The Girls are an Addiction I Need No Detox For

I know what you’re thinking; I know what question was flitting across your mind even before you clicked the link that brought you to this review: what is a big burly Black guy at the doorstep of middle age doing watching a girlie show like The Gilmore Girls? This is question my understanding wife asked me every so often when she walks in on me watching the show every Monday night at 7:00pm. Well sit down dear reader and I will attempt to explain my love for phenomenon that is the WB’s, The Gilmore Girls.

About The Show

The Gilmore Girls, which debuted on The WB in 2000, revolves around the lives of 32 year old Lorelai Gilmore, portrayed by the bubbly Lauren Graham (Nightwatch, Sweet November, Bad Santa) and her 15 year old daughter also named Lorelai (but everyone calls her Rory), portrayed by Alexis Bledel (Tuck Everlasting, Bride & Prejudice, Sin City). The mother and daughter team live in a fictional, picturesque Connecticut town called Stars Hallow.

Lorelai who birthed Rory when she was but sixteen comes from a very wealthy family; her father, Richard—portrayed by Edward Herrmann—is an insurance executive in Hartford, while her mother, Emily—portrayed by Kelly Bishop is a stay-at-home socialite. Teenage Lorelai was very rebellious—a condition no doubt brought on by a very controlling mother and largely indifferent father—and at sixteen ran away from her very comfortable home to have Rory by herself. The tension between Lorelai and her mother is a palpable, a living, breathing thing, and it surges and ebbs like the preverbal tide. Emily cannot seem to forgive Lorelai for besmirching the Gilmore name and ruining her future (she was after all headed for Yale), and Lorelai, while she wants to be close to her mother, will not abide her interference in her and Rory’s life; Lorelai if you haven’t guessed, is a free spirit; independent and very strong willed.

It is that will, that independent spirit that allowed the Gilmore girls to survive quite well on their own that you. Lorelai works as the manager at the local, quintessential New England hotel; the Independence Inn, where her best friend Sookie St.James portrayed by Melissa McCarthy (The Third Wheel, White Oleander, The Life of David Gale), who is the very quirky head cook at the Inn. Lorelai meanwhile is attending college part time, studying business in hopes of opening her own hotel one day with Sookie.

Rory, an “A” student has her sights set on Harvard University. Rory is such a good student in fact that she is highly encouraged to attend an elite private school, Chilton Academy. But Lorelai cannot pay for the school, so she goes hat in hand, tail between leg, to her parents, who adore Rory and ask for their help in paying the tuition. They agree, but only if Rory and Lorelai come to dinner ever Friday night without fail. And so the stage is set for family intrigue and some very interesting conversations and situations.

Then there is Luke Danes portrayed by relative newcomer Scott Patterson who owns the local diner and is secretly in love with Lorelai who pops in every morning for a cup of coffee. There are of course other supporting players, including Rory’s best friend Lane Kim, portrayed by Keiko Agena.

The DVD(s)

The DVD set ships with six discs containing 21 episodes, deleted scenes (3:36 worth), and a 22-minute documentary piece about the show. The DVDs are in standard (full frame) version (1.33:1 aspect ratio), while the audio is Dolby Digital Stereo.

My Thoughts About The Gilmore Girls

I started watching The Gilmore Girls from the very first season (so I bought the DVD set). Machismo begs me to blame my habitual viewing of this show on something other then my desire just to watch. No, my girls do not watch it, and my wife does not like it, I am the one with the addiction to The Gilmore Girls.

I happen to believe the show is sharply written, and acted. The witting and rapid-fire dialog exchanges between Lorelai and Rory; Rory and Lane; Lorelai and Sookie; is engrossing and well performed. Lauren Graham was born to play Lorelai; she brings a certain freshness and life to the role few other actresses could engender. Ditto for Alexis Bledel as Rory, though I have to admit that at times her voice grates on my sensibilities; it has a whiny quality that irritates after a while.

Be that as it may, it is a treat to watch and listen to the interchange between the characters of The Gilmore Girls. There is of course drama, but that is tempered with a lighthearted spirit that is hard to ignore; it catching. The drama is never allowed to get too intense, nor the silliness to get too out of hand; there is a delicate balance struck, that makes The Gilmore Girls a treat to watch. Lorelai is adorable; you can’t help but root for her in her battle against her mother, and her battle to give to Rory the love and support she herself did not have growing up. And it is interesting to see her walk the fine line between being her daughter’s friend and her mother. It is in the end, the story of all of us, and I suppose that is what most attracts me to the show.

In the end how could I not recommend this fine DVD set? Try it and try to stop The Gilmore Girls from becoming an addition for you as well.