Letters to the Editor
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Super sad today...
Sure, the transition to college and the Palladino departure created bumps in the road, but I still found just about every episode entertaining. And I also think that if a season eight had been in the stars, they would have found new momentum...I actually saw the episodes as improving over the course of this season.
Farewell, Lorelai and Rory and pals...You will be sorely missed by this fan. And here's hoping Lauren Graham (arguably one of the most under-beloved actresses in the biz) has many more brilliant characters in the works down the road.
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There goes another good one...
Here I am, a mid-twenties southern man and all I can do is let out one of those wistful sighs mentioned in this article. I really enjoyed this show for all the reasons mentioned above: the idyllic small town I wished I could go home to, the colorful characters, the witty no-one-talks-like-that-in-real-life banter. It just had that escapist feel to it that so many other shows, in some misguided quest for ultra-realism, just don't have. But there was another reason I enjoyed this show so much, it had a cross-gender appeal. In so many ways it reminded me of another one of my favorite shows: Northern Exposure. Quirky without being oddball, slightly romantic without being Operatic, a show about relationships without backstabbing and oversexed characters. It was content to just be a fun show to watch. Now there's time for one more of those wistful sighs while I wave goodbye to a show I would have loved to see go a while longer.
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Dolly and the Girls
Not to quibble, but Lorelei's version of "I Will Always Love You" was much move of an homage to the original Dolly Parton version of the song - much softer and more tender than the bombastic Whitney Houston version.
I'll miss Gilmore Girls too. Even on a bad day, it was still much better than most shows on TV. There was also still a lot of story left tell as the central relationship - mother and daughter - is one that is constantly evolving and endlessly interesting as time goes by.
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Gilmore Girls saved my life (sort of)
I watched the first four seasons of Gilmore Girls DVDs in between trips to Russia when I adopted my daughter. I watched most of season one on DVD the day after Bush won his second term. Such quick, smart escapism, and with so much heart! I'm going to miss the hell out of that show.
And, golly, Joy, I loved Lorelei's karaoke moment! In the hands of a lesser actress, it could have been really cheesy. But Lauren Graham brought it! For me, that was right around the time the show jumped back over the evil Christophery shark back to the light side.
Shit. I'm gonna miss those girls.
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bye Lorelai and Rory
I was sucked into this show by my 13 and 15 yo daughters, we watch it together every week. I think that is the ideal way to experience the show.
There is no question the show has floundered in the past 2-3 seasons (the whole marriage to Christopher continues to piss off my daughters). However the essential relationships of the show did manage to keep our interest going.
Last nights show, while not the greatest episode, was a fitting send off. Although Paris wasn't around, the scenes with Emily were great. The writers didn't telegraph where Emily was going with the whole spa thing, and by the time I realized her motivation, I was complete sucked in to her fear of losing Lorelai again. When Lorelai said they would discuss at Friday dinner, the look of relief/happiness on Emily's face brought sobs at my house.
I think the ending was appropriate, in front of coffee, at Luke's. We all wondered if the last lines were the ones ASP intended (as all loyal GG fans know, ASP has said she knew the last lines of the show right from the beginning).
Bye bye, Lorelai, Rory, Luke, Emily, Richard, Paris, Ling etc. etc.! You will be missed at my house.
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Oy with the poodles
I agree with much of what Press wrote. I've been disappointed with Gilmore Girls, especially this season. David Rosenthal never had a handle on the GGs (I'm still surprised that he was chosen to replace the Palladinos, given his sordid history with women). I'm a little more forgiving about Rory than Press is ... it's Lorelai's character who has become unidentifiable to me--even unlikable. Marrying Christopher really sealed her fate.
This show was easy on the eyes--a show that you could just sit back and relax and watch. But what made GG amazing for so many seasons was its subtle subversion of cultural norms. What other show makes single motherhood (children born out of wedlock, mind) so completely acceptable and easy to digest? Season seven shadowed that side of the show--Lorelai became such a wallflower, like she needed a man in her life to make her whole.
That said, I got weepy last night as soon as the opening credits rolled. There were glimmers of what this show use to be. But that made it all the more sad that it ultimately didn't fulfill the Paladinos' original vision of it.
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Not quite right
On the whole I think this reviewer got it wrong, but then I understand there's a gulf between die-hard fans of this show and people who watch it only occasionally.
Lorelai's rendition of "I Will Always Love You" was definitely meant to be in the Dolly style, as anyone who watched the episode would know since it was explicitly stated. I'm also not sure what "eating the shark" means in that context since - really - that was one of the best scenes in the damn series.
If anyone should take the blame for GGs lackluster performance since season six, it's the Palladinos; who for some bizarre reason decided to sacrifice the central relationship of the series (Lorelai/Rory who didn’t talk for half the season) and then burn the show at the stake by tossing Lorelai/Luke on the bonfire after spending the preceding years setting them up. Maybe it really was deliberate sabotage on their part. And no wonder the fans rebelled. On balance I think David Rosenthal did a plum job rescuing the charred ashes of those relationships and re-establishing their prominence.
This last episode, though, especially given the show was still hanging in the balance when it was shot, did extraordinarily well in tying up lose ends and leaving us at a natural depature point. Other than Alexis Bledel's tepid and wan performance, there's not much that was missed and - somehow - the right note was struck in spite of, or perhaps because of, the uncertainty hanging over its future. The audience was left with hints and possiblities as to the characters futures, which to my mind is a great deal better than sinking the whole town into a hole (cf:Buffy).