ext_107666 ([identity profile] auroryborealis.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] fandomhigh_ooc2007-04-08 03:27 am

Spotlight on Fandoms: Gilmore Girls

So, once upon a time there, a wonderful lady named Amy Sherman-Palladino joined forces with her husband, Daniel Palladino (who you might know as a writer on Family Guy) and Warner Brothers to create a little family-oriented show about a mom and her daughter in a small New England town.

That show is what's now known as Gilmore Girls, the critically acclaimed "dramedy" on what's now the CW (Tuesdays at 8 PM!). It's been applauded for its witticism and mocked for the exaggeratedly quick pace, and it's got a hell of a fan following. In spite of Season 5. But I'll contain my rage omg.

So I heard this is a chick show.

Well, it's a show about women for the most part, yes. And yeah, I think a girl might have an easier time relating to, say, Lorelai's need to douse everything in glitter and feathers. But the show has an excellent male cast as well, and the fact that the lead characters are female isn't really the central focus of the show.

It's so character-driven that the plot is actually very simple. Lorelai Gilmore got herself knocked up at fifteen, gave birth at sixteen, and ran away from home after three months a year HANDWAVEY TIME because sources are unclear of living with her scary-ass parents. She got a job at the Independence Inn in Stars Hollow, CT (about thirty minutes outside Hartford, where the elder Gilmores live) as a maid.

The show begins with Lorelai now at thirty-two and her daughter, Rory, about to turn sixteen. Rory is crazy-super smart and has been accepted into the prestigious Chilton Academy, a prep school that will help her to achieve her goal of getting into Harvard. Unfortunately, Lor and Ror are about fifty kinds of poor even though Lorelai is now the manager of the Independence Inn, and so the only answer is to turn to the estranged and insanely wealthy Gilmores for financial help.

They'll help Rory through school because they heart her, but the price is that Lorelai and Rory have to come to dinner at their house every Friday night.

This tradition? Still going on in canon, and they're in season seven now.

Along the way there are many, many subplots, but that's the basic frame of the show. It's all about the relations between the dysfunctional Gilmores, especially the three women.

So...about these chicks. Are they hot?

Hell yes. GG has one of the prettiest casts this side of Supernatural. And it's not just the ladies. Here, let's take a fun tour through the characters!

MAIN CHARACTERS

Lorelai Victoria Gilmore (Lauren Graham) - Lorelai is your typical woman in her mid-thirties. She's a single mom whose daughter is her best friend, she has a coffee addiction that rivals the withdrawals that heroin addicts see, she has an obsession with glitter and anything shiny and she can roll pop culture references off the tongue faster than you can say 'Molly Ringwald.'

Yep, totally typical.

Lorelai's smart, she's funny, and she talks way too fast. She has her flaws, too - she's notorious for her avoidance techniques, whether the subject is her mom or her impending marriage, and she'll often sabotage her own happiness out of frustration. She's flawed and she's wonderful and when I grow up I want to be just like her. Except I'd probably make out with the hot be-flannelled man a lot earlier.

Lorelai Leigh "Rory" Gilmore (Alexis Bledel) - So on that fateful night in October of '84, Lorelai was on alllllll kinds of good drugs, and so decided to name her daughter after herself. It helps that "Lorelai" is a family name, too. How they got "Rory" out of it, I don't really know. Rory's like a slightly subdued version of her mother. She's much less raunchy, slightly more stable, and about eighteen times more shy. Her defining characteristic is her intelligence, which drives everything she does. Throughout the first few seasons, there were barely any episodes that did not feature Rory reading or discussing a book.

As she got to college, Rory opened up more and became slightly more social and even rebellious. A lot of this can be blamed on Logan Huntzberger and my girl discovering that Hormones Are Neat, but I won't spoil. Suffice it to say that there's a reason why Season 5 will send any good Gilmore fan straight into a frothy rage of WTF. And we like to pretend Season 6 didn't exist, mostly.

Emily Gilmore (Kelly Bishop) - The reigning matriarch of the Gilmore family, Emily is the reason that Lorelai dislikes those Friday night dinners. Emily's a good old-fashioned blue-blooded WASP, and wanted every possibility of that world to be available for her daughter. Unfortunately, that didn't work out so much, what with the whole pregnant thing. Emily is usually at least somewhat supportive - she still wants the best for Lorelai, however skewed her perception might be - in her own way, but Lorelai's refusal to fit into her cookie cutter world combined with a pair of very snarky and scary tempers makes for an extremely volatile and tenuous relationship.

Richard Gilmore (Edward Herrmann) - Lorelai's father and Emily's husband, Richard is a bit softer around the edges than his wife. He' every bit the staunch, quiet man with the stiff upper lip, but he's got a wicked sense of humor when he wants to show it. He's very close with Rory and for the most part, Lorelai gets along much better with him than her mother.

Luke Danes (Scott Patterson) - Okay, FINE, the man has lost some hair in the later seasons, but this picture of him is pretty cute, yes? Luke Danes owns the diner in Stars Hollow (creatively named "Luke's"), where Rory and Lorelai have frequented since well before the start of the show. He's a curmudgeon before his time, and never without his backwards baseball cap and flannel shirt. In the pilot, he's introduced as one of Lorelai's best friends, and as the series progresses, he proves to be a sort of surrogate father to Rory as well.

Paris Geller (Liza Weil) - Paris meets Rory at Chilton, and they're instant rivals due to Paris having an insecure streak the size of Wisconsin, and Rory not being half bad at this whole academia thing. They form an uneasy friendship by season 2, and end up as roommates in college. Paris is snarky, harsh, and largely unforgiving, but she's got a very soft side that she rarely lets anyone see. She's almost entirely autonomous - her parents are a power couple and she was raised by her Portuguese nanny - and I suppose the best way to describe her is to imagine a very focused, very driven, very intelligent chihuahua on speed who will bite you if you cross her but will need a cuddle if she stubs her wee paw.

Lane Kim (Keiko Agena) - Lane is Rory's BFF, omg. She comes from a very, very conservative background (her mother is Seventh Day Adventist and forbade things like french fries and television and boys who are not Korean) but has always had a passion for music. Lane plays the drums, and when she graduated high school, she moved out of her mother's house-slash-antique store and moved in with, yep, you guessed it - her band.

SLIGHTLY LESS MAJOR BUT STILL AWESOME EXCEPT LOGAN CHARACTERS

Sookie St. James (Melissa McCarthy) - Lorelai's BFF, omg. She's the chef at the inn where Lorelai works, and she is cheery and the eternal optimist and she does adorable things like worry about Lorelai getting into scrapes. (And by "getting into scrapes" I mean things like "canceling her wedding at the last second for no good reason.") She has a bit of a temper, though, and she's sort of like that girl who hangs out with the rebel and thinks that everything that might get them in trouble is SO COOL and SO SNEAKY and OMG THEY MIGHT GET CAUGHT OMG.

Logan Huntzberger (Matt Czuchry) - BOO AND HISS OMG. Okay, I will try to be objective. So, Logan is Rory's boyfriend in current canon. They've been together since Season 5 (REMEMBER WHAT I SAID ABOUT S5?). Logan is charming, he's suave, he's a tamed ladies' man. He's reckless and quite immature, and oh, by the way, his parents are cah-raaaaazy rich. His daddy's a newspaper magnate who scored Rory a killer internship and then blah blah IhateS5andwon'tspoilyoucakes. Logan does admittedly grow up over time, but for the most part he's spent the series as the oft-intoxicated spoiled rich kid, though, for what it's worth, he does hate his family. Just evidently not their funds.

Jess Mariano (Milo Ventimiglia) - Yes, before he had to save the cheerleader, Milo was on GG. (He also dated Alexis Bledel until they had a very ugly breakup last year.) Jess is Luke's nephew, sent to Stars Hollow to Grow Up and Fly Right or something under his uncle's watch. He...didn't, for the most part, though he did make a few cameos later on as a more adult Jess. Mostly he kind of just screwed around with Rory's head. He had a thing for her while she was dating someone else, they broke up, he pressured her for things she wasn't ready for and then ran off to California - you know how it goes. Despite the large split among fans about whether Jess is awesome or crappy, he's definitely one of the most dynamic and interesting characters on the show to date. Sadly, Milo has said the only way he'd ever return to GG is if they killed off Jess. OR if Nathan went on the campaign trail through Stars Hollow! Crossover, anyone?

Dean Forrester (Jared Padalecki) - Yes, before he was trekking all over the country in an Impa...does that joke only work once? Damn. Anyway, yes, Dean was Rory's first boyfriend, and was basically That Guy Who's Too Nice. He's sweet and thoughtful and an all-around nice boy, which is why things didn't work out with them. Rory/Dean was sweet while it lasted, though. He did come back in late Season 4 and through Season 5, though. But then you already know that it probably wasn't a good return. I mean, Season 5. Sigh.

Christopher Hayden (David Sutcliffe) - It's Rory's daddy! Yay! Lookit him go before he disappears! Christopher was all for buying into what their parents wanted and marrying Lorelai at sixteen. She, obviously, rebelled. He's spottily appeared in Rory's life ever since, though he does play a very significant role in the later seasons. He's unreliable, though sweet and well-meaning, and has a tendency to never follow through on anything.

Kirk Gleason (Sean Gunn) - Kirk is weird. He's Stars Hollow's resident weirdo and that's kind of saying something. He holds a new job every week, lives with his mother, and does things like befriend old ladies for their estates. I just had to include him because I love him so, so much. Here, have a shiny video.

OTHER NOTABLE PEOPLE WHO I LOVE BUT I AM RUNNING OUT OF ROOM HERE

Taylor Doose (the town's resident busybody), Miss Patty (the retired performer who has all kinds of dirty stories), Jackson Belleville (Sookie's husband and vegetable expert), Michel Girard (French snob and concierge extraordinaire), Mrs. Kim (Lane's AWESOME mom), Babette (Lorelai's chatty next-door neighbor), and Paul Anka (Lorelai's neurotic dog).

Go wiki these people. Check out youtube. Seriously.


omg I have questions

Don't we all. So here is a handy Q&A!

Okay, so...I'm a guy. Is it okay for me to watch this show?
I know lots of guys who watch this show. Three of them are even - gasp - players of this game. So yes, it's okay. It won't hurt you, and the estrogen rays are non-toxic, I swear.

Rory referenced a thingy and I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS AND WHY ARE THEY TALKING SO FAST OMG HOLD ME.
It's okay. Wikipedia and the DVD distributors still love you - they included a little book of "Gilmoreisms" in each of the sets.

What's Luke's problem?
He has a lot of reasons for kind of being mean sometimes. Just watch the show. He's a very sweet man.

Why do you hate Season 5?
I, personally, feel like they took the Lorelais and flipped their characterizations and then grabbed some of their remaining defining characteristics and bashed them in with a sledgehammer. I blame Logan Huntzberger for a LOT of where Rory went wrong. Like...all of it. To be fair, I don't really like Seasons 6 or 7 much better, though 5 is definitely where things went to hell. Watch the show, you'll understand.

How old is X?
Lorelai is always sixteen years older than Rory, who started the show at fifteen and is now twenty-two. Luke is a few years older than Lorelai - fanon speculation puts him in his late thirties/early forties as the series progresses. Logan is one year older than Rory. Paris, Lane, Jess and Dean are all her age. Beyond that, we don't have canon ages.

Do I need to watch the season in order?
Not necessarily. It's not as though you'll be hugely lost, but like with anything, it's probably best to start at the beginning.

Where can I find the DVDs?
The complete first season is on Amazon for $39.99. I also recently saw it at Target for a bit less, and I know it's available on Netflix.

Why did Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino leave the show in 2006?
Here's the statement they issued: "Despite our best efforts to return and ensure the future of Gilmore Girls for years to come, we were unable to reach an agreement with the studio and are therefore leaving when our contracts expire at the end of this season. Our heartfelt thanks go out to our amazing cast, hard-working crew and loyal fans. We know that the story lines from this season will continue into the next, and that the integrity of the show will remain long after we leave Stars Hollow."

I miss them. :(

[identity profile] imac-kenzie.livejournal.com 2007-04-08 02:02 pm (UTC)(link)
We like to pretend Season 6 didn't exist, mostly.

Pretend? Who's pretending. It never happened! *denialdenaildenial*

[identity profile] imac-kenzie.livejournal.com 2007-04-08 06:42 pm (UTC)(link)
She did look gorgeous, even though her characterisation killed me and... okay, I did actually watch the early part of S6. Then the plot-device-that-shall-not-be-named-omg made an appearance, and made me even more likely to fling things at the TV.

Certain bits of GG have definitely been blocked from my memory. Yup. I have been seeing it through fanfic and my denial-fueled imagination for a whiiile.

[identity profile] tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com 2007-04-08 03:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Lalalalala no season 5 or 6 la...

*lives in happy Logan-free land, yay!*
sith_happened: (Anakin: hood up 2)

[personal profile] sith_happened 2007-04-08 07:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Ooooh. Mallomars.

*snags*

And I certainly don't wish that some blond guy in a robe would show up and smack around Blond and Annoying. Nope.

Because I know that all television is not a crossover.

*shifty eyes*

Really.

[identity profile] water-wonder.livejournal.com 2007-04-08 03:14 pm (UTC)(link)
I think I stopped watching during season 5.

*pouts*

Totally didn't happen, those seasons. Nope, nope, nope!

[identity profile] bugofjustice.livejournal.com 2007-04-08 04:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Personally, I don't miss the Palladinos too much. They were, after all, responsible for Seasons 5 and 6. Not that Season 7 is that much better, but I consistantly like Rory again and there are times where I don't want to hit Logan with a rock. I have trouble believing that the Palladinos would have given me those two things.

Amazingly, I got back into the show in Season 6.

[identity profile] bugofjustice.livejournal.com 2007-04-08 11:56 pm (UTC)(link)
I didn't forget that last point, I merely neglected to mention it as it hurts my argument that the show is largely improved.

[identity profile] untouchableskin.livejournal.com 2007-04-08 04:16 pm (UTC)(link)
The very beginning of S5 was okay. Then about mid-way through, it all started to go to hell. And by the last few episodes, GAH.

Season 6 had a few good moments, but... yeah... la la la denial land.

I have stopped watching because Season 7 was making me violent.

Also - Target will occasionally put all the older seasons on sale for $19.99 each.

Oh - and there are at least three of the male players in the game who watch the show :) (which, by my count, might be half.)

[identity profile] untouchableskin.livejournal.com 2007-04-08 06:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Point - I did hate that as well.

But the Lor stuff was so squeeful, I could *almost* overlook the Rory stuff. But the end of S5 Rory stuff (and the mid S5 Lor stuff) was sucky as hell.
can_be_more: (couldn't fix the background!aeryn)

[personal profile] can_be_more 2007-04-08 08:12 pm (UTC)(link)
*goes to watch s1 or 2 or 3*

Hmmmm, I seem to only have the good stuff...

[personal profile] smartestone 2007-04-08 08:26 pm (UTC)(link)
But... Jess bad.
smartestone: (b&w frown)

[personal profile] smartestone 2007-04-08 09:04 pm (UTC)(link)
Nogan Lunchnerber? I don't remember seeing him mentioned in this post...

[identity profile] neurotic-witch.livejournal.com 2007-04-08 11:10 pm (UTC)(link)
I liked Jess. Even though he was kind of a jerk, he was at least Rory's intellectual equal.

And he rocked in his later season cameos, IMO.
bigdamnprincipal: (i am ooc liek whoa)

[personal profile] bigdamnprincipal 2007-04-08 11:36 pm (UTC)(link)
I don't care if he was too nice. Dean was the best boyfriend ever!

*might be slightly biased*

[identity profile] bugofjustice.livejournal.com 2007-04-08 11:59 pm (UTC)(link)
*agrees!*

[identity profile] repeterpetrelli.livejournal.com 2007-04-09 12:25 am (UTC)(link)
*uses this account just 'cause*

8)