Everybody Hates Schmidt

New Girl, S02E04

Jess began to hang out with some kids that had just moved in, but didn't seem to like Schmidt because he was too old.  Winston worried about not having very long left to live.  Nick became obsessed with pranking Schmidt, especially in making him feel like he was getting older by the second.

It's funny what manages to ruffle Winston's feathers, and this time it was Schmidt's actuarial.  I mean, he really took that thing to heart, despite he thought at first it told him he should have died about 4 years ago.  Of the 3 guys, I would guess that Winston would live the longest because Nick both fails to take care of himself and is prone to stupid decisions, while Schmidt just seems like someone who would end up being stabbed or shot one day.  Still, I guess Winston freaking out about his life running short did inspire him to not so very eloquently demand that he be given a promotion at work.  Although he has his own show, it's at a graveyard time slot, so it's almost a non-promotion, but hey, he's at least taking a step forward.  I think that will end up being a very interesting new job for him.

Nick, on the other hand, was letting his insanity sink him further into debt because he wasted over a grand playing pranks on Schmidt!  What the hell??  One of the most elaborate was when Schmidt noticed that his height line was higher than his current height.  I was shocked at the detail he put into that when he explained it to Jess:

I took a photo of the wall, shrunk it down, made a copy at an architect’s office.  From there, it was just your basic spackle-and-silkscreen job.

Seriously??  I've never seen Nick put so much energy and work into something, and when he does it has to be something spiteful.  He is so crazy!  And Winston is also crazy because he doesn't know how to prank adequately.  I don't which is funnier:  the fact that he goes too small (like sprinkling dust near Schmidt's car) or goes too big (hitting people with skis or throwing acid on them).  I'm actually a lot more concerned about Winston attempting a prank than Nick.  Nick will bankrupt himself playing his tricks, but Winston is likely to kill you.

Finally, in the Jess and Schmidt story, it was a treat to see those kids looking upon Schmidt like an unwanted growth.  But I think when Schmidt first caught on that he was hated and had to pretend he had work so he could refuse the kids' invitation to hang, I did feel bad for him.  No one wants to be the unpopular guy, so I couldn't help but want Schmidt to somehow win them over.  But it was pretty funny in general watching Jess being treated like the coolest person in the world, while Schmidt, with all of his bad slang and nonsense hype, got nowhere.  I also loved when Nick said that nothing about Schmidt being hated was new:

If I had a dollar for everybody I couldn’t hang out with because they hated Schmidt, I’d be rich.  Like, fill my gas tank all the way up rich.

I wasn't too surprised that even when Jess tried to help him that Schmidt still failed because he was just trying too hard.  But what I really liked is that Jess came clean about stealing catchphrases from 80s sitcoms and realized that she wasn't really identifying with those kids, but had already grown as a person beyond them.  But the kids still liked her and wanted to hang with her.  Aww.  I like when people like Jess because she is sweet and fun, but sometimes people don't like her because she does things her own way and is overly awkward in the most simple situations (and is the victim of bad luck).  It really shows that interacting with younger people is what she was born to do.

 This was a great episode.  I wonder if Jess will continue to see her new neighbors every now and then--I think they could add a little more crazy situations in their apartment building.  I'm pretty sure Winston's little show is going to make his job even more interesting or probably make him go insane with the strange work hours.  Don't really care what happens with Schmidt right now, but I'd like to see Nick not do anything else to throw the money he doesn't have away.  Nick would be living in an alley right now if he didn't have his friends.

A Lot Crammed In There...Too Bad It Sucked

Don't Trust The Bitch In Apartment 23, S01E01

ABC came out with a new show about a girl named June who moves to New York, but all of her plans fall through and she ends up getting a new apartment with a girl named Chloe who is out to scam her.  Although June's life seemed to go from bad to worse from the minute she agreed to move in with Chloe, she found out that she wasn't entirely a bitch after all.  The premise of the show wasn't bad, but I certainly didn't find it as funny as it was trying to be.  It was mostly bland and predictable.

Not sure if June's personality just takes some time getting used to, but I found her character to be incredibly superficial.  She was so overly trusting and hopeful that she was practically begging for someone to take advantage of her.  So when she fell right into Chloe's trap, you didn't feel very outraged or sad for her.  She certainly is not a complete pushover since she did fight back once she realized that Chloe was playing her for a fool, but then she was just as easily convinced of Chloe's sob story about the ottoman.  She felt so bad about it that she and Chloe went out to retrieve it from the person who then owned it.  When June tried to convince them to give it back, after all else had failed, she spoke about Chloe's goodness as if there had been a moment to prove any of the crap she was saying.  It just seemed so random and fake.  If she was just talking out of her ass, that would have been fine, but I think her character actually believed what she was saying.  I know she believed the part about Chloe possibly returning to burn down the house.  I wish that part had been funny.  It was the only thing I thought that made sense that she could say at that stage of her and Chloe's relationship.

Chloe's character seems to be trying to portray an evil girl who isn't as bad as she wants everyone to think.  I don't think that the plot or the actress nailed that impression.  Sure, she was doing annoying things like inviting strange men over to suggest she'd be having wild sex, ate June's yogurt while walking around completely nude, and barged into the bathroom while June was taking a bath.  Still, all these things seemed so stale to me--they didn't shock me or convince me that Chloe was a demon.  Maybe I have been watching too many other people who are more skilled in dishing up trouble for others and her attempts just couldn't compare.  Even when she he pulled out the drugs from the ottoman, I saw it coming.  Then when she tried to be June's friend and tell her about her cheating fiance, I didn't buy her "nice" side either.  This was perhaps because she just hadn't nailed her "outer" personality, so I couldn't go along with her "inner" one.  If Chloe is going to be the "bitch" that this title implies, she needs to pump it up.  She's about as badass as Butters from South Park being Professor Chaos.

One thing I do sorta like about this show is Robin.  I think she has potential to be a funny neighbor (unlike the pervert who looks into their window).  I like how she both detests Chloe and at the same time seems to want her friendship.  She definitely gives off the impression that she has been burned by Chloe in the past.  I'd like them to keep her as a regular because June and Chloe (and James--ugh) just don't cut it if this is supposed to be a comedy.

I watch enough shows that aren't that good, so I doubt I'll watch this for more than one more episode if they can't establish the characters better or make more interesting situations.  I didn't have any hopes for this show beyond what the title suggested, so I can't say that I was disappointed.  It would have been nice to secure a new show to offset most of my shows going into summer hibernation, but I'm sure that I'll find something else if this one doesn't deliver.