Who's That Girl? A New Girl Podcast

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:
  • “Father Figure” by Sir George Michael
  • “Dude Looks like a Lady” by Aerosmith

Additional Pop Culture References such as:

• 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.

Also in this episode were the following guest stars who we do not discuss in the podcast: Steve Agee (Outside Dave - Previously discussed in S2E17), Dermot Mulroney (Russell - Previously discussed in S1E17), Ralph Ahn (Tran - Previously discussed in S2E7), Joe Zazzu (Marc), Leonardo Biasiucci (Bartender), and Loren Burgos (Winston’s date).

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!

Music: "Hotshot” by scottholmesmusic.com<...

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.
  • “In the Ghetto”
  • “Burning Love”

Additional Pop Culture References such as:

• 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.

Also in this episode were the following guest stars who we do not discuss in the podcast: Eric Edelstein (Elvis), Ellen Albertini Dow (Aunt Ruthie), Lila Lucchetti (Deann), Emily R. Wilson (Carol), and Kai Caster (Cousin).

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 ente...

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.

Also in this episode were the following guest stars who we do not discuss in the podcast: Christopher Gehrman (Aquarium Docent), Peter Navy Tuiasosopo (Big Bob), Darlene Kardon (Elderly Woman), Jeff Bowser (Drunk Dude), and Vicky Dalli (Hot Bar Girl).

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