Gilmore Girls - Complete 1st Season

I purchased this DVD box set for my wife for mother's day. I gave it to her and said it was for her, but secretly it was even more for me. My wife and I are huge fans of this show. We just started watching it this season (Season Four), and I was very anxious to see how it began.


The Show

The show is about a single mom of 32 years old named Lorelai Gilmore, raising a daughter who is, as the show begins, 15 going on 16 years old named Rory. Lorelai gave birth when she was herself only 16 years old, if you didn't do the math. She is from a very well-to-do family, and lived in quite an affluent house and community in Hartford Connecticut. She ran away from there when she was just 16, because she was young, rebellious and mostly could no longer endure the judgmental torment brought down on her from her parents, Emily and Richard Gilmore. The Gilmore name was something to respect and uphold with honor, and Lorelai, who was on her way to Harvard before her pregnancy, has brought multifaceted shame on her parents and the Gilmore name, by becoming pregnant at such a young age, not getting married, and skipping university all together.

She was determined to still make a life for herself and her daughter. She ran away to Stars Hollow, Connecticut. This is a fictitious town by the way, so put your Internet maps down. She started off working as a maid at an inn called Independence Inn, and has now worked her way up to running the entire inn. She is in college part time, studying business classes because she and her best friend Sookie have a dream of opening their very own inn. Sookie is the chef at Independence Inn, and they have been best friends for many years.

Lorelai has raised her daughter, Lorelai, (we call her Rory), whom is very advanced school wise with a clear shared vision of Rory and Lorelai, that Rory will attend Harvard for her education, and has so far dedicated her school life to this dream. This sounds very dramatic as I sit and read this back, but although the show does have a fine share of drama, it is also very alluring and hysterically funny as well.

The existence of Lorelai and Rory was strictly within the town of Stars Hollow and all of its residents, and with each other. Not until Rory received an exciting academic chance of attending Chilton, a private preparatory school, do the parents of Lorelai come into the cast. Chilton is the perfect stepping-stone for Rory on her way to Harvard, and Lorelai, with her tail between her legs, swallows her pride and goes to Hartford and asks her parents for the money to send her daughter to this school. This completes the weekly cast of regulars, because part of the factos in giving Rory the money for school is that Lorelai and Rory must come to Friday night dinner every week.


Why I Love This Show

Part of the allure are the actors who fill the two lead roles; Lauren Graham as Lorelai and Alexis Bledel as Rory. These two young women are quite funny and convincing in their portrayals, but their beauty is quite a facet as well. The only word that comes to my mind to articulately describe the beauty of Alexis and Lauren is Youch!

The show's humor is very set apart from other shows. The brand that is used here is almost British yet with sometimes odd but often American references. The humor is very sarcastic, very smart, and very very quick. Lorelai spoke one line that stands out for me, probably because it’s my favorite so far, of course. Surprised by a seemingly thoughtful gesture by her mother Emily, of serving chocolate pudding for Friday Night Dinner's dessert, she wondered how and what broke into her mother's brain and made a mental note of this, which is usually filled by a judgmental conga line. Well, if you're not laughing, I guess you had to be there.

Everyone has his or her own story line and purpose in the show. Rory's revolves around school and a first love with a new resident of Stars Hollow named Dean. Dean, portrayed by actor Jared Padalecki, does a perfect and convincing job of sweeping Rory off her feet. In this first season, it was a lot of on again/off again with the couple. Some men throughout the show want Lorelai, an obviously very desirable woman. In this first season, she has a relationship with two, and of course the stereotypical 'when will they ever get together' sexual tension with the diner owner, Luke Danes. Luke is another favorite character of mine; actor Scott Patterson portrays him. He is a scruffy, man's man. He is a loner and he has a secret longing desire for Lorelai. These two are also like best friends; they are constantly helping each other out and in each other's lives.

Another huge factor that draws me in every week is this amazing town called Stars Hollow. It is sort of set up as a huge retreat. Everyone knows each other and everyone's business, but mostly in a supportive way. For instance, on this DVD, the Gilmore's neighbor, Babette Dell, portrayed by Sally Struthers has a very old cat that dies suddenly. The entire town knows how she feels for the cat, and they rally around her during the wake that she has at her house. Luke and Sookie c=bring food to cater the party, Lorelai is washing dishes, and the town and Babette sit and reminisce about the cat. It sounds silly and pointless, but to watch and feel the love it becomes poignant, and a deep desire to live in a town such as this grows on the viewer.


The DVD

The set comes with six DVDs containing 21 episodes, deleted scenes (3:36), a nice featurette (almost 22 minutes long) about the show, and even one episode with the myriad of odd references explained in a 'pop-up video' sort of way (44:22).

The DVDs are in standard version (1.33:1 aspect ratio), which is full frame, not widescreen. The picture is clean and colorful, a bit clearer than the broadcast.

The audio is Dolby Digital Stereo, which sounds surprisingly good. I am always disappointed when the soundtrack is not 5.1, but this audio came out very nice. Then again, most DVDs that come out today (that I buy anyway), seem to be such a horrible 5.1 mix. 5.1 should use all of the speakers most of the time, today on DVD, they have a stereo mix with a tiny atmospheric echo at most.

O, Canada

I purchased the DVD box set from Canada because of the currency conversion, which saves me money. It seems that the Canadian release is missing the booklet that chronicles the episodes. I know that my Gilmore Girls did not come with one. I did a little digging and found this out, and there is a telephone number that you can call and complain. They will send you a booklet and then everything would be hunky dory. If you ordered one, and yours did not come with it call this number:
Jose Roldan 416-250-8385 ext. 377
Call from Monday to Friday between the hours of 9am and 5pm.
Or just e-mail Jose @ Jose.roldan@warnerbros.com and include your mailing address and they will send one out to you.
UPDATE:
It took about three weeks for Warner Brothers to send the missing booklet. Great work by WB to owning up and shipping the booklets to all missing it.



Who is the Audience?

The main reason why my wife and I waited so long to watch this show, is probably because of the title. The Gilmore Girls sounds a little too fruity to watch for a man. I'm glad I decided that it's OK, and give it a chance. The show does not do that well in the ratings, just OK for such a great show, and I propose that this is probably the reason.
Listen, there is nothing wrong with guys watching this show. Especially when you see Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel, it should be mandatory.
Kids under 13 might feel bored as many things will fly way over their heads. Plus, children under 13 are a little too young because of sexual references in this show, especially this first season.

Ratings:
The Show - - - -5/5 stars
The Video - - - 3/5 stars
The Audio - - - 4/5 stars
The Extras - - -4/5 stars


CAST
Lauren Graham ... Lorelai Gilmore
Alexis Bledel ... Rory Gilmore
Melissa McCarthy ... Sookie St. James
Keiko Agena ... Lane Kim
Scott Patterson ... Luke Danes
Yanic Truesdale ... Michel Gerard
Liza Weil ... Paris Geller
Jared Padalecki... Dean Forester (2000-2003)
Milo Ventimiglia ... Jess Mariano (2001-2003)
Sean Gunn ... Kirk Gleason (2001-)
Chris Eigeman ... Digger Stiles (2003-)
Kelly Bishop ... Emily Gilmore
Edward Herrmann ... Richard Gilmore
Chad Michael Murray ... Tristan DuGrey (2000-2001)
David Sutcliffe.....Christopher Hayden