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written in the stars Posted on Tue, Apr. 25, 2006 GILMORE GIRLS. 8 tonight, Channel 17. FANS OF THE WB's "Gilmore Girls" may have detected a disturbance in the force last week as word came that the show's creator, Amy Sherman-Palladino, and her writer husband, Daniel Palladino, would be leaving the show next season. The news was broken by TV Guide.com's Michael Ausiello in the manner that once might have been reserved for a death in the family - "the news we've all been dreading has now been made absolutely, 100 percent, painfully official" - and if that seems a bit over the top, then you don't spend much time in the TV end of the blogosphere, where viewers are as likely to be as familiar with a show's writers as they are with its stars. That wasn't true when I began this gig 12 years ago this month. In 1994, I think most people would have been hard-pressed to identify any behind-the-scenes types beyond, perhaps, "NYPD Blue's" Steven Bochco. Now it's possible to pop into a forum at Television Without Pity and find people not only noticing which of "The West Wing" or "Gilmore Girls" writers was responsible for a particular episode but knowing that person's track record. David Rosenthal, who'll replace Amy Sherman-Palladino as show-runner next year, is already getting the TWoP treatment as fans scramble to figure out whether he'll fix what they see as some of the show's problems or just make them worse. He's not the first to face a skeptical fan base: When "West Wing" creator Aaron Sorkin left, producer John Wells took over, and as the show winds down to its finale, debate continues about what was lost in that transition. Chances are, "Gilmore Girls" will only be Rosenthal's problem for one more year. It's not even official that the show will make the leap to the new CW network, but whoever made the call not to give the Palladinos the two-year contract Ausiello reports they wanted might have been factoring in more than the year remaining in stars Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel's deals. The show's getting shakier by the season, with the bright moments - like Lane Kim's hilarious, multi-part wedding last week - fewer and farther between - and the train wrecks - like Lorelai's drunken wedding toast - piling up weekly. That episode was written and directed by Sherman-Palladino, who clearly knows how to throw weddings but may not be throwing them at the right people. Since it looks as if Luke (Scott Patterson) and Lorelai (Graham), who aren't getting any younger, are further from theirs than ever. Still, while at 22, Lane (Keiko Agena) might be bucking real-world convention and settling down young, on the WB - which might just stand for Wedding Bells - she's fitting in fine. I've lost track of those crazy kids on "7th Heaven," but they always seemed to be talking marriage at the point when other TV characters would be exchanging phone numbers. Over on "One Tree Hill," there's a couple who married so young they've managed to tie the knot, separate for months and months and reconcile, all before graduating from high school. And another high school senior proposed marriage to the love of her life just last week. Meanwhile, Karen (Moira Kelly), the show's gorgeous thirtysomething single mom, is losing fiances faster than anyone but Lorelai Gilmore. From the network that's long prided itself on targeting the under-35 set, the message seems to be: Marry in haste - because you might not get another chance. [Taken from Philly.com] Creative Team to Leave 'Gilmore Girls' April 21, 2006 By AP The popular WB series "Gilmore Girls" will have to continue without the husband-and-wife team that has been its creative force since the beginning. Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino said Thursday they will leave as executive producers following the end of this season, its sixth. The show's production company said "Gilmore Girls" will continue next season with Dave Rosenthal, who has been a writer-producer there, running things. The WB is closing up shop this fall, but "Gilmore Girls" is expected to move to the new CW network, which is a combination of the current WB and UPN networks. "Despite our best efforts to return and ensure the future of `Gilmore Girls' for years to come, we were unable to reach an agreement with the studio and are therefore leaving when our contracts expire at the end of the season," the Palladinos said in a statement. With stars Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel under contract for one more season, next year is widely considered to be the show's last one. Graham said in an interview with The Associated Press in January that she would like to leave at the end of next season. Amy Palladino told the AP then that she believed the show could go on for longer than one year. She and her husband had said then that they were thinking of leaving and were already preparing the show to run without them. "We want to thank Amy for creating and nurturing this wonderful series for the past six years and giving us one of the most memorable mother-daughter relationships in television history," Warner Brothers Television said in a statement. Their departure was first reported on TVGuide.com. [Taken from Backstage.com] main [x] |
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