Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Fox Mid-Season Pilot Review: The Return of Jezebel James - Premieres March 14
The Return of Jezebel James - Fridays at 8:30PM ET/PT on Fox
Premieres March 14 with a one-hour premiere from 8:00-9:00PM ET/PT
Imagine, if you would, that you have everything you ever wanted in life. But what if there is just one thing that is missing, like a child? And what if you were unable to have that child on your own because your doctor just isn't possible? Well, then you have to turn to your sister for a little help, and that is exactly what happens in The Return of Jezebel James.
This is a comedy that answers the question of whether polar-opposite sisters can live together when one agrees to carry the other’s baby. Bright, optimistic, successful children’s book editor Sarah turns to her estranged and free-spirited younger sister, Coco, when she learns she cannot conceive a child herself.
Cast Details:
Parker Posey as Sarah Tompkins, Lauren Ambrose as Coco, Scott Cohen as Marcus, Ron McLarty as Ron, Michael Arden as Buddy, Dianne Wiest as Talia
It seems uncommon to find sitcoms with star-studded casts these days, and this series is not an exception to that rule. There really aren't any well-known people in the series, aside from Parker Posey, who plays Sarah Tompkins (the starring role). She has played in several movies that, while not blockbuster hits, are pretty well known, such as Dazed and Confused and Scream 3. Additionally, she has been on the series Boston Legal.
Lauren Ambrose (of Six Feet Under fame) plays her sister Coco.
Ron McLarty, was a regular on Spenser: For Hire and has appeared more recently on The Practice, Law & Order and Sex and the City, he plays her father, who is named Ron.
Scott Cohen plays Marcus and is best known for his role as Wolf in the miniseries The 10th Kingdom and for his recurring role as Max Medina on Gilmore Girls.
Rounding out the cast are Michael Arden (he recently guest starred on Grey's Anatomy and NUMB3RS) as Buddy and Oscar-winning actress Dianne Wiest as Talia.
Pilot Plot:
The pilot doesn't really get into much of a plot, but instead gives us a general overview of the series. And it is pretty simple. Sarah wants to have a baby and discovers that she can't, and turns to her sister for help. Of course, like any normal person would do if they were asked to carry a baby, her sister was against the idea. But, like any sitcom idea requires, her sister figures that she will go ahead and give it a try and moves into her sister's house to get started.
Guest Cast: Dylan Blue as Aaron, Amy Hohn as Evelyn and Jasika Nicole as Dora.
The review copy that I received also included the episode "Paragraph Two, Section Three," which is currently scheduled to air about a month after the first episode. In this episode, Sarah and Coco struggle to work out a legal agreement for Coco's plan to carry Sarah's baby, as both have their own selfish (and sometimes ridiculous) ideas.
Analysis:
I'm REALLY not sure where they are planning to go with this series. The whole premise of the series is that the main character wants a baby, and can't have it, so she wants her sister to have it. Now, that would make for a typical (not necessarily GREAT) episode of a sitcom, but this is a series. Either her sister will or won't do this. So if she does, then what is the point of the whole series? And if she doesn't, how long can they keep coming up with story lines about Sarah wanting her sister to have a baby for her? Clearly, this is a half baked premise for a series, and I can not see any possible way of it making just on that idea. Perhaps, though, the creators have something up their sleeve and this isn't the whole concept behind it after all. But all of the press says that it basically IS the idea.
Even if the series could be a success as it is, there is one other important thing missing from the series. The laughs. I didn't really laugh one time while watching this, which is just not a good sign, particularly since this is a standard sitcom that even has a laugh track. All of the jokes seemed to be lame jokes.
Conclusion:
Yep, it is another typical sitcom from FOX... that could be either a compliment or insult depending upon what you think of FOX sitcoms. This reminds me of a sitcom that Lifetime aired about ten years ago called Oh Baby, where a woman wanted to have a baby by artificial insemination before her biological clock ran down. And she did just that... and the series was promptly canceled. I'm seeing the same thing happen with this series, except it'll be sooner rather than later.
Final Numbers (out of 5 stars):
Watchability: 3/5
Funiness: 1.5/5
Overall: 2.5/5
-- Reviewed by Skees53 on 03/12/08
Discuss the show after you watch it on Friday on our message board.
Related Links:
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Sunday, May 11
The Simpsons - "Full Heart, Empty Pool" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Homer and Grampa team up to create a new sport that rivals pickleball, until Homer kicks Grampa off.
Family Guy - "One Foot in Front of the Mother" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Due to a police complaint about his excessive barking, Brian has to wear a shock collar; looking to join an after-school team, Chris discovers a talent for speed walking.
Krapopolis - "Don Tyxote" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Ty gets a fancy new suit and with it, the confidence to invade Persia; Hippo is left home to defend the throne; Deliria and Shlub role-play.
The Great North - "Sunset Beeflevard Adventure" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Judy joins the cast of a dinner theater production; Wolf and Honeybee help Moon sell jerky door-to-door.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 5)
Friday, May 9
- Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) - Watch Paul on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Matt Bomer (Mid-Century Modern) - Matt appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Asif Ali (Deli Boys) and Saagar Shaikh (Deli Boys) - Asif and Saagar are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Busy Philipps (Girls5eva/Vice Principals/Cougar Town/Love, Inc.) - Busy chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Christine Baranski (The Big Bang Theory/Happy Family/Welcome to New York/Cybill) - Christine talks about Nine Perfect Strangers on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Holly Robinson Peete (Hangin' with Mr. Cooper/For Your Love/Like Family/Love, Inc.) - Holly swings by for a chat about her new film Hats Off to Love on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Sarah Michelle Gellar (The Crazy Ones) and Alyson Hannigan (How I Met Your Mother/Free Spirit) - NBC's Today catches up with Sarah and Alyson in the 9am hour.
- Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - In this a little bit extra episode Drew shares more of her conversation with Brooke at the news desk on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Rebel Wilson (Super Fun Night) - Rebel joins Sherri to talk about starring in the new film Juliet & Romeo, so check your local listings.
- Terri J. Vaughn (She the People/Mann & Wife/Meet the Browns/All of Us/The Steve Harvey Show) - Terri talks about starring in the new Netflix series She the People on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Julia Sweeney (Shrill/Work in Progress/Maybe It's Me/George and Leo) and Marsha Mason (Grace and Frankie/The Middle/Sibs) - Julia and Marsha talk about My First Ex-Husband on PIX11 Morinng News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive
Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts