It's difficult to watch Wilfred for any length of time without having a huge smile on your face. Based on an Australian show of the same name, the American version is about a depressed young lawyer called Ryan (Elijah Wood; The Lord of the Rings) and his curious friendship with his neighbour's dog, played by Jason Gann, who wrote and starred in the original series. Unlike the rest of the world, however, Ryan doesn't see Wilfred as a canine. To him, Wilfred is a philosophical Aussie pothead dressed in a furry suit.
Gann's character is an endearing human-canine hybrid with just the right measure of machismo, guile and blowhardedness to offset the otherwise earnest wisdom he dispenses to the troubled Ryan. Plus, he does cute dog things, such as humping the legs of attractive waitresses.
Each episode has a theme related to Wilfred's sage advice. The titles, which include Trust, Fear and Happiness, are the most overt clues that this isn't just a stoner comedy about a dog who makes puerile jokes. Keep an eye out for its arrival in Hong Kong.
Then there's New Girl, a more conventional buddy-advice sitcom that has been dressed up as a hipster-friendly aw-shucks-athon courtesy of its leading lady: indie pin-up Zooey Deschanel, who is so nu-twee that she owns an online magazine called Hello Giggles and married the lead singer of Death Cab for Cutie (although the two have now separated).
The cutesy japery of New Girl is sweet verging on vomitous, with Deschanel's Jess spouting lines such as: 'I saw Nick's pipi. And his bubbles.' The show's premise, meanwhile, is banal: attractive late-20s teacher moves into an apartment (which in real life she'd never be able to afford) to live with three male roommates who may or may not be interested in acquainting their pipis with her, I don't know... giggles?
New Girl has already found a loyal audience in the United States, but this onslaught of quirk is best taken in small doses.
