What I’m Watching: The Mindy Project

The Mindy Project: Season 1, Episode 23 “Frat Party” (B-)

Sometimes I think this show doesn’t have a clear understanding of its characters, purporting that people like Danny and Jeremy might be turned away from a club and mocked because of their age and assuming that these relatively young characters are perceived by the world as close to death and hopelessly uncool. Mindy’s extended battle with the stripper pole was a bit much, and I didn’t see much of a value in her intern Katie being in the episode. Casey showing up drunk to the club and fighting with Tom, on the other hand, was considerably more entertaining, and I liked seeing Danny step in to defend Morgan when tensions were high and everyone was about to get punched. Despite Casey’s sentimental confirmation of Mindy’s hopes and dreams, I have serious doubts about the sustainability of their relationship unrelated to his casual plans to go to Haiti for a year. The fight to win Morgan back from the Deslaurier brothers at least had sound reasoning behind it, which was to write the show of a character more grating than Beverly and Maggie combined, the impossibly irritating Tamara. I can’t understand why the supporting personalities on this show have to be so loud and grating, and I think it’s detrimental to have such obnoxious characters around to distract form the much more enticing leads, namely Mindy and Danny. As this show finishes its first season next week, I hope it will look towards the development of that inevitable relationship and also towards reframing the show in a more productive manner for next year.