The Gilmore Girls and Other TV Alternatives

[seurat]

Yes, last night's GG really was one of the best, certainly one of the funniest, so much so that I was surprised it wasn't written by Amy Sherman Palladino. It was LOL funny right through, Bob mentioned some of the highpoints but I have to mention Louise and Madeline's interplay in the early school scene (Madeline:" I looked surprised for a month!"), Emily's stunned reaction to Grandma's arrival, and Grandma's line about bringing the gifts up from the basement.



Even if we hadn't heard the news about the Jess spinoff (groan) it becomes more and more evident that he and Rory are not destined to be a long term couple. I really like what they are doing with Dean, and that Emily took Loreli's advice in dealing with Grandma. A terrific ep, can't wait for the next one.

"Everything's brighter just before,

and it's just before always."

- Margaret Atwood, Interlunar

[Puff]

Last nights Friends episode had baby Emma (Rachel and Ross's baby) with a lesbian nanny. Let's see if she stays on the show.



Will and Grace was very funny as well with "Gay it Forward" and some other fun moments.

---

Grapes. Because who can get a melon in their mouth?

[Kendahl897]

I didn't catch Friends, but you're right, Will and Grace were especially funny last night, especially Jack in the restaurant telling Will that as senior homosexuals, it was their responsibility to take a freshman one under their wing and help shape him...

Edited by: Kendahl897 at: 1/17/03 12:12:25 pm

[Cicca]

I have to admit that Joey's fantasy about "the princess, the stableboy, and the lesbian" completely cracked me up. Well, Joey just makes me laugh anyway.



Monica also said that she wouldn't kick the "hot" nanny out of bed. Sounds like something Phoebe would've said.

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

[Kendahl897]

Did anyone check out Will and Grace last week? Jack and Will joined a gay men soccer league and Jack turned out to be a natural player..Will not so much..But to me, the funniest part was when their coach is telling them that if they can beat the hetero team, then they'll have a shot at the lesbians..

[BBOvenGuy]

If anyone wants a spoiler for tomorrow night's 100th episode of Charmed, Rose McGowan has one in a video clip that you can find at The WB's website.



Then again, you might want to go look just because it's Rose McGowan.

"If you are going to give a new message to the world, you will do so without being conscious of it yourself. If you set out to do it consciously, you will fail because you will be trying to pose; and the man who poses is insincere." - Charles V. Stanford

[willowntaraslovechild]

This is from the latest EW:

"Imagine if in sex and the city, all of the women had slept with each other," says Jennifer Beals, describing Earthlings, her new lesbian ensemble drama. "How much more fascinating would that be?!" Showtime was eager to learn, having watched its cool cachet skyrocket with Queer as Folk. "Lesbian stories rarely get told,"sighs exec producer Ilene Chaiken, "yet our lives and issues resonate." On that note, can viewers expect the same amount of boot knocking that has brought Folk such notoriety? "Comparisons are inevitable," she says. Still, onetime Flash-dancer Beals--who plays and L.A. museum director juggling her partner and half sister (Pam Grier)--says the sapphic sex scenes are "the best I've ever filmed. Tell a woman to put her hand in a certain place because you dont like your cellulite, and you know she won't mover her hand."

____________________________________________________

They dont give a date. Its just listed under summer.

Edited by: willowntaraslovechild at: 1/19/03 8:20:30 pm

[urnofosiris]

Thanks for the info willowntaraslovechild. Jennifer Beals, hmmm, I had a wee little crush on her after watching Flashdance. It gave me a bit of a chuckle to learn some of the dance scenes were performed by a man. Hum old news, anyway, I googled and found a few links. Katherine Moennig's fansite has some info and pics. I must say Jennifer Beals looks like she hasn't aged a day.

-------------------------


Coffee, Food, Kisses and Gay Love........Get it while you are hot

Edited by: DrG at: 1/20/03 5:37:59 am

[willntlover]

Does anyone here watch JAG??? A friend of mine asked me,(about tonight's eppy) but I don't watch it. So if any one could help me out you would be saving my friends sanity (her tv went out)



-Will

"I think finding her soulmate would have made Tara a more confident and secure person" -Amber Benson

Edited by: willntlover at: 1/21/03 10:18:06 pm

[seurat]

Unlike most of North America, I was watching GG last night and not AI, and altho I don't doubt AI had some solid entertainment value esp. in the wow-can-that-person-ever-not-sing dept, GG had to have been the best show in the timeslot. Not that it was a great ep, it wasn't. I was reminded of the earlier comment in this thread about the West Wing when Sorkin doesn't write it, that it has all the notes but never becomes music. The last two weeks GG's were not written by Amy Palladino, the first time they got away with it, but this time- no music.



Still, there were lots of good things, the stuff between Lorelai and her mother over the depostion and Rory's desperate attempt to stay neutral, Sookie and Lorelai at the course, Michel's typically acid reaction to their two hours of training, and esp. for me Madeline's reaction to the word blood -lol.

But I'm not sold on Lorelai's new love interest, and altho I enjoyed the fencing scene, the Paris/Rory tiff has a whole been there, done that two seasons ago feel to it. It just feels to me like Palladino gave the writer a series of events that had to happen in this ep and this guy did the best he could, but just isn't in her class.

"What are we going to do tomorrow night, Brain?

The same thing we do every night Pinky, try to take over the world!"

[DestruktorMel]

I too watched Gilmore Girls instead of American Idol. That show just doesn't interest me at all. But yeah, this was one of the weaker GG of the season though.



I'm sorry, I didn't believe Paris would be THAT ticked off at Rory, or that she'd believe Francie for a second over Rory. And that last shot, about her boyfriend...um...Hello? He's BEEN to Chilton. It's not too hard to figure who he is to her. I get why they did it, to strain Paris and Rory's relationship yet again, but that's getting very old, very fast. It seems like every few episodes they invent some new reason why Paris and Rory are on the outs. They don't need to be on the outs for their friendship to be interesting. I just hope they realize that if they decide to keep Paris around during the College Years.



I loved Sookie this episode. It was about time they gave her some sort of plot for an episode, and this was such a funny one. The way Jackson realized almost immediately that something was going on was just too funny. And I actually sort of like Joe. It might have been interesting to have him around BEFORE she got married, give Sookie a little love triangle.



Was anyone really surprised that one of Emily's old maids decided to sue? The way she treats them, I'm surprised it took so long for one to finally do it. I wish we could have seen the deposition though. That probably would have been more entertaining then a lot of the other stuff that happened.



Ah the new love interest. All he does is make me miss Chris. This guy seemed so boring and...flat. Plus, I really didn't see any chemistry at all between them. I'm so not looking forward to having him around for a while. But maybe he'll get more interesting after an episode or two.

[BBOvenGuy]

Wow. Alias did something tonight that will either be a stroke of genius or a feat of monumental stupidity.



They basically blew up the entire show.



SD-6? They're gone. History. As is the rest of "The Alliance." The set's been trashed. The characters have mostly been hauled off to jail or killed. Sydney and her guy (whose name I can't remember) get together. They pulled all the triggers at once. Until the final five minutes, I could have sworn it was a series finale.



And then they threw some new twists in at the last minute.



Now, here's the question - will the new storyline continue to hold the audience? Will they continue to come up with episodes that will help the series grow and progress? Or will the episodes to come simply be full of repetition and/or increasingly ridiculous story elements? Will this go down as the night Alias took a big step closer to greatness? Or will it go down as the night Alias jumped the shark?



Time will tell.

"If you are going to give a new message to the world, you will do so without being conscious of it yourself. If you set out to do it consciously, you will fail because you will be trying to pose; and the man who poses is insincere." - Charles V. Stanford

Edited by: BBOvenGuy  at: 1/26/03 10:00:59 pm

[Pipsqueak]

I'll see your "Wow", Bob, and raise you a "Oh my freakin' God!!!!".



Holy crap. That was one of the best hours of television ever.



I'm sure once I've had a chance to analyze it, it won't seem quite as thrilling. But ...... damn!!



I was watching it with my dad, and throughout the entire episode I kept saying "But Sydney and her dad can't be exposed as double agents, it would end the show!" ... "Vaughn and Sydney can't get together, their relationship is built on sexual tension!" ... "There is no way in freaking hell the CIA is actually going to destroy the Alliance, the show would be over, something has to go wrong." And they pulled it all off. PLUS the twist at the end. (although I thought it was going to be Will lying in a pool of blood!) I am still stunned.



This changes everything, but you know what, I think they can do it. I really do. JJ Abrams can pull this off. And at least they had the courage to try something new, instead of trying to keep up the whole "secret double agent" thing for years in a row. There's only so many times Sydney can almost be exposed, you know?



Wow. Now THAT'S television.

Albatross!

[slowontheuptake]

They killed Francie?! WTF? And right after her and Will acived some sembalence of happyness?!! Cruel, shocking and very cool.



No way has Alias jumped the shark. They just keep moving it forward instead of setting it on a precipice and never pushing it over. That's what killed the X-files .



Think of all the nagging questions that have been answered only to reveal an even more stupefying one.

This show will JTS when I stop questioning the ultimate motives of nearly every single character. That's what made La Femme Nikita work and that's why this show works. That and constant twists and shocks.

Edited by: slowontheuptake at: 1/26/03 10:11:28 pm

[BBOvenGuy]

Quote:

---

I thought it was going to be Will lying in a pool of blood!

---

So did I. We've obviously been watching Joss Whedon shows for too long.



The thing with Vaughn and Sydney is going to be the real test for the show, I think. Almost every time a show pulls the trigger on its sexual-tension relationship, it's the beginning of the end. Moonlighting, Northern Exposure, even Mork & Mindy have gone down that path to quick cancellation.



One of the exceptions, of course, is Buffy, which pulled the B/A trigger and then immediately turned Angel evil. Another exception is Babylon 5, where John and Delenn got together and even spent the entire last season married. So it can be done. It'll be up to JJ Abrams to think of something different to keep the show interesting.

"If you are going to give a new message to the world, you will do so without being conscious of it yourself. If you set out to do it consciously, you will fail because you will be trying to pose; and the man who poses is insincere." - Charles V. Stanford

[Cicca]

I vote for genius.

I've been enjoying this show since the first episode and it just continues to hold my interesting. They keep pushing and surprising. It's great!

I'm upset for Francie the character, but thrilled for the actress. I had to go look her up because I was feeling bad that I have no idea what her name is!

Merrin Gungey.



Merrin Dungey has been performing all her life.

She started at the age of four with ballet and

danced all the way into her teens. She

performed in piano recitals throughout her

childhood and also competed as an ice skater.



Aside from the occasional school musical,

Merrin didn't really start acting until she was 18

years old and hosted a local teen talk show.

That opportunity lead to several commercials,

but she put everything on hold when she was

accepted to UCLA, where she became the

youngest person to win the School of Theater's

top acting prize at their Annual Acting Awards

ceremony.



After graduation, she developed a one-woman

show, Black Like Who?, which led to

appearances in Friends, Seinfeld, Malcolm in

the Middle and The King of Queens. She has

also performed as a stand-up comic.



Stand-up Comic! Awesome.



And I'll just take this moment to be shallow and say that I loved Syd's underwear scene! She looks great in it, and she was funny!





I can wait to see where they go now. And will we see more of Lena Olin?

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

[UnrealisticExpectations]

Oh dear Lord, Alias shocked the hell outta me. I haven't been stunned by a plot twist in a good way for a long while.



I love that Sloane appears to be working with Snark and the whole destroying SD-6 was a part of their plan.



I was expecting Will to be dead at the end, too. But before that, I kept expecting Dixon to get it(with the phone call to tell his wife he loved her, on the verge of tears,etc.) you know being a minority... it's a thing.



Ohhh, then Francie... At first when they showed her on the phone talking to snark, I thought she was an agent too, which would have been a surprising twist in itself, but then nope, Francie's dead and this chick that looks exactly like her has taken her place. And I LOVE that they appear to be expanding the actress that plays Francie's role.



Great, Great episode. Haven't been this excited over a television show since....

Edited by: UnrealisticExpectations at: 1/26/03 10:55:30 pm

[Tulipp]

I'd love to get on the Alias Rules bandwagon, but honestly, I was so disappointed in last night's show. I was finally hooked, finally had figured everything out, was feeling really relieved and happy about this great show with a tough heroine, and then last night I watched that show start with gratuitous shots of Sidney's T&A to pull in the football crowd, depend on multiple images of Sydney crying (Sydney? crying? in a pinch? She's a CIA double agent!), hit hard on the moment when her father calls her "baby," and end with the dual "surprises" of a big fat kiss and a dead woman. Hmmm.



Don't get me wrong; the pace was great, the fight scene at the beginning was cool, and I love, love, love how they just transformed Sloane's character, although I missed Lena Olin in this ep. And I think Evil Francie will probably be great.



But I'm left feeling that this show just got a hell of a lot less smart, and I'm left feeling that Sydney's character was just gutted to make her seem less threatening and more feminine. It kind of reminds me of some other television shows I've been seriously disappointed in.



And I swear, my standards aren't that high. I just want to keep watching Alias, not Vaughn's Angel, you know?

"And I'm eating this banana. Lunchtime be damned!" -- Willow in "Doppelgangland

Edited by: Tulipp at: 1/27/03 4:33:47 am

[shadowomyn]

I loved last night's episode, although those who point out some plot holes aren't wrong.



I think they needed to get rid of the sd-6 story because it was starting to get strained. (I mean, how stupid could Sidney's coworkers continue to be? Almost all of her missions for SD-6 ended in failure.)



I like the Faux-Francie idea, although I wish it were Will that was dead and Faux-Francie was just Evil Francie but, oh well.



And I liked the lingerie in the beginning because I'm extremely shallow.

[Cicca]

I think I disagree on Syd's character being gutted. I did think they definitely had the SuperBowl audience in mind. Showing Syd walking into SD-6 and having to write it on the screen. That's there for people who've never seen the show before. The T&A? Well... As far as I'm concerned, the show has been into showing off Jennifer Garner any chance it gets. All those crazy spy-chick disguises they put her in. Last week's is a favourite! Purple hair punk Noo Yawk chick who strips off her shirt without a thought to go through airport security. I loved that!



The underwear last night? Yes, it was an obvious ploy to get all the football fans hooked in. But to me, it didn't stand out as an unusual thing for Alias. We've seen a whole lot of Syd-skin before now. And it seems to be done with a sense of humour, so I appreciate it. Oh yeah, and that whole "I'm shallow" thing. Just like the way they keep putting Lena Olin in sleeveless zen-type clothing.



As for the crying... Yeah, she was upset, BUT she held it together and got the plan in place to rescue her dad. And she did it. She's been in tough situations before, and sometimes there have been tears. Which is fine with me. I love to see a character who can be upset, but still kick butt and take names. Syd's a very human character to me. She's not invincible.



Francie and Sloane? This is going to get very interesting!

The show got turned on its head last night and I'm so glad I'm along for the ride.



So, I hope that the show is indeed still smart and that you keep on enjoying it. It sucks when the magic leaves a show. We all know that far too well.

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

[La]

Okay, I was in Korea last year and wasn't able to watch Alias on TV. But i'd heard about how it was supposed to be good, so I used my newfound abilities to download entire shows onto my computer and watched the first few episodes, which I liked. And I sort of new what had been going on in the show from what I'd read this online. Then when I got back here, I tried to watch it at the beginning of the season, but just couldn't get into it. I watched a couple eps here and there.



Last night, I completely stumbled upon it on TV by accident and started watching, especially since I realized that I caught it right at the beginning of the ep. I absolutely loved it. I couldn't believe that they'd exposed Sydney and her dad and I also thought that something would go wrong and the Alliance wouldn't be destroyed. Not having watched a lot of it, I didn't know if we knew that Sloane was alive but missing, or what, but figured he would still be alive, so that didn't surprise me if it was supposed to, but the thing with Francie? Cool. I'm hooked. I'll be watching next week for sure. Helps that the new Dragnet will be on right after, too.

~La



"A science-fiction movie? I think I have made a science-fiction movie:

Chasing Amy. Because you go ask any lesbian--that'll never happen."

~Kevin Smith

[Cicca]

Woohoo! A new Alias fan! One more for the ratings. Yay!

La, you'll love it. Wait til you see Syd's mom.



As for Sloane, all they know is that he's gone. We knew that he was on whatever island with his supposedly dead wife. In the Philippines I think. He can be such a slimy rat, and then they go and show him so much in love with his wife. Ooh!

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

[BBOvenGuy]

Okay, was it just me or did Gilmore Girls have an off night? I mean, I did like Rory and the "Hug-a-World," and who wouldn't want to take Lorelai fishing after seeing her in that fishing outfit? But the whole Rory/Paris fight seemed a bit over-the-top to me, and the Korean wedding wasn't up to what I've come to expect either.



Ah well... at least they were up against a Buffy rerun this week. And the show would have to get a lot worse before Buffy started to look appealing.



And next week we get the story of Rory's birth!

"If you are going to give a new message to the world, you will do so without being conscious of it yourself. If you set out to do it consciously, you will fail because you will be trying to pose; and the man who poses is insincere." - Charles V. Stanford

Edited by: BBOvenGuy  at: 1/29/03 10:43:11 am

[willntlover]

I actually didn't watch the gilmore girls this week. Mostly cuz I had a bit of work, but it seemed like a kinda dumb episode. (even the promise of lotsa Lorelei didn't make me wanna watch.)



-Will

"I think finding her soulmate would have made Tara a more confident and secure person" -Amber Benson

[seurat]

No, Bob, it wasn't just you. GG had an off night, the second in a row for my money, and altho I'm not worried that the show is in creative trouble, I am hoping that Amy Palladino writes an episode soon.



The Paris/Rory war part deux bothers me as much now as it did last week, but I did like the headmaster's comments to them, the first time I've ever had anything good to say about him. And I did get to see my faves Madeline/Louise have yet another discussion about boys that made me laugh. Lorelai's fishing outfit was something else, but the fish naming thing was a little too cute even for her. Maybe even a lot too cute.



I liked that Luke is moving on, and the lawyer seems nice enough as a distraction if not as a long-term alternative to Lorelai. All in all it was a watchable ep, but they can do much better. Let's see what they do with the special birth of rory story next week.

"What are we going to do tomorrow night, Brain?

The same thing we do every night Pinky, try to take over the world!"

[gspiggott]

I liked it but I thought it was a bit weak. I missed Kelly Bishop and Edward Herrmann ,they add a lot of depth to the show.Hopefully next week will make up for it and the WB is pushing it pretty heavily.

[Kendahl897]

Well, I just watched bits and pieces, but I thought the Korean mother ordering everyone around at the wedding was just hilarious..

[Italiangirl]

Hey.



I just wanted to drop in and announce the opening of a new Birds of Prey femslash site that I've been working on.



The site is called The Edge. The URL is http://www.slashedge.net



Right now the site has BOP femslash of various pairings, music videos, art, and eventually will have some other things, too. The fic is mostly from the BOP Slash Fic list on Yahoo, and a lot of it is really good. I'll be updating regularly as I have the time to keep coding and posting. In the meantime, I thought the BOP fans here might want the heads up.



Also, just in case anyone was wondering, they have announced the air date for the series finale. They will air the last two episodes as a seamless two hour event on Wednesday, Feb. 19th at 8:00pm. To find out more, check out http://www.birdsofpreyonline.com



Italiangirl

[seurat]

Ok, that was more like it. I have to confess I was a little worried about this "origins" ep of GG because flashback eps rarely work for me. I should have had more faith. Amy Sherman Palladino wrote this one, as I thought she would, and it was very good. There was just enough of the flashback material, and it was well integrated with the new scenes. I liked the casting choice for the young Lorelai, and appreciated that they made her something more than just a younger version of the wisecracking Lorelai we know. All that she has gone through in the intervening years has changed her, and the writing showed that.



I loved Emily's line about the forsensics tv shows, and the dvd bit was very good. The retirement party stuff was perfect, and I liked Luke's date and even liked the way Jess reacted to it. Definitely a much better ep this week.



Edited to add:Before I forget, thanks Italiangirl for the BOP infor, i'll check out the site and will, of course, be watching the last two ep's.

"What are we going to do tomorrow night, Brain?

The same thing we do every night Pinky, try to take over the world!"

Edited by: seurat at: 2/5/03 4:51:48 pm

[BBOvenGuy]

Let's not forget Rory freaking out over her possible role as birth coach. I do believe Rory does the best freak-outs since the real Willow disappeared from Buffy. Of course, Lorelai, Sookie and Paris all give her a good run for her money.



Speaking of Paris, I hope she stops feuding with Rory soon. When she's trying to be Rory's friend, her natural abrasiveness provides a good contrast with the friendliness. When she's Rory's enemy, it's just abrasiveness piled onto abrasiveness. Fortunately, I can't see them letting things stay the way they are for long.

"If you are going to give a new message to the world, you will do so without being conscious of it yourself. If you set out to do it consciously, you will fail because you will be trying to pose; and the man who poses is insincere." - Charles V. Stanford