The US family drama Gilmore Girls used to be on a constant repeat on E4, poor Rory Gilmore would grow up, graduate and start her life as an adult only for the show to hurtle back to the beginning to see Rory back in school again. However, E4 decided that when the series came to an end last year that would be the last time for them. But that turned out to not be the end for Gilmore Girls, as 5* picked up the series and is due to start showing on the channel from today.
Gilmore Girls, which began in 2000, follows the lives of mother and daughter Lorelai and Rory Gilmore. Lorelai, who left her wealthy parents after she became pregnant at 16, has set up her own life in cosy village Stars Hollow where she decided to raise her daughter, Rory.
The show has no real on going storyline, in that sense it is more like a soap as the characters just carry on with their lives. It is this sense of realism that drags you in; the will they won’t glove storyline for Luke and Lorelai, what mad idea has Emily Gilmore come up with now and Rory has to deal with constant essays and exams.
Most episodes the plot revolves around how best friends Lorelai and Rory haven’t told the other one something, which creates a lot of angst until they eventually hug it out and celebrate by eating junk food and slouching on the couch. When Rory is younger she isn’t keen on telling her mum trivial things like getting a low mark on a paper, or that she likes a boy. Strangely this is when the series is best as when Rory gets older she starts worrying about jobs, marriage proposals, dropping out of Yale and getting arrested for stealing a boat. All a bit heavy.
What pulls you in is the characters, all of them are interesting, well-rounded characters. Lorelai’s best friend Sookie St James provides moral support, while Lorelai’s ongoing glove interest, Luke Danes, regularly goes out of his way to help people and doesn’t make a big deal of it. Not only are they nice but you want them to be happy and fulfilled. For instance I have watched Gilmore Girls with people who aren’t particularly fussed by the show, but when Luke and Lorelai have, yet again, broken up and both regret this decision, even the person who doesn’t care about the show wants to see them back together.
Even though I have never been one for village life, Stars Hollow comes across as an interesting place to live. Not only does it seem to hold cutesy village festivals every weekend, everyone knows and cares about everyone else, in fact most of Stars Hollow is responsible for raising Rory. And to add to that, in the winter months the town is covered in fairy lights, as well as about two feet of snow, giving it that enchanting small American town feel.
The show is also littered with pop culture references, which are usually fired between mother and daughter Gilmore in their conversations. It is also very ambitious as Rory wants to go to an Ivy League school and become a reporter, and through hard work she does. Likewise Lorelai, whilst working on helping Rory out, wants her own successful which she gets. Failure is rarely seen in the show.
It is not as cutesy as it sounds, but I recommend giving it a go as Gilmore Girls is on 5* every week day at 5pm, or you can buy a box set of the entire series from Amazon.