The Return of Jezebel James By Henry Chamberlain Apr 13, 2008 - 9:31:09 AM

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A potentially quirky show with a legendary quirky star.

From Hal Hartley to Superman to TV Sitcom

The Return of Jezebel James
FOX
Director - Amy Sherman-Palladino
Parker Posey as Sarah
Lauren Ambrose as Coco

And now for a few words on Parker Posey and her recent television project and related issues. You probably would agree that Parker Posey is someone all of us in the indie demographic can salute. She has managed to stay true to her indie muse with a few detours along the way, most notably a role in a Superman movie. And now this TV show, which will need to be filed under the detour category.

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. The television sitcom is as viable a medium for artful expression as any other (see 30 Rock) and, for a few moments, this show looked like it was going somewhere. Unfortunately, the show was canceled. I think just seeing Parker develop her character would have been well worth the time and effort to develop this diamond in the rough.

It was not long after viewing the show that I saw a commercial for Baby Mama, an upcoming movie with the same plot: madcap comedy about an odd couple of women with one woman convincing the other woman to have her baby! The odd couple is made up of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. I adore these performers but I'm not so sure about this moive. If it's less than biting satire, it could be a mess. I will hope for the best.

And then I watched the news, The NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, to be exact. It turns out that data on latest trends indicates a significant upsurge in surrogate moms. The story went on to describe in a fun and fluffy way how, yeah, it's true, there are a whole lot of women out there who are infertile and desire to have a baby through a surrogate. The NBC story partnered up with Newsweek, as is their habit since they're part of the same media conglomorate afterall, to make it clear this was a hot topic, a trend to watch.

Finally, I thought of the mega hit, Juno, a  very offbeat story about a surrogate mom. I had read a profile about the movie's Academy Award winning writer, Diablo Cody, and her background which included copy writing and stripping which made me think she would be someone in touch with trends, real and contrived. I recalled the unexpected approval of Juno by right wing movie critic Michael Medved because the movie, in his view, ultimately took a pro-life stand. Well, whatever might be said about the movie's plot being calculated in a mainstream happy ending sort of way, it is Medved's endorsement of the movie that really takes the cake for calculated moves. I really doubt that he would want to spend much of any time with Diablo if given the chance.

Was The Return of Jezebel James more the product of following trends than an original story? Well, perhaps so but good shows have blossomed from such humble origins and, in this case, I was okay with that. Like I say, it's all about Parker Posey. Maybe for the movie, Big Mama, it will be a similar case for all-out fans of the stars. Interestingly enough, Juno isn't a movie just about Ellen Page but provides a quirky and compelling story. So, there's something to be learned from this.

From The Hollywood Reporter:

Fox drops 'Jezebel'
By James Hibberd
March 24, 2008
Fox has pulled the low-rated sitcom "The Return of Jezebel James" from its schedule.

The network yanked episodes off Friday nights, effective this week.

Last Friday's 8:30 p.m. episode failed to improve on its time-period premiere, earning a 1.4 rating among adults 18 to 49. "James" was paired with repeats of " 'Til Death," which was also removed from the lineup. Instead, Fox will air repeats of "Bones." 

Anyhow, the action taking place behind-the-scenes is what's most interesting in this case. What actually brought about this TV show about the hot topic of surrogate moms? How did Parker Posey get lured in? What was it like for Parker on the set and what did she really think of the show? And, since we're asking questions, will we be seeing more and more news stories and entertainment about surrogate moms? Well, we're in a recession here in the States, so we can at least expect more and more American surrogate moms. Not all of them do this for free like in Juno.      

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