New Girl - Episode 4.05 - Review: "Landline"
After previewing New Girl this weekend and thinking about the episode in the larger terms of the show, I am complacent with the direction of the season so far, but it may fall back in terms of character development if episodes like "Landline" keep occurring. "Landline" was funny to a degree due to the roommates' infatuation with the landline telephone that brought Nick, Schmidt, and Winston together. The problem with the episode dealt with Jess, Coach, and how they approached the no fraternization policy at school.
More specifically, the problem lies with Jess's inability to settle on what type of guy she is looking to date. Season one grounded her with her fellow teacher, special guest star Justin Long, and the season hit a good stride with their relationship. Five episodes in, Jess is beginning to feel like a lost puppy who is willing to throw herself at any cute guy she finds attractive. Jess is a better character when she goes after what she wants and fully commits to it, rather than second guessing herself at every step. If New Girl can capitalize on the low/high brow comedy of the roommates while continuing the themes of self-reliance and acceptance, the show will once again be great. After four seasons it may be difficult to keep a sexualized comedy from becoming stale, but they need to find the right balance between drama and comedy without making the characters change at the flip of a switch. One show that comes to mind that lost itself in plot holes and imbalanced characters was Heroes. It had great potential to be a worthwhile sic-fi drama, but got lost in the overbearing plot and characters that acted against their established norms without any prior buildup.
Nevertheless, "Landline" did have it's funny moments, such as Coach's playful banter with the school's 'sexy nurse' and other teacher and the throwback to Winston being a pro with the telephone. I just hope these funny moments don't eclipse the heart of New Girl. And I feel like I should start a countdown to "True American!" It has to to happen before the mid-season break and I'm putting my money down that sometime in December, "True American" will go live. Until next week, leave your comments below and tune in to New Girl, Tuesdays at 9PM on FOX.
