TV tonight: 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,' 'New Girl'
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
ABC, 9 ET/PT
In preparation for next week's second-season return, S.H.I.E.L.D. reruns a first-season finale that seemed to prepare the show for a reboot. Let's hope it's an actual fix and not a feint.
New Girl
Fox, 9 ET/PT
Here's good news for fans of this Fox comedy, which stumbled last season in its failed efforts to pair Zooey Deschanel's Jess and Jake Johnson's Nick: It's back to being slight, sweet and funny. The humor in this season return is, as usual, random and stretched perilously tight. But the very appealing cast keeps the thread from breaking in an episode that seems designed to tell fans their complaints have been heard, and answered.
The Mindy Project
Fox, 9:30 ET/PT
On the other hand, here's proof that one solution does not fit every problem. Where New Girl was weakened by linking its two main characters, Mindy unexpectedly shows positive signs of being strengthened, with a season premiere that finds Mindy (Mindy Kaling) and Danny (Chris Messina) testing the boundaries of their new relationship. Some of the jokes are too crude, and every story for the supporting cast is too silly. But there's an honesty to the scenes between Mindy and Danny that give the show a charm and depth it has lacked. And their final scene is one of those rare moments where a sitcom is actually sexy.