That’s a question I’ve wrestled with since “The New Girl” debuted on Fox last fall. Until “The New Girl” came along, there was no question: She’s great in (500) Days of Summer, I loved her in Elf, she had a nice turn in “Weeds,” and she was great in the little seen All the Real Girls. But I like quirk and whimsy in the right doses, and I love manic-pixie dream girls (SUE ME).

But there’s a huge difference between two hours of quirk and whimsy and an entire series built around it. I don’t think Jess is a character; I think Jess is Zooey Deschanel, and the relentless optimism, the overbearing quirk, and the ALWAYS ON whimsy is starting to wear on my gag reflex. At first, it was kind of cute. Now it’s kind of … dumb. Not in the, “Oh, that’s so stupid” kind of way, but in the “I think Zooey Deschanel” may actually be dumb” kind of way.

Deschanel is hosting “SNL” this weekend (promo below), and I’m seriously curious about whether we’ll see another side of Deschanel, if in fact there’s another side to see. Could she in fact be functionally whimsical? Is there anything going on inside of that head of hers besides blue birds?

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There are few pop culture figures more polarizing than Zooey Deschanel. Some call her overly quirky, obnoxiously precious, and annoying as sh*t. Others, like myself, then mention that Zooey’s got impressive comedic timing, range (singer/actor, and pretty good at both), and she’s adorable as sh*t. People have strong opinions about her either way, even if it’s as simply stated as Zooey > Emily.

In other words, she’s a perfect “SNL” host, which is what she’ll be doing on February 11. (Sadly, Death Cab for Cutie, featuring her sappy schmuck of an ex-husband, Ben Gibbard, will NOT be the musical guest; that honor goes to “acoustic hip-hop duo” Karmin. Why yes, they are white. How did you know?) Those who hate Zooey will want to see her crash and burn, while those who love her will continue to love her even after the inevitable Valentine’s Day skit featuring the ukulele.

“SNL” also announced the host for their February 4 episode: 21 Magic Jump the Streets: 2 star Channing Tatum (with Bon Iver). I love him, you love him, and Film Drunk REALLY loves him. (They’ve got 15 PAGES of C-Tates over there, dating back to 2007.) You know the first line of Iggy and the Stooges’ “Search and Destroy”: “I’m a street walkin’ cheetah with a heart full of napalm.” Replace “street walking” with “step upping,” “cheetah” with “C-Tates,” and “heart full of napalm” with “THIS IS DA ILLEST JAM, $ON” – you’ve got his life story.

Most shows were new last week, so we’ve got plenty of GIF fodder for this week’s post, including: crying judges, incest, Louis C.K. miming sex with an animal, Zooey dancing in her underwear, and Fat Mac’s real name. Plus, for the last time for a few months, “Community.” (The only GIF I wanted to locate but couldn’t was of Beavis getting his ass stuck in copy machine – if you know where to find it, include a link in the comments section.) Please remember to email me any favorites you see throughout the week at Joshua.Kurp@gmail.com.

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New Girl (Fox) — The hit comedy returns after its World Series/”X Factor”-induced hiatus. I’ve enjoyed it so far, but I’m afraid I might develop some Zooey fatigue soon. Also, the guy who plays the douchebag friend is almost intolerable.

NCIS (CBS) — Melinda McGraw, recipient of the most famous televised fingerbang in history, guest stars as the ex-wife of both Gibbs (Mark Harmon) and Fornell (Joe Spano).

Last Man Standing/Man Up! (ABC) — These still exist. The only TV show with an exclamation point worth watching is “Jeopardy!”

Sons of Anarchy (FX) — So yeah, Clay’s finally become the villain. I gotta say, Piney wasn’t very smart about delivering that ultimatum last week.

Glee (Fox) — “Glee Project” winner Damian McGinty joins the show as an Irish exchange student. Singing ensues.

Covert Affairs (USA) — Fall premiere. Welcome back, Piper Perabo. (Never gets old.)

LATE NIGHT GUESTS: Ben Stiller and Whitney Cummings on Letterman; Eddie Murphy on Leno; Adam Sandler and the Bangles (?) on Kimmel; Dennie Miller on Ferguson; Tracy Morgan and Mario Batali on Fallon; Condoleeza Rice on “The Daily Show”; Yo-Yo Ma on Colbert; Hugh Jackman on Conan.

Yesterday, EW’s Ken Tucker published a snotty dismissal of Fox’s marketing campaign for “New Girl” (the pilot was available for free on iTunes, Hulu, and Fox.com for two weeks leading up to the premiere). Today, Ken Tucker can enjoy a big serving of humble dick-filled pie, because ten million people watched “New Girl,” a huge success for a network trying to add more live-action comedy to its schedule.

New Girl was seen by 10.1 million viewers at 9 p.m. and delivered a strong 4.7 adults 18-49 rating. That’s the highest-rated fall sitcom premiere on Fox since The Bernie Mac Show 10 years ago. What’s particularly impressive about this number is how much the comedy built from its Glee third season premiere lead in. Glee (8.9 million, 3.8) was down 32 percent from its first episode last fall, yet New Girl was up a whopping 52 percent from the debut of Raising Hope in its slot last year. [Inside TV]

I liked “New Girl,” and though it isn’t perfect (the three guys all feel like caricatures), I’m pleased that Zooey Deschanel is going to be on my TV every week. Even if making out with a paused TV screen isn’t as rewarding as I might like.