# The New Girl **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 21, 2011, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-girl/597029 "2011-09-21T03:18:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-girl/597029/21 "2011-09-21T14:20:42Z")
The guy who kept taking his shirt off got old fast. One minute he is a complete, over the top douche, the next minute he was the cool, caring friend. Too weird. I could watch Zooey read a book for an hour but I may have a hard time watching this show because of the shirtless guy. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-girl/597029/22 "2011-09-21T14:23:18Z")
I had trouble buying into the premise that Zooey Deschanel is some kind of repulsive troll who has trouble getting dates and gets stood up a lot. Didn’t we play out that trope in 90’s movies? It also occured to me at one point that, if you accept the premise, it’s kind of like a reverse Big Bang Theory with one nerd girl befriending the popular boys. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-girl/597029/23 "2011-09-21T14:32:17Z")
I don’t think she’s a troll, just a social misfit of the goofy dork variety (comedy GOLD!) who has to get back into the dating thing. She’s obviously not completely repulsive to men since she was in a relationship prior to the show. I personally found the part with The Waitress and “Nice Guy” Roommate more perplexing. You’d think she’d be less amendable to someone emotionally drunk-dialing her on a repeated basis. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-girl/597029/24 "2011-09-21T14:32:18Z")
I do love Zooey Deschanel, and the show was a pleasant surprise. It was funny, but also sweet. And they gave her a chance to sing! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-girl/597029/25 "2011-09-21T15:48:49Z")
> [@JSexton](#): > > I had trouble buying into the premise that Zooey Deschanel is some kind of repulsive troll who has trouble getting dates and gets stood up a lot. Didn’t we play out that trope in 90’s movies?\ But, you see, she has _glasses_ on - that means she isn’t hot and sexy in TV Land. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-girl/597029/26 "2011-09-21T15:57:13Z")
I didn’t find a single scene funny - not even slightly amusing. Granted, pilot episodes are often a bit slow, but if this show moved any slower it would be going backwards. I might give it one more try, but this was perhaps the worst new show of the season so far. ---
**Author:** ![clnilsen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecccb3/32.png) [@clnilsen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clnilsen)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-girl/597029/27 "2011-09-21T16:01:28Z")
Humorous, but I’m hoping this all ends up with the Zooey character getting picked up at a party by a guy who says "“Want to see my spaceship?” ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-girl/597029/28 "2011-09-21T16:29:57Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > I like ZD. I didn’t find the pilot bad per se, but I didn’t like it all that much for reasons I can’t explain. > > But there was enough promise that I will continue to watch. > > Brian You stole my post. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-girl/597029/29 "2011-09-21T16:48:28Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I personally found the part with The Waitress and “Nice Guy” Roommate more perplexing. You’d think she’d be less amendable to someone emotionally drunk-dialing her on a repeated basis. But they explained that! She said she dumped him because it seemed like he didn’t care about her. Afterwards, he showed her that he did, albeit in a somewhat offputting way. It made her open to putting things back together, if he can continue to be open but in a more healthy way. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-girl/597029/30 "2011-09-21T16:56:07Z")
> [@shiftless](#): > > The guy who kept taking his shirt off got old fast. One minute he is a complete, over the top douche, the next minute he was the cool, caring friend. Too weird. > > I could watch Zooey read a book for an hour but I may have a hard time watching this show because of the shirtless guy. He takes it off regularly? I may have to watch. I wasn’t really interested since ZD has never been able to act worth a damn in anything Ive seen her in. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-girl/597029/31 "2011-09-21T18:20:08Z")
> [@JSexton](#): > > But they explained that! She said she dumped him because it seemed like he didn’t care about her. Afterwards, he showed her that he did, albeit in a somewhat offputting way. It made her open to putting things back together, if he can continue to be open but in a more healthy way. Yeah, but they also made it sound as though his calls were a semi-regular event and she wasn’t picking up the phone for any of those. My willing suspension of disbelief is \*shot! \* ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-girl/597029/32 "2011-09-21T18:25:39Z")
ZD is incredibly beautiful. But the character is too damned annoying. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-girl/597029/33 "2011-09-21T18:38:20Z")
I’m sort of pre-disposed to like ZD for piggish reasons, but IMHO she is pretty hit or miss as an actress. I think she works okay if properly cast, but she doesn’t have much range. Which is fine, as long as the part is tailored to her limitations. Which one would think this one actually is. But I tuned out after ~15 minutes, because I agree the show was really trying to hard. ZD had the quirky-adorable cranked up to 11 and I found it kinda tiring. The roommates weren’t really much better. Dunno if it is the direction, the writing or just awkward pilotitis, but I don’t think I’ll revisit it unless the word of mouth indicates an upward trend in quality. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-girl/597029/34 "2011-09-21T18:42:16Z")
> [@Antinor01](#): > > He takes it off regularly? I may have to watch. I wasn’t really interested since ZD has never been able to act worth a damn in anything Ive seen her in. Don’t get your hopes up. The guy whips off his shirt (at least twice but I think it was three times - in a 1/2 hour show) and then starts acting like a jerk. That’s the joke - he THINKS he’s hot and smooth, then his friends tell him he’s being a douchebag. And Zooey doesn’t have to act. She just IS perfectly cute and adorable. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-girl/597029/35 "2011-09-21T19:12:38Z")
I think my favorite part was when Jess was crying and Coach, trying to help, went up to her and said, in a firm voice, “Stop it. Just stop it.” And it didn’t work. I laughed because that’s the tact I would have tried. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-girl/597029/36 "2011-09-21T20:58:52Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I do love Zooey Deschanel, and the show was a pleasant surprise. It was funny, but also sweet. And they gave her a chance to sing! And not about Cotton[sup]TM[/sup]! ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-girl/597029/37 "2011-09-21T22:00:40Z")
No prior ZD exposure, saw the ads for the show but didn’t pay enough attention to notice that it was on Fox and followed Raising Hope which I still kind of like. Ended up watching and enjoyed it. Loved ZD and the goofy quirky thing totally worked for me. I’m crushing on her a little now. She looked quite enticing for her date. The negative for me was the over the top-ness of the three guys, but as mentioned, you have to cram a lot into the pilot so I’ll watch it until RH gets so bad I don’t go out of my way to catch either show. ---
**Author:** ![mariposalabrown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ad7895/32.png) [@mariposalabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mariposalabrown)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-girl/597029/38 "2011-09-21T22:18:18Z")
I have gone from having the biggest girlcrush to finding her annoying. After watching this, I can’t stand her. I am so over her shtick, but I might watch it on mute so I can still check out her adorable wardrobe. I also wish she would stop with the singing. I liked it in Elf, but after her band and the Cotton commercial it’s just all too much, too twee. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-girl/597029/39 "2011-09-21T23:29:53Z")
I have thought that Zooey was adorable ever since _Elf_. But I thought the show was pretty bland. Anything at all that might have been funny was given away in the promos. I’ll give it a few more shots, but right now I’m underwhelmed. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-girl/597029/40 "2011-09-21T23:40:37Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > And not about Cotton[sup]TM[/sup]! I refuse to sit by and watch you talk trash about the Fabric Of Our Lives (R)™(:mad:) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-girl/597029.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-girl/597029.md?page=3)