CW Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel star in "Gilmore Girls." NBC America Ferrera stars in "Ugly Betty." ABC
ANDREW ECCLES
'Girls' goes on -- and it's still good ontv
TV Goddess
Published: September 22, 2006
Last Modified: September 22, 2006 at 07:03 AM
It's rare that the creator-executive producer of a show is as important to fans' reactions to the program as the star(s) of a show. There are instances, though, where a show would not be the same without the showrunners.
Take "Sports Night," Aaron Sorkin's brilliant brainchild. Or J.J. Abrams' "Alias." Anything by Joss Whedon ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Angel" and "Firefly"). Most ardent TV fans would go ahead and add "Gilmore Girls" and Amy Sherman Palladino to that list. But they'd be wrong.
Don't misunderstand: Palladino's departure from the show after the sixth season was heartbreaking to any fan or television critic who has followed the program. Palladino, after all, has been reported to go over every script with a fine-toothed comb. Lorelai and her pop-culture dialogue supposedly is Ms. Palladino herself in many crucial ways. So, yes, her departure was a sad day. No one knew what to expect -- what "Gilmore Girls" would be without Palladino and her producing partner and husband, Daniel Palladino.
Well, the seventh-season premiere (7 p.m. Tuesday, CW) will slap viewers in the face with the reality that the show will go on virtually unchanged -- other than one continuity burp in the second scene. Watching the first episode will feel no different to longtime fans than watching any Palladino-penned episode. The transition, as they say, is seamless.
That's not to say it's a terrific episode or that everything left hanging in last season's finale is resolved. A quick reminder: Lorelai woke up in Christopher's bed after she had issued Luke an ultimatum, and Logan left Rory to go work for his father in London.
Each of those issues is dealt with a bit, but neither is dealt with completely -- of course -- by the end of the episode. The resolutions -- or lack thereof -- will leave some fans happy and others pulling their hair out.
Fact is, many Palladino episodes had fans up in arms, as well. Take that sixth-season finale: Palladino wrote it, and it divided fans.
The issue here, then, isn't whether fans will be happy with the arcs that the story takes this season but whether they notice that the show now is helmed by David Rosenthal instead of the Palladinos. And that issue should be put to rest moments into Tuesday's episode. It has all of the quirky characters, the witty dialogue and the too-smart-for-real-life pop-culture references that fans have come to expect and cherish.
In that much, at least, none of them should be disappointed.
• TV reviewer and Portland, Ore.-based freelance journalist DeAnn Welker can be reached at deann@tvgoddess.com. To read more of her TV ramblings, visit www.tvgoddess.com.
Heroes
8 p.m. Monday, NBC: This new drama is filled with ordinary people -- if you don't count their overwhelming good looks -- finding out that they possess super powers. The pilot doesn't even introduce all of the characters, and it's already enough to convince everyone who tunes in to keep watching.
Brothers & Sisters
9 p.m. Sunday, ABC: This premiere isn't quite as good as the all-star pedigree -- Rachel Griffiths, Sally Field, Ron Rifkin, Balthazar Getty, Calista Flockhart and Tom Skerritt all star or guest star -- would indicate. But with a cast like that, it has plenty of promise. You'll want to start watching from the beginning, so you might as well tune in now.
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
6 p.m. Sunday, ABC: Christmas comes early in North Pole this year as the Rogers family of that little town outside Fairbanks gets the Extreme Makeover treatment. Watch as the 13 members of the Rogers clan move on up from a 900-square-foot, two-bedroom home to the new 4,800-foot, seven-bedroom palace.
Smith
9 p.m. Tuesday, CBS: This slick new crime drama -- the main difference here is that the bad guys are the good guys, sort of -- stars Ray Liotta. But it's Simon Baker who steals the screen as the psychopath member of the gang of thieves. Baker's character kills without remorse and even seems to enjoy it. Yet it's hard to resist wanting to grab a beer with him after his thieving and killing are done. Is that so wrong?
Ugly Betty
7 p.m. Thursday, ABC: America Ferrera -- who played the lovable main character in "Real Women Have Curves" and the equally lovable Carmen in "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" -- now takes on Betty, a less-than-beautiful girl trying to make it in the breakneck world of fashion magazines. It's not pretty, but it turns out "Ugly Betty" is adorable.
-- DeAnn Welker Gilmore Girls
airs at 7 p.m. Tuesdays on CW (Channel 3).
Web: www.cwtv.com/shows/gilmore-girls.
