Pilot Inspektor: "New Girl"/"Ringer" UPDATE

Hello, sailors!

Welcome once again to "Entertainment on Jeff's Terms". We're one day into the most pilot-heavy week of the Fall season and currently 0-2 this week for new, high-quality programming. 2 Broke Girls infuriated me so much I couldn't even review it. The Playboy Club just...didn't work.

So, the question is...can FOX's new Tuesday night comedy New Girl break the streak? Let us find out together.

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THE GIST OF IT

Twenty-something Jess Day (Zooey Deschanel) comes home--wearing a trenchcoat...and nothing else--to surprise her boyfriend, only to discover him emerging from their bedroom with another woman. Heartbroken, she spends the next few weeks seeking new lodgings and eventually takes up residence as the fourth in an apartment of three guys: corporate frat-boy wannabe Schmidt (Max Greenfield, probably best known as Leo D'Amato on Veronica Mars), overly-masculine Coach (Damon Wayans, Jr. of ABC's inexplicably-renewed Happy Endings, which--SPOILER ALERT--is why he's gone after the pilot), and recently-dumped bartender Nick (Jake Johnson).

Quickly growing tired of Jess' all-day crying jags and Dirty Dancing marathons, the boys decide to help her find a quick rebound and get back on her feet. With the help of Jess' best friend CeCe (former Canadian MTV VJ Hannah Simone), they send her off on a date with one of Schmidt's rivals from work and head off for a wild west-themed party downtown. After Jess' date stands her up, the boys ditch the party and rush to her side and save the night with a hilariously mumbly rendition of "(I've Had) The Time of My Life".

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MOVING FORWARD

You know, after a week of doing this, I still haven't figured out how to make this section work for comedies.

To date, all we know of future episodes are that--as I mentioned above--Damon Wayans, Jr.'s Coach is out and former BET personality Lamorne Morris' Winston is in starting next week. Promotional materials explain that Coach will be kicked out of the apartment to make way for former Croatian pro-basketballer Winston, from whom Coach was apparently subletting.

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IN ESSENCE, MY FRIENDS...

...I. LOVED. THAT.

We now have a clear frontrunner for my favorite new series of the season. New Girl is just a magical combination of a likable cast, great writing, and a massive amount of heart. In a season full of cynicism and darkness, this is just what I needed.

As I noted in my Fall preview back in May, it's great seeing Zooey Deschanel take on something different from the hipster darling roles she's been stuck in these past few years; in this case, a twenty-something Liz Lemon type. I know a lot of prejudicial barbs have been tossed at this show because of FOX's regrettable use of the portmanteau "adorkable" in their promotional materials and because of the age-old debate about attractive people playing geeks.

Truth be told, I think New Girl handles the pretty nerd paradox better than even a 30 Rock does. In the latter, we're supposed to go along with the show's assertion that along with being klutzy and a bit unhinged, Liz Lemon is not that physically attractive when we're all watching Tina Fey grow ever lovelier by the year. Here, the show doesn't lie to us. It's Zooey EFFING Deschanel and we have eyes. (I don't know why I couldn't curse there. She makes me want to be even more of a gentleman. Is that weird?) She's physically attractive, but references J.R.R. Tolkien and occasionally exhibits the mannerisms of a Samuel "Screech" Powers. More cynical critics (I'm looking at you, AV Club) are too wrapped up kavetching that such girls don't exist--which, I'm fresh off of 4+ years at a state university full of them so...trust me, they do and I adore them--to notice what a darling of a TV program is staring them in the face. (Seriously, someone go check AV Club's presumably bitchy-as-all-get-out review and count how many times they use the ever-overused--and thoroughly stupid--phrase "manic pixie dream girl". I'll bet it's a lot.)

As for the rest of our cast, they're a delightful bunch, the lot of them. Jake Johnson's Nick is clearly the most protective of our titular New Girl and--as TV conventions dictate--probably her eventual new love interest. Max Greenfield's Schmidt reminds me of a lot of guys I know; he's a decent person at heart but he's surrounded by Spike TV-loving, overly-aggressive pseudo-he-men and has to sink to their level to survive all too often. It's going to be a shame to see Damon Wayans, Jr's Coach go. I feel like, had he stayed, he would have probably been the show's most dynamic character. It feels a little cheap recasting him with what appears to just be "alternate African-American sporty type" Winston, but I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that the general air of bubbly optimism surrounding this show will cushion the blow well enough.

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THESE ARE BLURBS

Some remaining ruminations on New Girl...

• This marks about the fourth time It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Mary-Elizabeth Ellis has popped up in some new pilot in a peripheral role (as Nick's ex). Here's hoping this show fares better than those other umpteen.
• I won't lie. I've spent a fair amount of the past few hours after watching this pilot narrating things in song, always ending with "Who's that boy?--It's JEFF!". Judge me if you must.
• I want to thank FOX for putting this show between unfortunate ratings powerhouse Glee and the surprisingly successful Raising Hope. That's pretty much a guarantee we'll be seeing Jess and the boys for quite a while and that's more than alright by me.
• By the by, New Girl now holds the distinction as the first new show of the season that I've added to my Season Pass on my DVR. So...right on.
• NEW GIRL AIRS TUESDAY NIGHTS AT 9pm EST ON FOX, WITH ENCORES (FOR THE TIME BEING, ANYWAY) SATURDAY NIGHTS AT MIDNIGHT!

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SECOND EPISODE UPDATE: RINGER

Hey, it's a new feature! Indeed, for the rest of the season, this is where I'll be checking in on the shows to which I gave at least a second episode pass. Today, I'll be looking at The CW's Tuesday night drama Ringer.

After last week's episode-ending twist, this week's proceedings were surprisingly Siobhan-Actual-light. Instead, it was all about Bridget-as-Siobhan's first few days in her new role. After a fairly ridiculous sequence in which B-as-S (if you will) rolls up her attacker's body in a sheet and hides it in plain sight in the loft, we get a taste of Andrew's corporate life; particularly his business partner Olivia (Jaime Murray), who clearly has designs on an affair.

Meanwhile, Nestor Carbonell's Agent Machado continues his pursuit of B-as-S for questioning, Andrew's daughter Juliet continues being an uninteresting bitch (until a late-in-the-episode heart-to-heart with B-as-S), B-as-S decides against running away with her hometown lover/NA sponsor who is now named Malcolm (formerly Carl), and adorable ginger best friend Gemma confronts husband Henry about his affair with Siobhan-Actual, who is presently still in Paris pulling the strings.

Still serpentine as ever, this show.

Some critics (hello again, AV Club) called this week's episode a letdown after last week's pilot. I just call it a sign of what this show is going to be...and what it's going to be is an unapologetically over-the-top, kitschy-as-fuck, semi-satirical drama...and I LOVE IT. I look forward to seeing just how ridiculous this show gets next week. (It was the second new show I Season Passed, just to say.)

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...and just like that, the 2011-2012 season just got that much brighter.

I invite everyone to tune into ABC tonight at 10pm EST for the subject of my next review (coming up tomorrow), the Count of Monte Cristo-inspired Revenge. Will it satisfy my love of watching rich entitled people get what they deserve? We shall see.

Until then...I don't know...it seemed thematically appropriate.