JUST ANOTHER GAL FROM CASPER: WHAT I’M WATCHING RIGHT NOW EDITION
I watch lots of current TV shows. I also crave revisiting movies and TV from days gone by. Thanks to cable and streaming (or DVD/Blu Ray – I’m not here to judge anybody’s format choice!), I can catch fresh stuff or old faves. Lately, I’ve been re-watching Gilmore Girls.
Gilmore Girls has gotten me through some rough times in my life. Its rapid-fire dialogue and quirky characters always command my full attention. I mean, the pop culture references alone are choice! Paul Anka, Offspring, Lord of the Rings … the mentions, some obvious, some obscure, just keep comin’ in all seven seasons plus the follow-up miniseries.
Lorelei and Rory Gilmore are the titular mother-daughter duo, whose modest life in fictional Stars Hollow, Connecticut is rather Pleasantville-esque. That is, until intellectual Rory gets into Chilton, a pricey, private school.
Swallowing her pride, Lorelei turns to her wealthy parents for financial assistance, which they gladly render … in exchange for Friday Night Dinners with the mother and daughter. Lorelei, who’d fled her privileged Hartford upbringing shortly after giving birth to Rory at just 16, reluctantly agrees.
Whether in zany Stars Hollow or stuffy Hartford, the quips are fast and furious. Grandparents Emily and Richard are, by turns, judgmental, adoring, and frustrating.
The Stars Hollow denizens are loveable and eccentric. There’s Sookie, played by a fresh-faced Melissa McCarthy, the accident-prone chef extraordinaire and Lorelei’s best friend; Kirk, who still lives with his mother and has worked nearly every odd job available (emphasis on the odd) in town; Luke, the faithful, sometimes grouchy but always caring diner owner who, against his better judgement, serves Lorelei and Rory and endless supply of coffee. Miss Patty, Babette — the list goes on.
The main characters undergo a lot of growth over 7 seasons — Rory progresses from Chilton to an Ivy League college; Lorelei morphs from Inn manager to owner. The women fall in love, break a few hearts, and deal with a few broken hearts of their own. And Richard and Emily … well, it’s one step forward, a few steps back — but what fun would Friday night dinners be otherwise?
Unlike many other shows, you’ll know by the end of the first episode (or likely before) if Gilmore Girls is for you. Watch it on Netflix, or, if you’re old-school, buy all 7 seasons plus the bonus mini-series “A Year in the Life” on DVD or Blu-Ray and let the pop-culture extravaganza begin!
