I’ve never been into TV and my television viewing is limited to occasionally popping in a DVD after the kids go to bed at night. After reading a lot of online buzz about The Gilmore Girls, I bought a used copy of the first season to watch. Last night, after months of catching an episode here and there, I finally finished watching the first season.
For those not in the know, the sitcom revolves around the lives of Lorelei and Rory Gilmore, a mother and daughter duo who are often mistaken for sisters. Lorelei, the only child of wealthy, old-money parents, scandalized her family and social circle when she became pregnant and gave birth to Rory at the tender age of 16. Years later, despite her success as a single mother, the past often comes back to kick her in the ass.
I’ve found The Gilmore Girls to be an enjoyable and original show but one I can’t quite relate to. It’s not quite a drama, not quite a comedy, and it operates in an alternate world. The story is set in Stars Hollow, a quirky community peopled by predictably eccentric characters. Amid all the neurotic borderline nutcases stands Rory, the 16-year-old Harvard-bound supergirl who is so wise, responsible, and kind that she’s a freak in her own right--in a good kind of way.
Lorelei, her fast-talking, miniskirt wearing, coffee-addicted mother, is like a 7th-grader on speed. Impulsive, loud, and, at the age of 32, still caught in an adolescent rebellion against her conservative parents. Her rapid-fire delivery of rambling monologues is supposed to be funny, but I only find it mildly entertaining. Mostly it’s distracting, as if the scriptwriters are showing off how clever they can be. It makes Lorelei an annoying character.
The dynamic between Rory and Lorelei is like that of girlfriends. They share clothes, paint each other’s toenails, watch movies together, take turns making the coffee, eat nothing but junkfood, and have all the same friends. They even attend town meetings together. It’s a fun concept, but I admit I can’t always suspend my disbelief and swing with the breezy relationship. Of course, that explains why Stars Hollow is presented as a fantasy of a small town—Lorelei and Rory couldn’t exist anywhere else.
My favorite character is Emily Gilmore, Lorelei’s mother. She’s a bitch with a heart of gold. A typical upper-crust New England matron, she’s still confused and scandalized by Lorelei’s behavior, her abandonment of the life she was born to lead, the opportunities she squandered, and most of all, her refusal to be part of her parents’ lives until the cost of Rory’s education demanded she borrow money from them. Emily can be harsh and manipulative in her relationship with Lorelei. In contrast to Lorelei’s relationship with Rory, Emily and Lorelei’s exchanges are tense and peppered with sighs and eye-rolling. But above all, Emily loves Lorelei and while wounded by her rejection, she is taking small steps to better understand and accept her daughter and her choices.
I like watching how conflicted Emily is as she explores Lorelei's different values and standards, and the realistic way she often takes one step forward and then two steps back in her relationship with her daughter and granddaughter. The actress playing Emily manages to convey the characters rigidity, strength, and vulnerability.
The first few episodes were uneven and a bit over the top. It’s been interesting to see the characters settle into their roles and the writers respond with scripts and storylines that play off the chemistry among the cast. The show gets better as it goes along, which means that even though I didn’t LOVE it, I’ll be watching Season 2 on DVD when I need to unwind before bedtime.
September 6, 2006