Who invited Jezebel Jane back, anyway?

The Return of Jezebel Jane, currently being quickly burned off on Friday nights, is a frustrating show. Because if you watch it, it’s about a shrill and unlikable single book editor who ends up using her somewhat estranged sister as a childbirth surrogate. It’s not very appealing. But if you close your eyes and listen to the dialog, picture it on the page… it’s actually pretty good. They’ve got a good script. It’s just being horribly directed and acted. Which is strange, because the writer of the pilot was also the director — Amy Sherman-Palladino, talented creator of The Gilmore Girls. And the lead is Parker Posey, who has certainly done good work before (although most notably as annoying or unlikable characters.)

Oh, okay, you aren’t all writers. Don’t picture it on the page. Picture Kelsey Grammer delivering the same lines. Taking time, giving inflection, doing pauses, showing signs that he’s aware of what he’s saying. You know, it’s really sad when a 53-year-old man would be a better choice — a much better choice — for delivering lines about trying to get pregnant.

Despite the title, it's not the sequel to Stuck On You

The Farrelly Brothers produce interesting work. They are known for films filled with low humor… but their films rise above that description, because for crude material they are unexpectedly pro-human. (They actually are smart enough to start from the bottom up, taking an existing basic solid comedy script and then hanging the outrageous material on it, rather than just creating a reason for a string of outrageous incidents.) Their love of humanity shows in the likability of many of their characters (and in the special affection they show for the mentally handicapped.)

So now they have a TV show, in the “crudity” slot — on Fox, after repulsive animated series Family Guy. The two shows make up an hour slot, so except for weirdos like me, they’ll only be watched by FG viewers.

Which is a shame, because there is at least some heart to this show about a newly-single man and his single friends. It’s crude… but mostly in form of sexual enthusiasm. And that is very human indeed.

Having said that, by the second show they were plotwise in very familiar sitcom territory – guy obsesses about the one imperfection of an otherwise perfect gal. Formatwise, they didn’t do anything with it that hasn’t been done in many sitcoms since Seinfeld.

Still, the show has some charms, and a nice visual look. I’m sticking with it and hoping it pulls to its better intents. It’s no How I Met Your Mother (and yes, that’s my measuring stick among things on the air), but it is worthwhile.

Well, it's better than Cole's Law

Canterbury’s Law is yet another lawyer show. A serious lawyer show. A very serious lawyer show. She’s a very serious defense attorney who apparently is only going to protect the innocent, which is not the best way to be a profitable or respected defense lawyer. And she has issues – a dead child in her past, with some dramatic intensity that lends to drinking.

In the pilot, she wins her case by haranguing the guy she really suspect of the killing ’til he snaps, in precisely the way people snap on the stand in TV law and probably almost never do on Earth-Earth. Nothing horribly clever there. Nothing particularly fresh about the case. It’s all very intense, but nothing that seems enjoyable. No fun here. Nothing that intrigued me, no special level of realism. I’m just left wondering why…

Something to do this weekend

The Vatican as listed some new sins! Time to keep the set complete…

The other headline

On sites like CNN.com, a story will often have many different headline forms — one on the page itself, another on links to the page, another in the RSS feed. For example, this story has an RSS headline of “Talk of anger, justice, revenge at co-ed funerals”.

To which all I can say is: co-ed? Really? 23 skidoo, man!

I mean, “co-ed” as a reference to female students dates back to the days when institutions were switching from being all-male to mixed-sex (co-educational, or co-ed). It’s use today is an anachronism seemingly kept alive primarily by the porn industry. I don’t know if there ever was a proper term for male students who attend a co-educational institution…

Die, Amsterdam, Die

There are basically two types of tales told about humans who achieve physical immortality. One is a tale of endless decadent partying, anything for a thrill.

New Amsterdam, just debuted on Fox, takes the other tack — the quest for mortality by someone who doesn’t want to go on living forever. That doesn’t have the inherent fun of decadence… or, really, any inherent fun. So to lighten up the tone, they make him a homicide detective. No, wait, that’s not very fun either.

We are told that the pilot had been re-edited to give him a cheery side. That’s not what the series needs. It needs to give him an interesting side. And good dialogue. And a much better cast. And a kid sidekick. And naked Holly Hunter. And even then, it might not be worth watching.

The problem with the movie 10,000 BC…

… is that if it’s successful, the sequel will have to be called 9,999 BC.

Save us, John Connor!

TV Guide has a listing of the post-strike status of various shows – how many they have in the can, how many episodes they’re going to make for the rest of the season, etc. Some, of course, have “no more episodes expected. Ever.” listings (sorry fans of Journeyman, of Bionic Woman, of Las Vegas.) But I find it curiously appropriate that Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles has a listing of “Future beyond that TBD.”