TMP-a-thon: The Mindy Project Pilot, Season 1: Episode 1

Amazing pilot!

SCORE:
5 out of 5 Golden Rings

Strengths: 
About everything, including:

• Sandwiching episode in between romantic comedy movie scenes with flashbacks to younger Mindys 
• Bill Hader as Mindy's oral surgeon/rom-com hero gone wrong
• Mindy's wedding speech, biking, pool-crashing, hot doll  convo, subsequent jailing & mean prison lady interaction
• Mindy & Danny - "Is your date with Elton John on New Year's Eve?"
• Ed Helms as Dennis
• MIA Bad Girls highlighting Doc Mindy coming to the breach rescue badassness (including changing out of sexy panties into comfortable underwear - awesome)
• MIA Bad Girls questionable decision/I'll be better tomorrow ending

I like Betsy. I like that other office assistant too. I wonder why they had to go... I'll keep watching. 

Weaknesses: 

Gwen the BFF.

A critical BFF is totally fine. A blond princess harpy is not going to work however, especially when Mindy herself is so flawed. We need a BFF who is relateable to ground Mindy's crazy hilarity.

Gwen lows:

Threatening to cancel Mindy's date with Dennis made Gwen instantly unlikeable. 

Mindy's retort to the daughter, "You're boring" is comedic gold. Gwen's response ruined everything: "Don't call my daughter boring. Honey, you're fascinating." A true best friend would have not taken Mindy so literally. There isn't anything particularly funny about Gwen's tightwad-ness to redeem her. I can already see why she gets the axe eventually. 
Is Gwen painting eggs at the end? What is this? Is she Martha Stewart-light just because she's blond and robotic? Why are these two people even friends? And her "Carl" references are grating. Is she supposed to annoy us? I don't get it. 

I love your extensions girl and your actual first date look.