Prior to the start of the 2011 television season, there was nowhere you could turn without seeing Zooey Deschanel and the endless promotion for Fox's new sitcom "New Girl." As a longtime fan of Deschanel, it seemed like an ideal fit to have her brand of quirky charm headlining a weekly series. Advance word of "New Girl" was quite positive and the critical consensus was generally welcoming. The massive advertising budget put into the program paid off as well making "New Girl" one of the season's early break-out hits. But after an amusing pilot and when the initial glow had worn off, it became easier to discern just what was working and what was not. First of all, some viewers reacted poorly to Deschanel's wide-eyed girlishness thinking it represented women in a negative light. I personally disagree but I can see how Deschanel's shtick might be a bit over-the-top for some. But while I continue to love Deschanel and find her absolutely hilarious, I'd like to shoot the person who coined the description "adorkable!" More problematic, however, was that Deschanel was so front and center that the rest of the show suffered by comparison. Early plot lines were uninspired and the other cast members seemed ill defined.

The basic premise of "New Girl" is pretty straightforward. After a break-up, Deschanel takes up residence with three bachelor friends in some expected twists of sitcom mayhem. Naturally, this was designed to bring about maximum hilarity as various living styles clashed and Deschanel brought a feminine presence to the ultimate man cave. Nothing particularly new or revelatory, but the irresistible Deschanel had moments of comic genius. The men playing her roommates are Jake M. Johnson, Max Greenfield, and Lamorne Morris (replacing Damon Wayans who left after the pilot episode due to the renewal of ABC's Happy Endings). The other primary cast member is Hannah Simone as Deschanel's gal pal. At first, none of the principles seemed particularly well developed (with the possible exception of Johnson) and with a lack of character depth, most everything played as lightweight slapstick.

For "New Girl" to last and improve, though, the writers had to focus on developing a crack ensemble for Deschanel to play off. And after some growing pains, the show's timing and focus really started to gel. Deschanel was put in more realistic situations and relationships (some good: Justin Long, some awkward: Dermot Mulroney) and really started to integrate well into the core group (as opposed to being its centerpiece). Greenfield is easily the season's breakout star as a total tool whom it's impossible not to love. Johnson (whose season was all over the place) really committed to the sensitive soul trying to move firmly into responsible adulthood. Simone seemed like an afterthought at the beginning of the season, but is firmly entrenched in the year's most rewarding story arc (I won't reveal it here, it's best to let the surprise unfold naturally). It is only Lamorne (who is likable) that still seems relatively sidelined or unexplored. I wonder if Wayans had stayed on if the writers would have felt compelled to come up with more involving plot threads for this roommate.

"New Girl" started as a very funny show. Through 24 episodes it has settled into a very funny show with a lot of heart. As the peripheral characters moved up to match Deschanel, the show really makes magic. This is a group you want to spend time with and that's a big selling point. The program and Deschanel were both nominated for Golden Globes and it seems likely she will follow suit with an Emmy nomination when they are announced shortly. I don't say that "New Girl" is a perfect show, but it began strong and has only improved. Love Deschanel and love Greenfield, in particular, but this is now a solid ensemble show and all the better for it. About 4 1/2 stars, I genuinely look forward to Season Two. KGHarris, 5/12.

New Girl is a show that I'm very fond of. I love the characters and the writing. The fights between anyone and Schmidt always have me laughing hysterically. It's first and foremost a fun show. They don't really tackle any deep issues here but there's an interesting bent to it. They hide darker themes in it like mortality and the fact that all of them are just treading water. They're having fun doing it and they're not ready to get out of the pool yet but the idea that they are all, in some way losers, know it, and are someday going to have to move beyond that is present in every episode.
If you're a fan of shows like Friends and Scrubs or even Happy Endings and Don't Trust the B in Apt 23, you'll have a good time with New Girl. You'll get used to and even come to love that idiot Schmidt (trust me. I never thought I'd get used to him let alone that he'd become my favorite character). Nick's faces are always a topic of conversation in our house and Winston's absurdity gets more apparent as the series goes on. These are great characters that you see develop over time and you come to know and love them.

The DVD-- okay... If this is your first time watching the show, you'll probably be fine, but if, like me, you've watched it since day one and have been waiting not-so-patiently for this thing to come out you're going to be disappointed.

-The blurb on the back of the box is almost an insult to the show and makes it sound like so much garbage. I don't know how the copy is supposed to entice anyone to watch this show. I don't like knowing its there, not paying justice to such a fun show.

-3 commentaries. 3. That's it. If you had ideas of watching the entire season with some companionable chit-chat going on for 24 episodes you can just get rid of them now.

- There are a few short specials in which they talk about clothing/style and the evolution of an episode, a gag reel, deleted and extended scenes, alternate jokes, Winston's audition, and a sneak peek at Ben and Kate.
That sounds like a lot until you take into consideration that they only did 3 commentaries for this thing. They didn't include such interesting things as a photo gallery of the roommate applications (these are on the website and are pretty funny) and they did not include the music video of the opening theme song. That seems paltry, I know, but the music video is interactive and there are tons of different versions of it. It would have been nice to have them all in one place. There are many many little interviews online including the origin of the douchebag jar and the True American drinking game. Some of them may have come out after the dvd was done but these are things that could have been asked for interviews for the dvd or they may have come out naturally on the 21 commentaries they didn't do. I can only hope that they'll be included on the season 2 dvd but I think they are banking on people buying them from amazon.
If I sound bitter, I am... I've waited a while for this dvd and there's nothing on it that is worth waiting for if, like me, you wanted extras.

Like honestly the show starts out decent enough for anybody to be satisfied. The farther you get though . . . the better it is.

By the end i laughed so hard and not just every once in a while, i'm talking ever couple of minutes i had to try hard to stay off the floor.