The Return of Jezebel James - JezebelJames.info: The first news and fan site for The Return of Jezebel James

Parker Posey: From Hal Hartley to Superman to TV Sitcom

TimK — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 07:48:54 -0700

Henry Chamberlain wrote a recent article on Parker Posey and The Return of Jezebel James on ComicBookBin.com. Here’s a snippet:

Surfing channels and then to suddenly see Parker Posey on the tube doing her thing, all her masterful nervous movements, in some odd storyline that did not quickly make itself clear was very entertaining and welcomed. It was only after settling into the plot and discovering it was really just another sitcom, no more, no less, that I had to shrug and say, “Well, it’s still Parker Posey!” because that is really all that matters in the end in this sort of situation.

-TimK

Jezebel James Officially Canceled

TimK — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 07:04:09 -0700

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.

In its second Friday-night airing, Jezebel James garnered just 3.1 million viewers, pulling a 1.1 rating/4 share among adults aged 18-49. This, when it aired just after a repeat of Til Death (which did no better, but it’s a repeat). More importantly, very few of those viewing Til Death seem to have stay tuned in to watch Jezebel James. Fox has not revealed its reasoning, but this is probably part of it.

Effective immediately, repeats of Bones will air in the 8:00 Friday-night timeslot. Fox has not said whether they would make the remaining episodes available on their website or on DVD, but in the past, Fox has frequently released the full run of episodes on DVD.

Fox is known for demanding instant ratings from new shows, even those that might have developed into ratings busters. Now, The Return of Jezebel James likely joins a long list of Fox cult classics that never aired in full, or whose airings were handled so badly that they had no hope of success. Two of my personal favorites in this category are Bryan Fuller’s Wonderfalls and Joss Whedon’s Firefly (which won several awards including an Emmy). Others cited include Roar (which went on to win a Golden Reel Award and be nominated for an Emmy), Tim Minear’s Drive (also nominated for an Emmy), and the sci-fi mystery John Doe (which aired on Friday nights—sound familiar?).

-TimK

TV Guide Blurb Misleads Fan, because Jezebel James is STILL ON

TimK — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 07:31:35 -0700

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.

The TV Guide blurb only says Canterbury’s Law is moving to Friday. It is not moving into Jezebel James’s timeslot. There is a solid reason Fox made no announcement officially canceling Jezebel James, because there is no Jezebel James news. Everything is as it was before.

In fact, the TV Listings on TVGuide.com itself for March 28 still show Jezebel James at 8:30, after reruns of Til Death. Canterbury’s Law is on a 9 PM.

The schedule is good for Jezebel James, by the way, because people who tune in for Til Death will be likely to continue watching Jezebel James for the remaining half-hour. Watch these ratings over the next weeks, whether viewers of Til Death spill over to Jezebel James, because that’s one of the numbers that Fox will be watching.

The actual TV Guide schedule is consistent with a news blurb at TheFutonCritic.com (and the TV schedules there). The Futon Critic blurb actually states the facts, all the facts, and avoids the dramatic effect of speculating on what the move “means for Fox’s The Return of Jezebel James.” Because it means nothing for Jezebel James. Reruns of House were airing Friday at 9 PM. They will now air Monday nights instead of Canterbury’s Law. In other words, Canterbury’s Law switched places with House repeats. They’re both hour-long dramas. That makes sense.

The TV Guide piece is what you should expect from a TV critic, not a reporter. Its whole purpose is to state an opinion and to get mileage out of it, not to report news. If TV Guide had simply said Canterbury’s Law was switching places with House, we could have avoided all this confusion. But then they couldn’t have used the blurb to cast doubt on Jezebel James, which is way more sexy. The headline, “… Jezebel’s Out?” borders on being a lie, and is only not one because it contains a question mark. They didn’t technically say anything untrue, and if the blurb did mislead, they can always blame the reader. I’ve seen stuff like this before. Critics do it all the time. Anymore, I treat them like gossip rags, and always double-check their statements (and questions) with independent sources.

-TimK

P.S. If I come across as hating critics, it’s because I do. As a writer, I’ve been burnt by them myself. And when it comes to reviews of my own stuff, I never learn. Critics suck. That’s why many writers ignore them completely.

Another Batch of Fan Reactions to the Jezebel James Premier

TimK — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 20:52:07 -0700

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…

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.
homefiremother on BlogSpot wrote, “I thought it was very funny. I hope it makes it for awhile…”
Danielle Turchiano acknowledges Parker Posey, saying “Posey is such a natural talent that she comes across as the girl-next-door despite the shrill, snappy bundle of nerves she portrays.”
Melissa Marr on her LiveJournal says that “readers emailed to say that they saw my book cover/poster on the wall in the background of some new show— The Return of Jezebel James.” Kewl!
Lisa the Televisionista notes, “The script is witty and clever (thanks Amy! So glad you’re back writing for TV), and the acting is… well, what do you expect? It’s Parker Posey and Lauren Ambrose.”
James K, Joy Hog, says, “Give ’Jezebel James’ A Chance.”
omahastar on LiveJournal writes, “I have to say, the casting on this was brilliant… This show is now a definite must-see show. Plus, it’s actually funny. That’s a plus.” See? Told ya I wasn’t crazy.
Meanwhile, Jezebel James is one of two new things the Bennett clan loves.

Okay. There are still more posts in the blogosphere from people who enjoyed or even loved The Return of Jezebel James, but frankly there are so many of them, I’m running out of space!

-TimK

Scott Cohen articles on the Web

TimK — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 20:39:34 -0700

The Boston Herald has a mini-profile of Scott Cohen (i.e., our Marcus Cole, Sarah’s boyfriend… if you can call that a boyfriend).

Meanwhile, Broadway.com published an article by Scott Cohen about Drunk Enough to Say I Love You?. Here’s a snippet:

In early December of last year I got a phone call from “the agency.” No, not the CIA, but the other agency that just so happens to bear the same nom de plume and just so happens to be involved in similar technique. Little did I know that the next few months would actually be fraught with feeling as if the former was really behind the wheel for this particular job. My representative at the aforementioned agency told me that the Public Theater wanted to see me. Need he say more? I think not.

-TimK

Parker Posey on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

TimK — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 23:46:26 -0700

Just a heads-up. Parker Posey, star of The Return of Jezebel James, will be appearing on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Wednesday night, March 19. That’s late, late at night. 12:35 AM at night… Or is that the following morning?

However you count it, the last time Parker was on, she was truly entertaining. I expect this to be a wonderful interview as well.

-TimK

Recap of Episode 101 Posted

TimK — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:42:32 -0700

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

Watch Jezebel James at Fox's Official Website

TimK — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 15:02:38 -0700

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

The Ratings Sucked, but Don't Give Up Yet!

TimK — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 14:09:41 -0700

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.

Marc Berman wasn’t around when the Fox comedy ’Til Death premiered last year. (Or at least his archives don’t go back that far.) But when the fourth episode aired on September 28, 2006, it garnered only 5.75 million viewers (A18-49: 2.4/7) on Thursday night, prompting Marc’s epithet, “Fox’s dead-in-the-water ’Til Death.” That was a year and a half ago. ’Til Death is still on the air, returning on the 25’th for its 32’nd episode. (As of Wednesday, November 14, 2007 (before the WGA strike), it was doing 7.36 million viewers, A18-49 2.7/7.)

I choose ’Til Death as an example, because it’s on Fox, it’s recent enough to get meaningful numbers on, and it started with a whimper. For a counterexample, look up Fox’s other sitcom Back to You, which premiered in first place, but settled down to the same #3 or #4 as ’Til Death. Both of these are also multi-camera comedies, with laugh tracks. I actually don’t understand what attraction Fox has for the multi-camera comedy, but whatever it is, it gives us hope.

Don’t get me wrong, The Return of Jezebel James probably only has until April 18 to improve its numbers. If it can’t settle into a reasonable groove with a reasonable viewership, Fox will no doubt cancel it, and we’ll never get to see Coco get pregnant. I do not expect Fox to let it struggle for 3 years, like the CW did Gilmore Girls, before it becomes a world-wide sensation.

Still developing…

-TimK

Vote for Jezebel James at E! Online

TimK — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 00:42:58 -0700

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