Descent Out Of Charm: Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life Peaks Early!

The Good: First two episodes, Most of the acting
The Bad: Second pair of episodes, Character and plot direction
The Basics: Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life starts with an intriguing reuinion of beloved characters who are all experiencing some sense of loss . . . before the show treads in the most familiar and unpleasant directions that Gilmore Girls went in.


When Netflix started producing Netflix Original Television programs, it was interesting to watch how quickly they moved from producing new content from previously-cancelled shows - like Arrested Development - to creating original content, like House Of Cards and Hemlock Grove. What seemed intriguing was how long it took the "network" to go back to buying up shuttered projects to revive them with new seasons. The latest revival is Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life, a four-episode season that returns the viewer to the world of Gilmore Girls (reviewed here!). Picking up ten years after Gilmore Girls is an interesting concept, though it is hard to see the inherent need (the final season of Gilmore Girls did a very good job of closing the book on the portion of Lorelai and Rory's lives that the show chronicled) and requires a lot of faith that the writers would do a condensed season justice.

The concept of Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life is a solid one: there are four ninety-minute episodes, each one presenting a season of a year in the life of the three main Gilmore women - Rory, Lorelai and Emily. Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life is a tough execution of the concept and it is strange that executive producers and writers Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino skew toward where Gilmore Girls went before instead of treading into something truly new. After an initial high level of charm as Rory and Lorelai come back into each other's lives in more meaningful ways, there is torsion in their relationship and both protagonists find themselves aimless. But fans of Gilmore Girls have seen that before; when Rory had an affair with Dean while he was married and lost Lorelai's respect . . . and Rory ran away to Richard and Emily's.

It wasn't until the end of "Summer" that I came to recognize that I had some expectations for Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life and that those expectations were not being met. Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life could have been the story of an adult child floundering in a world beyond her control and her turning to her floundering mother and the two lifting each other out of their depressions and fears. But long before "Summer" ends, it is painfully clear that Rory has become unlikable in addition to aimless (her disdain for the Thirtysomething Crowd seems arrogant and her cheating on Paul with Logan creates a forced level of moral ambiguity that feels entirely cheap) and Lorelai has become so painfully emotionally distant that when the musical number in "Summer" comes up, it shines a light on just how broken Lorelai has been.

But the real wrench in Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life is how the characters - who have been characterized by communications - are simply not communicating. Fans of Gilmore Girls who might be thrilled to seek Lorelai and Luke living together soon realize that there is no passion in their relationship; fans of the mother/daughter story of Lorelai and Rory quickly see that the two aren't actually having conversations (which is a real bummer because Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life opens with a classic patter between the two). So, instead of growth and development, Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life quickly forces conflict between Lorelai and Emily and Lorelai and Rory.

Opening in winter when Rory returns to Stars Hollow after leaving her apartment in New York, after getting a piece published in The New Yorker, Rory and Lorelai are reunited. Rory is trying to remember to break up with her utterly forgettable boyfriend, Paul, while jetting around trying to sell her next piece and crashing at various friends' homes. Lorelai is struggling with trying to find a new chef for the Dragonfly Inn and with her estrangement from her mother, following an incident at her father's funeral. Rory's return forces Lorelai and Emily back together and an offhanded remark from Emily causes Lorelai to explore having children with Luke. After a somewhat disastrous visit to Paris Geller's surrogacy business (while Rory is off in London meeting with Naomi, the subject of the book she wants to write, and hooking up with Logan), Lorelai and Luke reach the conclusion that they will not be having a child together.

In Spring, Lorelai goes to therapy with Emily, which is completely unpleasant for both of them. While Rory tries to get good material out of Naomi in London, Stars Hollow struggles with b-list actors who are working on a film in Woodbury occupying the Dragonfly Inn. When Conde Nast continues to put off their meeting with Rory, she turns to Logan Huntsberger's father for help. Emily has a private meeting with Luke where she reveals that Richard left money for Luke to franchise his diner . . . and then she takes him out to look at properties. Rory's life comes unhinged after an alumni event at Chilton when her writing options are winnowed away and she tries to write an article for GQ, but ends up having her first ever one night stand with a cosplay Wookie!

Rory moves back to Stars Hollow (despite her protestations) in summer. April visits Lorelai and Luke's and soon after, Jesse visits the town. To try to bring revenue to Stars Hollow, Taylor commissions a play: Stars Hollow: The Musical and Lorelai soon cuts out of the therapy she had continued after her mother bailed when her therapist auditions for a role. Emily becomes listless and obsessed with getting Richard's headstone right, after Rory encourages her to go back into the world. Stars Hollow's secret bar becomes the setting by which Michel tenders his resignation to Lorelai and when Rory pitches writing a book about their lives together, Lorelai rejects the idea soundly and decides to go on a walkabout.

Fall finds Lorelai going on a Wild-style walkabout in the Pacific Crest Trail. Jess returns to Stars Hollow to help his mother and T.J. and Luke. While Lorelai struggles with her walkabout, Rory is reunited with the Life And Death Brigade for a wild night. After Logan offers her a place to write, she rejects the offer and returns to her job renewed. When she cannot find her permit, Lorelai goes for a very short walk and it leads her to call her mother to tell her the story of her best memory of her father. When Lorelai returns home, Luke stands up for himself and their relationship. And Lorelai finally makes a leap with Luke that shows him how she feels.

As one might expect, the return of the beloved characters from Gilmore Girls are a key aspect of Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life. For those who are unfamiliar with them, the key characters in Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life are:

Lorelai Gilmore - Rory's mother and the owner of the Dragonfly Inn, she is struggling to make her relationship with Luke Danes work when she comes to realize that years prior he hinted he might want a child with her. She drinks a lot of coffee and is psyched to have Rory in her life more frequently again, even as she searches for a replacement chef for Sooki. She attends therapy with Emily, but when her mother abandons her grief counseling, she continues on her own. She tries to guide Rory, but is unsettled when Rory returns home. Goaded by Emily, she starts to see the dysfunction in her relationship with Luke and she decides to go to nature rather than actually deal with Luke and Rory.

Rory Gilmore - Having written a piece for The New Yorker that makes everyone in Stars Hollow proud, she is struggling to find her next piece that will sell. While finding that she is in a two year relationship with Paul, she meets with the eccentric Naomi Shropshire in London and pitches a book deal with her. She has boxes of her possessions shipped all over so she can crash with anyone of her friends and family. She finds Naomi is too drunk to be coherent and when the website that has been wooing her changes their mind after interviewing her, she moves back in with Lorelai! She takes over the Stars Hollow Gazette when the old managing editor abruptly retires. After taking a few stabs at doing things her way, she returns the newspaper to its traditional narrative. She is encouraged by Jess to write a book about her life with her mother and when her mother rejects the idea, she turns to Logan for support . . . only to discover that his arranged relationship plans with a French society woman are finally being executed.

Sookie - Having gone on sabbatical from the Dragonfly Inn, her absence forces Lorelai to try to hire someone new to cook. She pops up, though, to help Lorelai at a key moment in her friend's life.

Lane Kim - She is still married, with her two children and she is still in her band. She has not seen Rory for quite some time before Rory returns to Stars Hollow and has some boxes shipped to her place. At the Spring food event in Stars Hollow, she runs the Korean food table. She starts supporting Rory when Rory returns to town full-time, including trying to help her kick her Logan habit. She and Zack play music at the Silent Bar in Stars Hollow.

Paris - Now the owner and manager of Dynasty Makers surrogacy service, she is estranged from Doyle. She is as aggressive as ever, but is highly successful (namedropping to Lorelai and Luke that her service was recently used by Neil Patrick Harris!). She turns to Rory for help when they go back to Chilton for an alumni event (she terrifies the students she speaks to!) and she is psyched when Rory is willing to look after her kids occasionally.

Kirk - Still flitting from project to project, he starts as the owner of Ooo-ber, a car service, before he starts a grog cart business. He helps Taylor run the Spring International food celebration in Stars Hollow. He releases his second film, finally, and he is shocked (as a pig owner) to realize that his love of BLTs makes him a purveyor of pig genocide.

Michel - Married for five years to Frederick, he still works for Lorelai at the Dragonfly Inn. He is anxious about Frederick suddenly wanting children and about Lorelai firing every great chef who comes to work at the Dragonfly Inn. He becomes restless when the b-list actors stay at the Dragonfly, which makes Lorelai convinced he will abandon her, just as Sooki did. After visiting New York City and one of the prestigious hotels there, he tenders his resignation as he knows Lorelai cannot afford to pay him what he is worth. He starts to act kindly toward children visiting the Dragonfly Inn to prepare for possibly having a kid of his own.

Emily Gilmore - Lorelai's mother, widowed by Richard four months ago, she has been estranged from Lorelai because of things Lorelai said at Richard's funeral. She mistakenly gets a portrait of her dead husband made in a massive size and tries to declutter her mansion because things there do not bring her joy. She takes Lorelai's advice and gets into therapy. After a few unproductive sessions with Lorelai in therapy, she turns her attention to franchising Luke's diner . . . even though he has no desire to franchise. She retreats from the world, but is encouraged by Rory to re-engage. Getting active in the D.A.R. and at the club again brings her a renewed sense of vitality. She begins to see one of Richard's old friends socially. She stands up to the artifice of her old life rather abruptly.

and Luke Danes - Living with Lorelai and giving out false wi-fi passwords at his diner to patrons there, he is now ambivalent to the idea of having a child with Lorelai. He is still annoyed by Taylor (who is obsessed with a Stars Hollow sewer project) and put off by Rory's unmemorable boyfriend, Paul. He lives with Lorelai and is shocked when Emily tries to execute Richard's wish to have his diner franchised. He has been going along with Lorelai's arrangement for the two of them and he is shocked when Lorelai decides to go on a walkabout.

Fans of Gilmore Girls are likely to love the cameos, both integral (Sebastian Bach!) and obscure - the appearance of Jason at Richard's funeral is an excellent touch that makes perfect sense for the continuity, even if he was a largely forgettable relationship in Lorelai's parade of men. The Town Troubadour is back and characters like April, Doyle, and even Francie make brief appearances. There are some fun cameos for those who love the actors on Gilmore Girls - like Mae Whitman, Lauren Graham's on-screen daughter on Parenthood, who shows up just long enough to be recognized. And when Jason Ritter and Peter Krause show up, it is hard not to smirk.

Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life misses the opportunity to tell a fresh story, though, as the characters move toward a predictable sense of conflict. Gilmore Girls was often at its best when it was the Gilmore women against the world - woman vs. society stories. In fact, the essential conflict that opened Gilmore Girls was one woman struggling against a sense of poverty that pushed her to fight for something better for her daughter. Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life has everyone unhappy and there is nothing entertaining about that. Lorelai has been in a relationship with Luke for nine years . . . but they don't talk, they don't connect, they just live together. Rory is cheating on one man with a man who is engaged to be married . . . there's nothing interesting or compelling about her lack of integrity or character in not cutting Paul loose and maintaining an emotional dependence upon Logan. And Emily's journey through her grief in Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life is woefully underplayed (in favor of a strange series of jokes involving her new housekeeper who does not speak a recognizable language) and is not used to truly advance the character or the relationship Emily has with her daughter or grand daughter.

On the acting front, Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life provides some wonderful actors with familiar parts to play and more than giving viewers something new to thrill to, it simply reminds the viewers what they loved about the performers before. Lauren Graham has a good cry in "Summer" that allows her to illustrate emotional range without any lines and when Scott Patterson's Luke finally stands up for himself, it is a welcome thing. But Alexis Bledel is overshadowed by Liza Weil in every scene they share and Bledel playing Rory as listless quickly wears thin. Bledel never acts loving in Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life and given that the core relationship of Gilmore Girls is the bond shared by a mother and daughter, Bledel and Graham lacking chemistry is somewhat devastating in Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life.

The fact that one of the biggest emotional scenes of Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life allows Milo Ventimiglia and Scott Patterson to illustrate a depth and development of their characters' relationship says something. Jess and Luke grew into a relationship where they can be emotionally honest with one another, while Lorelai simply goes where Wild (book and movie) went before. Kelly Bishop is consistent as Emily, though she is unfortunately underused for her range and abilities.

Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life is not bad, but it belabors the references to Gilmore Girls - the return of the Life And Death Brigade is particularly droll and seems like time that could have been better spent doing something with Rory and Lane to actually develop their adult relationship - while highlighting a number of the worst character aspects of the beloved characters and neglecting the aspects that made Gilmore Girls fresh. The dialogue in Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life is nowhere near as fast, the references are far more sparse and the relationships are more strained than they are emotionally deep or connected. Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life is not bad, but it peaks early and becomes dramatically less charming as it progresses.

For other Netflix exclusive television shows, please check out my reviews of:
Luke Cage - Season 1
House Of Cards - Season 3
Orange Is The New Black - Season 4
Daredevil - Season 2
Jessica Jones - Season 1
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt - Season 2
Grace And Frankie - Season 2
Sense8 - Season 1
Arrested Development - Season 4
Stranger Things - Season 1

5/10

For other television series and episode reviews, please visit my Television And Movie Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Gilmore Girls Robbed Of Its Status By A Moment On DVD With "The Complete Season Six!"

The Good: Excellent acting, good character development, Engaging plots
The Bad: Light on DVD extras, Pacing issues near the end.
The Basics: In its sixth season, Gilmore Girls adds more conflict to the mix, making for a more realistic presentation of two women in transition


For those who might not follow my reviews, I have a fairly wide array of tastes when it comes to television shows on DVD that I watch and enjoy. So, for example, I am a fairly devout Trekker, love The West Wing, discovered Veronica Mars on DVD and have been known to make time for NYPD Blue. Knowing my diverse tastes, it might not be a surprise that I have a love for Gilmore Girls and have been reviewing each of the seasons on DVD. Having finally reached the penultimate season of Gilmore Girls, it's quite possible that my standards have been raised to the point that it might seem like I am being petty in knocking Gilmore Girls - Season Six down because of a moment. The truth is, though, "Season Six" has a lot going for it, but it is not a perfect season.

For those unfamiliar with Gilmore Girls, the show has been building for years to get where it begins at the start of "Season Six." It is very difficult to jump into the series at this point and as a result, it is very difficult to start with this boxed set. Understanding the complexities of the relationships coming in this late in the series is almost impossible, especially given that the first episode begins the moment the last season ended, with a question from Lorelai. It is worth noting that there is no way to discuss season six intelligently without revealing moments from the climax of season five. As a result, anyone who wants to watch the series and be surprised ought to read my reviews for seasons one through five, purchase Gilmore Girls - The Complete Series (reviewed here!) and take on faith that seasons six and seven are as good. That said . . .

Starting where Season Five left off, Lorelai and Rory Gilmore are estranged based on Rory leaving Yale and moving in with her grandparents and Lorelai finding her only real ally in Luke. Her abrupt proposal is met by only momentary surprise before Luke regroups and says "yes." Luke and Lorelai move in together, Lorelai gets a dog - Paul Anka - and Luke and Lorelai renovate her house as opposed to moving into the old Twickam house (as Luke had planned). Meanwhile, Rory drifts for months on her own, joining the D.A.R. with her grandmother and losing her interest in pursuing her dream jobs in journalism.

After months of estrangement, including awkward times when Rory and Lorelai are forced together as a result of Sookie's children's baptism (the Gilmores end up as godparents), Richard and Emily come to realize that Rory's drifting might not be short-term and they begin to push the young lady toward returning to Yale. Rory and Logan continue their relationship, though Rory finds herself living with Paris for a spell. And as Lane and Zach get married, Lorelai's long-delayed wedding plans come to a head.

Gilmore Girls The Complete Sixth Season might well be a season that worked better in its initial airing than it does on DVD. On DVD, fans and viewers will want to watch episodes back to back as the season is highly serialized and the choices characters make early in the season resonate throughout. No choice is probably more surprising than the appearance of April, a teenager who walks into Luke's Diner for some DNA for a school science project, a project that reveals that Luke is the girl's biological father. That Luke's knowledge of this leads him to keep it from Lorelai changes much of the way the two interact and alters the direction of the season.

Far less problematic is the completely plot-convenient character twist that comes in the form of Chris, who reappears near the end of the sixth season penitent over his behavior in the fifth, to reveal that his rich grandfather has died. This comes at a completely plot-appropriate time in the season when Rory is looking to emancipate herself from the grandparents (who sit her down with a minister to talk about sex and move her into the house in order to keep her from having sex with Logan) and changes everything in so much as it allows for certain very predictable plot elements to unfold. Lorelai suddenly has options and the reappearance of Chris seems much more plot-motivated than character motivated.

What saps serious points from this boxed set, though, is how watching the episodes back-to-back guts the emotional resonance of some of the season's biggest emotional moments. The prime example of this comes near the end of the season, when Rory learns that Logan has had sex with an entire wedding party - while they were broken up - she freaks out, moves out of his apartment and in with Paris. The episode ends with the wonderful emotional resonance of Rory calling Lorelai to tell her. Sadly, the next episode picks up minutes later with Logan arriving at Paris's and by the end of the conversation, Rory is headed back to Logan's apartment. The problem here is that the strength of the finale of the prior episode is gutted in moments when the next episode begins. How Rory so quickly comes to that while she was so angry before makes little sense. It seems uncharacteristic and on DVD the problem is accented when one presumes the episodes originally aired a week apart and viewers at least had a chance to reconcile the emotions of the character changes.

On DVD, eager viewers get no such catharsis and the result is that the season is taken down a peg because realism is sacrificed for expediency.

None of this, of course, makes any difference to those who do not know who the essential characters are on Gilmore Girls and who they are in the sixth season. In this season, the principles include:

Lorelai Gilmore - Engaged to Luke, she begins to feel estranged from Rory and all that is familiar to her while Luke goes to help his injured sister. When she refuses to nail down a wedding date and then Luke wants to delay, she begins to get more and more anxious about the relationship. When she and Rory manage to reconcile, she finds dealing with Rory as an adult a bit more complicated than she remembered,

Rory Gilmore - She begins to take life a day at a time and in the process, she soon finds satisfaction in arranging events for the Daughters Of The American Revolution. Still hurt by the elder Huntzberger's rejection of her career path, she begins to emulate her grandmother and she spends months without purpose,

Luke Danes - Eager to marry Lorelai, he is temporarily stymied by the latest problems of Liz and T.J. He becomes eager to marry Lorelai and soon realizes that moving in and renovating her house is the only way the relationship will work, so he goes with it. Soon, though, he discovers he fathered a girl who is now interested in having him in his life and he makes the rather serious error of keeping that information from Lorelai as opposed to disclosing it,

Sookie - Gladly no longer pregnant, she and Jackson raise the kids and keep an eye on Lorelai while Rory is AWOL. Her cooking creations continue to help the Dragonfly Inn be successful,

Logan - As his graduation nears, Logan begins to stress his future as he attempts to rebel against his father and the plans his father has for him. He bears with Rory as she struggles with finding her own identity and his time in the Life Or Death Brigade comes to a rather abrupt end,

Paris - She and Doyle move in together off campus and she begins to treat Lorelai as a surrogate mother. When her trust fund gets axed, she finds herself working for Rory at the D.A.R. briefly,

Kirk - Continues dating Lulu, continues working virtually everywhere in Stars Hollow and becomes a punchline whenever needed,

Lane - As Hep Alien falls apart because of Zach, she and Zach get closer as a couple. Soon, they are engaged and as the wedding approaches, she and Rory work to keep their friendship, despite the different directions their lives are headed,

Richard - Having reunited with Emily, he takes in Rory. His business takes off again and he begins to travel more. He becomes outraged with Mitchum when he realizes that Lorelai was telling the truth about why Rory left Yale,

Emily - Enthusiastic about having Rory around - especially once Richard begins to travel around more again, she feels like those she love are beginning to abandon her when they try to liberate Rory from her depression,

and Michel - Shows up and is sarcastic.

By this time, the performances in Gilmore Girls are honed to the point that one expects greatness and consistency from the performers and the characters. This is exactly what the viewers get in this season. This is not to say that the acting is in any way unmemorable or disappointing, but rather that this is a season where consistency is the rule and the performances are at a caliber that most shows only strive for.

That said, there are two standout performances in the sixth season. One of those performers is Scott Patterson as Luke Danes. Luke's character growth has been a very long arc and in the sixth season, Patterson manages to hone his comic timing so he is his character is actually able to be believably happy and less stuffy. Patterson is able to carry scenes on his own and for the first time, he is given longer stories that involve neither of the Gilmore women. Moreover, he makes them work by presenting Luke as a straightforward guy who is soft-spoken, yet clearly has ideas of his own.

But the star of season six might well be Alexis Bledel, as Rory Gilmore. Bledel becomes her own woman in this season and any hints of mimicry in her performance is gone. She distinguishes herself from star Lauren Graham this season by slouching through the early episodes and then infusing her later performances with a deep sense of professionalism and dignity. Bledel makes her every moment on screen an event, a reminder of classic actresses like Hepburn who seem to come to every scene with strength. Bledel does a great deal more than just showing up and as a result, the structural problems near the end of the season are accented more. Indeed, it is Bledel's performance that sells the viewer on how deeply hurt Rory is by Logan's treatment of her that makes her character's forgiveness of him problematic.

On DVD, Gilmore Girls - The Complete Sixth Season is rather light on the extras. There are a few deleted scenes and a featurettes focusing on the season and the relationships in the sixth season. There are no commentary tracks and the featurettes are brief and somewhat lackluster. As someone who loves both this series and commentary tracks, the DVD presentation is disappointing, though the programming is not.

In all, it's a great ride filled with memorable characters who are easy to empathize with, which continues the tradition of the earlier seasons of Gilmore Girls while growing the characters well past where they have been before. A must for anyone who loves great family dramas!

Very few television shows get a sixth season. For reviews of other sixth seasons, please check out my takes on:
Frasier - Season 6
The West Wing - Season 6
Lost - Season 6

8/10

For other television reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.


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All Good Things Come To An End: Gilmore Girls - The Complete Seventh Season Ends The Series Well.

The Good: Decent character development, Convoluted but interesting plots
The Bad: Acting is a bit more mediocre than in other seasons, Light on DVD bonus features
The Basics: Still filled with fast-paced, decent dialogue and quirky characters, Gilmore Girls is put to rest in a season with mediocre plots.


The final season of Gilmore Girls takes a lot of flack and I'll be the first to say that some of that it completely unjustified. Television shows work best when they have someplace to go and truth be told, family dramas like Gilmore Girls have the most difficult time as they progress because they are not so much about things that happen as they are about the long process of characters developing. Of course, characters develop through incidents and events, but the best shows are driven by the characters, their decisions help determine what happens next.

In this regard, Gilmore Girls is a winner, right up through its final season, now available on DVD. Lorelai's decisions at the climax of the sixth season set up the events of the seventh quite well and they do move the show forward. Gilmore Girls is known primarily for its witty, fast-paced dialogue and the cultural references that are spewed from the mouths of the quirky characters and the guff that Season Seven takes is somewhat unjustified in that the series keeps this trait up remarkably well in the final season.

It is, however, impossible to discuss the seventh season without alluding to events from late in the sixth season, so those who want the minor dramatic surprises Gilmore Girls has to offer to be fresh, go watch the sixth season before reading more in this review. Seriously.

Following Lorelai realizing she would never marry Luke while at Lane and Zach's wedding in the sixth season, Lorelai runs off with Christopher (Rory's father) and trashes her relationship with Luke. Christopher, finally getting over the timing problem he has had for most of his life in relation to Lorelai, leaps upon the opportunity and whisks her off to France where they marry. Upon returning, Lorelai is faced with the problems of explaining her new marriage to Rory and integrating Christopher into Stars Hollow, a town that liked Luke and Lorelai together.

While Lorelai works on her marriage with Christopher, struggling when issues with Luke pop up and her father has a severe heart attack, Rory dives into her final year of college at Yale while trying to figure out her relationship with Logan and determine her life after school. With Logan in London, Rory tries to make new friends, while maintaining her friendships with Paris and Lane. She is present when Richard collapses at Yale and she finds herself confused and hurt by her father and mother marrying.

In addition to the two main characters on Gilmore Girls, the seventh season gives good plotlines to the main supplemental characters. Luke continues to get closer to his daughter, April, to the point that he finds himself in a custody battle for her when her mother moves across country. Lane returns from her disastrous honeymoon in Mexico to discover that her first sexual experience has left her pregnant and she and Zach prepare for the appearance of . . . twins while developing their rock and roll dreams.

The Complete Seventh Season of Gilmore Girls makes for an important bookend to the series and it is understandable why so many people abandoned the show at this point. We want to see Lorelai growing out of her noncommittal ways. Most of us wanted to see Lorelai and Luke get together. Some shows can pull off a marriage between two main characters, as Once And Again proved with the climax of their second season and the subsequent third season. Apparently the producers of Gilmore Girls feared the loss of conflict in Lorelai's character if she and Luke actually ended up together and happy.

The problematic aspect of this is that in the Seventh Season - especially on DVD when one can just burn through watching the episodes one after another - this begins to feel like a delaying tactic. The viewer is left feeling like the writers and producers are stalling, keeping Lorelai and Luke apart for the year to set up their inevitable togetherness in an unproduced Season Eight.

This obsession with continuing conflict over developing truly complex romantic relationships is further illustrated in Rory's relationship with Logan. Logan is kept in London, far away from Rory, which strains their romance and gives Rory surprisingly little to do outside of school, save in the every five episode "surprise visit" from Logan. Indeed, the argument could be made that Logan develops more in this season as he rebels against his father and his father's plans for him and strikes out on his own business venture.

Fortunately, most of the season is rich in character development and struggles of each of the main characters. Here is how the final season finds the principle characters:

Lorelai - Having abandoned Luke, she runs off with her childhood sweetheart whom she marries. Soon, though, the cracks in their marriage begin to show and she is left wondering - yet again - what is truly important to her in a romance,

Rory - Overwhelmed with schoolwork from the crunch of squeezing in the workload from the extra semester she missed, she makes new friends in the art community while working on one of her last assignments for the Yale Daily News. She relinquishes her position as editor of the school's newspaper and struggles to find her place in the world afterward,

Luke - Happily embracing his role as father to April, he fights for the girl while dealing with losing Lorelai. Given the opportunity, though, he once again steps up to provide her with coffee and caring in her moments of need,

Lane - Married now and pregnant, she is forced to put her dreams of touring on the back burner while she prepares for twins. She and Zach find an unlikely ally when they stand up to Mrs. Kim and discover that her mother can be surprisingly flexible,

Sookie - As Lorelai's best friend, she works with Lorelai to get Christopher accepted by the townsfolk, primarily by having her husband, Jackson, be seen publicly with him,

Logan - Forced to London by his overbearing father, Logan forsakes his trust fund and sinks all of his money into a company of his very own, which brings him back to Rory . . . for a time,

Kirk - He shows up and acts as a straightman for humor. Still with Lulu (though know one really knows what she sees in him),

Paris - She and Doyle plan for life after graduation and Paris begins to get a plethora of postgraduate opportunities. In a weird display of friendship, she tries to organize Rory around applying for everything possible,

Richard - Toning down his business some, he becomes a visiting professor at Yale, where he collapses with a severe heart attack while teaching one of Rory's classes,

Emily - Facing the possibility of losing Richard, her delight over Lorelai and Christopher finally marrying dematerializes. She illustrates her efficiency and love to Richard, Lorelai and Rory throughout, though,

and Michel - Holds down the fort at the Dragonfly Inn, doing nothing much more.

The characters develop, even though Lorelai seems to have the slowest learning curve of the bunch. The thing about the seventh season, though, is that none of the performers do anything extraordinary on the acting front. My perennial favorite, Liza Weil, who plays Paris, is almost completely neglected and so she never has the chance to shine.

Alexis Bledel is only given the chance to truly do something extraordinary as far as acting in the penultimate episode of the series. She plays off costar Matt Czuchry perfectly in the scene that resolves the relationship between Rory and Logan. The thing is, it's a long time to wait for a knockout performance by one of the series' two main stars.

Surprisingly, it is only Keiko Agena who is given the opportunity to do something new, different and extraordinary on the acting front. Agena paid her dues by sticking out several seasons of neglect for her character in the earlier years of Gilmore Girls, but with her marriage and pregnancy, she is given the chance to explore her ability to do comedy. Agena rises with apparent effortlessness to the task and as Lane becomes more and more pregnant, she explores her ability to do physical comedy. She is funny and has an excellent sense of timing.

The main problem with the seventh season of Gilmore Girls is one that comes from the show's producers and rules of the Industry. David Sutcliffe, who plays Christopher, is only credited as a "Special Guest Star" in the episodes, starting at the beginning of the season. I know there are issues with the Guild and pay scale and such, but seriously, folks: Gilmore Girls viewers are a pretty savvy bunch. If you want to keep us guessing even for a little bit, it helps to put Lorelai's love interests in the opening credits. Otherwise, it doesn't matter what direction the relationship between Lorelai and her man is going, we all know where it will end up.

On DVD, Gilmore Girls The Complete Seventh Season is filled with very few unremarkable bonus features. Kirk gives a tour of the town full of clips of the various locations in Stars Hollow over the years and there are a few commentary tracks. There is a retrospective on the whole series. Perhaps the best featurette, though is Keiko Agena giving the viewer a tour of the last day of shooting on the Seventh Season. She makes continual references to the episode being the season finale, not mentioning at all that the series was wrapping forever. As a result, the viewer gets the impression that the series was canceled abruptly, without the stars knowing it would not get renewed. The footage, then, takes on an especially melancholy tenor for those who know what did happen. For my money, I would have preferred more deleted scenes and commentary tracks than we received in this set.

As a fan of the series, I would not recommend this season boxed set, solely because there is the vastly superior Gilmore Girls - The Complete Series (reviewed here!) which takes up almost the same amount of space! Anyone who is a fan of Gilmore Girls will want to stick around to the melancholy, bittersweet end, but for those who are renting, borrowing or considering stealing (don't steal! - Or there will never be a Gilmore Girls Movie!) the set, it is certainly worth watching.

For other final seasons of shows, please check out my reviews of:
The West Wing - Season Seven
Frasier - Season Eleven
Veronica Mars - Season Three

7/10

For other television show or series' reviews, please visit my index page here for a complete list of reviews!

© 2011, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.



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Gilmore Girls Hits Its Stride With "The Complete Fifth Season!"

The Good: Great stories, Wonderful character development, Good acting
The Bad: Could always use more DVD bonus features.
The Basics: A perfect season of Gilmore Girls translates to a wonderful DVD boxed set that is a must for anyone who loves dramedies about families and relationships!


I've become a big fan of Gilmore Girls and truth be told, I miss watching new episodes with my mother. It's been years since we did that and since I bought the DVDs, she went through them all long before I could. What astonishes me now about watching the series on DVD is first, how much I missed in the initial run, and second how truly amazing the series actually is. With the fifth season of Gilmore Girls, the show hits its stride and becomes something truly impressive in the realm of family dramas.

In fact, the only good reason I can come up with to not add this DVD set to one's library is if one is getting the Gilmore Girls - The Complete Series boxed set, reviewed here! That is a great deal and it is likely that after watching the fifth season, most people will want to get the whole series!

In its fifth season, Gilmore Girls becomes both a greater celebration of love and a more complicated exploration of how relationships actually work. As a result, there is a greater sense of conflict - which is always good for character development - and the forging of some new, stronger relationships among some of the principle characters. The thing is, Gilmore Girls - The Complete Fifth Season begins - without any recap - immediately where the fourth season left off. As a result, it is nearly impossible to discuss the series without alluding to events that were in the fourth season finale. That, too, is a truly wonderful boxed set, so there's no good reason not to pick it up (reviewed here!). But even for those who do not catch the final episode of Season Four, Season Five opens and it more or less explains itself (save one or two jokes involving Kirk running naked through town).

In the fifth season of Gilmore Girls, Rory awakens after making love with Dean, who is still married to Lindsay, to Lorelai, who is furious with her. Rory and Emily - who is estranged from Richard - flee to Europe to escape their troubles. While Lorelai begins to forge a romantic relationship with Luke, Rory tries to figure out what to do with Dean. When Rory and Emily return to the U.S., Dean finds himself mostly alone, though soon he and Rory are dating once again.

Conflict ensues when Richard and Emily divide time with Rory up, with Richard living in the pool house on the estate and getting the women for drinks, while Emily gets dinner with Rory and Lorelai. Even after Rory and Lorelai make up and Rory returns to Yale, Lorelai has conflicts with her parents - who deem Luke beneath her - and with Luke - who believes Dean is not good enough for Rory. This is moot soon enough, as Rory's position at the Yale Daily News puts her in the company of Logan Huntzberger, a wealthy peer of hers at Yale.

Logan soon challenges Rory's suburban existence and at the worst possible moment, Emily pushes Rory's father Christopher to make his move on Lorelai.

You know, writing a simple plot summary of Gilmore Girls - The Complete Fifth Season makes the show sound an awful lot like a bad soap opera. The truth is, though, the series never feels that way when watching it. The main reason for this is that the dialogue remains crisp, fast and funny throughout and the characters are so very vibrant.

Unlike the prior seasons of Gilmore Girls where Rory's best friend is her mother, Lorelai, in the fifth season, their relationship is plagued by conflict and turmoil. Lorelai has serious issues about Rory having sex with Dean, because he is married and their estrangement fuels great conflicts. Moreover, the Richard and Emily estrangement works to compliment the issues between Rory and Lorelai. And as Lorelai finally gets her act together, it is Rory whose friendship with Logan destabilized her further.

As well, the fifth season has strong issues dealing with class. Emily has always favored Christopher as a man in Lorelai's life and when Lorelai starts dating Luke, Emily feels compelled to intervene. Luke, being middle class, is astounded when he meets Emily and Richard and later Logan. As Luke and Lorelai struggle to form a romantic relationship, Richard and Emily infuse tension based on class. Rory struggles with her identity as she is exposed to the extreme wealth represented by Logan and his Life and Death Brigade.

Perhaps the reason the series does not seem like much of a soap opera - despite the plot synopsis - is that the characters are so vibrant. Gilmore Girls is a family dramedy that uses witty, fast dialogue to establish some of the most realistic and wonderful characters to appear on DVD. In the fifth season, the primary characters include:

Lorelai - Despite meddling influences from her mother and being estranged from Rory, she has one of the best years of her life as she and Luke fall in love. The Dragonfly Inn begins to take off and despite her instant dislike of Logan and what he stands for, when Rory and Lorelai reconcile their differences, their bond grows. Her relationship with Luke faces a bit of a strain when a company approaches Lorelai about buying the Inn,

Rory - After fleeing to Europe for the summer to get her head straight, she returns to the United States to try to figure out her sophomore year, her relationship with Dean and also negotiate her friendships with Lane and Paris. With Logan, she begins to take more risks and as a result soon finds herself going in a very different direction. As the season peaks, she finds herself working for Logan's father, Mitchum, a newspaper manager,

Luke - He goes "all in" on his relationship with Lorelai, which leads him to awkward times spent with Richard and Emily, and a disastrous encounter that causes him to question everything. He reveals to Lorelai his father's boat, puts up with his sister and T.J., and he works on acquiring his perfect house for him and Lorelai. Also, he fills in at the Dragonfly when Sookie needs time off,

Sookie - Has a crazy arc when her husband decides to run against Taylor for the Town Selectman position and she becomes the First Lady of Stars Hollow. Soon, though, their lives are complicated by declining lunchtime traffic and her pregnancy,

Lane - Living with two of her three bandmates, Lane begins to fall in love with Zach, much to his chagrin. She works for Luke at the diner and is astonishingly good at the job. Soon, though, her passion for her music takes over and Lane realizes how ingrained her mother's values are in her,

Richard - Distracted by work, Lorelai's father finds himself living in the pool house an ever more estranged from his wife. When she starts dating, though, he realizes how much he misses her and works to make amends,

Emily - Fed up with Richard and splitting the Friday night dinner events with him, she discovers she has little purpose or ambitions outside being Richard's wife and the mistress of the house. She tries dating, saves a dog and meddles quite constantly in Luke and Lorelai's relationship,

Paris - Her professor beau dead (over summer break in Cambridge), she returns as a de facto widow (she wasn't actually married, but . . .) and works with Rory at the Yale Daily News. Initially antagonistic with Doyle, the editor of the paper, she soon finds herself opening up to him,

Kirk - Surprises Luke by bidding on the same house as Luke and in addition to his many, many jobs, he continues to date Lulu. It becomes apparent that in addition to being one of the strangest denizens of Stars Hollow, he is also one of the wealthiest,

(recurring, first part of the season) Dean - Back together with Rory, he travels from Stars Hollow to Yale regularly, though he is working multiple jobs to make ends meet. He and Luke clash, even after Rory leaves him again,

(recurring) Logan Huntzberger - The ultra-rich son of the super-rich newspaper magnate Mitchum Huntzberger, he has a cavalier attitude, no plans and an excessive appreciation of alcohol and danger. One of the members of the secret society the Life and Death Brigade, he soon finds himself attracted to Rory and willing to try something he has never done before: he commits to her,

and Michel - He wins a motor home on The Price Is Right but otherwise just shows up to be annoying.

The fifth season it an acting tour de force with some of the less-featured performers stepping up to make their characters more noticeable and human. Sadly, Liza Weil is often neglected as Paris, but Kelly Bishop and Edward Hermann have roles that befit them, including incredible dance scenes in the 100th episode. Actually, Hermann is given one of the best chances to grow his character as he infuses a sense of vitality into Richard that has not been present before.

And, of course, the title stars, Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel give truly wonderful performances. Graham has the opportunity to play Lorelai as deeply hurt over several episodes and she does it without any sense of melodrama, perfectly infusing a deep sadness and love into her character that had not been present before that. Similarly, Bledel has the chance to infuse a wild side into Rory and she makes it believable. It is Bledel's performance - especially in the final episodes of the season - that sell the drastic changes in the character that Rory exhibits.

But the real star of Gilmore Girls - The Complete Fifth Season is Scott Patterson. In the last episodes of the fourth season, Patterson was given the chance to take Luke in a much more sensitive direction. In this boxed set, Patterson emerges with the ability to believably infuse Luke with confidence and unabashed affection. Playing that is a challenge, especially after years of portraying Luke as taciturn and curmudgeony. He makes the transition appear effortless to the extent that those who watch the set will never actually find themselves thinking that Luke's actions are inorganic, even though reason says many of his actions are. Patterson's performance, the moments he stands up straighter and smiles more often, sells this boxed set.

This set is a bit light on bonus features, with a lone commentary track on an episode that explores the budding Rory and Logan relationship but is otherwise hard to care about. There are two different featurettes on the 100th episode and then a clipshow featurette which does not provide anything new or stimulating for fans.

There might not be a better way to get into Gilmore Girls than this boxed set.

Few shows actually get a fifth season, for reviews of other fifth seasons, please check out:
Weeds - Season 5
Six Feet Under - Season 5
Frasier - Season 5

10/10

For other television episode or season reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.



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Gilmore Girls Rebooted With Energy And Heart For "The Complete Fourth Season!"

The Good: Excellent character development, Decent serialization, Good acting, Funny and heartwarming
The Bad: Light on DVD extras
The Basics: With season four on DVD, Gilmore Girls recreates the show with the strongest relationship strained by distance as Lorelai and Rory move into adulthood.


Every now and again, I write a review with a cointoss rating. Right off the bat, I'll say that on my usual scale of ten points, Gilmore Girls - The Complete Fourth Season is a solid nine. On the site I used to write for, that made me force a choice between a four or five. Having to reboot the series Gilmore Girls following the third season (reviewed here!) which had the very natural climax of Rory graduating high school and the powerful, but contrived, fire which gutted the Independence Inn, leaving Lorelai out of work.

The fourth season of Gilmore Girls earns some serious respect and it certainly gets respect from me for how successfully it reboots itself.

The fourth season of Gilmore Girls finds mother and daughter Lorelai and Rory Gilmore returning from their European summer vacation to Stars Hollow where they discover Rory needs to be to Yale much sooner than expected. Rushing to Yale, Rory finds herself rooming with Paris Gellar. Lorelai separates from her daughter and Lorelai returns to Stars Hollow to discover Luke got married while on his cruise, her partnership with Sookie gets strained while Sookie becomes a mother and she begins dating a coffee magnate and then Jason, her father's new business partner.

At Yale, Rory deals with Paris, The Yale Review, and having dinner with the grandparents every Friday, which is complicated when Richard's mother moves in and strains the relationship between Richard and Emily. Moreover, after a strained time between Rory and Lane, Lane finds herself living with Rory and Rory's workload pushes her over the edge . . . to Dean.

In Stars Hollow, the other characters go through their own arcs. Emily finds herself losing Richard's respect as he returns to working full time and begins to neglect her, Dean marries his post-Rory high school girlfriend, Lane rocks out with her new band only to have her life revealed to her mother, and Luke works to get divorced while dealing with his deadbeat sister who resurfaces. Jess also resurfaces, longing for Rory and in love, he tries to change things between them, even as he tries to make good with Luke for the time he spent in Stars Hollow.

For those unfamiliar with Gilmore Girls, the magic of this family dramedy is in the dialogue. Gilmore Girls is a show wherein the characters speak at an accelerated rate and make musical and cultural allusions that require pretty regular trips to Wikipedia to understand. In the fourth season, that magic is increased by the addition of none other than Sebastian Bach as a recurring guest star for Lane's band. The former lead singer bursts into the series as a guitarist for Hep Alien, Lane's band and his presence is kitsch and hilarious, even when most of his lines are "X is/is not rock and roll."

If the genius of the show is in the dialogue and style, the heart of Gilmore Girls is in the characters. The characters are funny, realistic and ultimately deeply human in a way that makes them easy to watch disc after disc. In the fourth season, the show becomes strongly serialized and while not much might happen in any one episode, each disc has a decent character arc for almost every major character.

In the fourth season of Gilmore Girls, the principle cast includes:

Lorelai Gilmore - Mother of Rory who is rebuilding her life now that Rory is away at college. She stops dating a buyer for a coffee chain and starts seeing Jason, despite his quirks. While Lorelai aids Luke with his legal problems, she and Sookie deal with being poor while the Dragonfly Inn is renovated. Her relationship with her mother becomes strained, largely over money and Lorelai attempting to keep her relationship with Jason secret,

Rory Gilmore - Arriving at Yale, she discovers she has separation anxiety from Lorelai. Dealing with losing Jess and Dean getting married to Linsay, Rory and Paris actually become friends, though she finds herself stressed out about college. She begins working on the Yale Daily News and keeps up her friendship with Lane, despite the fact that that strains things with Paris,

Luke Danes - Married while on vacation, he determines to divorce his lawyer wife. Despite that, he gives his marriage a shot - even moving in with her - until he discovers her cheating on him. He moves on by vetting his sister's new boyfriend, reconciling his relationship with Jess and getting a self-help tape that steers him in the direction his heart wants him to go,

Emily Gilmore - Lorelai's mother finds herself neglected once again by Richard, who has started up his own business. Deemed frivolous by Richard and condemned by Gran, Emily goes on a shopping spree which leaves a rent in her relationship with Richard and Lorelai,

Sookie - Has her baby (at an inconvenient moment), is stressed by having to make money by catering with Lorelai, and discovers that Jackson wants more children. As the Dragonfly Inn becomes a reality, she begins to get excited about having a real kitchen to work with again,

Lane - Having almost outed herself to her mother the prior season, Lane finds that keeping her band a secret from Mrs. Kim no longer works when she stays out all night at a gig. Evicted by her mother, Lane bounces to Rory until she ends up at the apartment with two of her bandmates,

Michel - Made jealous by Sookie's new nanny, he works to stay on Lorelai and Sookie's good sides until the Dragonfly can actually be opened,

Paris - Following her breakdowns at the end of the third season, she rebounds with her idiot life coach who tries to make her into a better person. Instead, she gets involved with The Yale Daily News and begins romancing an older professor, Flemming, who she begins to get quite serious about,

Kirk - Continuing to go through jobs, Kirk has a date that goes extraordinarily well for him, much to everyone's surprise,

Dean - (recurring) Married to Linsay, he finds domestic life agrees with him, though Linsay wants a townhouse. This leads him to drop out of college and work more, work that puts him at the Dragonfly and in Rory's path,

Jason - "Digger." An old friend of the Gilmore family, he has serious issues with his father, Floyd, the man who Richard used to work for. He negotiates with Richard to buy into Richard's business, becoming his partner and quickly getting into a romantic relationship with Lorelai. Jason suffers from sleep apneia, so he utilizes his extreme wealth to put her up in an adjacent room to his, with all the comforts she could ever want. A decent guy, ruthless at business,

and Richard Gilmore - Stressed about his work and his wife's spending habits, he builds his business with Jason and introduces Rory to life at Yale.

The characters are amazingly presented with Chris Eigeman joining the cast as Jason. Eigeman has surprisingly good chemistry with Lauren Graham, who plays Lorelai. Graham, who has been working the chemistry with Scott Patterson for years, adapts wonderfully to Eigeman's presence.

The fourth season of Gilmore Girls also has some impressive recurring guest stars. Arielle Kebbel portrays Linsay far better than she played the lead in John Tucker Must Die. Sebastian Bach recurs with the revelation that he has a genius sense of comic timing to delivering lines. And, perhaps, the coup of the guest stars is Michael York, of Austin Powers fame. He appears as Professor Flemming, Paris's beau and he plays off Liza Weil wonderfully. And hey, not enough good can be said about Liza Weil, who plays Paris brilliantly, evolving her from deeply wounded to fairly actualized in the course of the season. It's too bad that she didn't have a meatier role this season, but the plot with Flemming works great.

The other main cast member who is given a chance to truly reach out is Scott Patterson. Patterson began the series relegated to behind the counter at Luke's Diner and in the fourth season, he transforms Luke into a truly viable character. Patterson has more complicated dialogue this season and while some characters - like Emily and Richard - are building toward rather destructive breakups, Luke is clearly trying to improve himself. Patterson is adept at playing that, using almost every opportunity he has on screen to push Luke in a different direction, even if it is simply slouching less.

But, as one might suspect, the show rests on the acting talents of Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. Graham has been a pro from the first episode and it is hard to say that she gives a great performance in this boxed set because she gives a solid performance that simply continues the character in the same vein. In the earliest episodes of the seasons, though, Graham gives decent performances as Lorelai experiences separation anxiety from Rory. This gives Graham a chance to play a deeper sadness than she has brought to the character before now and Graham works it beautifully.

Alexis Bledel, however, rises to the occasion of having a much more meaty role. Gone is the doe-eyed performance of Rory as a scared little girl. In the course of this season, Bledel takes over the main storyline and she interacts with a whole new bevy of guest stars and she makes the role work. She infuses more and more confidence into the character of Rory and that works for her.

On DVD, Gilmore Girls is a bit light on extras. This season, there are no commentary tracks and only two deleted scenes. There is a text commentary - of sorts - on one of the episodes, but it's not the most insightful outing. There is also a trivia game, which is fun, on disc six and there is a montage of characters in relationships which is pretty worthless to anyone who is already a true fan of the series.

That said, this is a wonderful DVD set for anyone who loves family dramas. It's also a great set for those who hate the typical family dramas and want something better. That is why it's easy to recommend, even if it is not perfect.

For a far better set, check out Gilmore Girls: The Complete Series, reviewed here!

For other notable fourth seasons, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Frasier Season Four
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season Four
Heroes Season Four

9/10

For other television reviews, please be sure to visit my index page on the subject by clicking here!

© 2011, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.


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Choices And Consequences: Gilmore Girls Hits Its Stride With A Close-Enough-To-Perfect "Third Season!"

The Good: Excellent acting, Humor, Heartfelt moments, Character development, Plots, What DVD bonuses there are
The Bad: Could always use more DVD bonus features!
The Basics: In its third season, Gilmore Girls hits a stride that makes character-driven dramedy a legitimate and powerful force to be reckoned with on DVD!


There are few shows that I watch, I see the direction they are going in, dislike that, yet end up surprised and thoroughly satisfied. Gilmore Girls became one such series in its third season. The show, in one aspect - Rory's romantic life - became something of a soap opera, as alluded to in the prior season's finale. Compelled to choose between Jess and Dean, Rory looks like she is about to make her choice - and one I wasn't wild about - when another character makes it for her. That surprise, along with several other events, makes Gilmore Girls - The Complete Third Season on DVD perhaps the essential season of the series.

For those not already invested in Gilmore Girls, this boxed set also represents an important opportunity for those looking for a fantastic dramedy to get in on the action and see what all of the fuss around this series is all about. Beginning at the beginning of Rory's Senior year of high school, the show sets up all of the essential relationships in its first episode and even though it makes strong allusions to past events - Max makes an appearance near the end of the season, for example, without any preamble to those who do not know the history between him and Lorelai - the series is assembled well enough such that those coming into this boxed set without the history of the show will be on fairly firm footing.

But more than any similar series - family dramas, dramedies that actually endured - Gilmore Girls has a richness to it that was often discounted because far too many people wrote it off as a chick flick, a girl's show that relied too heavily on witty dialogue and soap operatic turns of plot to last. The truth is, the fast-talking characters work because they have genuine character, the plots turn frequently because of how the characters treat one another (i.e. the characters move the plot, not vice versa), and while the strongest characters are women, there is nothing to define this as only worthwhile to women. This is The West Wing (reviewed here!) recast as a more obvious family story.

In this boxed set, Rory begins her Senior year of high school at Chilton, competing with Paris for the valedictorian spot. Flustered by Jess ignoring her, Rory tries to concentrate on Dean and it does not take long before Dean, frustrated by Rory's attentions to Jess, surprises one and all by leaving Rory! Rory begins to feel out a relationship with Jess and finds it quite different from her relationship with Dean. Meanwhile, Lane begins to pursue a relationship of her own with a guitarist who intrigues her and she must maneuver around her authoritative mother to spend time with.

On the Lorelai front, Lorelai finds herself occasionally in the middle of issues between newly-married Sookie and Jackson. After dodging advances by Kirk, she begins dating a businessman, finds herself advising her mother when Richard's mother - Lorelai the First - moves in, and shocked when Luke begins dating a lawyer. Juggling her feelings for Christopher - and often forced to deal with his new wife - Lorelai struggles to be there for Rory while being indebted to her parents. And late in the season, a cataclysmic event occurs which changes the dynamics for everyone in the Gilmore family!

Gilmore Girls - The Complete Third Season contains much to love on the plot front, not the least of which is a perfect episode. "Dear Emily And Richard" illustrates Sherry - Christopher's pregnant fiance - going into labor and when she finds herself with only Rory and Lorelai to rely on, Lorelai recalls her own experience giving birth to Rory and the flashbacks and contrasts play off one another perfectly to make an episode that is both sweet and wrenching. Considering the caliber of "They Shoot Gilmores, Don't They?" - with the all-night dance-a-thon which results in Dean getting his spine - and "The Big One" wherein Rory and Paris get their letters from Harvard, with Paris having one of her most incredible scenes of the series, that "Dear Emily And Richard" could further distinguish itself and be a truly perfect episode says much about the stride that the series hits in this boxed set.

This season is a wonderful balance of humor and big life events in the lives of the protagonists that makes for great television. More than the prior seasons, season three gives greater voices to the peripheral characters. Sean Gunn, who plays Kirk, is added as a regular cast member, and Emily and Richard Gilmore have plotlines that have little overlap with either Rory or Lorelai, giving a richer sense of who they are. Lane gets a much bigger role and the politics between Paris and Rory give Paris a chance to truly grow and surprise viewers. But most importantly, it becomes the characters who move and shape the major events of this season of Gilmore Girls and they endear themselves to the viewers in a way that makes it easy to see why she show would be popular and offer a real value to those thinking of buying the DVD.

To understand the show and where it is in this boxed set, it helps to know where the primary characters are this season. The principles include:

Lorelai Gilmore - Rory's mother and best friend, she drifts some from Luke as a result of her conflicts with him over how Jess insinuated himself in Rory's life in the prior season. She soon re-establishes her connection with him due to her need for his coffee and she manages the Independence Inn while helping Rory choose her college and dealing with her parents. When a sudden windfall allows her to buy her financial freedom from her parents, she changes the dynamic with them and she begins to date while doing her best to prepare for Rory's leaving and their last trip together,

Rory Gilmore - Lorelai's daughter, torn between her love for the loyal and good Dean and the bad boy Jess, who has returned to Stars Hollow. When Dean stands up for himself and dumps her, she explores a relationship with Jess while trying to survive fights with Paris, who becomes convinced that she revealed secrets Paris shared with her with a mutual rival. She begins to get her acceptance letters and while she gets into Harvard as she always planned, she soon finds herself questioning if that is where she actually wants to go and she makes a decision few would have guessed,

Luke Danes - Finding parenting Jess more of a handful than he expected, Luke turns to Lorelai when he needs to understand how to do his parenting job better. When Taylor creates a scheme to open an ice cream and candy shop next door, Luke finds himself dealing with an attractive lawyer who he forms a deep bond with,

Sookie - Married now to Jackson, she discovers to her horror that Jackson wants a lot of children and quick. As she and Lorelai prepare to open their own inn, the Dragonfly Inn, she becomes more assertive about her talents being put to good use and when needed she becomes able to stand up to the sometimes overbearing Lorelai,

Dean - Sensing that Rory is more preoccupied with Jess than with him, he takes back his manhood and dumps her. Almost instantly regretting the action, he takes solace in continuing his friendship with Lorelai and eventually reconnects as a friend with Rory. He takes even more interest in a fellow student, Lindsay, and by the end of the season, it is clear he is over Rory,

Jess - Despite sucking serious face with a local girl who doesn't seem to have much going for her other than her body, Jess seeks out Rory's intellectualism and makes an effort at a relationship with her. After hiding his secret job at Wal-Mart, he finds himself at odds with Stars Hollow High and despite his innate intelligence, he faces serious issues with graduating,

Lane - Mostly abandoned by Rory, she forms a band with herself as the drummer and a cute boy she is interested in as the lead singer. Lane and her boyfriend concoct a plan to spend time together wherein he plays hymns for Mrs. Kim and soon she is figuring out her way through her first romance,

Paris - The intensely competitive Chilton student relies on Rory when she meets a boy over the summer spent in Washington, D.C. with Rory. Paris and Jamie soon take leaps in their relationship that Rory has not and Paris's feelings of guilt over having sex send her into a funk which threatens her ability to reach her goals for the future,

Kirk - Goes through even more jobs this season as a postal worker and cosmetic salesman. As well, he asks Lorelai out and participates in Taylor's usual schemes,

Emily Gilmore - Frustrated by Richard leaving her alone after he begins his new business, she is given a DVD player by Lorelai and is frustrated when Richard's mother moves in. She tries to get to know Jess and is appalled by the implications of Lorelai's ability to pay off her debt to her,

Richard Gilmore - Working now on his new business venture, he fawns over his mother when she is around and surprises Lorelai with news of an investment he made on her behalf when she was born, an investment that now pays off. He organizes a meeting for Rory at his alma mater, Yale,

and Michel - The facetious day manager at the Independence Inn, he feels threatened by the night manager, especially when Lorelai's birthday comes around.

The characters are well-presented and in this season, there seems to be a certain sense of comfort with the actors all around. Indeed, even the recurring guest performers give wonderful performances. Emily Bergl is wonderfully convincing in her brief role as the conniving Francie who serves as a wedge between Rory and Paris. Bergl, who plays the good girl on Men In Trees is deliciously evil in this role and she pulls it off with the same panache and ability that she plays her other characters. Adam Brody has an auspicious outing as Dave, Lane's love interest and Madchen Amick, who is known for her role prominent as Shelly in Twin Peaks recurs as Sherry - Christopher's pregnant fiance - in a couple of scene-stealing performances. Even Arielle Kebbel, who might be most recognizable from the terrible John Tucker Must Die provides an extraordinary performance in her bit role as Lindsay near the end of this season.

And the regulars do a phenomenal job, this season playing off one another with amazing ability. Edward Hermann makes the most out of every scene he is in, just as Keiko Agena sells herself wonderfully as Lane now that she is given a more meaty role. Similarly, Melissa McCarthy and Jared Padalecki rise to the occasion with their expanded roles. Milo Ventimiglia has a chance to add some humor to the stoic Jess and he makes it work, selling the entire Wal-Mart clerk twist on his performance.

It is Liza Weil who bowls the viewer over in this season with her performance. Paris has previously been written as a fairly monolithic villain for Rory and in this season she grows into a very human, very damaged and somewhat flawed character. Weil is presented with the acting challenge of reconciling the high-strung overachiever with the emotionally fragile girl who would fall for Francie's machinations. Weil does it. One wishes there were more to say about how, but at the end of the day, Weil simply presents the facets and performs them with a humanizing quality that makes the transformations utterly convincing.

The series stars, Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel, play off one another wonderfully. Graham and Bledel have an exceptional ability to deliver fast-paced dialogue that works and they create two memorable characters. Graham has the ability to play flighty and emotionally stunted with a perfect foil to Bledel's ability to play eerily mature.

On DVD, Gilmore Girls - The Complete Third Season is fairly light on bonus features. There are three deleted (unaired) scenes, none of which rock the world and three featurettes. One discusses behind-the-scenes development of season three, another has clips of the romantic moments from the season and the final one is a terrible bit featuring the actors talking about dancing - with Yanic Truesdale doing some awesome '80's moves. I would have loved some commentary tracks on the key episodes, but they are not to be found.

Still, it is not enough to not recommend this great set. The featured program is smart, funny and surprisingly poignant at all of the right moments. Of course, those who get hooked on this season first might be compelled to go after the full series boxed set (reviewed here!) and then they might feel weird about having to dump this season set. It's a risk those not indoctrinated in Gilmore Girls ought to take. This is certainly the season to knock new viewers over with!

For other third seasons, please check out my reviews of:
Frasier The Complete Third Season
The X-Files - Season 3
Weeds - Season 3

10/10

For other television boxed set and episode reviews, please visit my index page!

© 2011, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.





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Love Grows, Love Falls Apart: Gilmore Girls - The Complete Second Season On DVD!

The Good: Funny, Clever writing, Interesting characters, Decent plots, Good serialization.
The Bad: Light on DVD bonus material, Some elements seem rushed.
The Basics: Despite being light on DVD extras, this boxed set presents a wonderful dramedy that is worth the time and attention of anyone who likes great television!


Gilmore Girls is one of those television shows that found its audience, had seven good years on television and yet seems to have almost no peripheral market associated with it. Unlike genre shows, like Alias or award-winning dramas like The West Wing (reviewed here!), Gilmore Girls seems to have found its niche, run its course and disappeared without a strong showing in syndication. This is especially disappointing to those fans who might like to see any other incarnation of Gilmore Girls, like a feature film. Without strong syndication, one wonders how the executives who made Gilmore Girls a small but significant phenomenon intend to sell things like the boxed set DVDs.

I suppose that's where reviews like this come in; we're happy to do our part to luring in an audience now that there are no new episodes to watch. With the second season of Gilmore Girls, the series continues on DVD on a high note, progressing the fast-talking characters Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, and exploring more of the quirky residents of Stars Hollow, CT. In order to properly review this season, some minor details about the final episodes of the first season of Gilmore Girls (reviewed here!) must be revealed, despite my having withheld them from that review.

Picking up the day after the prior finale, Lorelai Gilmore struggles to answer the marriage proposal from Max and his gaggle of yellow flowers. Rory, reconciled with Dean, begins to explore what it truly means to have a relationship. Soon, however, both Lorelai and Rory's lives take turns for the weird when Lorelai accepts Max's proposal only to flee town on him, leading to an awkward beginning of the new school year for Rory. Rory and Dean find themselves in awkward emotional territory when Rory finds herself pushed together at school with Tristan and later Luke's nephew, Jess, begins to intrigue her.

While Lorelai struggles to become more stable following her breakup with Max, she begins to focus on the plans to open her own inn with Sookie. Sookie, for her part, begins to stretch out on her own, moving her relationship with Jackson forward, despite meddling from Lorelai's mother. As well, Richard retires, leaving both Emily and Lorelai in odd situations with him and his sudden free time.

Gilmore Girls - The Complete Second Season is a strong dramedy that focuses primarily on Lorelai and Rory, but in this season allows more room for characters other than the main leads to progress. As a result, Luke has some moments - especially with Jess - where he dominates scenes, if not entire episodes. With Richard's retirement and the Sookie relationship arc, the time is further taken from the two mains and it works out surprisingly well for the show. Season two gives a more broad feeling of Stars Hollow and that sets up a realistic sense of place and establishes a precedent for future seasons that might not have worked had it not been for the groundwork laid in this season.

What makes Gilmore Girls different from virtually anything on television or DVD - outside an Aaron Sorkin production - is the speed of the dialogue and development of the characters. Gilmore Girls is most commonly about telling a story of a mother and daughter who have an emotionally symbiotic relationship and the foibles that come from having a parent who is more like a best friend than a parent. Thematically, the season is unified by the exploration of relationships, most notably love.

Lorelai and Rory have a strong bond and that makes them different from almost every other mother-daughter combination on television, whatwith Hollywood's preoccupation with portraying teenage rebellion as opposed to families that like one another. Sure, the Gilmores are not normal or typical, but they do make for pretty wonderful television! The plots range from such banal absurdities as the Gilmore house being infested with termites and Lorelai needing to get a loan for an exterminator/contractor to the annual basket bidding auction whereby townsfolk bid on baskets prepared by local women in order to win a date with said woman. As a result, plot tends to be far less important in the second season than the setting and the characters.

Stars Hollow is one of the most memorable television environments of the new millennium as it features the down home New England charm of Connecticut with a population of ridiculous locals who enhance the setting. Kirk, for example, branches out to make a short film that is the archetypal student black and white movie and is so strange that it's wonderful that it appears separate on the DVD as a bonus feature so it can be reviewed out of the context of the episode! With places like Luke's diner, Miss Patty's Dance Studio and the gazebo being central to the town and the plots, Stars Hollow becomes one of the most recognizable and significant settings for a series since Cecily, Alaska on Northern Exposure.

Even more significant than the locale are the people. Here are the primary characters of the second season of Gilmore Girls:

Lorelai Gilmore - Having chosen Max, then rejected him, she remains single for a time, only to find herself increasingly drawn to the ever-more-responsible Christopher, Rory's dad. After taking Rory to Harvard, she finds herself befriending Dean, becoming wary of Jess and strengthening her friendship with Sookie. While working to avoid her mother's influences, she finds herself working with her father as he struggles to find joy in retirement. Often flustered and coffee-high, she spars with Luke throughout,

Rory Gilmore - After declaring her love for Dean, she discovers that relationships have a complexity to them that she finds troubling. As she is drawn to the bad boy charm of Jess, she struggles to feel as much for Dean. She also finds herself somewhat estranged from Lane, who shocks her and she finds an unlikely ally in Paris,

Luke Danes - After accepting that he might have some feelings for Lorelai, he withdraws when he sees her pursuing Christopher and going on a date with a younger man. When his sister falls down on the parenting, Luke agrees to take in her troubled son, Jess, but finds it is more work than he can handle,

Dean - Fully in love with Rory, he is shocked when her grandfather Richard summarily rejects him as a suitor. Having built Rory a car, he stands up for himself and endears himself to both Rory and Lorelai. He soon finds himself feeling threatened by Jess and what he represents to his relationship with Rory,

Sookie - Eager to go into business with Lorelai, when their relationship becomes minorly strained, she turns to Jackson and the two begin to advance rather quickly toward marriage. Lured in by Emily's vision of a wedding, Sookie finds she must stand up and discover her own voice,

Lane - Deported for a time to Korea, Lane returns eager to resume her friendship with Rory. Neglected by Rory and frustrated by her attraction to a boy who she can't date given her overbearing mother, she becomes a cheerleader. Her audiophile tendencies outlast her grounding and Rory becomes a smuggler of new material into her house for her,

Paris - As the editor of the school newspaper, the Franklin, she is forced to accept Rory when Rory produces the best work for the paper. So opens the erosion of Paris' hatred of Rory, who even works with Rory on volunteer work and several school projects. When Rory makes it clear she has no interest in Tristan, Paris lightens up significantly on her,

Emily Gilmore - Lorelai's mother, frustrated by Richard being around constantly when he retires, she uses Lorelai to act as a buffer between them. Always seeking to reconcile the problems of the past with Lorelai, she offers to loan her the money to save her house and even goes on a spa trip with her. Still unable to keep a decent housekeeper,

Richard Gilmore - Lorelai's father, increasingly frustrated with the demands of work, he abruptly retires and begins puttering on cars. Given a purpose in designing a consumer product for a school project with Rory and Paris, he soon finds his calling as a consultant,

Jess - Rejected by his mother and forced to live with Luke, the young man avoids school, thumbs his nose at authority and plays pranks on the townsfolk - like the chalk outline and police tape in front of Taylor's market. He is intrigued by Rory and despite his slovenly attitude, he is a bookworm with much in common with her,

and Michel - He shows up virtually every episode to make quips at Lorelai. His mother visits and he is flustered when he is forced to talk with her about substantive issues.

The cast of Gilmore Girls is rather consistent and in the second season, both Jared Padalecki (Dean) and Lisa Weil (Paris) are added to the main cast. While Milo Ventimiglia - who would later become well known for Heroes (reviewed here!) - makes an auspicious outing as Jess, he is simply a recurring guest star.

In the second season, Kelly Bishop, who plays Emily, is given far more to do in her role. Bishop becomes a surprising standout, lending dignity and a strong undertone of caring to the role that was not there before. Bishop infuses into almost every scene she is in a sense that Emily wants to make things better with Lorelai, even when she is being antagonistic. She becomes one to watch this season!

But the show rests heavily on the shoulders of Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. Graham reinforces her character's flustered qualities by presenting more moments where Lorelai's emotions turn on a dime and she flees situations. Graham is given the opportunity to play Lorelai as protective and suspicious in a way that she had not previously done. As well, Graham is given the difficult task of selling the most implausible moment of the season; when Lorelai makes her decision to let her cold feet dominate her and flee town. Without words, Graham makes a convincing performance that makes the character's journey emotional real.

But it is Alexis Bledel who comes into her own as Rory. Bledel proves yet again that she is more than a cute face and in this DVD set, she embodies Rory with more confidence and infuses her with both realistic maturity and shockingly real indecisiveness in the face of two boys she is attracted to. Bledel begins to use more body language to express herself and her emoting progresses in a way that makes her character vital and real.

On DVD, Gilmore Girls - The Complete Second Season remains somewhat disappointing in terms of DVD extras. While there are a number of unaired scenes added at the end of several episodes in this set and the uncut version of Kirk's movie is at the end of the disc, there is not much exclusive content to the set. While there's a featurette on the dubbing for the international market and another on the arguments in season two, there are no commentary tracks. The closest is a pop-up trivia/commentary on one of the episodes that appear as a second time on the final disc with the added text commentary. I can always go for more commentary tracks and it is disappointing this set does not provide that.

Still, it is not enough to bring down the content on the discs and not recommend this. Gilmore Girls - The Complete Second Season is a solid set that is likely to delight anyone who likes smart drama or subtle comedy. Anyone who likes a family dramedy will find much to be entertained by with this set.

For further information on Gilmore Girls, (including links to my reviews of other seasons!) please check out my review of Gilmore Girls: The Complete Series here!

8.5/10

For other television episode, season and series reviews, please be sure to visit my index page for an organized listing!

© 2011, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.




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