Question: I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed Monday's Ask Matt. I think it is the first Ask Matt I've ever read where all the letters were talking about how great certain shows, characters, actors and storylines are. There wasn't one of the usual rants about how stupid network programmers are, how a certain actor is completely messing up a show, how a storyline is the worst idea in the history of the world or how someone can't believe you, a critic, would dare to like/dislike/watch/recognize the existence of a certain show. (OK, there was a comment about how bad The Return of Jezebel James is, but not much good can be said about that.) Can it be that losing our shows for a few months has reminded us how good most of them really all are? Like you, "I just love it when someone writes in to gush without embarrassment," and I hope we'll be seeing more of that in the coming weeks (with some criticism still mixed in, of course). Thanks for a pleasant start to my week!
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Question: Thanks for recommending a show that I probably would not have watched otherwise: Dexter. I know there has been some controversy about airing a "diluted" version on CBS, but as a TV fan who can't afford premium cable, I appreciate the chance to see the show. It's dark and disturbing, but sometimes quite funny and surprisingly touching. It's definitely not for everyone, but I'm hooked! At the opposite end of the spectrum, The Return of Jezebel James was awful! I tried to be fair and watch both episodes, but it was a chore. Parker Posey seemed to force every line, none of which were particularly funny or interesting. (She may be the indie film queen, but I was not impressed.) I didn't believe the premise for a moment. What happened here?? Is Amy Sherman-Palladino a one-hit wonder?
Answer: You're right about both shows, but don't jump the gun to write off someone just because their latest show didn't work. The failure rate in TV is formidable, and if a miserable flop show was
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That was quick. Fox has closed the book on Amy Sherman-Palladino's post-Gilmore Girls comeback vehicle, The Return of Jezebel James, after three abysmally rated outings. A Fox spokesperson confirms that the comedy starring Parker Posey and Lauren Ambrose as unlikely sisters has aired its last episode.OK, time for some Monday afternoon quarterbacking: Who deserves the blame here? AS-P? Fox for burying it on Friday night? The person in charge of integrating that horrible laugh track? Posey for failing to be, well, Lauren Graham? Post your theories below.
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Question: I read reviews of The Return of Jezebel James that panned the show, but I decided to give it a try anyway. I was expecting it to be uneven, but I thought that maybe the combined talents of Amy Shermin-Palladino, Parker Posey, Lauren Ambrose, and Dianne Wiest would win out. And then, the laugh track. As anyone who has ever watched even one episode of Gilmore Girls knows, ASP's writing isn't meant for setups and punchlines. It's witty and certainly humorous, but not in that old "taped in front of a studio audience" kind of way. So what I want to know, Matt, is why? Laugh tracks are not in style. Surely ASP didn't want one. I would be willing to give this show a few more weeks to find its footing, if not for that laugh track. So again I ask, why?
Answer: Why? Because Jezebel James isn't Gilmore Girls. Amy's background is in traditional sitcomedy (most famously with Roseanne), and it's not beyond reason that she would want to go back to that classic format after the exhausting
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Question: I was waiting around for your review of The Return of Jezebel James and it never came! So what did you think? Personally, I had high hopes for this. Before the premiere it seemed it had everything going for it but the airtime: a great writer, an awesome cast and an interesting premise. But, alas, it seems I was dead wrong. The writing was awkward, the people all caricatures (aside from Scott Cohen, who was a breath of fresh air), and there was hardly any logic behind everyone's actions. The worst thing about it was the laugh track. Thirty seconds into the first episode when I heard that canned laughter, I cringed. I've never minded the laugh track in How I Met Your Mother but in Jezebel James it was incredibly obvious that it was canned laughter. The jokes weren't funny enough to warrant it, and it didn't even sound like the laugh track was that enthused. Really, it was just painful. The last 15 minutes of the second episode showed more promise than the 45 minutes that came ...
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