Quick Thoughts: NEW GIRL, "Naked"

Apparently, the long break between new episodes of New Girl did not work in the show's favor, but are we really surprised? I just hope FOX made some serious cash off of the World Series because cutting the legs from under their highest rated new comedy could have repercussions. Numbers aside, "Naked" wasn't the strongest episode to come back with, but it wasn't as bad as what people are writing on the Internet.

Based on some of the early reviews from critics, I was expecting "Naked" to be an insufferable chore to get through because everyone had to point out how Zooey Deschanel's Jess crossed the line from "adorkable" to annoying. Now, I can admit that this type of character has its limitations, and laying on the quirk could be counterproductive, but I didn't find Jess annoying at all. In fact, I thought she was just as cute as ever, but that might have to do with the fact that I prefer seeing her say "pee-pee" over Kat Dennings saying "vagina".

I guess my biggest gripe with other people's gripes has to do with the fact that EVERYONE had to comment on how unbelievable Jess' character was. This complaint can stump me sometimes because I don't think any sitcom character is supposed to be realistic. If they were then they wouldn't be funny. If Barney was realistic, he wouldn't be a lovable cad but a dirty man whore. If Max was a real person, he would never end up living in a giant loft apartment in Chicago. I could go on and on, but I'm sure you get my point. So for people to point at Jess and cry fake, it just doesn't add up to me. Now, people can say Jess was irritating, but to say they can't buy her as a real person lacks weight because she's not a real person. All I know is she made me laugh.

The story itself, Jess and Nick had an awkward moment when she saw him naked, is a tale as old as time so I didn't put much stock in it. I just went with it and enjoyed the jokes we got from it. Now, Schmidt being obsessed with seeing his best friend's junk was a new spin on the old stand-by that made a lot of sense. Unfortunately, the writers cannot figure out what to do with Winston, but I'd take a half-baked story about him than a good one that involved Coach since that would've meant Happy Endings didn't get a second season.

"Naked" was by no means a comedic masterpiece, but a fresher take on a classic situation, and it made me laugh. Today's comedies don't all have to be transcendent; they just have to be funny, but that's a topic for another rant all together.