Explore every episode of Who's That Girl? A 'New Girl' Podcast
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Pub. Date
Title
Duration
06 Jun 2022
S3 E6 - Keaton
01:00:03
This podcast covers New Girl Season 3, Episode 6, Keaton, which originally aired on October 22, 2013 and was written by Dave Finkel & Brett Baer and directed by David Katzenberg.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Jess needs Schmidt to be out of the apartment for a party she’s throwing but he’s in a slump so she takes matters into her own hands and brings out Schmidt’s old friend - Michael Keaton.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Michael Keaton in Batman / Batman Characters - Michael Keaton was referenced many times in the episode. We found out that Schmidt thought he was sharing his problems with his favorite childhood actor, Michael Keaton, from his title role in the 1989 Batman. In reality he was sharing with Nick, who sometimes included references to other Batman characters. Later in the episode, Jess dresses up as Michael Keaton as Batman so Schmidt could “meet” him.
The Truman Show - When Nick and Jess equated Schmidt’s Michael Keaton situation to The Truman Show, Winston says he loves the movie, but it’s clear he had never seen the movie. We also reference a Vanity Fair article on the 20th anniversary of The Truman Show.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Michael Keaton Movies - In addition to the 1989 Batman, the episode also makes reference to Multiplicity and Clean and Sober, two other movies starring Michael Keaton.
Multiplicity - Multiplicity is a 1996 Sci-Fi comedy starring Michael Keaton as the main character, Doug Kinney who clones himself to keep up with his demanding life.
Clean and Sober - Clean and Sober is a 1988 drama starring Michael Keaton as a hotshot real estate salesman who has a bad cocaine habit and after committing crimes, hides from the police by checking into rehab.
[Ernest] Hemingway - Nick shared he’s a simple story teller, “like Hemingway”. Ernest Hemingway was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. We previously reviewed Ernest Hemingway in S2E9 (Cabin) of our podcast.
Joey Ramone / Ramona Quimby - Jess’s Halloween costume was a blend of Joey Ramone and Ramona Quimby. Jeffrey Ross Hyman, known professionally as Joey Ramone, was an American musician who was the lead vocalist for the punk rock band Ramones. His image, voice, and tenure as frontman of the Ramones made him a countercultural icon. Notably, the sunglasses and leather jacket in Jess’s costume was inspired by Joey Ramone. Ramona Geraldine Quimby is a fictional character in an eponymous series by Beverly Cleary, that concentrates on Ramona from nursery school to 4th grade, touching on social issues about growing up in middle-class America. Jess’s hairstyle in her costume was similar to how Ramona is depicted.
David Letterman / New York Knicks - Winston dressed as David Letterman for Halloween and jokingly introduced himself as his character by saying, “And now the man who once played center for the New York Knicks in the nude, David Letterman!” David Michael Letterman is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is most notable for hosting late night television talk shows for 33 years. The New York Knickerbockers, known as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan.
Maya Angelou - Schmidt thought Winston looked like he was dressed as Maya Angelou, not David Letterman. Maya Angelou was an American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist, who published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years.
Billy Joel - Schmidt announces “In the famous words of singer-songwriter Billy Joel…[He’s] I'm moving out.” William Martin Joel is an American singer, pianist, composer and songwriter, who has led a commercially successful career as a solo artist since the 1970s, having released 13 albums. The song Schmidt references is "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)", which details the singer's disgust with the upward aspirations of working- and lower-middle-class New Yorkers who take pride in working long hours to afford the outward signs of having "made it".
For our “Most Likely To” segment this episode, we discuss who would be more likely to have a punny halloween costume, find out that your friends are fooling you and prank them back, get freaked out by a haunted apartment, and pretend to know a famous movie even when you haven’t watched it. We also cover Schmidt seeing Jess dressed up as Batman as our “Schmidtism”. For “Not in the 2020s” we discuss the continuing fat shaming comments that Nick made about Schmidt when discussing flashback scenes. However, in the “Yes in the 2020s” we love to see how Nick opened up about being Michael Keaton and also how he supported Schmidt by doing it in the first place. We also give a brief look into Emerson Min (Trick-or-Treater) and Samuel Gilbert (Young Schmidt), the guest stars we feature in this episode.
We also share how while Jess can’t say “batmobile” correctly in this episode, she does say it correctly in S1E22 Tomatoes, when she’s in Russell’s car and how we get to see the fake bricks of the set when the broom that Schmidt hurls sticks in the wall. Another thing we found really interesting was this trailer for the episode which had content from the episode that didn’t make the final episode! This episode, we did find the bear which was something Nick showed as he was getting into the Michael Keaton character.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Obama - When Schmidt is still spiraling, he starts talking to President Obama on the television screen. Barack Obama was the 44th President of the United States of America, elected in 2008. He was the President in office at the time of this episode’s airing.
Nelson Mandela & “Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it" - When Nick is writing back as Michael Keaton, he uses this quote by Nelson Mandela in his email to Schmidt. This quote continues to say “The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear”. Nelson Mandela was a South African revolutionary and political leader who fought against apartheid and was the first President of South Africa.
Civil War - When Winston pretends to know the plot of the movie The Truman Show, he says that it’s about the Civil War. The American Civil War was fought in the United States between the Union and Confederacy (states who wanted to secede) around the expansion of slavery in the 1860s.
This episode got an 8.5/10 rating from both Kritika and Kelly; Kritika’s favorite character was Nick and Kelly’s favorite was Schmidt.
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 7!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 1, Episode 22, which originally aired on April 24, 2012 and was directed by Michael Spiller and written by David Walpert & Kim Rosenstock.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Jess sees Russell’s ex-wife, Ouli, at the gym and invites her to dinner with Russell. The dinner is weird and Jess looks for more passion in her relationship with Russell, which ultimately leads to their breakup. Through a date with Cece’s roommate, Nadia, Schmidt and Cece own up to the feelings they have for each other despite Schmidt’s broken penis. All while Nick has sworn off women to instead grow….tomatoes.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Freeze Frame + The Breakfast Club Fist Pump - In the opening scene Nick is proud of his commitment to grow tomatoes and first jumps up in the air yelling “freeze frame” followed by him throwing his fist in the air similar to the scene from The Breakfast Club.
Cheap Trick / “Surrender” - When Jess is trying to calm the disputes between Russell and Ouli, she sings the song “Surrender” by the band Cheap Trick. She also sang this song as a child when she was trying to stop her parents from fighting.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
"Thriller” Video - Winston says that Nick looks like one of the guys who crawls out of the grave in the “Thriller” video when he’s setting up his scarecrow. The “Thriller” video is the music video for a Michael Jackson song released in 1983 that references a number of horror films and has imagery of zombies climbing out of graves in it.
Batmobile - When Russell is dropping Jess off at her apartment she mentions that the Batmobile doesn’t even have as many buttons as his car. This is a reference to the famous car that the fictional superhero Batman drives. It is known to have had many gadgets built in. While typically only characters are eligible for copyrights, the Batmobile is also copyrighted by DC Comics.
The Tree of Life - Schmidt mentions that while having sex with Nadia he finally understands what the movie The Tree of Life was about. This movie is centered around finding the meaning of life from the perspective of a middle-aged man’s childhood memories mixed with imagery of the beginning of the known universe and planet.
Bernadette Peters - In the final scene, Winston tries to mess with Schmidt by naming things that Schmidt finds attractive and he mentions the actress Bernadette Peters. Bernadette Peters is an American actress who has been in musical theater, TV, film, performed in solo concerts and released recordings over her five decade long career.
When Nick is stuffing his scarecrow into the trash, Winston compares it to if Martin Scorsese had a version of Wizard of Oz.
Martin Scorsese - Martin Scorsese is an American film director who is widely regarded as one of the most significant directors in film history. His works are also known for their depiction of violence and use of profanity liberally, giving them darker themes.
The Wizard of Oz - The Wizard of Oz is a book that was remade into many forms of media including into the musical Wicked mentioned on an earlier podcast. One of the main characters in the story is a scarecrow that is looking for its brain.
When Schmidt and Nadia are on their date, Schmidt asks Nadia what she “likes about America”. Nadia responds with a list of things including:
Despicable Me - Despicable Me is a 2010 movie about a criminal mastermind who uses a family of orphaned girls to try and execute his schemes. It spawned 3 sequels and 2 prequels of which two are still in development.
Tosh 2.0 - Tosh 2.0 is an American television show that aired on Comedy Central from 2009-2020 hosted by comedian Daniel Tosh. The show has a controversial tone and discusses topics like viral videos, pop culture, and celebrities.
Connect Four - Connect Four is a classic board game focused on connecting four checkers in a row while preventing your opponent from doing the same.
David Fincher - David Andrew Leo Fincher is an American film director. Known for his psychological thrillers, such as Fight Club, The Social Network, and Gone Girl, his films have received thirty nominations at the Academy Awards including two for Best Director.
1-800-SLIM - While 1-800-SLIM is not a real phone number, this is a play on 1-800-GET-THIN. 1-800-GET-THIN was an American marketing company that you could call to buy weight-loss products.
"Your Mama” Jokes - A “Your Mama” Joke is an insult targeted towards one’s mother. While the jokes are controversial, they gained prominence during the 1990s and early 2000s.
Wilmer Valderrama - Wilmer Eduardo Valderrama is an American actor, producer, singer, and television personality. He is known for his role as Fez in That '70s Show and as Carlos Madrigal in FromDusk till Dawn: The Series.
“Mick Mouse” / Mickey Mouse - Mickey Mouse is a cartoon mouse created in 1928. Mickey serves as the mascot of the Walt Disney Company.
We also cover the Mick Mouse scene between Schmidt and Nadia as our “Schmidtism” this week. For “Not in 2020” on this episode we discuss the treatment of Nadia as a foreigner by all the characters and writers. We also explore the careers of Jeanne Tripplehorn and Rebecca Ballantine Reid, the guest stars of this episode.
This episode got an 8/10 Rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Nick and Kelly rated this episode a 7.5/10 and her favorite character was Winston!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 23!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 4, Episode 6, Background Check, which originally aired on November 4, 2014 and was written by Rebecca Addelman and directed by Lorene Scafaria.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Winston has to pass his background check for the police academy and wants his friends’ support…but…Jess gets worried because she has a secret!
This episode got a 9/10 rating from both Kritika and Kelly and we both had the same favorite character: Nick!
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Boys & Girls Club - Coach made up that Winston has a “little brother” as part of the Boys & Girls Club volunteer program.
Ray - Jess shared the only “drug” movie she’s seen was the movie Ray, which Cece points out does not count.
Mark-Paul Gosselaar / Slater and Screech - Schmidt is telling Cece she shouldn’t be with a normal guy, when Cece shared she was dating Mark-Paul Gosselaar. This caused Schmidt to freak out and ask if he could come to the wedding and then he wondered if “Slater and Screech are gonna be there”.
In the podcast, we mentioned this link of a list of funny moments from this episode that we wanted to share with you!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 7!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 1, Episode 3, Wedding, which originally aired on October 4, 2011 and was written by Donick Cary and directed by Jason Winer.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
The episode starts off with Nick and Schmidt getting Jess dressed to pretend to be Nick’s girlfriend at the wedding of one of their friends. Winston’s the usher and gets into a fight with an 8 year old while Jess does so great at pretending to be Nick’s girlfriend that he uses Caroline’s jealousy to try and get back with her. Schmidt spends the episode pretending to be sober to hook up with someone he has liked since college but it doesn’t pan out. Eventually Nick finds out that Caroline has a boyfriend and gets really drunk but Jess convinces him to move on and they dance it out.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Simon & Garfunkel - Schmidt says to Jess in reference to Nick, “Have you ever seen a grown man cry to Simon & Garfunkel?”
Chicken Dance - Jess shares with Nick and Schmidt that she has her own move in the Chicken Dance, to bob her head instead of clapping her hands, because “it’s more realistic.” Jess and the guys also dance the Chicken Dance on their own to a Phil Collins song at the end of the episode at the wedding.
We also cover a “Schmidtism” when Schmidt is telling Jess what people should think when they looked at her in this wedding. For “Not in 2020” on this episode we discuss “Fat Schmidt” and how Schmidt thinks he should “deserve someone like Brooke” and how he wanted to “sit Indian style” with her. We also talk about how the guys tell Jess to “Suppress the Jess”, the little kid who wouldn’t take no for an answer leading to a Jess sandwich and how everyone should be able to cry listening to whatever music they want. We also explore the careers of Katie Cassidy and Natasha Lyonne, the guest stars of this episode.
This episode got a 6/10 Rating from Kritika and 7.5/10 from Kelly and we both had the same favorite character: Jess!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 3, Episode 7, Coach, which originally aired on November 5, 2013 and was written by David Feeney and directed by Russ T. Alsobrook.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Coach moves back into the loft after a breakup and chaos ensues when the guys go to a strip club. Meanwhile, Jess is testing the limits with Nick.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
“Shirley Temple Grandin” - At the bar, Artie smells Jess’s drink to order her another and we learn Jess calls her cocktail a “Shirley Temple Grandin”.
Raiders of the Lost Ark - Nick and Schmidt make a couple references to the Indiana Jones movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark when they were lightly arguing with each other throughout the episode.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
“Rock You Like a Hurricane” - Scorpions - When remembering old times with Coach, the guys flash back to drunk singing “Rock You Like a Hurricane” at a wedding. "Rock You Like a Hurricane" is considered the German rock band Scorpions' signature song, which was released in 1984 as the lead single from the band’s ninth studio album, Love at First Sting.
The Notorious B.I.G. / Maggie Gyllenhaal - When Nick brings up Jess at the Strip Club, Coach refers to her as “the Notorious N-A-G” and “Naggie” Gyllenhaal to indicate she was nagging him. Christopher George Latore Wallace, who is better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or Biggie, was an American rapper and songwriter, widely considered one of the greatest rappers of all time. Margalit "Maggie" Ruth Gyllenhaal is an American actress and filmmaker.
Jay Cutler - Jess was apologizing for having Artie in her bed and said the situation would be like her spray-painting "Jay Cutler Sucks" on the wall. Jay Cutler was the quarterback for the Chicago Bears NFL team from 2009–2016. Nick would find this horrible because he loves the Chicago Bears. We also share more about Jay Cutler in S2E5 (Models).
In this episode’s Most Likely To we discuss who would accidentally take out a lot of money from a specialized ATM, think a phone number is sexy, hide their feelings until they burst, and get in a silly drunk fight. We also cover a “Schmiditsm” of Nick and Schmidt fighting in the car. For “Not in the 2020s” we highlight a lot of the way Coach spoke and Artie refusing to leave Jess’s bed. In our “Yes in the 2020s” we cover how Coach is in touch with his emotions and Cece realizing she was projecting onto Jess and then supporting her. We also give a brief look into Taye Diggs (Artie), the Guest Star we feature in this episode.
We also share some of the news from the time the episode released about Damon Wayans Jr. returning as Coach and how “mah-gaa-leesh” doesn’t appear to be a real word. The only bear we found in this episode was the reference to Jay Cutler.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
In a flashback, we see how Jess and Coach shared a moment when Seal Team Six caught Bin Laden.
Seal Team Six - The Naval Special Warfare Development Group is the full official name for the United States Navy component of the Joint Special Operations Command. Most information about the group and their missions are classified.
Bin Laden - Osama bin Laden was a founder of the Pan-Islamic militant organization al-Qaeda who were a terrorist group responsible for the September 11th attacks in the United States.
This episode got a 6/10 rating from Kritika and 7/10 from Kelly and we both had the same favorite character: Nick!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 8!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 4, Episode 15, The Crawl, which originally aired on February 10, 2015 and was written by Kim Rosenstock and directed by Jay Chandrasekhar.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
After his breakup with Kai, Nick wants to complete a bar crawl with all his friends… on Valentine’s Day. All had other plans – Jess with Ryan, Schmidt with Fawn, and Winston on call for work – but they all end up going to the Bar Crawl.
This episode got a 8.5/10 rating from Kritika and 9.5/10 from Kelly and we both had the same favorite character: Winston!
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Elijah Wood - When sharing a job option for Ryan, Winston shared that he heard “Elijah Wood's looking for a stunt double.”
[E.L. Fudge Keebler Cookies] - This reference was by Winston about Ryan saying, “Get back in that tree and make me some cookies”, which resembles how the mascots on the Keebler cookies make the cookies.
Krumping - Schmidt noted that he “even krumped at that anti-gang initiative” for Dawn.
The Walking Dead - Nick shared that sometimes Jess didn’t hear him with all her hair, like when she didn’t respond after asking her what she thought about his “Walking Dead fanfiction”
The Temptations - “My Girl" - The tune of this song was sang by Winston and Nick during the karaoke bar, but instead of “My Girl” they sang “Bar Crawl”.
The Wright Brothers - Winston thought sparks were “flying like the Wright Brothers” between Cece and Schmidt.
Tom Colicchio - The bartender Mike thought Nick wasn’t going to make it to the last bar on the bar crawl and that he himself would never ride a jet ski with Tom Colicchio.
Mary Poppins - Schmidt said Winston is like a Black Mary Poppins.
Additionally we mentioned in our podcast episode a site with some notes by Cathy Guise, the creator of the comic Strip “Cathy”.
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 16!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 3, Episode 23, Cruise, which originally aired on May 6, 2014 and was directed by Elizabeth Meriwether and written by Luvh Rakhe and Rob Rosell.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
The loft goes on a cruise together while Nick and Jess continue to deal with the awkwardness of their break up.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
“Shame, shame I know your name” / The Goonies - Winston said the phrase “Shame, shame I know your name” to Schmidt and Cece at different times in the episode, calling them out for liking the other. We also shared that Josh Gad reunited the cast of The Goonies in his Reunited Apart series on YouTube.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
“Amazing Grace” - When Coach is scared during the cruise safety training, the trainer, Doug, starts singing “Amazing Grace”, which is a Christian hymn published in 1779. Words for the song were originally written by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton. In the United States, the song is very popular and is used for both religious and secular purposes.
On this episode’s Most Likely To we see who is more likely to make the most of the money they’ve already spent, make their own rosé, plan an intervention for their friends, and go on a cruise. We also cover the moment where Schmidt cued up the violinist for his big moment with Cece as our “Schmidtism”. For “Not in the 2020s” we highlight the return of the fat shaming and how Coach felt that if he showed his fear of boats it would make him less of a man. For “Yes in the 2020s” we discuss Schmidt prioritizing Cece over himself and the loft coming together for Nick and Jess. We give a brief look into Kerri Kenney (Captain Jan Nortis) and Oscar Nuñez (Doug), the guest stars we feature in this episode.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Skee-Ball - Nick asks Winston to cash in his Skee-Ball tickets as he didn’t want to go to the other side of the boat. Skee-Ball is an arcade game where a person throws a ball up an incline, with the hopes of getting it into a group of rings of different sizes, which account for different points.
PG-13 - When Nick and Jess were given the Grand Romance Package, they asked to have a PG-13 package instead. PG-13 denotes “Parental Guidance: Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13 to 15.” and is used in the United States, Singapore, Jamaica, the UAE, and Thailand as a movie and TV rating system.
This episode got an 8/10 rating from Kritika and 7.5/10 from Kelly and we both had the same favorite character: Winston!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for our Season 3 Recap!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 3, Episode 21, Big News, which originally aired on April 15, 2014 and was written by Berkeley Johnson and directed by Steven K. Tsuchida.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Winston shares the “Big News” that he passed the LA Police Exam and to celebrate, demands the loft mates throw him a “Honey” Roast. However, it’s also the morning after Jess and Nick break up and while they tried to keep it a secret, so as to not take away from Winston’s accomplishment, they are not successful.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Patrick Swayze / Movies He Stars In - In this episode, Nick and Jess have a couple conversations mentioning Patrick Swayze movies, including:
Chumbawamba / Tubthumping - When Cece is studying at the bar, Schmidt said it wasn’t a great place to study because Chumbawamba was playing and it wasn’t even "Tubthumping.” Chumbawamba were a British rock band formed in 1982 and disbanded in 2012. They are best known for their 1997 single "Tubthumping", which was nominated for Best British Single at the 1998 Brit Awards. “Tubthumping” is the band's most successful single and topped the charts in many countries. The band had said “The song is about us – as a class and as a band. The beauty of it was we had no idea how big it would be.”
Whoopi Goldberg - When talking about the Patrick Swayze movies, Nick asks which one is Whoopi in. Caryn Elaine Johnson, known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg, is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality. She has acted in over 150 films receiving two Academy Award nominations, for The Color Purple and Ghost, winning for Ghost. She has also won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony, making her an “EGOT”, and she has received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
Superman - Jess was in the closet when Nick got up in the morning and she said she was changing in there like Superman. Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics and has been adapted to a number of other media productions, including radio serials, novels, films, television shows, theater productions, and video games. To protect his personal life, Superman changes into a colorful costume in private and uses the alias "Superman" when fighting crime.
"Bad Boys" - When Winston was celebrating getting into the LAPD, he was singing “Bad Boys”, which is a 1987 song by the Jamaican reggae band Inner Circle. The song is known as the opening theme to the American TV show COPS and the theme song of the Bad Boys franchise.
COPS - When celebrating Winston, Coach shared that his uncle was on COPS, which is an American television documentary reality television series. It is one of the longest-running television shows in the United States.
[James and the Giant Peach] - After chanting and holding hands, Jess said “Should we all try to live inside a peach or is that weird?” James and the Giant Peach is a popular children's novel written in 1961 by British author Roald Dahl. The plot centers on a young English orphan boy who enters a gigantic, magical peach, and has a wild and surreal cross-world adventure with seven magically altered garden bugs he meets.
CeeLo [Green] - Winston asked for a “prominent chair” and when Nick tries to clarify if he wanted a “throne”, Winston said he’s not “CeeLo”. Thomas DeCarlo Callaway - Burton, known professionally as CeeLo Green, is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor known for his work in hip hop and R&B, including the Gnarls Barkley single "Crazy" and his solo single "F*** You". From 2011 to 2013, Green was a judge and coach on the American reality television singing competition The Voice, appearing on four of its seasons.
For our “Most Likely To” segment we discuss who is more likely to have a cat costume (or 4) laying around, keep a secret to let your friend have a moment, not know geography, and help someone study for their GED. We also cover Schmidt’s entrance to the loft for the honey roast as our “Schmidtism” this episode. For “Not in the 2020s” we chat about how Coach was only okay with holding hands as long as there were women involved. Our “Yes in the 2020s” include the honey roast for Winston and the loftmates not judging the Nick & Jess breakup. We did not dive into any new guest stars this episode.
Also in this episode were the following guest stars who we do not discuss in the podcast: Jamie Lee Curtis (Joan - Previously Discussed in S2E8) and Ralph Ahn (Tran - Previously Discussed in S2E7).
On the podcast, we also mention how this episode came out 4 months before the movie Let’s Be Cops which starred Jake Johnson and Damon Wayans Jr. and we both found the bear since “Teddy Bears buy Winstons for their kids”.
This episode got a 7/10 rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Cece and Kelly rated this episode an 8/10 and her favorite character was Jess!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 22!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 2, Episode 2, Katie, which originally aired on September 25, 2012 and was written by Elizabeth Meriwether and directed by Larry Charles.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Jess is still spiraling after losing her job, so Nick suggests that Jess go off the grid. She takes advantage of that when she pretends to be Katie, the date of Sam who enters their bar looking for the girl he’s been talking to online. Schmidt spends the entire episode trying to get Winston’s sister to sleep with him and Nick thinks he may have met his future self.
We discuss these Pop Culture References:
Jess and Nick pondered together who they aspired to be when they would watch MTV growing up.
Jenny McCarthy - Jess wanted to be the actress and show host Jenny McCarthy.
Kurt Loder - Nick wanted to be the music journalist Kurt Loder.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Shaq Attack - Schmidt told Winston his sister is so hot he’ll have to “Shaq Attack” her. Shaq Attack is the phrase fans used when the professional basketball player, Shaquille O’Neal, would show-off in basketball.
Nick mentions that Kurt Loder never went to [MTV’s] Spring Break house because he was busy interviewing Pearl Jam.
MTV Spring Break House - From 1987 to the mid-2010s, MTV would host “spring break” parties, typically at houses MTV would rent, featuring numerous live performances from artists in beach towns.
Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam is an American Rock Band from Seattle, Washington that furthered the alternative grunge music sound.
The Nutty Professor - When Jess shares she wants to remain as Katie, she’s warned about the cautionary tale called The Nutty Professor. The Nutty Professor is a 1996 American slapstick science-fiction comedy film starring Eddie Murphy, who portrays a morbidly obese professor, Sherman Klump, that develops an experimental weight-loss drug and tests it upon himself, hoping to win the affection of the girl of his dreams.
Tyra Banks - Schmidt comments there’s “a lot of money he wants to deposit into [Alisha’s] Tyra Banks.” Tyra Banks is an American television personality, model, businesswoman, producer, actress, and writer, known for hosting the TV shows America’s Next Top Model and recently, Dancing with the Stars.
L.A. Sparks - Winston’s sister played for the L.A. Sparks basketball team. Unlike Winston’s Latvian basketball team, the Los Angeles Sparks are a real American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California.
Creed - Sam says he’s been to 48 Creed shows. Creed is an American rock band from Tallahassee, Florida and is often recognized as one of the prominent bands of the post-grunge movement that began in the mid-1990s.
When Schmidt is thinking about time traveling, he talks about having a vision of himself meeting with Kanye & Beyoncé.
Kanye - Kanye West is an American rapper, record producer, fashion designer, and politician. We dive even deeper to Kanye West in Episode 3 of the podcast!
Beyoncé - Beyoncé is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer from Houston, Texas. Beyoncé was also mentioned in Episode 20, Normal, when Napoli wanted his milkshakes Beyoncé colored.
Big Momma's House- When Winston’s Mom, Charmaine, comes in, Schmidt comments “it just became Big Momma’s House.” Big Momma's House is a 2000 American comedy film, starring Martin Lawrence as an FBI agent who is tasked with tracking down an escaped convict by going undercover as the estranged grandmother of their former girlfriend, unaware of the bond he will form with her.
Leg Warmers - When Nick and Schmidt pretend to be dancers, they joke about wearing Leg Warmers. Leg Warmers are coverings for the lower legs and are often used as dancewear in order to keep the leg muscles warm and prevent cramping.
Public Enemy’s “He Got Game” - At the end of the episode when Schmidt was playing basketball with Alisha, this song played. “He Got Game” is both a song and the sixth studio album by American hip hop group Public Enemy. It was originally released as the soundtrack to Spike Lee's 1998 film of the same name and was the group's last album until 2020.
Cupid Match - “Cupid Match” is the online dating site Sam claims to have met Katie. While Cupid Match is not real, it’s a mix of OK Cupid and Match.
We also cover when Schmidt and Nick discuss Nick’s future self as the “Schmidtism” of the episode. Our “not” for “In the 2020s” was how Schmidt handled being around Winston’s family but our “yes in the 2020s” was the friendship between Nick and Jess and how he leapt around the loft to help her sell the lie that she was Katie. We also explore the careers of Josh Braaten, Josh Gad, and Raymond J. Barry, the guest stars of this episode.
Also in this episode were the following guest stars who we do not discuss in the podcast: Anna Maria Horsford (Charmaine, Winston’s mom), Keenyah Hill (Alisha, Winston’s sister), and David Walton (Sam, who we dive into deeper in Episode 3!)
We discussed fun facts including how at Paleyfest 2013 it was noted that Emily Deschanel, Zooey Deschanel’s sister, was originally supposed to have a cameo as Katie in this episode. We also discuss how Winston’s whistle at the restaurant matches the whistle at the end of the theme song and how Lamorne Morris recently admitted to being the whistler on Instagram. Additionally, while their names aren’t spelled the same, we commented how Katy Perry’s new music video was a spoof on the fact that she used to pretend to be Zooey when she first came to Hollywood to get into clubs. Lastly, in our spoiler section, we also mentioned a Reddit post covering Future Nick’s predictions.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Catnip - Schmidt compares himself to catnip for tough-talking African-American women when speaking to Winston about his mom. Catnip is a plant that is known for the intense attraction that most cats have towards it. It is also popular to be used in herbal teas and valued for its relaxing properties.
Phone Booth (Book) - When Bearclaw introduces himself he says that he’s in the phone booth but he meant to say he’s in the phone book. A phone book is a listing of all residents of a certain area with the names of the owners and addresses which would allow users to search a person’s number and address. A phone booth is a cubicle with a payphone in it that allows a user to pay to use the phone.
When Nick talks about a world where time travel exists, Schmidt lists the following women [that he would want to sleep with]:
Marie Antoinette - Marie Antoinette was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was married at the age of 14 to Louis-Auguste, the heir-apparent of the French throne but was very unpopular with her French subjects. She was blamed for France’s financial crisis due to her lavish spending and opposition to reforms. She was known to be a good singer and dancer in addition to being beautiful.
Cleopatra - Cleopatra was the last active ruler and queen of the Egyptian Ptolemaic Kingdom. She was Alexander the Great’s companion and was the seventh of her name. Her legacy survives today in ancient and modern works of art and she has become a pop culture of Egyptomania.
Ann-Margret - Ann-Margret Olsson is a Swedish-American actress, singer, and dancer. She’s won 5 Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy over her 6 decades in the industry. Initially known as the female version of Elvis Presely, she started to see success in 1961 with a charting album in 1964. In 1995, Empire ranked her 10th on the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history list.
Off the Grid - Nick encourages Jess to go “off the grid” in this episode and this is a reference to being untraceable by normal means, such as technology.
Old-fashioned - In this episode, Future Nick suggests that Nick make Jess an old-fashioned and say sorry for something he does in the future. This is a cocktail made with bourbon, bitters, and sugar.
When Schmidt goes to talk to Winston about his sister he uses the following basketball references:
dribbling up the court - Dribbling is an action where a player uses one hand to continuously bounce a basketball without interruption. Traditionally the phrase that is used to refer to dribbling is dribbling down the court not up the court.
Technical foul - A technical foul is a penalty given for either unsportsmanlike conduct or other infractions, like excessive timeouts, a delay-of-game, and when there are more players on the court than there should be.
Illegal use of the hands - An illegal hand use in basketball is called when a player uses their hands in ways that are not part of the game such as attempting to block a shot, when an opponent drives to the hoop, or when a player puts their arms around another player.
“knows how the sausage gets made” - When Jess is talking about how much she loves being Katie, she says that “Katie knows how the sausage gets made.” Sausage is typically made with pork, beef, veal, or poultry but can be made from any animal and can contain almost any part of the animal. This is an idiom to indicate finding out the process behind something that is typically unpleasant but at face-value appears good.
This episode got an 8/10 Rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Nick, and Kelly rated this episode a 9/10 and her favorite character was Bearclaw!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 3!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 2, Episode 13, A Father’s Love, which originally aired on January 15, 2013 and was directed by Jake Kasdan and written by Berkley Johnson and Josh Malmuth.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Nick is surprised when his father shows up for an unexpected visit and Jess finds out that he’s a con man when hilarity ensues at a horse race track. Meanwhile, Schmidt runs into Robby and both try to win Cece back.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Kalinka - When Nick and his dad were being confronted by the Russian horse dealers, the Russians started singing the Russian folk tune, Kalinka.
Chicago Bulls (“Chica Go Bills”) - The hats Walt tried to get Nick and Winston to sell as kids didn’t say “Chicago Bulls”, but instead said “Chica Go Bills”. The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division.
The Music Man - Professor Harold Hill from The Music Man used the scheme of "Fake trombones for a fake band" like Jess references when she learns that Walt is a con man. The Music Man is a 1962 American musical film based on Meredith Willson's 1957 Broadway musical of the same name. The premise is that Harold Hill poses as a boys' band leader to con naïve Iowa townsfolk.
Uncle Buck - When Jess is trying to sell the horse, she exclaims, “Damn it, Uncle Buck! This horse will never race again.” Uncle Buck is a 1989 American comedy film written and directed by John Hughes and starred John Candy as Uncle Buck, a bachelor and all-around-slob who babysits his brother's rebellious teenage daughter and her younger brother and sister.
When Schmidt is bummed he never got Cece to wear a sari for sexual reasons, he spoofed a few movie scenarios in his head:
Monsoon Wedding - Monsoon Wedding is a 2001 Indian comedy-drama film that depicts romantic entanglements during a traditional Punjabi Hindu wedding in Delhi. Although it is set entirely in New Delhi, the film was an international co-production between companies in India, the United States, Italy, France, and Germany.
Slumdog Millionaire - Slumdog Millionaire is a 2008 British drama film that is a loose adaptation of the novel Q & A by Indian author Vikas Swarup, telling the story of 18-year-old Jamal Malik from the Juhu slums of Mumbai reflecting on his life after being accused of cheating on the Indian version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?".
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a 2011 British comedy-drama film based on the novel These Foolish Things by Deborah Moggach, and features a group of British pensioners moving to a retirement hotel in India, run by a young and eager man.
Hilary Swank - Jess says Nick seems like Hilary Swank mixed with a wet dog when he was nervous about lying. Hilary Ann Swank is an American actress and film producer. She began acting in 1992 and came to international recognition in the early 2000s for her performances as Brandon Teena, a trans man, in Kimberly Peirce's Boys Don't Cry, and as Maggie Fitzgerald, an aspiring boxer, in Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby.
When Schmidt and Robby were brainstorming a plan to get Cece back they referenced:
Ocean's Twelve / Brad Pitt - Ocean's Twelve is an American heist comedy film and is the second installment of the Ocean's franchise. William Bradley [Brad] Pitt is an American actor and film producer who received multiple accolades including: two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award for his acting, and another Academy Award, another Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award as a producer.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a 1969 American Western film based loosely on fact, telling the story of Wild West outlaws Robert LeRoy Parker, known as Butch Cassidy, and his partner Harry Longabaugh, the "Sundance Kid" who are two con men on the run. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was selected by the American Film Institute as the 7th-greatest Western of all time in 2008.
We also cover Robby and Schmidt’s conversation about elephants as our “Schmidtism” this episode. For our “not in the 2020s” we discuss Schmidt and Robby crashing Cece’s house, how they exclaimed ‘white guy power’, and their lack of sensitivity for others’ cultures. Our “yes in the 2020s” covers Schmidt and Robby’s friendship. We also give a brief look into Dennis Farina (Walt), Stone Eisenmann (Young Nick), and Jordan Fuller (Young Winston), the guest stars of this episode.
We also discuss how the character Pavun Shetty is played by himself and he was a producer on New Girl, how Nick’s room has a picture of Jimmy Croche in it, and how the glass of orange juice that Schmidt knocks over while stalking Cece is upright when he talks to Robby later.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
(Vice President) Joe Biden - In this episode, Nick mentions that one of the people he’d want to be unpredictable is Vice President Joe Biden. Joseph Biden Jr. was born in 1942 and served as the 47th Vice President of the United States from 2009 to 2017 under President Barack Obama. He was also elected the 46th President of the United States in 2021. Prior to his time as a Vice President he was also the Delaware Senator for 36 years, being sworn in just after he turned 30.
Sari - When Cece is meeting with Pavun’s family, she’s wearing a sari which makes Schmidt upset. A sari is an article of clothing, traditionally from the Indian subcontinent that is wrapped around the waist with one end around the shoulder. There are many styles of wearing the sari and most are worn with a blouse and an under-skirt called a petticoat.
Throughout the episode Schmidt and Robby circled through multiple ideas on how to get Cece back including the following:
Trojan horse - This is a reference to the wooden horse used by the Greeks to enter Troy and win the Trojan War by sneaking inside and destroying the city. Since, it has metaphorically been used to mean any trick that invites the target to invite their enemy into a secure location that they are in.
Buying a Star - Although there are a number of registries that allow you to buy and name a star which results in a certificate with the star’s name, no astronomer or observatory will refer to the star by the name you purchased as this is more of a novelty gift.
United States Navy Ball - The “Naval Officers' Ball” that Robby mentioned is an annual celebratory ball recognizing the birthday of the United States Navy, which was signed into order on October 13, 1775. During the Ball, there is also a keynote speech, dinner and desserts, a cake cutting ceremony, official toasts from high level officers, and even musical performances.
This episode got a 7.5/10 Rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Nick and Kelly rated this episode a 7.5/10 and her favorite character was Jess!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 14!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 2, Episode 3, Fluffer, which originally aired on October 2, 2012 and was directed by Fred Goss and written by J.J. Philbin and Kim Rosenstock.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Jess shares with the loft mates that she’s having non-committal sex with Sam, but realizes she needs more to get in the mood. When Schmidt forces the boys to help, Nick ends up serving as her “Emotional Fluffer”. Meanwhile, Schmidt tries to convince a woman he met at a club that he’s a political candidate’s son, “Tugg Romney”. Winston is struggling in this episode as he and Shelby are in a rut.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Mitt Romney(& Mormonism) - Schmidt pretends to be a son of politician, Mitt Romney who is also of Mormon faith.
Kanye West - Schmidt wears a belt with whales on it that he says Kanye West wore.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
The Walking Dead - Nick mentioned Jess was a “big girl” and could watch The Walking Dead alone. The Walking Dead is an American zombie post-apocalyptic horror television series based on the comic book series of the same name.
[Jimmy] Fallon - Schmidt pretends that if he were to call Kanye West before bed, he would ask him if he was watching Fallon. James (Jimmy) Fallon is an American comedian, actor, television host, singer, writer, and producer, known for his work in television as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and is currently the host of late-night talk show The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
The Notebook - Jess mentions that she and Sam had a bad makeout session and just laid there like the old people in The Notebook.The Notebook is a romantic drama movie based on a book of the same name where an elderly man comforts his wife with dementia and remembers their love story; the elderly couple is often shown as laying together quietly.
Adele - Winston mentions that men and women who are just friends should never do anything concerning Adele. Adele is an English singer and songwriter known for her melodic ballads. She is one of the world’s best-selling music artists with sales of over 120 million records.
Taylor Swift - Cece noticed that Schmidt was going through a “Taylor Swift range of emotions”. Taylor Swift is an American singer and songwriter known for her narrative and emotional lyricism, which often takes inspiration from her personal life. She has won 11 Grammys (3 for Album of the Year) and 23 Billboard music awards.
[Law & Order] SVU - Shelby asks Winston if he wants to come upstairs and watch SVU. SVU is short for Law & Order: SVU, which is a television series following the Special Victims Unit, a specially trained squad of detectives in the N.Y.P.D., who investigate sexually related crimes. This show is a spinoff of Law & Order and has now aired 492 episodes, surpassing the original show which only had 456 episodes.
[Everybody Loves] Raymond - When Winston asks if Shelby’s sure she wants to watch SVU, she mentions she’s too tired to watch Raymond. Raymond is short for the television series, Everybody Loves Raymond, which is a sitcom about the experiences of Ray Barone and his family.
Moonwalking - Nick moonwalks into his room after hearing Jess play the mixtape he made for her. Moonwalking is a dance move in which the dancer glides backwards but their body actions suggest forward motion. It became popular following Michael Jackson's moonwalk during the performance of his song, "Billie Jean”.
Nick’s Sexy Mixtape Songs - Nick provides Jess with a mixtape to play to help get her in the mood. Songs on that mixtape that are either listed or played in the episode are:
"The Humpty Dance" - "The Humpty Dance" is a song by the rap group Digital Underground from their debut album Sex Packets. Released as the second single from the album in January 1990, it reached No. 11 on the pop chart, No. 7 on the R&B chart, and No. 1 on the Billboard Rap Singles chart.
"You Can Call Me Al" - Written by American singer and songwriter Paul Simon, the lyrics to “You Can Call Me Al” follow an individual seemingly experiencing a midlife crisis.
"LAY YOU DOWN" - The song is performed by Spank and is used in many television shows of the 2010s and beyond.
We also cover Schmidt’s description of how he wants to be Kanye’s friend as the “Schmidtism” in this episode. Our “not” for “In the 2020s” was how Schmidt discussed race in this episode when talking to Winston and Cece but our “yes” for “In the 2020s” was how Nick set his own boundaries for his friendship with Jess. Additionally, we also discussed the careers of David Walton (Sam), and Taryn Southern (Megan).
Also in this episode were the following guest stars who we did not discuss in the podcast: Rebecca Delgado Smith (Courtney, one of the Kappas), Anisha Adusumilli (April, another Kappa), and Tarina Pouncy (the waitress).
We also talk about how Nick’s speech to Jess at the restaurant incorporated aspects of the Animaniacs in the way he said “Hello Nurse”. You can watch a clip of the Animaniacs version here and the rebooted version that inverts the gender norms here. We also talk about David Walton’s robes which you can find here.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Olympics - When Schmidt is preparing to pretend to be a Romney, he talks about how the family had a Romney Olympics every summer which he felt would be similar to the real Olympics. The Olympic Games are an international sports competition featuring summer and winter sports where thousands of athletes from around the world compete and represent their countries. They are held every 4 years with either a Summer or Winter Olympics every 2 years.
That’s All She Wrote - When Jess is considering breaking up with Sam because she needs more out of a relationship, she says the phrase “and that’s all she wrote”. This is an American idiom used to indicate when a person’s plan has come to a sudden stop and that there is nothing else to be said about the matter. While the origin of the phrase is unknown, most attribute it to the Dear John letters sent during World War II. There have also been several songs written about this phrase.
This episode got an 8/10 Rating from Kritika and an 8.5/10 from Kelly and we both had the same favorite character: Nick!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 4!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 3, Episode 14, Prince, which originally aired on February 2, 2014 and was directed by Fred Goss and written by David Feeney and Rob Rosell.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
When Jess and Cece get invited to a party at Prince’s house, Nick accidentally drops the L-word while Jess is leaving. Both he and Jess try to figure out what their feelings are, with some help from Prince.
This episode we looked into Prince and focused on these areas:
The party was as close to a real life Prince party, which meant the Kardashians weren’t invited
His Illness and Death
This episode we discuss which one of us is most likely to “fire and ice” their way into a party, say “I love you” first, drop the “L word” unplanned, and go to a celebrity party if we were invited. We also cover Schmidt’s description of Nick’s cargo pants as our “Schmidtism”. We do not have an “In the 2020s” segment this episode and combined our pop culture and guest star section and gave a brief look into the following people who played themselves: Clayton Kershaw, Alessandra Ambrosio, Ana Beatriz Barros, and Lais Ribeiro.
We also discuss the resurface of the Ford product placement and the only bear we could find is when Schmidt lost his “bearings” in the hedges.
This episode got a 9/10 rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Nick and Kelly rated this episode a 10/10 and her favorite character was Prince!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 15!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 3, Episode 17, Sister II, which originally aired on February 25, 2014 and was directed by Bill Purple and written by Ryan Koh and Luvh Rakhe.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Abby has been staying at the loft and driving Jess crazy. Jess hatches a plan to make her sister think that moving out on her own is a good idea, but Nick gets stuck watching her while Jess schemes. Meanwhile, Coach helps Winston work out his nerves about his LAPD test results.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Hurt Locker - Schmidt said “Crazy girls are like [his] Hurt Locker.”
[Danny] Devito / [Arnold] Schwarzenegger / Twins - Schmidt was comparing Jess and Abby’s sibling relationship to that of Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s characters as twins in the movie Twins.
In this episode’s “Most Likely To”, we cover which one of us is most likely to freak out and avoid checking results, not check the back of the form, play sky knives, and be the office troublemaker. We also cover Schmidt figuring out with Nick how to talk Abby off of the car as our “Schmidtism”. For “Not in the 2020s” we discuss how Coach didn’t respect Winston’s boundaries, the way Winston was played off as “dumb”, and his statements like how “women shouldn’t be allowed to handle money”. For “Yes in the 2020s” we cover Coach’s pep talk. We also give a brief look into Rodney To (Manager), the Guest Star of this episode.
We also mention how this is the last time the long version of the theme song is used in the entire show. Neither Kelly nor Kritika found the bear this episode.
This episode got a 7/10 rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Nick and Kelly rated this episode an 8/10 and her favorite character was Coach!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 18!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 1, Episode 9, The 23rd, which originally aired on December 13, 2011 and was written by Donick Cary and directed by Jason Winer.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
It’s almost Christmas and the whole gang is ready to go home to spend it with their families but their last hurrah before they go is always Schmidt’s office holiday party. Paul tells Jess he loves her and she struggles to deal with what that means for their relationship and opens up to Nick about it. Meanwhile Schmidt is subjected to being the “Sexy Santa” at his Christmas party because he’s the only man.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
She & Him - The song “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” by She & Him plays near the end of the episode while the gang is visiting Candy Cane Lane. She & Him is a band composed of Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward.
Cecelia No. 5, play on Chanel No. 5- Schmidt called the perfume he made for Cece “Cecelia No. 5”, which is a riff on the famous perfume “Chanel No. 5”.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Salzburg Festival - Paul gets Jess tickets to the Salzburg Festival for Christmas in Vienna. This is a festival of music and drama that especially highlights works by Mozart.
Lebron [James] - Winston befriends Schmidt’s boss’ son, Elvin, who calls Winston “Lebron”. Lebron James is an American professional basketball player and is considered one of the greatest of all time.
The Temptations - Nick asks Winston if he’s in the Temptations because he’s dressed nicely going to the office party. The Temptations were a well-dressed group from the 1960s and 1970s who released Motown style music.
We also cover “Schmidtisms” when Schmidt is talking to Winston about getting a job and when he explains the makeup of his perfume for Cece, Cecilia #5. For “Not in 2020” we discuss Schmidt’s mother pulling him out of figure skating after she “realized he was a boy” and Schmidt being forced into playing Sexy Santa at work. We also take a look into Stephen Amell, the Guest Star we feature in this episode.
This episode got a 8.5/10 Rating from Kritika whose favorite character is Nick (and Cece) and Kelly rated this episode a 9.5/10 and her favorite character was Nick!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 10!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 4, Episode 16, Oregon, which originally aired on February 17, 2015 and was written by Nina Pedrad and directed by Russ T. Alsobrook.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
It’s Jess’s dad’s wedding so of course the whole loft, including Cece, are headed to Oregon.
This episode got a 6.5/10 rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Nick and Kelly rated this episode an 8/10 and her favorite character was Schmidt!
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
An Affair to Remember - Jess likened her Dad’s wedding to be similar to scenes from the movie An Affair to Remember.
Ryan Gosling - Winston commented that he found actor Ryan Gosling attractive.
Usher / [Justin] Bieber - Schmidt wanted to help Cece with Jake Apex and he was trying to role play with her saying he was Usher and she was Justin Bieber and that Jake Apex was the hot tracks they were going to make together.
[Bill] Cosby - When Joan and Jess were sad over Ryan not coming to Portland, Winston said, “this might not be the right time to say this, you guys, but, uh, should we take a straw poll on this whole Cosby thing?”
Lilith Fair / Method Man - When Jess stormed to her room, Nick came in and asked her how many “Lilith Fairs” did she go to, which Jess corrected to “Liliths Fair”. He also noted that Method Man performed at one.
Kate [Winslet] / Claire [Danes] / Leo[nardo] Dicaprio - Jess shared she felt like she and Ryan were star-crossed lovers, “like Kate and Leo… or... Claire and Leo, or… whatever blonde Leo is taking on boats.”
Jordan Catalano - Jess felt that from 1994 to 2001, the fictional TV character Jordan Catalano was gonna show up and she would need to care for him.
“Ave Maria” / The Muppets / Beaker / Cookie Monster - Jess needed to stall at her Dad’s wedding so she sang "Ave Maria” and then did Muppets impressions including the character Beaker and Cookie Monster.
“Sabotage” - When the acapella group, The Co-Pays, are signing the song “Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys
Detroit Pistons - At Crush Pond, Coach wished for the Detroit Pistons to like him.
Additionally check out our website for pictures of the Keep Portland Weird sign, Lovejoy Fountain, and Mill End Park!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 17!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 3, Episode 15, Exes, which originally aired on February 4, 2014 and was written by Nina Pedrad and directed by Alex Hardcastle.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Nick runs into his ex Caroline and Jess tries to convince him that you can still have a friendship with your ex. Meanwhile Schmidt invites the guys over to his new loft and Schmidt quickly finds that they have both used his place for more than hanging out.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Don Corleone [The Godfather] - Jess wanted Nick to talk to Caroline because she didn’t want to give up the farmer’s market because it made her feel like Don Corleone.
James Bond / Moneypenny - Coach shared that Schmidt was like James Bond due to his apartment and Winston said he’d be the Moneypenny.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Leno and Eubanks - Nick is confirming that Jess and Berkley are friends after seeing each other naked and Jess shares it’s the purest of friendships, “straight Leno and Eubanks”. James “Jay” Leno is an American television host, comedian, and writer. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno from 1992 to 2009. Kevin Eubanks is an American jazz and fusion guitarist and composer. He was the leader of The Tonight Show Band with host Jay Leno from 1995 to 2010.
“Two Step” / Dave Matthews Band - Berkley shared that Jess brushed his hand at a Dave Matthews concert during the band’s song “Two Step”. Dave Matthews Band (also known by the initials DMB) is an American rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1991. "Two Step", a song about a couple celebrating their love, released in January 1997 as the fourth single from their album Crash and has also appeared on many DMB concert live albums.
Noises Off- Schmidt was setting the boundaries with everyone in the apartment and said, “Now, no exits, no entrances, no Noises Off baloney.” Noises Off is a 1982 play by the English playwright Michael Frayn. Each of the three acts of Noises Off contains a performance of the first act of a play within a play, a sex farce called Nothing On.
[Game] of Thrones - When Schmidt is introducing his TV and all the games he could have on he said he could also watch Game of Thrones. Game of Thrones is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire, a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first of which is A Game of Thrones. The show premiered on HBO in the United States on April 17, 2011, and concluded on May 19, 2019, with 73 episodes broadcast over eight seasons.
When Schmidt was reviewing all the sex spots in his loft he shared the following names:
Jumanji - Jumanji is a 1995 American fantasy adventure film. Loosely based on Chris Van Allsburg's picture book of the same name, the film is the first installment of the Jumanji franchise. The 1995 film stars Robin Williams, Kirsten Dunst, David Alan Grier, and Bonnie Hunt. The story centers on a supernatural board game that releases jungle-based hazards upon its players with every turn they take.
Jean-Michel Basquiat - Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the Neo-expressionism movement. Basquiat's art focused on dichotomies such as wealth versus poverty, integration versus segregation, and inner versus outer experience. Since Basquiat's death at the age of 27 from a heroin overdose in 1988, his work has steadily increased in value.
Nia Vardalos - Antonia “Nia” Eugenia Vardalos is a Canadian actress, director, producer and screenwriter. She is best known for starring in and writing the romantic comedy film My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002), which garnered her nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical.
We discuss which one of us is most likely to avoid difficult conversations, overstay your welcome at someone’s house, make a bunch of keys for their friends to their house, and prove your point by any means necessary. We also cover Schmidt inviting the guys over to the loft as our “Schmidtism”. For “Not in the 2020s” we discuss the way Sarah was portrayed at the bar and Caroline being set up as the “crazy ex”. In our “Yes in the 2020s” we talk about how Jess recognized her own privilege and the way Nick interacted with Berkley. We also give a quick look into Adam Brody (Berkley) the guest star we feature in this episode.
We also chat about the goof where it looks like Jess is rubbing Berkley’s shoulder in one scene but not the next and neither of us found the bear this episode.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
When Jess is explaining the timeline of when Nick and her got together to Caroline, she uses these milestones as indicators:
Syria - During 2012 and 2013, the Syrian Civil War gradually escalated in its third phase. It started in 2011 and is still ongoing 12 years later.
London Olympics - London hosted the 2012 Summer Olympics which is an international multi sport event taking place every 4 years. London was the first city to host the modern Olympics 3 times.
Hurricane Sandy - Hurricane Sandy was an extremely destructive hurricane in the Atlantic and the largest thus far. It was a category 3 storm when it made landfall in Cuba. In the United States, it affected 24 states from Florida to Maine.
Poseidon - When Nick is explaining that he’s not friends with his exes, he mentions that he burns them (metaphorically) and gives their ashes to Poseidon. In the Ancient Greek religion, Poseidon was the god of the sea, earthquakes, and horses. He is known as the brother of Zeus, the chief deity of Ancient Greece. .
This episode got an 8/10 rating from both Kritika and Kelly and both had the same favorite character: Nick!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 16!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 4, Episode 11, LAXmas, which originally aired on December 9, 2014 and was written by Matt Fusfeld & Alex Cuthbertson and directed by Trent O’Donnell.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
In this episode, Jess, Nick, Winston, Schmidt, Cece, and Coach are traveling for Christmas despite doubts and setbacks.
This episode got an 8/10 rating from both Kritika and Kelly; Kritika’s favorite character was Schmidt and Kelly’s favorite was Nick.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Santa - The opening play blamed Santa for eating “Gingy’s” arm. Additionally, Jess thought the man at the bar with the white beard was Santa. We talked about Santa for our Pop Culture reference on our podcast in S2 E11 - Santa.
Annie - When Jess is pleading with Barry for plane tickets, Barry says he sarcastically says, “Oh, I didn't know that [it was Christmas]. I thought they just did a black version of Annie for no reason.”
HBO GO - Schmidt proposed to Cece that they should wait in the first-class lounge, “like the other HBO GO subscribers.”
Oprah Winfrey - Barry quoted Oprah Winfrey in this episode, saying: "Greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude."
McDuck - Nick thought Ryan’s family had “McDuck money” based on the picture of his house in England.
Downton Abbey/ Anna and Mr. Bates - When looking at the picture of Ryan’s house the gang asked where the characters from Downton Abbey were and if they had seen the show.
Scrubs- When Jess and Barry were talking at the bar, Barry said meeting his ex-boyfriend’s family over the holidays was worse than the last season of Scrubs.
Billy Joel / "Piano Man" / "Goodnight Saigon" - When Schmidt was recounting to the guy in the lounge that he was from Long Island, and not Manhattan, he exclaimed aspects of Long Island culture, including Billy Joel and some of his songs.
Paul Dano - Barry shared that he thought Paul Dano was on Nick and Winston’s flight where they got first class seats.
Daniel Craig - When Schmidt shared to Cece that the guy in the lounge disrespected something more important to him than “any stupid lounge”, Cece questioned if it was Daniel Craig's tailoring.
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 12!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 2, Episode 15, Cooler, which originally aired on January 29, 2013 and was written by Rebecca Addelman and directed by Max Winkler.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
The guys determine they’re all ready to have sex again and have a night out togther. However, Jess gets paranoid while she’s home alone, and makes the guys come home early. She tries to show them she’s not a “cooler” so they play their second on-screen game of True American, which leads to an exciting predicament for Jess and Nick shippers…
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Abu Nazir (Homeland) - During the game of True American, Schmidt calls out “Abu Nazir” who is a fictional character from the TV Show Homeland.
Inspector Gadget - When trying to get Nick to kiss Jess, they encourage him to inspect her tonsils like Inspector Gadget.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Band of Brothers - When they guys see Holly at the bar, they confirm they’re like the group from Band of Brothers. Band of Brothers is a dramatized account of "Easy Company", assigned to the United States Army's 101st Airborne Division during World War II.
Gang related / Crips - Jess heard the sounds at the door and was worried it was gang related. She was also concerned about her blue curtains and whispered “Crips” when on the phone with Nick. The Crips are a gang based in the coastal regions of southern California whose members traditionally wear blue clothing.
“I am not a crook” - During the True American game the loft calls out “I am not a crook”. Amid charges for the Watergate scandal, President Richard Nixon infamously said, "I am not a crook" during a press conference in Orlando, Florida.
We also cover Schmidt’s dismissal of Shivrang’s “English” accent as our “Schmidtism” this episode as well as give Schmidt’s dancing an honorary Schmidtism. In our “not in the 2020s” section we talk about how Schmidt makes light of Nick being sad. We also discuss how Cece “lying” for Schmidt so he can move on is a “yes in the 2020s” moment as well as how comfortable Sam was in his relationship with Jess. We also explore the careers of Brooklyn Decker (Holly), Sal Stowers (Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Girl), and Andree Vermeulen (Beth), the guest stars of this episode.
Additionally in the podcast we discuss how the beer that the loft is drinking is Heisler beer and mention a few other shows that also use this fake beer brand. We had also previously included links to find “instructions” on how to play True American on S1E20’s show notes which can be found here.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
London Fog - Schmidt refers to Nick as London Fog, telling him he’s “hot to trot”. London Fog is an American coat manufacturer known for making trench coats, raincoats, jackets, and parkas. London Fog was also a nightclub in the 1960 in Los Angeles and is a hot tea-based drink including Earl Grey tea, milk, and vanilla syrup.
401(k) - When Nick is trying to convince Holly that Schmidt is happy he mentions that he has a 401(k) which is an employer-sponsored pension plan where employees can deposit into their retirement funds directly from their paycheck and is sometimes matched by their employers. There are two main kinds including an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) and tax exempt or EET.
Throughout the game of True American, there were many historical and political references such as:
Clinton - Bill Clinton was a former US president who was impeached after lying to a grand jury about his affair with Monica Lewinsky, who was at the time a White House intern.
Joe Biden - Joseph Biden Jr. was born in 1942 and was elected the 46th President of the United States in 2021. Prior to his time as President he was also the Vice President of the United States and the Delaware Senator for 36 years, being sworn in just after he turned 30.
Howard Dean Scream - Howard Dean is a retired American politician who was the Governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003 and is also a physician, author, and lobbyist. When he was a Presidential Candidate in 2004, he lost the Iowa Caucus to John Kerry and while reassuring his supporters listed out the states he would win and screamed “Yeah!” which became popularly known after it was broadcasted over 600 times in the next 4 days.
Hawley-Smoot Tariff - This is a United States tariff in 1930 that was passed to help American farmers by raising taxes on imports by up to 20%. The stock market did not react favorably to its passage and the timing coincides with the start of the Great Depression as the tariff raised prices that led to other countries having retaliatory tariffs on US goods as well.
Mulligan - This is a golf term that means the second attempt after the first one didn’t work. The earliest known use of the term is from 1931 in a daily newspaper in Detroit and most believe that the term came from a golfer with the last name Mulligan.
Iron Curtain - This is the political and military barrier that the Soviet Union created after World War II to keep itself from the Western and non communist countries. Although it had been used sparingly since the 19th century, Winston Churchill, the British prime minister, used the term in a speech in 1946 which solidified the usage of the term.
“Amber Waves of Grain” - This is a lyric from an American patriotic song called “America the Beautiful” which refers to fields in the plains area where wheat (which is golden in color) is grown. The song was written by Katharine Lee Bates in 1893 and was set to music and officially titled “America the Beautiful” in 1910.
Mason-Dixon Line - This was a line separating the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and West Virginia which also was seen as the border between the North and the South during the American Civil War. It originated when Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon surveyed the land in the 1760s to solve a border dispute which had been going on for almost a century.
Gettysburg - This was a battle during the American Civil War fought in July 1863 which is described as the war’s turning point and involved the largest number of casualties in one battle in the entire war. It is also the location where President Lincoln gave his famous speech, the Gettysburg Address.
Bull Run - This battle was the first major battle of the American Civil War in July 1861. This battle caused both sides to realize that this war was going to be much longer and bloodier than anticipated and highlighted many of the problems that were typical during the first year of the American Civil War.
This episode got a 10/10 Rating from both Kritika and Kelly and we both had the same favorite character: Nick!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 16!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 1, Episode 1, Pilot which originally aired on September 20, 2011 and was written by Elizabeth Meriwether and directed by Jake Kasdan.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
The episode starts off with Jess telling someone about why she needs a new apartment and we learn through a flashback that she caught her (now ex) boyfriend cheating on her when she surprised him at their home. The camera pans to three men sitting on a couch: Coach, Schmidt, and Nick. The boys start to argue about whether Jess can move in with Schmidt wanting her to move in since her best friend is a model and Coach not wanting to live with her. Nick is undecided so Schmidt takes an executive decision and Jess moves in. She spends her days crying on the couch watching Dirty Dancing until Schmidt helps her rebound. Jess ends up meeting someone while Schmidt is bugging Nick to message his ex to get them into the “Wild Wild West Party” that they go to every year. Nick caves and texts his ex, Caroline, to get them into the party and the boys meet Cece as Jess is getting ready for her date. The boys go to their party and find out that Jess has been stood up so they go to the restaurant to cheer her up and end up watching Dirty Dancing together.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Dirty Dancing - Jess watches Dirty Dancing after breaking up with Spencer; the movie and its music is a theme throughout the episode.
Lord of the Rings - Jess compares Schmidt guiding her through a rebound journey to Gandalf from Lord of the Rings guiding Frodo through Middle Earth and when Schmidt tells her to throw the Lord of the Rings references into a cave she mentions the character, Smeagol, who lives in a cave in the same movie universe.
We also cover a “Schmidtism” when Schmidt first met Cece, how the Wild Wild West Party and changing yourself to get laid is “Not in 2020” and give a quick look into Jack Yang, the Guest Star we feature in this episode.
This episode got a 7/10 Rating from Kritika and 6/10 from Kelly and we both had the same favorite character: Nick!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 2!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 4, Episode 7, Goldmine, which originally aired on Nov 11, 2014 and was written by Berkley Johnson and directed by Russ T. Alsobrook.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Jess is trying to get to the next level with dating, but learns she needs to follow the guy's advice and lie about living with her ex. Nick pretends to be gay to help her. Cece shares she’s getting a breast reduction consultation and Schmidt processes the five stages of grief. Meanwhile, Coach and Winston pay a visit to the new neighbors but have different methods of how to hook up with them.
This episode got a 7/10 rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Nick and Kelly rated this episode a 7.5/10 and her favorite character was Tina!
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Kool-Aid Man - The guys thought that if Jess shared she lived with her ex, that he would want to run out so quickly that he’d run through the wall like the Kool-Aid Man.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel - Coach shared nothing was less hot than a male secretary, but Winston felt that even though Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s eyes “are so pouchy” he was a male secretary who was “still killing it.”
Peter Pan - When Jess and Cece were looking at Jess’s bras, she mentioned one was called the Peter Pan.
Freaky Friday - Cece was considering getting a breast reduction and was looking at Jess’s bras, prompting Jess to ask “Are we doing, like, a boob Freaky Friday?”
Anderson Cooper - When Nick was pretending to be gay, he referenced Anderson Cooper and his stance on being out.
A Christmas Carol - Jess was proving how she could keep up a charade by reciting her one-woman production of A Christmas Carol.
Sophie’s Choice / Harold & Kumar [Go to White Castle] - When Cece was only going to let Schmidt say goodbye to one of her breasts, Schmidt felt like it was “the ultimate Sophie's Cho-Cho”, referring to the film Sophie’s Choice. He also shared that he had named her breasts “Harold” and “Kumar”, the main characters from the film Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.
[Schindler’s List] - Schmidt ran in to stop Cece from getting a breast reduction surgery (even though it was only a consultation) and felt like he had saved her. He then referenced the film Schindler’s List, saying “I'm your Schindler. One day, your children are gonna put rocks on my grave.”
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 8!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 1, Episode 24, See Ya, which originally aired on May 8, 2012 and was written by Elizabeth Merriweather and directed by Michael Spillar.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Nick is moving out to live with Caroline, but he gets cold feet and drives to the desert instead and throws his keys into a canyon in a moment of nervousness. Jess and Cece drive out to help them but then Jess throws her keys to keep Nick from going back to Caroline. The gang spends a night together in the desert and work through good and tough parts of their friendship.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
While the group was stranded out in the desert, they played Nick’s Mixtape from when he was 14 (1996) and it included the below songs. Nick also played this Mixtape when he returned to the apartment.
When Neil is interviewing to live at the loft, the group mentions he replied to the Craigslist ad with a fax.
Craigslist - Craigslist is an American classified advertisements website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, for sale, items wanted, services, community service, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums.
Fax - A fax is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material (both text and images), normally to a telephone number connected to a printer.
Kindle - In the White Fang scene, Cece calls out that White Fang is the only book on his Kindle. The Kindle is an Amazon e-reader device where users can browse, buy, download, and read e-books, newspapers, magazines and other digital media.
“I like to move in, move in” - When Neil is moving in he sings “I like to move in, move in” which is a play on the 1994 song “I Like to Move It” by Reel 2 Real which peaked at number 89 in the US and number 5 in the UK. It was also used in the Madagascar franchise with the lyrics slightly altered to match the plot of each film and was recorded by different artists.
Pounding the drum of war/Eisenhower - When Schmidt is watching Cece’s shoot he asks if he’s supposed to want to buy a missile, that there was a pounding of the drum of war, and that no one listened to Eisenhower. While not explicitly using those words, this is a reference to Einsehower’s Chance for Peace speech after the death of Soviet dictator Stalin.
Road Runner - Jess meep-meeps at a coyote because that’s how the cartoon character “Road Runner” would have handled the situation. The character makes only this sound recorded by Paul Julian which is actually a “beep, beep” and followed by a “popping-cork” tongue noise. This signature noise was inspired by an imitation of a car horn.
Lastly in Pop Culture, we wanted to provide more info on White Fang! In the famous New Girl scene, Schmidt “white fangs” Cece, trying to let her go to “set her free” and be happy. This moment only happens in the movie as the wolf, White Fang, never leaves in the book but Schmidt puts his own spin on how to “white fang” Cece.
We also cover the White Fang scene as our “Schmidtism” this week. For “Not in 2020” on this episode we briefly discuss Jess continuing to act like she knows best for everyone. We also explore the careers of Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Thomas Lennon, and Matthew Stephen Smith, the guest stars of this episode.
This episode got an 8/10 Rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Nick and Kelly rated this episode a 9/10 and her favorite character was Schmidt!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for our Season 1 Recap in 3 weeks!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 4, Episode 17, Spiderhunt, which originally aired on Feb 24, 2015 and was written by Berkley Johnson and directed by Steve Welch.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Schmidt is having Nick cook for Fawn’s first visit to the loft, but chaos ensues when Schmidt freaks out after a spider is spotted. The whole loft splits up to look for the spider before Fawn arrives. Meanwhile, Cece confides in Winston and eventually Jess that she really likes Schmidt.
This episode got a 9/10 rating from both Kritika and Kelly and we both had the same favorite character: Winston!
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
American Pie - When Schmidt was describing how he first became afraid of spiders, he mentioned that it was 1999 and the movie, American Pie, was “sweeping the nation”.
Beverly Hills, 90210 / Dylan / Brenda / Kelly - When Jess guessed that Cece liked Nick, she said she felt like “Brenda when Kelly dated Dylan” and Winston mentioned that he knew those were characters from the “original 90210”. They also mentioned that Dylan’s nickname was “Peach Pit”.
Andy Cohen / Bethenny [Frankel] / Nene [Leakes] - Nick commented that he was surprised that Jess didn’t want to hear about the popcorn machine because “she’ll listen to Schmidt discussing Andy Cohen discussing Bethenny discussing Nene.”
Ralph Macchio - Coach told Schmidt he couldn’t be on his shoulders because he had already used it on Halloween when they were a ten-foot-tall Ralph Macchio, who is the actor who played the main character in the movie Karate Kid.
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 18!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 2, Episode 5, Models, which originally aired on October 23, 2012 and was written by Josh Malmuth and directed by Eric Appel.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
It’s Cece’s birthday and Jess comes to celebrate but clashes with her model friends. They get in a fight that leaves their boobs sore and also leads to Cece getting drunk and almost missing her modeling gig. Being the amazing friend she is, Jess fills in… This is also the episode where Schmidt buys Nick a cookie.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Clueless - Jess and Cece have a tradition to watch Clueless for Cece’s birthday every year.
Jay Cutler - Nick tells Schmidt the only time a man is allowed to think about another man is when that man is Jay Cutler.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
YOLO - Nadia yells “YOLO” when Jess agrees to go out with Cece and her friends for her birthday. YOLO stands for You Only Live Once and along the same lines as the Latin phrase “carpe diem,” it is a call to live life to its fullest extent, even embracing behavior which carries some risk.
Serena Williams - Nick calls Schmidt Serena Williams because he thought Schmidt was grunting at him. Serena Williams is an American professional tennis player. She has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the second-most of all time. Tennis players often grunt when hitting the ball.
Wilmer Valderrama - After going out for Cece’s birthday, Nadia thought she hooked up with Wilmer Valderrama. Wilmer Eduardo Valderrama is an American actor, producer, singer, and television personality. He is known for his role as Fez in That ’70s Show and as Carlos Madrigal in From Dusk till Dawn: The Series.
“You Make My Dreams” - When Jess tries to model at the Ford car event, the song “You Make My Dreams” by Hall & Oates plays. "You Make My Dreams", sometimes incorrectly referred to as "You Make My Dreams Come True" is from the band’s ninth studio album, Voices. The song reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1981.
Brian Austin Green - In the flashback scene, Schmidt mentions that Brian Austin Green is his favorite rapper. Brian Austin Green is an American actor, rapper, and producer, best known for his portrayal of David Silver on the original television series Beverly Hills, 90210. He is not typically known for his rapping and this was more of a joke for New Girl to make.
"shake what yo mamma gave ya" - When Nadia was trying to convince Cece to go out instead of doing her usual birthday tradition, she said “I shake this thing that my mama gave me”. This phrase means to shake your butt and came from the song “Shake Whatcha Mamma Gave Ye” by Poison Clan released in 1992.
We also cover when Schmidt gave Nick a cookie at the beginning of the episode as the “Schmidtism” this episode. We talk about how the show portrays the models and Jess speaking about all models being “dumb” as our “not in the 2020s” and how Nick was making fun of Schmidt in the flashbacks. Our “yes in the 2020s” was about all the love in this episode with how Winston and Schmidt loved Nick and how Nick reciprocated by the end of the episode with his cookie shaped like a Jewish star. We also give a brief look into Lauren Dair Owens (young Jess) and Ariela Barer (young Cece), the Guest Stars we feature in this episode. Lauren’s youtube page can be found here.
In the podcast, we also discussed Zooey’s recent instagram post about having a forehead and the song “You Make My Dreams'' by Hall and Oates and its significance to 500 Days of Summer. Additionally, we noticed Schmidt continuing to look at his actuarial chart from Episode 4 and anniversary themes by years.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
VHS - When Jess shows up at Cece’s house to celebrate her birthday, she talks about watching Clueless on VHS. VHS stands for Video Home System and was a standard for analog video recording on tape cassettes. Production of the magnetic tape video recording began in the 1950s and it was the primary home video format through the 1980s. In 1996, the DVD format was introduced and VHS production began to decline and by July of 2016, all VHS equipment manufacturing had stopped.
Turtles - Throughout this episode Nick is looking at getting a turtle and he mentions the following types of turtles:
Galapagos Tortoise - This is the largest living species group of 15 very large tortoises. Their lifespans in the wild can be over 100 years old and there has been one tortoise who, in captivity, lived to be at least 175 years old.
Eastern Box Turtle - This is a subspecies of the hinge-shelled turtles and is a land turtle native to the eastern parts of the US. In captivity, their life span can be as short as 3 days.
Spur Thighed Tortoise - This species of tortoise, also known as the Greek tortoise, is one of 5 species of Mediterranean tortoises. Their lifespan is older than 125 years and while not confirmed, there are reports of some living to be 200 years old.
Nearsighted Loner Turtle - While there isn’t a turtle specifically called a “nearsighted loner,” the mata mata freshwater turtle species is a natural loner and has good nearsighted vision. It’s primarily found in South America and in captivity, there have been reports of turtles living 30-35 years but there is not a lot of information about the mata mata’s lifespan in the wild.
Jewish Star - When Nick brings Schmidt a cookie, he says that he couldn’t find one in the shape of a Jewish star and so he broke it into the pieces. This is a reference to the Star of David which is a modern symbol of Jewish identity and Judaism and is a star made up of two equilateral triangles.
Joie de vivre - Schmidt said that Jess has too much “joie de vivre” when Jess is getting ready to go out with Cece and her model friends. This is a French phrase that means to enjoy life. Casual uses of the phrase can be dated back to the late 17th century although it was brought to prominence in the 19th century.
Mama-bird - When Nick says he would be happy if he could throw up the cookie that Schmidt gave him and then feed it to Schmidt, Schmidt asks if Nick was trying to mama-bird him the cookie. This is a reference to how mother birds first digest their food and then feed it to their babies.
This episode got a 7.5/10 rating from Kritika and an 8/10 from Kelly and both had the same favorite character: Nick!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 6!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 3, Episode 2, Nerd, which originally aired on September 24, 2013 and was written by Kay Cannon and directed by Fred Goss.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Jess doesn’t fit in with the teachers at her new school so Nick comes to the rescue! Schmidt spends the episode trying to balance his relationship with Cece and Elizabeth while his coworker Beth tries to sabotage it and Winston watches Daisy’s cat, Ferguson.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Mad Men / Don Draper / Peggy [Olson] / Don Draper’s Office - When Schmidt is showing Elizabeth his office, he comments that it is a ⅔ replica of Don Draper’s office from the television show Mad Men and he fantasized about Elizabeth being his “sexy Peggy”.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
“I Believe I Can Fly” - R. Kelly - When the guys needed to wake Jess up to go to work, they sang her the song “I Believe I Can Fly”, which is a 1996 song written and performed by American singer R. Kelly. The song was originally from the soundtrack to the 1996 film Space Jam.
James Taylor - Nick told Jess not to worry because she’s “Nick Miller's girl now. [She’s] my old lady,” to which Jess thought he was talking like a James Taylor song. James Vernon Taylor is an American singer, songwriter, and musician, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 and has won six Grammy Awards. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 100 million records worldwide.
“What’s Up?” - 4 Non Blondes - When Jess is standing on the toilet while drunk, she is singing the song “What’s Up?” This song was released as the second single from American Rock group, 4 Non Blondes’, 1992 debut album, Bigger, Better, Faster, More!. It reached number 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100 but was number one in many other countries. From San Francisco, 4 Non Blondes were active from 1989 to 1994 and “What’s Up?” was their most popular song.
On our new section of our podcast called “Most Likely To” we discussed who we think would be most likely to be like Beth, steal their partner’s cat, commit a crime to fit in, and sneak into their boss’s hot tub but not get caught. We also covered when Schmidt went to go see Cece to uninvite her from his work party as our “Schmidtism” this episode. For “Not in the 2020s” we highlighted the way Elizabeth spoke about people from Hong Kong and Dr. Foster forcing Nick and Jess into his hot tub. Our “Yes in the 2020s” included Winston standing up for himself and Nick helping Jess get new friends. We also explored the careers of Dreama Walker (Molly), Mark Proksch (Dan), and Angela Kinsey (Rose), the guest stars of the episode. We also mentioned this article about Mark pranking the news as a "yo-yo master".
We didn’t find the bear this episode but we did discuss how Schmidt being a Sagittarius but having a January birthday didn’t match and an AV club article that mentioned the belief that less lines were ad-libbed in this season.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Shorty - This episode Schmidt tried to call Cece “shorty” in public. Shawty, shorty, or shortie is an American slang term used as a term of endearment for an attractive woman or a girlfriend, that was particularly popular in hip hop from the 2000s.
Hacky Sack - In a flashback we see that Nick used to be popular as he was good at the game Hacky Sack. "Hacky Sack" is the name of a brand of footbag popular in the 1970s, which has since become a generic trademark. A footbag is a small, round bag usually filled with plastic pellets or sand, which is kicked into the air as part of a competitive game.
This episode got a 7/10 rating from Kritika and an 8.5/10 from Kelly and we both had the same favorite character: Nick!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 3!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 3, Episode 4, The Captain, which originally aired on October 8, 2013 and was written by J.J. Philbin and directed by Fred Goss.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Schmidt tries to break up Nick and Jess while Winston is trying to get his cat laid.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Titanic / Billy Zane - Nick shared that “After [Schmidt] saw the movie Titanic, he started the Billy Zane fan club… called the Zaniacs.” We also discuss this article celebrating Billy Zane in the Titanic.
Will & Kate & Pippa - Schmidt threatened he could break up Will & Kate, of the British Royal Family, with one email forcing their son, George, to live with “Slutty” Aunt Pippa.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Chicago Bears - Schmidt said the only thing Nick likes to talk about is the Chicago (Brown) Bears. The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago in the National Football League (NFL). The Bears have won nine NFL Championships, including one Super Bowl, and have also recorded more victories than any other NFL franchise. The Chicago Bears were also mentioned in S2E11 (Santa) and S2E14 (Pepperwood).
Papa Smurf - When Jess was trying to turn Nick on she dressed like Papa Smurf. We went into depth on The Smurfs in S2E12 (Cabin).
On this episode’s Most Likely To, we discuss who would be more likely to not realize they were on a date, be afraid to talk about their feelings, feel very strongly about the cello, and use an ex’s heartfelt apology letter to throw away gum in. We also cover our favorite Schmidt lines this episode as opposed to a true “Schmidtism”. For our “Not in the 2020s” we spoke about the fat shaming that came from Schmidt and Jess in this episode but our “Yes in the 2020s” include Nick expressing his feelings and Jess’s support about Nick soundproofing the room without knowing what it was. We also give a quick look into Riki Lindhome, the Guest Star we featured in this episode.
Also in this episode were the following guest stars who we do not discuss in the podcast: Justin Uretz (Pet Store Owner) and Anderson Davis (Guy with Cece).
On this episode, we discuss how Lamorne is allergic to cats and we found the bear this episode when Schmidt mentioned the Chicago “Brown” Bears! We also discuss an article about the cat brother Winston started being a cry for help which you can read here.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Obama - When Schmidt is trying to get into Nick’s head, he tells him that he’s the “Obama on the ski slopes”. Barack Obama was the 44th President of the United States of America, elected in 2008. He was the President in office at the time of this episode’s airing.
Groundhog Day - When Nick is struggling to perform, Jess calls it a “Groundhog Day” situation. Groundhog Day is a North American tradition observed in the United States and Canada on February 2 based on a Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day and sees its shadow (due to clear weather) - winter will go on for six more weeks; if it does not see its shadow because of cloudiness, spring will arrive early.
This episode got a 7/10 rating from Kritika and 8/10 from Kelly and we both had the same favorite character: Nick!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 5!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 4, Episode 13, Coming Out, which originally aired on Jan 13, 2015 and was written by Sophia Lear and directed by Bill Purple.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
In this episode, Coach lost his status as the guy people want to sleep with, so he encourages Jess and Ryan to come out about their relationship at school. Schmidt is dealing with an ulcer which Nick & Kai try to help him with.
This episode got a 8/10 rating from both Kritika and Kelly; Kritika’s favorite character was Winston and Kelly’s favorite was Coach.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Da Vinci - Schmidt agreed that Nick has always been physically lazy, but went on to say that mentally he was like “Da Vinci in tie-dye.”
Dennis Rodman - Nick felt that Schmidt lived by his own rules in college and said he was like “a fat, Jewish Dennis Rodman.”
Mars Rover - Ryan’s field trip idea was to let the students talk to real astronauts and operate the Mars Rover.
Additionally we mentioned in our podcast episode the “Old Girl” spoof with Helen Slayton-Hughes. You can watch it here.
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 14!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 4, Episode 21, Panty Gate, which originally aired on April 28, 2015 and was written by David Feeney and Veronica McCarthy and directed by Reginald Hudlin.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
This episode has Jess trying to help Coach and May’s relationship. Meanwhile, Schmidt takes the fall for Fawn’s panty-gate scandal while Cece tries to find a way forward.
This episode got a 7/10 rating from Kritika and 7.5/10 from Kelly and we both had the same favorite character: Jess!
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
[Robert] Durst - While Coach and May were arguing, Winston was mostly concerned with his waffle, commenting that if it wasn’t hot he would “go [Robert] Durst on them.”
[Metropolitan Opera] - May accepted a job in New York as a section musician for the Metropolitan Opera, often referred to as “The Met”.
Royal Stockholm Orchestra - Schmidt was excited for May’s job opportunity noting that the conductor who must have liked her did a magnificent job when conducting with the Royal Stockholm Orchestra.
The Pearl - Schmidt humorously critiques a pull quote that compares the book Cece was reading and its length to the novella The Pearl by John Steinbeck.
"Black Velvet" by Alannah Myles - In the bar, a favorite song of Coach’s – “Black Velvet” – begins playing and he starts dancing.
The Vagina Monologues - Fawn was emphasizing that she was showing her true self by saying, “I'm a politician, not in The Vagina Monologues.”
Beyoncé / "Crazy in Love" / "Drunk in Love" - Schmidt was telling Fawn that he wanted to be in love and then started quoting Beyonce lyrics like “crazy in love” and “drunk in love.” There was also a reference to Beyonce in S2E2 - Katie and S1E20 - Normal.
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 22!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 2, Episode 21, First Date, which originally aired on April 4, 2013 and was directed by Lynn Shelton and written by J. J. Philbin & Berkley Johnson.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
The loft mates are back in LA and Nick and Jess attempt going on their first date, where they run into the only person they’ve both ever loved -- Jess’s ex, Russell. Meanwhile Winston and Schmidt continue to bond as they think of ways to sabotage Nick and Jess’s date.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
When Winston was thinking of the worst thing that ever happened to him on a date, he thought of when a man serenaded him and his date by singing the following songs:
Mrs. Doubtfire - When the man is singing “Dude Looks Like a Lady” to Winston and his date he references the movie Mrs. Doubtfire. Mrs. Doubtfire is about an actor who disguises himself as a female housekeeper to spend time with his children held in custody by his former wife.
We also cover the scene where Nick asks Schmidt for help as our “Schmidtism” this episode. In our “Not in the 2020s” section, we discuss how Nick was turned on by Jess’s helplessness and how Schmidt and Winston were being selfish and unsupportive of Nick and Jess. We also explore the careers of Chelsey Crisp (Brandy), Ron Funches (Street Musician), and Brian Stack (cop), the Guest Stars we feature in this episode.
In this podcast, we also dive deeper into jaywalking and share how this episode contained a shot that was named #3 of all time most painfully distracting product placement by In Your Face Advertising magazine. We also share this article (which contains spoilers) where we learned that it was during this episode that they were adding a 25th episode to the season and how the motorcycle falling over was an accident as Brian Stack did not really know how to ride a motorcycle.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Pledge of Allegiance - When Jess is talking to Cece about Nick touching her chest, Cece describes it as the Pledge of Allegiance. The Pledge of Allegiance was written in August 1892 by Francis Bellamy and is an expression of allegiance to the United States of America and its flag.
This episode got an 8/10 Rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Nick and Kelly rated this episode a 7.5/10 and her favorite character was Winston!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 22!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 2, Episode 18, Tinfinity, which originally aired on February 26, 2013 and was directed by Max Winkler and written by Kim Rosenstock and Josh Malmuth.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Schmidt and Nick are celebrating living together for 10 years, their tin anniversary. Meanwhile, Jess is trying to move on from thinking about Nick and his mouth and Cece is moving forward with Shivrang.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Bert & Ernie - When told by Winston they are like Bert and Ernie, Nick exclaimed he’s got dibs on Bert while Schmidt called dibs on Ernie at the same time.
"Save Me" by Queen - When the toast sequence was initiated incorrectly during Shivrang’s proposal, the song “Save Me” by the band Queen played.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
San Francisco Football [49ers] - The fictional Jax McTavish played safety for San Francisco. The National Football League team based in San Francisco is the 49ers. The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers won five Super Bowl championships between 1981 and 1994. Four of those came in the 1980s and were led by Hall of Famers Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott, Steve Young, Charles Haley, Fred Dean and coaches Bill Walsh and George Seifert.
Omar Epps - The guys wondered why Winston was with Jax and thought it must be because Jax thought he’s Omar Epps. Omar Hashim Epps is an American actor, rapper, and producer known for his film roles including Juice, Higher Learning, TheWood, In Too Deep, and Love & Basketball as well as his television work including the role of Dr. Dennis Gant on the series ER, J. Martin Bellamy in Resurrection, and Dr. Eric Foreman on the medical drama series House from 2004 to 2012.
Homeland - Winston asked Jax if he had watched Homeland. Homeland is a TV show about a bipolar CIA operative who becomes convinced a prisoner of war has been turned by al-Qaeda and is planning to carry out a terrorist attack on American soil. We talked about the protagonist, Abu Nazir, on our podcast for S2E15 - Cooler.
Tom Cruise + Iceman [Top Gun] - When Nick and Schmidt were sharing that they’re equals, they mentioned both are Iceman, neither is Tom Cruise. This is a reference to the movie Top Gun, where students at the United States Navy's elite fighter weapons school compete to be best in the class. The actor, Tom Cruise, played the main character Maverick while Iceman is played by Val Kilmer and was known for being cocky and good at “picking up” women.
We also cover the moment when Schmidt assigns Nick his party chores as our “Schmidtism”. For our “Not in the 2020s” we discuss how Jess dismissed a man at the bar because he said he was bisexual and Nick calling Schmidt a “nancy boy” for spitting out his alcohol. We also talk about how Jax addresses the expectations set on him and opening up was a “Yes in the 2020s”. We also give a quick look into Steve Howey (Jax) and Satya Bhabha (Shivrang), the Guest Stars we feature in this episode.
We also discuss this article (which contains spoilers) where we learned that this episode took almost a month to film (compared to the usual 5 days) due to rain and how Elizabeth Meriweather found episodes where Jess was the b-plot to be weaker episodes. We also chat about the different anniversary themes for each year.
This episode got a 7/10 Rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Schmidt and Kelly rated this episode a 7.5/10 and her favorite character was Nick!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 19!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 1, Episode 5, Cece Crashes, which originally aired on November 8, 2011 and was written by Rachel Axler and directed by John Hamburg.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Cece breaks up with the DJ she’s been seeing and crashes with Jess for a few days to avoid going home and seeing her ex. She points out that she thinks Nick likes Jess because his feet point at her when she’s talking and when Jess realizes this she freaks out. Winston and Schmidt both are interested in Cece and she runs them in circles to get her approval before apologizing and ends up holding hands with Schmidt.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Walter Matthau / Jack Lemmon in Grumpy Old Men - Walter Matthau is Jess’ perfect man and she wanted to be the girl Jack Lemmon
Ben Kingsley + Naveen Andrews - Schmidt is naming different things and people he loves about India and mentions both of these actors
Additional Pop Culture References from Schmidts list of things he “loves” about India are:
Slumdog - This is a reference to the movie Slumdog Millionaire which released in 2008 and centers around a Mumbai teenager who reflects on his life after being accused of cheating on a game show.
Naan - A thick flatbread found in North Indian cuisine.
Pepper - Black pepper actually comes from a flowering vine that is native to India but is found and cultivated all around the world these days.
Stories of Rudyard Kipling - Rudyard Kipling was an English writer who was born in India which was the inspiration for most of his work, most notably The Jungle Book.
Respect for Cows - Although not all religions in India avoid eating beef, Hindus generally consider the cow to be a symbol of life as it is associated with imagery related to the Hindu belief system.
Taj Mahal - The Taj Mahal is a marble mausoleum in the city of Agra and was built as a tomb in 1632 by Shah Jahan for his favorite wife Mumtaz Mahal.
Deepak Chopra - Deepak Chopra is an Indian-American author who is known as one of the wealthiest figures in alternative medicine.
Anyone named “Patel” - This refers to the last name “Patel” which is a common last name in the Indian state of Gujarat. Approximately 1 in 10 of people of Indian origins in the US have the last name Patel.
Monsoons - Monsoons are seasonal changes in the direction of the strongest winds of a region. It typically causes wet and dry seasons and is most often associated with the Indian Ocean.
Cobras in Baskets - This refers to the practice of snake charming which is a typical depiction of Indian street acts, especially in non Indian media. Today, this profession is largely dying out as it is no longer legal in India and this can be dangerous.
Mango Chutney/Any type of Chutney - Chutney is a family of condiments of sauces used in Indian cuisine. There are many forms of chutney and in India this refers to both fresh and pickled preparations although in some Indian languages there is a distinction.
Teepees - This is actually not an Indian reference but a reference to a tent used by the Indigineous peoples of the Plains in the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies of North America.
We also cover “Schmidtisms” when Schmidt was on the phone call with a “girl” to impress Cece and another was Jess’s description of Schmidt and his reaction. For “Not in 2020” on this episode we discuss Schmidt and his kimono, Schmidt in his pursuit of Cece, and the representation of Eduardo on the episode. We also give a brief look into Edin Gali, the Guest Star we feature in this episode. Some of his upcoming films include 60 Minutes to Kill, All-Star Weekend, Killing Angels, and The Road Home.
This episode got a 8/10 Rating from both of us but Kritika’s favorite character was Jess and Kelly’s was Winston.
This podcast covers New Girl Season 1, Episode 13, Valentine’s Day, which originally aired on February 14, 2012 and was written by Lesley Wake and directed by Tucker Gates.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
It’s Valentine’s Day and Nick is planning a classic Valentine’s date with Julia, Winston’s starting what he thinks is a budding romance with Shelby, Jess is looking for a one-night stand with the help of Schmidt and Cece. At the end of the night, no one gets what they were looking for.
On this episode’s Pop Culture section we focused on Schmidt’s Desert Island Book List, which are:
It’s Complicated - Schmidt references this to Winston as a not complicated movie. It’s Complicated is a Nancy Meyers movie about a couple reconnecting, but they're divorced and he's remarried.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes - Jess, Oliver, and Schmidt are watching Rise of the Planet of the Apes when they get back to Oliver’s house for Jess’ one night stand. The Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a movie produced by the same production company as New Girl, Chernin Entertainment, in 2011.
“Youths? Are you Officer Krupke?” - Jess says this to Schmidt when she hears him refer to young people as “youths”. Officer Krupke is the officer who is made fun of in the musical West Side Story.
We also cover “Schmidtisms” when Schmidt is cheering Jess up at the end of the episode, and of course, we covered YOUTHS! For “Not in 2020” on this episode we discuss the way the writers addressed Schmidt’s repeated acknowledgement of Cece’s ethnicity and how that parallels with how Kyle interacts with her. Additionally, Julia uses the Chinese philosopher Confucius as a mean joke to her coworker. We also explore the careers of Clark Duke and Ryan Kwanten, the guest stars of this episode.
This episode got an 8/10 rating from Kritika whose favorite character is Schmidt and Kelly rated this episode an 8/10 and her favorite character was Jess!
Additionally in this podcast we discussed our Desert Island Books and while Kritika couldn’t choose one and defaulted to a Harry Potter book, Kelly’s choice was A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.
Thanks for listening and stay tuned in two weeks for Episode 14!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 1, Episode 4, Naked, which originally aired on November 1, 2011 and was written by J.J. Philbin* and directed by Jake Kasdan.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Nick is going on his first date since breaking up with Caroline and in preparation he is psyching himself up by reacquainting himself with his body by awkwardly strip dancing and Jess barges in and sees everything and laughs/shrieks at him. The rest of the episode follows Nick’s anxiety about his body and his ability to hookup with his date. Jess tries to talk about the incident with Nick and make things better. Meanwhile Schmidt helps Winston prepare for job interviews and the two help each other out.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
State of the Pop Culture in 2011 - When Winston gets back from his interview, he asks Schmidt what’s been happening and Schmidt says: country’s broke, Betty White’s back, and the state of the rest of the Golden Girls; they have all passed except Betty White.
Movies/Videos Winston’s Watching - To catch up on pop culture, Winston watched the following movies and videos:
We also cover “Schmidtisms” which is more Schmidt + Winston this episode including moments when Schmidt talks about having Exercise Induced Asthma and when Schmidt and Winston are passing the feeling stick back and forth. For “Not in 2020” on this episode we discuss Winston’s Latvian team “finding another black guy” and Schmidt’s need to measure/see Nick’s genitalia . We also explore the career of Lake Bell, the guest star of this episode.
This episode got a 8/10 Rating from Kritika whose favorite character is Schmidt and Kelly rated this episode a 7.5/10 and her favorite character was Winston!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 5!
*In this episode we refer to J.J. Philbin with the pronoun "he" but this was our mistake as J.J. Philbin is a woman.
This podcast covers New Girl Season 4, Episode 19, The Right Thing, which originally aired on Mar 31, 2015 and was written by Alex Cuthbertson and Matt Fusfeld and directed by Erin O'Malley.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Jess, Cece, and Coach attend the funeral for a guy Jess went on two dates with and “sext”ed. Meanwhile, Schmidt’s mom, Louise, comes to visit and Winston is trying to get his cop partner, Aly, to hang out with him!
This episode got a 7/10 rating from both Kritika and Kelly and we both had the same favorite character: Winston!
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Boyz II Men - “Motownphilly" - When Winston and Aly were helping Winston remember who attended his Bar Mitzvah, they were playing the song Motown Philly, which Winston sang along to.
J.J. Watt - The real J.J. Watt guest acted in this episode and played himself where Pete was his agent.
Alan Iverson / [Memphis] Grizzlies / [Philadelphia] 76rs - Jess is trying to tell a story about Pete to keep up the ruse or her working with him and mentioned that Allen Iverson should not go to the "Grizzlies” but should finish his career off with “the '76ers!"
Kieran Culkin / Owen Wilson - When Nick thought they may not have the money for the bar, Mike said the right guys would have the money, “Or Kieran Culkin's mouth” and further asked, “How about Owen Wilson's nose?”
Additionally we mentioned in our podcast episode a promo video that J.J. Watt filmed for the promo of this episode.
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 20!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 3, Episode 13, Birthday, which originally aired on January 21, 2014 and was written by Kim Rosenstock and directed by Richie Keen.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
It’s Jess’s birthday and Nick has gone all out to plan her a surprise birthday party but forgets to plan the day of… meanwhile Coach and Winston have a bake off of who can make the best birthday cake and Schmidt helps Cece at her new bartending job.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Boomer - The cake Winston brought home said “Happy Birthday Boomer!”
[Instagram] - Schmidt mentioned he would pass time by double tapping some “insta-g’s”.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Witness / "Be careful out among them English." - When Rose is out with Jess at the beginning of the episode, Rose shares that her parents took her to see Witness and then they never came back; Rose then quotes a line in the movie. Witness is a 1985 American neo-noir dramatic crime thriller film starring Harrison Ford & Kelly McGillis. The film focuses on a police detective protecting an Amish woman and her young son, who becomes a target after he witnesses a brutal murder in a Philadelphia train station. The film earned eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Ford, and won Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing.
Rudy- When Nick is working on putting together Jess’s party Schmidt shares he’s been an inspiration and that this will be their “Rudy.” Rudy is a 1993 American biographical sports film starring Sean Astin. The story is an account of the life of Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, who harbored dreams of playing football at the University of Notre Dame despite significant obstacles. It was the first film that the Notre Dame administration allowed to be shot on campus since Knute Rockne, All American in 1940. Rudy was named one of the best 25 sports movies of the previous 25 years in two polls by ESPN.
This episode we discuss which one of us is most likely to guide someone through how to make a great cocktail, mess up a standard drink recipe, plan a surprise party, and get really excited about their birthday. We give an honorable mention to Schmidt’s contribution to the birthday video but cover the scene where Schmidt walks Cece through how to make an old fashioned as our “Schmidtism” this episode. For our “Not in the 2020s”, we briefly touch on Mike’s comments about Cece’s body and also the flip phone during the video Nick put together. In our “Yes in the 2020s” we discuss the lack of toxic masculinity with Winston and Coach doing a bake off and Winston standing up for himself regarding basketball. We also explore the career of Ben Falcone (Mike), the guest star of this episode and specifically mentioned an Instagram story where Ben and Melissa asked to be in Thor and a recent link of Ben and Melissa on James Corden.
We also touch on an editing goof on this podcast when Coach throws a bag into the kitchen and it is missing in the next shot. Additionally, we do a deep dive on the character’s birthdays and what we have seen so far in the show. This episode we did not find any new bears.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Old Fashioned Cocktail - This episode, Cece’s struggling at the bar and Schmidt teaches her how to make an Old Fashioned cocktail. This cocktail is made with whiskey, sugar, Angostura bitters, and an orange peel (or cherry) for garnish and is a cocktail made for whiskey lovers. It was developed in the 19th century and given its name in the 1880s.
Griffith Park - When Nick is trying to distract Jess, he asks his friends if they know any time consuming and free activities in Griffith Park. Griffith Park is a large park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains in Los Angeles and contains popular attractions like a zoo, an observatory, a history museum, and the Hollywood sign. It is much larger than Central Park in New York and the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.
When Schmidt is trying to make Cece feel better about not graduating high school, he lists the below group of people who didn’t graduate:
Einstein - Albert Einstein was a German theoretical physicist who is best known for his theory of relativity. While he was a good student, he could not stand school as he did not like the way the teachers taught, objectively. He quit at his teacher’s suggestion at 15 and never returned.
Bill Gates - Bill Gates is an American businessman, software developer, philanthropist, and author who co-founded Microsoft with his childhood friend. While he was excused from his math class (in high school) to focus on computer programming, he dropped out from college at Harvard instead of high school.
Anne Frank - Annelies Marie “Anne” Frank was a Jewish girl who kept a diary during World War 2, documenting her life in hiding while Germany was under Nazi persecution. She died at the age of 15 in a concentration camp.
This episode got a 9/10 rating from both Kritika and Kelly; Kritika’s favorite character was Nick and Kelly’s favorite was Schmidt.
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 14!
This podcast covers a recap of the first season of New Girl. We’re your hosts, Kelly and Kritika, and we originally met through work but now we consider ourselves long distance best friends. We’ve bonded over our love of TV and brought you this podcast to recap one of our favorite shows -- New Girl.
This season starts with Jess, a newly-single teacher, looking for a new apartment after her boyfriend cheats on her. She happens upon an ad for a loft where she’s introduced to three men: Schmidt, Nick, and Coach. While Coach does not end up staying in the season, Winston gets introduced as a new loftmate, and together the foursome goes through the ups and downs of life in their early 30s.
In this recap of season one, we broke down the themes of each loftmate.
Jess - We explored Jess’s needs to control everything, how her thoughts on sex changed over the season, and how her relationship with the loftmates grew.
Nick - We discussed his journey towards happiness, his romantic relationships, and his friendship with Jess and the other loftmates.
Winston - We examined how Winston was relegated to the fourth roommate for most of the season but also had a successful relationship with Shelby, found his dream job, and how his relationship with the loftmates grew.
Schmidt - We took a look at Schmidt’s douchiness and his relationship with Cece and the rest of the loft.
Cece - We also review Schmidt and Cece’s relationship from Cece’s perspective and her friendship with Jess.
Coach - We also discussed Coach’s [very] short arc on the show.
Additionally, we discussed our favorite scenes, quotes, Schmidtisms, (least favorite) Not in 2020 segments, pop culture references, and guest stars we had previously featured on the podcast. We also took a brief look at the careers of some of the Season 1 guest actors we hadn’t discussed on previous podcasts like Beth Crosby (Fancyman Part 1), Jazz Raycole (Fancyman Part 2), Natalie Dreyfuss (Fancyman Part 2), Sophie Kargman (Secrets), Rakefet Abergel (Secrets), Brenda Koo (Secrets), Maitland McConnell (Secrets), and Timothy Brennen (See Ya). We also shared some fun facts around the development of New Girl, notes around our tracking of the theme song, and some fun finds from episodes within Season 1.
This season as a whole got a 8.5/10 rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Jess and a 7.5/10 rating from Kelly whose favorite character was Nick!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 2, Episode 6, Halloween, which originally aired on October 30, 2012 and was written by David Iserson and directed by Jesse Peretz.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Jess is working at a haunted house for a Halloween festival and realizes that she has real feelings for Sam. Meanwhile, Nick reconnects with an old college flame, Schmidt tries to get back together with Cece, and Winston tries to rekindle his relationship with Shelby.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Beverly Hills Chihuahua - When Nick is telling Amelia about Los Angeles he says that many of the scenes of Beverly Hills Chihuahua were shot in the city.
Axel Foley - Schmidt calls Winston Axel Foley when Winston’s dressed up as a cop for Halloween.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Woody Allen - Schmidt thought Jess’ haunted house costume looked like a zombie version of Woody Allen. For over six decades, Woody Allen is known for being an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian for multiple Academy Award-winning films. Woody Allen is also known for his odd relationships and recently, allegations of sexual abuse.
Marx Brothers - Winston added to the conversation of ragging on Jess’ costume by imitating the Marx Brothers. The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act that was in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in motion pictures from 1905 to 1949. The brother’s characters consisted of Chico, Harpo, Groucho, and Zeppo, each of whom developed a highly distinctive stage persona.
[The Teenage Mutant] Ninja Turtle[s] - Robby mentioned that it was his dream to be a Ninja Turtle. Ninja Turtle is short for The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles which are are a fictional superhero quartet of juvenile bipedal tortoises, trained in the ancient art of ninjitsu ninja that appear in a self-titled franchise consisting of comic books, animated children's cartoons, feature films, and other tie-in products.
Bea Arthur - While not mentioned in the episode, Nick was dressed up as Bea Arthur by wearing a bee antenna and a shirt that says Arthur. Bea Arthur was an American activist, comedian, and actress. She started her career in 1947 and performed in musicals, operas, tv, and film.
Bugs Bunny - When Sam is trying to downplay his interaction with kids at this office, he says that the kid gave him a picture where she just traced Bugs Bunny. Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the 1930s and has since appeared in more films than any other cartoon character and has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Guy who shot John Lennon - Schmidt thought Robby looked like a guy who shot John Lennon dressed as a Ninja Turtle in his Halloween costume. Mark David Chapman murdered John Lennon in 1980 and at the time Mark David Chapman’s appearance was similar to Robby’s in this episode. John Lennon was a British singer-songwriter who was a frontman of The Beatles, the famed British rock band.
Matthew McConaughey in Magic Mike - Schmidt’s second costume after he gives Robby his Abe Lincoln suit is Matthew McConaughey in the movie Magic Mike. This movie aired in 2012 and centered around a young, new male stripper and his mentor. Matthew McConaughey plays Dallas, a strip club owner who has dreams of a full empire of clubs.
We also cover how Schmidt is obviously going to be young Abe Lincoln for Halloween as our “Schmidtism”. Our “not in the 2020s” were how Schmidt continues to put Robby down and the way he jumped up on the carousel with Cece. Our “yes in the 2020s” was everything about Robby and Sam being honest. We also explore the careers of Maria Thayer (Amelia) and Nate Hartley (Frankenstein’s monster), the guest stars of this episode.
Also in this episode were the following guest stars who we do not discuss in the podcast: Zoë Hall (the demon nurse), Lora Plattner (the mummy), Hesley Harps (the coat of arms), and Ryan Christiansen (the cop).
In this podcast we also mentioned the iconic scene from Beverly Hills Cop where Axel Foley put a banana in a car’s tailpipe. In our spoiler section, we also mentioned an article that covers how this episode might predict future storylines which you can find here (but does have spoilers!).
The Halloween costumes of the episode are:
Jess - Zombie of Christina Barcelona
Schmidt - Young Abraham Lincoln (and later Matthew McConaughey from Magic Mike)
Nick - Bea Arthur
Winston - Cop
Cece - Angel
Robby - Ninja Turtle
Shelby - Reigning Cats and Dogs
Sam - Clown (although he only wears a nose)
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Abraham Lincoln - Schmidt decides to dress up like Young Abe Lincoln for Halloween; Abraham Lincoln was the United States’ 16th President from 1861 until 1865 when he was assassinated. He led the United States through the American Civil War and is often remembered as a hero of the US and is always ranked as one of the greatest American presidents in history.
Queen of England - When Winston is trying to explain why Shelby’s outfit doesn’t make sense, he says that he doesn’t see the Queen of England running around with a cape and British people stapled to it. The current Queen of England is Elizabeth II born in 1926 and she became the queen in 1952. She is the longest serving female head of state and the world’s oldest living monarch.
Purim - When Cece tells Schmidt to change she mentions that he has more costumes in his closet and Schmidt clarifies that they’re for Purim which occurs in March. Purim is a Jewish holiday which is recounted in the Book of Esther from the 5th century BCE to remember the saving of the Jewish people from a Persian official. It is celebrated on the 14th day of the Hebrew month Adar and some customs include wearing masks and costumes while celebrating publicly and in parades.
Guillotine Choke Hold - As Schmidt is talking to Winston about Cece, he mentions putting Robby into a guillotine choke hold to “show [him] a nice guy”. This is a martial arts and wrestling form using the arms to circle their opponent’s neck like a guillotine. This prevents airflow to the lungs and is done to prevent the opponent from escaping. A guillotine was best known in the French Revolution as a way to carry out executions by beheading.
This episode got an 8/10 Rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Nick and Kelly rated this episode an 8.5/10 and her favorite character was Jess!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 7!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 4, Episode 14, Swuit, which originally aired on February 3, 2015 and was written by Noah Garfinkel and directed by Trent O'Donnell.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Nick and Schmidt have brought their old company, Schnick Industries, to life and are trying to sell a new product. Meanwhile, Coach and Winston help Cece pay for college.
This episode got a 9/10 rating from both Kritika and Kelly; Kritika’s favorite character was Schnick Industries and Kelly’s favorite was Jess.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Lori Greiner - Nick and Schmidt had a pitch meeting with Lori Greiner. We also featured her as the guest star in this episode.
Hewlett Packard - While bickering, Schmidt said, “You think Hewlett had to put up with this crap from Packard? Think Again.”
Howard Hughes / Spruce Goose - Schmidt told Nick he can’t be “loosey-goosey”, which prompted Nick to say that Howard Hughes invented the Loose-Goose. However, Schmidt corrected that the plane was called the “Spruce-Goose”. But Nick did know that the plane did fly “for over a mile at an altitude of 72 feet!”
David Hockney - While discussing Cece’s classes at school, Winston and Coach asked “What you gonna do, Cece, join the South African space program and be the first woman to put a David Hockney painting on the moon?”
Batman and Robin - By the end of the episode, Nick and Schmidt felt like they were “Batman and Robin”, but both wanted to be Batman.
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 15!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 1, Episode 11, Jess & Julia, which originally aired on January 31, 2012 and was written by Luvh Rakhe and directed by Jake Kasdan.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Jess is excited to have another girl in the apartment and wants to bond with her, starting with asking her for help in a legal case. Unfortunately, Julia’s not interested in being friends with Jess and they get into a fight. Meanwhile, Winston’s trying to reconnect with an old flame and Schmidt spends the episode mad about having a damp towel.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Cocktail- Nick was trying to impress Julia by spinning the alcohol bottle around him and after Nick drops the bottle, the bar manager says “Hey Nick, No Cocktail” referring to how the bartenders in that movie twirl bottles around the bar.
Teddy Ruxpin - When Jess and Julia are arguing after the courtroom scene, Jess says about herself that she’s “not a Teddy Ruxpin” referring to the 80s storytelling bear.
Murphy Brown - When Jess and Julia are fighting outside the courtroom, Jess says that she doesn’t talk like Murphy Brown which is a reference to a sitcom whose main character was a journalist and news anchor. She’s known to be sharp tongued and having a hard-hitting personality but is not known for being warm or sympathetic.
We also cover an honorary “Schmidtism” discussing the final bathroom scene and also talk about Schmidt trying to give Winston dating advice which is also kind of a “Not in 2020” moment. This week’s “Not in 2020” also discusses the way Julia and Jess talk about stepping into each other's careers and workplace culture in general. The Guest Stars we highlighted on this episode were Lizzy Caplan and Kali Hawk.
This episode got a 8.5/10 Rating from Kritika and 9/10 from Kelly and we both had the same favorite character: Jess!
Hi everyone! We are Kelly and Kritika, best friends who cohost Who’s That Girl a 'New Girl' Podcast where we dive in to each episode and give you our take on the show. We’re really excited to share this podcast with you because it’s been something we’ve been talking about for a while now and we’re both obsessed with talking about TV so this was right up our alley.
Through each podcast you’ll hear us do special segments including highlighting any Guest Actors in the episode as well as giving our ratings and favorite characters. We’ll also be saving all spoilers for the end so those of you who haven’t seen the show before can follow along!
Stay tuned for full episodes of Who’s That Girl, A 'New Girl' Podcast - coming soon to a podcast channel near you on 8/31!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 3, Episode 9, Longest Night Ever, which originally aired on November 19, 2013 and was written by Ryan Koh and directed by Nicholas Jasenovec.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Coach asks Cece on a date and Jess works to distract Schmidt. Nick lost Winston’s cat Ferguson and they found themselves at Bertie house.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Grey’s Anatomy - Bertie mentions that she’d rather watch Grey’s [Anatomy] than try to impress someone at a bar.
Drake - When Coach doesn’t know how to act with Cece he said, “I just wanna put on some Drake and get up on you.”
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Tiger Woods - Schmidt says he’s fine with Coach and Cece dating because “we might get another Tiger Woods out of [it].” Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods is an American professional golfer who is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. He is also widely considered one of the greatest golfers of all time and is one of the most famous athletes in modern history.
Hank Aaron - After returning back to the loft after trying to meet a “human” woman, Winston says it’s ok that he’s alone and references how Hank Aaron was alone for every home run he hit. Henry Louis Aaron, nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in the MLB. Hank Aaron is widely considered as one of the greatest baseball players in history.
Homeland - Jess and Nick were trying to think of what to do on their date night and Nick suggested dinner and Homeland. Homeland is a TV show about a bipolar CIA operative who becomes convinced a prisoner of war has been turned by al-Qaeda and is planning to carry out a terrorist attack on American soil. We talked about the protagonist, Abu Nazir, on our podcast for S2E15 (Cooler).
When trying to distract Schmidt from stopping Coach and Cece’s date, Jess sings or says the following references:
“Cracklin' Rosie” by Neil Diamond - "Cracklin' Rosie" is a song written and recorded by Neil Diamond in 1970. The song became Diamond's first American #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. The lyrics of the song suggest devotion to a “woman of the night”.
Camyrn Manheim - Debra Frances "Camryn" Manheim is an American actress known for her role as attorney, Ellenor Frutt, on the legal drama series The Practice for which she won an Emmy Award. She is also known for her roles as Delia Banks on Ghost Whisperer, Gladys Presley in the 2005 miniseries Elvis, and "Control" on Person of Interest.
Dylan McDermott - Dylan McDermott is an American actor known for his role as lawyer, Bobby Donnell, on the legal drama series The Practice, which earned him a Golden Globe Award and a nomination for an Emmy Award.
LA Sparks - Coach and Cece go to a LA Sparks basketball game on their date. The Los Angeles Sparks is an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. As of 2020, the Sparks are the most recent franchise to win back-to-back titles.
We also cover when Jess hits Schmidt with her car as our “Schmidtism” this episode. For our “Not in the 2020s” we discuss the way Coach talks about Cece and for our “Yes in the 2020s” we discuss Coach being vulnerable. We also give a brief look into Jessica Chaffin (Bertie), the guest star we feature in this episode.
Also in this episode were the following guest stars who we do not discuss in the podcast: Nakia Burrise (Beaming Woman), Joel Gelman (Officer Bill), and Carlie Casey (Kate). Unfortunately, we did not catch the bear this episode.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Staples Center - This episode Cece and Coach go on a date at the Staples Center to watch an LA Sparks game. This stadium, now known as Crypto.com Arena, is a multi-purpose arena in Downtown Los Angeles and is actually the home stadium of the LA Sparks alongside the LA Kings (NHL), the LA Lakers (NBA), and the LA Clippers (NBA).
This episode got a 7/10 rating from both Kritika and Kelly; Kritika’s favorite character was Schmidt and Kelly’s favorite was Jess.
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 10!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 1, Episode 8, Bad in Bed, which originally aired on December 6, 2011 and was written by Josh Malmuth and directed by Jesse Peretz.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Jess is exploring the next level of her relationship with Paul and they’re planning to have sex. She is a little intimidated because she hasn’t had sex with anyone but Spencer for six years and goes on an interesting journey, including watching porn, getting the guys help, and shopping for lingerie with Cece. Meanwhile, Schmidt attends his boss's baby shower and Nick explores getting a haircut.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Jimmy Stewart - When Jess and Paul are about to have sex they start using voices and Paul does a Jimmy Stewart impression.
Clinton’s Impeachment + NPR - Jess claims one of the places that she learned about sex was listening to information about Clinton's Impeachment trial on NPR.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Bond Villain - Schmidt’s co-worker, Beth, is describing her plans to get the corner cubicle and Schmidt says she’s like a Bond Villain disclosing her whole plan. Bond Villain refers to the James Bond series where the villains often share all of their goals and plans.
Entourage - When Jess and Paul are at dinner talking about sex, Paul noted his response sounded like a guy from Entourage, which was a show on HBO that focused on male friendship, navigating the film industry in Hollywood, and included lots of sex and nudity.
Mr. Darcy - While at the lingerie shop, Jess puts underwear on her head like a bonnet saying “Mr. Darcy” is going to love it. Mr. Darcy is a character from the novel Pride & Prejudice.
We also cover “Schmidtisms” when talking about Schmidt’s coworkers, the Chatty Cathys, and how Schmidt and Winston are “sushi” while Nick is just “meat and potatoes. For “Not in 2020” on this episode we discuss the word “exotic” and touch on the importance of consent. We also explore the careers of Eva Amurri Martino and Michaela Watkins, the guest stars of this episode.
Additionally, we talk about Hugh Dane earlier in the podcast who is playing the man in Winston’s barbershop that is joking around with Nick, pretending to be Danny Glover’s grandfather.
This episode got a 7/10 Rating from Kritika whose favorite character is Paul and Kelly rated this episode a 6.5/10 and her favorite character was Nick!
Also as we mentioned on the podcast, if you’re watching on Netflix, you can see Max Greenfield break out of character at 8 minutes and 16 seconds.
A few other things we referenced this episode were the:
This podcast covers New Girl Season 2, Episode 10, Bathtub, which originally aired on December 4, 2012 and was written by Donick Cary and directed by Tristram Shapeero.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Jess is lobbying the rest of the loft to get a bathtub but the only one onboard is Winston (secretly). Meanwhile, Nick meets a new woman and Schmidt tries to get back together with Cece.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
James Brown - When Jess makes a collage of everyone in a bathtub, she replaced Winston with a photo of James Brown stating, “If you don’t smile for my photos, you get replaced.” As we mentioned in the podcast, here’s an article about the controversy of James Brown’s death.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
"Raspberry Beret" / Prince - When Winston and Jess are discussing the bathtub at the bar, they talk about what they want to play on the jukebox. "Raspberry Beret" is a song written by Prince and the lead single from Prince & the Revolution's 1985 album Around the World in a Day. Prince Rogers Nelson was an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, actor, and director. Widely regarded as one of the greatest musicians of the late 20th century, he was known for his flamboyant and androgynous persona, eclectic work, and wide vocal range.
We also cover Schmidt’s double V pitch as our “Schmidtism” this episode. Our “not in the 2020s” included how Nick tried to make Angie’s job more moral and our “yes in the 2020s” included Winston’s eventual comfort in sharing that he wanted a bathtub and the way the show normalized panic attacks and spoke about mental health issues. We also explore the career of Olivia Munn (Angie), the guest star of this episode.
Additionally in this podcast, we discussed how the hose was not on while the bathtub was overflowing and how the way Winston was laying on the roof changed based on where the camera angle was. We also talked about how Olivia Munn was in the movie Magic Mike which is a movie referenced earlier in New Girl when Schmidt dressed up as Matthew McConaughey for Halloween and how at the beginning of this episode, the guys were watching an actual WWF championship match between Hulk Hogan and the Iron Sheik in 1984.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Camel Clutch - At the beginning of the episode, Nick, Winston, and Schmidt are watching wrestling and commenting on the particular wrestling move, the camel clutch. The camel clutch is a move that was popularized by the wrestler "The Sheik" who used it as a closer. There are also multiple variations of the camel clutch including the leg-trap camel clutch and the stepover armlock camel clutch.
Herringbone - When Schmidt’s reviewing his binder of suits, he pulls out a page with a herringbone suit exclaiming about how he didn’t know how it got into this binder. Herringbone refers to both a specific pattern made out of parallel rows where two adjacent rows slope in opposite directions and to a suit or any twilled fabric using this pattern.
College - Schmidt mentions to Cece that because he worked late, their baby can now attend any college they want and mentions specifically the two below:
UCLA - The University of California, Los Angeles is a public university located in LA that traces its origins back to 1882. The university is organized into 6 undergraduate colleges, 7 professional schools, and 4 professional health science schools. For one year of undergraduate tuition, the cost is approximately $37,000 in state.
UMASS - The University of Massachusetts is a public university with 5 campuses across Massachusetts with the flagship being located in Amherst. For one year of undergraduate tuition, the cost is approximately $37,000 out of state.
This episode got a 9/10 Rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Jess and Kelly rated this episode a 7.5/10 and her favorite character was Angie!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 11!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 3, Episode 3, Double Date, which originally aired on October 1, 2013 and was written by Luvh Rakhe and directed by Max Winkler.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Nick, Jess, Cece, and Schmidt decide to go on a double date! However, Cece’s concerned by Schmidt’s weird behavior and it’s not long until Schmidt’s truth comes out. Winston doesn’t want to feel left out and tries to secure a reservation for the Double Date +1.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Lance Armstrong / Livestrong Bracelet - Jess was telling Cece she didn’t think Schmidt was on drugs because Schmidt took it really hard when “Lance got busted. He just stared at that yellow bracelet and cried.”
Spaceballs - Jess shared Spaceballs quotes, which Nick was impressed with. Here’s a clip of the “jammed” radar scene.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Dexter - When Schmidt was coordinating with Elizabeth what they were doing that night, she said “Dexter and pie.” Dexter is an American crime drama television series that aired from 2006 to 2013 and focused on Dexter Morgan, a forensic technician specializing in bloodstain pattern analysis, but was also a vigilante serial killer, hunting down murderers who have not been adequately punished by the justice system. Dexter returned in 2021 with a 10-episode limited series titled Dexter: New Blood.
"Weird Al" Yankovic - When Jess and Nick were in bed together, Jess shared her elbow cracks because she “[pumped her] fist too hard at a Weird Al show.” Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer, musician, record producer, and actor who is known for humorous songs that make light of pop culture and often parodies specific songs by contemporary musical acts. He also performs original songs, most of which feature his trademark accordion.
Toni Morisson - When Winston called the restaurant Picca, he pretended to be Toni Morrison to get a reservation. Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison, known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist. Morrison was the first black female editor in fiction at Random House and later developed her own reputation as an author. Morrison's works are praised for addressing the harsh consequences of racism in the United States and she has won many prestigious awards for her writing.
What to Expect When You’re Expecting- When Schmidt is threatening to break Nick and Jess up, he says it might happen as they watch the movie What to Expect When You’re Expecting, which is a 2012 American rom-com movie based on Heidi Murkoff's 1984 pregnancy guide of the same name. The movie follows the lives of five couples as their lives are turned upside down by the difficulties and surprises of parenthood.
Craig Kilborn / Daily Show - When Jess and Nick were reviewing things that might break them up, Nick shared that he prefers the “Kilborn Daily Show”. Craig Lawrence Kilborn is an American comedian, sports and political commentator, actor, and television host. Beginning his career in sports broadcasting with an anchoring position at ESPN's SportsCenter (1993 - 1996), he was later the first host of The Daily Show, which he hosted from 1996 to 1998. After that, he succeeded Tom Snyder on CBS' The Late Late Show from 1999 to 2004.
This episode we discuss who would be more likely to go early and claim a table for friends, barter badly for a reservation, smush a pie in someone’s face, and dance during a tense conversation. We also cover the honorary “Schmidtism” of Schmidt thinking Nick cracked his email password and when he was flustered about going on a double date with Cece, Jess, and Nick. For “Not in the 2020s” we talk about everything Schmidt did in this episode and for our “Yes in the 2020s” we discuss Cece calling Elizabeth. We also give a brief look into Alice Wetterlund (Hostess), our guest star of the episode.
We did a deep dive into the different cars that Nick has driven so far and shared an article of how someone felt Winston’s scenes were shot separately (the article does contain spoilers). In addition, we also talk about this article that compared Schmidt’s evil-ness to Walter White from Breaking Bad. Neither of us found the bear in this episode.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Moon Landing - When Nick and Jess are sharing what might break them up with each other, Nick states that the moon landing was obviously fake. The United States of America was the first country to have a crewed mission to land on the Moon, on July 20, 1969. There are many conspiracy theories that this was faked and that the 12 Apollo astronauts did not actually walk on the moon but rather that the evidence was faked to mislead the public.
This episode got a 6.5/10 rating from both Kritika and Kelly and both had the same favorite character: Nick!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 4!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 1, Episode 16, Control, which originally aired on March 13, 2012 and was written by Brett Baer and directed by Jesse Peretz.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
In this episode, Schmidt is dealing with his need for control. When Jess tries to bring in new furniture to the loft, Schmidt can’t handle it. Jess tries to get him to loosen up but it backfires and he starts becoming the opposite of himself. Meanwhile, Winston and Nick are trying to settle debts after a pricey poker game.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
The White Whale (Moby Dick) - Nick told Schmidt that he could clean his room if he returned home and Schmidt called his room the “white whale”.
Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps - As Jess was encouraging Schmidt to come back home she asked him if he remembers dressing up like Shia LaBeouf in Wall Street 2 for Halloween.
NOTE: In this podcast we briefly discuss Shia LaBeouf and wanted to note that this was recorded prior to being aware of the recent allegations against him.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Calvin [Klein] - To welcome Schmidt back home, Jess gifts Schmidt pants designed by a man named “Calvin” and Schmidt later talks to the pants and refers again to ‘Calvin’. Calvin Klein is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc.
An Inconvenient Truth - Jess was encouraging Schmidt to come back home and was reminding him of the time he “got himself off to An Inconvenient Truth”. This documentary raises awareness of global warming and calls for immediate action to curb its destructive effects on the environment.
The “Schmidtism” we cover in this episode is when Schmidt tells Cece about how he’d rather have tetanus than damage his suede shoes. We also discuss the impact of Jess using the word “crazy” to describe Schmidt as a “Not in 2020”. We didn’t have any notable guest stars in this episode to cover.
This episode got an 8/10 Rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Schmidt and Kelly rated this episode a 7.5/10 and her favorite character was Winston!
This week we also answered a great question from the instagram user @titus_dominguez48. Check out our podcast to hear both our spoiler-free and our all-time answer to: “If you could hang out with one character from the loft for a night, who is it and what are you doing?”
We also reference The Big Short as another movie about the 2008 financial crisis on this episode and the website nickmillertime.com.
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 17!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 2, Episode 25, Elaine’s Big Day, which originally aired on May 14, 2013 and was directed by Jake Kasdan and written by Christian Magalhaes and Robert Snow.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Cece is getting married! … Or is she? Schmidt and Winston end up pranking Cece’s wedding but it ultimately ends up being Shivrang and Elaine’s “Big Day”. Meanwhile, Jess and Nick continue to explore their relationship.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
“Cotton Eye Joe” - For the second prank, Winston and Schmidt played Nick’s favorite song, “Cotton Eye Joe” over the speaker as Cece walked down the aisle.
Seven Circles - For Cece and Shivrang to be fully married they needed to walk seven circles around a fire.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Miami Vice - Nick felt he looked like Miami Vice in his old high school suit. Miami Vice is an American crime drama television series about two Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami.This series is largely remembered for the stylish clothes Detectives Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs wore, the soundtrack, and its distinct visuals.
Coldplay - Schmidt says he wants to take the night to think about who to choose -- Cece or Elizabeth -- by listening to a Coldplay bootleg. Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1996. The band consists of vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and pianist Chris Martin; lead guitarist Jonny Buckland; bassist Guy Berryman; drummer Will Champion; and creative director Phil Harvey. Coldplay have sold more than 100 million albums worldwide, making them one of the world's best-selling music artists. They have won numerous awards throughout their career, including nine Brit Awards, seven MTV Video Music Awards, eight MTV Europe Music Awards and seven Grammy Awards.
“I Always Knew” - The Vaccines - This is the song that played while Jess and Nick drove away from the wedding. "I Always Knew" is a song that was released in the United Kingdom in 2012 as the third single from The Vaccines’ second studio album, Come of Age. The Vaccines are an English indie rock band, formed in West London in 2010.
We also cover the moment where Schmidt tells Nick and Winston about Cece talking to him with her eyes as our “Schmidtism” this episode. In our “Not in the 2020s” we discuss how it is a bad idea to crawl into an air duct with a badger, but also when Nick comments about Winston having a “girl butt”. In our “Yes in the 2020s” we share how we loved the interaction between Cece and Elizabeth in this episode and how neither were catty. We also give a quick look into Taylor Swift (Elaine) and Ajay Mehta (the priest), the Guest Stars we feature in this episode.
Also in this episode were the following guest stars who we do not discuss in the podcast: Merritt Wever (Elizabeth - Previously discussed in S2E22), Satya Bhabha (Shivrang - Previously discussed in S2E18), Rob Reiner (Bob - Previously discussed in S2E8), and M. Hasna M. (Annoyed Wedding Guest).
We also share this article (which contains spoilers) where we learned that the writers originally wrote Nelson Franklin (Robby) a part in the finale but had to take it out because of time and that this was a big, group-written episode.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Marco Polo - When Nick and Winston are stuck in the vents with Bucky, they start playing the game Marco Polo. This is a game of tag traditionally played in a pool where the player who is “it” is trying to find the other players by shouting “Marco” and the players return with shouting “Polo”. The game does not appear to have any connection to the Italian explorer Marco Polo.
Bootleg - When Schmidt is asked to pick between Cece and Elizabeth, he tries to stall by saying he got the new Coldplay bootleg, live from Rotterdam. A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that is not officially released by the artist or legally.
This episode got an 8.5/10 rating from both Kritika and Kelly; Kritika’s favorite character was Winston and Kelly’s favorite was Nick.
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for our Season 2 Recap!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 2, Episode 19, Quick Hardening Caulk, which originally aired on March 19, 2013 and was directed by Lorene Scafaria. The teleplay was written by Ryan Koh and the story was by Brett Baer & Dave Finkel.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Schmidt is not dealing with Cece’s engagement well and decides he needs a lionfish. Meanwhile, Jess is impressed with Nick’s decisions to be more responsible and finds herself wanting to have sex with him.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
California Lionfish - Schmidt saw a Lionfish at the aquarium and it reminded him of Cece. Later in the episode he tries to get one from the ocean.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
The Hobbit - When Schmidt was trying to convince Winston he wasn’t upset about Cece, he mentioned that The Hobbit was bad as a reason he was upset. The Hobbit, or There and Back Again is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The first of three movie adaptations came out in 2012.
Bond Villain - When Schmidt was sharing with the loft that he got an aquarium, Jess asked, “When did you become a Bond villain that couldn't afford not to live with roommates?” The James Bond series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. The books were adapted into films starting in 1962 and had over six actors play the role of James Bond over time. There is always a prominent villain in each of the books and films.
Russell Crowe - Nick mentioned he felt like “Russell Crowe in every movie he’s ever been in” when he was pulling the chain at the store. Russell Ira Crowe is an actor, director, musician, and singer. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius in the epic historical 2000 film Gladiator, for which he won an Academy Award, Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, Empire Award, and London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Leading Actor.
Judy Garland - When Jess was trying to pursue Nick while on pain meds, she spoke in her old-timey voice and said she was Judy Garland. Judy Garland was an American actress, singer, vaudevillian, and dancer. With a career spanning 45 years, she attained international stardom as an actress in both musical and dramatic roles and was the first woman to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
We cover both the scenes where Schmidt tries to get the lionfish from the aquarium and when he tries to stand up for Nick after seeing his black eye as our “Schmidtisms” this episode. For “Not in the 2020s” we discuss how the men in the bar said that they would buy Jess nachos if she had sex with them and how Jess was telling Nick to “kiss her like a man”, gendering the ask rather than telling him to be more assertive. In our “Yes in the 2020s” we celebrate Nick’s regard for consent and not giving in to Jess’s advances while she was on pain meds. We also give brief looks into Odette Annable (Shane), Sean Taylor (Random Guy #1), and Casey Adams (Random Guy #2), the Guest Stars we feature in this episode.
We also discuss how this is Peter Tuiasosopo’s second New Girl appearance but his first as Big Bob. In the podcast, we share this article (which contains spoilers) where we learned that this episode was more influenced by Cheers than any other in the season and how the showrunners wanted to explore Winston’s dynamic further this season.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Pacific Sea Centre (Audubon Aquarium of the Americas) - In the episode the aquarium that Winston takes Schmidt to is titled the Pacific Sea Centre but the aquarium pictured is actually the New Orleans Audubon Aquarium of the Americas. Opened in 1990, the aquarium is run by the Audubon Nature Institute and has over 10,000 animals representing 530 species with Caribbean, Amazon and Gulf of Mexico exhibits.
This episode got an 8.5/10 rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Winston and Kelly rated this episode a 9/10 and her favorite character was Schmidt!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 20!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 3, Episode 11, Clavado En Un Bar, which originally aired on January 7, 2014 and was written by Berkley Johnson and directed by Eric Appel.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Jess seeks the aid of her friends to help her determine if she should take a new job and they all share moments of their life where they had to make a big job related decision.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
“Clavado En Un Bar” - The name of the episode and the song that plays at the end of the episode.
A League of Their Own - At the end of the episode, Nick says a quote from the movie A League of Their Own to Cece and Jess, which they immediately pick up on.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Winston’s Hair / (Dennis Rodman) - In the flashback scenes, Winston had hair that was dyed in a cheetah print. Dennis Keith Rodman is an American former professional basketball player. Known for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities, he is one of the best rebounding forwards in NBA history. He repeatedly dyed his hair in artificial colors, had many piercings and tattoos; one hairstyle of which was in a cheetah like print.
Tim Duncan - Nick said the moment was so chill and absent of drama that he wanted to call it “Tim Duncan.” Timothy Duncan is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He spent his entire 19-year playing career with the San Antonio Spurs and is widely regarded as the greatest power forward of all time and one of the greatest players in NBA history. Those that are not a fan of Duncan labeled his play as "boring" because of his simple but effective style, which earned him the nickname "The Big Fundamental".
Rollergirl / Boogie Nights - Coach alluded to his relationship with his stopwatch to Rollergirl’s relationship to her skates in Boogie Nights, which is a 1997 American period comedy-drama movie written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The movie focuses on a young nightclub dishwasher who becomes a popular star of pornographic films. The Rollergirl character was a porn starlet who always wore skates.
[Sir] Billy Joel - Schmidt references another Billy Joel lyric. This time calls him “the late, great Sir Billy Joel”, which as Jess pointed out Billy Joel is neither dead nor a knight. William Martin Joel is an American singer, pianist, composer and songwriter, who has led a commercially successful career as a solo artist since the 1970s, having released 13 albums. Billy Joel was also referenced by Schmidt in S3E6.
[Bernie] Madoff - When looking up who Jess thought was her first student, there was a headline that referred to him as “Clifton ‘Baby Madoff’ Collins”. Bernard “Bernie” Madoff was an American fraudster and financier who ran the largest Ponzi scheme in history, worth about $64.8 billion. He was at one time the chairman of the NASDAQ stock exchange.
Sophie’s Choice - In the flashback where we find out Cece was Jess’s first student, Jess is trying to make a crying Cece feel better by telling her that after she watched Sophie’s Choice she could see in the dark for a week because it made her cry a lot. Sophie’s Choice is a 1982 American drama film known to be a “tearjerker” where the main character Sophie, a Holocaust survivor, deals with her harrowing past and her unraveling relationships.
This episode we reenact Schmidt describing the scotch, his story title “Kablamo McYeah Bro”, and his flabbergast button as our “Schmidtism”. For “Not in the 2020s” we discuss the consistent fat shaming and our “Yes in the 2020s” include Nick’s support of the other characters and everyone taking charge of their lives. We also give a brief look into Bart McCarthy (Kevin-97) and Brian Posehn (Biology Teacher), the guest stars in this episode.
This episode we chat about the other Billy Joel references Schmidt made in S3E6 and how in the flashback he was wearing a Livestrong jersey who we covered in pop culture on S3E3 of our podcast. We didn’t find the bear this episode but we believe it is the bear on the California state flag in Jess’s classroom.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Amish - When Jess is talking to the Biology teacher, he mentions the Amish as an example of people who are anti-future. The Amish are traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. The Amish are known for simple living, plain dress, pacifism, and a slowness to adopt many conveniences of modern technology.
This episode got a 9.5/10 rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Nick and Kelly rated this episode a 9/10 and her favorite character was Jess!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 12!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 1, Episode 15, Injured, which originally aired on March 6, 2012 and was written by J.J. Philbin and directed by Lynn Shelton.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
During a game of touch football, Jess accidentally tackles Nick, leaving him injured. She takes him to see her gynecologist friend, Sadie, who gives him meds for his back but notices an abnormal growth on his neck which leads to him taking an ultrasound that he couldn’t afford. The gang all deal with his potential diagnosis in different ways, but Nick and Jess bond. In the end, Nick is okay and the gang is closer than ever.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Fredo Kiss - Schmidt continues to “Fredo Kiss” Nick through this episode out of love.
Lucky Magazine - Jess hands Nick a Lucky magazine to tag things that he wants while he waits in Sadie’s office.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Walking like a Disney Witch - After Jess tackles Nick, Jess asks Nick if he’s ok and mentions he looks like he’s walking like a Disney Witch; they tend to hobble as they walk as shown in this YouTube video here.
Desert Storm - Winston explains “things happened” in his car and Schmidt exclaims “Desert Storm?” Desert Storm was the first major foreign crisis for the United States after the end of the Cold War and was part of the Gulf War
Daffy Duck - Jess does a Daffy Duck impression to cheer up Nick that her mom used to do when she was scared. Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon duck created by Warner Bros. Daffy was number 14 on TV Guide's list of top 50 greatest cartoon characters and has been a character since 1937.
Daniel Boone - Jess makes a joke about how many ears Daniel Boone has and says he has 3 because “he has a right ear, a left ear, and a front-ier”. Daniel Boone was an American frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the US.
We also cover “Schmidtisms” when Schmidt is comparing the death of Cece’s dad to a cat and later commenting on the soot coming in from the floors of Winston’s car. On this episode, we also discussed how Schmidt told Jess to run to the car while playing football and how that was a “Not in 2020”. Additionally, we explore the careers of June Diane Raphael and Ben Hoffman, the guest stars we highlighted in this episode.
This episode got a 7/10 Rating from Kritika whose favorite character is Nick and Kelly also rated this episode a 7/10 but her favorite character was Jess!
Additionally in this podcast, Kelly thought the way Winston sang his “Sad Song” sounded like an impression of Aaron Neville, so we’ve include the link to a song she thought it was similar to: https://youtu.be/VD6TfEWtIYI
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 16!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 1, Episode 2, Kryptonite, which originally aired on September 27, 2011 and was written by Elizabeth Meriwether and directed by Jake Kasdan.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
In this episode, Jess meets Winston who returns from playing pro basketball in Latvia. The guys are trying to motivate Jess to get her things from her ex-boyfriend’s, Spencer’s, house, especially after Jess breaks Nick’s TV. Jess tries talking with Spencer but struggles to stand her ground; Spencer is her ‘Kryptonite’. In a moment of weakness she drives Spencer’s new girlfriend to the airport and later tries to steal an old TV from a pawn shop. The guys and Cece finally go with Jess to Spencer’s house to retrieve her things and all stand with her and help! Meanwhile the guys are trying to sort out room assignments in the apartment because Winston wants the large room. In the end, after lots of reverse psychology, Winston amicably ends up with the big room.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Flip Phones - Nick uses a flip phone to watch baseball after Jess breaks the TV. Flip phones are no longer used prominently in 2020.
Songs in Winston’s Playlist - When driving to Spencer’s, the group is playing Winston’s playlist on the car stereo and the song “Save the Best for Last” by Vanessa Williams is the song that pumps Jess up to finally stop and get her things from Spencer.
Suck it Mr. Krabs - This is what Jess said to Spencer when getting her things back and we weren’t sure if it was a true Pop Culture reference, but if it was we were thinking it may have been a reference to the Mr. Krabs character in Spongebob Squarepants.
Curly Sue - This is the 1991 movie Jess offers to the gang to watch and Schmidt takes her up on the offer.
We also cover “Schmidtisms” when Schmidt is showing Nick his new thumb ring and then when he later slaps Spencer. For “Not in 2020” we discuss the gender roles in media of Men vs. Women including the “He Said, She Said” when Cece and Schmidt are in the car, when Schmidt dismisses Cece by telling her “men are working” and Nick telling Jess to “Punch it like a man”. We also give a brief look into Ian Wolterstoff, the Guest Star we feature in this episode.
This episode got a 6/10 Rating from Kritika whose favorite character is Schmidt and Kelly rated this episode a 7/10 and her favorite character was Jess!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 3!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 1, Episode 18, Fancyman Part 2, which originally aired on March 27, 2012 and was written by Berkley Johnson and Kim Rosenstock and directed by Matt Shakman.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
In this episode, Jess recaps her awkward first date with Russell and after discussing it with the guys and Cece, asks Russell out for a second date. It also goes awkwardly, but they are able to talk it out by the end of the episode. Meanwhile the “smartest guy [Nick] knows”, Dirk, is visiting and they end up having a large house party at the loft with “undergrads”. Winston and Shelby realize they don’t want to have space between them and Winston finally learns that Schmidt and Cece have been hooking up.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Wicked - While Winston drives to meet Shelby in Mexico, he sings along to the songs “Defying Gravity” and “Popular” from the musical Wicked.
Saved by The Bell- Nick mentions in the episode that the college kids that he’s hanging out with don’t even know the classic show Saved by the Bell.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Bathroom (Bear) References
When Jess walks into the bathroom and sees Dirk peeing with a t-shirt and no pants on, she and the guys make quite a few references to the below characters who also wear some clothes but no pants:
Tony the Tiger - Tony is the mascot for Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes cereal since 1952. His character originated as the winner of a mascot contest and has been voiced by many people over the years.
Winnie the Pooh - Winnie the Pooh is a teddy bear created by A.A. Milne in 1926. He was based off of Milne’s son’s teddy bear and Milne’s son was the inspiration for Christopher Robin.
Paddington - Paddington Bear is a fictional character who first appeared in 1958. It inspired a stuffed animal and many TV and film adaptations.
Honey (the) Smacks Frog - This is a reference to Dig’em Frog, the US mascot for Kellogg’s Honey Smacks breakfast cereal, who appeared from 1972 to the early 1980s but came back as the mascot in the 1990s.
Donald the Duck - Donald is a Disney cartoon character created in 1934 and is known for his temper and has appeared in various films, tv shows, and games.
Yogi Bear - Yogi debuted in 1958 as a Hanna-Barbera supporting character but eventually became even more popular than the character he supported (Huckleberry Hound). He was often known for speaking in rhymes and having a number of catchphrases.
Chipmunks (Alvin, Simon, Theodore) - These chipmunks (who were originally known as “David Seville and the Chipmunks”) were created in 1958 consisting of Alvin (the troublemaker), Simon (the intellectual), and Theodore (the shy one). Their high-pitched voices brought the term “chipmunk-voiced” into American everyday language.
Other References
“We Didn’t Start the Fire” - Schmidt tells Cece that he couldn’t have sex with her because he needed to get everyone’s name into the song “We Didn’t Start the Fire”. This song, by Billy Joel, lists out names of cultural figures and repeats with a chorus of ‘we didn’t start the fire.’
Kermit the Frog - Cece is asking Jess how her date went with Russell and asked if Jess did her Kermit the Frog impression. Kermit the Frog is a character from the Muppets and Sesame Street. Kermit has also appeared in other television series, feature films, specials, and public service announcements since 1955.
Bullfighting in Pamplona - Jess tells Cece that Russell is so sophisticated that he runs with bulls and not the “tourist-y bulls in Pamplona”. Spanish-style bullfighting is a physical contest with humans attempting to publicly subdue, immobilize, or kill a bull.
The Beatles - Jess is trying to make small talk with Russell and mentions how good the Beatles are. The Beatles were an English rock band whose members comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr and the band is regarded as the most influential band of all time.
The Social Network - When Jess gets home after her date with Russell, she asks why the cast of The Social Network was in their apartment. The Social Network is a fictionalized movie of the founding of Facebook and its founder, Mark Zuckerberg.
Dylan Thomas / Bob Dylan - ‘From Dylan to Dylan’ is the conclusion Dirk draws in his college lecture. Dylan Thomas is a Welsh poet and writer whose most famous work is "Do not go gentle into that good night”. Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter and is widely regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time.
This week in our “Schmidtism” we cover Winston asking to borrow the “Manbulance”. For “Not in 2020” we discuss Jess’s problematic behavior at the party and Schmidt’s continued fetishization of Cece’s skin color. We also give a brief look into Martin Starr, the Guest Star we feature in this episode.
This episode got an 8.5/10 Rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Winston and Kelly rated this episode an 8.5/10 and her favorite character was Nick!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 19!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 1, Episode 10, The Story of the 50, which originally aired on January 17, 2012 and was written by Luvh Rakhe and directed by Troy Miller.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
It’s Schmidt’s 29th Birthday and his birthday party isn’t going exactly to plan. Jess doesn’t want Schmidt to feel down so she plans a surprise Birthday Party on a party bus for Schmidt and his friends and the party has its share of interesting moments. We also meet Nick’s new girlfriend, Julia, who is a lawyer with some hidden anger management issues.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Sister, Sister - This was a television show that aired on ABC and WB in the 90s that Nick says Winston loves when talking to Julia.
Frankie Muniz - Frankie Muniz is an actor that is referenced in this episode as having stolen the party bus away from Schmidt.
Additional Pop Culture References that we didn’t cover on the podcast include:
Huey Lewis - Nick mentions that he listens to Huey Lewis [& the News] because “it pumps [him] up”.
Jazz Cigarettes/Grass - Jess’ Vice Principal, Tanya, was alluding to marijuana in the “confiscation station” at the school by referring to it as a few of its nicknames.
Paperless Post - Julia was asking about what type of birthday party Schmidt was having and in the process of finding out she asked if there was a “Paperless Post”, indicating an online invite.
N.W.A. - During the douchebag montage, Schmidt says “Winston, did you know that N.W.A. didn’t stand for ‘Never Walk Alone’?” This is actually an American hip hop group and considered one of the most influential groups in the genre.
Coachella - This was not actually stated in the episode, but the group had a Coachella poster on the wall in their loft. The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly known as Coachella) is a very popular annual music and arts festival in Indio, CA.
This episode had a bunch of “Schmidtisms” but we explored Schmidt “turning TWENTY-NINE” and our favorites around Schmidt making an omelette and walking in wearing a muscle tank top and his hat sideways. We discuss how Nick and Julia do Bill Cosby impressions, Benjamin calling Nick N-Word, Benjamin’s forceful approach to trying to sleep with Jess, and Benjamin’s fat-shaming of Schmidt as part of this week’s “Not in 2020”. We also give a quick look into Matt Besser and David Neher, the Guest Stars we feature in this episode.
This episode got a 8.5/10 Rating from Kritika whose favorite character is Schmidt and Kelly rated this episode a 8/10 and her favorite character was Jess!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 11!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 2, Episode 23, Virgins, which originally aired on April 30, 2013 and was written by Elizabeth Meriwether and directed by Alec Berg.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
After Jess gets a text from Teddy, the guy who took her “flower”, the whole loft (plus Cece) share their stories about how they lost their virginity.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
David Foster Wallace - When Jess was slowly telling her story, Schmidt asked her to get to the point and called her David Foster Wallace.
The Rolling Stones vs The Beatles - Cece lost her virginity to Mick Jagger, the front man for The Rolling Stones. Schmidt, however, called out “Beatlemania”.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Dave Matthews / “Daver” - In Schmidt’s flashback, Nick was going to a Dave Matthews concert and called himself a “Daver”. Dave Matthews Band is an American rock band, formed in 1991 in Charlottesville, Virginia. As of 2018, the band had sold more than 20 million concert tickets and a combined total of 38 million CDs and DVDs. Dave Matthews Band is known for their concerts where they play songs differently each performance and that is a staple of their live shows since the 1990s.
“Stay (I Missed You)” - Lisa Loeb - All throughout Jess’s story, this song played over the scenes. "Stay (I Missed You)" is a song by American singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb that was released in May 1994 as the lead single from the original movie soundtrack to Reality Bites. Lyrically, the song deals with a relationship that has recently ended, but the narrator is now regretful.
Titanic- During Nick’s Dad’s business trip, Winston and Nick were watching Titanic on TV. Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. The film incorporates both historical and fictional aspects of the RMS Titanic and stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.
Annie - In the flashback, Nick’s dad mentioned needing alcoholic drinks to get through Annie, which is a Broadway musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie and loosely based on the 1885 poem Little Orphant Annie written by James Whitcomb Riley. The original Broadway production opened in 1977 and ran for almost six years.
“Anything Could Happen” - Ellie Goulding - When Jess and Nick get together, the song “Anything Could Happen” by Ellie Goulding is playing. "Anything Could Happen" is a song on English singer/songwriter Ellie Goulding’s second album, Halcyon. "Anything Could Happen" peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart.
We also cover the flashback scene of Schmidt and Nick talking about sex in college as our “Schmidtism”. For “Not in the 2020s” we discuss Nick’s father getting a prostitute for his son and Jess asking her date to “be a man” again. For “Yes in the 2020s” we celebrate the consent and gender equality talked about on the episode as well as Schmidt and Nick’s talk about intercourse. We also give a brief look into Brenda Song (Daisy) and Johnny Pemberton (Jess’s prom date), the Guest Stars we feature on this episode.
We also share this article (which contains spoilers) where we learned that while they were hoping for an easy episode, this was the hardest episode due to the costume changes and everyone being in each other’s flashbacks. We also talk about how this was Dennis Farina’s last role before his death.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Tuxedo vs. Suit - When Nick says he’s worn a tuxedo before, Schmidt explains to him that a tuxedo is different from a suit. The main difference is that tuxedos have satin details, are only worn with white shirts that have a wing or turndown collar, and typically are accessorized with a cummerbund, waistcoat, suspenders, and a self-tied bow tie.
Iraqi War - Schmidt says it was during the Iraqi War that he learned that men could be on top during sex. The Iraqi War was a United states led invasion of Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein and lasted 8 years from 2003 to 2011.
Took My Flower – Jess brings about the plot of this episode by talking about Teddy, the man who “took her flower”. This is a euphemism to indicate taking someone’s virginity.
This episode got an 8.5/10 rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Nick and Kelly rated this episode a 9/10 and her favorite character was Schmidt!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 24!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 1, Episode 12, The Landlord, which originally aired on February 7th, 2012 and was directed by Peyton Reed and written by a whole team: Berkley Johnson & Josh Malmuth (teleplay) and Joe Port & Joe Wiseman (story).
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Jess and Nick debate if people are generally good or bad to the point where they almost have a threesome with the building’s landlord. Meanwhile, Schmidt tries to decipher what he thinks are mixed signals from his boss Kim.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
‘The Wire’ - When Jess and Nick are trying to park and run into a disgruntled driver, Jess exclaims that the situation was like ‘The Wire’ because the other driver pulls out a gun. ‘The Wire’ was a HBO crime TV drama.
Greg Kinnear and his Boat - Cece mentioned to Schmidt she was going to a party on Greg Kinnear’s boat, “Neptune’s Folly”. Greg Kinnear is an American TV and movie actor.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Bob Ross - In this episode, Schmidt calls Winston Bob Ross when asking him how his painting is going. Bob Ross was a famous American painter and was the creator and host of ‘The Joy of Painting’a TV program from 1983-1994 on PBS.
James Bond - Schmidt says that Cece looks like she should be distracting James Bond at a baccarat table which refers to how in James Bond films there is traditionally an attractive woman who is nicely dressed.
We also cover a “Schmidtism” when Schmidt talks to Cece about his boss’s mixed signals and our ‘Not in 2020’ this week was around sexual harassment in the workplace/the “standard 2am mistaken assault in the parking garage”. We also explore the careers of Jeff Kober and Gillian Vigman, the guest stars of this episode.
This episode got a 8.5/10 Rating from Kritika and Kelly and we both had the same favorite character: Nick!
Additionally in the podcast we mentioned the SNL Monologue from Zooey Deschannel which can be found here: https://youtu.be/ZFRyJ_rTVmo
Thanks for listening and stay tuned in two weeks for Episode 13! Be sure to check out @hey.new.girl.fan for some great ‘New Girl’ content!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 1, Episode 19, Secrets, which originally aired on April 3, 2012 and was written by Josh Malmuth and directed by David Wain.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Winston spills the beans about Cece and Schmidt sleeping together and Jess finds out. She and Cece spend the episode fighting while Schmidt helps Nick channel his inner douche to get used to casually sleeping with 20 year olds.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
iPod Shuffle - Jess uses an iPod Shuffle to listen to her audiobook while training for the run. We also reference this article about how an iPod Shuffle works.
Mary Poppins - Jess reveals that Schmidt thought Winston was going “full Poppins” which is a reference to the magical nanny Mary Poppins.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Diane Keaton - Jess is listening to Diane Keaton’s Autobiography as she’s training for her run and she mentions she’s at the part of the book where Diane is describing her experience on the movie First Wives Club. Diane Keaton is an American actress and filmmaker, known for her idiosyncratic personality and style.
J’Accuse - Jess says this French phrase to Nick while trying to get him to tell his secret. This is a reference to a letter written by Émile Zola to the French President in 1898 accusing the government for unlawfully jailing a French general who had a lifetime sentence. J'accuse has since become synonymous with an expression of outrage and accusation against someone powerful.
We also cover “Schmidtisms” when Schmidt talks about being a quiet breather and when Schmidt is teaching Nick to be a douche. For “Not in 2020” on this episode we discuss Schmidt defining his worth by his sexual paramours, his continuous fetishizing of Cece, and the writers making jokes based off of races. We also explore the careers of Katrina Bowden and Jessica Blair Herman, the guest stars of this episode.
This episode got an 8.5/10 Rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Cece and Kelly rated this episode an 8/10 and her favorite character was Winston!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 20!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 3, Episode 12, Basketsball, which originally aired on January 14, 2014 and was written by Rebecca Addelman and directed by Lorene Scafaria.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Jess tries to bond with Coach by pretending to like basketball which leads to a feud with Nick. Meanwhile, Winston shadows Schmidt at work while he’s training a new guy!
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
BASKETBALL - This episode features many basketball references as the premise deals with Jess becoming a Detroit Pistons fan to befriend Coach, despite the fact that Nick’s favorite team is their rivals, the Chicago Bulls.
Disposable Camera - Nick took “sexy, sensual, private pics” on a disposable camera for Jess. A disposable camera is a simple box camera meant to be used once. Most use fixed-focus lenses. Some are equipped with an integrated flash unit, and there are even waterproof versions for underwater photography. The height of the flash-equipped disposable cameras craze was around 2005.
[Edward] Snowden - Nick said he didn’t want his “sexy, sensual, private pics” to be on his phone because he didn’t want them “beamed right into Snowden’s pocket”. Edward Joseph Snowden is an American former computer intelligence consultant who leaked highly classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013, when he was an employee and subcontractor. His illegal disclosures prompted a cultural discussion about national security and individual privacy.
Guy Fieri - Nick titled one of his “sexy” pics the “Guy Fieri”. Guy Ramsay Fieri is an American restaurateur, author, and an Emmy Award winning television presenter. He co-owns three restaurants in California, licenses his name to restaurants in New York City and Las Vegas, and is known for hosting various television series on the Food Network. He’s also known for his iconic spiky bleached hair and goatee look.
Paula Abdul - When Jess was trying to tempt Nick during their sex stand-off, she started reading what a piston does and Nick said he was doing “a little Paula Abdul stuff.” Paula Julie Abdul is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers, later choreographed music videos for those like Janet Jackson, and soon thereafter had a successful career as a musician. Abdul was also one of the original judges on the television series American Idol, and has since appeared as a judge on The X Factor, Live to Dance, So You Think You Can Dance, and The Masked Dancer.
Training Day - Winston shares that Training Day is his favorite movie. Training Day is a 2001 American crime thriller that focuses on two LAPD narcotics officers over a 24-hour period in the gang-ridden neighborhoods of Westlake, Echo Park, and South Central Los Angeles. The film received numerous accolades and nominations, with Denzel Washington's performance earning him the Academy Award for Best Actor and Ethan Hawke being nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
When Jess and Nick are exploring what rivalries are, they mention a few rivals:
Yankees & Red Sox - Like the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox major league baseball teams are arguably the fiercest rivalry in sports. In 1919, Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold star player Babe Ruth to the Yankees, which was followed by an 86-year period in which the Red Sox did not win a World Series. This led to the popularization of a superstition known as the "Curse of the Bambino,” which was onte of the most well-known aspects of the rivalry.
Jean Valjean & Javert - Both Jean Valjean and Javert are fictional characters from Victor Hugo’s novel Les Misérables. The story’s main character, Jean Valjean, struggles to lead a normal life after serving a prison sentence for stealing bread to feed his sister's children during a time of economic depression and various attempts to escape from prison. Javert is a prison guard and then a police inspector, and his character is defined by his legalist tendencies and lack of empathy for criminals of all forms. Valjean and police Inspector Javert, who repeatedly encounters Valjean and attempts to return him to prison, have become archetypes in literary culture.
Hamlet - The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, often shortened to Hamlet, is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. Set in Denmark, the play depicts Prince Hamlet and his revenge against his uncle, Claudius, who has murdered Hamlet's father in order to seize his throne and marry Hamlet's mother.
This episode we discuss which one of us is most likely to fake being into something to make friends, steal someone’s idea, have loose olives under your bed, and not support your partner’s team. We cover the moment where Schmidt shares that Ed out-sharked him to Cece and Winston as our “Schmidtism” this episode. For “Not in the 2020s” we chat about the men vs women dynamics and some of the ageism. For “Yes in the 2020s” we discuss the moment where Nick yells out how he was going to respectfully take Jess. We also give a brief look into Bob Gunton (Ed), the Guest Star we feature in this episode.
Also in this episode were the following guest stars who we do not discuss in the podcast: Gillian Vigman (Kim - Previously Discussed in S1E12), Selina Kaye (Waitress), and Adam Michna (Bar Patron).
We also chat about how the writers landed on this plotline but we did not find the bear this episode.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Half Nelson - One of the poses that Nick photographs himself in he calls the “Half Nelson”. The half nelson is a wrestling hold in which one arm is thrust under the corresponding arm of an opponent and the hand placed on the back of the opponent's neck. Most coaches refer to it as the easiest but most effective move in folkstyle wrestling, and it is very commonly used.
This episode got an 7/10 rating from both Kritika and Kelly and both had the same favorite character: Nick!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 13!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 4, Episode 12, Shark, which originally aired on Jan 6, 2015 and was written by Jacob Brown & Rob Rosell and directed by Alex Hardcastle.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Winston is graduating from the police academy and Nick and Coach are worried about him. Meanwhile, Schmidt and Jess are trying to stop the night construction going on outside of the loft.
This episode got a 8/10 rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Winston and Kelly rated this episode a 6.5/10 and her favorite character was Fawn!
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Bollywood / The Office (UK) - Schmidt thought he was going to make Cece and Ryan laugh, but when they didn’t he said he wasn’t a fan of Bollywood movies or the UK Office.
Karl Lagerfeld - Before Dawn Moscato met Schmidt at the restaurant, Schmidt requested that a waiter let him know he had a call from Karl Lagerfeld at some point in the evening.
Dudley Moore - When Ryan was drinking red wine, Jess said “You got a real Dudley Moore thing going on right now, and I like it.”
John F. Kennedy - When Schmidt was recapping his date with Fawn, he shared that she said he was like a “Jewish Kennedy”.
O. J. Simpson - Schmidt shared that Fawn told him they could “have sex in the room where O.J. tried on the glove.”
Jolly Green Giant - Jess exclaimed that Fawn “can't just walk all over the people of the city like the Jolly Green Giant.” Then Schmidt and Jess disagreed about the Jolly Green Giant’s character.
Bill and Hilary Clinton - Schmidt was excited to be potentially groomed by Fawn, saying, “This could be a real Bill and Hillary situation.” Jess thought Schmidt wouldn’t be Bill or Hillary in that scenario.
Abraham Lincoln - During Schmidt’s city hall speech about not moving the loud construction, he referenced Abraham Lincoln and the crowd was upset because “he was our quietest president”.
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 13!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 1, Episode 17, Fancyman Part 1, which originally aired on March 20, 2012 and was written by J.J. Philbin & Nick Adams and directed by Peyton Reed.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Jess has a disagreement with a parent of one of her students and is forced to apologize. Along the way, she ends up seeing Russell is a nice guy and is interested in her. Nick is dealing with bad credit issues and spends the episode in awe of Russell being what he terms a “fancyman”. Meanwhile, Winston is trying to get over feeling dumber than Schmidt in front of Shelby while they play trivia.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Ghost Protocol - Because Nick cannot afford a phone, he says he’s going ‘Ghost Protocol’ to mean he won’t be able to be contacted.
Fight the Power by Public Enemy - When planning how she’s going to confront Russell, Jess shares she would end the confrontation with the song Fight the Power by Public Enemy.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Trivia References
Since trivia was a big part of this episode, there were quite a few pop culture references that pertained to the trivia questions or Elvin training with Winston. Some of these are detailed further below:
Princess (Duchess) Kate - Kate (Catherine) Middleton is the Duchess of Cambridge. Unlike the show suggests, Kate is not a princess, but is married to Prince William, Duke of Cambridge.
First American Monkey in Space - Albert was the first American primate astronaut however it was actually Albert II that is considered the first American Monkey in Space during his flight in 1949.
Goldfinger - This is the 3rd movie in the James Bond series that was released in 1964 and was the first Bond blockbuster. This film introduced many elements that continue in future James Bond films.
Golden Hind- This was Francis Drake’s ship that was renamed from Pelican mid-voyage in 1578. There is currently a replica in London that can be visited on the south bank of the Thames.
Other References
Michael Jordan - Shelby calls Schmidt the “Michael Jordan of bar trivia”. Michael Jordan was a successful Major League Basketball player from 1984-2003, who was known for setting records in the game.
Jellies - Cece implies that because Spencer wore Jellies it makes him less desirable. Jellies, also known as Jelly shoes, are shoes made of PVC plastic and are named for their semi-transparent, jelly-like sheen. Jellies first came to prominence around 1980, but have recently been reinterpreted by high end fashion designers.
Court of the Sun King - Jess says she wouldn’t have lasted 2 seconds in the Court of the Sun King because she hated groveling. This is a reference to The Court of Louis XIV where the king sought to be adored by his ministers.
While Nick was in Russell’s office he made two references to how it smells:
Teddy Roosevelt - Teddy Roosevelt was the 26th president of the United States serving two terms from 1901 to 1909. He was known for his love of the “cowboy life” and published 3 books related to hunting.
Shakespeare - William Shakespeare was an English playwright in the 1500-1600s who wrote 39 plays, 154 sonnets, and more including famous works like Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, and Macbeth.
Jodeci - When Shelby and Winston are making out, Schmidt offers to put on some Jodeci. Jodeci is an American R&B quartet formed in North Carolina in 1989. They started off as two separate duos of brothers who eventually joined together to form Jodeci. They are still well respected and sampled in many other songs.
On this episode’s “Schmidtism” we cover the scene where Schmidt is yelling from the car as Winston and Shelby are making out. We also discuss “easy” stereotypes that the show plays on during our “Not in 2020”. For the guest stars in this episode, we explore the careers of Randall Park and Dermot Mulroney.
This episode got a 9/10 Rating from Kritika and 7.5/10 from Kelly and we both had the same favorite character: Nick!
Also in this episode we mention a Wired Autocomplete interview that Dermot Mulroney did with Julia Roberts which can be watched here. We also refer to the similarity between Sarah’s artwork and Takashi Murakami’s work which can be found on our website here.
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 18!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 4, Episode 22, Clean Break which originally aired on May 5, 2015 and was written by Rebecca Addelman and directed by Trent O’Donnell.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Coach is packing up to move to New York and while the loft is helping him pack, they are also getting rid of things they don’t need.
This episode got a 10/10 rating from both Kritika and Kelly; Kritika’s favorite character was Schmidt and Kelly’s favorite was Winston.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Imitating announcer Don Pardo, saying “Live from New York, it's Coach's good-bye!”
Singing the song “New York, New York” by Frank Sinatra
Phylicia Rashad - The loft mates found Schmidt’s “Cece box” and they called out that no one was surprised because everyone had already seen his Phylicia Rashad “box”.
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for the Season 4 Recap Episode!
This podcast covers a recap of the second season of New Girl. We’re your hosts, Kelly and Kritika, and we originally met through work but now we consider ourselves long distance best friends. We’ve bonded over our love of TV and brought you this podcast to recap one of our favorite shows -- New Girl.
In Season 2, we see the loft mates' friendship blossom. Jess and Nick explored their feelings for each other, Schmidt and Winston explored their friendship, and Cece pursued a serious relationship.
In this recap of Season 2, we break down the themes of each loft mate.
Jess - We explore Jess’s career, how her need to control everything evolved from Season 1, and how she stepped out of her comfort zone in her relationships.
Nick - We discuss his struggle to be vulnerable, how he spent the season looking for a father figure, his relationship with Jess, and friendships with the other loft mates.
Winston - We examine how Winston got a little more of a storyline (but not much) and how great of a friend he was to everyone in the loft through this season.
Schmidt - We take a look at Schmidt’s relationship with Cece, his new friendship with Robby, and his existing relationships with the rest of the loft.
Cece - We review Cece and Jess’s friendship and Cece’s arc of settling down this season.
Additionally, we discuss our favorite scenes, quotes, “Schmidtisms”, “In the 2020s” segments, pop culture references, and guest stars we had previously featured on the podcast. We also share some fun facts from a series of articles covering an interview with the showrunners linked below.
This podcast covers New Girl Season 2, Episode 24, Winston’s Birthday, which originally aired on May 7, 2013 and directed by Max Winkler and was written by Brett Baer & Dave Finkel.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Jess and Nick sleep together for the first time in the last episode! Before they get a chance to talk about it, they’re split apart as they prepare for Cece’s wedding the next day, Bob arrives, and a new job opportunity pops up for Jess. Meanwhile, Schmidt and Elizabeth work to define their relationship and it’s Winston’s BIRTHDAY?!
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
When talking to Jess, Cece exclaimed her Uncle Shishir “had one scene with Salman Khan in Dabangg 2, and all of the sudden he thinks he's Amitabh Bachchan in Jhoom Barab-ar Jhoom.”
Henna - In preparation for her wedding, Cece got her hands painted with henna.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
“It Wasn’t Me” - Shaggy - In the Schmidt and Elizabeth’s flashback scene, this song played. "It Wasn't Me" is the first single from Jamaican reggae musician Shaggy's fifth studio album, Hot Shot. The song features vocals from Rikrok. The lyrics of the song depict one man (Rikrok) asking his friend (Shaggy) what to do after his girlfriend caught him cheating on her with "the girl next door".
Mike Tyson - When Cece got henna on her face after sleeping on her hands, she thought she looked like Mike Tyson. Michael Gerard Tyson is a former American professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. He also has notable tattoos on his face.
Mandy Patinkin - Shivrang mentioned that Jess told him Cece looked like Mandy Patinkin with the henna smeared on her face. Mandel Bruce Patinkin is a Tony and Emmy award winning American actor and singer. He’s prominently known for his role as Inigo Montoya in Rob Reiner's 1987 film The Princess Bride and as Saul Berenson in the Showtime series Homeland, where his character had a thick beard.
"Until We Get There" - Lucius - When Nick and Jess were on the roof at the end of the episode, this song played. Lucius is a four-piece indie pop band consisting of lead vocalists Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig, drummer and producer Dan Molad, and lead guitarist Peter Lalish.”Until We Get There” is a song featured on the band’s first studio album, Wildewoman, released in 2013.
We also cover the moment Schmidt goes to find Elizabeth at the restaurant as our “Schmidtism” this episode. For “Not in the 2020s” we discuss Bob referencing how he “gay[ed] his way out of Vietnam” and the way Schmidt and his coworker treated Elizabeth. We also discuss Elizabeth standing up for herself and Jess owning her own decisions to her dad as our “Yes in the 2020s” moments. Additionally, we give a quick look into Curtis Armstrong (Dr. Foster) and Mary Lynn Rajskub (Peg), the Guest Stars we feature in this episode.
We also share this article (which contains spoilers) where we learned that the creators knew that the audience wanted more Winston and made his birthday a C-plot as a joke. We also shared how the creators wanted to avoid an episode where Jess and Nick talked about their feelings after they had sex.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Flashcubes - When Bob is taking a picture of Jess and Nick, he mentions that he needs to get new flashcubes. These flashcubes were developed in the 1960s by Sylvania Electric Products which caused Kodak to replace the existing flashbulb technology on their series of cameras with flashcubes as the process of how they worked remained similar.
Mark Twain - In this episode, Jess mentions bringing the words of Mark Twain alive when she was trying to teach the kids. Mark Twain is the pen name for Samuel Langhorne Clemens who was an American writer, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was known for many famous novels like The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
This episode got an 8.5/10 rating from both Kritika and Kelly; Kritika’s favorite character was Nick and Kelly’s favorite was Jess.
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 25!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 1, Episode 14, Bully, which originally aired on February 21, 2012 and was written by David Walpert and directed by Daniel Attias.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Jess intervenes with a classroom bully, but then becomes the subject of the bullying herself. Schmidt and Cece continue to sleep together, but are NOT in a relationship. Nick meanwhile gets a cactus from Julia and their breakup makes him spiral.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Neil Young + The Needle and the Damage Done - While Schmidt and Cece were hooking up, Schmidt mentioned that Cece needed him like heroin, loosely referring to a Neil Young song and exclaiming “Neil Young, yo!”
Mahjong - Schmidt saw a group of people playing Mahjong when going to breakfast with Cece and didn’t know this very popular game.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
The Piano - Nick mentioned wanting to watch the movie The Piano after his breakup with Julia. The Piano is a movie from 1993 about a woman who doesn’t speak and travels to New Zealand for an arranged marriage with her piano.
“Lovitz body?” - When the gang was teasing Schmidt about how he hooked up with the same mystery person more than once, they asked Schmidt if she had a “Lovitz body”. This referred to the actor Jon Lovitz.
In this episode, we also cover a “Schmidtism” when Schmidt compares his love-making to cheese. For “Not in 2020”, we talk about how the group discusses Schmidt’s sexual conquests. We also explore the careers of Rachael Harris and Joey King, the guest stars of this episode.
This episode got a 6/10 Rating from Kritika whose favorite character is Winston and Kelly rated this episode a 7/10 and her favorite character was Nick!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 15!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 4, Episode 4 Micro, which originally aired on October 4, 2014 and was written by Josh Malmuth and directed by Jay Chandrasekhar.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
After the guys start to rate women by their physical attributes, Jess dates a man with a micropenis to prove to the rest of the loft that she’s not shallow. Meanwhile, Cece and Winston decide to mess with Coach and Schmidt and get them “into” modeling.
This episode got a 7/10 rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Winston and Kelly rated this episode an 8/10 and her favorite character was Nick!
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Vietnam War / Korean War - When the guys were comparing "cans" one of the guys noted the "Post-Korean war, pre-Vietnam war" time was the size he liked the best.
Paula Cole - In the bar, Winston put "five dollars in the jukebox" to play a "Paula Cole rock block."
Hercules - In the modeling sequence, Schmidt was told he looked like "the only Jewish Greek God, Hercules."
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 5!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 4, Episode 9, Thanksgiving IV, which originally aired on November 25, 2014 and was written by David Feeney and directed by Fred Goss.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Schmidt is still committed to helping the loft mates have a hook up, so he proposes Bangsgiving, where everyone draws a name and brings someone to the party for that person to hookup with. But, as expected, things don’t go according to plan…
This episode got a 8/10 rating from both Kritika and Kelly; Kritika’s favorite character was Cece and Kelly’s favorite was Nick.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Pharrell [Williams] - Schmidt was being compared to looking like the “Jewish Pharrell” at the party.
Guardians of the Galaxy - Coach was surprised by his date’s strength and told Winston that he “should've warned [him] you were setting [him] up with one of the Guardians of the Galaxy.”
Monopoly - Tran brought a game like “Thailand Monopoly” to the “Bangs-giving” party.
Sean Connery - Jess was trying to back-track what Coach told Ryan about “Bangs-giving” being a singles party, asking, “Did Coach say that with a Sean Connery accent? Did he say "shingles"? 'Cause he was… He actually meant shingles. Like the... like… Everybody here is a-a roofer.”
Oasis - Jess shared that she sings songs by the band Oasis to herself and pretends they’re about Ryan caring for her.
Oliver Twist - Coach was egging Jess on that Ryan would be polite because he’s British, comparing him to the Charles Dickens novel protagonist, Oliver Twist.
Additionally we mentioned in our podcast episode a video of Hannah Simone doing accents. You can watch it here.
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 10!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 3, Episode 22, Dance, which originally aired on April 29, 2014 and was directed by Trent O'Donnell and written by Rebecca Addelman and Ryan Koh.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Jess is throwing a school dance where the theme is Love is Forever and Ever and Ever (with 12 total Evers) so when the dance is sabotaged, the loft comes together to fill in the gaps and support Jess.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Flo-Jo - When Schmidt went outside to race the bully, he said, “I'm like a Hebrew cheetah, on the count of three. One, two... Flo Jo!”
Gosford Park - When the dance was being sabotaged, Jess shared that all the doors should be locked to keep everyone in like it was Gosford Park.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Good Will Hunting - When making jokes about Buster’s age, Schmidt said Buster would have been 7 when Good Will Hunting came out. Good Will Hunting is a 1997 American psychological drama film directed by Gus Van Sant, and written by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. The film received nominations in nine categories at the Academy Awards and won in two: Best Supporting Actor for Robin Williams and Best Original Screenplay for Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. The film was met with highly positive reviews and in 2014, it was ranked at number 53 in The Hollywood Reporter's "100 Favorite Films" list.
“Call Me Maybe” - Carly Rae Jepsen - This song played when Winston was having trouble turning down the “heat” on the dance floor. "Call Me Maybe" is a song recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Carly Rae Jepsen for her EP Curiosity and later appeared on her second studio album and first international album Kiss. "Call Me Maybe" was nominated for two Grammy Awards in 2012 – Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance. The song was the best-selling single worldwide, selling over 12 million copies in that year alone.
Ray Charles - Coach said the three guys were the worst chaperones, noting that Ray Charles’ ghost would be better. Ray Charles Robinson Sr. was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and alto saxophonist who is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history. Charles was blinded during childhood, possibly due to glaucoma and when Coach is saying Ray Charles’ ghost would be a better chaperone, even though he was blind.
8 Mile - When having a rap battle at the end of the episode, Schmidt says it’s like 8 Mile. 8 Mile is a 2002 American musical drama film that contains autobiographical elements from Eminem's life. The story follows white rapper Jimmy Smith Jr. aka B-Rabbit and his attempt to launch a career in hip hop, a music genre dominated by African-Americans. The title is derived from 8 Mile Road, the highway between the predominantly African-American city of Detroit and the largely white suburban communities to the north that Eminem originally lived in.
On this episode’s Most Likely To we discuss who is more likely to challenge a little kid to a foot race, sabotage an event, accidentally hurt their friend while trying to bond or hug, and race in a shopping cart. We also cover what Schmidt thinks “makes a man” in our “Schmidtism”. For “Not in the 2020s” we mention Nick calling Cece a “stupid girl” and the kid calling Schmidt a “flamer”. In our “Yes in the 2020s” we highlight Jess and Cece’s conversation with Wendy where they talk to her but don’t punish her. We also give a brief look into Mary-Charles Jones (Wendy) and Mason Cook (Tommy), the guest stars of this episode.
In this episode we also discuss some of the callbacks from earlier seasons like how Jess couldn’t say penis in Season 1 and how the men chant “Men!” like they did in this season’s Thanksgiving episode. Neither of us found the bear this episode.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
City of big shoulders and dreams - When Nick is trying to entertain the kids he asks “who is from Chicago, the city of big shoulders and dreams.” The reference is from a 1916 poem by Carl Sandburg where he mentions the hard-working tradesmen and physical laborers who made the city the industrial center of the region.
Munchausen syndrome - In this episode, one of the teachers mentions that she has never volunteered to chaperone a school dance because of her Munchausen syndrome. Munchausen's syndrome is a rare condition where a person fabricates or induces symptoms of illness in themselves. This is different from hypochondria as people with Munchausen syndrome actually manipulate results rather than just believe they are ill.
This episode got a 7/10 rating from both Kritika and Kelly; Kritika’s favorite character was Coach and Kelly’s favorite was Cece.
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 23!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 2, Episode 20, Chicago, which originally aired on March 26, 2013 and was written by Luvh Rakhe and directed by Jake Kasdan.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
When Nick finds out his dad died of a heart attack, the whole loft goes to his funeral that Nick has to plan. Jess tries to help and support him while drawing the line at writing Walt’s eulogy. Meanwhile, Winston helps Schmidt get over his fear of death and open caskets.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Elvis - Jess impersonated Elvis at Nick’s Dad’s funeral and sang two of Elvis’ songs.
Trail Blazers - When sharing about Portland, Jess mentioned she was “from the land of books” and simply, “Trailblazers”. The Portland Trail Blazers are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division.
Wrigley Ticket Stub - As they’re leaving Chicago and saying goodbye to Bonnie, Winston mentions he took a Wrigley Ticket Stub to remember Walt by. A Wrigley Ticket Stub comes from Wrigley Field, which is a baseball park located on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two Major League Baseball franchises. As of 2021, Wrigley field is the second oldest baseball stadium in the United States.
We cover Schmidt’s breakdown over the middle-class button system and death as our “Schmidtism” this episode. For “Not in the 2020s” we discuss how Nick’s mother asks Jess if “she is a Spanish” and refers to Schmidt as “Fat Schmidt”. In our “Yes in the 2020s” we talk about how everyone in the loft came to the funeral with Nick, Jess putting on the Elvis costume, and Schmidt’s “eulogy” to Winston. We also explore the careers of Margo Martindale (Bonnie), Bill Burr (Bobby), and Nick Kroll (Jamie), the guest stars of this episode.
We also discuss how Dennis Farina, who plays Walt, passed away 3 months after this episode aired and how this was Ellen Albertini Dow’s last television appearance before she passed in 2015 at the age of 101. We also share this article (which contains spoilers) where we learned that they knew this episode was always going to be part of Season 2 but that this was supposed to be earlier in the season and would be the first kiss for Nick and Jess. This episode also had an initial cut of 43 minutes and a lot of the improv with Nick Kroll, Bill Burr, and Jake Johnson had to be cut to make the episode time. On the podcast, we also mention the following articles where Mac Davis did an interview about his song “In the Ghetto” and Zooey Deschanel’s time on Conan where she talked about how she prepared for the Elvis impersonation.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Pop vs Soda - When the loft enters Nick’s house, Bobby and Jamie are fighting over whether a fizzy carbonated beverage would be called pop or soda. Across the United States, there are regional differences in what soft drinks are called with Soda being used in the Northeast, most of Florida, and California while Pop is used for most of the Midwest and West. In the South, the term “coke” is often used to represent all fizzy drinks.
Logan - When Bobby is threatening Schmidt, he says he’ll keep him out of the whole city because he works TSA at Logan. The Boston Logan International Airport is located in East Boston and was opened in 1923. It is the largest airport in New England and is the 16th busiest airport in the United States.
This episode got an 8/10 rating from Kritika and a 7/10 from Kelly and we both had the same favorite character: Jess!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 21!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 2, Episode 16, Table 34, which originally aired on February 5, 2013 and was written by David Iserson and directed by Tristram Shapeero.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
After Jess and Nick kissed in the last episode, both of them are feeling awkward and we get to watch them deal with the aftermath. Meanwhile, Cece goes to an Indian singles event for those looking to get married and Schmidt goes as well to win her over.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Gone With the Wind / Scarlet O’Hara - When Jess was describing the kiss with Nick to Cece she said it was as if she was like Scarlet O’Hara in one of her curtain dresses; Scarlet O’Hara was a character from Gone With the Wind.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Big - When Schmidt gets dressed up to go to the marriage convention, Winston says that he looks like the fortune teller from the movie Big. Big is a 1988 American movie starring Tom Hanks about a teenage boy who, after he wished he was older by a fortune teller arcade game, woke up the next day to be in the body of an adult.
The Love Guru - When Schmidt shows up at the marriage convention, Cece says that he looks like a character from the movie The Love Guru. This is a 2008 American comedy movie starring and written by Mike Meyers about an American who was raised by gurus and who tries to break into the self-help industry.
Lil Wayne - Cece justifies that she has more accomplishments by mentioning that she was in Lil Wayne’s last music video. Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, record executive, and entrepreneur who began his career at age 12.
During speed dating, Schmidt calls the man Cece is talking to M. Night Shyamalan and tells him that he has a twist ending: “to shut up”. The man then responds by calling him Ben Affleck and telling Schmidt that he’s not desperate.
M. Night Shyamalan / Twist Ending - Manoj Nelliyattu "M. Night" Shyamalan is an Indian American filmmaker and actor. He is known for making original films with contemporary supernatural plots and twist endings.
Ben Affleck - Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter.
Kal Penn - In his speech to highlight Cece, Schmidt mentions that Kal Penn is a genius. Kalpen Suresh Modi, known as Kal Penn, is an American actor and former White House Principal Associate Director in the Office of Public Engagement during the Barack Obama administration.
Taylor Swift - Jess wanted to listen to Taylor Swift alone after Sam broke up with her at the convention. Taylor Alison Swift is an American singer-songwriter, who is often inspired by her personal experiences, in her song writing. She is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with over 200 million records sold worldwide and she has won 11 Grammy Awards.
Magic Carpet - In the final scene, Schmidt says to Cece that they’re “taking a ride on the magic carpet”. A magic carpet, also called a flying carpet, is a legendary carpet typically used as a form of transportation in fantasy fiction and can quickly or instantaneously carry its users to their destination.
Moonwalk / Shamone - When Nick is moonwalking away from Jess, he says “Shamone”. The moonwalk is a dance move where one is gliding backwards while leaning forward which became popular during Michael Jacksons’ performance of “Billie Jean”. “Shamone” is a common phrase in Michael Jackson’s songs as a way of saying “come on” as a tribute to soul singer Mavis Staples.
We also cover how Schmidt learned some Hindi phrases as our “Schmidtism” this episode. For our “not in the 2020s” we discuss how Schmidt and the show reduce Cece to a sex object rather than her own person and Anu’s treatment of Winston. However, Winston’s response and Schmidt putting aside his selfishness for Cece (before he messes this up) are some of our “yes in the 2020s” moments. We also explore the careers of Kristian Kordula (Male Model) and Lara Shah (Indian Single), the guest stars we feature in this episode.
We also read this interview with the New Girl showrunners where they discussed how this episode had to be rewritten after the kiss in Cooler (the last episode) and how the idea of the marriage convention came from Hannah Simone. The interview also shares how Kobe Bryant showed up to watch the filming of this episode and some of his favorite jokes.
This episode got a 7.5/10 Rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Cece and Kelly rated this episode a 9/10 and her favorite character was Nick!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 17!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 2, Episode 1, Re-Launch, which originally aired on September 25, 2012 and was written by Kay Cannon and directed by Steve Pink.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
This episode not only kicks off Season 2, but celebrates Schmidt having his penis cast removed and in only the way Schmidt can, he throws himself a party to “re-launch” his brand of “Danger” now that he’s no longer “broken penis guy”. Jess meanwhile has been laid off from her job as a teacher and tries to be a shot girl at Schmidt’s party to make some money. Throughout the episode, Nick supports Jess as she works through losing her job.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
“Groove is In the Heart” (Deee-Lite) - At the beginning of the episode, Nick is singing this song in the shower. At the end of the episode, Winston also sings this song while drunk at the bar.
Lord of Winterfell (Game of Thrones) - When questioning Robby and Cece’s relationship, Schmidt ponders if Robby is like “the Lord of Winterfell or he's working with a real piece of pipe.”
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Morgan Freeman / Shawshank - Winston is trying to convince Nick he’s matured by telling him he’s wearing a suit and Nick comments that his suit is something Morgan Freeman’s character would wear after leaving Shawshank. Morgan Freeman is an American Actor who portrayed the character Ellis Boyd ‘Red’ Redding in the movie Shawshank Redemption, which is a movie about two imprisoned men bonding over a number of years, finding solace, and eventual redemption through acts of common decency.
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Schmidt mentioned Philip Seymour Hoffman was invited to his re-launch party. Philip Seymour Hoffman is an American actor, director, and producer. He acted in many films, including leading roles, from the early 1990s until his death in 2014.
Crank Yankers - Schmidt mentioned that a writer for a little show called Crank Yankers was invited to his re-launch party. Crank Yankers is an American television show that features actual prank calls made by show regulars and celebrity guests that are re-enacted onscreen by puppets for a visual aid to show the viewer what is happening in the call. The show aired on Comedy Central from 2002-2005 and later aired on MTV2 from 2007-2009. Crank Yankers has returned again on Comedy Central in 2019.
Slap Bracelet - After being laid off and getting to take items from the lost and found box, Jess mentioned she should have grabbed the slap bracelet. A slap bracelet is a bracelet that consists of layered, flexible stainless steel sealed within a fabric that wraps around your wrist when the bracelet is hit against it.
Paramount Picture(s) - When Jess is trying to be a Shot Girl, she invents a character named Ivy who will sleep with someone for a chance to be in a Paramount Picture. Paramount Pictures is an American film and television production and distribution company founded in 1912.
We also cover when Schmidt gave his fire monologue while twirling his fire batons as the “Schmidtism” of the episode. We changed our next segment to “In the 2020s” to highlight the “not” moments, like the way Schmidt described Cece’s new boyfriend, and the “yes” moments, like Robby not feeling threatened/his lack of toxic masculinity and the guys wanting to comfort Jess. We also give a brief look into Parker Posey and Nelson Franklin, the Guest Stars we featured in this episode.
Also in this episode was Ross Mackenzie who we do not discuss in the podcast but played the proctor in the flashback scenes.
We also discussed how Parker Posey replaced Leslie Mann for the role of the shot girl and how we were excited to see the Chore Chart still on the fridge!
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Bushel - When speaking about Nick and his “gift” of making mixed drinks, Winston asks why he’s trying to hide his light under a bushel. A bushel is actually a unit of volume in the US based on dry capacity and is equal to 8 dry gallons. It was primarily used for farming products like wheat. It’s also colloquially used to measure a “bushel of apples”.
Dengue Fever - In the episode, Jess says that one way she could earn up to $700 at a hospital is by being infected with Dengue Fever for research. Dengue fever is a tropical disease that is carried by mosquitoes with the dengue virus. It has been a big problem since World War II and is still common in over 120 countries mainly in South America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. It is currently classified as a neglected tropical disease.
When Nick is giving Jess a tough love speech he mentions the following references:
Passing cigarettes to prisoners - Historically, in prison, cigarettes were noted as an informal currency that allowed you to supplement the income that your family might place into a commissary account. In 2016, the preferred informal currency began to shift to Ramen after many prisons had budget cuts leading to prisoners having to find nutrition on their own.
Turn-of-the-century bathing costume - In the 1900s women typically did not swim and rather jumped through the waves while holding onto a rope attached to a buoy and were dressed in black, knee-length wool dresses with puffed sleeves. They often also included a sailor collar, ribbons and bows, black stockings, and fancy caps.
T-Ball - Casey tells Schmidt that her nickname is t-ball because you can never strike out with her. T-ball is a team sport that combines cricket, baseball, and softball for children between ages 4-7 to develop skills and have fun. The rules are most similar to those of baseball, however for the youngest players it is played without a score with each player being allowed to bat.
This episode got a 9/10 Rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Nick and Kelly rated this episode an 8/10 and her favorite character was Winston!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 2!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 1, Episode 23, Backslide, which originally aired on May 1, 2012 and was written by David Quandt and directed by Nanette Burstein.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Jess is upset about breaking up with Russell and after learning about the term “backsliding”, she sleeps with an ex. Nick is still pursuing his relationship with Caroline even though the loftmates are advising against it. Schmidt’s still dealing with his broken penis and meets Cece’s grandmother while Winston gets drunk with his boss and ends up with a new accessory for everyone to make fun of.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
The River by Joni Mitchell - While Jess was wallowing over her breakup with Russell, she played The River by Joni Mitchell on repeat in her room.
Tom Waits - Nick refers to the voice in his head sounding like Tom Waits and later in the episode Jess imitates what Tom Waits would sound like.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Cylon - After asking herself if she was “self-sabotaging” her relationship with Russell, Jess asked herself if she was a Cylon. Cylons are a fictional, artificially-intelligent race of machines in the Battlestar Galactica series.
Grateful Dead Bears - When Nick was looking at the apartment with Caroline, she asked him where the Grateful Dead Bears were going to dance. The Grateful Dead is a band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The “bears” were initially designed by artist Bob Thomas to appear on the back cover of the band’s 1973 album, The History of the Grateful Dead, Volume 1 (Bear’s Choice). They have come to be a symbol for many things but are most notably used as a symbol for the band.
Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky - When Jess finds out that Paul cheated on his girlfriend when he slept with her, he claims to know what Bill Clinton felt like and Jess says she knows how Monica Lewinsky felt. Bill Clinton was a former US president who was impeached after lying to a grand jury about his affair with Monica Lewinsky, who was at the time a White House intern.
“Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day…” (Sonnet 18) - When Nick is watching past Nick be sad over Caroline, Schmidt retrieves the poem past Nick wrote about Caroline. The poem began with the beginning of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18, which is one of Shakespeare’s best-known sonnets.
Batmen - When Schmidt and Cece go to the nursing home to visit Cece’s dadi, another resident shared that he mentions he and his wife had been together through four different “batmen”. Since 1943, there have been 9 actors who have played Batman on the big and small screens.
Yoda - When Schmidt is talking to Cece’s dadi and friends, he mentions they are like real live yodas. Yoda is a small, wrinkly, green character from the movie franchise Star Wars.
Winston’s Earrings - Throughout the episode, the loftmates made fun of Winston by comparing him to many famous references including the below:
Disney Pirate Movie / Captain Black Sparrow - This is a reference to the movie The Pirates of the Caribbean where the main character is an eccentric pirate named Captain Jack Sparrow. The first movie came out in 2003 and it has since had 4 more feature films with another 2 potentially being made.
George Michael - George Michael was a member of the music duo Wham! who later embarked on a solo career. When he died in 2016 he was considered one of the best-selling music artists of all time and achieved eight number one songs on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Carnival - This is a reference to the Western Christian festive season before Lent and occurs in February or early March. It involves public celebrations like parades, street parties, and has elements of a circus. Typically the festival has attendees in costumes and masks and celebrate by eating and drinking excessively.
Mr. T - Mr. T is an alias for Lawrence Tureaud who is an American actor, TV personality, bodyguard, and professional wrestler. His catchphrase “I pity the fool!” is from his character on Rocky III and became his trademark which led him to have his own reality show.
Lil Wayne - Lil Wayne is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor who is known as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation. He joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member at the age of 12.
Shaquille O'Neal - Shaquille “Shaq” O’Neal is an American former basketball player who spent 19 years in the NBA. He was also one of the first African Americans to portray a major comic book superhero in a motion picture and has continued to act since.
We also cover a “Schmidtism” when Schmidt tries to cheer Jess up at the beginning of the episode. For “Not in 2020” on this episode we discuss how Cece’s dressing down to avoid discomfort for Schmidt was compared to dressing like a “women’s study major”. We also discuss how Paul called Winston “Washington” and Jess referred to Jenn as “Asian me” and herself as the “Caucasian you”. We also explore the careers of Phil Hendrie, Melissa Tang, and Madhur Jaffrey, the guest stars of this episode.
This episode got an 8/10 Rating from Kritika and Kelly and we both had the same favorite character: Jess!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 24!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 2, Episode 9, Eggs, which originally aired on November 27, 2012 and was written by Kay Cannon and directed by Neal Brennan.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Sadie and her wife Melissa are visiting for dinner and share that they are pregnant and also that women lose 90% of their eggs by the time they hit 30. This gives Jess much anxiety while Cece is less concerned and they both take fertility tests. Meanwhile, Nick is committed to writing his novel Z is for Zombies and Schmidt learns he may need a little more in bed despite his self-proclaimed va-genius status.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Ernest Hemingway - Nick channels Ernest Hemingway in this episode so he can write his novel, Z is for Zombies.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Helen Mirren - Melissa mentions that her vagina is old, but gets better with age like Helen Mirren. Dame Helen Lydia Mirren DBE is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, she is the first and only person to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting in both the US and the UK, winning a BAFTA Film Award and the Academy Award for Best Actress, a Tony Award, and an Olivier Award. In the Queen's 2003 Birthday Honours, Mirren was appointed a Dame (DBE) for services to drama and in 2013 she was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She is currently 75 years old.
Andrew Bynum - While at Winston’s radio show, Nick says he wants to say something about Andrew Bynum’s hair. Andrew Bynum is a former American professional basketball player, who played the majority of his career with the Los Angeles Lakers. He is known for having many hair-dos.
Shazam - In a flashback, Emma says “hold on, I’m ‘shazaming’ this song”. Shazam is an application that can identify music, movies, advertising, and television shows, based on a short sample played using the microphone on the device.
The Grapes of Wrath / 1930s Dustbowl - Jess says her uterus is like The Grapes of Wrath, inferring that it’s dry and empty. The Grapes of Wrath is an American realist novel written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939, and won Steinbeck the Nobel Prize in 1962. Set during the Great Depression, the novel focuses on the Joads, a poor family of tenant farmers driven from their Oklahoma home by drought and economic hardship.
Blair Underwood - Winston says he has Blair Underwood-like skin. Blair Erwin Underwood is an American actor known for films like Gattaca, Deep Impact, Just Cause, and Rules of Engagement.
When Schmidt is describing how he navigates the vagina, he mentions a few different references:
[Finding] Nemo - Schmidt shares there’s a move he does called ‘Losing’ Nemo. Losing Nemo is a play on Finding Nemo which is an animated movie where a timid clownfish sets out on a journey to bring his son home after he is captured in the Great Barrier Reef and taken to Sydney.
Oscar - Schmidt mentions at the end of his moves he “goes on stage to collect his Oscar”. The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in the film industry. They are regarded as one of the most significant and prestigious awards in the entertainment industry.
Downton Abbey - When Winston says Nick is not a finisher, he said that’s why Nick is only three episodes into Downton Abbey. Downton Abbey is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes.
We also cover a “Schmidtism” when Schmidt is trying to get advice from Sadie and set up an appointment with her. Our “not in the 2020s” was how the episode qualified Sadie and Melissa having a “lesbian” baby and our “yes in the 2020s” was Schmidt’s support of Nick’s constant misspelling of the word “rhythm” and the loft all listening to Winston reading Nick’s book aloud. We also give a brief look into Kay Cannon (Melissa), the Guest Star we feature in this episode.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Curiosity Rover - Through the door of his bedroom, Schmidt says that the Curiosity Rover has touched down on the planet of Mars. This is a reference to the Mars rover that was designed to explore a crater on Mars through NASA. It was launched from Cape Canaveral in November 2011 and landed on August 6, 2012. The goal was to investigate Martian climate and geology and its mission was extended indefinitely. It is still operational and has been on Mars for over 8 years.
John “Grizzly” Adams - When talking to Schmidt, Sadie refers to vaginas as a “Grizzly Adams.” John “Grizzly” Adams was a famous mountain man and grizzly bear trainer. He loved the outdoors and nature and eventually cared for and trained grizzlys for display, zoos, and circuses.
Pommel horse - Jess mentions falling off of a pommel horse when being worried about having affected her own fertility. The pommel horse is a part of artistic gymnastics that is traditionally only used by male gymnasts. It has a metal body covered with foam rubber and leather with plastic handles, also known as pommels.
“Arrive at the bridge, meet the troll, and then answer his riddles three” - When Schmidt is meeting with Sadie he shares the above phrase. While not specific to any one story, this is a common trope in movies and stories where there is a troll guarding a bridge that won’t let anyone past unless they pass a test, usually with 3 questions.
Studio 54 - One of Emma’s fantasies that she explored with Schmidt on this episode was a French maid handyman with a Studio 54 busboy. Studio 54 is a Broadway theatre in Manhattan and used to be a disco nightclub. It first was an opera house and later an entertainment venue under different names until it became a radio and television studio in 1942.
This episode got an 8/10 Rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Winston and Kelly also rated this episode an 8/10 and her favorite character was Sadie!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 10!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 3, Episode 1, All In, which originally aired on September 17, 2013 and was written by Elizabeth Meriwether and directed by Max Winkler.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Nick and Jess share they’re ready to go “All In” and end up running off to Mexico. Winston and Schmidt continue to feel out their friendship. Schmidt still can’t decide between Cece and Elizabeth and we learn Winston is colorblind!
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Point Break - When Nick is running away from the resort security, he exclaims “I will Point Break style this moment!”
Ugly Betty - When Nick was in resort jail he shared it wasn’t so bad and that he was allowed to watch the television show, Ugly Betty.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Craigslist - Jess reminisced that she got “a really great deal on Craigslist” when she found the listing for Apartment 4D. Craigslist is an American classified advertisements website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, for sale, items wanted, services, community service, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums. Craig Newmark began the service in 1995 as an email distribution list to friends and it has since expanded to over 70 countries.
Kermit the Frog - Winston didn’t know that Kermit the Frog was green. Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character created and originally performed by Jim Henson. Introduced in 1955, Kermit can be found in numerous Muppet productions, most notably Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, as well as in other television series, feature films, specials, and public service announcements through the years.
This season we started a new section of our podcast called “Most Likely To” where we pick moments from the episode and answer which one of us we think best fits that prompt. Listen today to hear who we think is most likely to be really bad at puzzles, wear a sweatshirt on their legs, run away to Mexico, and think things will work out unrealistically!
We also cover two “Schmidtisms” when Schmidt was talking to Cece on the couch and when Schmidt got frustrated that Winston didn’t know what the puzzle was going to look like. For “Not in the 2020s” we discuss how Jess & Nick were the stereotypical tourists in Mexico and Schmidt blamed Cece and Elizabeth for “putting him in this position.” Our “Yes in the 2020s” centered around Winston agreeing to help Schmidt by making himself look bad to Cece. We also explore the careers of Hemky Madera (Gabriel) and Cole Sand (Little Kid), the guest stars of this episode.
On this podcast we also refer to a few interviews from Jake Johnson, Zooey Deschanel, and Elizabeth Meriwether where they talked about this episode and more of Season 3. We also began to track the bears that are in each episode of New Girl! For this premiere, we couldn’t find the bear ourselves but let us know where you see the bear in this episode!
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Piñata - When Nick wakes up, he realizes that Jess has driven to Mexico and sees a piñata that is shaped like a monkey. A piñata is a decorated papier-mache container filled with candy that is broken as part of a celebration. They’re commonly associated with Mexico but actually came from the Italian word pignatta.
Jollies - Winston tries to help Schmidt cover up his lie and allows Schmidt to tell Cece that Winston “got his jollies off” with Elizabeth. This is a slang term that means one’s amusement, enjoyment, or pleasure but is usually referred to in terms of perverse satisfaction or a sexual thrill/charge.
This episode got an 8/10 rating from Kritika and 7.5/10 from Kelly and we both had the same favorite character: Winston!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 2!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 2, Episode 4, Neighbors, which originally aired on October 9, 2012 and was written by Berkley Johnson and directed by Steve Pink.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
This episode, the loft gets some new younger neighbors and while Jess and Schmidt try to be friends with them, they worship Jess and hate Schmidt. Meanwhile, Nick feels compelled to “break” Schmidt and make him feel like he’s old which he does through pranking him. Winston is realizing what more he wants out of life and makes a career change.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Central to this episode, Jess creates “catch phrases” that come from TV shows like:
Old Spice + “the guy on the horse” - Nick is wearing Old Spice deodorant and Schmidt was unsure of the smell. Nick tries to explain that Old Spice as a brand is coming back in style, especially because of the “guy on the horse”, which is a reference to a series of Old Spice commercials.
Mr. Belvedere - Jess was watching Mr. Belvedere at the beginning of the episode. Mr. Belvedere is an American sitcom that aired between 1985 and 1990 based on the 1947 novel Belvedere. The series follows posh butler Lynn Belvedere as he struggles to adapt to the Owens household.
Characters from 80s Sitcoms - Jess mentions she can do character voices from any 80s sitcom. Specifically she mentions:
Alf - Alf is an American TV sitcom that aired between 1986 to 1990. The title character is ALF (an acronym for "alien life form") who crash-lands in the garage of the suburban middle-class Tanner family.
Cousin Larry Appleton [Perfect Strangers] - Larry Appleton is a character on the series Perfect Strangers, which aired from 1986 to 1993. The series chronicles the coexistence of midwestern American Larry Appleton and his distant cousin from eastern Mediterranean Europe, Balki Bartokomous. “Get out of the City Cousin Larry Appleton” was a phrase used by the character Balki in the show.
Fraiser Crane [Fraiser] - Dr. Fraiser Crane is the title character of the series Fraiser which aired from 1993 until 2004. Fraiser was created as a spin-off of the TV show Cheers, continuing the story of psychiatrist Frasier Crane as he returned to his hometown of Seattle and started building a new life as a radio advice show host while reconnecting with his father and brother and making new friends.
Dolla-dolla bills, y'all - Schmidt mentions he’ll be at the neighbors party with bells on, and then makes a bad reference to the phrase ‘Dolla Dolla Bills, Y’all’ by instead saying ‘Dolla Dolla Bells Y’all’. This phrase is made known from the lyrics of the 1993 song C.R.E.A.M by Wu-Tang Clan. This phrase has also gone on to become a larger part of internet culture.
[Jewish] Peter Pan - Schmidt mentions he’ll never stop growing and that he’s like a Jewish Peter Pan (that he also phrases as “Petya Pan”, “Petter Pan”, and “Pesach Pan”). Created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie, Peter Pan is a fictional character that is a free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up. This Screen Rant article also compares the entire show New Girl to Peter Pan(note: there are spoilers in this article).
Gran Torino (as in referring to Clint Eastwood being old) - When Nick is trying to talk to Schmidt in the middle of his spiral about the neighbors thinking he’s old, Schmidt calls Nick Gran Torino. Gran Torino is an American drama film directed and produced by Clint Eastwood, who also starred in the film and plays an older man.
Top Gun / Anthony Eds, the "Goose" man - Schmidt walks into the neighbors’ apartment and sees they are watching the movie Top Gun and calls out the character “Goose” played by the actor Anthony Edwards. Top Gun is a drama movie that follows United States Naval Aviator LT Pete "Maverick" Mitchell and his Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) LTJG Nick "Goose" Bradshaw as they are stationed aboard the USS Enterprise.
Hilary Swank - Schmidt mentions that the actor Anthony Edwards is like the Hilary Swank of bald men. Hilary Swank is an American actress and film producer known for her roles in Million Dollar Baby, Boys Don’t Cry -- both of which she has won awards for -- P.S. I Love You, and The Horseman.
[F]rank Sinatra - Winston calls himself “Prank” Sinatra after the famed musician Frank Sinatra as if to say he could smoothly pull off pranks. Francis “Frank” Albert Sinatra was an American singer and actor who was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 150 million records worldwide.
Parkour - Schmidt proclaims Parkour when he is quickly moving around and jumping on items in the apartment. Parkour is a training discipline where people aim to get from one point to another in a complex environment, without assisting equipment and in the fastest and most efficient way possible.
We also cover Schmidt’s happiness that the neighbors don’t hate him because of his age but rather his personality as our “Schmidtism”. In the “In the 2020s” section, our “not” was how Schmidt dismissed Nick as a professional because he wasn’t wearing a suit and our “yes” was how the loft were good friends including Schmidt encouraging Jess to follow her passion of teaching and the loft encouraging Winston with his job. We also give a brief look into the careers of Charlie Saxton (Chaz), Morgan Krantz (Fife), Jinny Chung (Sutton), and Jasmine Di Angelo (Brorie), the guest stars of this episode.
Also in this episode were the following guest stars who we do not discuss in the podcast: Stone Eisenmann (Young Nick) and Jordan Fuller (Young Winston).
On this episode, we discussed actuarial life expectancy and shared our results from this quiz which we took for fun. We also discuss Schmidt and Nick’s ages being inconsistent through the show so far as well as top pranks within movies listed on this article and youtube link. Lastly, we also mention how Zooey Deschanel has made a guest appearance on the show Frasier who Jess does an impersonation of in the beginning of the episode.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
When Schmidt is sharing that he’s younger and more successful than the rest of the loft, he considers himself Snow Leopard and the rest of the loft DOS.
Snow Leopard - This is the 7th major operating release for the Apple operating system for their Macintosh computers. This operating system was released in August of 2009 and the next major release didn’t come until July 2011.
DOS - This was a disk operating system that was initially used in IBM PCs but the acronym was used for over a dozen other operating systems in the time frame of the 1960s - 1990s.
TGIF - In this episode, Jess mentions that there’s a TGIF marathon on. The TGIF lineup specifically stood for "Thank Goodness It's Funny." and was a block of family friendly comedies from 1989 - 2000, 2003 - 2005, and 2018-2019.
Sitar - When the neighbors are trying to invite Jess over, they mention that they have a sitar. The sitar is an Indian string instrument used in Hindustani classical music. It was invented in medieval India and was popularized by the composer Ravi Shankar and was used in the 1960s by bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.
Pigskin - When Winston is making his big speech, he compares his job to the “pigskin” in the game of life. Pigskin is slang for a football which was originally inflated with the bladders of animals like pigs that were later covered by leather leading to the term “pigskin”. Footballs that were made from the inflation of pig bladders were replaced in the 1860s when vulcanized rubber was invented.
After Schmidt realizes the neighbors don’t like him, he tries to act cooler by doing burpees:
Olympics - When Schmidt is doing burpees, the neighbors sarcastically ask when the next Olympics is. The Olympic Games are an international sports competition featuring summer and winter sports where thousands of athletes from around the world compete and represent their countries. They are held every 4 years with either a Summer or Winter Olympics every 2 years.
“Set a PR” - When Schmidt is doing burpees, he exclaims that he’s going to “set a PR”. A “PR” is a personal record and is used to evaluate one’s own best performance as a goal to beat in future workout sessions.
This episode got a 7/10 Rating from Kritika and a 7.5/10 from Kelly and we both had the same favorite character again: Nick!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 5!
This podcast covers a recap of the fourth season of New Girl. We’re your hosts, Kelly and Kritika, and we originally met through work but now we consider ourselves long distance best friends. We’ve bonded over our love of TV and brought you this podcast to recap one of our favorite shows -- New Girl.
In Season 4, Jess finds her footing in the dating world and goes through a few different relationships. She helps her dad propose and marry an old high school classmate of hers. Nick in this season finds his footing and supports all of his friends through big decisions. Schmidt spends this season focused on becoming a millionaire and wanting power…until he realizes what he really wants is love and ends up engaged to Cece(!), who while engaged at the end, went on a journey of self discovery this season from attending community college to finding a place for herself, separately from her love for Schmidt. Winston continues excelling at his role as a cadet and eventually a police officer and Coach leans in to his “coach” and educator role until he eventually meets his person, May, and moves to New York with her at the end of the season.
In this recap of Season 4, we break down the themes of each loft mate.
Jess - We explore Jess’s relationships, her career and how Ryan influenced her job, as well as saw more of her family.
Nick - We discuss how Nick was more of a supporting character this season but how his ambition grew with Schnick Industries.
Winston - We examine how Winston’s cop journey progressed as well as how his character is developing further through pranking and goofy moments.
Schmidt - We take a look at Schmidt’s struggle to be loved and building a relationship with Cece while being friends. We also discuss his career ambitions this season including wanting to be a millionaire.
Cece - We review Cece’s need for growth this season, how she loved Schmidt even when she didn’t know he loved her, and her growing friendship with other members of the loft.
Coach - We continue to explore Coach’s storyline with teaching and the relationships he had throughout this season.
Additionally, we discuss our favorite scenes and quotes, “Schmidtisms”, “In the 2020s” segments, pop culture references, and guest stars we had previously featured on the podcast. We also answered questions from you - our listeners!
This season as a whole got a 7.5/10 rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Schmidt and a 8/10 from Kelly whose favorite character was Winston.
This podcast covers New Girl Season 2, Episode 11, Santa, which originally aired on December 11, 2012 and was written by Luvh Rakhe and directed by Craig Zisk.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
When the loft realizes everyone is headed to celebrate the holidays separately, they try to maximize their time by attending multiple Christmas parties! At the parties, Jess gets a surprise visit from Sam, Winston deals with a cranberry stuck in his ear, Nick and Angie get to the next level, and Cece is trying to show Schmidt she’s still his friend.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Santa - Throughout the episode, the loft mates and their partners were talking about their experiences with Santa… and they even thought they saw him at the end of the episode!
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Bah Humbug - Cece gave Schmidt a gift and his response was “Bah Humbug'' because he was upset. Bah Humbug is an exclamation that conveys curmudgeonly displeasure. It’s most commonly known as a phrase used by the character “Ebenezer Scrooge” in A Christmas Carol who exclaims "Bah! Humbug!" as a retort to anything sentimental or overly festive.
Chicago Bears - Nick is making fun of Winston for believing in Santa and Winston comes back saying Nick only eats mayo sandwiches on Chicago Bears’ game days, which Nick does in a superstitious belief of thinking that makes them win. The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The franchise was founded in Decatur, Illinois, in 1920 and moved to Chicago in 1921.
Boy Meets World - Schmidt commented that the DJ at his work Christmas party was really respected and also an actor on Boy Meets World. Boy Meets World is an American television sitcom that ran for seven seasons from 1993 to 2000 on ABC. The show chronicles the everyday events and life-lessons of Cory Matthews and his family and friends through Middle School, High School, and College.
Taken / Liam Neeson - When Nick and Angie were hooking up in the sleigh at Schmidt’s work party, he references the movie Taken and its main character, Liam Neesan. Taken follows a retired CIA agent as he travels across Europe and relies on his old skills to save his kidnapped daughter while she was on a trip to Paris. William John Neeson is an actor from Northern Ireland known for well known movies like Kinsey, Schindler’s List, The Grey, The A-Team, Taken, and Love Actually.
Transporter Movies / Jason Statham - Cece gave Schmidt a tungsten carbide metal bracelet and Schmidt commented it was “...what Statham wore in all the Transporter movies.” The Transporter is a 2002 action-thriller film that stars Jason Statham as Frank Martin, a driver for hire, AKA a "transporter", who will deliver anything, anywhere for the right price. There are six films in the Transporter franchise and one TV show. Jason Statham is also known for action movies like Crank, Furious 7, Spy, and The Meg.
We also cover some of our favorite lines like Schmidt saying “bah humbug” to Cece and how he described Christmas as “White Anglo-Saxon Winter Privilege Night” as our “Schmidtisms” this episode. For our “not in the 2020s” we discussed how Schmidt mansplained lapdancing to Angie and wanting to hook up with a “fatty in an elf costume” as well as the continuation of Schmidt’s approach to Cece’s culture and Nick rationalizing Angie’s job. In our “yes in the 2020s” we discussed the loft hiding Jess and later when she stood up for herself with Sam. We also give a brief look into Jeris Poindexter (Santa/cop), the Guest Star we feature in this episode.
Also in this episode were the following guest stars who we do not discuss in the podcast: David Walton (Sam - discussed on S2E3), Olivia Munn (Angie - discussed on S2E10), Paul Grace (Security Guard), and Edward Hong (Male Night Nurse).
Additionally in the podcast we mentioned how the cop who stopped the loft mates had a badge that said “Nicholas” on it and how Nick has many nightmare situations.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Irish Good-bye - In this episode, the loft agrees that the only way to go to multiple holiday parties is by doing the Irish good-bye. This phrase indicates exiting a party or event without saying goodbye or giving advance notice, usually indicating an avoidance of displaying any emotion. While there isn’t an exact source of this phrase, one possible historical source is when many Irish residents fled to America during the Potato Famine (1845-1852).
EDM - When the loft arrives at Schmidt’s friend’s party, Jess asks if they’re going to play computer music all night. Electronic Dance Music is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres made for clubs, raves, and festivals. It’s generally produced by DJs by creating a mix of multiple tracks seamlessly moving from one to the other. The popularity grew globally in the 2000s and by the early 2010s the term “electronic dance music” was popularized to rebrand rave culture.
North Pole - When the loft runs into who they think is Santa, they mention he should be at the North Pole. The North Pole is the point in the Northern hemisphere where the Earth’s axis of rotation meets its surface but is not the Magnetic North Pole. This area is also known as the location of Santa Claus’s workshop and where he lives. The Canada Post has even assigned it the postal code of H0H 0H0 referring to “ho ho ho!” which is one of Santa’s traditional exclamations.
This episode got a 9/10 Rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Winston and Kelly rated this episode a 9/10 and her favorite character was Jess!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 12!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 2, Episode 7, Menzies, which originally aired on November 13, 2012 and was directed by Jason Woliner and written by Kim Rosenstock and Elizabeth Meriwether.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Jess has her period and all the emotions along with it. She’s still between jobs and in this episode, she interviews to get a job as an Adult Education teacher. Meanwhile, Winston thinks he has sympathy PMS and Nick meets a guy on a bench who helps him process his feelings. Also in this episode, Schmidt signs a sex contract with his boss, even though Cece seems to be interested again.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
“Jump Around” by House of Pain - When Jess announces she got a job, Schmidt plays this song to celebrate the return of hot water to the loft.
To Kill a Mockingbird / Boo Radley - In Jess’ interview she mentions the adult students wanting to read To Kill a Mockingbird and the interviewer mentions her “puppy in a cup” was named “Boo” after the book’s character Boo Radley.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Ken dolls - Jess mentions, in rage, that she’s going to kick the testicles off the guys so then they’ll look like Ken dolls. Ken is a fashion doll and fictional character introduced by Mattel in 1961 as the counterpart of Barbie, who was introduced two years earlier. As most dolls do, the Ken doll is nondescript with body parts.
She-Hulks - Cece remembers Schmidt calling his co-workers “Pant-suited corporate She-Hulks”. She-Hulk is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books first in 1980 published by Marvel Comics. She-Hulk’s premise is that Jennifer Walters, a lawyer, received an emergency blood transfusion after an injury from her cousin, Bruce Banner, and acquired a milder version of his Hulk condition.
Judy Blume - Winston’s experience of sympathy PMS was mentioned to be like a character in a Judy Blume novel. Judy Blume is an American writer of children, young adult, and adult fiction. Blume began writing in 1959 and has since published more than 25 novels. In her children’s novels, Judy Blume is known for teaching children and young adults about their bodies.
[The Chronicles of] Narnia - Schmidt mentions he wants to wander into Emma’s “Narnia of Sexual Terror”. Narnia is a reference to the fictional realm of Narnia, a fantasy world of magic, mythical beasts and talking animals depicted in The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of seven fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Originally published between 1950 and 1956, The Chronicles of Narnia have been adapted for radio, television, the stage, film and computer games.
Visual: Maneki-Neko - When Jess was interviewing there was a waving lucky cat behind the interviewer in the office. The maneki-neko is a common Japanese figurine which is often believed to bring good luck to the owner. In modern times, they are usually made of ceramic or plastic. The figurine depicts a cat, traditionally a calico Japanese Bobtail, with a paw raised in a Japanese beckoning gesture.
We also cover the scene where Jess and Nick play out a drumroll for Schmidt as our “Schmidtism”. Our “not in the 2020s” include the way the character Emma was portrayed and acted as well as Schmidt’s slight mention of Cece having a “curry smell”. Our “yes in the 2020s” include how Nick talking with Tran was portrayed as well as seeing an episode of TV centered around periods and PMS! We also give a brief look into Carla Gugino (Emma) and Ralph Ahn (Tran), the guest stars in this episode.
Also in this episode were the following guest stars who we do not discuss in the podcast: Molly Cheek (Marion, the interviewer), Dalila Ali Rajah (the interviewer who called Jess back to Marion), Jacqueline Suzuki (the flute player), and Stone Eisenmann (Young Nick).
We also discussed Netflix’s captions around Nick leaving for the park at the beginning of the episode, what rock bottom actually means, and Jess’s swimsuit changing color.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Tinny music - While not stated in the episode, Netflix captioned the hold music when Schmidt is talking to the gas company as tinny music. Tinny music isn’t a genre of its own, however tinny music refers to music that is thin in tone.
Compact discs - When Jess is trying to pay Schmidt for her share of the bills, she says that a library card now helps with more than books since you can also check out compact discs. Compact discs also known as CDs are a digital disc data storage format that is used to store and play audio recordings. It was later adapted to also store data and drove other format adaptations for other types of media. It was introduced in 1982 and by 2007, 200 billion CDs had been sold worldwide.
This episode revolved around “menzies” or menstruation and PMS and the following items were either referenced or shown on screen:
Sympathy PMS - While not exactly what Winston describes, there is a similar behavioral state called irritable male syndrome which has similar symptoms to PMS.
Hot Water Bottle - Hot water bottles are useful when one is experiencing PMS cramps as it improves blood flow and relaxes tight muscles. This should always be wrapped in a towel for safety purposes.
“Red devil in my belly” - The term “red devil” is sometimes used to refer to one’s menstrual cycle.
This episode got a 7.5/10 Rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Nick and Kelly rated this episode an 8/10 and her favorite character was Jess!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 8!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 2, Episode 12, Cabin, which originally aired on January 8, 2013 and was written by J.J. Philbin and directed by Alec Berg.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Jess persuades Nick and Angie to join her and Sam at his boss’s cabin for a weekend away while Schmidt tries to help Winston get back to his “roots” as a Black man.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Absinthe - Absinthe is the alcoholic beverage Jess, Sam, Nick, and Angie all drink while they’re at the cabin.
The Smurfs - Schmidt tells Winston he has the body of a Smurf when confirming he was in better shape than Winston.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Jackie O - Jess says Nick looks like Jackie O when he shows up at the cabin with large sunglasses. Jackie O is a nickname reference for Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who was an American socialite, book editor, writer, and photographer who became First Lady of the United States as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. As first lady, her popularity was due to her dedication to the historic preservation of the White House and devotion to protecting her children. During her lifetime, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was regarded as an international fashion icon as was specifically known for her large round sunglasses.
Pixar - Schmidt says Winston was like Pixar when talking to other Black people at the bar. Pixar Animation Studios, commonly known as Pixar, is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful feature films that typically center around uplifting, life lesson stories.
We cover Schmidt and Winston going to find crack as our “Schmidtism” this episode. For our “not in the 2020s” we discussed the way Schmidt approached trying to be “the Black friend [Winston] never had” and our “yes in the 2020s” included Schmidt wanting to create an open environment to have a frank discussion about race and how Nick shared his true feelings about his relationship with Angie. We also give a quick look into Javier Calderon (Robert), the Guest Star we feature in this episode.
Also in this episode were the following guest stars who we do not discuss in the podcast: David Walton (Sam - discussed on S2E3) and Olivia Munn (Angie - discussed on S2E10).
Additionally in the podcast, we discussed the term “jimmies” (which Schmidt used in this episode) and its etymology as well as how Jake Johnson later acted in Drinking Buddies where the couples go to a cabin and do swap partners. We also mentioned how the cabin used in this episode was also used in an episode of The Office in Season 8.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Chanting USA - In this episode, Nick begins chanting “USA'' when he and Angie show up at their free cabin for the weekend. This is a popular chant in the United States to express U.S. pride and support national sports teams. The first documented usage of this chant was in a steel plant in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.
Jazz - When Schmidt is comparing the contributions of Winston and his ancestors to the United States, he mentions jazz. Jazz is a musical genre originated in African-American communities in New Orleans, Louisiana with roots in blues and ragtime music as well as West African cultural musical expressions and African-American music traditions.
This episode got an 8/10 rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Schmidt and Kelly rated this episode an 8.5/10 and her favorite character was Jess!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 13!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 2, Episode 8, Parents, which originally aired on November 20, 2012 and was written by Ryan Koh and directed by Jesse Peretz.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
It’s Thanksgiving again and Jess’s divorced parents are coming to the loft along with Schmidt’s cousin who is also named Schmidt. Jess tries to get her parents back together while Schmidt begins competing with his cousin about who’s more manly.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
LEGOLAND - Schmidt mentions that Big Schmidt never made him feel bad about not wanting to ride the rides at LEGOLAND.
The Parent Trap (1961 and 1998) - Jess tries to “Parent Trap” her parents into getting back together while they both visit for Thanksgiving.
Grey Gardens - Jess and her mom Joan joke how they always could be like the Mom and daughter in the documentary Grey Gardens as a back-up plan.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Rocky IV - When Cece mentioned the movie Jess made her watch a million times, Jess first thought Cece meant Rocky IV, which is a 1985 American sports film written, directed by, and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the fourth installment in the Rocky series, which focuses on a professional boxer’s life.
Twilight - When Nick was sharing the premise of his book, Z is for Zombies, with Bob, Bob mentions it sounds like the plot of Twilight, which is a young adult vampire-romance novel by author Stephenie Meyer.
Katie Couric - After Jess and Cece did Joan’s make-up, Joan thought she looked like a “slutty Katie Couric”. Katie Couric is an American television and online journalist, presenter, producer, and author. She is founder of Katie Couric Media, a multimedia news and production company and has been a television host at all Big Three television networks in the United States: NBC News, CBS News, and ABC News.
Jimmy Croche - When Nick and Joan were cooking, they had Jimmy Croche’s music playing. James Joseph Croce was an American folk and rock singer-songwriter. His breakthrough came in 1972, but in 1973, the day before the lead single to his fifth album was released, Croce and five others died in a plane crash.
When the Schmidt’s were plating the Thanksgiving dinner, they made comments of how their plates appeared like:
Picasso - Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. He is known for his neoclassical style in the 1910s and early 1920s; his work in the mid-1920s often has characteristics of Surrealism.
Bobby Flay - Robert William Flay is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, and reality television personality. He is the owner and executive chef of several restaurants and has hosted several Food Network television programs.
We cover Schmidt and Big Schmidt’s “all day” dialogues as our Schmidtism. The masculinity contest in this episode kinda blurred the lines between the “not” and the “yes” for our “in the 2020s” section including not allowing Winston to consent to the kiss at the end of the episode as a “no”. Our other “yes in the 2020s” included normalizing self-prioritization (how Jess’s parents didn’t get back together and are happier that way) and your parents’ relationship status doesn’t dictate your own relationships. We also explore the careers of Jamie Lee Curtis (Joan), Rob Reiner (Bob), and Rob Riggle (Big Schmidt), the guest stars of this episode.
We also discussed Jamie Lee Curtis’s website My Hand In Yours™ and how despite Schmidt saying he couldn’t kiss Winston because he was a man, he had previously fredo-kissed Nick many times.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Julienne - When Schmidt is detailing what a post-Clinton manhood competition might include, he mentions being able to cut peppers in the classic julienne style. This is a French cooking term for cutting vegetables into thin strips, usually about 3 inches long and anywhere from 1/16th to 1/8th of an inch thick.
Football Owners/Teams - When Nick is distracting Bob, he ends up bonding with him over various football references including specific teams and owners.
Al Davis - Al Davis was an American football coach and the main owner of the Oakland Raiders for 39 years. He died in 2011 at the age of 82 in Oakland and had also served as the commissioner of the American Football League in 1966. He was known for his motto “Just win, baby”, which paired well with the Raiders as they became one of the NFL’s most successful teams during the 1970s and 1980s, winning 3 Super Bowl Titles.
Ravens - The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team that competes in the National Football League and was established by Art Modell. They are one of the more successful franchises, qualifying for the NFL playoffs 13 times since 2000 and winning 2 Super Bowls.
Art Modell - Art Modell first owned the Cleveland Browns franchise for 35 years before establishing the Baltimore Ravens franchise which he owned for 9 years. He was a controversial figure in Cleveland due to the relocation but passed away in 2012 at the age of 87 in Baltimore, Maryland.
NFL - The NFL stands for the National Football League, a professional American football league which has 32 teams with 16 in the National Football Conference and 16 in the American Football Conference. It is one of 4 major professional sports leagues in North America and the highest professional level of American football in the world.
Steve Sabol - Steve Sabol was an American filmmaker and specifically was the president and founder of NFL Films alongside his father. He began working at NFL Films as a cameraman after he graduated and started in the industry when his father got the rights to the 1962 NFL Championship game. He went on to serve as an editor and writer in addition to the cameraman in the 1960s and 1970s. He became an on-air personality in the 1980s through ESPN and won 35 Emmys throughout his career.
This episode got an 8/10 rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Nick and Kelly rated this episode an 8.5/10 and her favorite character was (Big) Schmidt!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 9!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 3, Episode 8, Menus, which originally aired on November 12, 2013 and was written by Matt Fusfeld & Alex Cuthbertson and directed by Trent O'Donnell.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Jess wants to take her students to the ocean as many of her students have never been but she gets shut down by Principal Foster. Instead, she terrorizes an Asian restaurant who is not being eco-conscious. Meanwhile, Coach convinces Nick to get in shape and Schmidt feels left out.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Barry Bonds - Nick shares that after training with Coach he’ll look like Barry Bonds.
Jason Street - When Winston has a wheelchair after he hurt his ankle, Coach shares that he looks like Jason Street from the television show Friday Night Lights.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Roberto Benigni - After Schmidt sees Winston in a wheelchair, he feels like he’s missing everything and says “What's next? Roberto Benigni coming through the halls making everybody laugh?” Roberto Remigio Benigni is an Italian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and director who gained international recognition for writing, directing, and starring in the Holocaust comedy-drama film Life Is Beautiful. For that film, he was the first non-English speaking winner of an Academy Award for Best Actor.
Ghostbusters- Jess was calling out that the menu had the circle with the line through it to indicate “No MSG” and Winston helped her with calling out that’s ‘the Ghostbusters thing’. Ghostbusters is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis as three eccentric parapsychologists who start a ghost-catching business in New York City.
Catch-22 - Nick is trying to help Jess by saying she should try less but she calls out that she doesn’t know how to try not to try, which Nick says is a “catch-22”. A catch-22 is a paradoxical situation from which an individual cannot escape because of contradictory rules or limitations. The term was coined by Joseph Heller, who used it in his 1961 satirical novel Catch-22.
Ironside - Winston shouts “I'm coming too, because I ain't a quitter. Ironside!” Ironside is an American television crime drama that aired on NBC from 1967 to 1975. The show focused on Robert T. Ironside, who was a consultant for the San Francisco police department who was paralyzed from the waist down after being shot while on vacation.
We also cover two “Schmidtisms” this episode when Schmidt commented on Nick eating Chinese food for breakfast and later when Schmidt tried to spy on the loft. For “Not in the 2020s” we discuss Coach and some of his comments as well as the episode showing them handing out paper menus. For “Yes in the 2020s” we love the way Nick’s speech inspired Jess to solve her problem with love and not hate. We also give a brief look into Justin Chon (Brian), the Guest Star we feature in this episode.
Also in this episode were the following guest stars who we do not discuss in the podcast: Curtis Armstrong (Dr. Foster - Previously discussed in S2E24), Steve Agee (Outside Dave - Previously discussed in S2E17), Jayda Brown (Crystal), and Jeff Lam (Menu Guy).
We also discuss how it’s possible that Damon Wayans Jr. and Zooey Deschanel went to high school together. This episode, we did not find the bear.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
SUNY Binghamton - When Outside Dave is eating lunch with Schmidt, he pulls out a doll and says he went to SUNY Binghamton. SUNY Binghamton is a university that started out as a branch of Syracuse University and then in 1950 was incorporated into the State University of New York (SUNY) and renamed. In 1965, the campus was formally designated the State University of New York at Binghamton, and in 1992, Binghamton University was adopted as its informal name.
This episode got a 8/10 rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Schmidt and Kelly rated this episode a 6.5/10 and her favorite character was Nick!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 9!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 4, Episode 2, Dice, which originally aired on September 23, 2014 and was written by Matt Fusfeld and Alex Cuthbertson and directed by Lynn Shelton.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Jess takes a risk and learns how to use dating apps from Schmidt while Nick and Cece get Coach stoned for the first time…right before they get invited to a party with Winston’s cop coworkers.
This episode got a 8/10 rating from both Kritika and Kelly and we both had the same favorite character: Schmidt!
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Babar - Nick thought Schmidt’s hookup, Barb, was the name of the cartoon elephant Babar.
DTF - Jess thought “Darn tootin' fun” could be represented by the acronym “DTF”.
Hemsworth - When training Jess on Dice, Schmidt showed a photo of a man who looked like a Hemsworth.
Taboo Buzzer - Schmidt used the loft’s Taboo buzzer to train Jess on Dice.
Kings of Leon - Schmidt commented that Kings of Leon was a good band, but stuck in one place musically.
Titanic - When Nick was high, he claimed, “No man or piece of scientific technology has ever been to the bottom of the ocean.” However, Cece, who was also high, confirmed the man who made the Titanic did.
Al Pacino - When Nick was high, he poorly did imitations and Coach guessed he was imitating Al Pacino.
Broadway - Jess felt she wasn’t ready to Dice date yet, saying, “I'm not ready. That's like taking a musical from rehearsals straight to Broadway. You got to workshop it first.”
Beatnik - Jess was asking one of her Dice dates if he was a chef or Beatnik because of his turtleneck shirt.
Charlotte’s Web - Winston was telling a story about a spider and shared how he hoped it was “Charlotte's Web and [it’s] nice" before spoiling the plot for the partygoers who didn’t know the story of Charlotte’s Web.
Michael Strahan - One of Jess’s Dice dates said, “I'm not gay, but I would go crazy on Michael Strahan.”
Meryl Streep - One of Jess’s Dice dates said he thought Meryl Streep was dumb.
[Hockey Positions] - Jess used an excuse to get out of a date mentioning the “Center Wing” in hockey and he confirmed that’s not a position.
“Pomp and Circumstance” - Coach, Cece, and Nick were singing this song in the closet after they said they could “see” Cece going back to school.
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 3!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 4, Episode 20, Par 5, which originally aired on Apr 7, 2015 and was written by Lamorne Morris and Rob Rosell and directed by Trent O'Donnell.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Fawn takes Jess to a golf tournament to get new computers for her students while Winston starts dating someone new. Cece also helps Schmidt get ready for a photo op with Fawn while dealing with her own feelings for him.
This episode got a 7.5/10 rating from both Kritika and Kelly; and we both had the same favorite character: Winston!
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
K-Ci & Jojo - When Winston was meeting KC, he was jokingly asking, “Yo, KC, where JoJo at?", responding to himself, “In rehab, probably.”
Nick Nolte - Winston said he saw Nick Nolte in the park once.
Gollum / “One Ring” - Cece was telling Jess that she was going to help Schmidt with an emergency and Jess said she couldn’t go over there alone because it would be like “Gollum hanging out with the One Ring.”
Big Bird / Sesame Street - Jess, uncomfortable while networking, makes a joke about someone’s shoes looking like they chopped off Big Bird’s feet and Fawn urged her not to make jokes about murdering Sesame Street puppets.
O.J. Trial - Winston shared that Nick had lost the ability to talk about race with Winston when he focused in on the white Bronco car during the O.J. trial when they were kids.
Eddie Murphy /[The Nutty Professor] / Seinfeld - When discussing race, Nick was trying to show he did a good impression of Eddie Murphy doing his Hercules bit from The Nutty Professor. Coach was able to do the impression much better. Winston said Nick was not able to comment, but Winston shared it was not the same thing when he did the Seinfeld impression.
Ghostbusters - Winston shared that he knows they’re going to recruit from law enforcement if there are ever real Ghostbusters.
Ginuwine - When Winston showed up at KC’s workplace, they put on a song for Winston to dance to and Winston asked if they had a song by Ginuwine.
Additionally we mentioned in our podcast episode that we’d include the video for “There Are No Cats in America” which you can find on Youtube here.
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 21!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 3, Episode 10, Thanksgiving III, which originally aired on November 26, 2013 and was written by Josh Malmuth and directed by Max Winkler.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
After Coach makes Nick question his own masculinity, Nick forces the gang to go camping in the woods for Thanksgiving. They attempt to forage for their own food which lands Jess in an interesting predicament.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Hunt: Bonnie and Helen - When at the campsite, Winston shares the only “hunt” he likes are named Bonnie and Helen, referring to the actresses Bonnie Hunt and Helen Hunt.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Viggo Mortenson / Hidalgo - When commenting on his hat, Schmidt says it’s “an exact replica of the hat Viggo Mortenson wore in the movie Hidalgo.” Viggo Peter Mortensen Jr. is an American actor, writer, director, producer, musician, and multimedia artist who is best known for his role as Aragorn in The Lord of Rings trilogy. Mortensen starred as Frank Hopkins in the film Hidalgo, which is the story of an ex-army courier who travels to Arabia to compete with his horse, Hidalgo, in a dangerous desert race.
We also further cover Schmidt and his hat as our “Schmidtism” this episode. For “Not in the 2020s” we briefly mention some ongoing racist and fatphobic themes but also talk more in depth about the way “men” are portrayed. We refer to this article where they discuss a different take on the way this episode handles the mens’ masculinity. For our “Yes in the 2020s” we chat about how Coach let Schmidt feel he was a better camper for the first half of the episode. There were no guest stars in this episode.
This episode we discuss the reference Schmidt made back to S1E14 (Bully), talk about the diseases that Jess supposedly had, and share a fun fact about the naming of the last episode. We did find the bear in the “bear hole” this episode.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Eagle Scout - Coach reveals that he’s actually good at camping because he was an Eagle Scout. An Eagle Scout is the highest rank achievable in Boy Scouts that only about 4% of Boy Scouts ever achieve.
George Washington - Nick tries to get the loft excited about camping by saying that George Washington hunted cats rather than having a pet cat [like Winston]. Washington was the United States’ first president and a Founding Father of the USA.
This episode got a 7/10 rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Jess and Kelly rated this episode an 8/10 and her favorite character was Winston!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 11!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 4, Episode 3, Julie Berkman’s Older Sister, which originally aired on September 30, 2014 and was written by Nina Pedrad and directed by Fred Goss.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Jess’s Dad, Bob, comes to visit and is bringing his new girlfriend...who happens to be someone that Jess went to high school with. Meanwhile, Schmidt asks the guys for help to land a new sponge ad campaign.
This episode got a 6.5/10 rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Schmidt and Kelly rated this episode an 8/10 and her favorite character was Winston!
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Ed - Ashley shared she did “so much E” while watching the show Ed.
Annie - Schmidt felt like he was living in reverse Annie going from “riches to rags”.
Seal - Jess’s Dad, Bob, and Ashley thought they saw Seal at the airport, but it wasn’t him.
Crabtree and Evelyn - Jess was threatening Ashley and referred to her fists as “Crabtree and Evelyn.”
Thor / Mjölnir - Winston was reading Schmidt’s focus group cue cards, saying “I am Thor” but didn’t know how to pronounce Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir.
NPR - Jess said they needed to “turn Ashley off” by playing NPR.
[Weeble] - Ashley said Bob was her, “big, round, bald, fuzzy Weeble-Wobble.”
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 4!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 4, Episode 8, Teachers, which originally aired on Nov 8, 2014 and was written by Kim Rosenstock and directed by Trent O’Donnell.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Jess and Coach go to a teachers’ conference where she has to spend the weekend with Ryan, forcing her to face her feelings for him. Meanwhile Winston, Nick, and Schmidt have a 'guys night'.
This episode got a 8/10 rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Winston and Kelly rated this episode a 7.5/10 and her favorite character was Jess!
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Chicago Bulls Logo - When the guys were looking at a health textbook, they said the female reproductive system kind of looked like the Chicago Bulls symbol.
[Pi Beta Phi] - In the flashback of Schmidt doing laundry, he saw a group of women he referred to as “Pi-Phis”, likely referring to the Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women.
Elizabeth - When Cece was reading Jess the letter Jess wrote to herself, she posed the question, "Did you learn nothing from the movie Elizabeth, you stupid little bitch?" because “No one respects a queen who sleeps with her subjects.”
Denzel Washington /The Preacher’s Wife - When Jess was describing Ryan to Cece, Jess shared “he might be an angel sent down to Earth like Denzel Washington in The Preacher's Wife.” She later also shares the same reference directly with Ryan.
Magic Johnson / Kobe Bryant - When Coach was determining how he would teach Health, he said he would maybe bring up Magic Johnson or Kobe Bryant, but the other teacher’s weren’t sure that would be effective. Agic
Chin-Chin - When Jess and Ryan were drinking from mini alcohol bottles they cheers with Jess saying “Chin-Chin”.
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 9!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 3, Episode 5, The Box, which originally aired on October 15, 2013 and was written by Rob Rosell and directed by Andrew Fleming.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
This episode reveals what Nick (... and Jess and Winston) would do with the money he inherits after his Dad’s death. Schmidt is still soul searching after losing Cece and Elizabeth and wonders if he’s a good person.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Band Posters - In Nick’s bedroom there are a number of band posters we saw this episode:
We didn’t talk about, but also saw the following posters:
Coachella 2010 Lineup Poster - Founded in 1999, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is an annual festival held east of Los Angeles in Indio, California.
B38 by Pass Kontrol Poster - Pass Kontrol is an “art collective” community of friends who dedicated its energetic album, B38, to one of the greatest buslines that runs from Ridgewood to Downtown Brooklyn, NYC.
Heathcliff - When Schmidt is leaving the bar with Nick, the “pickled” bar patron calls him Heathcliff.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
YOLO - When Schmidt was wreaking havoc in the school, he yelled “YOLO” when he was being carried out. "YOLO" is an acronym for "you only live once" that became popular internet slang in 2012. The concept of “YOLO” is to live life to its fullest extent.
This episode we discuss who is Most Likely To visit someone in the hospital after calling 911 for them, make a powerpoint presentation to get money back from a friend, help someone pay their bills, and spend money on quirky trivial things, like mall photos. We also cover Nick and Schmidt at the bar as our “Schmidtism”. For “Not in the 2020s” we mention how Schmidt described Elizabeth as “regular” and Nick spoke about how “girls don’t listen” and what he said men want. In our “Yes in the 2020s” we highlight Nick’s note about equality and not doing jury duty or paying his taxes until gay marriage was legal everywhere, which it now is in the U.S.A. We also explore the careers of Jillian Aremenante (Eileen) and Kimrie Lewis (Keysha), the guest stars of this episode.
We also discuss the continuation of baby animals on Jess’s checks and how the song in the background when Nick is drinking at the bar is a She & Him song (which Zooey Deschanel is a part of). Neither of us found the bear this episode.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Tango / Waltz - Nick mentions both of these classical dances when angrily ranting to Jess that he can also try to change her. These dances are often confused with each other; the Waltz is a ballroom dance from the 18th century, while the Tango is a variation of the Flamenco style of dance only dating back to the 1880s. The main difference between the two is the speed at which the dance is conducted.
Shema Yisrael - When Schmidt saves the bike messenger he exclaims that they should rejoice in song and begins singing Shema Yisrael, which is a Jewish prayer. This prayer is typically part of a twice daily recitation and is typically taught to children to be said before sleeping. It has also been referenced and used in other TV shows as the last words for the character.
This episode got a 7/10 rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Winston and Kelly rated this episode a 7.5/10 and her favorite character was Jess!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 6!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 3, Episode 16, Sister, which originally aired on February 11, 2014 and was directed by Max Winkler and written by Matt Fusfeld & Alex Cuthbertson.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Jess has to go pick up her sister and is desperate to keep Abby and Nick apart. Meanwhile, Bertie’s having a dinner that the whole loft is invited to and Schmidt tries to hook up with his rabbi’s daughter.
Julia Child - In response to Nick saying he wanted to make a good impression for Abby, Schmidt said he wanted Julia Child not to be dead. Julia Child was an American cooking teacher, author, and television personality recognized for bringing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her television programs.
Sammy Davis Jr. - When Nick said he was a goofball, the Rabbi at the Bar Mitzvah said, “Sammy Davis Jr. Was a goofball. You, sir, are no Sammy Davis Jr.” Samuel “Sammy” Davis Jr. was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. Among other aspects of his life, he was also part of the Rat Pack with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, with whom he starred in several films.
For our Most Likely To segment, we discuss which one of us is most likely to show up unexpectedly to a family member’s place, make 10-11 soups for dinner, be a wingman, and order food to someone else’s room. We also cover the Shabbat-hello as our “Schmidtism” this episode. We explore the careers of Jon Lovitz (Rabbi), Linda Cardellini (Abby Day), and Allyn Rachel (Rachel), the Guest Stars we feature in this episode.
We also cover Jess not having the perfect driving record that she mentions in this episode, the goof when Jess' sister taps her empty wine glass and suddenly her glass is full, and we finally found the bear when Jess said “I didn’t put the cap back on the honey bear”.
Throughout this episode, we found these references to the Jewish faith:
Bar Mitzvah - Jewish coming of age ritual (the word bar is used for a boy, and bat/bas for a girl).
Hamantaschen - An Ashkenazi Jewish triangular filled-pocket pastry, associated with the Jewish holiday of Purim.
Rabbi - A spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism.
Baruch atah, Adonai (referenced as: Baruch atah Ado-nice dress) - Literally translates to “Blessed are You, the Eternal;” the beginning of many Hebrew blessings.
Shabbat Shalom (referenced as: Shabbat Sha-hello) - A phrase used to express good wishes on or before the Jewish sabbath.
Shanda - A shame or disgrace.
This episode got a 7/10 rating from Kritika and 7.5/10 from Kelly and we both had the same favorite character: Nick!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 17!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 1, Episode 7, Bells, which originally aired on November 29, 2011 and was written by Luvh Rakhe and directed by Peyton Reed.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Jess takes over the apartment with a group of kids she’s conducting in a handbell performance. Winston joins in because he finds out that he’s good at it and isn’t being mentally stimulated in other areas of his life. Nick and Schmidt fight over money and their differences in hiring someone to do a job versus doing it yourself, highlighting differences in their perspectives.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Handbells - The entire episode centered around Jess teaching a group of students handbells as an alternative to detention.
Eye of the Tiger - Winston suggested the handbell “ensem-bell” play the song Eye of the Tiger by the band Survivor and this is the song they performed at the final performance.
Additional Pop Culture References we didn't discuss include:
Chinese kid from Goonies - Nick is referred to as the “Chinese Kid from Goonies” and while we hadn’t watched the movie, we found this compilation that shows some of Data’s inventions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLzupaRrzAY
Jingle Bells - Jess refers to the holiday tune Jingle Bells as a “trash song played on a trash instrument. Here’s some history behind the song: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jingle_Bells
We also cover “Schmidtisms” such as how Schmidt refers to the sushi he’s eating and the fight he and Nick have about his “Lotusberry Relax” conditioner. For “Not in 2020” on this episode, we discussed how it was wrong of Nick to say that Winston would never have sex again if he played the handbells. We also explore the careers of Raven Goodwin, Esther Povitsky, Ki Hong Lee, and Tiffany Ariany, the kids who were guest actors on this episode.
This episode got a 8/10 Rating from Kritika whose favorite character is Winston and Kelly rated this episode a 6.5/10 and her favorite character was Jess!
This podcast covers a recap of the third season of New Girl. We’re your hosts, Kelly and Kritika, and we originally met through work but now we consider ourselves long distance best friends. We’ve bonded over our love of TV and brought you this podcast to recap one of our favorite shows -- New Girl.
In Season 3, Nick and Jess are together… until they aren’t; they begin the season dating and by the end they agree to split up. Schmidt tries to date another woman while dating Cece and ends up losing them both, only to realize that he truly still loves Cece. He also moves out halfway through the season, but only ends up living across the hall. Winston takes Daisy’s cat Ferguson and applies for the LAPD and after Coach comes back to the loft after a break-up, Jess befriends him and helps get him a job at her school.
In this recap of Season 3, we break down the themes of each loft mate.
Jess - We explore Jess’s trouble fitting back in with her profession and her lack of communication with Nick, and her continued need for control, especially in her relationships.
Nick - We discuss how supportive Nick is with Jess and the other loftmates and how he began to really speak up for himself this season.
Winston - We examine how Winston is still getting a side-character edit, although he is getting more storylines than the last two seasons. Mostly, we feel Winston is the glue of the friend group, bringing everyone together.
Schmidt - We take a look at Schmidt’s whirlwind romances with Elizabeth/Cece and then Abby and how he continues to pine after Cece in this season.
Cece - We review Cece’s career changes, her romantic relationships, and how we saw her friendship with Jess grow.
Coach - We begin to explore Coach’s storyline with his return. We discuss how he is paired up with each character through this season and is actually coaching and showing his vulnerable side.
Additionally, we discuss our favorite scenes and quotes, “Schmidtisms”, “In the 2020s” segments, pop culture references, and guest stars we had previously featured on the podcast. We also do another quick review of Prince, the most notable guest star from this season.
In the episode, we also mentioned the following articles:
New Girl Guys Recall Horrible Questions They Were Asked - In our “Not in the 2020s” least favorites section, we referenced this YouTube video where the cast shared how they were asked if Winston would leave the show now that Coach was back.
“Who’s That Girl? A ‘New Girl’ Podcast” Show Notes - As we shared in our “Pop Culture” section, all pop culture references for each episode can be found in each episode’s show notes. For example, the S3E14 Prince show notes share pop culture references and other articles about the Prince episode.
This season as a whole got a 7/10 rating from Kritika and a 7.5/10 from Kelly, who both had the same favorite character: Nick.
This podcast covers New Girl Season 4, Episode 5, Landline, which originally aired on October 14, 2014 and was written by Rob Rosell and directed by Trent O’Donnell.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Because of some construction, the loft doesn’t have good cell reception. Jess’s answer to this is to get the loft a landline which prompts Nick to act as a secretary and Jess to find out about Coach’s relationships with their coworkers.
This episode got a 8/10 rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Nick and Kelly rated this episode a 8.5/10 and her favorite character was Coach!
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Blanche / Golden Girls- Coach called out Jess for commenting on his sleeping with other teachers and Coach said she was like the character Blanche from Golden Girls.
War Games / Short Circuit - Nick told an elaborate story about why you shouldn’t trust technology and as the loft mates called out he likely stole that from the movie War Games or more likely Short Circuit.
Splash- In response to listing out other movies, the loft shared that Splash was a good movie.
Carson Daly - When Winston pretended to be Schmidt during the interview, he said the last book Schmidt read was Carson Daly’s biography.
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 6!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 3, Episode 19, Fired Up, which originally aired on March 11, 2014 and was written by Sophia Lear and directed by Steve Welch.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Jess gets Coach a job at her school as the volleyball coach, but then has to fire him. Schmidt gets sued so Nick and Winston pose as his lawyers while Cece meets a new, younger guy.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Winston shared “he can’t enough of this legal drama” and shared his favorite author was John Grisham and favorite TV show was Judging Amy.
When Schmidt is reviewing where his stuff should go, the following were shared:
Ian Schrager Rug - Schmidt didn’t want this rug in a room without climate control. Ian Schrager is an American entrepreneur, hotelier and real estate developer, credited for co-creating the "boutique hotel" category of accommodation. In his hotels, Schrager understood the importance of a place’s appearance and energy. As part of Schrager’s larger organization, the Ian Schrager Group, they would commission rugs and carpets for their hotels to create the atmosphere.
Star Wars - Nick didn’t know who Ian Schrager was and thought he was “the guy in Star Wars”. Nick may have been confusing Ian Schrager with Ewen McGregor who starred in the Star Wars movies Episode 1, 2, and 3. Star Wars is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas and is one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time. The franchise has been expanded into various films and other media, including television series, video games, novels, comic books, theme park attractions, and themed areas, comprising an all-encompassing fictional universe.
Kristi Yamaguchi - Dr. Foster shared how he’s into Asian women like Kristi Yamaguchi. Kristine “Kristi” Yamaguchi is an American former figure skater. In ladies' singles, Kristi is the 1992 Olympic champion, a two-time World champion, and the 1992 U.S. champion. In 1992, she became the first Asian American woman to win the gold medal in a Winter Olympic competition.
The Da Vinci Code - One of the teachers yelled to burn all the books in the library except for The Da Vinci Code, which is a 2003 mystery thriller novel by Dan Brown. The Da Vinci Code follows symbologist Robert Langdon and cryptologist Sophie Neveu after a murder in the Louvre Museum in Paris causes them to become involved in a battle between the Priory of Sion and Opus Dei over the possibility of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene having had a child together. The novel is a worldwide bestseller that sold 80 million copies as of 2009 and has been translated into 44 languages. The book was also adapted into a film starring Tom Hanks in 2006.
We also cover when Schmidt and Nick are arguing about the “caboose of life” as our “Schmidtism” in this episode. For “Not in the 2020s” we discuss Dr. Foster’s comments about being exclusively into asian women and Mike saying he had “quite an eye for young boys”. In our “Yes in the 2020s” we discuss Jess standing up to keep Coach’s job. We also give a brief look into Matt Price (Bill Berklan), Lauri Johnson (Stenographer), and Rob Kerkovich (Tim), the guest stars we feature in this episode.
Also in this podcast, we note the discrepancy between Jess telling Nick in “Double Date” that she was good at volleyball but doesn’t hit one ball correctly in this episode. Additionally, we reference this article that came out in 2014 discussing the writer’s take on how they framed Coach vs. Winston. We did not find the bear this episode.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode when:
Buster is trying to prove that he’s from Wyoming, but he mentions the following references to Wyoming and other states in the US:
Cowboy State - Wyoming is called the Cowboy State as it is known for its rodeo, the town where Hemingway spent time living and writing, and the inspiration for the series Longmire.
Big Sky Country - Big Sky Country is another name for Montana which is known for its mountains, lakes, and wide-open country. The name refers to the abundance of wide-open spaces and skies without a horizon.
Home of the Liberty Bell - The Liberty Bell, which is a symbol of freedom, is located in Pennsylvania in the Independence Hall.
This episode got an 8/10 rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Winston and Kelly rated this episode a 7.5/10 and her favorite character was Coach!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 20!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 4, Episode 18, Walk of Shame, which originally aired on March 3, 2015 and was written by Danielle Sanchez-Witzel and directed by Christine Gernon.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Jess and Cece, emboldened by their new blowouts, are out for a good time, meanwhile, Coach and the rest of the loft is invited to watch May perform at an art show.
This episode got a 8/10 rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Coach and Kelly rated this episode a 8.5/10 and her favorite character was Bearclaw!
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Hillary Clinton - Cece and Jess were remarking on their blow-outs and Schmidt shared they can give a woman too much confidence and he then referenced Hillary Clinton.
Property Brothers - Bearclaw shared that twin architects would be at his party, referring to the “Property Brothers”, Jonathan and Drew Scott.
Taylor Swift - Jess and Cece were remembering what their hairdresser said while they got their blow-outs, which was that he was worried about Taylor Swift living in New York alone.
Oscar Pistorius - Jess was making the point that “If that South African runner who killed his girlfriend can run with no legs, [she and Cece could] walk in heels.”
Neoromanticism / [Wolfgang] Rihm / [George] Rochberg / [Ellen Taaffe] Zwilich / Shine / [Sergei] Rachmaninoff - When we saw Coach at coffee with May and her friend, they were talking about classical music and mentioning Neoromanticism and composers like Rihm, Rochberg, Zwilich. Coach they tried to say he knew about classical music because he “played the ghost of Rachmaninoff in a loosely based high school production of Shine.”
Liza Minnelli - When Jess and Cece were found at the kids birthday party, Jess tried to pass as a Liza Minnelli impersonator.
Dukes of Hazzard / Isaiah Thomas - When in the bathroom at the art show, they guys mentioned that Coach embarasses them by sitting on the hood of his car when he pumps gas into it. They thought he was doing it to be like the TV show Dukes of Hazzard, but really Coach shared that he saw Isaiah Thomas do it on a poster once and he thought it looked cool.
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 19!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 1, Episode 6, Thanksgiving, which originally aired on November 15, 2011 and was written by Berkley Johnson and directed by Miguel Arteta.
On this episode you may notice that Kritika’s audio sounds a little different than usual because it was storming in Houston when we recorded the episode!
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
It’s Thanksgiving! Jess invites her co-worker Paul over for Thanksgiving dinner and it’s the first guy she’s liked since breaking up with Spencer and the dinner goes horribly wrong.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Detroit Lions playing every Thanksgiving - Nick was talking with Paul and mentioned the Lions play football on Thanksgiving every year.
Black Friday - Being a Thanksgiving episode, the gang referred to Black Friday shopping many times.
Macy’s Day Parade - While Nick and Paul were on the couch, Paul wanted to watch the Macy’s Day Parade during “intermission” (half time).
“It’s like a Prince video” - When the turkey in the dryer started a fire, Nick mentioned the apartment looked like a Prince music video.
We also cover a “Schmidtism” when Schmidt discusses the sexiest holidays (July 4th!). For “Not in 2020”, we discuss how it was weird that the boys watched Jess hug a turkey to defrost it and were even more interested when Cece was going to join in. We also discuss Schmidt and Winston giving Paul a heads up about the sex he was going to have. On a positive note, we also address Paul being told to stop crying like a girl which even New Girl addresses as sexist! Finally, we give a brief look into Justin Long, the Guest Star we feature in this episode.
This episode got a 9/10 Rating from Kritika and Kelly but Kritika’s favorite character is Paul and Kelly’s favorite character was Jess!
Unfortunately we couldn’t find the article Kritika mentioned about how Millennials turned Google into a verb but here’s the link to Justin Long’s podcast!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 7!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 2, Episode 22, Bachelorette Party, which originally aired on April 9, 2013 and was directed by Matt Sohn and written by Kay Cannon and Sophia Lear.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
After the loft receives their wedding invites and finds out that Cece’s wedding is in 3 weeks, Jess plans Cece her “perfect” bachelorette party. Meanwhile, Schmidt goes looking for a girlfriend to bring a plus one to Cece’s wedding.
Gérard Depardieu - When Schmidt busts into Cece’s apartment, rather than answer who he is to Cece’s Auntie, he says he’s Gérard Depardieu. Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu is a French actor known for performances in The Last Metro, Police, Jean de Florette, and Cyrano de Bergerac. He was granted citizenship of Russia in January 2013 and became a cultural ambassador of Montenegro in the same month.
Alyssa Milano - When trying to convince Cece he could get a partner by the time of her wedding, he mentioned he “once figured out Alyssa Milano's phone number just by randomly choosing numbers.” Alyssa Jayne Milano is an American actress, producer, singer, author, and activist. As an actor, she’s known for her roles in Who's the Boss?, Melrose Place, Charmed, and My Name Is Earl. As a political activist, she’s known for her role in the Me Too movement.
Jane Lynch - It was joked that Nick looked like Jane Lynch while wearing his dad’s yellow track suit. Jane Marie Lynch is an American actress, comedian, and author. She is known for starring as Sue Sylvester (who wore a lot of tracksuits) in the Fox musical comedy series Glee, which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2013, Lynch received the 2,505th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the television category.
[Robin] Williams - Shivrang is “baffled” why the US “refuses to embrace Robbie Williams”. Robin McLaurin Williams was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created, he is regarded as one of the best comedians of all time.
“Candy Shop” - 50 Cent - Alfredo, the stripper, played this song when he was trying to do his strip dance. "Candy Shop" is the second single by rapper 50 Cent from his second commercial album, The Massacre. "Candy Shop" peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming 50 Cent's third number one single and fifth top-ten single. The song was nominated for Best Rap Song at the 2006 Grammy Awards and the music video was nominated for Best Male Video at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards.
We also cover Schmidt explaining why he goes to Booty Burn Bootcamp as our “Schmidtism” this episode. For our “Not in the 2020s” we discuss Schmidt and Elizabeth’s relationship, how Nick and Winston tried to get a picture of Shivrang’s penis, Schmidt demanding a +1, and Schmidt thinking women are supposed to want commitment. For our “Yes in the 2020s” we highlight Schmidt apologizing to Cece. We also give a brief look into Merritt Wever (Elizabeth), the Guest Star we feature in this episode.
In this podcast, we call out a few camera goofs like how you see Jess say “Not Now Alfredo” but don’t actually hear her speak (around 13:20) and how when Schmidt knocks on Elizabeth’s door, it was never closed (around 15:50). We also share this article (which contains spoilers) where we learned that Elizabeth serves as a foil for Cece because Elizabeth tries to make Schmidt a better guy. Elizabeth Meriwether also mentions the inspiration for the idea of the “dead dad pass.”
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Shandy - When Shivrang is hanging out at the bar with Nick and Winston, he asks them if they want a shandy. A shandy is a beer mixed with either a lemon or lemon-lime flavored beverage that is popular in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Canada.
This episode got a 7/10 Rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Shivrang and Kelly rated this episode a 7.5/10 and her favorite character was Jess!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 23!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 4, Episode 10, Girl Fight, which originally aired on December 2, 2014 and was written by Danielle Sanchez-Witzel and directed by Bill Purple.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Cece and Jess get into a “girl fight” while Nick goes on his first date with Kai, Tran’s granddaughter.
This episode got a 7.5/10 rating from Kritika and an 8/10 from Kelly and we both had the same favorite character: Coach!
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Charlie Rose - Schmidt was upset at Coach for deleting all his episodes of Charlie Rose and replacing them with “American Football matches”.
Madeleine Albright - Jess was surprised at how they guys handled their fight and because of that, didn’t think either read Madeleine Albright’s biography she had given them for Christmas.
Lena Dunham - When Jess said she keeps her feminist writings in her purses, Coach name dropped “Lena Dunham”.
John Popper - Schmidt said Cece played him like “John Popper plays that little harmonica and fiddle thing.”
The West Wing - When Nick and Kai were playing a word association game, Kai answered The West Wing to the question Republican or Democrat?
[Chicago] Bears / James Taylor - Nick told Kai he has all the ticket stubs to all the Bears football games he’s been to as well as the guitar pic for a guy who played with James Taylor one night.
Karate Kid II / Mr. Miyagi - Nick shared that he has an autographed Karate Kid II poster from the movie’s character Mr. Miyagi.
LeBron James - Winston exclaimed “Sweet Baby LeBron James” when he realized he screwed up and wasted his studying time.
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 11!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 1, Episode 21, Kids, which originally aired on April 17, 2012 and was directed by Tristram Shapeero and written by Donick Cary and Lesley Wake.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
In this episode, Cece realizes she might be pregnant and both she and Schmidt are freaking out while Jess tries to babysit Russell’s daughter Sarah who falls in “love” with Nick. Meanwhile, Winston is trying to get his boss to his TV interview.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Gossip Girl - In this episode Sarah compares Jess’s life to a poorer version of the TV and book series Gossip Girl.
Bridge to Terabithia - Jess compares Nick making Sarah cry to the book Bridge to Terabithia which has a sad storyline and often causes children to cry.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
Russian Nesting Doll - Schmidt talks about wanting to be sure not to impregnate the baby that Cece might be carrying when they have sex and create a “Russian Nesting Doll Situation”. Russian dolls (also known as Matryoshka dolls) are a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside another. They are also associated with family and fertility.
Michael Strahan - Winston is supposed to be driving Joe to an interview with Michael Strahan. While his talk show is not real, Michael Strahan is an American TV personality, former football player, and journalist who has been a co-host on ABC’s Good Morning America since 2014.
Berlusconi - Jess calls Nick Berlusconi while telling him not to bring college girls home. Silvio Berlusconi was the Italian Prime Minister during four governments and a media tycoon. He had many legal troubles including one for soliciting minors for sex. While he was found guilty, his conviction has since been overturned.
While Nick is defending how mature Chloe is, he mentions that she knows the following artists:
Banksy - Banksy is an England-based street artist, political activist, and film director, active since the 1990s. He’s known for his satirical street art that combines dark humor with graffiti executed in a distinctive stenciling technique.
“The guy who did the Obama poster” (Shepard Fairey) - Frank Shepard Fairey is an American contemporary street artist, graphic designer, activist, illustrator, and founder of OBEY Clothing. He became widely known during the 2008 U.S. presidential election for his Barack Obama "Hope" poster.
“Chalk Outline Guy” (Keith Haring) - Keith Allen Haring was a 1980s American pop art and graffiti-like artist. Haring's work grew to popularity from his spontaneous drawings in New York City subways—chalk outlines of figures, dogs, and other stylized images on blank black advertising-space backgrounds.
Drea de Matteo - Schmidt mentioned that Drea de Matteo was scheduled to appear as a guest at the Italy on Ice event. Drea de Matteo is an American actress of Italian descent from Queens, New York known for shows like The Sopranos and Sons of Anarchy.
The Golden Girls - Jess is explaining to Sarah that she thought Gossip Girl was similar to the show The Golden Girls, where Jess thought she was Betty White and Schmidt was Rue McClanahan; both were actresses on the show. The Golden Girls is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from 1985 to 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. The show stars Beatrice Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty as four older women who share friendship and a home in Miami, Florida.
Super Bowl - Napoli mentions that Michael Strahan won the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl is the annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL). Since 2004, the game has been played on the first Sunday in February.
Nick and Schmidt were talking about Chloe’s age and mentioned references she wouldn’t know:
Netscape - Schmidt mentions that Chloe doesn’t even know what Netscape is. Netscape Communications Corporation was an independent American computer services company known for its web browser from the early 1990s. Netscape is also known for creating the JavaScript programming language and developing SSL. In 1999, the company was acquired by AOL, but before that Netscape released the source code for its browser and created the Mozilla Organization to coordinate future development of its product.
Ice Cube - Schmidt is referring to how Chloe thinks of Ice Cube as mainly an actor since she’s so young. While Ice Cube started acting in 1991, he started his musical career in 1986 as a rapper and was part of the rap group N.W.A.
Indian In the Cupboard - Jess says that she might as well call Schmidt Indian in the Cupboard and stops herself from continuing this reference. Indian in the Cupboard is both a book and a movie where a kid finds a magic cupboard that brings his toys to life.
We also cover the “Schmidtism” where Schmidt calls Nick to ask him out and gave an honorary Schmidtism to Schmidt’s pronunciation of “poppacorno.” For “Not in 2020” we discuss how Schmidt talks about Cece finally becoming a girl and his continued fetishazation of Cece’s skin color. We also give a brief look into Chloe Bridges and Annalise Basso, the Guest Stars we feature in this episode.
This episode got a 7.5/10 Rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Schmidt and Kelly rated this episode an 8.5/10 and her favorite character was Sarah!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 22!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 3, Episode 18, Sister III, which originally aired on March 4, 2014 and was written by Camilla Blackett and directed by Jay Chandrasekhar.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
In our third episode with Abby, Jess gets upset when she thinks that Abby and Schmidt are further along in their relationship than her and Nick, so they move in together. Meanwhile, Cece, and her new best friend Coach, are suspicious of Abby and try to get Schmidt to see it too.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Garbage Pail Kids - Nick told Winston that Jess makes him put his Garbage Pail Kids in a box.
The Little Match Girl - When Nick was wearing his nightshirt, Jess said he looked like the Little Match Girl.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
[Nora] Ephron - Schmidt shared he needed a break from “Snora” Ephron. Nora Ephron was an American journalist, writer, and filmmaker who is best known for her romantic comedy films and was nominated three times for the Writers Guild of America Award and the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the movies Silkwood, When Harry Met Sally..., and Sleepless in Seattle. Ephron also directed films including her own screenplays like Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail, both starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks.
[The Trolley Song by Judy Garland] - Jess sang a portion of this song when she was in the hotel room, singing “Clang, clang, clang went the trolley | Ring, ring, ring went the bell”. "The Trolley Song'' is a song written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane and made famous by Judy Garland in the 1944 film Meet Me in St. Louis. Blane and Martin were nominated for and lost the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 1945 Academy Awards, for "The Trolley Song". The song was ranked #26 by the American Film Institute in 2004 on the AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs list. We also mention a fun fact about this song in our Trivia section in the podcast.
Children of Men - Schmidt was concerned they hit a car in a neighborhood where it looked like they filmed Children of Men. Children of Men is a 2006 dystopian action thriller film co-written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón. The screenplay was based on P. D. James's 1992 novel The Children of Men, which takes place in 2027 when two decades of human infertility have left society on the brink of collapse.
This episode, we discuss who is most likely to make their own jewelry, move in to prove a point, sleuth to find out what someone is up to, and be ready for rapidfire questions. We also cover the scene between Nick and Schmidt around the Iroquois throat band Abby gifted Schmidt as our “Schmidtism”. For “Not in the 2020s” we talk about Winston’s comments to the little boy and Nick pantsing Winston. We also discuss Cece apologizing to Schmidt as our “Yes in the 2020s”. Additionally, we explore the career of Ericka Kreutz (Elevator Woman), the guest star of this episode.
Also in this episode were the following guest stars who we do not discuss in the podcast: Stone Eisenmann (Young Nick - Previously Discussed in S2E13), Jordan Fuller (Young Winston - Previously Discussed in S2E13), Linda Cardellini (Abby Day - Previously Discussed in S3E16), and Connie Sawyer (Oldest Woman in the World).
We did not find the bear this episode.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Iroquois - Schmidt clarifies that the jewelry that Abby made him is an Iroquois throat band. The Iroquois are of the Iroquoian people who are Indigenous to the Northeastern Woodlands and the Great Lakes of North America. The Iroquois Confederacy was believed to be founded between 1450 and 1660 by bringing together five different nations in the southern Great Lakes area, with each nation having its own language, territory, and function.
Byzantine - When Jess is in the hotel, she asks if there are any films in the Byzantine era. The Byzantine Empire was the continuation of the Roman Empire in the East, continuing after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. It existed until the fall of Constantinople in 1453 to the Ottoman Empire. At the time, it was called the Roman Empire and only became called by the term “Byzantine” after the end of the realm. Approximately this time period covers 395 CE to 1453.
Ethel Kennedy - In this episode, Jess tells Abby her insecurities around Nick and mentions that while she went to the hotel by herself, she watched a documentary about Ethel Kennedy. Ethel Kennedy is known for being an American human rights advocate and the widow of the late Robert F. Kennedy. She founded a non-profit charity and in 2014 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
When Jess and Nick are agreeing that they shouldn’t live together, they mention both the pilgrims and the Plymouth Rock Massacre.
Plymouth Rock - While there wasn’t actually a massacre, Plymouth Rock is the site that marked where the Plymouth Colony was founded in December of 1620 when the Mayflower landed in the “New World”.
Pilgrim - A pilgrim is used to describe a traveler who goes on a journey to a holy place. In this case, it referred to the Pilgrim Fathers who came to North America on the Mayflower to escape religious persecution in England.
This episode got a 7/10 rating from both Kritika and Kelly; Kritika’s favorite character was Cece and Kelly’s favorite was Coach.
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 19!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 1, Episode 20, Normal, which originally aired on April 10, 2012 and was written by Luvh Rakhe and directed by Jesse Peretz.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
After spending a week at Russell’s, Jess invites Russell to stay overnight at the loft and encourages the guys to act “normal”. They play True American but ultimately the overnight leads to Jess and Russell’s first fight. Winston decides to leave nannying and gets a job at a radio station but finds it is not what he thought.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Spice Girls + Wannabe- When Jess was fighting with Russell at the end of the episode she quotes the song Wannabe saying, “If you want to get with me, you got to get with my friends, and that is a Spice Girls song”
Winklevoss’d - When Schmidt and Nick are talking through Real Apps, Schmidt mentions he doesn’t want to get Winklevoss’d and cut out of the idea.
Candyland - The gang all compare True American in part to the game Candyland.
Shotgun Tip-Off - Russell starts off the game of True American with a shotgun tip-off.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
True American References - Throughout the game of True American, there were many references to historical figures (including Presidents like John F. Kennedy, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jimmy Carter, and Grover Cleveland). There were also a few pop culture references such as:
Cherry Tree - The Cherry Tree was used as a link between George Washington and Abraham Lincoln to indicate that they both were big on honesty.
Darwin’s [Jungle] - Schmidt talks about how his bedroom is Darwin’s jungle where open minded people do things to each other. This is a reference to Charles Darwin and the term ‘Darwinism’ which centers around the idea of evolution happening by natural selection.
Capture the Flag - Schmidt compares having sex with Cece to an intense game of Capture the Flag. Capture the flag is an outdoor game team-based game where the opposing team tries to grab a flag and bring it back to their own base before their flag is stolen.
Aladdin + A Whole New World - When Russell comes over to the apartment, Nick is offering him cheese while quoting lyrics from Aladdin’s A Whole New World. The film follows Aladdin, an Arabian “street urchin”, who finds a magic lamp containing a genie; he disguises himself as a wealthy prince to impress the Sultan and his daughter, Jasmine. A Whole New World is a song they sing while Aladdin and Jasmine are exploring the town on a magic carpet ride.
4:20 - When Elvin is claiming that Winston smokes pot, Elvin’s mom mentions “It’s 4:20 don’t you have to be somewhere?” 420, 4:20, or 4/20 (pronounced four-twenty) is slang for marijuana consumption and the time to smoke. The term became popular in the magazine High Times and with fans of the Grateful Dead band.
Harakiri’d - Schmidt had told Russell and Jess to try a specific Sushi restaurant and mentions how Russell “Hari kari’d that idea”. Harakiri, also known as Seppuku is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment (cutting of the stomach). It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honor but was also practiced by other Japanese people to restore honor for themselves or for their families.
Beyoncé - In this episode, Winston’s boss Napoli requires Winston to have 6 “Beyoncé colored” shakes ready at all times. Beyoncé is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer from Houston, Texas.
Our “Schmidtims” this week are when Nick and Schmidt fight about “Real Apps” and Nick’s amazement about Schmidt’s alternate name for Basketball. For “Not in 2020” we discuss Russell shushing Jess and the way Winston’s nannying is dismissed as “not a real career”. We also explore the careers of Blake Garrett Rosenthal, Rizwan Manji, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the guest stars of this episode.
This episode got an 8/10 Rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Jess and Kelly rated this episode an 8.5/10 and her favorite character was Nick!
In this podcast we also talk about how to play True American and you can find a compilation of all the True American scenes throughout the series as well as rules below:
This podcast covers New Girl Season 2, Episode 14, Pepperwood, which originally aired on January 22, 2013 and was written by Nick Adams and directed by Lynn Shelton.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Nick is worried for Jess after he reads a student’s story while Winston finds out about his “Pogo” which prompts Schmidt and the rest of the loftmates to obsessively want to know what their pogo is as well.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
“I’m So Excited” - Jess’ cell phone ringtone throughout the episode is the song “I’m So Excited” by The Pointer Sisters.
Audrey Hepburn - Jess thinks Schmidt looks like Audrey Hepburn after he removed part of his eyebrows.
Additional Pop Culture References such as:
(Chicago) Bears - Once, Winston’s penis accidentally changed the channel while the loft was watching the Bears game. The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago in the National Football League (NFL). The Bears have won nine NFL Championships, including one Super Bowl, and have also recorded more victories than any other NFL franchise.
The Cranberries - When Jess was trying to convince Edgar she wasn’t scared, she imitated singing in the style of Dolores O’Riordan from the band The Cranberries. The Cranberries were an Irish rock band formed in Limerick, Ireland and ranked as one of the best-selling alternative acts of the 1990s. Dolores O'Riordan had one of the most recognizable voices in rock and was known for her signature yodel.
Instead of a single “Schmidtism” we share our favorite one-liners like how obsessed Schmidt is with his pogo and give an honorary mention to him dancing like a sea snake. For our “not in the 2020s” we discuss how Cece’s personality is reduced to just her looks and for our “yes in the 2020s” we note how we like the loft’s pogo for Nick is their concern for him. We also explore how Nick protecting Jess is partially in the not and the yes in the 2020s. We also give a brief look into Nate Corddry (Edgar), the guest star we feature in this episode.
Also in this episode were the following guest stars who we do not discuss in the podcast: Marcelo Tubert (Martin), Matthew McCray (Benjamin), Yimmy Yim (Susie), and Marcia Ann Burrs (Old Woman / Edgars mom/partner).
Additionally in the podcast, we discuss how while there isn’t a book about a detective that solves zombie murders, there is a detective show and comic about a zombie solving murders: iZombie. We also mention how Julius Peppers is a defensive end for the Carolina Panthers of the NFL who played for the Chicago Bears from 2010 - 2013 which is likely the inspiration for Julius Pepperwood. Additionally, we mention how the student’s name Edgar is a reference to Edgar Allan Poe.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Jalopy - The loft said that Winston farts a little as he runs and they say he sounds like a jalopy. A jalopy is also known as a decrepit car that is often old and damaged and is in a barely functional state. Other slang terms used to describe such cars are terms like beater, clunker, hooptie, and banger.
Palatino - When Nick is trying to avoid reading Edgar’s story, he mocks the font and says that [Edgar] should have at least used Palatino. This is an old-style serif font that was designed by Hermann Zapf and released in 1949. It was named after an Italian calligrapher and is based on the humanist types of the Italian Renaissance. While most Renaissance typefaces have delicate proportions, Palatino has larger proportions that increase legibility. It was a font intended for use for headings and advertisements to be able to be read at a distance or printed at small sizes.
Google - Nick tries to investigate Edgar after reading his story and begins by “google[ing] his name”. While this is a reference to Google, due to the popularity of the search engine, this proper noun has also become a transitive verb indicating the act of searching for something on the internet using Google. The first recorded usage was by the co-founder Larry Page in 1998 and the word was added to the Oxford English Dictionary and the Merriam-Webster Dictionary in 2006.
Shish kebab [Shish-kabobed] - When Winston is apologizing to Schmidt, Schmidt mentions that Winston “basically shish-kabobed her”. A shish kebab is a meal in which there are skewers with grilled cubes of meat popular in Mediterranean cuisines. In English, the word kebab stands for shish kebab but outside of North America, there is a need to be more specific. The dish is traditionally made with lamb but can be made with various meats, poultry or fish.
This episode got an 8/10 Rating from Kritika and a 7.5/10 from Kelly and we both had the same favorite character: Nick!
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 15!
Welcome to Who’s That Girl! We are Kelly and Kritika, 2 long distance best friends here to guide you through the New Girl Universe episode by episode.
On each podcast, we’ll do a recap and discussion followed by segments like Pop Culture or New Girl centered segments like “Schmidtisms”.
If you’ve seen the show before you might remember the character Schmidt who’s really known for his one liners and in each podcast, we’ll highlight some of what we think are his best (or worst lines).
Stay tuned for full episodes of Who’s That Girl, A 'New Girl' Podcast - coming soon to a podcast channel near you!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 2, Episode 17, Parking Spot, which originally aired on February 19, 2013 and was written by Rebecca Addelman and directed by Fred Goss.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
Schmidt finds a parking spot in the apartment building and he, Nick, and Jess fight over who deserves it. Winston also meets up with Daisy to have sex but dramatically does not have a condom.
We discuss Pop Culture References such as:
Memory (from Cats) - Jess mentioned she was going to distract the cats on her car by throwing fish sticks at them and singing the song Memory from the Broadway musical Cats.
Scott Caan - Schmidt stated the quote, “Destiny might be a lady, but victory has a penis,” which he attributed to Scott Caan. This is not a quote he is known to have said.
We also cover the moment where Schmidt finds out that Nick and Jess were together as our “Schmidtism”. For our “Not in the 2020s” we cover the no nail oath and how Daisy expected Winston to have a condom and didn’t take any ownership. Our “Yes in the 2020s” include the way Winston wanting to sleep with Daisy was something he could be open about and not have any shame around. We also discuss Steve Agee (Outside Dave) and E.J. Callahan (Old Man Driver), the Guest Stars we feature in this episode.
Also in this episode were the following guest stars who we do not discuss in the podcast: Brenda Song (Daisy), Satya Bhabha (Shivrang), Kevin Linehan (Male Cashier), and Happy Mahaney (Condom Guy).
We also discuss this article (which contains spoilers) where we learned how this episode was rewritten from the beginning to the end and how this might be one of Elizabeth Merriweather’s favorite episodes from Season 2.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Constitution of America - When Jess suggests sharing the parking spot, Schmidt counters by referencing the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law delineating the 3 branches of government. It was created in 1787 and has been in effect since 1789 with 27 amendments since.
United Nations - As Schmidt is berating Jess he mentions that competition and sex is why the United Nations were formed. The United Nations is an intergovernmental organization that was established after World War II to maintain peace and security.
Barack Obama - As Nick is listing the other dumb things he’s done like kissing Jess, he mentions how he had been mispronouncing Barack Obama’s name. Barack Obama was the 44th President of the United States of America, elected in 2008. He was the President in office at the time of this episode’s airing.
Purple Nurple - After Jess convinces Nick to give her the parking spot, she twists his nipples and yells out “Purple Nurple”. This is a slang term referring to the act of pinching a person’s nipple between the thumb and forefinger.
BlackBerry - When Schmidt is reading the no nail oath, he pulls out his BlackBerry phone. The first BlackBerry phone came out in 1999 and was the first to allow its users to have email on their phone. While in 2021 there are still some BlackBerry branded phones, the company announced that they would stop making phones of their own in 2016.
This episode got a 7/10 Rating from both Kritika and Kelly; Kritika’s favorite character was Nick and Kelly’s favorite was Schmidt.
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 18!
This podcast covers New Girl Season 4, Episode 1, The Last Wedding, which originally aired on September 16, 2014 and was written by J.J. Philben and directed by Trent O’Donnell.
Here’s a quick recap of the episode:
It’s been a few months since Cruise and the loft mates have been to 11 weddings this summer… This episode has the gang attending a 12th wedding with a goal to not go home alone.
This episode got an 8/10 rating from both Kritika and Kelly; Kritika’s favorite character was Winston and Kelly’s favorite was Jess.
While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:
Academy Awards / Anna Paquin - Schmidt gets “angry and scared” that Jess knits and likens it to when he hears the phrase, "Academy Award winner Anna Paquin."
[Olaf] from Frozen - Coach thought the bridesmaid Nick made out with looked like “the snowman from Frozen”.
[Game of Thrones] - When Schmidt was making the case that “nobody meets anybody in fall…” he also said, “Winter... is coming” – a famous quote from the show Game of Thrones.
Malcolm Gladwell - Kat shared she lost her virginity to author, Malcolm Gladwell.
[Last Helicopter Out of Saigon] - Throughout the episode there was a bit between Schmidt and Nick regarding whether or not they should have a four way and they related Schmidt’s desperation to the “Last Helicopter Out of Saigon”.
The Best Man Holiday - A past hookup that Coach ran into again told him she “rented Best Man Holiday. You're not in it.”
Batman / Teenage Simba - Jess’s first crush was on a Batman cake, but her first sexual feelings were for Teenage Simba.
Larry King - When competing with Kat, Jess showed a picture of her with a guy who she thought was Larry King.
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 2!
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