Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino, creators / producers for Gilmore Girls, are on the scene of the Democratic Convention in Denver to live-blog for PopWatch!

The first post, written by Dan in co-ordination with Amy, can be read here. The pair bring their unique pop-ish writing style even to political blogging. They describe the scene in Denver with:

"Look underneath and you discover that the Mile High City has become a repository for the largest collection of nutballs on either side of the Mississippi."

They mention where you can find the "true, weird America" in Denver and all that one can by there. Already since that first post, you can find these other articles by Dan & Amy:

• Insanity in Denver: Political street theater at the DNC
• Insanity in Denver: Day two of the Democratic Convention
• Thinking Chicks and Michelle Obama

The Palladinos are donors of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, so that’s probably how they were invited into blog this event. Very neat!

Future posts by the Palladinos will be found under this category.

Thanks to Regis for the tip!

This is another guest post by Mary Frances as a part of The Blog Off marathon. You can support the marathon by donating to The Actors Fund charity. Mary Frances put together the Sherilyn Fenn and Madchen Amick posts and asks:

Is Amy Sherman-Palladino a Twin Peaks Fan? Here are the reasons:

• She cast Sherilyn Fenn (Audrey Horne in Twin Peaks) twice - as Sasha (Jimmy Mariano’s girlfriend) and Anna Nardini (Luke’s ex-girlfriend and April’s mother)
  • [sidebar: Does that mean that despite Luke's animosity toward Jimmy Mariano, they have the same taste in women?!?]
• She cast Madchen Amick (Shelly Johnson in Twin Peaks) as Sherry Tinsdale; I started thinking that I would see Lara Flynn Boyle (Donna Hayward in Twin Peaks) or Sheryl Lee (Laura Palmer in Twin Peaks) sitting at the counter at Luke’s Diner!
• Star’s Hollow is like the "good" version of Twin Peaks - the sunny side of small town life instead of the seamy underbelly (even down to the names of each town - a two-word name that describes the surrounding landscape - "Peak" vs. "Hollow")
• Both towns have more than their share of quirky characters: I could certainly see Kirk or Mrs. Kim having a conversation with the Log Lady!

Arieanna’s notes: The show Twin Peaks is a drama that follows the investigation of the death of the homecoming queen. It first aired in 1990 on ABC, and despite only airing two seasons, has a major cult following. You can read more about it here. Here are some video clips from Twin Peaks featuring Sherilyn Fenn and Madchen Amick:

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You can now buy The Return of Jezebel James on Amazon. The Amazon Unbox service is making the entire Season 1 available for download - all 3 episodes that aired on FOX, as well as the 4 episodes that remained unaired after the show was cancelled.

Here is the full list of The Return of Jezebel James episodes, with links to my recaps for the first three:

• Episode 1 "Pilot"
• Episode 2 "Franekstein Baby"
• Episode 3 "Needles & Schlag"
• Episode 4 "The Return of the Crazy Jackal Shilelagh Lady"
• Episode 5 "I’m with Blank"
• Episode 6 "Sarah Takes a Bullet"
• Episode 7 "Paragraph Two, Section Three"

Download The Return of Jezebel James Season 1 here. The price is $1.99 per episode, or $11.14 for the entire season.

image: Amazon.com Tags: the return of jezebel james, the return of jezebel james season 1, amy sherman palladino, amazon, unbox, download, dvd, video

The Comcast As Seen on TV blog has secured a great interview with Lauren Graham in which she talks about the movie she’s currently filming, The Dream of the Romans, her thoughts on the end of Gilmore Girls, and much more.

Lauren Graham describes a scene in The Dream of the Romans where her character, a chiropractor, had to give an adjustment. Lauren had only been to the chiropractor once, and the one set to come to help with the scene could not make it. So, she "basically tried to wrench Jeff’s back in a professional looking manner."

Lauren Graham talks about Gilmore Girls and the future, if there is one, about a Gilmore Girls movie. That topic is still in the air:

Well no one has spoken about it. I think the “Sex and the City” movie has ruined… a TV show can’t just end now. It’s implied that there’s got to be more. It never was an actual consideration, just a very sweet idea that came (it seems to me) from people who were sad the show ended and maybe sad the way it ended.

On the end of Gilmore Girls, Lauren had much to say. None of them were all that happy with the way the last year went, and with Rory’s graduation from Yale, it was unclear if the story had played itself out or, if not, where it would go. Pair that with quality of life, the lack of a raise, creative control, the producers and keeping up the quality of the show… in the end, it just didn’t come together. Lauren says the show ended abruptly, and is very upset at the lack of closure with the cast and crew in terms of no official "thanks" wrap, but she thinks it was still the right decision:

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Image details: The WB Networks’ Gilmore Girls 100th Episode Party - Arrivals served by picapp.com

Well, as much as this is reliable, and it’s not. And as much as it’s a guess, which it is. I like to report every bit of Gilmore Girls Movie news.

So, when somebody asked Ausiello what he thought the odds were of Amy Sherman-Palladino pursuing the Gilmore Girls Movie now that The Return of Jezebel James is done, this is what he said:

Your guess is as good as mine. For the record, my guess is in the neighborhood of 40-1. I imagine Team P has a fair amount of wound-licking to do before they dive back into TV.

What do you think? Are the odds good? I agree that Amy and Dan have hit such a harsh ending with Jezebel James, one at such a stark contrast to Gilmore Girls, that they will need to really build up some confidence again before returning to work. That, or perhaps they will want to dive in right again to prove themselves. Who knows? But, I hope a Gilmore Girls movie happens some day!

Tags: gilmore girls, gilmore girls movie, the return of jezebel james, amy sherman palladino

TV Guide’s Michael Ausiello is reporting that The Return of Jezebel James has been cancelled after its third episode aired. The show, scheduled on a Friday, was getting just over 3 million viewers per episode. Which is not bad, particularly for a Friday half-hour sitcom, but on the low side for a FOX show. But, the reviews were decidedly not in favor of the show.

FOX has yet to release a statement to confirm the cancellation, but the spoiler photos for future episodes have been removed from the press site, so I am confident that the official news is coming.

So, if the news is accurate, what killed Jezebel James? The writing? The Friday time slot? Parker Posey? The laugh track (which is just horrible for any sitcom)?

I am sad for Amy Sherman-Palladino and the Jezebel James cast members for not seeing this show become a hit. After the success of Gilmore Girls, it may come as quite the shock that this show couldn’t find a good footing.

Ironically, the failure of Jezebel James is drawing so much more attention to just how amazing Gilmore Girls was, and how critical Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel were to that success - the writing is only so good as the actors’ ability to convincingly deliver their lines and live their parts. I think, in part, that Season 7 of Gilmore Girls lost some of this, and that is what we saw again with Jezebel James.

Photo Cr: Michael Lavine/FOX © 2007 Fox Broadcasting Co.

Tags: the return of jezebel james, jezebel james, gilmore girls, amy sherman palladino, scott cohen, parker posey, lauren ambrose, lauren graham, alexis bledel, cancelled, new tv, fox, sitcom, comedy

The Return of Jezebel James 1.03 "Needles & Schlag"
Air Date: March 21, 2008
Recap (spoilers & photos here)

Sarah can’t wake up Coco - Buddy comes with coffee for Sarah. Sarah has him go out again and ring the doorbell. They need her to choose paint colors so the painters can do her room on Wednesday. Coco can’t function before her coffee. And can’t get the machine to function.

Sarah has a meeting with Ethan McCormack, a writer, later that morning. So the office is all buzzing. Marcus comes in at Sarah’s request, and she sticks him in an office to read a book draft.

Coco calls because she can’t figure out how to use the stereo. She refuses to read the brochures / manuals (dispute ensues). Coco then is surprised by the maid - but at least he maid knows how to use the stereo! Furniture is delivered, but the maid takes over (sort of). Coco retreats to her room. But, since her room has no bed, she goes to lay on Sarah’s bed. 

When Ron Tompkins, Coco’s father, comes over, she hides in the closet. He has a refurbished humidifier for her.

Marcus loves the manuscript - it’s written by a 15-year-old boy. The ideal book for boys - they have to sign him. Ethan, the genius writer, is wearing a Viking costume. He proceeds to go around the room talking about the books he’s read and pointing out errors. Sarah mentions tickets to the Knicks, and lunch reservations, but they don’t seem interested in either. So, what does Ethan like? Towels. They spent hours at a Bed, Bath & Beyond. Sarah is telling this to Marcus, who would have loved the Knicks tickets. They went to Buddy instead.

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The Return of Jezebel James 1.03 "Needles & Schlag"
Air Date: March 21, 2008
Spoilers & Photos

Sarah (Parker Posey) and her assistant Buddy (Michael Arden) have begun to organize Coco’s (Lareun Ambrose) life. Sarah is determined to sign an eccentric 15-year-old child prodigy Ethan (William Wiggins) in order to get the publishing rights to his new book. In order to impress him, when Knicks game tickets don’t work, she finds he has a fancy for bed and bath items. Sarah and Coco go to the gynecologist office and Sarah discovers that Coco has some fears.

Click to enlarge

All Images Courtesy Eric Liebowitz/FOX
© 2008 Fox Broadcasting Co.

Tags: the return of jezebel james, the return of jezebel james spoilers, tv spoilers, spoilers, needles and schlag

Cr: Eric Liebowitz/FOX
© 2008 Fox Broadcasting Co.

Have you seen the first two episodes of The Return of Jezebel James, as they premiered on FOX on March 14th? You can read my recap of the episodes here.

I have to say that it is better than it was at the screener stage (my screener review was here). The first episode was very little changed - only a couple of small plot lines - and still mostly bad. But the second episode was entirely re-written and re-shot. Parker Posey was much less annoying in this second version - less forced.

It is interesting to observe just how much of the plot they changed in the second episode. In the screener version, Marcus was told about Sarah’s decision to have a baby, and was having to deal with that. There was, altogether, more Marcus in the screener version. In the on-air version, the bedroom scene where we originally had Marcus admiring himself in his boxers, we now have Sarah in a jersey. Also new: the Hello Kitty phone, where Marcus works, the room being under construction, and the visit from the parents. We are not as far along in the script as the screener versions were, so I won’t spoil scenes that will probably re-appear further along.

Although some scenes are sad to lose, overall this was a good choice. I think the screener gave too many problems to too many characters at once, and it was not as easy to connect. I believe it was a good idea to give a face to Coco and Sarah’s parents, who have influenced so much of what is wrong and what is right in their relationship. Overall, I am more looking forward to the series now than I was before.

Issues I still have with the show: Parker Posey, obviously. The laugh track. The aim to make this just a comedy, not a dramedy. The number of characters, making it hard to flesh out relationships. The lack of emotional ties between any characters thus far. The single plot line revolving entirely around Sarah. Doesn’t anyone else have issues or aspirations?

Here are some other reviews:

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The Return of Jezebel James 1.01 "Pilot" & 1.02 "Frankenstein Baby"
Air Date: March 14, 2008
Recap & Discussion

Sarah Tompkins (Parker Posey) is trying to figure out why she’s wearing pants, then a kid comes by asking for a donation. He’s a little chatty, asking about her job (kids book editor at Harper Collins). Canned laughter is a little annoying.

Sarah’s assistant Buddy (Michael Arden) comes in saying that Barnes & Noble doesn’t like the Jezebel James cover art. She sends him off on errands. Including a restaurant reservation at a fancy restaurant with a no-strings-attached guy named Marcus (Scott Cohen). The granddaughter of one of the employees has done her review of the Jezebel sequel, and loves it!

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