Fall television is back! Fall television is back!!
While not many shows have premiered their new seasons yet, we did receive the first round of fresh television this week, including New Girl and The Mindy Project. So which one is better? Last season, The Mindy Project started to rise above New Girl - in my opinion - and the two premieres just confirmed that I'm way more excited by Mindy than Jess today.
Fox airs both shows in aligning time slots on Tuesday nights, and they fit well together. The two sitcoms focus on groups of thirty-somethings, centered around one main female protagonist, trying to figure out their lives. I am drawn to both shows, as well as the sadly departed Happy Endings, because they portray how ridiculous life can still be in your early thirties. Here we have large ensembles of primarily single people, many of whom are still trying to find decent jobs and live with roommates. I just might be able to relate.
New Girl did play up one aspect of this lifestyle in season four's first episode. Jess, the no longer new girl, and her large group of roommates - okay, while I can deal with one roommate, I don't think I could live with four other people at this point in my life - attend the last wedding of the summer. They bemoan the large number of announcements about engagements, weddings, babies, and other accomplishments. Jess wonders, "Why can't I have a party for really dedicating myself to knitting this summer?" I totally agree with this sentiment. I think 80 percent of my friends either had a wedding or a baby in the last year. Yes, I'm incredibly happy for them, but it gets overwhelming. Plus, I want presents too. Just because I haven't met the love of my life yet doesn't mean I don't deserve a set of all new kitchen appliances.
The wedding blues entertained me (along with Nick's tap shoes), but overall the episode left me thinking, "Meh..." I heard this season will amp up the sexiness, and I guess all of the characters tried to find a hook up for the evening, but it didn't really feel "sexy" despite the sex fist jokes. They are clearly trying to move past the Jess and Nick relationship while still acknowledging it, but I don't think the series has entirely figured out how to do that yet. Encouraging each other to go sleep with someone else a few months after they broke up felt awkward and a little cringe worthy, especially since that hook up might occur in the shared apartment. Plus, can they seriously give Winston something to do? He's very funny but has no story lines whatsoever. The past success of the show mainly relied on the group dynamic - Jess on her own takes quirkiness to an annoying level - and this episode did emphasize their friendship: "We're not going home alone." Last season was very hit or miss, and I'm hoping New Girl will return to its former glory at some point during season four.
The Mindy Project, however, has steadily improved over time. It had a rocky start, but by season two had settled into a reliably funny thirty minutes of television. Both Mindy and Jess fit into the "adorkable" mold, but as singular characters, Mindy's personality is easier to digest and her role is more necessary to the show. The show uses and pokes fun at romantic comedies regularly, making Mindy's idealistic views of life and romance, based on watching way too many movies, lead to revamped romantic comedy moments. For example, last season ended with Mindy and Danny, the series' will they or won't they couple, meeting at the top of the Empire State Building, but Mindy had to climb the stairs so she's collapsed in the doorway hyperventilating.
Season three's premiere has Mindy and Danny established as a couple but still trying to figure out how to mix their interests - "What is a relationship if not doing things you hate in between sex sessions?" - and their personal/professional lives since Mindy keeps telling everyone at the office about their sexual exploits. As they switch from a friendship to a relationship, they also encounter new information about their pasts, such as Danny's stripper (!!) background. And then Danny dances. Yep, this may have been the winning moment for me. Hopefully, The Mindy Project can manage this relationship better than Jess and Nick in New Girl, and the signs look good for an entertaining season.
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