Dunno Which Dinner Was The Best

The Mindy Project, S01E07

Mindy spent Thanksgiving at Gwen's house and got into a fight with Gwen after she hit on Dennis.  Jeremy spent the holiday at Betsy's house where she was sick of being treated like a little girl.  Danny spent the holiday alone at the office.

Well, there wasn't much that I liked about this episode.  It was good there were multiples stories because all of them were a little boring to me.  I don't think I could pick a favorite.  Even with Danny being alone the whole night save a damn mouse was about on par with Mindy going after someone else's boyfriend.  I might say Jeremy and Betsy story because it was a little sweet how he comforted her in accepting the way her family treats her because it could be worse (like how he suggested his own family was).

What I was most annoyed about in this episode was Josh.  I'm getting less and less convinced that he is a great match for her.  First of all, after he made a slightly gross dinner for her made entirely on panini presses, he set her apartment on fire was pretty damn useless in taking care of that situation.  Like I couldn't believe that he just sort of stood next her and kind of wanted her to do something about it.  Wow.  Didn't think he could be more unimpressive than his cooking skills.  Second, he didn't want to be exclusive with her.  I don't know why, but I was a little shocked.  You come to cook (by your own definitions) a meal for a girl, but you don't want to be exclusive with her?  Why the hell even go to the damn trouble??  Yes, later he found out that he missed Mindy and wanted to officially be her boyfriend, but I don't appreciate that he sort of swung her emotions around like that.  Especially since it encouraged Mindy to make out with Dennis (although I guess Morgan was the one who told her she didn't need to stick to one man either) and made the fight between Mindy and Gwen worse.  I just don't like the way Josh puts up a front--can't he be  a little more straightforward with his feelings?  It's frustrating and frankly makes him a little less manly in my eyes.

Related to Mindy seducing Dennis a bit, how dramatic was the fight between her and Gwen?  First Mindy jumps to conclusions about Gwen replacing her with another Indian girl (I wonder if she would have felt as threatened if she wasn't the same race), and then Gwen nearly kicks Mindy's ass after she sees her making out with Dennis.  I was really surprised that Gwen got so violent and loud.  But I guess she was just tired of Mindy's shit during a holiday dinner.  Wow, I would not want to piss her off.  I guess her voice makes you think she might be sweet and nice, but apparently she can bring it when necessary.  Learned a good bit about her character in this story.

I also learned that Jeremy doesn't seem to be much of an ass.  I mean, the more I see him with Betsy, the more I think they should hook up.  They would be a weird pairing (okay, well, she's just weird), but I think it might work.  She's definitely not so sneaky and sexually loose as he is, so maybe she could balance him out.  

As for Danny...  What a loser spending Thanksgiving at the office.  I'm surprised that he even texted back Mindy when she sent him a picture.  I guess he sort of missed her.  It wasn't like he was getting any love from anyone else that day (not even a mouse, haha).

This was one of my least favorite Thanksgiving stories I've seen, but I'm not really surprised.  This  show is still getting its act together, so I never expected them to blow me away.  I guess the best thing about the story was that perhaps Mindy has a confirmed boyfriend now.  I wonder if we'll see a change in Josh that will allow me to like him a little better.  Because of right now, I can't wait for someone better to stroll along for Mindy.

With Schmidt There Is Only Down, No Up

New Girl, S01E16

This week Jess decides to use her magical wand to fix Schmidt who is too high-strung, but mostly because he refuses to let her keep a hatch she found on the street. Unfortunately, not only does he become way too relaxed, their home becomes a pigsty instantly without Schmidt's care.  Winston and Nick also squabble over money owed between them (though the scales seem more tipped toward Nick).

If only Jess didn't bring in that hatch, Schmidt wouldn't have been set off, and Jess wouldn't have felt like she needed to change him (Nick and Winston later tell her that Schmidt only gets worse the more you try to repair his bad habits).  However, that random piece of furniture did allow Schmidt to have a good line:

Pine has no place in this loft.  It's the wood of poor people and outhouses.

Again, we see that Jess' good intentions bring about disaster.  I do like that any time she aims to make the world a little better, things are almost guaranteed to go to shit.  I guess I never noticed how nice their place was for a three-man loft until Schmidt became a sort of bongo-playing beach hippie.  Not only does he keep their place looking good, he apparently provides over services for his friends that are revealed in this episode.  Nick lists one of best services Schmidt provides:

I need you to make fun of me when I call a panini a "hot sandwich."  How am I ever gonna learn?

This scene and others in this episode in particular remind me that Nick is such a hopeless guy.  If he didn't have friends like Schmidt and Winston, he would probably be even more socially awkward than he already is.  And he is quite there already.  He seems normal until you take a good look at him (like how he doesn't carry a wallet--just a plastic bag).

 Nick also had some good lines when he was talking to Jess about her desire to become part of their family:

What family?  These clowns?

After he officially makes her a member, Jess says "aww" and Nick responds:

Yeah, we don't "aww" in this family.

 Concerning the fight between Nick and Winston, I thought their tension wasn't too bad until they went grocery shopping.  That was a great scene.  It seems that Schmidt buys all their food too (Nick was later seen in the apartment starving and unable to cook anything beyond frozen food).  I loved that when they realized that they would not be able to afford everything they wanted, they would not get out of the checkout line and just threw the extra items in places like the magazine rack and beverage cooler.  How ghetto are they??  And of course, Nick and Winston start slapping each other, to add to the hilarity.  I was kind of worried they might get more violent (since they both look like the type that could beat the crap out of someone), but I guess deep down they still realized they were friends and held back.

I liked that this episode uncovered a little of why Schmidt is crazy and also why he needs to stay the way he is.  I guess if you were looking for a moral, you might learn that you should accept your friends for who they are and appreciate their good qualities.  Schmidt may be kind of gross (when it comes to sexual things) and OCD, but no one can say he doesn't take care of his friends.  It was interesting to see a different, easy-going side of him, but overall the original Schmidt is the best of all.