Review - New Girl Season 1 Episode 5 Cece Crashes

The possibility of Jess and Nick hooking up has been floating out there since the first episode, but not explicitly addressed until tonight's episode. Them getting together could lead to lots of easy plots for the writers, but it would also mean submitting to an obvious sitcom trope. Nothing happens in the episode and we don't know how often the writers will press the issue, so I'm in wait and see mode.

The episode title, "Cece Crashes," really hits the point. Cece crashes into the show, disrupting everything about it. She's nice to look at, but is otherwise a big, annoying nuisance without any positive qualities. We can accept Jess's quirkier traits because we know she means well. With Cece, she's kind of just doing whatever she wants.

Score: 8.3/10

Review - New Girl Season 1 Episode 4 Naked

The plots of "Naked" don't have much substance--one revolving around the "p word" and the other around American pop culture--but the show proves that it has enough charm regardless of the plot. Zooey Deschanel's high-energy acting meshes well with the other actors and the show moves on quickly without dwelling too much on how oblivious Jess can be.

While I've liked the other characters more as the show has progressed, I want Winston to get a more solid plot, preferably one which has him talking with another adult beyond his roommates. All he did in the previous episode was have a dance off with a kid and this week he catches up on American pop culture (because Latvia apparently doesn't have internet or something like that). Both Nick and Schmidt have done things with people outside their group, and it's about time for Winston.

Score: 8.6/10

Review - New Girl Season 1 Episode 3 Wedding

As New Girl continues (given the ratings, it probably will be a long time), the rough edges will be polished and there's a good bit of that in "Wedding," with each character getting their own thing to do. But the one thing that will likely never change is Jess and how Zooey Deschanel plays her. She's going to weird, she's going to be a little crazy, she's going to be... adorkable. How the audience reacts to her will vary and that is one part of the show that hasn't changed. The overall package fits together nicely in "Wedding," and I'm enjoying the show for now.

Score: 8.8/10

Review - New Girl Season 1 Episode 2 Kryptonite

I liked "Kryptonite" more than the pilot, despite the hasty addition of Winston, and think it shows far more promise than the pilot did. While the plot of the first episode basically revolved around Jessica being wacky at their place and the bar, "Kryptonite" tries to tackle an issue in her life, her ex-boyfriend. The confrontation with him was great and had all the comedic things down. After this episode, I'm on board and will be watching each week for sure.

Score: 8.8/10

Review - New Girl Season 1 Episode 1 Pilot

Depending on individuals' feelings on Zooey Deschanel, everyone is going to have a different opinion about New Girl, because she's basically the show. There are a couple more characters to round out the ensemble, but they just more people for Jessica to interact with and show off her quirkiness. Personally I can stand large doses of her and had no problem accepting all the weird things her character does. I found her funny and liked the insanity which makes guys stay away.

The problem with the pilot, however, is that there is nothing to fall back on after Jessica. The other characters seem fine, but they don't immediately offer anything of value. And Coach, one of the flashier of "the Others," won't be on the show since Damon Wayans, Jr is going back to Happy Endings.

We'll see how the show develops in later episodes. Maybe Zooey Deschanel can sustain a show by herself and maybe not. There are still many unknowns, so I won't cast judgment on the entire show just yet.

Score: 8.3/10