Who's That Girl? A 'New Girl' Podcast

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!

Music: "Hotshot” by scottholmesmusic.com

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram or email us at [email protected]!

Website: https://smallscreenchatter.com/

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!

Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Season 2!

Music: "Hotshot” by scottholmesmusic.com

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram or email us at [email protected]!

Website: https://smallscreenchatter.com/

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.
  • "Breakfast at Tiffany's"- Deep Blue Somethings
  • "How Bizarre" - OMC
  • "mmm mmm mmm mmm" - Crash Test Dummies
  • "You Shook Me All Night Long" - AC/DC

Additional Pop Culture References such as:

• 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. 

• White Fang (Novel by Jack London)
• White Fang (1991 Movie)
  • Ending scene from White Fang movie

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!

Music: "Hotshot” by scottholmesmusic.com

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram or email us at [email protected]!

Website: https://smallscreenchatter.com/

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!

Music: "Hotshot” by scottholmesmusic.com

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram or email us at [email protected]!

Website: https://smallscreenchatter.com/

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 From Dusk 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!

Music: "Hotshot” by scottholmesmusic.com

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram or email us at [email protected]!

Website: https://smallscreenchatter.com/

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!

Music: "Hotshot” by scottholmesmusic.com

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram or email us at [email protected]!

Website: https://smallscreenchatter.com/

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.
  • “The Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself” - This is a famous quote used in Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Inaugural Address.
• 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:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxbQaAIjpIQ
• https://www.trueamericanrules.com/
• https://spoonuniversity.com/lifestyle/how-to-play-the-true-american-drinking-game-from-new-girl
• https://newgirl.fandom.com/wiki/The_True_American_Drinking_Game

Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 21!

Music: "Hotshot” by scottholmesmusic.com

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Website: https://smallscreenchatter.com/

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!

Music: "Hotshot” by scottholmesmusic.com

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram or email us at [email protected]!

Website: https://smallscreenchatter.com/

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!

Music: "Hotshot” by scottholmesmusic.com

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram or email us at [email protected]!

Website: https://smallscreenchatter.com/

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 but ends up liking him. Nick 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 during 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:

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.

• 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.

• 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!

Music: "Hotshot” by scottholmesmusic.com

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram or email us at [email protected]!

Website: https://smallscreenchatter.com/