The Return of Jezebel James

I only watched the first episode - some people claim the show improved somewhat by the time it was canceled a couple of episodes later - but wow, that first episode was pretty disastrous.

Written by Amy Sherman-Palladino, whose work on the Gilmore Girls was brilliant, and starring talented "indie queen" Parker Posey, on paper this was going to be great. But it wasn't. Posey's performance is shrill and brittle; she acts the whole episode as though she has realized she is in a bomb and hopes that if she talks loud enough and fast enough people won't notice. And while the writing isn't terrible, it's not especially funny.

Which leads us to the laugh track. There is perhaps nothing so destructive to low-key witticisms than a boisterous laugh track. Sherman-Palladino is not a sitcom writer, and trying to persuade the public that she is by dropping huge laughs on every wry remark or deprecating comment just makes the show seem to be full of unfunny jokes. I had a similar reaction of Sports Night, another show where dry wit combined with loud laughs created nothing but dissonance (although my reaction to that show wasn't nearly as negative as my reaction to Jezebel James).

So, if Posey were calmer and the laugh track were gone, would the show have been good? Maybe. I would be curious to see Jezebel James sans laugh track with Posey replaced by, say, Lauren Graham. My gut feeling is that it still wouldn't have worked - that Amy just couldn't find the rhythm of the half-hour sitcom - but I'm not sure. All I am sure of is that the network executive who insisted the show have a laugh track should have been demoted to a janitorial position.

This show makes me cry. Amy Sherman Palladino did an incredibly great job on Gilmore Girls, i thought it was the end of the world when the new writers took over. But then she started this show.

OK bad thing Parker Posey... wow she is a really bad actress. What's with the one where she breaks down crying? is she SUPPOSED to be dumb, b/c in Gilmore girls Lauren Graham didn't come across like that at all... and lets face it,Posey's the new Graham. She's not quick enough, and she needs to do an overall better job. It's gonna be hard to replace Lauren Grahams acting.

those laugh tracks HAVE GOT TO GO!! the show is already bad enough with Posey's acting... whenever there's a little chance for funny, the laugh tracks kill any chance.

However Lauren Ambrose is doing an excellent job! She's the person keeping the show alive, even if they are still barely living.

Good Things: Well, the script is great and has great potential. Hope is not lost. Just make adjustments!!!!!! Everythings great except for the poor acting and the laugh tracks

advice:

the first thing id do is GET RID OF THOSE FING LAUGH TRACKS!!!!!

then Parker Posey really needs to read this b/c its just horrible. YOU NEED to be quicker, smarter, and funnier. think witty, not stupid.

While Gilmore Girls can never be beat, it's great that Amy Sherman Palladino is still making good t.v. shows. Obviously nothing tops Lorelei and Rory's incredible personalities, so Amy seems to have incorporated some of their quirks into the characters of 'The Return of Jezebel James'. There are many similarities in the characters and relationships to those in Gilmore Girls, starting even in the second episode with the fact that Sarah is crazy about Hello Kitty. Parker Posey even looks like Lorelei. Coco is very much a Rory to Sarah. Many of the lines and situations in 'Jezebel' could very easily have been in Gilmore Girls as well.The on screen chemistry looks slightly just like that; ON SCREEN. You can tell that they are acting, unlike in Gilmore Girls where the chemistry between all of the characters seems real. The worst thing about Palladino's new show is the laugh track. It kills anything funny! I'm sure that 'The Return of Jezebel James' would be a much better t.v. show without the uncomfortable fake laughter. It's just not 'Two and a Half Men'. 'Jezebel' is meant to be in the same style as Gilmore Girls, with the viewer's laughter only. Maybe the laugh track is there to try and separate Jezebel from the Gimore's. In summary: lose the laugh track. Over all, if 'The Return of Jezebel James' becomes better over the episodes, it may be a show worth watching every once in a while. Let's give it a chance.

I've always loved Parker Posey, but this show makes me understand those who find her annoying. She's really, really irritating in this. Maybe she's just hoping to get this travesty canceled--she deserves so much better. I disagree with previous commentators, though--I think the laugh-track greatly adds to the humor. Without a laugh-track telling me someone said something funny, I wouldn't have even realized this was supposed to be a comedy.

This show reminds me of the worst 80's sitcoms. It's so contrived and poorly written and the characters are paper thin. I think the show has such a fast pace to keep viewers from realizing that no one is saying anything funny, insightful, or dramatic.

I really hope Sherman-Palladino pulls it together before JJ gets canceled (or she gets dragged off into the night by a torch-wielding mob that blames her for destroying Posey's career), but she can't have much time left. This show is terrible.

And just so you know, I loved Gilmore Girls.

I will admit that I cannot get past a laugh track, but I was willing to try for Parker Posey and Lauren Ambrose. Ambrose was great on Six Feet Under and of course Posey is lovely in all her work. This show is horrible. The few funny scenes are marred by the laugh track but if the writing held up I would be watching still. Parker's character says "Coco" (referring to her sister) as if the name "coco" is as silly to her as it is to the rest of the world. It's as if she knows it's a joke. Lauren Ambrose is left to play the stereotypical early 20s underachiever who doesn't speak to her folks and can't keep a job. This is a sad waste of two great talents and I hope it is canceled soon.