While my initial thoughts on New Girl were pretty positive, the pilot wasn't love at first sight for me. Some parts felt a bit awkward, which isn't necessarily an unusual feeling for a pilot episode. But I think my main issue was the character of Coach (Damon Wayans Jr.). I've never been a fan of "screaming" characters, which explains my dislike of Ruth Fisher. I just don't get it. People don't really talk that way, so it just comes off as really annoying. With Damon Wayans Jr.'s other show Happy Endings getting renewed, New Girl was forced to either recast the character or have him leave. They chose the latter and instead had the original roommate that Jess replaced, Winston (Lamorne Morris), return. I for one am happy they opted to do this as opposed to simply recasting Coach. It's not uncommon to recast characters from a pilot so I'm wondering if the decision to have a different character all together was based on early reactions to the character of Coach. For me, he definitely was the weakest link in the pilot. In contrast to Coach, Winston is a man of fewer words, but his facial expressions do enough. I'm a less is more person, so I'm liking this change a lot. Winston gives the show a bit of a different feel and by episode 3, I found the characters really clicking and the show starting to hit its stride.
What works best about this show right from the beginning is Zooey Deschanel. Just like Dennings and Behrs are the gems of 2 Broke Girls, she is the gem of this one. Not that Jess is much different than most of the characters that Deschanel has played, but no one plays this type of character better that she does. She's the go to girl for this type of role and power to her for cornering the market on quirkiness. I've seen Fox criticized for marketing the character as "adorable" but I don't really see this as a negative. She IS adorable, but maybe not in the way we normally use that term. What's adorable about her is her tendency to break out into song about herself, her desire to wear costume teeth to a wedding just for fun, essentially her ability to be, as a friend of mine recently termed it, "un-self-aware". Characters like this are rare on TV, so she really is a breath of fresh air.
One more final thing before I bring this one to a close. The show seems to be hinting at a possible Jess/Nick pairing. Though I've said that I don't want to see Jess eventually hooking up with all of the guys, I would support this pairing. My hope is that he show will take the time to build this relationship in the right way. Both characters have recently gotten out of relationships and I would hate for them to be each other's rebounds.
Well, as you can see, I'm pretty invested in this show. I actually think it might be my favorite new show of the season. This one's on my watch list for sure. I hope it's on yours too!
Showing posts with label new girl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new girl. Show all posts
Monday, October 10, 2011
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Ms. Taco Checks In With The 'Girls' Of Fall Pt. 1
The buzz this fall is that female characters are taking center stage in a number of new TV shows, two of which even have 'girl' in the title. Three weeks in, much to my surprise, I'm hooked on both.
2 Broke Girls and New Girl, both recently gifted with full season pickups, follow girls on new ventures. 2 Broke Girls sees formerly rich and currently broke Caroline (Beth Behrs) taking a job as a waitress where she butts heads with Max (Kat Dennings). Both girls couldn't be more different, but by the end of the pilot they are sharing an apartment and have agreed to start a cupcake business together. Max has the baking chops and Caroline has the business smarts. The only catch is that they need about $250,000 for start-up costs. New Girl's Jess (Zooey Deschanel) is also starting fresh. After recently catching her boyfriend cheating, she ends up filling the fourth roommate spot with three single guys: Schmidt (Max Greenfield), Nick (Jake Johnson), and Winston (Lamorne Morris) (formerly Coach-more on this in a later post). Jess has a quirkiness about her that makes her unlike any girl they've met, but by the end of the pilot, Jess has settled in as their new roommate.
I don't think my initial thoughts on 2 Broke Girls were off the mark. I'm perplexed by some reviewers calling it the best new comedy of the season. The lines are flat, the supporting characters are stereotypical and one-dimensional, and many of the jokes are borderline offensive. However, something about the banter between Dennings and Behrs shines, and I'm hooked to watching them play off each other.
The show clearly needs a lot of work. The writing needs to improve. I don't know series co-creator Whitney Cummings at all, but having watched six seasons of other co-creator Michael Patrick King's Sex and the City, I'm surprised by the predictability of the jokes. One good point I read was that this show would have been better suited for HBO where it would have the freedom to be the show that it wants to be, and that may be the case. But the reality is that the show is on CBS and needs to make it work within those parameters. In my perfect world, the supporting characters would be squashed. For me they serve no real purpose except to perpetuate stereotypes that don't need to be perpetuated. However, considering the show is doing so well, I doubt they will consider making any major changes such as this. The question of offensiveness looms and is not as clear cut for me as my previous two points. Some of the show's jokes seem pretty clearly offensive, but in the spirit of South Park, if you are an equal opportunity offender are you really being offensive? Time will tell for me on this one, but considering the way I breezed through the first three episodes the other day, I'm thinking this show will be on my weekly to-do list. The show has already hinted at some deeper character development a la How I Met Your Mother, especially for Max. If they can hit the right notes on this the way Mother does, I will keep this one on my watch list for a long time.
Tune in tomorrow for my thoughts on New Girl!
2 Broke Girls and New Girl, both recently gifted with full season pickups, follow girls on new ventures. 2 Broke Girls sees formerly rich and currently broke Caroline (Beth Behrs) taking a job as a waitress where she butts heads with Max (Kat Dennings). Both girls couldn't be more different, but by the end of the pilot they are sharing an apartment and have agreed to start a cupcake business together. Max has the baking chops and Caroline has the business smarts. The only catch is that they need about $250,000 for start-up costs. New Girl's Jess (Zooey Deschanel) is also starting fresh. After recently catching her boyfriend cheating, she ends up filling the fourth roommate spot with three single guys: Schmidt (Max Greenfield), Nick (Jake Johnson), and Winston (Lamorne Morris) (formerly Coach-more on this in a later post). Jess has a quirkiness about her that makes her unlike any girl they've met, but by the end of the pilot, Jess has settled in as their new roommate.
I don't think my initial thoughts on 2 Broke Girls were off the mark. I'm perplexed by some reviewers calling it the best new comedy of the season. The lines are flat, the supporting characters are stereotypical and one-dimensional, and many of the jokes are borderline offensive. However, something about the banter between Dennings and Behrs shines, and I'm hooked to watching them play off each other.
The show clearly needs a lot of work. The writing needs to improve. I don't know series co-creator Whitney Cummings at all, but having watched six seasons of other co-creator Michael Patrick King's Sex and the City, I'm surprised by the predictability of the jokes. One good point I read was that this show would have been better suited for HBO where it would have the freedom to be the show that it wants to be, and that may be the case. But the reality is that the show is on CBS and needs to make it work within those parameters. In my perfect world, the supporting characters would be squashed. For me they serve no real purpose except to perpetuate stereotypes that don't need to be perpetuated. However, considering the show is doing so well, I doubt they will consider making any major changes such as this. The question of offensiveness looms and is not as clear cut for me as my previous two points. Some of the show's jokes seem pretty clearly offensive, but in the spirit of South Park, if you are an equal opportunity offender are you really being offensive? Time will tell for me on this one, but considering the way I breezed through the first three episodes the other day, I'm thinking this show will be on my weekly to-do list. The show has already hinted at some deeper character development a la How I Met Your Mother, especially for Max. If they can hit the right notes on this the way Mother does, I will keep this one on my watch list for a long time.
Tune in tomorrow for my thoughts on New Girl!
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Miss Taco's First Impressions-Tuesday Nights
Ringer
Series premiere September 13th-9pm-The CW
The big news here is that Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy, the Vampire Slayer) is back on TV! I'm interested to see her tackle on two very different roles, which she showed herself to be adept at in one of my favorite Buffy episodes, "Who Are You?". It also doesn't hurt to see that Nestor Carbonell (Lost) and Kristoffer Polaha (Life Unexpected, Mad Men) are gonna show up. I'm so excited for this show, probably too excited since most shows don't live up to the initial hype. The preview sets up some awesome mysteries that I'm dying to know the answers to. I'm very skeptical about getting into a show like this because you run the risk of it getting cancelled while still dangling all the mysteries in front of you. I'm also thinking about the long term potential of this show should it get picked up for a full season and then renewed for a second. Are they going to solve all the mysteries by season's end and set up new ones or will we still be left hanging at the end of season 1? I'm not sure which scenario I'd prefer. One thing I am sure of is that I'm completely amped up to see this pilot episode. Skepticism or not, I'm all in on this one!
New Girl
Series premiere September 20th-9pm on-FOX
This one appears to be the quirky comedy I was looking for in 2 Broke Girls. Zooey Deschanel is another one of my faves, so I'm excited to see her making the rounds on the small screen. As a long term proponent of "guys and girls can be friends!", I'm interested in this set-up of a girl moving in with three guys after her break up, if it's done right. If the writers resort to having Jess hook up with all the guys at some point, I might start having some Gizzie flashbacks and need to tune out. Until then, this preview seems light and fun and makes me want to get to know Jess a little more. I'm in on this one, but why must it be on the same time as Ringer??
Unforgettable
Series premiere September 20th-10 pm-CBS
The jury's still out on whether or not I'm gonna check this one out. Cop shows are not normally my thing, but I must admit this preview has me intrigued. I like the idea of us seeing her walking inside her memories and discovering new aspects of the crime. It feels like a slightly less complex take on seeing crimes from various perspectives a la Boomtown. I have a feeling I will at least check out the pilot episode of this one, but will it intrigue me enough to lure me into procedural crime shows? Time will tell.
Also new this fall is Last Man Standing, premiering October 11th at 8pm on ABC, and Man-Up, premiering October 18th at 8:30 pm on ABC. Neither of these shows struck a real interest in me from their previews, but they might be of interest to some of you!
Ms. Taco's Returning Tuesday Night Favorite:
Glee
Series premiere September 13th-9pm-The CW
The big news here is that Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy, the Vampire Slayer) is back on TV! I'm interested to see her tackle on two very different roles, which she showed herself to be adept at in one of my favorite Buffy episodes, "Who Are You?". It also doesn't hurt to see that Nestor Carbonell (Lost) and Kristoffer Polaha (Life Unexpected, Mad Men) are gonna show up. I'm so excited for this show, probably too excited since most shows don't live up to the initial hype. The preview sets up some awesome mysteries that I'm dying to know the answers to. I'm very skeptical about getting into a show like this because you run the risk of it getting cancelled while still dangling all the mysteries in front of you. I'm also thinking about the long term potential of this show should it get picked up for a full season and then renewed for a second. Are they going to solve all the mysteries by season's end and set up new ones or will we still be left hanging at the end of season 1? I'm not sure which scenario I'd prefer. One thing I am sure of is that I'm completely amped up to see this pilot episode. Skepticism or not, I'm all in on this one!
New Girl
Series premiere September 20th-9pm on-FOX
This one appears to be the quirky comedy I was looking for in 2 Broke Girls. Zooey Deschanel is another one of my faves, so I'm excited to see her making the rounds on the small screen. As a long term proponent of "guys and girls can be friends!", I'm interested in this set-up of a girl moving in with three guys after her break up, if it's done right. If the writers resort to having Jess hook up with all the guys at some point, I might start having some Gizzie flashbacks and need to tune out. Until then, this preview seems light and fun and makes me want to get to know Jess a little more. I'm in on this one, but why must it be on the same time as Ringer??
Unforgettable
Series premiere September 20th-10 pm-CBS
The jury's still out on whether or not I'm gonna check this one out. Cop shows are not normally my thing, but I must admit this preview has me intrigued. I like the idea of us seeing her walking inside her memories and discovering new aspects of the crime. It feels like a slightly less complex take on seeing crimes from various perspectives a la Boomtown. I have a feeling I will at least check out the pilot episode of this one, but will it intrigue me enough to lure me into procedural crime shows? Time will tell.
Also new this fall is Last Man Standing, premiering October 11th at 8pm on ABC, and Man-Up, premiering October 18th at 8:30 pm on ABC. Neither of these shows struck a real interest in me from their previews, but they might be of interest to some of you!
Ms. Taco's Returning Tuesday Night Favorite:
Glee
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