HBO Releases Artsy 'Big Love' Promo, Premiere Jan. 10

Big Love is slated to return for a fourth season on January 10. The season three finale concluded with Bill Henrickson flying by the seat of his pants and forming his own Church of Bill in his backyard, handing out trays of bread and water for communion to his three wives and their offspring, as Nicki introduced the family to the daughter from her first marriage whom she'd left behind.

So what are we to draw from this promo, that the characters are free-falling through the air and can't quite reach one another, that everything's just a bit out of their grasp. Hmmm.

I also came across a disturbing season four spoiler recently about Margene and a Henrickson kid. (Don't read the Michael Ausiello report from Entertainment Weekly if you don't want a plot turn spoiled.)

Say What? A 'Gilmore Girls' Movie? Is This a Joke?

Entertainment Weekly’s Michael Ausiello is usually on the mark when it comes to intel on all things TV. So when I read his report that the creative genius behind the fast-talking quirkfest that was the Gilmore Girls, Amy Sherman-Palladino, had said that not only did she not watch its series finale (she left the show before the final season), but that she had other season-ending plans for the characters AND that she wouldn’t reveal those plans because there might be a movie in the future, I went, “Hold on, what? A movie? Is this like the ghost that is an Arrested Development movie, which keeps getting discussed forever but never actually happens? Or is this like a Sex and the City movie that’ll actually see the light of day?”

I, for one, would love to see some fresh Gilmore material on the silver screen. I miss those wise, loquacious Gilmores and wasn’t quite satisfied with how the show ended. (They live on in repeats on ABC Family.) When the series wrapped in May 2007, Kelly Bishop, who played Emily Gilmore with exquisite aplomb, told the Washington Post that she felt as though the finale didn’t provide an adequate conclusion to Gilmore Girls and was “disrespectful” to the show’s many fans. “I felt like the bottom dropped out,” Bishop said.

While we fans wait patiently for any glimmer of news about even the mere possibility of a Gilmore Girls film, GG alumni have been popping up on a wide variety of TV shows:

Roles have been particularly plentiful for Rory’s old boyfriends. Rory’s first love Dean (Jared Padalecki) has been starring in The CW drama Supernatural (about Lucifer, demons and the like) for several years. Rory’s second boyfriend, Jess (Milo Ventimiglia) has had the most high profile role of all the Gilmore alums to date, starring in NBC's Heroes as Peter Petrelli, a man who absorbs superpowers of others. (Ironically, the woman who plays Peter Peterelli’s mother Angela -- Cristine Rose -- played Rory’s grandmother, Francine Hayden for two Gilmore Girls episodes.)

Rory’s final boyfriend – who proposed marriage to her at a party celebrating her graduation from Yale, and then she shot down his offer -- Matt Czuchry is a supporting character on CBS’ The Good Wife, playing a smarmy, over-confident young defense lawyer competing against Julianna Margulies. In recent The Good Wife episodes, Chilton Academy grad Francie (Emily Bergl), who tangled with Rory in the Chilton student government, also showed up as another junior associate at the defense firm after having appeared in 36 episodes of ABC’s Men in Trees for years.

Lauren Graham -- the queen mama Lorelai Gilmore who’s been in a number of films like Evan Almighty and Flash of Genius – was recently added to the cast of Parenthood, after Maura Tierney dropped out after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. (Tierney’s 44 by the way, an interesting fact for the US Preventive Services Task Force which wants to stop fortysomethings from getting mammograms.) I adored the 1989 film Parenthood and can only hope that the TV show adaptation is a fraction as good.

Among other Gilmore castmates, Lorelai’s ex-husband, Christopher Hayden (David Sutcliffe) appeared in a dozen or so episodes of Private Practice as Kate Walsh’s cop love interest. Others who’ve also appeared on Private Practice include: Lane Kim (Keiko Agena), Miss Patty (Liz Torres) and Sookie St. James (Melissa McCarthy) who’s slated to appear on the medical drama soon, now that her comedy Samantha Who? has been canceled.

Sadly, the only thing I’ve seen of Kelly Bishop was a one episode guest appearance on Army Wives. And we haven't seen a lot of Alexis Bledel, Rory the brilliant, who has appeared in a couple of films (the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movies and the poorly received Post Grad this year). I’m still waiting for her to find a new role in which she’ll shine.

Another interesting factoid about Gilmore alums: Several have appeared on Grey’s Anatomy, including: Richard Gilmore (Edward Herrmann), Paris Geller (Liza Weil), Mrs. Kim (Emily Kuroda) and Liz Danes (Kathleen Wilhoite).

Fun Gilmore trivia: Which award-winning actor played a man who took Lorelai Gilmore on one of the most boring dates of all time? Place your guesses in the comments section.

So, Gilmore Girls fans, any interest in a movie?

Image credit: ABC Family.

Go Coach Taylor: 'Friday Night Lights' Gets Two More Seasons

The New York Post and Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello are reporting that the critically acclaimed yet ratings challenged Friday Night Lights has been approved for two more seasons.

How great is that that we FNL fans don't have to wonder, as we've had to at the conclusion of each season, whether the season finale is actually a series finale?

The show has consistently provided gritty, realistic portrayals of life in a small Texas town dominated by high school football and populated by people who need a distraction from their lives. The disintegration of Buddy Garrity's life, including his recent estrangement from daughter Lyla, and the struggles of Tyra Collette to break away from a life where she's judged by her looks and whether she's got a good man, have been outstanding. The storyline for high school senior Matt Saracen, including how his demotion from the first string QB to back up has a negative impact on whether this kid will get a college scholarship, is one of the primary reasons why this is the football show that's not really about football.

Last week's scene where Coach Eric Taylor walked in on his daughter Julie in bed with her boyfriend Matt, made my husband squirm. Later, when Julie's mom Tami Taylor had a tearful conversation with Julie about how she wished she'd waited before having sex made me grab for the tissues. Gotta love the Taylors.

Image credit: NBC via EW.

Gizzie Gone? Confusion Over Whether Heigl & Knight Will Leave 'Grey's'

*Some Grey's spoilers below. . . You've been warned!*

The writing has been on the wall for some time.

T.R. Knight has been unhappy that his George O'Malley has seemed liked persona non grata on Grey's Anatomy these days. During the last episode, if you blinked, you missed him. And with a two-hour Grey's-Private Practice crossover extravaganza slated for this Thursday, I'm not expecting George to have much more airtime. If he does, I'll be very surprised.

Katherine Heigl -- who publicly lamented the fact that her character, Izzie Stevens, had a cruddy story arc last season -- has been rewarded by having her character talk and have "sex" with her dead finance Denny Duquette, who is likely, according to news reports, the manifestation of some type of brain tumor or something of that ilk. While we mercifully didn't see Denny last week, I fully expect that the next time we see him, Izzie's head will have exploded. Will that mean the end of her character? Who the heck knows?

The internet has been abuzz over the past few days with reports that both Knight and Heigl's characters will soon leave Grey's. Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello echoed those reports -- ". . . all indications are that it will happen. The only question is when." -- adding that show creator Shonda Rhimes may want "Heigl and Knight to briefly reprise their roles next season." That would rule out the possibility of Izzie dying from a brain tumor or aneurysm this Thursday, unless, of course, she's slated to return as a ghost to haunt Alex Karev, who'll have had two serious girlfriends leave following serious medical problems.

Those who've commented on Ausiello's article at EW.com are all over the map about what they think about the possibility of these two original characters leaving, but many are in agreement that Grey's isn't what it used to be.

Your thoughts Grey's fans?

Image credit: ABC.

RIP: Swingtown

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that the CBS summer drama Swingtown, which inspired me to download a boatload of 70s singles -- the soundtrack of my childhood -- from iTunes, has been axed by the idiots at CBS.

I was fond of the show, not for the salacious swinging aspect of it though. As someone who was a young girl in the 70s, watching the show filled me with nostalgia for things like Dr. Scholls, rainbow shirts, eight-track tapes and Chicago's "Saturday in the Park."

And, as a grown woman with three kids, I liked the discussions that evolved from its treatment of women of the era. One thirtysomething character was a housewife with two teenagers who was feeling bored with her life and wishing she'd made different choices. Her best friend was also a housewife and a mother of one teen, but she was happy with her lot in life. However when her husband lost his job, she went out and got her own job which, she found, she loved.

Ausiello quoted CBS president Nina Tassler saying, "We're not going back to Swingtown. At the end of the day the show was well executed. It was well received. The performances were great. The writing was great. It was a risk. We took it. And we're proud of it."

So you cancel a well executed, well received show of which you're proud? I know, why not air reality show garbage instead of well executed programs. Yeah, that'll help network TV.

Image credit: CBS.

Curious About George: Will He Exit 'Grey's' Too?

As Grey's Anatomy fans are adjusting to the abrupt departure of Dr. Erica Hahn and trying to figure out what the heck is going on with Izzie Stevens, comes the news that George O'Malley may leave too. The scoop-a-licious Michael Ausiello over at Entertainment Weekly (he has major Grey's sources) says that actor T. R. Knight wants to leave the hit medical drama:

"Multiple sources confirm that T.R. Knight has asked to be released from his contract, a request that both ABC and Grey's show-runner Shonda Rhimes appear poised to grant. 'They're working out the details now,' whispers an ABC insider."

This would be a shame. I see George's character as an everyman. He doesn't come from wealth (a la Callie Torres) and didn't have highly connected parents (a la Meredith Grey). He had a middle class American family upbringing and overcame the humiliation of failing his intern exam. He's the character whose flaws (the Gizzie debacle notwithstanding) are most relatable.

So if George leaves Seattle Grace, he'll leave a huge hole from which I seriously wonder if Grey's can recover. (One fan call George, as opposed to Meredith, "the heart" of Grey's.) Grey's, after all, is not ER, which, over a decade or so, has seen a cast of thousands go through its hospital doors. Grey's is intrinsically character-based, not really a medical procedural. Characters make or break it.

If George leaves, do you think it'll hurt Grey's irreparably?

Image credit: ABC.

'Grey's' Spoiler on the Dizzie 'Romance'

*Fair warning*: Do not read this entry if you don't want to read any spoilers about upcoming episodes of Grey's Anatomy.

You've been warned.

All of the debating over whether Grey's has been trying to concoct a 21st century version of Ghost can, apparently, come to an end, at least according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Aussiello who reports that the appearance of Denny Duquette to Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl) -- and all the "mindblowing sex" the two of them have been having when Izzie's supposed to be working -- is a manifestation of a brain condition, though not a fatal tumor as had been rumored earlier:

"According to multiple sources, Izzie's hallucinations are health-related -- and brain-related. And although the specific name of the ailment is being kept in the safe underneath of [show creator/runner Shonda] Rhimes' desk, I'm told it's similar to an aneurysm. And every time it flares up, she sees Denny. And sometimes when it really flares up, she shags him."

(Gives new meaning to "mindblowing sex.")

Many of the commenters on the EW web site were scathing with their Grey's criticism. One commenter wrote: "I used to love this show. Never missed a single episode. Now I don't think I can bare [sic] this 'ghost' any longer . . . Denny is starting to make me hate this show. I love Denny and Izzie but let the dead RIP regardless of an ailment or not!"

Meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan, in a blog entry entitled, "I'd rather stick a scalpel in my eye than watch 'Grey's Anatomy,'" wrote:

"That's the problem with Grey's -- and the reason I still complain about it. I'm not fond of all the actors on the show, but I certainly feel sorry for the good ones. This program used to have so much promise and has trapped the good cast members in a series of outrageous developments that are not just stupid but insultingly stupid. When daytime soaps seem like Frontline documentaries by comparison, there's a problem."

I don't think that all of Grey's stories have devolved to the point where a comparison with daytime soaps is apt, but now that I know that Denny's appearance represents a medical ailment, I'll be able to enjoy Grey's and Izzie's character more thoroughly, feel sympathy for Izzie rather than annoyance at feeling as though I was being strung along in some fashion . . . provided the medical explanation is actually something that seems remotely plausible.

House, which I watch for the characters not the medical cases, does this well. During most episodes of the medical drama, I'm willing to skeptically suspend belief when truly insanely complicated cases arrive at Dr. House's doorstep if the cases can be explained to my satisfaction. If the character subplots are particularly riveting, I'm sometimes willing to overlook an over-the-top potentially fatal ailment which seems ludicrous.

If Grey's offers a somewhat plausible explanation for the hallucinations, will that make any difference to you?

Image credit: ABC.

Dr. Hahn Out of 'Grey's'

What a huge bummer.

Entertainment Weekly is reporting that the Dr. Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith) -- who recently commenced a relationship with Dr. Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) on Grey's Anatomy -- will only appear in one more episode of the Thursday night drama. Following on the heels of the intensely moving scene from last week's installment, where Erica said she never realized she was gay (the "you are glasses" monologue), ABC execs apparently got cold feet about the character, according to Michael Ausiello who wrote:

"I'm told this was not [show creator] Shonda Rhimes' decision but rather an order that came down from the network. According to one Grey's source, the suits 'had issues' with both the explicit direction [Erica and Callie were] taking . . . and, more importantly, with the Hahn character in general."

I was fond of Erica's take-no-prisoners attitude in a world inhabited by thin-skinned egomaniacs. She was the only character who didn't seem, in any way, to be flaky or whiny.

Hopefully this doesn't mean that Callie will now be portrayed as someone who's floundering around, unsure of what or who she wants. Callie used to be a strong, maverick character, living and dancing in the hospital basement with abandon, until writers decided to make her rich and living the high life in a hotel, marrying George O'Malley on a whim.

Image credit: ABC.