Just peeped the 'Parks and Recreation' pilot...

April 3, 2009 3:30 PM ET

Not going to lie, I got real excited this morning when the Fed Ex guy showed up at my door with a special delivery, the premiere episode of Amy Poehler's sitcom "Parks and Recreation."

The show bows next Thursday, April 9th and now that I've seen it, I can safely tell you that it's certainly worth your time. Is it perfect? Uh, no. Will you have to exercise a bit of patience and allow it some room to really get rolling? Indeed. But I kept count of how many times I laughed out loud during the 23 or so minutes -- five, that's pretty solid for me -- and I felt entertained throughout. Also, when it faded to black, I was kind of sad it was over, so... yeah, all good signs.

A few photos to get you better acquainted with the "Parks and Rec" crew...

Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope. Officially? She's a mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks and Recreation Department of Pawnee, Indiana. In reality? She's a delusional 34-year-old dope (with a heart of gold) who likens herself to Nancy Pelosi, Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton.

Aziz Ansari as Tom Haverford, a Pawnee government employee who exploits his position for personal gain with absolutely no shame. He may be Libyan, he may be a redneck, no one's really sure. Also, pretty much everything he says and does (including a direct glance at the camera a la Jim Halpert) is hilarious.

Rashida Jones as Ann Perkins, a Pawnee nurse who wants to help turn an abandoned construction pit into a park because her dumb musician boyfriend fell in said pit and broke both his legs.

Chris Pratt as the dumb (and lazy) musician boyfriend with the broken legs.

Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson, Leslie's boss who's not really into the city park idea. He'd prefer to be working for Chuck E. Cheese, as they have an "impeccable business model."

Aubrey Plaza as April, the Pawnee Parks and Rec Department's college intern. Less enthusiastic than Ron.

Paul Schneider as Mark Brendanawicz, a city planner who slept with Leslie five years ago, but has little recollection of it. Was originally written to be more of a callous guy, but comes off as kind of sweet. Probably because of this.