Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Gilmore Girls (I'll leave it to the show for quirky Titles)

A good show is hard to find.  There are so many out there, but so few that are actually funny, have characters you’d want to hang out with, and hold truths about real life.  For me, Gilmore Girls is one of those shows.  Seasons 1 through 3 are my favorite; seasons 4 and 5 are good, too.  After that, the storyline falls into disrepair.  One of the reasons I was never crazy about the last seasons was the change in the character of Rory.  In the first seasons Rory is nerdy and quirky, but sweet and a good friend.  She was relatable to me even though many critics claimed that teenagers didn’t talk like Rory, nor did they have such extensive knowledge on pop culture.  I always felt like these critics didn’t understand that Rory’s breadth of knowledge was a way to represent her intelligence and add another level to the relationship between her and her mom. 
To premise the storyline: Lorelai Gilmore left home when she had her daughter Rory at 16.  Now Rory is 15 and wants to go to a fancy private school to help better her chances to get into Harvard.  The problem is, even though Lorelai has made it on her own as an inn manager, she doesn’t have the money to send Rory to this private school.  She goes back to her parents to ask for a loan.  They promise her the money, if she and Rory come to dinner every Friday night.  Then there’s the town where Lorelai and Rory live, Stars Hollow, where many characters live.  It all leads to a plethora of shenanigans. 
Rory is a breath of fresh air.  She is not overly sophisticated, nor is she naïve.  She’s not popular, but she’s not painfully awkward either.  Also, she likes school.  She also has a mom who is obviously not perfect and close enough in age to Rory that Lorelai still has the memories to help “get” her daughter.  Finally, I know it’s a cliché of this show, but it’s a fun show to watch with your own mom.  I recommend the first 5 seasons of Gilmore Girls to older tweens looking for some good, cozy, couch entertainment.   

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