So the folks over at FOX decided to go for a more aggressive approach marketing this show by putting the full pilot up on iTunes for free downloading (at last check it was still available, so if you don't feel like waiting till next Tuesday, I recommend it). I watched it on Saturday but wasn't quite ready to form an opinion of it, and so watched it again last night to see if I could glean anything new. I think I'm one of the few people I know not blinded by the Zooey Deschanel adorable factor, and so that has allowed me to be more objective than the army of her fans who will undoubtedly supply this show with the bulk of its ratings.
The premise is pretty simple: Deschanel's character Jess is smarting from a bad breakup and wants somewhere new to live. Cue interview session with the three amigos in their almost too-good-to-be-true apartment. We meet her three soon-to-be roommates, only one of whom (Nick) seems to have a first name. The other two are called Coach (yep, you read that right), and Schmidt (which I'm assuming is his surname). And yes, on the whole they are as flat and douche-y as they sound. The only redeeming quality these three have in the pilot is that they form a quick, platonic attachment to Jess and by episode's end really have her back, which is nice because she needs all the help she can get.
Looking at this show's long-term potential, however, raises some flags. The pilot had some laughs, certainly, and the writers should be able to coast on the whole "the gang gets into a mix-up" gimmick for a while, but if they don't do something about characterization this show is going to lose its charm fast. Jess is very funny and has the potential to continue to get laughs, so long as she doesn't let the guys whitewash her. Most of the things I thought were funny were her awkwardness and "nerdy" references, but you could already see hints of her trying to shed that skin because it wasn't "cool" enough. I'd like to see Jess remain an unabashed nerd, something that can still work really well in comedy (there's a reason both male leads from The Big Bang Theory have Emmy nominations). If she becomes just another pretty girl trying to fit in, this show will embark on a slippery downhill slope, fast.
Of the three roommates, only Nick is tolerable right now, and even he's walking a tightrope there. He is introduced with an easy role; he's the heartbroken, kind-of-a-bummer guy. But that works for him, and of the three guys he seems to have the most genuine interest in being friends with Jess, proven when he ditches drinks with his ex to go and "save" Jess from being stood up. His character runs the risk of becoming bland, though, if they don't come up with something other than the recently-dumped angle. I noticed that he apparently works at the bar they go to on their first night out; I'm sure that could be incorporated in some way to add to his character or at least provide an activity for him that isn't moping over his ex (played, incidentally, by the fantastic Mary Elizabeth Ellis, aka "the waitress" from Always Sunny). Coach, on the other hand, has hitherto exhibited almost no personality whatsoever. By the end of the pilot we know two things about him: he's a personal trainer and he is apparently a hardass/sucks at talking to women. Let's peel the onion a little with this one, guys. And Schmidt...well, let's just say that if this character keeps up his current antics, he will be the reason I (and likely many others) have to stop watching this show. He is really, really douche-y, unapologetically so, even when he has to put money in the "douchebag jar" (I did like that). I get that we need to have the one guy who is kind of full of himself and is (hopefully) being set up for eventual redemption, but if you ask me, his personality still needs to be toned down a little. Not only is he kind of a jackass in a very stereotypical way (he decides Jess should move in because her friends are models, and he removes his shirt whenever he feels like there's a woman nearby who needs to be impressed), but he also comes off as extremely unintelligent. If this is all for the sake of his later development/improvement, I hope that Jess intervenes sooner rather than later. Also, on a somewhat unrelated note, what the heck is his job, where he apparently works exclusively with shrill women?
All of that said (and now looking back I'm realizing I had a lot more thoughts than I expected), there are still some moments where the show exhibits real potential. Jess' quirks, as aforementioned, so long as they aren't overused or wiped away completely, make her character much more relatable, so that even though it is clear why the guy stands her up for their date, you still feel genuinely bad for her. Additionally, the scene in the restaurant, as cheesy as it was, gives us the most fantastically garbled, off-key rendition of "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" that I've ever heard, although I spent most of the episode wondering why Dirty Dancing would be someone's go-to breakup movie.
Overall, New Girl gives us a somewhat uneven pilot with glimmers of potential. I think it will be clear within the next two or three episodes whether this is a show worth sticking with, because it will either get much better or much worse (there's not much room for a middle ground). Check it out on iTunesTuesday, September 20th on FOX.
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