The Gilmore Girls and Other TV Alternatives

[BBOvenGuy]

Well, the lactation humor only lasted through the teaser, but the rest of Gilmore Girls was pretty fun anyway. Although I must admit that there have been some moments this season where it looks like they basically clear the stage and give Lauren Graham the spotlight for a few minutes of random wackiness. It's the same thing the Marx Brothers used to do with Harpo or Mork and Mindy used to do with Robin Williams (or Doctor Who used to do with Tom Baker at times) - and it's definitely entertaining, but when they're too obvious about doing it, it gets in the way of the story.



The last fifteen minutes saved the episode for me. First the phone call from Lorelai's father where he tells Lorelai all about the absurd social game-playing Emily does - he knows perfectly well that it's absurd, but it's very important to her and so he's not going to let Lorelai mess it up. Then there was Rory and the sprinkler, and yelling "Damn your Unabomber-like tendencies!" at her pager when Dean doesn't respond to her page. Nice awkward interaction between Rory and Jess, too - I've reached the conclusion that he would be better for her than Dean if he would do some growing up first.



How many times did Alexis Bledel have to film the scene where she gets soaked, though? You realize that if they blew a take, they had to dry her off completely before they could shoot it again.

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"A man who fails well is greater than one who succeeds badly. - Thomas Merton

Edited by: BBOvenGuy  at: 10/23/02 11:18:20 am

[slowontheuptake]

I accept random wackyness from Lauren as part of the show. It can get old but it's much easier to accept than the Alias lead needing to go on a dangerous mission that couldn't possibly require her every. single. week. I love Alias but that is damn annoying.

Loralie's mother drives me nuts so perfectly. You just want to smack her. Quality entertainment .

Lets hope Alexis only had to film the water scene once.

[kbk3022]

Well about Alias, I always wondered how she didn't know her father very well, but then she was at meetings with him every week for SD-6. So it's like she didn't know about him, but when she found out, he all the sudden was at every meeting after that. Anyway, I still like the show it's fun, and I like seeing Jennifer Garner in all her outfits.



Kasey

[Pipsqueak]

Hey, those are the only reasons I watch Alias! The fun and the outfits. What else is there?



You're right, it does test your suspension of disbelief pretty often. My own personal fanwank for the "mission-a-week" situation is that they have LOTS of other missions, and other agents, and Sydney just happens to be working on this one particular project while other field agents are off doing other things.



Actually, the main problem I have with the show (other than Syd's friends being mind-numbingly stupid) is the whole grad school plot. I am a grad student, and trust me, there is NO WAY that Sydney can juggle school and SD-6 at the same time, much less the double-agent CIA stuff. It's physically impossible. Hell, I have absolutely no life outside of grad school, and I still struggle to get over 4 hours of sleep a night.

~~~~~~~~~~
"Nothing in the world is the way it ought to be. It's harsh, and cruel. But that's why there's us. Champions.
It doesn't matter where we come from, what we've done or suffered, or even if we make a difference.
We live as though the world was what it should be, to show it what it can be." -- Angel

[BBOvenGuy]

I'm loving this season of Law & Order. I think so far it's the best season they've had in years. And what they've been doing with Elisabeth Röhm is a big part of that.



There's friction in the DA's office now. I don't like Fred Thompson's new DA character. I like the fact that I don't like his character. It creates a whole new dynamic to the "Order" side of the story. Meanwhile, Elisabeth's charcter Serena is taking on more complicated layers every week. Last year she was the perky blonde ex-cheerleader type, and I think they're doing something very interesting with that. It's like last year she was all excited because being in the "big leagues" of the justice system was brand new to her. Now she's been around a while, and the darker, messier aspects of the job are starting to affect her. I'm actually interested now in finding out what's going to happen next week, instead of just taking every episode as part of my weekly routine.



Meanwhile, I haven't seen Birds of Prey yet because I was at rehearsal. My tape is waiting for me to watch tomorrow. And I know why last night's Gilmore Girls rerun beat last night's Buffy rerun by almost 2 full points - last night's Gilmore Girls was probably more fun to watch the second time around than Buffy was the first time.

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"A man who fails well is greater than one who succeeds badly. - Thomas Merton

[Italiangirl]

Bob, your theorum is correct...(even if my spelling isn't heh heh).



As a viewer who did in fact watch that episode of Gilmore Girls for the second time and that episode of Buffy one time, the first time around, I can tell you that indeed the second time around GG was better than Buffy the first time.



Your hypothesis was correct.



Also, I'm curious as to what you or any others kitties think of this week's BOP. I thought it was pretty good. I'm really liking Mia Sara as the somewhat schizophrenic Harley Quinn. Also, Helena is much less annoying, and all three actresses are beginning to have better chemistry. I think this one is definately getting better with age. I hope it gets picked up for the rest of the season. Anyone have the scoop yet?

---

EzCode Parsing Error: color=white size=2]"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful
than the risk it took to blossom.
-Anais

[Anne860]

Really? Man, I stopped watching Law & Order because I felt it was getting too gimmicky (all the plots seemed to be inspired by whatever high profile crime was on CNN) and the characters didn't have quite the same spark as before. If it's revitalized itself, then I'll have to start watching again.



Gee, I wonder how many people have said that about Buffy this year? Not a lot, according to Mr. Nielsen. : -->



Did anyone see the 24 premiere? I wanted to watch it but I had to work and my vcr decided that very night to throw a hissy fit, darn it all.

"Seven Wonders crowed the man, knowing six are gone, and how the great illusion lingers on. -- Seven Wonders, by Nickel Creek

Edited by: Anne860 at: 10/31/02 12:44:15 am

[AlteaThree]

Yah I agree. I stopped watching Law and Order regulary after Jill Hennassy left. I'de check in every few eps, and last season it finally seemed to be getting a little better again. This year has been pretty good,I think...but one show I wont watch is L+O: Crimanal intent. Too anti-Canadian, and anti-everything else... Regular L+O was like that for a while, but it seems to have stopped...

[kbk3022]

Italiangirl

I read somewhere that Birds of Prey was already picked up for a full season. I can't wait until next episode with Lori Loughlin in it. I love her, so it should be an exciting episode.



Kasey

[BBOvenGuy]

One thing this week's rerun of Gilmore Girls did was show once again that when women are liberated, men are liberated, too.



This week was the episode where Lorelai's father Richard abruptly quits the job that had been driving him crazy for months. I could really relate to that - I was cheering him on, in fact. They did an excellent job with Richard's story arc last season, giving him all sorts of emotional layers and conflicting wants and needs, and I don't think they could have done that if the show had a more stereotypical male/female dynamic. The fact that women are depicted as living, breathing human beings gives Gilmore Girls the opportunity to depict men as living, breathing human beings also. I like that in a show.

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"A man who fails well is greater than one who succeeds badly. - Thomas Merton

[seurat]

I thought 24 was quite good, even though I miss Leslie Hope and the actress who played Nina (who is supposed to be back later.) Kiefer had one really shocking scene and for an opening episode it moved along very well. Fox is running it again on monday in the girls club spot, so set your vcr again. (And btw, David Kelley's star may be falling even faster than Joss The Jerk's is. Cancelled after two showings! Even Firefly's not that bad.)

As for Birds Of Prey, the writing is getting better, and Ashley Scott's line readings have improved too. Plus she is totally adorable of course. So I'll be watching, and altho i don't think it's officially been picked up i'm sure it will be.

[Kendahl897]

Might I suggest the Food Network?

[Puff]

Wednesday's episode was really good and I actually felt pleased when the doctor was killed off, after all he was played by the actor that played Donnie



Next weeks epsiode looks like it couild be great with the appearance of The Black Canary. Good to hear the show has been picked up for the whole season.

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You know, it's a real deal relationship and that's why people can relate
Amber Benson

[justastraightdog]

"Good to hear the show has been picked up for the whole season"



Can turn out to be a big mistake for the WB:



-----



What was incredibly promising just last month is becoming increasingly vulnerable. Take a look at the four-week track:



Total Viewers (in millions):

7.54, 5.10, 4.54, 3.77



Persons 12-24:

4.5/13, 3.0/9, 2.3/7, 2.0/6



Adults 18-34:

5.0/14, 3.4/9, 2.3/6, 2.0/5



Adults 18-49:

3.9/10, 2.7/7, 2.1/5, 1.8/4



(from mediaweek.com)



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_______________________________
Life's splendor forever lies in wait about each one of us in all its fullness, but veiled from view, deep down, invisible, far off. It is there, though, not hostile, not reluctant, not deaf. If you summon it by the right word, by its right name, it will come. -- Franz Kafka

[BBOvenGuy]

Charmed took a darker turn than usual tonight, which is something they do every now and then. What was remarkable is that - *gasp* - they were actually talking about Prue. You know, that character who died over a year ago? I guess they didn't get Joss's memo about dead characters not ever being mentioned by name again.



Meanwhile, SG-1 handily won my 9:00 hour. I guess my Alias-watching days are over.

------------------------------------------------
"A man who fails well is greater than one who succeeds badly. - Thomas Merton

[slowontheuptake]

Alias lost out to Malcom in the Middle while I recorded Angel. It was a tough call but I still caught the second half.

Ohhh. Slone's wife is possibly (likely) still alive and Syd's dad bred her to be a spy with hypnosis as a child? That's just good stuff.



I haven't gotten around to the Angel tape yet but I am enjoying the show so far. Malcom was good but subpar.



I passed up Smallville to make another valiant attempt at getting into 24 (not working). I caught the second half on the Sun. easy view and swore I was watching Inca Mummy Girl. I'd like the show better if they sprung for thier own storylines.



Late praise of last Tuesday's GG. Jess and Rory had an actual conversation about Bjork and they played one of her songs at the end of the show. Seeing as I am Bjorks bitch, I must take her inclusion as a shoutout to me. Afterall, I am a loyal and loving viewer. Hey, it could happen.

[BBOvenGuy]

Here's a little tidbit from Wanda's latest chat that I found amusing:

Quote:

---

From l1s1: So, when are we going to see some Helena and Reese action on Birds of Prey?



Given that the WB kept the Willow-Tara action to a minimum, I wouldn't hold your breath, lovey. Expect it to stay the course of Lex-Clark. More nuance than nooky.

---

Okay, for those of you who don't watch Birds of Prey, Reese is a man, so W/T and L/C comparisons don't apply. Way to go with the fact-checking, Wanda!



Oh, and then there was this:

Quote:

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From annakristin02: On Gilmore Girls, do Rory and Jess ever get together? She can lose Dean already. Seriously, Jess is a much better match for her! Fill me in, girl!



Girrrl...I saw next week's episode, and though it kills me to pull away any more viewers from Buffy (the show is down more than 20 percent with adults 18-49), I've got to say: Watch GG next week (November 12). It's about an old-fashioned 24-hour dance marathon and has more romantic twists and turns than the merengue. Luke and Lorelai share a very sweet moment talking about the future, Paris' beau is back, Lane is still being courted (he even confronts mom...sort of), and--the moment we've all been waiting for--some heated Jess-Rory-Dean action (with a conclusion that'll choke you up). Set your TiVos.

---

First of all, wow have times changed when Wanda tells people to watch GG's instead of Buffy. Second of all, I can't help wondering if this is what they were filming at Birmingham High School in Van Nuys a few weeks ago...

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"A man who fails well is greater than one who succeeds badly. - Thomas Merton

[kbk3022]

Yeah, I was wondering what the heck Wanda was talking about comparing W/T to Helena and Reese. And she wants people to watch Gilmore Girls over Buffy, that's very interesting.



Kasey

[chelehel74]

According to today's Variety Showtime has picked up the lesbian show based in L.A. starring Jennifer Beals and Pam Grier.



It's supposed to feature an lesbian couple (Jennifer Beals plays one of the couple) looking to adopt who are having relationship issues, an older lesbian played by Grier who was at Stonewall during the riots, and then a group of younger lesbian characters as well as a young woman who moves to LA to live with her boyfriend and then leaves him in the pilot after some scandal. The implication is this "once straight" girl will end up folding into this group of lesbians and discovering her true sexual preference.



Seems more Thirtysomething than Queer as Folk but it'll be nice to see what QAF ends up throwing as bread crumbs every week on this new series.

[slowontheuptake]

Why must all the gay shows be on premium cable? Damn you network television!

[WebWarlock]

Well, Birds of Prey has not been picked up yet.



The great thing about BoP is that is actually has been show with positive portrayals of women. Unlike some other shows we can think off *cough*Buffy*cough*.



There is a great looking site taking the preemptive strike to make sure that Birds gets picked up. I think it is worth our while to check it out and give them a hand. They are fighting a good fight, one I think we can all relate to, and it would be great to see Birds make it.



The site is at www.birdsofpreyonline.com/campaign/

Please check it out.



I hope this does get picked up. It is nice to see a strong female lead (three of them) that is not constantly getting beaten down like Buffy, Willow, Anya, Tara, Dawn...oh wait that is all the women on the show. Well you can bet if there was another woman on the show she would be degraded as well.



Warlock

-----

Web Warlock

The Other Side,

home of Liber Mysterium: The Netbook of Witches and Warlocks

"What is it with you and witches anyway?" - My Mom.

[BBOvenGuy]

Well, unlike the people who watched that farce masquerading as Buffy, I had a good time watching tonight's Gilmore Girls.



Things I liked -



The town's priest and rabbi, who share a building and have a great comedy act in the making. I don't remember seeing them before. I hope they come back.



Jess has a car! And works at Wal-Mart!



The baby shower from hell was - the baby shower from hell. Lorelai got to have a nice bathroom freakout, though.



Lorelai and Rory deviled-egging Jess's car.



The protest - what was it about???



Things I didn't like -



The fact that there are still people out there who think the hollow shell of a Buffy series is more entertaining than this.



Next week - The dance marathon! Hey, even Wanda says you should watch this one...

------------------------------------------------
"A man who fails well is greater than one who succeeds badly. - Thomas Merton

Edited by: BBOvenGuy  at: 11/5/02 10:36:58 pm

[Italiangirl]

Hey - agreed, tonight's ep of Gilmore Girls was FAN-TA-STIC!



I also noted and liked the chumminess of the clergy, and I LOVED all the baloney they were giving Taylor. I'm all about anyone who gives baloney to Taylor.



I LOVED not just that Jess had a job at Wal-Mart, but that Luke absolutely delighted in teasing him about it. The comments about the blue vest...priceless.



I LOVED the scene where Lane goes off on Jess about the car...you go girl! I like Ass-Kicking-Lane. I think we should see more of her. If Wanda is right, then hopefully we will.



Regardling Lorelei...I just have to say once again that Lauren Graham is one fabulous actress. She has the ability to convey so much emotion non-verbally. While she has wonderful comedic timing and delivery, I love when she is given scenes that deal with the serious aspects of her life (her parents and Christopher) because it really displays the range of her acting skill. She really manages to walk the line between being vulnerable and angry at the same time, without making her character seem pathetic on one extreme, or unreasonable and bitchy on the other. I think we need a Lorelei Subtle Acting Moments Hall of Fame. See the bottom of this post for some nominations.



Finally, can I just say..."Green is the new Pink?" What the who where? Was anyone else thinking that Sherri is going to raise "Gigi" (not lovin' the name) in exactly the same style that Emily did Lorelei, with no regards to the child's individual sense of style and interest? Ugh.



That said, can't wait for the dance-off next week, and also for the Lane/boyfriend/MamaKim bits!



Lauren Subtle Acting Hall of Fame:



1st Nomination: Season 1, Ep: Rory's Dance, Pt. 1 when Emily insists on staying with Lorelei while Rory is at her first formal dance, as Lorelei is in the throws of a back spasm. Lauren Graham's acting in those moments on the couch, mostly nonverbal, totally conveyed both her wonderment and pride at her mother's compliments and also her feelings of vulnerability evoked when she realized a part of her wanted Emily's attention, and wanted to please Emily. *Sigh* Good stuff.



Anyone else?

[Italiangirl]

Wow, I thought tonight's episode of Birds of Prey was probably the best one yet this season.



Lori Loughlin was HOT! I thought she was excellent as The Black Canary, and I thought the Black Canary character was cooler than cool (I'm not so familiar w/the comic, so die hards might disagree with me).



Tonight was the first episode that, for me, actually evoked the Batman/Gotham City style crimefighting of the past. The villains were better/more creative, the secret identities did not seem quite so forced and hokey, and overall the acting was better.



Good things:



-The Black Canary was tough-as-nails, and unapologetic about it (unlike other so called feminist heroines on other *cough cough* shows)



-The vintage style Adam-West like method that Hawk was using to kill canary...ah, for the old days of the elaborate slow-dramatic death machine cooked up by the VotW. I was waiting for the dramatic voice over to butt-in with a big..."WILL OUR HEROINE FREE HERSELF FROM A SLOW DEMISE? IS THIS CANARY DESTINED TO SING NO MORE?" type narrative. *grin*



-The special effects with the Canary Cry. Again, this was the first time I thought the show had any kind of a true comic-book feel to it. Very nicely done, IMHO



-Helena having Dinah's back in the whole "mom abandonment" issue happening. I can't help it. I'm all about the big rescue.



-Dinah having telekinetic powers now. She's getting to be more of an ass-kicker every day. I'm happy that her character, while young and kind of a tag along, is starting to pull her own BOP weight in ways that are both believable and NON-WHINY, unlike SOME other tag-along kid sister characters on other shows. *cough cough*



-The fact that the VotW was not hired by Harley. I love Harley and her craziness, but too much of a good thing can sometimes be...well, not a good thing.



-The scene with Dinah, Helena, Canary, and Barbara in the beginning, that was all "you're what?" "You can do what?" "You're who's daughter?." I thought it was well done, and funny. Was anyone else thinking of Rocky Horror... "Dr. Scott?" "Brad?" "Janet?" "Rocky?" Dr. Scot!" and so on. Heh heh heh.



Overall, a good ep. One little thing though...I do find it a little hard to believe that Oracle would not have known that A) Dinah was adopted, B) Found out who the birth mom was, and C) Connected Dinah to Black Canary. The fingerprints...the birth records...the adoption records. There would have been a paper trail. I'm nitpicking, I know. Maybe Oracle DID know, but let Dinah stay due to the abuse Dinah had dealt with for being Meta.

---

EzCode Parsing Error: color=white size=2]"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful
than the risk it took to blossom.
-Anais

[disey6821]

Italiangril,



I totally agree with you on last night's episode. It was definitely on the mark!



Lori laughlin as the Black Canary-such a great breakout role for her, especially after years of playing such a goody goody on Full House.



The whole episode really did have that Gothamesque feel to it which i though had been lacking in the last couple of episodes. When Black Canary was captured it was SO reminiscent of the Batman-television show, definitely have to agree with basically everything you already said about the show.



As far as Dina's character, development is definitely a plus, especially if she's taking on the role of a superhero. she needed to have other abilities than her visions to make her a more integral part of the trio. She would have become a bit tiresome with only her visions to fight crime......hmm, now that i think of it, Pheobe's character on Charmed started out with only her ability to "see" things but then suddenly turned into a martial arts expert.



and yeah, Mia Sara is awesome as an evil psychotic bitch!!!



oh, and what's IMHO???? i must be dense!



I have to say this is my favorite episode to date. I hope they only improve from here on!



diana

[Cicca]

Mia Sara?

*perking up my ears*

Mia Sara where?

Birds of Prey? Charmed? Where?!



I enjoy her!



And it occurs to me that I should be mentioning Friends here, and not where I did.

So I shall!

Who thinks Phoebe should just find a woman already? Lisa Kudrow ogles breasts quite well.

And Courtenay Cox must have quite the Wonderbra.

invite someone dangerous to tea * look forward to dreams * imagine yourself magic

[disey6821]

Cicca,



Mia Sara is on Birds of Prey, she plays a psychotic evil bitch that's out to gain control over Gotham City (like every evil vilian). Check out the site at the WB for pics, she looks nothing like she did in Ferris Bueller or Legend!



God, I know! they should just hook Pheobe up already. They always have her character making some sort of sexual remark about another woman and she does make a pretty hot lesbian!!!! Did Courtney Cox have a boob job? She definitely looks bigger than she did when the show first aired.



Who are the two lucious women kissing in your avatar by the way?



diana

[BBOvenGuy]

It seems that Charmed is doing a rare Saturday location shoot this weekend, and a pretty extensive one at that. They're on the schedule from 7am to 10pm in the area around this intersection in Los Angeles. I think this might be the neighborhood around the "Halliwell Manor," but I'm not sure.



Maybe there's some interesting info to be discovered. It's only 15 minutes away from me, so I just might check it out.



Edited to add: Yes, it is indeed the neighborhood around the "Halliwell Manor," known in the real world as Echo Park. They've got a ton of streets blocked off, though - not just the area around the house.

------------------------------------------------
"A man who fails well is greater than one who succeeds badly. - Thomas Merton

Edited by: BBOvenGuy  at: 11/7/02 5:33:58 pm

[seurat]

Yes, have to agree that was the best BOF episode so far, and I guess from everyone else's comments that I'm not alone in thinking that there is no way Black Canary died in that fire. I really liked the scene in the bar where the guy who runs the place desperately wants BC's autograph and how envious he is of Dina's new powers. Also the Huntress/Reese ship is moving along nicely.

As for the GG episode, it loses points for not having any Paris and Madeline and co. scenes, but yes the putdowns of Taylor and Walmart were great. As for the Lauren Graham subtle acting hall of fame, how about the scene where she realizes she can't marry the teacher because altho she loves him, she doesn't love him nearly as much as she should, like her mother loves her father. That was pretty damn heartbreaking as i recall.

[Italiangirl]

Disey6821, IMHO means In My Humbe Opinion, and no, you're not dense. When I first started reading the boards here, it took me about three weeks to figure out that ME stood for Mutant Enemy, lol!



Seurat, I'm right there with you about Black Canary not being dead. You know if the villain escaped when he was all laid out on the ground from an ass-kicking, than Canary had to have ran up the wall and out the skylight or something. I'm just wondering how that will play for Dinah's character...do you think Canary will reveal to Dinah eventually that she didn't die, or do you think she'll let her do her BOP thing with Barbara and just live with the "closure" so to speak. I think it would be pretty lousy if she did that...just breeze in and want to be all motherly, gloss over her kid's years of abuse with the shmucks she was left with, stir up a bunch of issues, vow to be in the kid's life, and then just poof away into the sunset. On the other hand, I think having both Canary and Oracle on the scene would create some major mom conflict between the two, over Dinah. Who knows. At any rate, I'm hoping we haven't seen the last of Lori Loughlin!



Regarding GG, you're right about that scene where Lorelei decides not to marry Max. It was extremely well done, as are all of LG's dramatic scenes. *Sigh* Lauren Graham makes me swoon. She and AB are tied at the top of my "I Really Want to Date Their TV Counterparts" List. *grin*

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EzCode Parsing Error: color=white size=2]"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful
than the risk it took to blossom.
-Anais