The Good Place made its series debut last night, a special one hour presentation with both episodes one and two and what a premiere it was!

The show dives right into the who, what, where, and when which for some people might be somewhat jarring but for others is exactly how they like sinking themselves into a new TV show.

Michael (Ted Danson) tells Eleanor (Kristen Bell) in his office that she’s died. And she’s made it to the The Good Place as opposed to The Bad Place. Eleanor is thrilled until she quickly realizes that The Good Place has the right name but they’ve matched her with the wrong person’s memories. And considering she wasn’t all that good in her life, she doesn’t belong here.

The groundwork of the world building is really solid and quite splendid in most cases but there are still plenty of questions that are raised as well as many elements that deserve a head tilt. Firstly, only the best of the best people make it to The Good Place which is pretty crappy if you’re generally a good person and have more positives than negatives. That said, Eleanor thinks she is an average decent person. Based on what we’ve seen… she’s not. She wants to be in “the Cincinnati of The Good Place” but she definitely wouldn’t even make it there given the points system. She’s probably on the low end of average. A look at some of the good things that will get you positive points in the system, which is hilarious by the way:

Hosted Refugee Family, Rehabilitate d Abused Pit Bull, Donated 16.35% of Lifetime Income, Anonymously, to Charities, Gave Out Full-Size Candy Bars at Halloween, Ate Vegan, Never Discussed Veganism Unprompted, Held Door for Person Behind You, Installed Solar Panels, Let Someone Merge in Traffic, Brought Own Bags to Grocery Store, Donated Blood, Self-Monitored Potentially Nauseating Mouth-Sounds While Chewing, Carefully Put Spider Outside, Helped Mom With Her Printer, Gracefully Ended A Conversation About the Weather, Attended Cousin’s Friend’s Child’s Jazz Dance Recital, etc…

So we’ve got a handle on the good. And so far, we’ve only seen memories of Eleanor’s life in which she definitely did not earn any positive points. So. Highly anticipating the moment in which the writers do show us a positive memory, it’s definitely got to be earned though, from her and for the audience.

Now since The Good Place is all about points, let’s just make a list of points of what stood out in the premiere.

• The Good Place is composed of neighborhoods that are uniquely calibrated and designed for its residents. And every person’s home perfectly matches that individual’s true essence. This aspect of the world building is absolute perfection. On the other hand, when The Good Place is almost destroyed by Eleanor’s presence, it’s a wonder why Michael, the designer of this particular neighborhood in The Good Place, didn’t have a plan of action for maintenance and let The Good Place sit around looking a hot mess long enough for residents to volunteer to clean it up. Odd. No one asked Janet, the Informational Assistant in The Good Place, what the hold up was either.
• A moment on Janet, the Information Assistant. So Janet knows who Eleanor truly is but the people who put her in The Good Place don’t? Wouldn’t there be a routine checkup with Janet to make sure that everyone in The Good Place actually belongs there? Because she clearly knows Eleanor’s true memories. And when “shirt” hits the fan, wouldn’t Michael have consulted Janet? If not, should there have at least been an interaction between the two that Eleanor witnessed or was part of in some way, so we could have seen what the (public) response would have been between these two?
• The Good Place translates whatever residents say into a language the person that they’re talking to understands. So if the show ever gets really creative and delivers a scene from Chidi’s POV later down the line, we should hear Eleanor speak in French. I want to see that! #Francophile
• Eleanor’s neighbors, soul mates, Tahani (Jameela Jamil) and Jianyu (Manny Jacinto) are entertaining and hysterical to a point. I really loved the contrast between this couple, Jianyu a Buddhist monk who obeys a strict code of silence and Tahani who struggles to sit in five seconds of silence. Tahani is quite the character, it’s a wonder how someone like her made it into The Good Place but clearly all of the good that she did in her life outweighed all of her condescension. She’s got quite the clever little mouth on her and while that does bring the laughs and the occasional jaw dropping moment, it will be interesting to see if this will last or if her antics will soon bore and/or annoy the audience.
• Michael has been an apprentice for over 200 years and finally got his first project, designing the neighborhood that Eleanor lives in. So basically, this show could go on forever. And if Ted Danson were to ever decide to leave the show, they could hire an actor to be a new designer, bringing a whole new look to the show. On the other hand, if Kristen Bell ever decided to leave the show, a shift to another character within the same neighborhood could take place and we could get a very different POV of the same neighborhood we grew to love. Neither of the leads are thinking about leaving the show in its first season, this is just a random thought bubble.
• Kristen Bell and Ted Danson have perfect chemistry, as does the entire cast. This is not easy to do right out of the gate. Bravo.
• The foreshadowing game so far this season is strong, the most bizarre was the giraffe bit – did anyone see that absolutely fantastical element coming? – and more foreshadowing is highly anticipated.
• The Good Place has a really strong diverse cast and Eleanor and Chidi’s interracial true soulmate situation is absolutely delightful and very much appreciated. Chidi (William Jackson Harper), who was a Professor of Ethics and Moral Philosophy before he died, has a lot to handle on his plate with Eleanor. Though if Eleanor has the wrong home and memories attached to her, she most likely has the wrong true soulmate attached to her too. It would be a shame since I love this couple. What do you think?

Throughout the premiere, Eleanor decides she wants to earn her place in The Good Place so she doesn’t feel so guilty about accidentally being plopped there. The only problem? She’s just not naturally a good person. That natural instinct to be good died long ago.

With this comes the wonderful exploration of self obsession, selflessness, and our main priority being our own happiness which in turn prevents us from truly being good people. The show has found a rich balance of telling a very compelling personal story in the most heartwarming and hilarious way. Everyone can relate to Eleanor, no matter how generous we are (and think we are). So if there’s one thing The Good Place will manage to do for everyone, it’s make them reflect inward more than ever before on a network comedy.

The Good Place is captivating from the first moment its on screen. The Good Place is striking and charming and altogether, divine. There’s so much to love about the series premiere and so much to anticipate in the series’ run. So if there’s one new comedy worth checking out this season, let it be The Good Place.

Favorite Quotes From Episode 1.01 “Chapter One” and Episode 1.02 “Chapter Two”:

“So who is right – I mean, about all of this?” – Eleanor

“Hindus are a little bit right. Muslims a little bit. Jews, Christians, Buddhists. Every religion guessed about 5%.” – Michael

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“Oh, did I have a purse? No! I’m dead. Right. Okay!” – Eleanor

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“There’s a lot of frozen yogurt places.” – Eleanor

“Yeah. That’s the one thing we put in all the neighborhoods. People love frozen yogurt. I don’t know what to tell you.” – Michael

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“Oh! You booped me.” – Eleanor

“I did!” – Tahani

“That’s fun.” – Eleanor

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“You’re a nice person, Chidi…Anaconda.” – Eleanor

“Anagonye” – Chidi

“Aganocomonga” – Eleanor

“Anagonye” – Chidi

“Ags – say it again.” – Eleanor

*

“What country am I from?” – Chidi

“Is it racist if I say Africa?” – Eleanor

“Yes and Africa is not a country. I am from Senegal.” – Chidi

Watch The Good Place Thursdays at 8:30/7:30c only on NBC.