Brooklyn Nine-Nine and New Girl Review: Jess Meets the Nine-Nine

"It's a crossover!" ~ Jess Day

Was it a crossover though? There are few TV plot devices I dislike more than a lukewarm crossover episode. Last night we got two of them in the form of the Brooklyn Nine-Nine and New Girl crossover episodes. Crossover episodes are tricky, I understand that. It's hard to make two very different shows mesh together to create a story that satisfies both shows; especially when the two shows are as stylistically different as Brooklyn Nine-Nine and New Girl. A successful crossover episode needs to be fully committed to the idea of bringing two shows together, but here the shows only seemed interested in doing the bare minimum to qualify as a crossover. It begs the question; why do a crossover at all?

Brooklyn Nine-Nine's half of the crossover was by far the lesser of the two episodes. The officers of the Nine-Nine have been switched to the night shift and while all of them are tired of the paperwork and long hours, Jake is back and ready to work his first case in over six months. The problem is, everything takes longer on the night shift, because all of the departments have less qualified skeleton crews working. This resulted in the episode's best scenes which involved Jake and Charles trying to solve a case, only to run into a series of escalating obstacles because of it being the night shift. The rest of the episode mostly consisted of the officers complaining about working the night shift. With the exception of a few comical moments like the revelation that Terry's night time alter ego has been dubbed "Sassy Terry," or Gina becoming a social media star in Australia. The "crossover" part of the episode was a scene where Jake commandeers a car Jess Day happens to be driving and promptly crashes it. That's the extent of the two characters' interaction with one another.

The New Girl part of the crossover worked much better because it felt more like a whole episode from start to finished. Schmidt is being honored by his high school (which later turns out to not be such an honor), Cece has to fight Schmidt's mom for respect and approval, and Winston and Nick had to put on a fake subway show to earn money for subway fare after spending all of their money on an expensive lunch. The latter storyline led to the most natural part of the crossover, where Charles Boyle happens to be one of the bystanders watching Winston and Nick "perform" in the subway. It's a scene that takes advantage of how all three characters would naturally act in that setting, even if it didn't really land as a joke.

The other crossover scenes consisted of seeing how Jess wound up encountering Jake, and the aftermath, where Jess met Gina and Holt while trying to complete the paperwork for the damages done to Schmidt's mother's car by Jake. This material all felt pretty forced, and Jess's revelation about how her last trip to New York changed her life without her knowing it, felt like a pretty big stretch. The clips at the beginning of the episode of all of the bad things that happened on that trip, were pretty funny and ridiculous. The funniest scene in either episode was hands down the scene with Jess in the deli shop slowly being annoyed to the point of blowing up at all of the other customers, which almost made the trip to New York seem worth it. Otherwise these episodes were mostly a bust. They didn't function well as individual episodes or as two parts of a whole crossover. I'd love to see these shows give a crossover another try, but only if they are willing to commit to the concept.

Other Thoughts:
* The scene at the end of New Girl's episode, where Coach shows up, was nice punctuation mark on the crossover. Damon Wayans Jr. has appeared as different characters on both shows, so there wasn't a realistic way to work him into the crossover aspect of the episode. It was also kind of a nice joke about how extraneous Coach has always been as a character on New Girl.

* One of the main reasons the show had trouble actually getting the characters in the same place at one time was because of the night shift plot that consumed all of the Brooklyn Nine-Nine episode. That plot also leaves some of the events of the New Girl episode unexplained. We know why Jake ran into Jess during the day, but why were Holt and Gina still at the precinct in the middle of the day? Why did Holt not have the authority to switch his officers back to the day shift once he took up his post as Captain again?

* The most frustrating part of the crossover was that the episodes actually had a perfect way to bring both casts together, built right into the story. Jake commandeering Jess's vehicle could have led to those two being forced to team up to chase the criminal Jake was after. Jess's disappearance could have led to her friends showing up at the Nine-Nine looking for her where that have to wait and bother/bond with the officers there. Winston himself is a police officer, which could have made his presence all the more relevant. Overall it all feels like a missed opportunity to have two very diverse groups of people interacting with each other.

* Holt forcing the group to smile and laugh made for an amusing scene, but the joke about Holt misjudging what the others would thing was fun to do at a party, was a joke the show has done many times before to much better effect. 

Supergirl Review: "The Adventures of Supergirl"

When I first watched Supergirl last season on CBS, I thought it was a decent, but flawed, superhero show. The casting was excellent and the lighthearted approach to superheroics was refreshing compared to the many darker comic book shows that populate television. Like any show, Supergirl took some time figuring out what kind of show it was. The main problem that plauged the show was its location on CBS.

Since the recent cultural superhero boom, the Big Four networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC), have struggled to figure out how to make good superhero shows. The one exception being ABC's fantastic Agent Carter, a show for which the network could never find an audience. From Gotham to Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., these networks have struggle to produce compelling superhero shows because they are creating content in a system that fears genre shows. Genre shows speak to a specific audience, and the network model wants shows that speak to everyone. On a show like S.H.I.E.L.D., for example, the writers are not only hindered by the network's avoidance of the "genre" label (which resulted in the early run of the show basically being superhero CSI), but by the studio (Marvel) which constantly makes the show change course to fit what is going on in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  When the networks or studios start limiting shows creatively, audiences are smart enough to notice the difference.

The CW has taken a different approach to genre shows. Being the number five network has given The CW a perspective that the Big Four don't have. When you are the lowest rated network, creating self-aware genre shows that other networks are too afraid to create, suddenly becomes a distinction that sets you apart from other networks. Producer Greg Berlanti has created in immersive DC Comics superhero world at The CW between his shows Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow, and The Flash, the latter of which did a very successful crossover episode with CBS's Supergirl (which is also produced by Berlanti) last season. These shows have their fair share of flaws (especially Legends), but unlike other network shows, they are self-aware, and fully committed to their comic book origins. When CBS was unhappy with the outcome of Supergirl's first season, it only seemed natural for the show to move to The CW (a sister network of CBS, that is co-owned by Warner Bros.).

Being the first episode of Supergirl since moving to The CW, "The Adventures of Supergirl," had some important questions to answer. Would it still feel like the same show? Could The CW keep up the quality of the show with more limited resources than CBS? Would the show be able to improve upon the show that CBS had established? While some of those questions will take time to answer, the overall impression left by "The Adventures of Supergirl," is that this is the best version of the show to date.

One of the biggest flaws of the first season, was the way the show avoided ever showing Superman. Yes, Supergirl is the star of the show, but the idea that she would never see her only living relative, or work with him once she became a superhero, became increasingly ridiculous as the season progress. "The Adventures of Supergirl" tackled that problem head on by introducing Clark/Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) early on in the episode, and keeping him around to help Kara/Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) at various moments during the episode. If the show had any fears about Superman stealing the show, this episode proved that the writers can balance having Superman around and still have this be Kara's show. Hoechlin and Benoist have a very strong "brother/sister" type of chemistry that works perfectly for these characters. It was fun to see Clark play mentor to Kara, while Kara got to roll her eyes at how much more humble and charming Clark is than even her. Seeing the sway that Clark has over Cat Grant, or Kara's reaction to Clark thanking the DEO agents for their work provided some of the episode's best moments.

The show made some other changes as well. The DEO has moved to a new location, which gave the show an opportunity to make some meta jokes about how the show moved from CBS to The CW. Despite ending last season having finally deciding to explore a relationship, Kara has decided that her and Jimmy should remain just friends. Winn has moved careers to the DEO to put his tech skills to good use, which is a much better way for the show to keep his character relevant. After receiving the offer to take on whatever role she wanted at Catco from Cat Grant last season, Kara finally landed on becoming a journalist. Sure anyone could see that coming from a mile away, but it also allowed for a really great moment between Kara and Cat, who admitted that she envisioned this future for Kara since the day she hired her as her assistant. Since Cat will only be a recurring character this season (which I suspect will be a huge loss for the show) instead of a series regular, these kinds of moments will be few and far between, so it was nice to see the show take advantage of her presence here. There are sure to be more changes to come in future episodes, as the show gets used to its new home, but for now, the show feels more like itself than ever before.

Other Thoughts:

* Right now Superman is only set to appear in last night's episode and next week's episode, with the option to make future appearances. I hope the show finds room to have him come back every now and then, as the relationship between Clark and Kara was a very strong element of "The Adventures of Supergirl."

* I never had any strong feelings either way about Kara and Jimmy as a romantic couple. I don't necessarily think we've seen the last of that coupling, but if we have, it's no great loss to the show.

* There were some worries that the show might be lacking in the special effects department this season, since CBS has more money to work with than The CW, but this first episode looked like it was up to the standards of the first season. Whether or not the show will be able to sustain that quality for the entire season remains to be seen.

* The show introduced Lena Luthor as a character in this episode. I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of her. Clark made a comment that he's learned the hard way not to trust a Luthor, but by the end of the episode Kara and Clark both seem to believe she's as innocent as she says she is. The episode gave us no reason to think otherwise, but I wouldn't be surprised if Lena become to Kara what Lex is to Clark.

* Alex and Hank were pushed to the side for much of the episode. I'm assuming this is due in large part to the episode's focus on the Clark/Kara relationship, but it's nice to see that the show is able to prioritize instead of just arbitrarily trying to service all of its characters.

* The episode starts with the revelation of the mystery man (Chris Wood) in the Kryptonian pod, but never gives any real answers about who he is. Hopefully the show gets around to that sooner than later, but this episode had enough going on that it didn't need to rush that particular answer. I would not be surprised if this character ends up being the key to destroying the new villain we saw being created at the end of the episode. Could he be a villain himself?

The Good Place Review: "Category 55 Doomsday Crisis"

The Good Place has reached the five episode mark, and that feels like a good sample size to start assessing whether or not this show is worth dropping or keeping around. Based on how each episode has improved upon the last, I would say it fits firmly in the latter group. When shows start with big concepts, like this one did, it's hard to keep them on track. "Category 55 Doomsday Crisis," was proof that not only can this show hand the many plot lines it has started, but it can do so while also developing its characters into increasingly fascinating and complex people. 

Front and center in this episode was the friendship/mentorship/soul-mate(ship?) of Chidi and Eleanor. Chidi has been a great "straight man" on the show so far (his consternation at the antics of both Eleanor and Jianyu/Jason has been one of the show's most reliable sources of jokes), but nearing the midway point of the season, it was time for the show to develop him better as an individual. In this episode, we learn that not only does Chidi sometimes resent Eleanor for being a burden in his afterlife, but he mourns the fact that he won't ever actually get to experience what it is like to have a soul-mate, since that was something he did not experience in life. 

Eleanor, as a result of her time with Chidi, has started to show signs that she is a better person. It's a fine line for the show to walk. On the one hand, if Eleanor never becomes a better person, then the premise of the show starts to feel pretty hollow pretty quickly. On the other hand, Eleanor's moral growth can only move so fast without seeming completely unrealistic. This episode was a perfect example of how the show can balance both aspects of Eleanor. The frozen yogurt scene at the beginning of the episode showed how Eleanor subconsciously did something good by not holding up the line of customers, but also how she can be selfish by not bringing Chidi the frozen yogurt she said she would, and then insisting he should go get it because she was too tired. 

While Jianyu/Jason only appears briefly at the beginning of the episode to tell a surprisingly accurate (and unsurprisingly absurd) story that illustrates utilitarian philosophy put into practice, Tahani got much more to do in this episode than she did in the last one. I'll admit I'm a sucker for stories where the somewhat unlikable "rival" of the main character is shown in a sympathetic light that makes viewers see them as a person. Jane the Virgin did a fantastic job of turning Petra into one of it's more lovable characters, after spending an entire season making her the villain of the show. While Tahani has never been the villain of The Good Place, it's great to see more layers of here character here. Her flashbacks presented a very real fear that she would always be overshadowed by others (namely her sister), and does a lot to explain why Tahani has an almost competitive drive to be the best at being a good person. 

Michael was given an appropriate amount to do here, and Ted Danson has continued to be one of the show's most reliable joke machine's . Janet on the other hand hasn't been very effectively used since the third episode, which took full advantage of a character whose personality can literally be reprogrammed. Why she was working at the frozen yogurt store at the beginning of the episode, is beyond me, but that's a small complaint coma in an otherwise great episode. Here's looking forward to what the show can cook up next week. 

The Flash Review: "Flashpoint"

Perhaps the best compliment I can give "Flashpoint" (the season 3 premiere episode of The Flash) is that it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. That sounds negative, but last season's cliffhanger - which had Barry go back in time to stop his mother's murder - was pretty frustrating. Season one of The Flash was great at balancing emotional moments (Adult Barry's tearful goodbye to his mother, everything between Joe and Barry, etc.) with fun and lighthearted moments (Barry figuring out how to use his powers, everything with Cisco, etc.). Season two was more brooding, and lacked most of the fun elements that made season one so great. While "Flashpoint" was mostly unnecessary as far as plot goes, thematically it was able to infuse a balance of fun and serious elements that was mostly absent from season two of the show.

The episode definitely had its flaws; namely that it was trying to cram too much into one hour. A lot of the emotional beats felt rushed. It's great that Barry finally feels like he can let go of the death of his parents (mostly because that means maybe we won't have to deal with so much brooding Barry this season), but the episode only gave us a couple of brief interactions between Barry and his parents, that didn't justify all of the trouble it took to make that storyline possible. Having Wally's imminent death (the show conveniently never takes the time to explain why Wally's superhuman healing isn't kicking working in this case) be the deciding factor for Barry to go back and reset the timeline the way it was (or close to the way it was), didn't really resonate either. At most, Barry's connection to Wally is that Joe and Iris deeply care for him. The show has never established enough of a connection between Barry and Wally to give this scenario the emotional impact it needed. Had it been Joe on the death bed, especially given that Barry has witnessed another earth's Joe die, it would have made much more sense.

That's not to say that the entire episode was bad. For the most part we got to see Barry be happy, which is a nice change of pace. Seeing all of the differences in the regular Star Labs crew was fun, especially in the case of Caitlin who finds herself sucked into her regular role on the team despite not knowing any of her old friends and leading a simple life as a children's ophthalmologist. None of it was worth exploring for more than an episode, but it did manage to capture the fun of using the same characters in unexpected ways, that last season's Earth 2 episodes never got the hang of.

The most effective part of the episode, by far, was the exploration of Barry and Iris's feelings for each other. Season two took a weird approach with their relationship. Not wanting to make it look like Iris was getting over Eddie too quickly, they made her eventual realization that she has feeling for Barry seem almost like something she didn't really consent to. It ended up feeling more like she was giving up on not liking Barry, than like she was actually falling for him. What was great about this episode is that when it stripped away all of the baggage that Iris and Barry have, the two characters seemed perfect together. No, that's not realistic, but the chemistry between the characters/actors has never felt more powerful than it did in this episode. We already know from season one's "Out of Time" that Iris does actually have feelings for Barry whether she understands them or not, so this episode's exploration of that relationship was refreshing. I've never been sure if I like the idea of Barry and Iris together, but after "Flashpoint" I have hope that it could be very well done if the show is careful.

If Iris and Barry finally finding some understanding in their relationship is the only good thing that comes out of "Flashpoint," I can live with that. Based on that last scene where Barry finds out Iris and Joe aren't on speaking terms, because his actions have altered the timeline, it seems there will still be plenty of changes to discover in next week's episode. Until then I'll just enjoy the fact that this week's episode actually had characters smiling and making jokes, which is a welcome change of pace for the show. Hopefully the show can do more of that this season.

The Good Place Review: "Jason Mendoza"

Last season (September 2015 to May 2016) I decided to hone my reviewing skills by dedicating myself to at least one show through the entirety of its season. That show was The CW's excellent and underrated iZombie. Since iZombie, won't be on again until winter 2017, I've been looking for a show to fill its spot in my weekly review schedule. My original plan was for the replacement show to be the cult musical comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (Also on The CW. You REALLY should be watching that channel.), but since that show also hasn't started yet, I've been reviewing the first few episodes of The Good Place for now. I don't know if I will review every episode of The Good Place going forward, but for now its mix of both episodic and serialized storylines makes it a fun show to take a closer look at each week.

"Jason Mendoza" picked up right where the last episode left off. After telling Eleanor that he also does not belong in The Good Place, Jianyu - whose real name is actually Jason Mendoza - explains that he was mistaken for a Buddhist monk upon arriving in the afterlife. In reality he was a drug dealer and an amature DJ from Florida. Jason, to put it kindly, isn't the brightest person, something that Eleanor is able to figure out pretty quickly. He hasn't even realized that he is in the afterlife until Eleanor explains the situation to him, and he has the mentality of a teenager.

I was quickly growing tired of how underdeveloped Jianyu was as the always silent monk whose one gimmick was to unintentionally infuriate the otherwise "perfect" Tahani. The episode made some efforts to add a little depth to his character through flashback glimpses of what Jason's life was like before he died, but at this point he's still coming off more as character type than an actual human being. That being said, I trust the show will spend more time developing Jason now that he is so central to the story. While "dumb" humor isn't always my favorite, Jason's enthusiastic declaration that he was ready to, "learn about ethnics," when he came to Chidi's ethics class, was the best joke of the episode.

For the show to continue to work, it needs to keep bringing people into the fold, and expanding the underlying problem that is plaguing The Good Place. So far each episode has done a good job of at least doing one of those two things. This was a very solid episode and the show is still in the early part of its thirteen episode season. I look forward to seeing what everyone does next.

Some other thoughts on the episode:

• Tahani was given very little to do here, which was okay for the most part because she's such a big personality that she's better in small doses. Still her exchange with Michael about suspenders was one of the episode's funnier bits. Janet was also very deep in the background, after a very funny episode last week. 

• Not everything about Jason makes narrative sense. He was too dumb to realize he is in the afterlife, but he somehow understood he didn't fit in and needed to stay silent to hide himself? It's a bit of a stretch. The show will have to find a consistent sweet spot of just how smart or stupid they are going to allow him to be.

•  In Eleanor's case Michael, mixed up the details of her life, but had her name correct. In the case of Jason, Michael was wrong about both his name and the details of his life. Is the real Jianyu stuck in The Bad Place?

• The show often deals in broad personality types with mixed success. While chef Patricia's intense personality was an amusing running gag, she's a character/joke I don't need to see again.

• Points to the show for naming the restaurant "The Good Plate," and for not having Michael get the joke until he said it out loud in front of everyone at the restaurant opening.

• Last week Eleanor accepted the job as Michael's assistant, but as of this episode she has yet to start it. This episode had a lot going on, so I'm glad the show didn't try to squeeze that in too. 

• At the end of the episode Tahani learned that the hole Eleanor created was actually getting bigger, instead of repairing itself like Michael said it would. I'm not a fan of cliffhangers, but it has been smart for this show to end each episode with a problem that can be picked up in the next episode.  

The Good Place Review: "Tahani Al-Jamil"

Due to some scheduling manipulation on NBC's part, The Good Place ended up airing three episodes in its premiere week, and it was a move that I think ended up greatly benefitting the show. I noted in my review that one of the things that weighed down the first two episodes of the show was how much exposition the show had to get through to set up its premise. "Tahani Al-Jamil" was largely unchained from that burden, and as a result I believe it is the strongest of the episodes that has aired so far.

There were times while watching the episode that it felt like the writers had specifically been trying to assuage my doubts about whether or not the show would live up to its potential. My biggest concern after those episodes was that the cast of supporting characters were talented and often funny, but seemed like very broad stereotypes we've seen before. Janet, who was essentially a walking search engine before, got to try on a lot of different personalities as Michael kept adjusting her settings throughout the episode. My favorite of her phases was the "fun fact" phase, and her explanation of why Christopher Columbus is in the Bad Place was the second best joke of the episode (the first being the  "Who died and left Aristotle in charge of ethics" joke). Having Michael there to play off of Janet's many personality changes was a very effective use of Ted Danson's dry humor.

Chidi not only got to wear the hat of Eleanor's teacher in this episode, but also got to spend a good chunk of the episode figuring out what he wants to do in the afterlife (an area where Eleanor inadvertently teaches him to go after what he wants). Chidi is so central to the show's main story that it's important for the show to establish him as a character outside of Eleanor.This was  good first step in that direction. For his relationship with Eleanor to be rewarding, it has to work two ways. Having Eleanor and Chidi both learn something from each other in this episode, showed how rewarding this relationship might be in the future.

The central concern of the episode, however, was the relationship between Tahani and Eleanor. Tahani reminds me a lot of Parks and Recreation's Chris Traeger. At first they seemed so perfect that (much like Eleanor) I suspected there was something sinister lurking underneath the surface, only to realize that despite being somewhat delusional, they pretty much are exactly what they present to the outside world. Tahani really does want to be a good neighbor and friend to Eleanor, and having Eleanor realize that (while still being reasonably annoyed with how perfect Tahani is at everything from baking to giving hugs) led to some great moments of self-discovery for our main character.

The revelation that Eleanor's problem with Tahani is really that she feels insecure about who she is as a person (a fact we learn through a series of flashbacks where Eleanor sabotaged a relationship because her boyfriend suggested they not patronize a coffee show where the manager sexually harasses women) was the biggest step toward true change that Eleanor has made so far on the show. For the main premise of the show (Eleanor learning to be a better person) to work, it has to come from a place of self-discovery, instead of Eleanor just magically changing her mind about ethics.

Just to keep things interesting, the last moments of the episode threw in a couple of plot twists. Thinking this to be a gesture of friendship, Tahani suggests to Michael that Eleanor should be his assistant, and partner in solving the "mystery" of what is going wrong in the neighborhood. Having Eleanor work for the person who could send her to the Bad Place if he found out her secret provides a lot of fertile ground for interesting future storylines, but it also gives Eleanor a perfect excuse to be at the center of an investigation that few others realize directly concerns her. To complicate things further, the revelation that Jianyu has been putting the notes under Eleanor's door because he too was put in the Good Place by mistake, give the show a lot to work with. Not only does it complicate the main premise of the show (If both Eleanor and Jianyu are there by mistake, who else might be?), but it also adds a welcome new layer to Jianyu's character, who was quickly becoming a tired gimmick. Overall, the show has made some excellent progress in three episodes, and I feel safe saying this is the best new comedy of the fall.

"The Good Place" Premiere Review: Not Quite "Parks and Recreation"...Yet.

To say that a show like "The Good Place" (created by former "Parks and Recreation" creator Mike Schur)  is built on an abstract idea, is a bit of an understatement. The show, tells the story of Eleanor (the always funny Kristen Bell) who dies and accidentally winds up in "The Good Place" after having spent her life being a pretty terrible person. How did she wind up here? Michael (Ted Danson doing some great physical comedy) is some sort of eternal entity taking his first crack at creating his very own community in the Good Place, and has mistaken Eleanor for a lawyer who helped innocent people get off of death row. Realizing his mistake, Eleanor is desperate to avoid being found out as a fraud and sent to "The Bad Place," despite her inherent tendency to make selfish choices. It's a solid premise that presents a lot of opportunities for funny and inventive stories, but it also requires an exhaustive amount of exposition. The result was a series premiere that felt like it had a lot of potential to be something great, but also felt pretty bogged down by all of the explaining it had to do.

It's hard to call the exposition done in these first two episodes a flaw, because it's all very necessary. These episodes had to explain what "The Good Place" is, how a person winds up either there or in "The Bad Place" (it's based on a point system that evaluates everything you ever did while alive), and how Eleanor can have any hope of staying in "The Good Place," when she is clearly a pretty bad person.  The answer to that last plot issue is Eleanor's afterlife soulmate (In "The Good Place" every person is paired with their perfect soul-mate, even though the pairings don't always seem very perfect) Chidi (William Jackson Harper), who was a professor of ethics during his life on earth. Chidi is reluctant to be an accomplice to Eleanor's fraud, and the way that he won't let Eleanor off the hook for her bad behavior creates a strong comedic dynamic between the two characters. A lot of credit in these first two episode is owed to William Jackson Harper who proves to be a strong comedic foil for Kristen Bell.

Along the way, the show introduces some key supporting characters that currently feel more like caricatures than people. Ted Danson's Michael is the most developed of the supporting characters so far. His always optimistic attitude can be played for great laughs, but Danson also shows that there a cracks in Michael's happy exterior (such as the scene where Michael kicks a small dog into the Sun because he mistakenly thinks it is a glitch in his "perfect" community). D'Arcy Carden plays Janet, a sort of Google search bar AI who appears as a human. Janet provides a lot of funny moments, but as of now lacks depth. Tahani (Jameela Jamil) and Jianyu (Manny Jacinto) are Eleanor's soul-mate neighbors. Tahani is set up as Eleanor's sort of rival, whose actions are nearly perfect but whose attitude is incredibly smug. It's a broad character that we've seen before, but I have hope the show can turn it into something interesting. Jianyu is a former Buddhist monk who has taken a vow of silence which he is continuing even in the afterlife. Mostly this gimmick plays as a punchline to the fact that Tahani talks all the time, and it drives her nuts that Jianyu won't say a word back to her. It's a joke with a short shelf life, but the relationship could be rewarding if the show chooses to explore it further.

That about describes my overall view of the show after these first two episodes. None of it is quite where it needs to be yet, but just about everything in these episodes suggest the show could go in a lot of very fun and interesting directions. Schur's former show "Parks and Recreation" is a classic example of a show that needed time to grow, and it eventually became one of TV's all time great comedies. Will that happen with "The Good Place"? I don't know, but these two episodes were arguably more polished and self aware that the entire first season of "Parks and Recreation," so it's definitely a possibility. Either way, I can definitely see myself sticking with this one for a while.