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New Year's Eve (Up All Night)

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"New Year's Eve"
Up All Night episode
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 12
Directed byBeth McCarthy-Miller
Written byErica Rivinoja
Production code112
Original air dateJanuary 12, 2012 (2012-01-12)[1]
Guest appearance
Jason Lee
Episode chronology
← Previous
"First Christmas" 		Next →
"Rivals"
List of episodes

"New Year's Eve" is the twelfth episode of the first season of the American comedy television series Up All Night. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on January 12, 2012. It was written by Erica Rivinoja and was directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller. The episode also featured a guest appearance from Jason Lee as Chris and Reagan's neighbor and Ava's boyfriend, Kevin.

During Reagan (Christina Applegate) and Chris's (Will Arnett) first New Year's Eve game night, Reagan's competitiveness comes out causing Chris to become embarrassed. Meanwhile, Missy (Jennifer Hall) brings an unexpected date along to the party and, Kevin (Jason Lee) starts to feel as though Ava (Maya Rudolph) may be ashamed of him.

"New Year's Eve" received mostly positive reviews from critics. According to the Nielsen Media Research, "New Year's Eve" drew 4.28 million viewers and received a 2.0 rating/5% share in the 18–49 demographic, marking a 5% rise in the ratings from the previous episode, "First Christmas". It ranked third in its timeslot and was the second highest-rated NBC program of the night after The Office.

Plot

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After not being able to find a baby-sitter for Amy, Reagan suggests that the two throw a game night, an idea Chris doesn't react well to. They invite Ava, Kevin, Missy, but Chris attempts to hide the games due to Reagan's competitive nature. He tries to make her promise that she won't be too competitive, but she does which makes the party awkward. While playing Rock Band the two get in a fight when Chris loses the beat on the drums because he was looking at his "drumming arm". Reagan decide to a make a list of "Things We Are Going to Stop Doing That Embarrass Each Other in 2012", which features annoying habits that the two want each other to give up. However, before 2011 comes to an end the two erase every thing from the list except for Chris's Borat impression and Reagen's competitive nature.

Meanwhile, Ava is asked to be the grand marshal to a New Year's Day parade. This makes her boyfriend, Kevin, feel like he can't live up to her lifestyle. He then starts thinking she may be ashamed of him, especially after he isn't invited to sit with her during the parade. Eventually, Kevin confronts Ava on this and she reveals that if she messes up their relationship she doesn't wanted to be reminded of it while Googling her name. He assures her that their relationship won't end badly and the two go to the parade.

Production

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This episode marks Jason Lee's fourth appearance in the series

"New Year's Eve" was written by supervising producer Erica Rivinoja, marking her third writing credit for the series after "Mr. Bob's Toddler Kaleidoscope" and "Parents".[2][3] The episode was directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller, who previously worked with creator Emily Spivey and executive producer Lorne Michaels on Saturday Night Live as director for 11 years.[4] The episode features a guest appearance from Jason Lee as Kevin, Ava's boyfriend.[5] He first appeared in the eighth episode, "First Night Away" and is currently set to appear in a recurring role for the series.[5] Lee had previously worked with Spivey and Michaels after hosting an episode of Saturday Night Live on November 12, 2005.[6] This is the first time the series aired in the 9:30 pm timeslot for the first season after The Office; the series previously aired in the 8:00pm timeslot on Wednesday.[7] The series switched timeslots with another NBC comedy series, Whitney.[7] Some media critics have said that the goal for moving the series was in order to make it more of a ratings success, like The Office.[8][9]

Reception

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Ratings

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"New Year's Eve" originally aired on NBC in the United States on January 12, 2012.[1] The episode was viewed by an estimated 4.24 million viewers and received a 2.0 rating/5% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49.[10] This means that it was seen by 2.0% of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 5% of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This marked a 5% rise in the ratings from the previous episode, "First Christmas".[10] The episode finished third in its time slot along with The Office, being beaten by Grey's Anatomy which received a 3.8 rating/9% share and the CBS drama Person of Interest which received a 3.2 rating/8% share in the 18–49 demographic.[10] The episode, however, did manage to beat the Fox drama series The Finder and the CW drama series The Secret Circle.[10] Added with DVR viewers, who viewed the episode within seven days of the original broadcast, the episode received a 3.0 rating in the 18–49 demographic, adding a 1.0 rating to the original viewership.[11]

Critical reviews

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"New Year's Eve" received several positive reviews from critics. New York writer Steven Heisler praised the episode for avoiding "sitcom-y territory" with the emotional ending.[12] He also called the series a better choice to follow The Office then Whitney.[12] The A.V. Club reviewer Margaret Eby complemented the believability of the main Reagen-Chris plot.[13] Despite this, she criticized the Ava-Kevin subplot comparing it to a storyline from Sex and The City.[13] She also noted the plotline didn't stay true to the characters following their plotline in the previous episode, "First Christmas".[13] She ultimately rated the episode with a B.[13] Adam Victavage of Paste called the episode a perfect transition from the previous episodes and allowed Ava to be "a loveable third wheel to a completely strong duo in Chris and Reagan".[14] He also reacted positively for the scenes featuring Missy, comparing her scenes to "early Ava, but less obnoxious".[14] He ultimately gave the episode an 8.7/10 calling it "commendable".[14] Bradford Evans of SplitSider praised Jennifer Hall's performance calling her the "unsung hero" of the series.[15] He also reacted positively towards the episode's ability to unify the show and "keep all of the characters on the same turf".[15] He concluded that he hoped the series could make itself a vital part of the network's lineup.[15] HitFix reviewer Alan Sepinwall called the episode "one its [the series] strongest episodes to date".[16] He wrote that the addition of Jason Lee humanized Ava more and gave her a more natural reason to visit Reagan and Chris at home.[16] He also wrote that the episode worked on a "character level".[16]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Shows A-Z - up all night on nbc". The Futon Critic. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  2. ^ story by Liz Cackowski and Alex Reid, teleplay by Erica Rivinoja, directed by Troy Miller (October 12, 2011). "Mr. Bob's Toddler Kaleidoscope". Up All Night. Season 1. Episode 5. NBC.
  3. ^ written by Erica Rivinoja, directed by James Griffiths (November 2, 2011). "Parents". Up All Night. Season 1. Episode 7. NBC.
  4. ^ Egner, Jeremy (September 13, 2011). "Emmys Watch: Beth McCarthy-Miller - NYTimes.com". The New York Times. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
  5. ^ a b Abrams, Natalie (September 30, 2011). "Jason Lee Cast as Maya Rudolph's Love Interest on Up All Night - Today's News: Our Take". TV Guide. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
  6. ^ "Jason Lee Credits". TV Guide. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
  7. ^ a b Gorman, Bill (November 14, 2011). "NBC Mid-Season Schedule: 'Harry's Law' To Sunday, 'Grimm' Stays Put, 'Up All Night' Moves Later, 'Whitney' To Wednesday, 'Chuck' Series Finale Set & More - Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on November 17, 2011. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
  8. ^ VanDerWerff, Todd (November 13, 2011). "Ratings roundup: Five reasons Community could see season four". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  9. ^ Adalian, Josef (November 15, 2011). "Vulture Answers Your Questions About Community's Future - Vulture". New York. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
  10. ^ a b c d Seidman, Robert (January 13, 2012). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'Big Bang Theory' Adjusted Up; 'Private Practice' Adjusted Down - Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on January 15, 2012. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
  11. ^ Gorman, Bill (January 30, 2012). "Live+7 DVR Ratings: 'Modern Family' Tops Absolute Gains; 'Grimm' Tops % Gains in Week 17 - Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on January 31, 2012. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
  12. ^ a b Heisler, Steve (January 13, 2012). "Up All Night Recap: Totes Croissants - Vulture". New York. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
  13. ^ a b c d Eby, Margaret (January 12, 2012). ""New Year's Eve" | Up All Night". The A.V. Club. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
  14. ^ a b c Victavage, Adam (January 13, 2012). "Up All Night Review: "New Year's Eve" (Episode 1.12) :: TV :: Reviews :: Paste". Paste. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
  15. ^ a b c Evans, Bradford (January 13, 2012). "Up All Night Recap: "New Year's Eve"". Splitsider. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
  16. ^ a b c Sepinwall, Alan (January 13, 2012). "The Morning Round-Up: 30 Rock, The Office & Up All Night". HitFix. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
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