Gilmore Girls
It's in the sig now, so I'll talk about it at-length.
As shown in my first Blogging, this is one of my all-time favourite shows. I just started watching it about 2 months ago, though I had been intent on watching it for quite some time. Herc, over at AICN, had been pimping it along with some of my other favourites (Angel, Buffy, Firefly, LOST), so his tastes closely mirrored mine (though The Inside and Wonderfalls were a bit off), which meant that GG's could possibly be to my liking as well.
The thing is. Well. It's the "Gilmore Girls". It's a chick show. They're going to be talking about their periods and the not-so-fresh feeling, and boy troubles and bra sizes. I don't really care about any of that. There's going to be lots of crying, and they don't even have large titties, and none of them are slayers of any kind. Despite all this, I tried to watch the show. Bits and pieces. And those bits and those pieces weren't terrible, but the dialogue seemed Kevin Smithish. Unnatural. No one, on earth, speaks like that. It's too quick-witted. It seemed "written". It made it difficult for an outside, uninitiated, viewer to watch.
However, it was something that time fixed. After several bits and lots of pieces, I managed to watch a full episode. It was the one from Season 2 where termites have eaten the foundation of the house and Lorelai needs $15,000 to pay for the repairs. Then I saw another full episode - Richard helps Rory with a school project. Then I saw another one - Kirk gets a cat. Then I saw the one that ultimately sold me on the whole show - Lukes uncle dies.
Luke Danes is my favourite character in the show, and perhaps best represents you -the male viewer. He is an outsider-looking-in on the Girls’ universe. He notices their quirks and usually outs them on their BS, he is the straight-man, he tends to say and do what everyone is thinking, and he obviously is in love with Lorelai - and who wouldn’t be?
Lorelai Gilmore is probably my favourite female character in the history of television. The only thing I don’t like about her is her constant apologizing and the same tone of voice she uses when she does it. But the pros certainly outweigh the cons. She’s funny, hot, sympathetic, hot, quirky, hot, friendly and inviting, hot, conflicted, hot, and hot. Oh, and she watches a lot of TV and makes tons of pop culture references. The perfect woman, in my eyes. The creators of the show made Lorelai very-much not girly. She (and Rory) eat a lot, she doesn’t cook (and is proud of it), and generally doesn’t do anything girly (thus far, no “not so fresh feeling”).
Rory Gilmore amuses me perhaps more than she would most. Alexis Bledel -consciously or not- does these weird gestures (usually facial) that you wouldn’t see any where else on tv. Silly grins, strange postures, etc. Add to that her ability to turn any line into comic genius (“Poor Bunny” “Really? Which one” “You’re right, it (reheated french fries) does suck”, and you got yourself an underrated star. She, however, has a bit too much boy trouble - but I think they handle it better than most shows do and the whole Jess/Dean thing slow burns for about 2 seasons.
Dean. Poor Dean. Nice guy. Makes Rory a car. Clingy. Very Clingy. I like Dean, mainly because on the show he’s a giant and it turns out he’s like 6’2 - and I’m 6’2. So he is sorta my benchmark into this universe. I can tell how short people really are on TV if they stand next to him. Say, Rory... she has to be, like, 5’2. Paris? 5’0. Jess? 5’3. Anywho, because of this, I shall support the dude in his future endeavours... even if I normally wouldn’t.
Jess, Lukes troublemaking nephew, is a character that I want to hate, but just can’t. The actor (Milo Somethingorother) is really good at playing a smartass, which has me wondering why he doesn’t get more work. He also bumped like a freak on the bridge dive. When he showed up in Stars Hollow and “This is Hell” was playing, it was a great introduction to his character. Almost as good as Rob Lowes in Tommy Boy (*steps off bus drinking a carton of milk* *kid in bus with face against window* *Lowe with a backfist against the window knocking the kid out* *lady with a baby carriage walking by* *Lowe throws carton into carriage*). Every time Jess does some jackassery, I say “JESS, MOTHERFUCKER!”, because I tend to yell at my TV when watching good shows.
My third favourite character on the show would have to be Paris. One, I think Paris is kinda hot. Two, Paris is hilarious. That’s about it. Oh, and three, Paris is kinda evil. I like how people who don’t know Paris react to her. I also say “PARIS, MOTHERFUCKER!” whenever Paris does something evil.
Madeline and Louise are Paris’ cronies. I don’t know how or why they are, but they are. One flirts on the border of being hot, and the other is pretty hot. I don’t know which one is which, but the blonde should make like Christ and get nailed... by me... not that I crucified Jesus or anything. There are two particular scenes that make these two godkings. One is in my sig, and the other is when Paris asks them to study with her on a friday night (..but we have dates...)
The Parents (Elizabeth and Richard) are enjoyable. Richard, in particular, always makes good use of his screen time. I think they give
Then there are the townsfolk. Miss Patty doesn’t offend me. Sally Struthers and the tall dude are great. Sukie is great fun. Jackson rules for many reasons. Taylor used to annoy me, but then I started to look at him as a hitlerish character and he became fantastic. The Asian mom and daughter annoy me most of the time; the mom because she is a prudish bitch and the daughter because she tries too hard to be a rock aficionado.
KIRK is the motherfucking man. Pure gold. He should get his own spin-off, or something. The 24 hour dance marathon. The video. His photography. The odd jobs around town. KIRK, MOTHERFUCKER.
As for the show itself, I was really surprised at its serialized nature. Even some of the little things that sprout up in one episode will find its way into another down the line (Lorelai stealing her mothers pen, Rory finding it under a cushion a few episodes later asking her mother to return it). And it’s paced really well. They give 4 episodes to Lorelai and Max, which on paper doesn’t seem like a lot, but I think they maximize the potential of the storyline in those 4 episodes. Then, right after that, comes Jess (ok, the Harvard eps, then Jess). And then there’s Sukies wedding. They didn’t serialize it enough (like, say, Carnivale) to where it felt like the entire season was one big story with no distinction, so each episode has its own personality, but they didn’t separate it enough to where there wasn’t a throughline between every episode. Very good storytelling.
I also like the show’s “gimmick”. The show is not just about a young mother and her teenage daughter being “best friends”. Rory, at 16, is the same age Lorelai was when she had Rory. So Lorelai is feeling a lot of the same things her mother felt 16 years ago, and in that comes some realizations and understanding. These are not simple characters - they have depth and they think and they are conflicted and they influence and they are influenced. It’s not a girly show as many of the issues brought up in it are universal, and never once does it feel like I’m watching a chick show.
Overall, this is a very funny show that -if you sit down and force yourself through one episode- should surprise and hook you. They give each character their “moment”, and once you get to know those characters, then those moments become very enjoyable. I get happy when I watch this show, which is rare. I smile when watching this show. It’s a warm show, and it doesn’t play down to anything, it doesn’t make you feel guilty for watching it; it’s just a good show.
I recommend watching episode 2.1. There are plenty of funny moments in it, plus there are some serious ones. It gets across some of the main elements and themes in the show, and explores the characters’ relationships with each other. In particular, the dinner table scene with Richard and Dean. And when Elizabeth finds out that Lorelai is getting married and what she says to Richard afterwards. It’s a very accessible episode - you don’t need to know a lot about the show to watch it-, and those two scenes break a lot of your preconceptions.
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