Gilmore Girls: My Very Favorite Show
"Life's short. Talk fast."
That's the tagline for Gilmore Girls on IMDB and it certainly fits this show perfectly. A typical Gilmore Girls script is 75-80 pages, instead of the 45-50 pages that is normal for an hour long drama. The show is full of pop culture references and witty conversations that will keep anyone on their toes.
I am ashamed to admit that I didn't watch Gilmore Girls from the start. I remember the previews for it when it began in October 2000, but somehow, I didn't get around to watching it. It wasn't until it was in its third season and I had moved away to school that I began to get hooked. One of our floormates was addicted, so for Christmas we downloaded all the current episodes for her. In the process of downloading, I watched a few clips here and there and found it difficult to turn them off. By the time Christmas rolled around, I knew I wanted to start watching this wonderful show. However, it wasn't until my second year of university that I found time. By then, the show was in its fourth season, but it was easy to catch up. Every week, we would gather together in our on campus townhouse to watch the newest Gilmore Girls episode.
What makes this show so addicting, you ask? It's hard to pin down any one reason. The relationships between the characters is one of my favorite aspects of the show. The show centers on Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, mother and daughter living in the small Connecticut town of Stars Hollow. Lorelai had Rory when she was only 16 years old and raised her on her own, so the two women are remarkably close. What is truly fascinating, though, is the relationship between Lorelai and her own mother. In the pilot episode, Rory has been accepted into Chilton, a fancy private school that will help her get into her dream university of Harvard. However, with a private school comes a big price tag, and it's one Lorelai can't afford on her own. So, she turns to her wealthy parents. It's quickly obvious that Lorelai does not get along with them, especially her mother. Lorelai is a free spirit and Emily and Richard are the exact opposite. Its both entertaining and a bit heartbreaking to watch their relationship through its high and low points, and it is most certainly never dull.
Along with Lorelai and Rory, Stars Hollow is home to some of the most eccentric townspeople you will find on any show. Rory's best friend Lane is a Korean teenager who is desperate to be a drummer in a rock and roll group, but is constantly having to hide her life from her own mother, who is deeply religious and traditional. Miss Patty and Babette are the colorful town gossips while Taylor Doose is always in other people's business. Kirk seems to work at every business in town and is probably the quirkiest character I've ever seen (besides, perhaps, Sheldon Cooper). This list only scratches the surface of the picturesque small town.
The witty banter is a major draw of Gilmore Girls. As I said, the scripts are nearly double the length of regular television dramas and it's all because of how fast the characters talk. They cite pop culture references faster than I can place them and they've sometimes moved onto the next scene before I can fully digest what's happened. You might think that this fast pace would be frustrating, but it's what makes the show so wonderful to watch multiple times. Each time I see an episode, there's a new reference I hadn't caught before or a funny comeback that never gets old. I can never seem to pick one favorite scene of the series. I'm constantly citing one particular scene as my favorite, only to have another favorite pop up a few episodes later. And, to help the fans with the multitude of pop culture references (and there's a lot!), the DVDs include a "Gilmorisms" booklet that lists all of the references found in the series with an explanation of where they came from and what they mean. It's fun to watch the show and try to figure them all out!
I would highly recommend the Gilmore Girls DVD series set to anyone looking for a fantastic comedy-drama to watch, or to any fans of the show who don't already have the DVDs. It has all 154 episodes, plus the bonus footage from the season DVDs. Some people wonder what the point of watching "repeats" is. With other shows, I might agree that it can be a tad tedious, but with Gilmore Girls there really is no such thing as boredom. I have all seven seasons, and yet I can't seem to resist watching the repeats I find on TV during the week. I've likely seen each episode at least five times, most of them closer to ten times, and yet I can't seem to get enough!
Gilmore Girls alone is wonderful, but there are lots of supplement materials out there for this wondeful show. If you just can't get enough of it (like me!), check out some of these options.
Get a taste of Gilmore Girls with these videos.
This fan made trailer shows some of the best moments of the series (although there's plenty more!) and really captures the feel of the show. If you're not sure if you want to watch it, definitely watch this trailer.
