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« Ausiello Report
Exclusive: Setback for AS-P's Jezebel James?
Parker Posey and Lauren Ambrose by Joe Viles/Fox
Well, this isn't the most encouraging sign. The episode order for Fox's The Return of Jezebel James, Amy Sherman-Palladino's eagerly awaited Gilmore Girls follow-up, has been trimmed from 13 to just seven. The half-hour comedy, which is essentially a female Odd Couple, stars Parker Posey and Lauren Ambrose as estranged sisters who forge an unusual partnership.
Although no reason was given for the downgrade, a Fox spokesperson acknowledged in a statement that, "For several years, midseason has been a busy time at Fox as we prepare to launch new series and make room for returning favorites like 24 and American Idol. We have always planned to launch The Return of Jezebel James in midseason, and seven episodes are all we need to allow us to program the series through the current broadcast season. We are big fans of Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dan Palladino and the extremely talented cast and are looking forward to airing the show."
The news comes on the same day that it was announced that AS-P would make her feature directorial debut with The Late Bloomer's Revolution, starring Sarah Jessica Parker. Coincidence? I think not.
Stand by for much more on this developing story, including reaction from Team Palladino and my own theory as to why Jezebel's return got cut short.
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Oct 12, 2007 8:45 PM
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I would also imagine it *could* be related to the impending strike. If they will/might have no writers for all those episodes anyways, why order them?
Also, it could be a great, high-concept comedy on FOX destined to be a fan-favorite, which means administration has to treat it like dirt.
However, considering how much they "over-schedule," you would almost think FOX will become a 3-hour-primetime network within a decade.
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Oct 12, 2007 9:22 PM
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I'll be looking forward to your theory, Michael. This is going to be interesting. Did AS-P get into a tiff with Fox like she did with the CW? Did Fox truncate the show so much by the seven-episode order that AS-P found herself another gig? Hope you come with more info Real Soon.
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Oct 12, 2007 10:23 PM
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Based on a taping I attended, I'm going with that it's the show. Though I really liked Lauren Ambrose in "Six Feet Under," she didn't seem to have the right energy for this particular comedy. Also, though it feels like sacrilege to say it-- because I loved the first several seasons of "Gilmore Girls"-- I didn't love the writing on the show.
The things that were most enjoyable for me were Parker Posey, who is quite funny as a neurotic New Yorker, and Michael Arden, who was a hoot playing her assistant. I anticipate that he will get many more jobs out of this one.
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Oct 12, 2007 10:30 PM
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I attended tonight's (Friday) taping, and I have to say Parker Posey was not having a good night. They taped a scene in a restaurant with Posey's character and Scott Cohen's character for about an hour and a half before she could get through her lines comparing hockey and having a baby.
However, I think the scene was ultimately effective and the show will provide some solid laughs. I'd have to see more to be able to accurately judge though.
I couldn't help staring at ASP in her floppy black hat throughout the taping. I wanted to yell out to her and pretend that we were old friends. Maybe she would have played along.
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Oct 13, 2007 1:55 AM
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I'm sure it's a combination of things. The strike makes sense, as does the fact that AS-P did just start work on her first feature. I'm not ruling out the possibility that the show could be terrible, but I think there's too many other factors involved to believe it's JUST the show's quality.
This doesn't signal the end of Jezebel James, to me, anyway, simply because many shows began their runs with limited seasons, namely The Office, Seinfeld and The Simpsons. Patience is necessary.
Those taping reports sound interesting, but I'd hesitate before judging a show's quality based on a taping. It's still pieces of a larger whole, no matter the venue, so let's wait until we have a finished, edited piece before we judge.
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Oct 13, 2007 5:12 AM
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I, for one, am not eagerly awaiting anything ASP does in the future. After watching her grow bored and restless and decide to trash her once great "baby" - Gilmore Girls - I've no interest in getting invested in anything she ever does again knowing there is a good chance she will decide to twist her characters into new ones to ease her boredom.
And, Parker Posey is a performer that I find pretentious in her quest to be quirky, etc.
I know people have been hoping ASP does a GG movie - I'm not one of them because given what she did to the characters and the show I would have no reason to trust her to revive the characters that were in the first five years of the show before they showed up in season 6 as pathetic versions of their former selves.
Me bitter? Yup. Just glad I never bought the GG DVDs. I consciously held out, deciding to wait until the series ended before getting them - now, I've no interest in ever revisiting the series.
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Oct 13, 2007 9:09 AM
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This really makes me wonder why talented television creators EVER bother signing up with Fox. They've screwed over everyone from Joss Whedon to Bryan Fuller to Tim Minear, so I'm not surprised that they're adding ASP to the list. Maybe Fox should just stick to shows like 'Til Death and forget about doing anything creative.
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Oct 13, 2007 11:14 AM
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Reading you report on ASP's series I know this is going to sound bitter but THANKS FOX.ASP thought she could have another successful series right away never going to happen.It's going to be a long time before the fans that were loyal to GG will forgive her for what she did to that series. Yes, I for one do blame her for how she destroyed season 6 leaving it in such a mess. Her baby as she called GG was destroyed by her and the fans will never forgive her for that.
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Oct 13, 2007 12:01 PM
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I truly think the Palladinos made a huge mistake leaving "Gilmore Girls" before the story was done. I am not saying that it was totally their fault and the network also needs to take responsibility for destroying the pure Diamond that "Gilmore Girls" was.
Until the Palladinos can redeem themselves to their "Gilmore Girls" fans, I do not think the networks or the fans will ever forgive them fully, and therefore, their careers will never surpass what it was during the "Gilmore" years.
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Oct 13, 2007 2:15 PM
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Raise of hands for all those sick of people still whining over the Palladino's leaving Gilmore Girls...
Seriously. The reality of the situation is something no fan will ever understand, and to blindly detest and distrust a creator (who, at the end of the day, still created a television classic) just seems petty and misinformed. Yes, they left. Yes, the show died the year after they left. Yes, the show wasn't the same. But come on! It's dead, buried, finished, kaput! AS-P's moved on. Why can't you? You think it was all fun and games for her? You think she enjoyed destroying her "baby"? It just seems ludicrous to believe that someone who so passionately wrote and directed so frequently, and executive produced for six years would, without any just cause, destroy things like she did. I'm sure it was tons of fun to negotiate with Warner Bros, going back in forth over demands and what not. I'm sure their decision to become instantly unemployed really was fun and exciting, and I'm sure they loved every moment of the press and fair weather fans cursing their name because they made a decision that ultimately allowed them to regain some semblance of sanity.
It's just getting old. Give Jezebel James a shot. Get over your petty (yes, it's just TV) differences and move on! Please! TV Guide's blogs will thank you.
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Oct 14, 2007 3:39 AM
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I never was a big Gilmore Girls fan. HOWEVER, just from reading interviews with her and from what she has said about contract negotiations I think she was the bitter one from the start. She intentionally left the show in tatters because she wouldn't get her way (more money, an extra season, whatever). And yes, she repeatedly called this show "her baby". Who treats something with that little regard that they call their baby? ASP needs to realize it is the die-hard fans that make cult (at first) shows like GG their pet projects, promoting it on web-sites, college message boards, etc. They won't forget when they've been stung.
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Oct 14, 2007 12:34 PM
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As much as I loved the first 5 or 6 years of GG's, I agree with those who have been left unimpressed with ASP after reading various interviews with her.
Maybe she's getting to experience a little dose of hubris kharma.
Hubris - according to its modern usage, is exaggerated self pride or self-confidence (overbearing pride), often resulting in fatal retribution.
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Oct 14, 2007 1:29 PM
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Kailess: As much as I loved the first 5 or 6 years of GG's, I agree with those who have been left unimpressed with ASP after reading various interviews with her.
Maybe she's getting to experience a little dose of hubris kharma.
Never attribute to hubris what can more easily be attributed to either FOX's inability to develop new shows or its ability to cancel the new shows that it has greenlit and had filmed months before they even air.
I'll post more on my opinion of the stupidity in blaming ASP for the IMO entirely justified way she had to leave Gg later.
-- Rob
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Oct 15, 2007 1:51 AM
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ShutUpRob: Never attribute to hubris what can more easily be attributed to either FOX's inability to develop new shows or its ability to cancel the new shows that it has greenlit and had filmed months before they even air.
Oh, I definitely believe that's a major factor, but, kharma can work it's way back around to you in a variety of ways, even if if doesn't seem directly related.
I don't know ASP, but I do know that people tend to have behavioral patterns that follow them where ever they go. Time will tell.
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Oct 15, 2007 11:20 AM
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