The Big Bang Theory – “The Hook-Up Reverberation”

Season Eight, Episode Four

Grade: B

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The Big Bang Theory has certainly shifted away from showing the characters in their work settings, which is partly because a number of them are in career transitions. I do miss the gang being served by Penny in the Cheesecake factory and doubt we’ll get more laughs with her new position. And they flirted with the possibility of Sheldon teaching graduate students, which I still feel had great potential. In “The Hook-Up Reverberation,” we get a glimpse at the excitement the four main characters feel when they think about buying a comic book store.

Though it wasn’t going to be their own. They were going to invest to help Stuart get his comic book store back up and running, which brought up some interesting topics since everyone is currently in a relationship. Speaking of, we finally get to see Emily this season! Raj brings her over to meet the gang and she’s warm and welcoming towards everyone except for Penny. Why? Because Raj told her about their drunken hook-up from years ago. Sure, Raj wants to be completely honest with Emily, but that’s probably something you could leave out just to prevent situations like this.

But that does bring up the interesting question between these relationships: are they all completely honest with their past hook-ups? It’s doubtful that Penny and Howard will every be absolutely truthful in that field, but that’s okay (for the most part). It does get Leonard concerned, but we already know they’re a mess of a couple. Funny thing is that the worst couple of the show, Sheldon and Amy, are completely disqualified from this situation, but I guarantee Amy would kill to take part in the act. Also, I found it hilarious that Amy couldn’t fathom that no one has ever told Penny they hated her to her face.

The C-story is becoming extremely annoying: how Stuart and Howard are fighting for his mom’s love. Sure, it’s hitting Howard hard that his mom no longer nags him like she used to, but this ongoing story-line isn’t as funny as the writers think it is. In addition, I have no idea where they can go from here. So Stuart moves into the house? Unless they’re planning on writing Stuart and Howard’s mom off the show, I don’t see why they’re spending so much time here.

In the end the gang realizes they shouldn’t invest in the comic book store, which doesn’t matter because Howard’s mom already gave Stuart the money he needs. Also, it looks like Penny and Emily are going to take their dislike for each other to the next level in future episodes. I don’t hate that idea, but is this really the best that can happen between the girls? Do they always have to be fighting with one another every episode? Just thinking about this is making me want to have a dinosaur-chicken salad sandwich.

New Girl – “Julie Berkman’s Older Sister”

Season Four, Episode Three

Grade: C-

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Once again, Jess and Schmidt find themselves in the center of the episode, except this time they have separate story-lines. The thing they share in common is that they’re both trying to upgrade from their situation. Jess has always protected her father from terrible choices in women, and Schmidt is trying to land the man-sponge account to make more money and hopefully move out of the messy, unorganized loft.

So the relationship story of the episode finally doesn’t have to deal with Jess, instead it involves her father, Bob and his super young girlfriend Ashley, played by Kaitlin Olson from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. To Jess (and Cece), Ashley is everything that she doesn’t want her dad to involved with. Jess and Cece know Ashley from high school and know her as “Trashley,” the skank who slept with a D.A.R.E. officer and had sex with Jess’ high school boyfriend underneath the bleachers (while Jess sat above them!).

What happens is that Jess wrongly accuses Ashley of cheating on her dad, which gives us a cute conversation between Jess and Bob that he doesn’t need her looking after him anymore. He’s capable of making his own decisions and if they’re wrong, then he’s capable of being hurt. Does Jess really seem like the person who should be giving any kind of parental advice, even if it is to her father? There is just something about this A-story that doesn’t make sense and on top of that, it was supposed to be the emotional story-line, except it had little-to-no pull on my emotions. Sorry, but this was a bust all around.

Onto Schmidt’s attempt to land the man-sponge account, he’s driven because of Nick’s sloppy habits. Schmidt and Nick have always been the great odd couple of sorts, but here Schmidt’s friends just come off as dumb and careless. Sure, it was a bad idea to have Nick, Winston and Coach read lines that Schmidt wrote to rig the focus group, but if these guys are all friends wouldn’t you think they’d actually put some effort into it? Schmidt can definitely be a douche, but it’s not until after the fact where Nick steps up as the best friend and saves the day (in ridiculous, typical New Girl fashion). Should we expect Schmidt to move out of the loft sometime during this season? As much as I love the gang together, these bunch of friends have to grow up and move on someday, right?

After a promising start to the fourth season, New Girl struck out here. The heart of the series used to lie between Jess and Nick, but now it’s to be determined. When will the writers give Nick a major story-line? Will Winston and Coach ever make it to the front from the corner where they’re seen every episode? Let’s get some more awkward Jess and Nick moments and keep moving forward!

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New Girl Character Ratings:

Jess (C+): She wanted to protect her dad from Ashley, and while she almost ruined them two, got hit by a cyclist to witness Bob’s proposal. It was kind of cute, but really just a mess.

Schmidt (B-): I thoroughly enjoy Schmidt when he’s at work, so that was a plus. But really? Man sponges? Wouldn’t Schmidt realize that’s just a terrible idea to begin with? As ridiculous as he is, Schmidt comes across to me as one of the smarter individuals in the gang, so I wasn’t totally buying the B-story.

Nick (C): Though he chooses the girl over helping his best friend during the focus group, he does end up helping Schmidt land the account. Still, there is a lot more potential for Nick to achieve that the writers aren’t producing.

Winston (D): He really likes pizza.

Cece (D): She gets giddy watching Jess try to break up her dad’s relationships. But really, why was she in this episode at all?

Coach (F): After watching the episode, I actually forgot he was in it. Why was he added to the cast again?

The Big Bang Theory – “The First Pitch Insufficiency”

Season Eight, Episode Three

Grade: B-

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After a less than mediocre start to the eighth season, The Big Bang Theory delivers with a funnier, yet stale episode. It’s never terrible when a comedy is funny, but with a ratings blockbuster like The Big Bang Theory, you would expect more. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen it in a long time.

The best moments in the episode revolve around Simon Helberg’s physical comedy. The scene where he’s warming up to throw a baseball while practicing in the gym is great fun. Helberg has taken over most of the series’ jokes since he’s matured from the little, horny geek striking out with every ridiculous pick-up line. Also, Kunal Nayyar gives some great one-liners throughout, plus I loved him jeering Helberg as he’s pitching in a video game.

The B-story was all over the place, with a double date between Leonard, Penny, Sheldon, and Amy. The double date idea is good, and I appreciate the show actually developing the engagement between Leonard and Penny, but the execution of this story-line is poor. As we continue to question why Amy remains loyal by Sheldon’s side, they legitimately believe that they’re a better couple than Leonard and Penny. Which I guess I can see because Leonard and Penny’s past is proof that they’re both a wreck together, though that’s probably more Penny’s fault than Leonard’s. But still, how could Amy, who shows great deal of frustration practically every other episode, believe she’s in a healthy relationship with Sheldon? I’m not buying that.

We at least get an update that they don’t have any imminent plans to set a wedding date, so I guess the show will drag that story-line out. I like how they confront each other about their insecurities being with each other for the long haul, but like every time TBB tries to explore serious relationship issues, they resolve the conflict way too quickly. So while Sheldon and Amy scored an 8.2 on that relationship test, Leonard refused to take it but still gives a sweet remark to Penny that makes Amy jealous. It’s a decent analogy for both of their relationships, but everything else barely hit skin-deep.

While this was an improvement from last week’s back-to-back episodes, it’s far from being a good one. But for a while, TBB has been bumping out stand-alone episodes for syndication without attempting to drive home any kind of story-arc. This is why TBB will get ratings, but will easily be forgotten in the long-run. It’s the reason I see Friends and How I Met Your Mother repeats, and it seems that Two and a Half Men reruns have disappeared.

New Girl – “Dice”

Season Four, Episode Two

Grade: B+

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After a stellar premiere, New Girl continues its new-found single life once again by exploring an app called Dice, which is basically Tinder (you know, that booty call app where you respond whether or not you like what you see and wait for a match). While Schmidt has had much success hooking up with girls on Dice (which is what it’s obviously for), Jess attempts to use it to date potential future husbands. Oh cute Jessica, keep being adorable and naive.

It’s always fun when Jess and Schmidt team up for a story-line because they’re such complete opposites that they’ll always run into hilarious scenarios. It’s also necessary to split apart Jess and Nick as much as possible in the early going of this season. Even though in the show they’re four months from being a couple, it’s still pretty new to us viewers and separating them is a good idea.

What ends up happening is Schmidt giving Jess lessons on how to “date” on Dice. While Jess and Schmidt have different views on dating, Schmidt does drop some useful knowledge and exposes a weak link in Jess’ personality. She’s too damn nice and she’s naive.

“Do you just walk around all day thinking about other people’s feelings? How do you get anything done?” – Schmidt

It’s something Jess knows is happening, yet she can’t help it. When she finds herself on a number of terrible dates, she lingers like the hopeless girl in a dead end relationship because she doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. But Schmidt goes the distance to even writing down a number of excuses to get her out of a bad date.

Meanwhile, Winston sulks that none of the cop guys he’s training with likes him (because he doesn’t have a nickname). Also, Coach admits that he’s never been stone before, so Nick and Cece decide to walk him through it as his spirit guide to marijuana. When Winston finally gets an in with his cop buddies and gets invited to a barbeque, yup you guessed it, the stoners tag along. The reaction to the three when they realized they’re surrounded by cops is great. It’s also great because of the turn-around that knowing his friends were stoned, Winston and some other cops pull a prank on them, providing the approval Winston needed to finally receive a nickname, “Toilet.”

In the end, nothing really changes. Jess gives the handsome guy a shot but he turns out to be quite the creepy magician (Too bad we didn’t get to see the hat pulled out of the rabbit), so she’s back to square one. Schmidt opens up to the girl from Dice but gets shot down. As for the rest of the gang, well they claim they’re never going to get stoned again, which is too bad because who wouldn’t want to see them huddled up in a closet? But what’s funnier? Nick when he’s drunk or when he’s stoned?

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New Girl Character Ratings:

Jess (A-): She’ll always be that adorable and innocent Jess we all love no matter how many lessons Schmidt gives her. When she sees a handsome guy with beautiful eyes, her reaction is, “Them’s joint bank account eyes.” If she doesn’t find her way to your heart, then I don’t know what will.

Schmidt (A-): Another great episode from Schmidt. Pairing him up with Jess is great because we get to see the true Schmidt. Though I do find it slightly weird that he wouldn’t be more attracted to her. Anyway, here are some highlights: “The point of dating is just… to keep on dating and then never stop, like burning fossil fuels or seeing a therapist” and “If you are for one second suggesting that I don’t know how to open a musical, how dare you!”

Nick (B): Out of the stoners, Nick was clearly the best. If his theories about science weren’t enough, kicking over the grill and running had to have been the peak. I sure want to see Nick stoned more, because after all, “If pot were a piano, Nick would be a 9-year-old Chinese girl.” It’s a bit disappointing that he’s been pushed back to a supporting role so far this season, but he’s still making the most of every scene.

Winston (B-): It’s surprising he actually received a decent story-line, but he was overshadowed by the three stoner amigos. Still, at the end of the day he got what he wished for, a nickname. Good for you, Winston.

Cece (C+): It’s clear that the writers are trying their best to involve Cece in every episode, which is a great thing. But she hasn’t had any impact on this season so far, aside from joining her friends as being single. It’ll be nice to see her as something more than just the other friend outside the loft.

Coach (D): I had high hopes (no pun intended) for Coach in this episode when he was popping his marijuana cherry, but he didn’t have any awesome stoned moments like Nick did. What’s your problem, Coach?

The Big Bang Theory – “The Junior Professor Solution”

Season Eight, Episode Two

Grade: C

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While Sheldon’s departure was handled too quickly and way too tidily, the whole gang is back together and I guess that’s a good thing (though it would’ve been incredibly intriguing to have Sheldon apart from the group for at least a few episodes). Sheldon gets the news that he can move on from String Theory if he agrees to be a professor and teach a class at Caltech. Finally, The Big Bang Theory is rolling the dice. My mind was already racing with the possibilities and set-ups that could happen with Sheldon teaching a class, but it looks like we’ll have to wait for the next semester.

Sheldon is disappointed that no one signed up for his class, but Howard agrees to be his only student, which naturally results in Sheldon mocking Howard that he’s not smart enough to attend his class. So we had a Sheldon vs. Howard showdown. Will Sheldon finally admit that Howard is smart enough to take his class? Will Howard be able to keep up with Sheldon’s course? Will these two ever get along?!

Meanwhile, Bernadette and Penny butt heads when Penny is lackadaisical towards preparing for her new job that Bernadette vouched for her. This allows Amy to fulfill her “cool girl” personality by getting close to both of them separately and bad-mouthing the other. Sure, it’s not something that Amy should be doing at this stage of her friendship, but it’s Amy and we know that her craving to be noticed is extreme. Plus, she’s in a relationship with Sheldon, so we have to cut her some slack. But at the end, Bernadette and Penny are good again, pushing Amy back to being the dorky friend who’s in a dead end relationship.

This isn’t what I wanted to see from the first two episodes of the new season, but I guess it’s something I’ll have to expect. The show has plenty of problems in its sitcom format and the problems aren’t being addressed quickly enough to turn the corner. The Big Bang Theory is a great show when it combines its jokes with heart, something that How I Met Your Mother did very well. But where’s the heart? Sheldon is as cold as ever, we’ve seen zero between Leonard and Penny, and the show has temporarily abandoned the most romantic story-line: Raj and Emily. Instead, we were stuck watching the Jim Parsons show. I guess they’re just trying to make him earn his money, but for the viewer it was a fairly poor hour of television.

The Big Bang Theory – “The Locomotion Interruption”

Season Eight, Episode One

Grade: C+

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Even though The Big Bang Theory has seen better days, I’m always willing to give shows the benefit of the doubt when entering a new season. So after we’ve meandered around with the group of friends in The Big Bang Theory for seven years, the main cast are now being paid quite handsomely so hopefully the result will be better quality. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen in the season eight premiere.

We last left when Sheldon hops on a train to get away from all of the changes that are rapidly happening in his life. Leonard and Penny are going to get married and live together, therefore presenting the very possible idea that Amy could live with Sheldon. So Sheldon embarks on a trip around the nation for a bit over a month, except that he has never left the train on the entire trip (something that Sheldon obviously thinks is the better way to travel). He finally returns home when all of his belongings are stolen, but calls Leonard instead of Amy, which becomes a real problem.

It’s clear that the relationship between Sheldon and Amy is far from a healthy one, and you would assume that two intelligent people are capable of putting aside their selfishness to understanding each other and problem solving their way to a decent relationship. But time and time again Sheldon continues to be, for a lack of a better word, as asshole towards Amy. Also, Amy continues to cling onto Sheldon after he repeatedly mistreats her. In the beginning they felt like the perfect match, but now the feeling is the exact opposite. How much further can we watch these two act horribly? While everyone else on the show is making progress in their relationships (even Raj has a girlfriend for crying out loud!), Sheldon and Amy are stuck.

Meanwhile, Penny is sporting a new haircut and it was genuinely funny to see the show poke fun at it. She has an interview for a pharmaceutical sales position that Bernadette set up for her, but she ends up bombing the interview, which isn’t all that surprising since she doesn’t know a single thing in the field. But the sitcom magic turned things around for Penny as she bonded with the interviewer (Stephen Root) over their fear of Bernadette. Funny yes, but pretty ridiculous because she does end up getting the job. I kind of wanted to see what kind of things jobless Penny would get herself into.

The C-story involved Howard’s concern with Stuart and his mom getting a bit too close. There’s a fine line between Stuart being a caretaker or a lover with Howard’s mom, and though we’re still uncertain about that, it’s an enjoyable gag the show can go to once in a while.

The Big Bang Theory are definitely past its peak, but the show is still bringing in plenty of viewers to watch these lovable nerds (plus Penny). It’s clear that the chemistry between the actors have never been stronger, but the script is lacking any material that makes The Big Bang Theory remotely close to being a “must-watch” show.

The Mindy Project – “We’re a Couple Now, Haters!”

Season Three, Episode One

Grade: B

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In sitcoms, when you have the main characters romantically linked early on in a show’s run, that usually leads to a lot of creative problems for the writers. In most (or all) cases, the tension building up to the moment is a lot more fun than when you finally get there. New Girl was great before Jess and Nick decided to date, once Jim and Pam (The Office) dated and got married their story-line was shot, and so on. So with a show that’s geared directly towards being a romantic-comedy sitcom, what’s next? Doesn’t the movie usually end once the main characters finally get together?

Mindy and Danny are still in their honeymoon phase, which involves a lot of smiles and sex. Unfortunately, while Danny likes to keep what happens in the bedroom private, Mindy likes to blurt to everyone about how incredible their sex life is. Naturally, this results in their first (of many for the foreseeable future) fight as a couple, but things go much deeper than anticipated.

After Mindy commits to Danny that she wouldn’t talk about their sex life, she stumbles upon a pink thong in his drawer. He’s embarrassed but Mindy assures him it’s okay to keep certain things from exes. One assumption leads to another and Mindy goes from believing the thong is one of Danny’s exes, to a stripper, finally to the result that the thong is for a male stripper and most likely Danny’s! Ah, how the plot thickens.

Meanwhile, Peter and Lauren’s relationship is threatened when Jeremy and Lauren kiss after spending so much time together planning a charity event. I’m not positive about how long this love-triangle story-line will play out for, but I guess it’s a decent B-story for the time being. And then there’s Morgan, who absolutely steals the episode with his hilarious one-liners, plus his Cousin Lou (Rob McElhenney from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia). Morgan is the perfect blend of a ridiculous human being with a soft heart and compliments the other characters extremely well.

So where does The Mindy Project go from here? How rocky will Mindy and Danny’s relationship be this season? Is it going to shadow Jess and Nick’s bumpy road from New Girl’s third season? Or will it try to do something spectacular by breaking the trend and giving us some new insight to a successful sitcom couple? For now, they’re off to a pretty good start, but there is a lot to build on from here.

New Girl – “The Last Wedding”

Season Four, Episode One

Grade: A-

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The third season of New Girl was rocky, primarily due to Nick and Jess’ roller-coaster relationship inevitably leaving them contemplating if they could recapture the friendship they once had. It was a questionable decision for the show-runners to throw Nick and Jess together so quickly and so passionately, but we have seemed to weather that storm and now, for better or worse, Nick and Jess are back to being friends in great sitcom style. And that’s a good thing because when these characters aren’t involved with anyone, that’s when they can really shine through their silly one-liners and shenanigans.

So the gang are all single, including Cece who admits to Jess that she and Buster broke up. Also, we’re four months past the season three finale, and apparently all summer the gang have been attending weddings together, because that’s plausible or something. But it does set up a great plot for this episode: Schmidt wants everyone to score at the final wedding of the summer! Or as Jess puts it, she wants everyone to sex-fist their way through the reception.

At the wedding, Jess attempts to make a move on the best man, Ted (the hilarious Reid Scott of Veep) but has direct competition with Kat, played by the lovely Jessica Biel. Meanwhile, Coach, who has been very successful throughout the summer of weddings, has fallen into a trap when a handful of women he’s slept with are at the last wedding, usually leaving him with wine all over his suit. And then there’s the Schmidt and Nick duo who are discussing the possibility of a four-way. While it’s clear that Schmidt wants the four-way more than Nick, Nick is willing to do anything for his friend to get Cece off of his mind… even if that does include being in a “fog of war.”

What works about the season four premiere is that the gang are all single again, meaning they’re open to a lot more things and don’t have the consequences for their stupid actions. This is where New Girl is as its funniest. Oh, and it’s nice to have you back again, Schmidt. After your terrible love triangle story-line of last season, it’s great to see you ogling Cece again, though the whole “Cece is a goddess” thing isn’t going to work since you two have already done it dozens of times. Anyway, the silly is restored in New Girl but most importantly, so is the heart.

The bathroom scene between Nick and Jess was a reminder to us of why we loved this show from the beginning. Their chemistry and close bond is the perfect compromise with the whacky story-lines throughout every episode, and it’s great to see them so close again. Though this all only happens through TV magic, because no one can become best friends like that again after going through a tough break-up the way they did with each other, but for the show’s sake I’ll forgive them.

So while no one ended up going home with anyone from the wedding, they didn’t return to the loft lonely because they all had each other. Cheesy yes, but it’s the New Girl formula that simply works. And I loved the symbolic gesture of decluttering the refrigerator from all the wedding invitations. Let’s hope these characters remain single for a long time because it’s proven that when they start to date and settle down, so does the show.

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New Girl Character Ratings:

Here’s something I’ll be doing every week, grading each individual character based on their involvement every episode.

Jess (B): She starts off with a bang because of her “sex fist” gag, but gets run over by Kat trying to win over Ted. I love Zooey, but having her stand next to the gorgeous Jessica Biel didn’t do her any favors. But it was great to see her and Nick rekindle their friendship while sitting in the men’s room.

Nick (A): The tap shoes were a brilliant ongoing joke, and one that fits his character perfectly. And it’s great how he tried to distract Schmidt from Cece by wanting to go through with the four-some, until Schmidt touched his hoof-hands. The icing on the cake was his attempt at a playful joke towards an engaged couple, “I hope they can’t have kids!”

Schmidt (A): The return of Schmidt was a delight, giving New Girl the much needed boost of one-liners. “It makes me angry and scared all at the same time, just like when I hear the phrase ‘Academy Award winner Anna Paquin.” – “I’m soft like a lady, you won’t even know.” – plus his great physical comedy when he’s trying not to do anything weird after talking with Cece.

Cece (C+): She’s broken up with Buster so that tension between her and Schmidt is back! Just that news alone is enough to give her the MVP of the episode, but other than that she’s practically invisible, aside from being absolutely beautiful. Hmm, I think I was harsh with my grade.

Winston (B-): Winston is sore from all his police training, but he does have a hilarious scene demonstrating to Schmidt and Nick using the salt and pepper shaker. Oh, and he also said this gem, “The only thing I want in my mouth is Mr. and Mrs. I.B. Profen, minus the Mr.”

Coach (C): Every girl that Coach talks to at the wedding, he’s already hooked up with. That’s impressive and extremely unlucky at the same time. Unfortunatley, that’s his only role this episode.

The Mindy Project – “Danny and Mindy”

Season Two, Episode Twenty-Two

Grade: B+

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For most of the first two season of The Mindy Project, the show has gone through an identity crisis, not knowing exactly what type of show it is. While season two is a lot more focused, it’s still very messy with first and foremost being how Mindy simply isn’t strong enough to be a lead of a sitcom. But if there is a reason to watch The Mindy Project, it’s because of the idea that Mindy has to explore the romantic-comedy genre in a TV show. No, not in the way sitcoms work, but in a way goofy Hollywood rom-coms work. Season one was just the set-up, or the first twenty minutes of the film. Season two had all the makings of a romantic-comedy from the sexual tension, to the first kiss, and now to the over-the-top portrayal of love on the top of the Empire State Building.

Without a doubt, the story between Mindy and Danny has carried this show since day one, and for the past few episodes we were dealing with life after their failed attempt at taking their friendship to the next level. But wait! In classic rom-com form, Danny wants to win Mindy back! How? By pretending to be the handsome guy who was making eyes with Mindy on the subway. Sure, it’s not the best plan in the world, but he thinks it’s romantic.

Sure, “Danny and Mindy” achieves a level of cheesiness that’s almost worth throwing up your dinner, but if you’ve made it this far in the series then you’re more than likely used to it, since it’s exactly what Mindy wants. Danny’s grand gesture is to get Mindy up to the Empire State Building where she will be expecting Andy (the guy on the subway) and instead will realize it’s Danny’s she’s been flirting with all along. Great, sounds like a good plan, except prior to that Mindy admits to Danny how she has moved on from him and how she’s thankful to still be friends. The reaction on Chris Messina’s face is spot on, from complete excitement to realizing that this actually might not work. It’s like a Christmas toy being taken away from a kid after a half-an-hour with it. He frowns, unsure if he’ll ever get her back.

Cue the much-needed moral support! Everyone in the office now knows what Danny wants to do and they back him up, convincing him that they’ll be a perfect fit for each other. Immediately, that frown turns upside-down and Danny runs to the Empire State Building where Mindy is coincidentally taking the stairs to the top. Yes, I am impressed that she even made it because I would’ve stopped at the 50th floor, but it provided with those few seconds where Danny doesn’t see Mindy and suspects she left. But there she is, lying on the ground from exhaustion and that’s where Danny lies beside her, together on the top of the Empire State Building.

My only question now is, what’s next? If this were a romantic comedy, this would be the end of the film. Maybe there would be one more scene showing how happy Mindy and Danny are in the near future, possibly their wedding day or them on their honeymoon in somewhere exotic. But this isn’t a movie, it’s a television series and this isn’t the end. So what’s next? Sometimes shows shoot themselves in the foot when they allow the main character to finally find love. When Marshall and Lily finished their turbulence, their story-line became very stale compared to the rest of the cast. When Jim and Pam got together, The Office concentrated on other romantic story-lines to hide their dead end. How is The Mindy Project going to address this issue? Have them continue their roller-coaster relationship? Give Peter and Morgan more screen-time? Who knows, but let’s just say I’m interested in finding out.

New Girl – “Cruise”

Season Three, Episode Twenty-Three

Grade: B

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You could say that the third season finale is an end of an era for New Girl, or at least a temporary one because we still understand this is a sitcom, which means Jess and Nick WILL get together before the show is done. But since the last few episodes have dealt directly with the break-up between Nick and Jess, it’s only fitting that the finale seemingly puts that to rest. How does this happen? The whole gang goes on a cruise.

I don’t know if I’m the only one, but with the recent disasters that cruise ships have had, I could understand Coach’s fear more than everyone else’s enthusiasm. But this is a great setup for Nick and Jess to face their break-up without a chance to run away from each other, though they did attempt to do just that. After a number of romantic activities with each other, they get a little bit too close for comfort when Nick dives in for a kiss. At that point, they decide to spend the rest of the cruise separate.

In all honesty, that sounded like a good idea. Who wants to be trapped on a cruise ship with their ex? But their friends didn’t have any of it and forced them to address the awkwardness just so they could finally get past it, which is also a pretty good idea if it works. Meanwhile, Schmidt planned to give Cece a class ring for finally graduating high school and hoped this would re-spark her feelings for him. While this was obviously a bad idea, we’re used to bad ideas with this group of friends. So after Winston knocks the ring into the ocean and Cece confesses that she doesn’t want to mess things up with her boyfriend, Schmidt takes the high road, puts on a smile and wishes her happiness. Oh Schmidt! You’re already the crowd favorite, no need to rub it in!

In the end, the group of friends find themselves locked in a room for days until they’re rescued by guest star Oscar Nunez. It’s ridiculous and silly, but it fits for everything that New Girl does. And all that matters is that Nick and Jess are good again, and that’s one thing they do achieve. Plus, with Nick living with Schmidt now, this can open a world of hilarious possibilities, though it leaves much to be desired across the hall from Jess, Winston and Coach. Overall, there were plenty of ups-and-downs in season three, but New Girl is still a delightful comedy to follow.