kelly bishop-related stories
Posted May 15th 2007 10:15PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: OpEd, Gilmore Girls, Episode Reviews
(S07E22) This may not have been the way
Gilmore Girls was originally supposed to end, but, as it turned out, it was a pretty good way for it to go out.
When I think about it, ending the show in such a "rip off the Band-Aid" fashion was best for everyone, including the fans. We had only two weeks to cope with the show's departure, knowing that the finale was already shot and ready to go. Nothing we could do or say was going to change how we were going to leave Lorelai, Rory, Luke, and the rest of the folks in the
Gilmore world. Because of that, there was no speculation, no guessing. And there were also no grand moments, supreme life changes, and the obligatory scenes of someone looking back on an empty room before turning out the lights. It was very understated. And very satisfying.
Continue reading Gilmore Girls: Bon Voyage (series finale)
Posted May 8th 2007 10:06PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: OpEd, Gilmore Girls, Episode Reviews
(S07E21) So here we are... the next-to-last (or penultimate, if you want to use SAT words) episode of
Gilmore Girls. Like I said
when the show's demise was first announced, it seems like the show wouldn't be able to wrap up any of their loose ends, especially because the season was already in the can when the announcement was made. But
as we found out from one Ms. Lauren Graham, chances were that the show wasn't going to come back, anyway, and the last few episodes were written to function as a season
and series finale.
Continue reading Gilmore Girls: Unto The Breach
Posted May 1st 2007 10:42PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: OpEd, Gilmore Girls, Episode Reviews
(S07E20) I really find it hard to feel sorry for Rory Gilmore. Yes, she grew up without a father for the most part, and for much of her young life, she and her mother Lorelai struggled to keep their heads above water. But, for the most part. Rory has been able to achieve whatever she's set her mind to achieving. Until now, of course.
There are worse things that can happen to a person than not getting a
New York Times internship: dismemberment, irritable bowel syndrome, bad haircuts, and at least a couple of other things. But she's gotten so much in her life that not having a job when she graduates seems like a complete disaster to her.
Continue reading Gilmore Girls: Lorelai? Lorelai?
Posted Mar 6th 2007 10:34PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Gilmore Girls, The CW
(S07E17) When Dawn Ostroff, the CW's president of entertainment, was doing her "state of the network" press tour session in January, she said this about
Gilmore Girls: "(David Rosenthal) was painted into a corner into with a storyline that he got out of. The second half of the season is much stronger, and I think viewers will be surprised."
I scoffed a little when she said that; nothing about the season to that point had suggested that the show was going to improve. But I've got to hand it to Rosenthal and company; the show has been on an upward trend, giving us about a month's worth of entertaining episodes that, while not quite up to the level of the show's creative peak, certainly give me hope that the show won't go out with a whimper, whether it's this season or next.
The key? Keep the Gilmore girls together. All three of them.
Continue reading Gilmore Girls: Gilmore Girls Only
Posted Feb 20th 2007 10:34PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Gilmore Girls, The CW
(S07E15) Perhaps Emily Gilmore should drink more often.
That's the take-away I get from this episode. When Emily drinks, she's warm and open, and almost forgiving of her "wayward" daughter Lorelai. When she doesn't drink, she's prickly, mean, and prone to judge everything and anything, including how her daughter is managing her life.
If I were Lorelai and I had the choice, I think I'd take drunk Emily any day of the week. And I think Lor realized that as she walked out of the Gilmore family dining room at the end of this episode.
Continue reading Gilmore Girls: I'm a Kayak, Hear Me Roar
Posted Feb 6th 2007 10:47PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Gilmore Girls, The CW
(S07E13) So this is what it takes to get a good episode this season? Richard Gilmore has to have open-heart surgery? Well, I guess if this is what they have to do, I can accept that. Maybe next week, they'll give Paul Anka worms.
Seriously, though, the reason why this episode worked is because all we saw was the Family Gilmore, together for most of the episode. Not sixty seconds of a Friday night dinner. Not Lorelai and Rory chatting on the phone. Nope, they were all together for an extended period, interacting in the ways that once made the show so great.
Did this episode have flaws? Tons. But it was the best of the season so far.
Continue reading Gilmore Girls: I'd Rather Be In Philadelphia
Posted Jan 30th 2007 10:43PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Gilmore Girls, The CW
(S07E12) For some reason, despite everything that has happened to make this show start circling the drain, four
Gilmore characters can be relied upon to entertain, no matter who is writing the episode: Emily, Richard, Sookie and Paris. All four of them are in tonight's episode (Emily is just in the cold open, but it counts), and, I've got to tell you, their presence made it pretty decent as a result.
Otherwise? Um... well... Let's just say this crawl towards the inevitable Lorelai - Luke reunion is driving me nuts.
Continue reading Gilmore Girls: To Whom It May Concern
Posted Dec 5th 2006 10:44PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Gilmore Girls, The CW
(S07E10) For the last few weeks, I've been wondering if David Rosenthal and company have been turning Lorelai Gilmore into a more childish, petulant character than she had been in recent years, or if she's always been this childish and petulant, but her act has started to wear thin. After this episode, I've determined it's a little bit of each, leaning towards the "written that way" side. There really seems to be no reason that Lor should be so mean-spirited nowadays, especially towards her parents. She's pushing 40. She owns a successful business. And she's finally married to her high school sweetheart, who just happens to be loaded. So why does she still act like a baby?
In short: it's an easy way to for the writers to make Christopher look like a putz.
Continue reading Gilmore Girls: Merry Fisticuffs
Posted Nov 28th 2006 10:15PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Gilmore Girls, The CW
(S07E09) This one felt cozy, didn't it? Snappy dialogue, funny situations (I mean, come on... huge knitting needles and balls of yarn?), quirky parties, story development... This week's episode felt almost...
almost like the
Gilmore Girls we knew and loved, moreso than any we've seen this year so far. One problem, though:
Christopher.
How is he gumming up the works so much, literally, figuratively, and everything in between? It's not like the town never knew he existed up until now; he's been in and out of Lor and Rory's life for over 20 years. Surely, the folks in Stars Hollow would be treating him more warmly in the past than they are now, when he's Mr. Lorelai Gilmore. There's just one thing that can explain this: Sloppiness.
Continue reading Gilmore Girls: Knit, People, Knit!
Posted Nov 7th 2006 11:07PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Gilmore Girls, The CW
(S07E06) In this episode of
Gilmore Girls, kiddies, we have entered what is known as the Bizarro Gilmore World (maybe there there Rory's name is Yror). People talk and talk and talk but say nothing. Christopher and Lorelai act like lame Yale parents. Rory doesn't wear gobs and gobs of mascara. Emily and Richard are the most sensible people in the room. Seemingly reasonable swim coaches become nightmare dates in the span of ten seconds. And Sookie appreciates vegetables that come from someone other than her husband Jackson. Problem with Bizarro Worlds, though, is that they don't seem to ever make a lick of sense, and go about things the wrong way just because they can.
Can you tell that I found this episode completely irritating?
Continue reading Gilmore Girls: Go, Bulldogs!
Posted Oct 24th 2006 10:17PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Gilmore Girls, The CW
(S07E05) Even though
Gilmore Girls fans have complained about everything that has occurred from the beginning of Season Six until now, they have to admit that the best thing to come out of this somewhat fallow creative period of the show is a character that was introduced early last year: Paul Anka.
That neurotic dog has been the source of a lot of comedy the last year and a quarter, hasn't he? Hearing Lorelai reel off all his fobiles in the opener of this episode made me laugh; he likes chewing a certain shoe, and will only catch tennis balls of a certain brand and color. How Lor keeps these things straight is anyone's guess. And then, as she rattles them off, and Chris grows weary of the litany of doggie quirks, Paul Anka just lies there, like any dog, probably contemplating where he's going to sleep later on that day. It's a contrast that I've always found to be very funny.
Continue reading Gilmore Girls: The Great Stink
Posted Oct 17th 2006 9:55PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Gilmore Girls, The CW
(S07E04) Damn you, Dave Rosenthal! You're making me start to like the idea of Christopher and Lorelai together. I can't believe I'm actually thinking it, much less writing it; but tonight's episode showed why that couple has always been so good together over the years. I just wish we didn't have to see those two be cute and laugh and have banter about
Snakes on a Plane together at the expense of Luke.
But Luke's OK, sorta. He's got the Tortured Plot Device -- known to most people as April -- in his life.
Continue reading Gilmore Girls: 'S Wonderful, 'S Marvelous
Posted Oct 10th 2006 10:01PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Gilmore Girls, The CW
(S07E03) Have you noticed that the way
Gilmore Girls is being shot this season seems somewhat... different? The film is less grainy... the sets are lit differently... there are more close-ups...
something is odd. Yes, I'm nitpicking, but
GG under the Rosenthal regime just has this feeling around it that's different from the Palladino era.
You could see it with the first appearance of Richard and Emily this season, right in the cold open. Rory and Lorelai are back doing the Friday night dinners, and the dining room of the Gilmore estate seemed brighter, not as big as before. And Richard's toupee was different. If it weren't for Emily yelling at a 10-year-old finishing school protégé, the whole thing was making me think that we landed in some sort of parallel
GG universe.
Continue reading Gilmore Girls: Lorelai's First Cotillion
Posted May 2nd 2006 10:39PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, Programming, OpEd, WB, Gilmore Girls
(S06E21) This season's going to end badly, isn't
it?
I mean, we all see it now, don't we? Lorelai thinks that her engagement is kaput and Luke doesn't have a
clue. Emily is hinting around at how much Christopher has changed, torturing Lor with a matchmaking list of snooty
society women that they both know aren't right for him (of course we all know who is, right)? She shows Lorelai the
gorgeous house that she and Richard are buying for Luke and Lorelai, and Lor just breaks down (slowly, but
still...).
So here we are. One episode left, and it doesn't take a spoiler to show us that the Palladinos
are going to leave Luke and Lor in tatters, with Lor in the arms of Christopher. Not exactly the way anyone planned
their exit, was it?
Continue reading Gilmore Girls: Driving Miss Gilmore
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