Gilmore Girls become a trio?

EXCLUSIVE: Gilmore Girls become a trio?
By Colin Mahan - TV.com
July 18, 2006 at 11:24:00 AM | more stories by this author

SPOILERS: Executive producer of hit CW show gives up big secret for next season.

LOS ANGELES--Stars Hollow is about to get a little more crowded.


CW's Gilmore Girls. Gilmore Girls executive producer David Rosenthal, while speaking to TV.com at the TV Critic's Press Association summer tour, said that in the coming season fans can expect the arrival of a new Gilmore person.

"At some point [this season], there will be a baby on Gilmore Girls," Rosenthal told TV.com.

In addition to a visit from the stork, he said Gilmore fans can expect more screen time for Rory's dad. Rory will also fill the vacuum left by Logan's move to London by dating some new guys.

Earlier in the day, Rosenthal and Gilmore stars Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel spoke Monday at the convention, being held at the Ritz-Carlton in Pasadena.

Rosenthal discussed how the departure of show creator Amy Sherman-Paladino had affected him.

"[Amy] made it very easy for me. She created this wonderful, amazing show ... and wished me all the luck in the world," he said. "She's left us with a very full plate, [but] I think it's going to make for a great season."

When asked how she felt about fans' negative reaction to the Luke-Lorelai romance, Graham defended the story arc.

"It wasn't my favorite stuff to play ... but I thought it was a believable conflict," Graham said. "If everything had gone the way fans wanted it to go, the show would be over."

Both actresses have budding film careers, Graham in the upcoming Evan Almighty and Bledel in Sin City and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Graham spoke of the rumor that she and costar Bledel were not keen on doing another season of the show after the upcoming seventh.

"I read the first script. I love it. So a lot of things could happen," the actress said. "The fact is, our legal contracts our up, so you begin to imagine, 'Well, what if?' in a different way than before."

The actresses were philosophical when asked about their being passed up for Emmy nominations again. This year's rule changes in Emmy voting were supposed to give shows like Gilmore a better chance.

"I didn't know what was happening with that," Bledel said. "I just think that our show has never been big with the Emmys."

"Yeah, I read a lot of Architectural Digest," Graham quipped to laughter. "I try to stay out of what the chatter is in all show business."

"If there are still people of the opinion that we should be included, that's really nice," Bledel added.

Rosenthal said he is not taking the same approach that he took in the last season of the show.

(Collected by Mookie)

Tense moments at Gilmore Girls

LA Times

Tense moments at 'Gilmore Girls'

When it comes to tension and gritted teeth at this summer press tour, you could hardly do better than the panel discussion of "The Gilmore Girls," which is returning this fall on the CW.

The series' creator, Amy Sherman-Palladino, left the series under less than perfect circumstances, handing the series over to executive producer David S. Rosenthal. He appeared Monday along with stars Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel.

Graham at times appeared awkward as she attempted diplomatic replies to questions about some of her character's out-of-character actions during the last season. (Fans had complained that Graham's normally courageous Lorelai had behaved atypically when she let her boyfriend Luke mistreat her.) She also seemed uncomfortable when asked about her earlier statements about wanting to leave the series.

But the high — or rather low — point came when one scribe asked Rosenthal about his reported "obsession" with supermodel Heidi Klum. A New York Observer piece in 2001 reported that Rosenthal the previous year had left his wife, become estranged from his colleagues and written a play that indicated his fixation on Klum. The reporter asked Rosenthal if he was really the appropriate person to run the lighthearted, family-oriented "Gilmore Girls."

"My personal life is not an issue here," Rosenthal replied with a shaken voice. "I'm here to talk about 'The Gilmore Girls.' "

When the reporter pressed, Graham snapped, "That has nothing to do with anything. Next."

— Greg Braxton

(Collected by Mookie)

Off-screen changes

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Gilmore Girls' going through multiple off-screen changes

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Beth Harris - Associated Press

Los Angeles -- All the drama won't be confined to the fictional town of Stars Hollow this fall on "Gilmore Girls." A new network, new executive producer and some new writers have shaken things up behind the scenes.

Add to that the fact that Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel, who play the close-knit single mother and her daughter, are entering the final year of their contracts. Neither did much Monday to put to rest rumors about the show's fate after its seventh season, which begins Tuesday, Sept. 26.

"Your legal contracts are up, and you begin to imagine what if," Graham told the Television Critics Association's summer meeting. "I don't want to be in a situation where I feel sorry for me. I've seen that happen to actors and shows where the thing is done, let it be over. I don't know that we're in that situation."

Bledel added, "I really don't know what this year is going to be like. I'm going to see what it's like, then decide how I feel. We'll see."

Graham wasn't thrilled with last season's story line that had her Lorelai character giving fiance Luke a now-or-never ultimatum after he asked for patience in dealing with his newly discovered 12-year-old daughter. Luke let Lorelai walk out of his life.

"It wasn't my favorite stuff to play, to be dictated to by Luke, but again, it was a believable conflict and a believable obstacle between them, and that's why the end made perfect sense," Graham said. "If everything had gone the way the fans had wanted it to go, the show would have been over."

And Graham "wasn't a fan" of the painful separation between Lorelai and her screen daughter, Rory.

Those scripts were written by show creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and her husband and co-executive producer, Daniel Palladino, who both left the comedy-drama last season after failing to reach agreement on a new contract with Warner Bros. Television.

Graham made it clear, however, that she is "a huge fan of Amy and Dan's."

"I loved that writing, but I also think there's room for it to grow," she said.

The Palladinos, who handled the majority of the scripts, said they wanted to add more writers to ease their burden.

Dave Rosenthal, a writer and producer on the show, is in charge now, and he oversees an eight-person writing staff. He said he's not treating this season like it will be the show's last.

"The goal is to do 22 good episodes of Gilmore Girls' and let the rest take its course," he said.

Sherman-Palladino has said she knows how the show should end. When the time comes, Rosenthal said he'll call her.

"I would definitely like to talk to Amy about that," he said.

(Collected by Mookie)

Scott Patterson

Buffalo News:

Scott Patterson, who plays Luke on The CW's "Gilmore Girls," isn't about to question the writers of the series for deciding to send his fiance, Lorelai (Lauren Graham), into the bed of the father of her daughter Rory (Alexis Bledel) in last season's final scene.

But he realizes it could be a deal breaker for the chances of Lorelai and Luke ever getting married, as many fans wish.

"That's going to be a tough one to come back from," said Patterson at a party here.

What would happen in the real world?

"In the real world, those things happen for a reason and people rebound from them," said Patterson. "It is really a precarious position to be in. I think he'll have to do some soul searching to work his way out of this one. It is not checkmate, but it may be check."

(Collected by Mookie)

The new Gilmore guy speaks

From Maureen Ryan at the Chicago Tribune:

The new 'Gilmore' guy speaks
In contrast to the cuddly “Veronica Mars” session, the “Gilmore Girls” session had a feel of a cage match.

In one corner: New “Gilmore Girls” showrunner David Rosenthal, who was meeting the press for the first time

In the other: Members of the press who have written about and raved about and ranted about “Gilmore Girls” for a six seasons, many of whom were unhappy with where the sixth season ended up, and wondered how this new guy would be able to take over a show with such a specific tone and such specific voices.

It was a tough crowd. At least Rosenthal was flanked by the show’s two stars, Alexis Bledel, who didn’t talk much, and Lauren Graham, who talked a lot.

She specifically said that if the press reported her as saying negative things about Amy Sherman-Palladino or Daniel Palladino, the show’s former head honchos, she would be upset. But, having said that, she said she already had the first script of the new year, which appeared to be unusual by this point in the production process.

She also indicated that the process was more collaborative than it had been under the Palladinos. She added that though where she understood where Lorelai ended up and how she got there, she’d been unhappy with the way her character was written last season, and had expressed her concerns.

“It wasn’t my favorite stuff to play, to kind of be dictated to by Luke, but again it was a believable conflict and a believable obstacles between them. That’s why the ending [of the season] made perfect sense because she tried to kind of be in a place that wasn't natural to her, that wasn't who she is. And so ultimately she couldn't take it anymore,” she said.

“But I think you had to have that build-up to get to where we got. I mean, if everything had gone the way the fans wanted it to go in terms of that relationship, the show would be over, or I would just be calling Rory, like, ‘What are you doing tonight?’ … to me this is a relationship with a lot of built-in problems between two people who are very different, who are trying to find a common language, and so it made sense to me.”

Regarding whether she’d leave the show when her contract is up at the end of Season 7, Graham said she hasn’t made up her mind.

“I have felt that way but I haven’t been in this particular collaboration before and I think we’re all really excited to see where the show can go. I read the first script and I love it,” she said.

“I am a huge fan of Amy and Dan. I loved that writing. I had some of the best, most interesting, fun, great scenes ever. But I also think there is room for it to grow and, you know, there's all these people now where we had a more specific, smaller group working on it,” Graham said. “Now we have these people who I sat down with the other day who are so enthusiastic, who come in as fans, who come in as people who have kind of fresh voices to lend to it, and I think it's going to grow.”

Bledel said she’s also undecided about returning. “I really don't know what this year is going to be like,” she said. “I think it's going to be really different, and I'm just going to see what it's like and then decide how I feel.”

As far as capturing the tone of the show, Rosenthal said that he’s hired new writers and there are now a total of eight writers on staff, all of whom come to the show as fans of the Gilmores.

Rosenthal said he’s not treating this as the end of “Gilmore Girls,” but that if it emerged that this year was the show’s last, he’d try to find out from Amy Sherman-Palladino what she’d envisioned for the show’s last scene. She’s long said she has the last scene of the show mapped out in her mind, down to the show’s last two spoken words.

The session did turn extraordinarily frosty when one writer asked Rosenthal about some personal troubles he had that involved a fascination with Heidi Klum. He turned red in the face, and it felt like the temperature in the room instantly dropped 30 degrees.

“My personal life is not an issue here,” Rosenthal said. “It's not worth getting into. I'm just here to talk about the show.”

“How does it make you professionally the right person for this show?” the questioner persisted.

“It has nothing to do with anything. Next,” Graham snapped.

Later, Graham made a surprising admission. She doesn’t much like working with the dog who plays Paul Anka. But he will be back in the new season.

Nothing against that particular dog, she said, but “I just am not a fan of dog comedy,” she said.

After the session, Rosenthal spoke with several reporters. Part of the transcript for that session is here, the other part is on the jump of this item.

What do you feel like your take is on the show is, that might be different than what went on in the past? What do you bring?

“I’ve brought in a whole new team of writers. We have one wonderful returning writer from last year, but everybody else is new [Rina Mimoun from ‘Everwood’ is one of the new writers]. And as Lauren said, they come in as real true fans of the show.

“I think that kind of passion and perspective is great for a show, especially for people who find themselves inside the show, a show that they’re huge fans of, a show that they’re invested in. So I feel like that perspective is exciting, it’s exciting for me to hear from them, for them to share their thoughts and ideas and opinions. That’s something I feel has really impacted us creatively in a very positive way.”

“Gilmore Girls” has one of the most passionate, vocal fan bases out there. Is it the kind of thing where you just have to make the choices that you make and you can’t worry about people’s reactions?

“I think it’s wonderful, believe me, the reason the show is still on the air and does so well and I think it may have had its highest ratings ever last year because of that passionate fan base, so I completely respect and love that they’re out there. But yeah, ultimately, we spend all day every day talking about this show and talking about the characters and working very hard, in a very focused manner on it. And ultimately we have to do what we feel is in the best interest of the show, both short term and long term, in terms of where the characters are going.

“And also, we have the benefit of seeing arcs. We have the benefit of seeing the future and knowing where we want to take them. So while something may be disturbing in the short run, or upsetting or confusing to a fan, we as the writers recognize that, yes, that’s upsetting but ultimately that’s the journey that this character has to go on, they’re required to do this or that. It can be hard to go through different experiences that can be hard on them or hard on the fans, but ultimately we’re interested in personal growth. Obviously if characters never went through difficult times or never suffered, or had to face obstacles it would be hard for them to grow.

“One of the beauties of the show and one of the reasons it continues to attract such a loyal fan base is that the characters are able to grow and change and develop, like Alexis said. I mean, she’s really grown and changed over the years as has Scott [Patterson, who plays Luke]. And so that’s something that I feel is a huge identity of the show.”

How does it feel to be on a different network? Is there a different energy?

“I gotta say, we’re on the same night, the same time, I know in Los Angeles we’re on the same channel. I would imagine we’re on the same channel across the country. For us the work is exactly the same and the effort is exactly the same and the show is exactly the same. So it’s really just a question of how it’s presented and how it’s marketed and how it’s broadcast and that’s not something that we really deal with. And I’m sure that [the CW folks] will do great.”

Is the character the Paul Anka, the real Paul Anka, is he going to be back on the show?

“There are no plans for him to come back, but he was terrific on the show, so it wouldn’t surprise me. I mean it was a dream sequence. But the dog will definitely be back, I promise.”

Will the rift between Lorelai and Luke be similar to the rift between Lorelai and Rory last year? The fans hated how that played out. Are you going to play this out differently?

“Yeah, we never want to what’s been done in the past, Luke and Lorelai, their relationship is unique, it’s not a mother-daughter relationship, it’s boyfriend-girlfriend or fiancés. So we’re going to explore that, we’re going to let the characters take us where they will. It’s not going to be like the Lorelai-Rory [situation]. I’m not saying it’s always going to be pleasant or pretty, I mean, they’re two adults and they’re going to have to deal with what’s happening.”

Was there any nail-biting at all or did you always know you would be on the new network?

“No, I don’t think there was ever any question. It always seemed a no-brainer to bring ‘Gilmore Girls’ along.”

(Collected by Mookie)

Season 7 Episode 1: The Long Morrow

Season 7 Episode 1
The Long Morrow
Airdate: September 27, 2006

Writer: David S. Rosenthal
Director: David S. Rosenthal


Episode Allusions: A reference to an episode of the Twilight Zone of the same title where as Rod Serling points out in the opening: "It may be said with a degree of assurance that not everything that meets the eye is at it appears."


Paris starts a small business to help student prep for the SATs. She meets a student named Kaitlin and her mother. After being brutally honest about what she thinks of Kaitlin, she agrees to help her study for the SATs. She then has the mother and the daughter take an aptitude test to know what potential Kaitlin has and what comes from genetics. At the diner, Luke is particularly irritated especially when a customer tries to leave without paying his bill. When Taylor's Thunderbird is stranded in front of the diner, Taylor wants it to stay there until the insurance company takes a look at it. Luke must decide if he wants it towed or not. Being depressed and unsure, Luke can't make a decision. Source: SpoilerFix.com

My Stars Hollow mole tells me the first six episodes are going to be very, very, very dramatic for Luke and Lorelai. Source: Ask Ausiello @ TV Guide

Milo Ventimiglia did dish about a possible return to Gilmore Girls, saying it's "never going to happen" — especially now that Team Palladino have hit the road. "I felt [Jess' story] was done a long time ago, but Dan and Amy kept saying, 'We got some cool things, and we're really hoping you'll be a part of it.' So I went back and I kind of enjoyed what Jess turned into. He turned into a grown-up. Watching that last episode, I was like, 'It's done.'" Source: Ask Ausiello @ TV Guide

(Collected by Mookie)

Are Luke and Lorelai really over?

I'm going to guess no, although I wouldn't bet on them getting hitched anytime soon next season. The forecast is better for Logan and Rory, though. At least, it is according to Liza Weil, who plays Paris. When I talked to her a couple of weeks ago, she told me the Logan-Rory relationship was genius, and that even though it may not be the healthiest relationship, this could really be Rory's guy, the one she ends up with. Truth is, it's really all up in the air right now. With the Sherman-Palladinos gone, the fate of the Gilmores is in the hands of their new show runner, David Rosenthal. I just hope his sensibility is similar to Amy S.-P.'s. Gilmore just won't going to be the same without dinner-table discussions debating the pros and cons of Ashlee Simpson's new hair color, not to mention all her flaws, without ever once actually mentioning the name "Ashlee Simpson." Now, that is just pure genius.

Source: Watch with Krisin E! Online

(Collected by Mookie)