197 replies to this topic

[ImNotLeesa]

Profile from nbc.com

[JennyLiz]

Man...Lauren Graham just blew me away. I mentioned in the ep thread, I'm so in love with Lorelai Gilmore that I'm usually afraid to see her in anything else, but...wow. She's a single mom (again), but so totally different from what she played before. I loved her "fat balding barista" phone call, and her sweet moment with Drew at the gas station, but I think my favorite was when Amber said "her bark is worse than her bite" and Sarah paused a moment...then just lunged at her. Awesome.

[csichick]

Lauren hit it out of the park!!! Damn she is good. I hope this makes it so she finally gets the Emmy she deserves. Loved, loved, loved it!!!!

[krizmic]

I do think this role on a "major" network might get Lauren the attention and recognition she deserves. It's a phenomenal ensemble and they are doing a great job of supporting one another. There were a million little moments tonight (thinking of the look on LG's face when she admitted to sleeping with the "fat balding barista" as Julia elbowed at her) that hilight the range and the brilliance of Ms. Graham. I can't wait for next Tuesday!

[naneki78]

Just imagine, krizmic, if Lauren finally gets her Emmy recognition!

[Grizzly]

That would be fantastic, but I'm not holding my breath. The lack of Emmy-love for LG and for FNL has made me more cynical.

Lauren Graham's Short List

Interesting comment from Lauren

Originally Graham didn't seem like "actor" material, she says. "I was shy but masked it. I was always perceived to be tougher than I was. I had a sarcastic sense of humor. I remember at summer camp them thinking I was sassy or fresh — my father used that word that nobody ever uses anymore. But it was really my sense of humor, but people didn't take it the right way ... But I was awkward. Was always self-conscious and didn't feel comfortable and wasn't one of those girls you see at school who's confident. I was on drill team one year, was in student government, but never identified myself as 'pretty.' It was not the first thing I thought of."

[SiobhanJW]

I was thinking the same thing! Maybe they will finally reward her for her awesomeness, because she's not on a "real" network.

[chants]

Lauren was awesome tonight. I'm so excited to have her back on my TV every week.
I really hope this show brings lots of good things for her.

[deepfriedcake]

It was such a relief when the show was over and she'd done her usual awesome job. I was so nervous for her! It seems like all of the promos for the show were making such a big deal about the fact that she was one of the stars that I was really worried that if things went south, they'd blame her. But she was funny, cute, charming, sweet, gorgeous and totally awesome.

I will admit to two GG flashbacks. One, when the old boyfriend handed over the ring he'd been holding on to for years, because, well, it wasn't a horoscope. Two, when she and Drew were having their honest moment out in the rain, and she said something like, "You deserved to have a real father. I'm so sorry I married him!" and I found myself yelling back at my TV: "Yeah, that's exactly what we needed to hear sometime during Season 7!" (Oh, and there was also an "Oh, my god!" uttered to the daughter that was pure Lorelai.) But overall, good for her for being such an amazing actress that for most of the time I was able to push aside my Stars Hollow obsession and believe that she was Sarah, returning home to her family.

This is exactly my kind of show, and it's great to have Lauren back in a series. I hope it lasts a long time because it certainly has the potential to draw you into multiple storylines.

[fashionkills]

Lauren hit it out of the park!!! Damn she is good. I hope this makes it so she finally gets the Emmy she deserves. Loved, loved, loved it!!!!

I disagree. I LOVE Lauren Graham so much, but there were certain affectations and mannerisms that she imbued the character with that I could have done without. It didn't seem like one character, but a cluster of characters grouped together. For example, she was classic GG sass in some scenes, and in others, like meeting her date, she was very Lisa Kudrow.

I'm going to chalk it up to being being that she was a late replacement for the part and is still trying to find her feet, because I've got far too much respect for her to dismiss her so easily. Having said this, I think Maura Tierney (hope she is well) would have done better in this role.

[couldhavebee]

As I mentioned in the episode thread, I thought LG made the character of Sarah a lot more Lorelai-esque than I'd been expecting. I noticed so many Lorelai-like line deliveries and affectations. She even seemed to speak at a slightly more rapid rate than the rest of the cast in classic Gilmore Girls fashion ;)

Coming from someone who absolutely *adored* Lorelai Gilmore and how LG played the role, though, that's not necessarily a criticism. In fact, without the vaguely Lorelai-esque style LG gives this role, I suspect Sarah might seem very generic and 'woman you find on nearly every other comedy/dramedy/drama' etc to me.

As we see more of Parenthood, it'll be interesting to see whether the issue is more about my own inability to see LG as anything BUT the IMO iconic Lorelai, or if LG is just one of those actresses who really does bring a lot of the same speech patterns, facial expressions and mannerisims to every role.

(Which, again, wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing for me; I happen to LOVE LG/Lorelai's mannerisms, line deliveries etc., and I that suspect these Lorelai-esque traits LG brings, however unconsciously, to the role really do make Sarah more interesting and memorable than she might have been as written!)

In any case, I'm utterly delighted to have LG back on my screen.

Edited by couldhavebee, Mar 3, 2010 @ 11:41 AM.

[JennyLiz]

couldhavebee, nice to see you--and on an LG board! Lol.

Coming from someone who absolutely *adored* Lorelai Gilmore and how LG played the role, though, that's not necessarily a criticism. In fact, without the vaguely Lorelai-esque style LG gives this role, I suspect Sarah might seem very generic and 'woman you find on nearly every other comedy/dramedy/drama' etc to me.

Absolutely. I know a lot of people have said that they think LG brings too much of Lorelai to this role, but I think that certain things, like speech patterns, may just be how Lauren acts--and we all associate these with Lorelai, because that's (arguably) her best-known role.

That being said, there was nothing about LG's acting last night, IMO, that didn't work well with her new character. And I definitely noticed some differences--if ONLY Lorelai had apologized for Christopher to her daughter, instead of always making excuses!
And Lorelai would NEVER have worn flats on her date! ;)

Edited by JennyLiz, Mar 3, 2010 @ 12:21 PM.

[fashionkills]

Absolutely. I know a lot of people have said that they think LG brings too much of Lorelai to this role, but I think that certain things, like speech patterns, may just be how Lauren acts--and we all associate these with Lorelai, because that's (arguably) her best-known role.

That being said, there was nothing about LG's acting last night, IMO, that didn't work well with her new character. And I definitely noticed some differences--if ONLY Lorelai had apologized for Christopher to her daughter, instead of always making excuses!

I think that it is actually just an inherent character trait as well, but there's some new affectations and mannerisms that I mentioned early that really annoyed me.

Her acting was fine. She brought a lightness to a script that could have been dour. However, her acting wasn't great, and I know she can do better, so here's hoping she finds her feet.

[naneki78]

That would be fantastic, but I'm not holding my breath. The lack of Emmy-love for LG and for FNL has made me more cynical.

I hear that, Grizzly.

[Limbonaut]

I think both GG and FNL were both critically acclaimed shows but had small cult followings. If Parenthood proves to be a big mainstream hit Lauren could have a better shot.

It's interesting as a GG watcher to look at Sarah as what Lorelai Gilmore would be if she had parents that were supportive and nurturing! For good or bad, Lorelei became a successful inn owner because she rebelled against her upbringing and had to stand on her own two feet. She drove herself to make it on her own and be independent.

Edited by Limbonaut, Mar 3, 2010 @ 2:49 PM.

[JennyLiz]

It's interesting as a GG watcher to look at Sarah as what Lorelai Gilmore would be if she had parents that were supportive and nurturing! For good or bad, Lorelei became a successful inn owner because she rebelled against her upbringing and had to stand on her own two feet. She drove herself to make it on her own and be independent.

Along those lines, I kept being surprised when we saw LG interacting with the parents without any animosity lol.

[Setlist]

I think that certain things, like speech patterns, may just be how Lauren acts--and we all associate these with Lorelai, because that's (arguably) her best-known role.

I've seen Lauren act a bit Lorelai-esque in interviews, and definitely saw a lot of Lorelai in Sarah. As a huge Gilmore fan, it was really refreshing to see her back on screen. Yet to be honest, I'd like to see what people who weren't really too aware of Lauren prior to Parenthood thought of her in the pilot. She's definitely what brought me to watch the show, and I liked it. I'm very curious to see if how her character morphs throughout the season.

Sarah is definitely likable. Her coldness to her daughter after the weed-bust was pretty amazing - as well as the aforementioned "bark worse than bite" launch.

[Cosmos2]

Lauren Graham was a complete surprise to me. I had never seen "Gilmore Girls."

Her character's story wasn't that interesting, the dialog wasn't that great, but she has that magic ability to take even the smallest lines like "I hit you right in the eye" and "I warmed to him" come alive in a special way that makes them so memorable.

So I give her full credit for getting me through the first hour. Although the rest of the cast is good too, it would have been much harder to stay interested without Lauren there.

Edited by Cosmos2, Mar 4, 2010 @ 12:38 AM.

[Grizzly]

Does anyone know if they had shot any more episodes before Maura had to pull out? I know she pulled out last summer, but the series had already been given the go-ahead so I'm not sure whether they had shot more than the pilot or not. I know that they have rejigged the scenes a bit to fit Lauren as an actor as compared with Maura, however I am curious to see what it will be like when they start writing specifically for Lauren and also to see an episode that was filmed all at once, without having to reshoot Sarah's scenes. Not that I could tell they had been reshot without knowing the history, but still, I am curious to know if any more of the episodes are reshoots or if they are all fresh episodes now.

[AnnaRose]

I could be wrong, but I was following along from the beginning... and I think the pilot was the only episode shot with Maura.

[Grizzly]

That's what I thought and it's the only one I've heard mention of them re-shooting. But then it occurred to me that they may have started on the rest of the season. I know that initially it was delayed when Maura was first diagnosed and then she pulled out a while later but I wasn't sure if they had time to shoot anything before the initial delay.

[chants]

I'm pretty sure they had only shot the pilot. LG talked about them reshooting scenes, and specifically mentioned the pilot.

[fashionkills]

Does anyone know if they had shot any more episodes before Maura had to pull out? I know she pulled out last summer, but the series had already been given the go-ahead so I'm not sure whether they had shot more than the pilot or not. I know that they have rejigged the scenes a bit to fit Lauren as an actor as compared with Maura, however I am curious to see what it will be like when they start writing specifically for Lauren and also to see an episode that was filmed all at once, without having to reshoot Sarah's scenes.

As far as I'm aware, the Pilot was shot during the regular pilot season, and immediately picked-up by NBC. Production was due to start, but was delayed due to Maura's announcement of breast cancer. The actually pushed the production date back quite significantly for her, but she ended out dropping out anyway. There was a further delay before LG was picked up to replace Maura, and production started very quickly, with only reshoots of the Pilot.

I'm pretty sure this is fairly accurate, but if anyone has a source, that would be much appreciated, since I can't remember where I read it.

[Grizzly]

Thanks AnnaRose, chants and fashionkills, that's how I remember it too. I guess I started to question it because of how quickly NBC picked up the pilot and also because they were far enough along that they had not only set a premiere date but also released the pilot to the critics.

Edited by Grizzly, Mar 6, 2010 @ 7:30 AM.

[aclockworkred]

I adore Lauren Graham but I thought her acting in the pilot was really over the top and unrealistic. I don't think Sarah Braverman or this show is right for Lauren at all.

[CaseStudy]

I do think she over-reached in some moments, because the lackings in the script. But in general, she was funny and honest and charming at every turn. The show will have to evolve for her, not the other way around. Without her prescence, this series will have no life whatsoever.

[egbert]

I have to admit, sadly, after seeing Lauren Graham in Parenthood and in other roles, that she's limited to playing fast-talking, over-stressed, and over-wrought characters. It's like I see the same acting mannerisms and speech patterns in every role. She was great in GG but when I can only see her as Lorelai in every other role, I can't help but think she's a one-note actor. A very good one-note, but ultimately not transferable to become a more versatile actress.

[krizmic]

Well, Flash of Genius and Birds of America certainly had her playing a different role.

So, on GG, Lauren made me laugh til I cried. Apparently, here, she's just going to make me cry. There is a vulnerability to Sarah that you never saw in Lorelai and Lauren is nailing it.

[JennyLiz]

There is a vulnerability to Sarah that you never saw in Lorelai and Lauren is nailing it.

I agree. When she was in the car, after she had just been told she didn't get the job, and she just can't take it anymore and starts yelling at Amber about how she needs to cut the attitude shit and stop being so negative...well, I sure as hell didn't get a Lorelai vibe from her there lol.

[csichick]

I think Lauren is doing what Lauren does - she is a solid actor. After the second show, I'm enjoying it. I'm enjoying seeing her in an ensemble show, and Lauren's character and acting adding to that.