta forgot he existed. At least have him show up later on as a cameo.
I am so glad that the mark brandonowitz storyline played out the way it did in parks and rec, and I don't mean that as a dig on the actor. After I finished the show and I started my first rewatch, I was struck by how odd the pining Leslie had for Mark was after falling in love with Leslie and ben. It gave me the space to self-reflect enough that even if I'm pining for somebody that I lost or never I had a chance with, there still might be a Ben out there, and it was a very healing and hopeful revelation that I had. Mark brandanowitz is perhaps the most important unimportant character I've ever seen in a show, personally, in my life right now would be a little bit more depressed without it.
I'm so beyond grateful that they dropped the animosity between the characters and everything else that copied the office. To me parks and rec will always be the superior show between the two, because I fell in love with how the characters genuinely love and support each other, Leslie genuinely loves her job, and many of them are good at what they do. It just makes you wanna root for them. I could never get into the office because I found it really depressing and Micheal's incompetence annoyed me too much. To this day parks and rec is one of my favourite shows of all time
Yes !! The characters end up with such healthy relationships instead of like putting up with each other like they do in the office. The parks & rec relationships are examples
@@brookehop8the characters in the office grow into liking and understanding each other.
Jim ends up being Dwight’s best man at his wedding and throws him the perfect bachelor party when in the beginning they despised each other. And there’s a ton of those moments like Pam literally crying when she says goodbye to Michael. They both are amazing shows but it’s not like The Office is just them constantly shitting on each other, they grow to love and support each other.
Tom didn't care about anyone, Donna didn't care about anyone, April hated everyone except Andy and Ron and occasionally Leslie, Ron hated everyone except April, Andy, and Leslie, nobody cared about Ann except Leslie, and nobody cared about Jerry. So I have no idea what you're talking about with "the characters genuinely love and support each other" crap. No they didn't.
@@JakeKoenig you gotta get past season 1, dude.
@@JakeKoenig brother if you really watched the whole show and still aren’t able to see how they became a family I don’t know what to tell you
"Some fans were sad to see him go" [CITATION NEEDED]
Seriously.. who was sad about that?
I was told to watch parks and rec from season 3, so i didn't even know he existed before this video
Not everyone thought he was terrible, he had funny moments
@@cgk1276 I think Mark and Ron could have gone places, which they didn't really invest much time in besides a few things early on. I just think they even tried to make Mark more than he started out as.
Mark was too unambitious for a show about characters with goals. He had nothing going on and was just support for everyone else. Andy had his goals for his music but also was trying to get Ann back before the stuff with April. Jerry didn't have a goal but he was comic relief and really you could say his goal was helping everyone else in the office do their best. Mark didn't even have that so what did he have?
Jerry had also obtained his goals decades earlier than everyone else in the office. He was happy and just doing his job with his work "friends"
truthfully he didn't have many lines, but he made me laugh, like when he asked ann if she didn't use toothpaste lmao
I was so glad they got rid of Mark. I never liked his character. The show got much better once he left.
Just wanna say, I'm really happy for you mate. I remember quite a long time ago now that you wanted to break into this kind of RUclips space, but couldn't get a foothold in it. Tried a lot of different "second channel" ideas while running CPG full-time. But you stuck to your guns and, look where you are now! This channel is thriving, and as someone who has been subbed to one channel or another for the past 3 years or so, I'm happy and proud of what you've been able to accomplish after it seeming like it wouldn't take off. Prob shoulda made this comment a while back, but it just occured to me as I enjoyed some of your recent uploads. Cheers mate.
I found it funny because when I started watching everyone told me how he basically disappears, and you don't notice or care. I didn't buy it. And then I didn't notice he'd been gone for a full season and then forgot about him entirely
I remember watching this but my family would watch some without me. So I thought Ben was Mark and they just used a different actor to play him.
But they're called different names in the show?
@@Bongtaker it’s was my first time watching the show so I’m still learning the characters .
They are basically the same character. They serve the same function. It's just the writers gave Ben quirks to make him fit in better with the other cartoonish characters on the show.
Damn, that's really dumb of you
Thank you for this! I’ve been thinking about this for the past week or so.
Been rewatching the show with a friend lately and found that Mark was a surprisingly decent part of season 2, more than I remembered.
It took me a whole season to realize Mark was actually gone even after I watched his sendoff episode. I think that's proof enough that his character was purely dead weight at that point in the show.
I noticed when he wasn't in the intro, but his absence had no affect on the show whatsoever. The only thing interesting about him was that he was a male peer to Ron, and Ron seemed to genuinely like him.
Comparing him to blockbuster is so perfect
Thank you for making a clickbait title, but then actually following through and not making a clickbait video. 10/10 good video
In a show like the office, full of characters who thrive on antagonism and most of them don't really like each other, a bland counterpoint works really well.
But in Parks & Rec the show flourished the more the characters learned to like each other, and I think once the writers figured that out Mark became a reminder of the unpleasant dynamics from the first season.
I love Chris Pratt as Andy in this show, and I genuinely developed a crush on Aubrey Plaza that still exists in some form to this day. 🤣🤣
I guess I have a type, and April is it 😂
lol from looking over the comments, seems like I might be in the minority here but I liked his character on the show, while the main driving force for the show was the eccentric acts of most of the characters, it was always interesting for me to see mark as a contrast in the middle of that zaniness. Still understand why they went in the direction they did, and loved the show.
Love your videos my friend, this was great, as always. I felt as though you were talking a bit fast in this one, had some difficulty keeping up with you at certain points.
amazing how quickly you make these videos
I think Jim always had the leg up over mark b/c as much as the “pining from a distance” & especially the “persistent love interest” tropes have aged and are problematic in some ways, it makes him a lot more of a devout romantic than Mark who never really seemed driven by much of anything. I think it makes Jim more appealing to the audience. Jim, especially early Jim, was a slacker in a lot of ways but his feelings for Pam meant he was motivated and sympathetic in at least one way that I think Mark lacked.
Also with a show centred around a small local government having a character not care just is too pessimistic especially with all the other characters having a sort of passion towards things.
Like Jim being a slacker is fine because like he says in the first episode he is in a dead end office job and so are most other characters, Dwight is the only one that enjoys his job until later on in the seasons
The biggest issue is the show is essentially mean to Leslie in season1 , treating her obsessions as stupid and Mark as the voice of that criticism. When they realized pretty early in season 2 that Parks and Rec works best centered around Leslie as the awesome force of nature that she is- smirky sarcastic sleazebag Jim just comes off as a bigger dick in retrospect
I always tell new viewers to do what I did and start with season 3
He was a good actor but once he left and Ben and Chris showed up the show got sooo much better. I always tell people either skip the first two seasons (specifically when Ben and Chris come in to start watching) or just wait for it to get good, because it will.
Mark wasn't as bad as people say. I enjoyed his character. The first two seasons are kind of underrated ngl.
The first two seasons are the office copies.
@@desmondcoppin591 That's why I liked it more than where the show ended up. I like the later seasons of Parks n Rec too because they found their voice and made their own show just as good as the Office. But the reason I liked early Parks is because it was more like the Office. Since I love the Office and always wanted more, Parks filled in for that well enough.
Damn, I loved Mark. Always wondered why he left.
Did you get your answer?
@@Nerdstalgic Yep, you always do a really good job. Your video topics are interesting and the videos themselves are extremely well-researched. It's really cool that you replied to my comment. Thank You So Much!
I guess it’s just me, but I actually liked Mark’s character. I always wished they would bring him back for one scene where he finds out Anne is dating Tom (at the time) and he leaves the building laughing then cut to him saying “yeah I’m doing great” lol
Great video as usual man! Just personally, I prefer the slower, paced, and intentional narration style.
It honestly took me so long to get into parks and rec, I just couldn't get past the first season or so. I did not understand why it was loved by so many. But man once Mark was gone and season 3 started, it became so good.
Loving more uploads!
Much more to come!
I actually met Paul Schneider once, he told me he didn't like being on the show lol
I can see that. Especially when everyone around you is turning into over the top cartoon characters. The show did really get dumbed down and maybe he just didn't want to be apart of it.
I liked Mark. He was the straight/ normal one. Unfortunately they just didn't know how to work with that without totally revamping his character.
Parks and Rec is my favourite show, and I've seen it many times. I still genuinely always forget about him until someone mentions him. Mark Blandanawicz.
the creators ditching "The Office 2.0" idea was the best thing they could have done - I absolutely love the direction Parks and Rec went.
This. And I could never get into the office. I just don't like it. Whereas I love Parks and Rec.
@@ThatBillmanGuy same!
I think later on in the show, it would have been pretty cool to catch up with Mark and have him as atleast a semi-recurring character. This series tied loose ends with literally every other character(even many that most shows would just have as "one-offs"). Even though we associate Mark's exit as entering the golden era of the show(because that is what happened). Those two things really aren't all that correlated. Season 1 had the usual first season weirdness that most shows have, season 2 was pretty great but they were retooling all these characters and Mark just got lost in the mix. There was plenty of potential with him. It's just that the bitterness between the creators and Paul Schneider was most definitely a lot heavier than they let on.
Yayy! Just got through your community video
Mark just doesn't understand the essence of the Parks and Rec Dept.
It's about the cones.
Do you think you'll ever do an episode on the show Psych?
Good idea zeke
Man i love psych
Imagine getting fired for following the script they wanted you to act upon.
And changing everyone else's character except yours. I get why he didn't want to be a cartoon character if he took it seriously.
This is officially the 2nd video essay on RUclips about Parks and Rec
I didn’t even realise he was cut after a couple seasons
Shoes how much he blends into the background
Still weird they never even mentioned him again. He was so important to Leslie early development, and Ann ex, and Ron Swason's FRIEND. If they didn't want to bring the actor back, he could be just remembered by the other characters when it made sense. I don't give a fuck about him but I love continuity, hahahah
Something must have happened behind the scenes for them to be that deliberate about whitewashing that character. Ben is literally the same character, just with quirks and a lot better written.
@@Paulafan5 Maybe they thought if no one mentioned him again we'd forget he even existed haahhaha
@@LadyVonHautkopf It feels like they wanted Season 1 at least to be forgotten overall since the series went in a different direction.
@@wiictvchannel1112 But Mark was there until season 2 finale, wasn't he? Anyway, whatever the reasons they had, what's done it's done. I'm doomed to feel annoyed by this forever
@@LadyVonHautkopf He was but Season 2 was closer to what the show became. Season 1 seems like a black spot for them lol.
The first time I watched the show I was devastated when mark brandanawitz left
Really??
@@Nerdstalgic idk why but for some reason I was a huge Mark fan
He always seemed like he didn’t wanna be there lol
I got that feeling as well, it seemed he just read his lines so he can over and done with for the day
I loved that guy's work on Parks and Rec! What a compelling actor!
This makes me wanna rewatch parks and rec
Yeah, watching Parks and Rec all the way through, then going back to the beginning is a bizarre experience, even more so than with The Office, I would say. While going back to the start of The Office without characters like Andy and Eren is a weird feeling, it doesn't REALLY feel like the show is missing anything, to me. Early Parks and Rec, on the other hand, with no Chris and Ben, Donna in a very minor role, and Mark expected to fill a main character slot, is beyond disorienting...very interesting to see!
People forget when this show was first in early development, that it was meant to be an Office spinoff. Cast and crew has talked on the podcast about the show being referred to as “the untitled Greg and Mike Office spinoff” during auditions and hiring processes and such. People want to say Mark’s character wasn’t very good because of poor writing, but I think it’s because of really good writing and character development that his character didn’t work. It wasn’t that he was written poorly or that Paul acted poorly or anything, it’s just that his character didn’t really have a place after a certain point as this video stated. He was compared to Jim, which I think is a solid comparison and why Mark works better in Season 1 than Season 2. Once the show started to find its footing and really understanding who these characters are, it became obvious Mark didn’t fit. This video mentioned the burgeoning relationship between April and Andy, entranced of Chris and Ben, but we also saw emergence of Tom’s entrepreneurial spirit, Donna and Jerry started getting more screen time, etc. It’s weird going back and watching the first season and a half or so because, while the show was still good and had some good moments, it’s like the show JUST couldn’t find its stride yet. Ron was wearing suits and they hadn’t dived fully into his being a libertarian, Andy was a one dimensional goofball, Tom was just kind of the slacker, Ann was just kinda there to further the plot of The Pit, April was the non enthusiastic intern who lacked motivation, Donna and Jerry were quite literally mostly background players and weren’t even series regulars yet, etc etc. It wasn’t until Season 2 that we start seeing major growth for all these characters, and really, as this video states, the way Mark was set up, there’s nowhere to go with him really, and there’s not any really good comedy games to be played by him other than him giving the “what is going on HERE?” Jim style look to the camera in reaction to everyone else’s antics or maybe “whoa, Mark has ANOTHER girlfriend!?”You can only do that so many times before it’s just not effective. Ben comes in and plays this role extraordinarily well. He has the looks to camera and is acting accordingly to the antics of the office, but he also has some AMAZING bits. His straight laced attitude, vanilla professional history and personality, and his being a nerd gives birth to some LEGENDARY bits. Game of Thrones throne, claymation, Cones of Dunshire, Batman Treat Yo Self, the accounting guys LOVING him, him being weirdly obsessed with calzones, not AT ALL understanding Lil’ Sebastian…. The list goes on! And he came built in with the Ice Town story, which made him an instant fit given Leslie’s love of local government. Mark failed not because of poor writing, but because they figured out the formula didn’t work with him in it.
thats the thing with sitcoms, you can have things planned out, but once you put people in front of the camera, some things work, and some things dont. And if you want success, you have to lean into the things that work, and run from the things that dont.
I think it didn't help that Mark didn't work in their office/department. He was very close physically to the point where they could see him across the patio area but it made it more and more difficult I'm sure for the writers to have him constantly there for whatever reason. I think they tried to fix this with him dating Ann so he had more of an excuse to be around more but it didn't really work as well as intended, possibly.
I mean, in real life, people change jobs, move etc. all the time and are kind of just forgotten about. So Mark's exit never bothered me
Idk, there’s something about the first two seasons that are just my favorite.
It might be the “getting to know” the characters
Best decision ever. Show picked up big time after he left and they brought in Chris and Ben