Cult Classic Gilmour Girls? - Greatest 2000s American television


Carole King re-recorded "Where You Lead, I Will Follow" with her daughter Louise Goffin for the Gilmour Girls in 2000. I watched the entire series, feeling the familiarity of her timeless ballad, you've got a friend, without knowing it was Carole King, or that she cameod as the music store owner. 

I watched the pop culture phenomenon for the first time over Christmas, aware that it had been a sensation, but never drawn to the show even until several episodes into Season 1. 

The Cast 

At first I was intrigued, because it had Melissa McCarthy, before she was in Bridesmaids. The grandmother looked familiar and I discovered she was Jennifer Grey's mum in Dirty Dancing. 

After awhile Rory Gilmore, the daughter, looked like someone I'd seen and found out Alexis Bledel was Emily in The Handmaid's Tale. 



Aside from the cast regulars, the litany of guest appearances and recurring characters featured many stars: Jon Hamn from Mad Men popped up, as did Billy Burke (Bella's Dad in the Twilight movie series), Jane Lynch from Glee, Rami Malek, Mädchen Amick from Twin Peaks, Krysten Ritter who was Jane on Breaking Bad, Seth MacFarlane and Abigail Spencer from  Suits. 

Love interests in the show included Adam Brody from The O.C., Milo Ventimiglia from Heroes, and Matt Czuchry who played Cary Agos on The Good Wife. 


A special mention also goes to Marion Ross, who played Mrs. Cunningham on Happy Days. She appeared first as Lorelai's grandmother, then as a great-aunt. 

I always giggle and think about how in one episode of Happy Days, Mrs C would not say toilet paper to Richie and called it tp. Sometimes I'm in Tesco picking up some bog rolls and the memory of it flits into my mind!

Why Watch It? 

But what was it about GG, a hit show seceral decades ago, that kept me hooked, studying and now rewatching it? It's not just the feel good factor, nor its snappy dialogue, a pace that's reminiscent of Sex and The City, Seinfeld and The West Wing. 

I realised what mattered, and fascinated me was that it placed an unwavering lense into relationships between women: 
  • Mother / daughter, 
  • Daughter / grandmother, 
  • In-laws
  • Best friends, 
  • Frenemies, and 
  • Neighbours. 
It helped me explore the relationships in my life, and consider more deeply the dynamics of those in the novel I'm writing. 

I was aware of the need for warmth within comedy and drama, and GG achieved this through sensory elements of a cosy quirky small town setting, food, music and seasons. Pop culture, films, ivy league colleges and fashion layered the appeal, whilst privilege was under the microscope to counter the frivolity. 

Romance was part of the narrative drive, but the ambitious goals of the women, of Rory working towards Harvard and Lorelai wanting to own her own inn, had me invested in their journeys. 

The addition of Rory's bestfriend, Lane, and her mother, Mrs Kim, brought in the struggle of an Asian girl growing up in a western world, a theme I'm also interested in because of my own background. 

Gilmore Girls creator Sherman-Palladino loosely modeled the character Lane Kim after her close friend Helen Pai, also a producer on the show. Pai's husband was the model for another Gilmore Girls character, Lane's love interest and Hep Alien guitarist Dave Rygalski. A fun fact is that Lane's band name of "Hep Alien" is an anagram of "Helen Pai". 

Pai's other producer credits include Grimm and The Rookie. 



To be honest, I often found the GG characters annoying, with the puns not always my cup of tea, even snarky at times. What balanced it all was the vulnerability of each person, whether it's the book loving adolescent that needs to be protected, the broken heart of someone trying to find love or Luke the cafe owner's grief from losing his father. 

The show's creator, Amy Sherman-Palladino was unflinching in thrusting viewers into a roller-coaster of emotions - from hospital scares to marital separations ans estrangement from parent. 

The message from making a mistake in your youth, and overcoming it, seeking approval, dysfunctionality, letting go of the past, desperately holding on to what you have, insecurity, fear and cracking plotting to form a well-crafted story were a magical combination.

The chemistry between all of them, was under the umbrella of the warmth and gravitas of Edward Hermann, who playes the grandfather. Hermann's other acting credits includes narrator for historical programs, The Practice and so many other tv show appearances. 

Comedy

Humour has been a technique that's fascinated me for several years now. 

One great moment in the show is when Sookie's baby is sleeping under the bed. It's very I Love Lucy in its elements, timing and lol-ness. 

Another is Lorelai busting Rory and Logan kissing at the vow renewal and says Grandma wants a picture and Rory answers, “Of this?!” 

A wonderful line is "Rory, are you in any way malnourished or in need of some international relief organization to recruit a celebrity to raise money on your account?"

Lorelai's constant attempts to be funny, using humour to deflect and to hide her insecurities resonates with the main character I'm developing in my novel. 

It's her coping mechanism from childhood, a false bravado and deepens the sadness the audiences feel for her. At times entertaining, it adds such a significant dimension to the viewing experience, enabling us to approach a difficult period with a gentler less confronting aproach. 

The quirky characters, array of mistakes, dilemmas and misundetstandings provide a rich minefield to litter with mocking and sarcasm. 

Love fills every corner of Gilmore Girls, with people taking care of people, accepting each other warts and all. Their imperfections and inconsistencies are shadowed by their courage in dealing with life in all its glorious episodes. 

After Gilmour Girls

I've not watched the Netflix 4-part series, A Year In The Life, but have gone down the rabbit hole of watching the reunion special. So cool to know that the average script for a one-hour TV show runs to 50 pages, but the average script for an episode of Gilmore Girls waa up to 80 to allow for the speedy back-and-forth dialogue. 

These deleted scenes were illuminating too. 

Another fact you might like is that the Stars Hollow set also doubles up as the town of Rosewood on Pretty Little Liars.

There'a a Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge, where people read all 339 books she was seen reading on screen. 

Other interesting websites are: 

Gilmour Girls has been described as one of the greatest television shows of all time by Time and it is regarded as a cult classic of 2000s American television, and although a single mother-daughter story may not be for everyone, but for now it is my happy place and a comfort while I try to survive London's winter gloom. 

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