The leading character in New Girl has been in constant flux for me. Of course, I came (though hesitantly) for Zooey Deschanel. I stayed for Schmidt because the episode where he goes to the beach and tries to overcome his phobias is one of the best TV episodes of all time. ("I can get a tetanus shot, but I can't cure damaged suede!")
But now, my favorite character is unequivocally Nick Miller.
His dramatic declarations combined with his old-man cynicism make him a type of character I don't think I've seen before. He's living the stereotypical bachelor life and hates it, but not enough to make a change. Mostly because he hates change, which I totally understand.
I also identify with his old-man "those damn kids are too loud!" attitude, and I love his unwavering commitment to not get too involved in anyone's personal life. He's got all the best hints of Liz Lemon and Ron Swanson stuffed inside a 28-year-old bartender's body.
I like that New Girl is still in that stage where they don't feel like they "have" to do anything to develop characters at this point. Nick doesn't have to have some kind of revelation that his life is meaningless and turn all soft on us (ahem, Barney Stinson). He can go on living his standoffish anti-warm-fuzzies life and writing his terrible zombie novels for a little while longer without the story arc leading him to find a real job or a serious girlfriend.
So for now we get to enjoy his tearful, desperate speeches to Schmidt trying to remedy their friendship over an unappreciated cookie.
"Got me a cookie, gave you a cookie! Gotmeacookiegaveyouacookie! Gommecookie Gaveyoucookie!"
Probably one of my favorite Nick Miller moments so far. The way it degenerates into complete nonsense speech, pleading for Schmidt to just take him off the hook, is so classic.
Poor Winston. He's trying. I think the fact that Nick is the anti-Schmidt makes them far too much of a duo for Winston to ever really fit in. They're trying with the Nick/Winston backstory, but it's not really happening.
Though I am loving the Nick flashbacks like the one where he's sitting on the porch steps yelling at other children to stop throwing stuff on his lawn. [Note: I can't confirm that that is actually what he was yelling about, because the internet apparently didn't like this clip as much as I did.]
What's your favorite Nick moment? Alternately, what do you think they should do about what will henceforth be calledThe Winston Problem?