After seven seasons, Gilmore Girls has set sail for good, to be remembered in syndication and, of course, on the internet. As much as the cast is probably looking forward to some time off, they have to think about their futures as well, lest they wind up looking back on this as the moment it all went horribly wrong (not that we're predicting that this will happen to anyone, because we're sure it won't). But who will fare well after the farewell, and who had better be clipping coupons?
Name: Lauren Graham
Age: 40
Occupation: Actor; former show-killer
Non-Gilmore Experience: 16 movies; countless NBC sitcoms
Assessment: The best news for Lauren Graham, who visited and usually killed innumerable sitcoms in the late 1990s before Lorelai came along, is her upcoming role in Evan Almighty, letting her boat be lifted by the Steve Carell tide. Sure, she used to be Paula Marshall's second-in-show-killing, but she's probably moved beyond doing another regular show, at least right away. In fact, Graham is well positioned for a run at Warmly Funny And Not In Her Twenties Leading Lady, sliding into the spot that's currently just exceeding the grasp of Diane Lane. Or, come to think of it, Jennifer Aniston.
Assets: We're intrigued that she decided to be in the somewhat controversial Bad Santa while starring in a family-oriented drama.
Liabilities: She also chose to be in The Pacifier.
Current approximate level of fame: Lisa Kudrow
Deserved approximate level of fame, post-Gilmore: Jennifer Aniston
Name: Alexis Bledel (b. Kimberly Alexis Bledel)
Age: 25
Occupation: Actor; whiner
Non-Gilmore Experience: 9 movies, most of which you haven't heard of
Assessment: It sounds weird to say "The good news is that she's about to star in Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants 2," but it's very true of Alexis Bledel. Although she was part of a great ensemble on Gilmore Girls, it's hard to know how well that nervous talking thing she does is going to play in any other setting, so it's good that she has a franchise to work on for now. She's managed to get through seven seasons as a pretty young actress without doing almost anything else that got her any attention, and she may have failed to capitalize on her moment.
Assets: She's no longer dating Milo Ventimiglia.
Current approximate level of fame: America Ferrera Deserved approximate level of fame, post-Gilmore: Amber Tamblyn Name: Scott Patterson Age: 48 Occupation: Actor, lug Non-Gilmore Experience: 6 movies and a solid wad of TV guest spots Assessment: Scott Patterson started out young and studly -- remember, Elaine thought he was spongeworthy! -- but it's been a while since then. During the early Gilmore days, before Luke turned into kind of a jackhole, it seemed like Patterson was poised to capture that Cute Grumpy Dad slot that might have set him up to play Amanda Bynes's father in some agreeably unimportant trifle. But actually seeing him set to play a dad in Her Best Move, an upcoming family soccer comedy (blech), still seems a little sad. At least he's also in Saw IV, so he's keeping his options open. Assets: He'd still make a pretty cute grumpy dad. Liabilities: God help him if the oft-repeated factoid that he founded a soft-rock band with Marc Summers (from Unwrapped, not to mention Double Dare) turns out to be true. Current approximate level of fame: Enrico Colantoni Deserved approximate level of fame, post-Gilmore: John Wesley Shipp Name: Kelly Bishop (b. Carole Bishop) Age: 63 Occupation: Actor; song-and-dance woman Non-Gilmore Experience: 13 movies, lots of TV, and -- oh, yeah -- enough Broadway to have picked up a Tony Award Assessment: Kelly Bishop is awesome, full stop. She first became famous playing wounded, sad Sheila in the Broadway production of A Chorus Line (do you own the original Broadway CD? Yeah, that's her on "Daddy always thought that he married beneath him" and so forth), for which she won a handful of awards, including the Tony. She was also Baby's mom in Dirty Dancing, of course, meaning that she can do Cool Disapproving Mom and Warm Chattering Mom equally well. The answer to the question "What will Kelly Bishop do ?" is pretty simple: she'll do whatever she wants. Assets: We're not kidding -- whatever she wants. Liabilities: She'll have to rock-paper-scissors every other actress in her sixties to win the one good role a year that Hollywood manages to produce.
Current approximate level of fame: Jessica Walters Deserved approximate level of fame, post-Gilmore: Diane Keaton Name: Edward Herrmann Age: 63 Occupation: Actor, FDR impersonator Non-Gilmore Experience: 45 movies Assessment: If you need a really tall guy to play Franklin Roosevelt, Edward Herrmann is your guy. He's done it more than once. He's even done it in Annie. Herrmann didn't really need his part on Gilmore Girls, we don't think -- he's going to work as long as he feels like it, because there's no reason to look for an Edward Herrmann type to play your law professor or your politician or your merciless but refined business weasel when you can just hire Edward Herrmann. Assets: He's a narrator for the History Channel, so he's intoned many interesting facts. Liabilities: Interest in FDR has probably peaked. Current approximate level of fame: Tom Skerritt Deserved approximate level of fame, post-Gilmore: Martin Sheen Name: Melissa McCarthy Age: 37 Occupation: Actor, dimple flasher Non-Gilmore Experience: 15 movies Assessment: Melissa McCarthy constantly and gleefully tapdances all over the line separating the adorable from the insufferable. That line can be very fine. Her unending chirp is endearing in small doses, but she's likely to remain in supporting roles as assorted best friends, unless she's capable of toning it down, which seems doubtful. She displays an admirably sunny disposition, certainly, but not one that's going to make her a leading lady. Frankly, at thirty-seven, she's already played a "Doris" and a "Shirley," so nobody's thinking in those terms anyway. Assets: She gives a great reaction shot/squeal, if that's what you need. Liabilities: Possibly worse off than women in their sixties? Plus-size women, for whom it's more like one role every five years. Current approximate level of fame: Emily Bergl Deserved approximate level of fame, post-Gilmore: NiCole Robinson Name: Liza Weil Age: 30 Occupation: Actor, glarer Non-Gilmore Experience: 10 movies Assessment: Of all the members of the Gilmore cast, Liza Weil is the one we're most curious about. She does a lot of theater, and she's managed a pretty respectable list of TV credits, including ER, Law & Order: SVU, and even The West Wing. She would be an outstanding pick for a smart, single-camera character-driven comedy, and she's entirely capable of carrying a show. Weil filled snippy Paris with integrity and vulnerability, and we're pretty sure that whoever snaps her up won't regret it.
Assets: She seems to have some standards about the projects she picks, which is nice. Liabilities: Fame doesn't come easily to people with standards. Current approximate level of fame: Emily VanCamp Deserved approximate level of fame, post-Gilmore: Alyson Hannigan Name: Keiko Agena (b. Christine Keiko Agena) Age: 33 Occupation: Actor, pretend drummer Non-Gilmore Experience: 8 movies Assessment: The role of the smart Asian girl with the super-controlling mother could have been a ticket to complete stereotype exile, but Agena really pulled it off. She'd be great in one of those shows with an ensemble of young professionals all dating each other, and we'd love to see her to stay on TV doing something other than Kim Possible (no offense to Kim Possible). Assets: Her official site reveals her to be quite a hottie, not that this was really the show for that. Liabilities: She's not really with the band. Current approximate level of fame: Liza Weil Deserved approximate level of fame, post-Gilmore: Becki Newton Name: Yanic Truesdale Age: 37 Occupation: Actor, actual French-speaking guy Non-Gilmore Experience: Plenty of TV, some of which is in French Assessment: You'd totally think Yanic Truesdale was putting on that accent, but you'd be wrong. He's a genuine French-Canadian person, and he's adorable and hilarious, and if Paris and Michel had their own show where they just sat on a couch eating chocolates and saying rude things about people, we would watch it. We would record it and illegally burn it to DVD. We would aspire to be like it. Truesdale has a divinely dismissive touch that's useful in almost any comedy setting, and given the Hollywood obsession with giving female characters bitchy male friends, he shouldn't have trouble keeping busy. Assets: Did we mention that's a real accent? Liabilities: We're not that happy that he was in the ABC Family schmoopsplosion See Jane Date with Charisma Carpenter, and we're even less happy that we watched it. Current approximate level of fame: French's Mustard Deserved approximate level of fame, post-Gilmore: French fries Name: Sean Gunn
Age: 33 Occupation: Actor, oddity Non-Gilmore Experience: 9 movies and, it must be said, an episode of Yes, Dear Assessment: Sean Gunn is in the Being Sean Gunn business, which is exactly the business he belongs in. Without crashing through doors or doing other undesirable things we won't discuss that might turn one into Michael Richards, he became a wacky neighbor extraordinaire -- wacky in a precise, consistent, carefully executed way. He could keep doing that, of course, or he could certainly turn up in a supporting role on any workplace comedy. But he would also be a great centerpiece for a huge, ongoing ad campaign. He'd make a great Quizno's Guy, or Kinko's Guy, or Duracell Guy. Assets: If it's about who you know, his brother is married to Jenna Fischer. Liabilities: No, really -- Yes, Dear. Current approximate level of fame: Justin Long (circa 2002) Deserved approximate level of fame, post-Gilmore: Justin Long (2007)