Magliozzi didn't get on "Dancing With The Stars" or we could expect to hear "Kristi Yamaguchi's tutu!" a lot.

On second thought, it's just as well.

Jezebel James got a poor review in the Baltimore Sun, but as is usually the case, I decided to decide for myself. I watched both episodes last night and was neither charmed nor turned off. I continue to be surprised at television's inability to find the right role for Parker Posey (or maybe it's her inability). I still remember her inexplicable guest run on Boston Legal, when all she did was glare at people.

This is a seriously gifted and funny actress, and Amy Sherman Palladino has her playing a character I find very unconvincing. And the dialogue often does seem written for Lauren Graham. Is ASP a one-trick pony? I hope not. I will keep watching, and I like Lauren Amrbose in the role of the other sister.

But I see a lot of signs, like the seedy diner and the wacky parents, that this is a thinly disguised version of Gilmore Girls. I'll give this series a chance - I'd watch Parker Posey read prescription labels - but I'm not super hopeful based on what I saw this weekend.

Did anyone else notice that Parker Posey's character went from a suburban house in the first episode (where a kid rings the doorbell to get support for... something) to a hip New York apartment in the second?

Not a big deal, but it was a little jarring considering they aired back to back. I'm with JHThree on this one, waiting to see how it unfolds.

I was a big Gilmore Girls fan, and I really did enjoy the first episode. I enjoy Amy Sherman-Pallidino's writing, pace, and layers of material. The show was funny and smart, and could probably use a little bit more Lauren Ambrose. Fox puts things on Friday night that they want to kill, which means most people with a TIVO won't even know it is there. I don't watch many 1/2 hour shows anymore, besides The Office, but this is definitely one I will keep watching.

I was not too impressed. I hate that they have a laugh track (although it was not as intrusive as some are). I will give it a longer look than usual, because I like Parker Posey.

Is it just me, or does anyone else think PP would be better in the role of the transient sister, about to become pregnant?

for Parker Posey, but I won't even bother to reach for the remote again for this piece of crap.

Ms. Posey seemed like an actress doing a very bad Parker Posey impression. Or a very bad Posey impression of a very bad Lauren Graham impression.

And Lauren Ambrose, who I also adore, seemed to be doing a Claire from 6FU impression, all cranky aggressive for no reason, with none of Claire's underlying complexity and vulnerability.

And, hello Fox since I assume you forced this, you can't have snappy fast dialogue AND a laugh track!!!

Not to mention that they recorded the Studio Audience of the Damned for that anemic laughter-- I swear, if you listen hard, you can hear them calling for "Braaaaains..." Their laughter made me sad inside.

And I'm all for complex characters, but is PP's lead character (whose name I've already forgotten) a high-powered exec with a hidden heart of gold (when it comes to kids), or a severely retarded woman whose response to "you have a serious medical condition called uterine adhesions" is "Cartwheels are hard"? Is she like Tom Hanks in Big, working on children's books because that's her level, or is she Nice-At-Heart Devil wearing Prada? And, are we supposed to want her to be responsible for a baby?

And lastly, if you populate your show with really good actors from famously quality entertainment (Six Feet Under, A Mighty Wind, Gilmore Girls) and then it TOTALLY SUCKS, all you're doing is reminding us of how much better we liked those other shows. I stuck through both eps of this dreck because I liked seeing Max and Claire and Sissy Knox, albeit in some grotesque nightmare, it was a nice reunion.

This only would have been good if it had been before all these people became well-known and you could laugh nostalgically at how bad the early work they were cast in was.

Oh, Ms. Posey, I hope you find better work. And free those poor souls trapped with you in Fox Sitcom Purgatory.

Miscellaneous observations based on the pilot episode.

I had to keep reminding myself that Parker Posey's character was not actually named Jezebel James.

It took me a few minutes of squinting at the computer screen to determine that the little girl in the office was not, in fact, the actress who played April in GG.

The New York Times article on ASP and this show made it sound like she'd have a lot of control of the final product (the only reason I even gave it a shot in the first place) and I can only hope that Fox somehow destroyed her vision because I may have to retract my love for the Gilmore Girls.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/02/arts/television/02itzk.html

The pauses in the dialogue to make room for the laugh track were unbearable, even more unbearable than the laugh track itself. It's like watching a Christopher Guest movie and stopping dialogue after every ridiculous thing that was said, making it twice as long as it actually should be.

The only part I mildly enjoyed was Parker Posey staring at Gypsy's big pregnant belly in the Ob-Gyn's waiting room because of PP's manic expression.

I'm with Little Miss Patriot. If the producers want women to relate to the characters on the show, the women should not be idiots. PP's whole reaction to her Asherman's Syndrome diagnosis included the aforementioned "cartwheels are hard" line (which had to have been written in just so Lauren Ambrose could do the call back to it in the diner scene) and her demanding to talk to Asherman. Oh, and also being stupid enough to walk around all day with her shoes on the wrong foot? That's not scatterbrained and charming, that's moronic.

The show just seems to be failing on so many levels. It can't just be the laugh track because there are a few shows with a laugh track that I'm able to tolerate because the writing was better than that-- the first season of "Sports Night" and a few episodes of "The New Adventures of Old Christine." The writing isn't on par with GG (and there's no way to avoid the comparison) or even episodes of Roseanne. The only excitement I'm feeling right now is waiting to see what GG character might show up on the next episode.

And to answer jleary's "Changing Rooms" question: the city apartment she was in at the end was her "boyfriend's" apartment.