One of the
snappiest shows on television picked up viewers by 50% in its second
season. The "little show that could" had become an overnight success,
and it's not hard to see why. One dinner with Emily and you're hooked,
that is, if it takes you that long to fall in love with the funny
comebacks and antics of everyone's favorite residents of Stars Hollow.
The charming
little town is filled with yellow daisies as Lorelai (Lauren Graham)
plans her wedding to one of her daughter's teachers at the prestigious
private school that she battled to get her into. Max (Scott Cohen) is
well liked by all that know him, loves to read, and particularly enjoys
teaching his impressive students. Though the relationship is somewhat
frowned on by the faculty, and Lorelai is facing her own stomach
butterflies over the union, everyone is caught up in the excitement of
making her wedding day perfect. Everyone except her mother. Emily
Gilmore (Kelly Bishop) is insulted that her daughter did not inform her
immediately, since she had to learn about it via a phone call from
Lorelai's friend Sookie (Melissa McCarthy). And then there is Lorelai's
daughter Rory (Alexis Bledel). Caught in-between the insanity of her
family life, she has not only her boyfriend to deal with (Jared
Padalecki) but pressures at school.
It's
not too long before Lorelai calls off the wedding and jumps in the car
for a vacation to "get away." But her return to town only sets off
another chain of events, that range from the new presence of Jess (Milo
Ventimiglia), the rebellious nephew of local cafe owner Luke Danes
(Scott Patterson) to the premature retirement and resulting unhappiness
of her father, Richard (Edward Herrmann). In the meantime, Rory tries to
repair a damaged relationship with a friend and repress her own interest
in Jess before it skyrockets into relationship disaster. The best thing
about this show, apart from its snappy comebacks and unbelievably
faced-paced dialogue, are the characters. There's not a single person in
town that won't amuse you. There's Miss Patty, who runs the local dance
studio and has gone through three husbands already... or is it five? The
grocer who is a stickler for rules and happens to be the bane of Luke's
existence. And we haven't even discussed the Gilmore clan yet, from
Emily's rigid standards to Rory's obsession with Harvard. Needless to
say, you're not going to get the gist all at once or even over half the
season, but by the time the final episode concludes, you feel as though
you have just made an entire town full of new friends.
The acting
here is brilliant, and it showcases quite a few talented young thespians
that went on to other careers on the network and in television. The
writing is top notch. It introduces us to new challenges and triumphs
without ever going in circles. No theme is explored more than once from
the same perspective, but throughout we get the bottom line, and hints
of much more beneath the surface. And as a bonus point, this season
doesn't have a lot of content to be worried about. My biggest
disappointment is that Lorelai is rather loose morally, and several
episodes do hint at this through dialogue, but we're not forced to
follow her into the bedroom. She and Max make references to having a
"great night" together. He stays over at the house the week before the
wedding, and she thinks it's "weird" having him there all night. She
also sleeps with Rory's father while he is separated from his live-in
girlfriend. Sookie's boyfriend talks about wanting to move in with her,
and is found hiding out in her closet one night when she has unexpected
guests. Emily flirts and dances with another man on a weekend out of
town, but is adamant that her behavior was inappropriate.
Numerous
uses of "Oh, my god!" frequently creep into the dialogue, but the rest
of the language is no more than a spattering of mild profanities.
Violence includes a couple of school fights. There is a moral side and a
lot to talk about in the show, particularly the fact that Rory and
Lorelai have a fantastic relationship but even theirs is not perfect.
They occasionally disappoint one another, and have a couple of verbal
spats along the way. Emily, on the other hand, has an ideal marriage
that lasts even through the occasional rough spots (namely, having her
husband home all the time). Quite a few episodes deal with tough issues
with smart wit and surprising sensitivity. Two in particular stand out
in my mind. In the first, Emily tries to bond with Lorelai over a
weekend (it leads to petty theft, but that's not the point) and mourns
that they cannot be close. In the other, Richard reveals that he feels
"obsolete" now that he is retired.
It's nice to
see a "mostly wholesome" show do so well, as this one did for seven
seasons. It's very addictive, but who knows, maybe your mom would like
to watch it with you. I know mine would.
GILMORE
GIRLS
It's
not too long before Lorelai calls off the wedding and jumps in the car
for a vacation to "get away." But her return to town only sets off
another chain of events, that range from the new presence of Jess (Milo
Ventimiglia), the rebellious nephew of local cafe owner Luke Danes
(Scott Patterson) to the premature retirement and resulting unhappiness
of her father, Richard (Edward Herrmann). In the meantime, Rory tries to
repair a damaged relationship with a friend and repress her own interest
in Jess before it skyrockets into relationship disaster. The best thing
about this show, apart from its snappy comebacks and unbelievably
faced-paced dialogue, are the characters. There's not a single person in
town that won't amuse you. There's Miss Patty, who runs the local dance
studio and has gone through three husbands already... or is it five? The
grocer who is a stickler for rules and happens to be the bane of Luke's
existence. And we haven't even discussed the Gilmore clan yet, from
Emily's rigid standards to Rory's obsession with Harvard. Needless to
say, you're not going to get the gist all at once or even over half the
season, but by the time the final episode concludes, you feel as though
you have just made an entire town full of new friends.
Numerous
uses of "Oh, my god!" frequently creep into the dialogue, but the rest
of the language is no more than a spattering of mild profanities.
Violence includes a couple of school fights. There is a moral side and a
lot to talk about in the show, particularly the fact that Rory and
Lorelai have a fantastic relationship but even theirs is not perfect.
They occasionally disappoint one another, and have a couple of verbal
spats along the way. Emily, on the other hand, has an ideal marriage
that lasts even through the occasional rough spots (namely, having her
husband home all the time). Quite a few episodes deal with tough issues
with smart wit and surprising sensitivity. Two in particular stand out
in my mind. In the first, Emily tries to bond with Lorelai over a
weekend (it leads to petty theft, but that's not the point) and mourns
that they cannot be close. In the other, Richard reveals that he feels
"obsolete" now that he is retired.