New Girl S4 E11 – LAXmas

Last updated on June 16, 2024

This podcast covers New Girl Season 4, Episode 11, LAXmas, which originally aired on December 9, 2014 and was written by Matt Fusfeld & Alex Cuthbertson and directed by Trent O’Donnell.

Episode Recap

In this episode, Jess, Nick, Winston, Schmidt, Cece, and Coach are traveling for Christmas despite doubts and setbacks.

References

While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:

• Santa – The opening play blamed Santa for eating “Gingy’s” arm. Additionally, Jess thought the man at the bar with the white beard was Santa. We talked about Santa for our Pop Culture reference on our podcast in S2 E11 – Santa. 
• Annie – When Jess is pleading with Barry for plane tickets, Barry says he sarcastically says, “Oh, I didn’t know that [it was Christmas]. I thought they just did a black version of Annie for no reason.”
• HBO GO – Schmidt proposed to Cece that they should wait in the first-class lounge, “like the other HBO GO subscribers.”  
• Oprah Winfrey – Barry quoted Oprah Winfrey in this episode, saying: “Greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude.” 
• McDuck – Nick thought Ryan’s family had “McDuck money” based on the picture of his house in England. 
• Downton Abbey / Anna and Mr. Bates – When looking at the picture of Ryan’s house the gang asked where the characters from Downton Abbey were and if they had seen the show. 
• Scrubs – When Jess and Barry were talking at the bar, Barry said meeting his ex-boyfriend’s family over the holidays was worse than the last season of Scrubs.
• Billy Joel / “Piano Man” / “Goodnight Saigon“ – When Schmidt was recounting to the guy in the lounge that he was from Long Island, and not Manhattan, he exclaimed aspects of Long Island culture, including Billy Joel and some of his songs. 
• Paul Dano – Barry shared that he thought Paul Dano was on Nick and Winston’s flight where they got first class seats.
• Daniel Craig – When Schmidt shared to Cece that the guy in the lounge disrespected something more important to him than “any stupid lounge”, Cece questioned if it was  Daniel Craig’s tailoring.

This episode got an 8/10 rating from both Kritika and Kelly; Kritika’s favorite character was Schmidt and Kelly’s favorite was Nick.

Podcast Notes

• Most Likely To:
  • Take a selfie when you mean to take a regular picture
  • Give up a first class ticket for your friend
  • Go to the Airport Lounge
  • Go on a vacation instead of visiting family
• Schmidtism:
  • Schmidt saying no to the guy in the lounge
• In the 2020s:
  • Not: successful men not being exclusive, usage of “gypsies”, and being able to go in and out of TSA at LAX. / practicality of the episode
  • Yes: support & solidarity in getting off the plane and encouraging friends to take a chance
• Pop Culture:
  • Love Actually
  • “God Only Knows”
• Guest Stars:
  • Billy Eichner (Barry)
  • Barry Bostwick (Robert)

Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 12!

Music: “Hotshot” by scottholmesmusic.com