A quick review of last night’s “New Girl” coming up just as soon as I beat you with an orange in a sock…
After a very bumpy fall, “New Girl” is 2-for-2 so far in 2014. “Basketsball” was one of the stronger episodes they’ve done so far with Jess and Nick as a couple, in part because Zooey Deschanel and Jake Johnson are both so good at the physical comedy that comes with playing these two sexual weirdos. And Jess’s attempts to befriend Coach – who’s much more of a traditional guy’s guy, and much less emotional and strange than the other roommates – has added some nice new energy to the show while thus far not taking too much time away from the rest of the ensemble. (Someone please release a full-length version of Jess’s “The Bulls are the worst team in the league” song on iTunes, preferably to support a basketball-related charity.)
Johnson got some nice bonus time in the B-story when Schmidt and Winston needed an old and cranky mind to analyze. Anytime Nick goes off on a rant like that, good things tend to happen. Wilely old Ed (played by “Shawshank” warden Bob Gunton) also makes an excellent foil for youth-obsessed Schmidt. Schmidt work stories tend to produce mixed results, but this was a good one. Now we get to see if Crazy Winston has any more luck getting on the police force than Andy Dwyer did on “Parks and Rec.”
What did everybody else think?