The Return of Jezebel James

Yeah, I was afraid of this. The Futon Critic reports that Fox has officially canceled The Return of Jezebel James. This sucks, because I was truly looking forward to the next episode. Click to continue »

Ugh. I had to mention this, because a Jezebel James fan actually was misled by this blurb on TV Guide. The blurb is not technically misleading or incorrect, but if you read it you may get the wrong idea. But I’ve researched the news from an independent source. Here’s the truth of the the situation…

The fan who emailed said that Canterbury’s Law was moving to Friday nights, in place of The Return of Jezebel James. This is not true. Jezebel James continues to run Friday nights at 8:30. Click to continue »

Here’s another batch of fan reactions to the premier of The Return of Jezebel James. I’m running out of space, so I’m skipping some, and I may or may not post more. There are lots more… Click to continue »

• Erich Eilenberger says, “I actually enjoyed it… I was pleasantly surprised.” And then goes on to say about critics, “I also think some of them just weren’t paying attention.”
• The TV Guy at TV Short and Sweet. says, “Yet again, here’s a great show with a great cast and yet I fear FOX has treated it unfairly.” (Emphasis in original.)
• sami57peace2u writes on LiveJournal, “I love Parker Posey, and…AS-P. No matter how many times she screws me over, I still like her writing style.” Okay, I resemble that comment about ’screws me over,” but I’m still glad Jezebel James worked.
  

I’ve posted a recap of The Return of Jezebel James episode 101, “Pilot.”

The episode guide page also links to this recap.

I’ll post the recap for episode 102 soon.

-TimK

This is completely legit, and you gotta love it. If you missed it, you can watch The Return of Jezebel James online (in wide-screen) at Fox’s official website. (Complete with limited commercials.)

Note that this is true of all of Fox’s shows, and other networks are also jumping on the 21’st-century bandwagon. You can get watch any of Fox’s shows online through their “Fox On Demand” service. (There’s also a link from elsewhere on Fox’s website.)

To select a show to watch, the interface is a little screwy. But once you do, you have your standard video-player controls. There’s also a scrolling list at the bottom you can use to select which episode to view, and a scrolling list on the left to select another show (if you want).

-TimK

Fox is known for canceling shows that don’t perform. That’s why I was depressed with the TV ratings for last night. The Return of Jezebel James came in last place, with only 3.25 million viewers (for the 8:30 timeslot) and an A18-49 1.0 rating/4 share. Marc Berman introduced it thusly: “In series-premiere news, the cancellation clock is now officially ticking on the two-episode launch of Fox sitcom The Return of Jezebel James.”

Gagh.

Then I did a little research. Click to continue »

Kristin Dos Santos, who has a cool column at E! Online, is running a little poll: Save It or Sink It: The Return of Jezebel James. You all know how I voted. Click on the link and cast your vote, too.

-TimK

I’ve been browsing my RSS feeds for fan reactions to The Return of Jezebel James. Lots of non-fans hated the show—because they hated the actresses, or they hated the laugh track, or they hated the writing. What it boiled down to, I think, is that non-fans just don’t get it, which makes sense, because they’re non-fans. One woman was even majorly offended that Sarah is infertile, because infertility is not funny, and therefore it’s an inappropriate subject for a comedy—just as it was inappropriate for Hawkeye to make jokes about bombs blowing up people, or for Roseanne to make fun of poor, dysfunctional families. (Uh, that last part was my commentary, not hers.)

But there are so far a number of fans who enjoyed the premier and said so. Here’s the first batch of links to bloggers who had interesting things to say about the premier of The Return of Jezebel James. Click to continue »

I just finished watching the 2-episode premier of The Return of Jezebel James. I recorded it from earlier in the evening, because I have kids, who wouldn’t let me watch in peace. But I did get to watch, and I counted how many times I laughed during the 44 minutes of programming. I laughed 60 times during the first episode, and an additional 7 during the second, totaling 127 laughs in 44 minutes.

But what impressed me most was something other than the humor. Five things, actually. Or at least I made 5 notes while I was watching. Click to continue »

More and more and more fan posts…

• Dottie Anne: “super excited to watch”
• Matt of ALOTT5MA: “worth setting your TiVo for”
• Like an old friend, the Gilmore Girls Fanatic: “definitely be tuning in”
• ATG at The Greasy Spoon Cafe: “love Parker Posey and will be watching her show tonight… looking forward to The Return of Jezebel James”
• EJ at A Nickel for the Swear Jar: “Crossing My Fingers”
• Jason Caldarera: “Parker Posey fans… The wait is over!”
• Kate at Life as I Know It: “The Palladinos Are Back (But Not In A Good Way)”

-TimK