TVSquad

Recently, I spent a couple of hours watching Gilmore Girls on SoapNet. The experience put a smile on my face and reminded me that I miss the kind of dramedy that Amy Sherman-Palladino created on that show.

The show remains a near perfect blend of character, comedy, drama and emotion to me. So, when I read this morning that Amy Sherman-Palladino is doing aproject at HBO about a mother-daughter relationship, I let out a "yeah."

True, true, true, Amy's last show was the disappointing sitcom -- hell, call it like it was, dreadful -- The Return of Jezebel James at Fox. No excuses. It was a mess. Still, I'm more than willing to give this writer another chance to soar again.

Oh, Festivus, Oh, Festivus, the holiday for TV fans. How exciting that once a year we can close our eyes, click our heels and make our wishes for the magical ways television can be made better in the year to come. Still, there are more than a few changes that I think need to be made to make TV better ... not to say that it's bad. It just that everything can be better.

This is a great opportunity to get a little Scrooge-y and vent about what I want to see corrected/improved/altered in TV in 2009. Is it wrong that I hope the bigwigs at the networks and cable companies are surfing the net and take my grievances to heart? Is it wrong that I still believe they care about what viewers think? Yeah, probably, but here's my wish list anyway:

So, while we've been speculating here on our own about The Office spinoff, others are doing the same. TV Guide's Michael Ausiello, one of my favorite TV chatters, was asked in his column about said Office spinoff and whether it may be the perfect spot for Lauren Graham. Hmm...very interesting.

Ausiello agreed with the writer, that especially in light of the big deal Lauren inked with NBC, it makes sense. He wrote, "It would be insane not to at least consider Graham for the gig. Are you with me?"

Well, this isn't a big surprise: TV Guide's Mike Ausiello has just found out from FOX that The Return of Jezebel James has been canceled after three episodes. Jezebel James was the first project for executive producer Amy Sherman-Palladino since she and her husband, Daniel Palladino, left Gilmore Girls after the show's sixth season.

Reviews for the show -- including mine -- were largely negative; almost all of them cited how Sherman-Palladino's unique writing style and pace were thrown off by the studio audience / laugh track used for the show. FOX obviously didn't have any confidence in the show, because it was airing episodes on Friday nights after cutting its initial order from 13 episodes to 7.

If you're a fan of Amy Sherman-Palladino -- which pretty much means you were a fan of Gilmore Girls -- you've been eagerly awaiting the arrival of her new FOX sitcom, The Return of Jezebel James.

Unfortunately, if you're a fan of Sherman-Palladino's, you're going to end up pretty disappointed. The two episodes that FOX sent out for review were not only devoid of laughs, but uncomfortably paced as well. The pacing is something that's important to note, given the unique dialogue that AS-P and her husband, Daniel Palladino, are known for.

But the most disappointing thing about the show is that it's miscast, in the biggest way possible.

ER's Doug and Carol together again? Don't hold your breath unless you can do so for at least three more years.

Julianna Margulies, who's starring in the FOX mid-season replacement Canterbury's Law, says that she'd love to do another project with former ER love interest George Clooney. But the actress,who left the hospital drama in 2000, wants there to be a full decade in between projects so that fans won't think of them as lovebirds.

Alas, the reunion won't likely take place at Country General, either.

Excellent news for Gilmore and Six Feet Under fans. Lauren Ambrose, Six Feet's Claire, has been cast in Amy Sherman-Palladino's upcoming project The Return of Jezebel James as Parker Posey's younger sister. The pilot focuses on juvenile lit publisher Parker Posey and her relationship with her estranged sister. (Jezebel James is the name of the publishing house's popular franchise for pre-adolescent girls.) This is pitch perfect casting. Having read the script, I can tell you that Lauren's character is essentially the person you'd expect Six Feet Under's Claire to be after a couple of years in New York with less chemical experimentation perhaps, but the same amount of artistic ennui.

You'll also be happy to know that the pilot episode is pure Amy Sherman-Palladino. She's back in the game with a script that reads like the best Gilmore episodes against an urban backdrop. It's quick-witted, modern and now perfectly cast.

[Thanks to Lauren R. for the tip.]

(Part 5 of 5) In the winter of 2006 CBS and Warner Brothers got together to create a new 5th network . . . The CW. You read right, I said 5th network. That's probably confusing you right now since you thought there were six major broadcast networks on the air last winter: ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, WB, UPN. Yes, that's true, but The CW was to do something unique to make it the 5th network. It was going to combine the programming of both the WB and UPN, eliminating those networks completely.

It sounded like a good idea at first. Take the best programming from both WB and UPN and put it on one network. No more jumping between the two networks to find the show you wanted to watch. No more confusion as to whether Veronica Mars was on WB or UPN. Plus, there was elimination of much of the mediocre crap that filled their weeknight schedules.

Like I said, it sounded like a good idea.

This may come as a shock to you, readers, but the writers of scripted television programs hate reality TV. And, do you know what they hate even more than reality TV? Network censors. If you've been watching Studio 60, you already know this. Those standards and practices people are such prudish little worrywarts - cowering in their offices, praying the FCC won't smack the network's hand for using the word "butt" in primetime.

This past Wednesday, television's top showrunners got together for a Hollywood Radio and Television Society luncheon where they got to grouse collectively about the twin evils of Mark Burnett and broadcast standards. Chiming in were Family Guy's Seth MacFarlane, The Office's Greg Daniels, Lost's Damon Lindelof, Gilmore Girls' Amy Sherman-Palladino and Battlestar Galactica's Ron Moore (pictured) among others. The discussion was facilitated by Jimmy Kimmel. How much would you have loved to be in that room? How much would I love to be working for any single person in that room - really, any of them?

It looks like Gilmore Girls. It certainly sounds like Gilmore Girls. And it's just as funny, fast-paced, and quirky as Gilmore Girls. This is a good start.

Every fan on the planet was worried about their favorite mother-daughter team when show creator Amy-Sheman Palladino and her husband Daniel Palladino left the show last spring in a contract dispute with Warner Brothers. Even though the new show-runner, David Rosenthal, had experience on the show, fans were worried he wouldn't be able to capture the classic Gilmore Girls "voice." Most of all, fans were also worried that season seven wouldn't strike the show's signature lightness, which even the Palladinos had trouble capturing last year.

Well, I saw the Season Seven premiere over the weekend, and I've got to tell you, GG fans, you don't have anything to worry about... at least not yet.

Amy Sherman-Palladino, creator of Gilmore Girls has signed a deal to create a sitcom pilot for Fox. The half-hour pilot is going to be about two sisters who reunite after a number of years apart. The twist is that the reunion happens after one sister agrees to carry the other's baby. She is set to write, produce, and direct the pilot, which is a lot of work. But remember that AS-P and her husband Daniel left GG earlier this year after the couple and Warner Brothers couldn't come to terms on a new deal, so she'll have time.

Knowing Amy's writing style, I'm sure there will be lots of references to current and past pop culture, with band names popping up from time to time.

[via Netscape]

In case you've missed it -- perhaps you were killing Jonathan Toomey for not liking Pearl Jam -- here are some highlights from the last week at TV Squad:



American Idol coverage

• 'Tis not the ponytail that brought down fair Ace.
• Page Six claims Bo Bice took a swing at an ex-NFL lineman.
• Ace gets eliminated; Chris moves to bottom 3.
• Before the results episode, Bob said that Kellie should be voted out.
• Good songs, bad clothes abound during performance show.
• USA Today article examine's AI's show-killer status.
• Bucky says that Simon Cowell is useless.
• Kelly Clarkson launches summer concert tour.
  

Breaking News

• Starbuck reveals some BSG secrets for the next season.
• Henderson Forsythe dead at 88.
• You'll never believe who's attached to the Transformers movie.
• Denise Richards gets restraining order against Charlie Sheen.
• Scrubs renewed; so was 7th Heaven (wha?)
• Watros signs on to Tom Cavanagh pilot.
• Is Watros' new role good news for Sons & Daughters fans?
• NBC is wooing Mike Wallace, according to Page Six.
• Smigel defends "Disney vault" cartoon.
• J.J. Abrams will direct the next Star Trek movie.
• California Supreme Court sides with Friends writers in harrassment case.
• Vanna White gets a star on the Walk of Fame.
• Eva Longoria not planning on renewing Desperate contract.
• Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino to leave Gilmore Girls.
• Gary Gray dead at 69.
• NBC cancels Celebrity Cooking Showdown.
• Now you can watch TV while pumping that $3 gas.
• HBO orders second season of Big Love.
• Scott Brazil dead at 50.
• Katie Holmes gives birth to an already-brainwashed girl.
• A new reality show will pick the new Elvira.
• Adult Swim to air Saved by the Bell reruns.
  

Discussions

• Listen to our tenth APB podcast.
• This Arrested Development poster looks very... familiar.
• Michael Cera of AD chats with boston.com users.
• Bill Maher is a sensitive, skilled lover... who knew?
• Lost's Boone and Shannon are dating. Gross!
• What happened to Eyes?
• Rich finds that there are a lot of 90210 alumni on TV these days.
• Which show should move: Housewives or Grey's?
• Christopher Gorham talks to me about the shelving of Out of Practice.
  

The Five

• Bob's all-time favorite TV lineups.
• Ways we've mishandled The Unit.
• Characters Bob would like to see come back.
• Best TV shows about TV shows.

Opinions

• Saturday night... ABC... Pretty Woman?
• Adam considers a Cartoon Network with live-action shows.
• I don't think the Gilmore creators' departure is such a bad thing.
• Adam comes up with a new "naming scheme" for celebrity babies.
• Those VW safety ads freak Anna out.
  

Episode Reviews

• Survivor: Exile Island: "Medical Emergency"
• MythBusters: "Bullets Fired Up"
• South Park: "A Million Little Fibers"
• Alias: "S.O.S." / "Maternal Instinct"
• Gilmore Girls: "I Get a Sidekick Out of You"
• Veronica Mars: "Never Mind the Buttocks"
• What About Brian: "Two in Twenty-Four"
• The West Wing: "Requiem"
• The Sopranos: "Live Free or Die"

Bob beat me to the punch with the news that Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino are going to leave Gilmore Girls at the end of the year, so I didn't get to post my reaction to the story. Well, I've read Mike Ausiello's story, digested the comments, and slept on it. After all that -- and I'm sure you're all on the edge of your seats -- here is what I think of the move:

Eh.

Amy Sherman-Palladino and her husband Dan have left the WB show because they couldn't come to an agreement on their contracts with the studio. They are going to leave at the end of this season.

It looks like the show will go on though. Dave Rosenthal, a producer and writer on the show already, will take over when the show returns next year (?) on the new CW.

[via Lee Goldberg]

As much as I like Gilmore Girls, I was never happy with the Rory/Lorelai feud that dominated the first half of this season. Why? Because the interplay between Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel, the cornerstone of the show for its first five seasons, was forcibly removed. Not that I didn't support the storyline; Rory had to come of age at some point and had to separate herself from her mother/best friend to become a healthy adult. But to stretch that out for half a season turned the show into a big drag.

Many fans and TV critics felt the same way I did. Now we know we weren't alone. According to this article by David Bauder of the AP, Graham wasn't happy with the storyline either, mainly because she missed working with Bledel every day, but also because she felt it was out of character for Lorelai to freeze out her daughter/best friend for so long.