Looking for something new to watch, I perused the ratings of various television shows and noticed that the "Gilmore Girls" had an astonishingly high 8.6 rating and was intrigued. I came to the show with absolutely no preconceptions The title indicated it might be a "chick show", though was not discouraged as I loved Buffy the Vampire Slayer and appreciate shows featuring strong female characters. So, I managed to find a copy of the first season, and set about watching it. From there, it was all downhill.
The first few episodes were by and large exposition, introducing the ensemble cast and the relationships among them. Center stage are the titular Gilmore Girls -- mother, Loreli and daughter, Rory. They are depicted as best friends, and more often than not, Rory as the voice of reason contrasted to her over-the-top, pop-culture-referencing, care-free, dare-to-be-different cliché of a mother. At first blush, the script seemed witty, the banter playful. But, after about three episodes, the style became forced and horribly contrived. Loreli's inability to provide a straight answer or simple declarative sentence under virtually every circumstance quickly turns from endearing to irritating.
Though the show's writer would have us embrace her as a free-thinking, independent woman, that facade quickly breaks down, and any sentient being watching sees her as little more than a selfish, vain, egotistical spoiled rich girl, who demands to be the center of everyone's attention. She demeans those who do not share her free-spirited world view, dismissing them as droll conformists who cannot appreciate her off-beat demeanor. She despises her parents, a wealthy insurance executive and his socialite wife, ridiculing them mercilessly and mocking them for their shallow need of respectability. But, her disapproval of them does not interfere with her turning to them for money when Rory is accepted to an exclusive private school. One need not be a PhD. In literature to spot the dripping irony of Loreli not only asking for the money from those she abhors, BUT for the purpose of sending Rory to a school that institutionalizes all that Loreli stands against. To stack the deck on her side, her parents are depicted as stodgy dullards, who have never resolved themselves with Loreli for getting knocked up at 16, and running away from home and have her child alone. (As an aside, Loreli's mother, Emily, though very much flawed, stands out as the only genuinely compelling and sympathetic character, as she struggles with her obvious mixed emotions for her ungrateful and overbearing daughter.) But, Loreli now puts up with their intrusive behavior in exchange for some quick cash. Free-spirited, indeed.
What is most appalling about show (and there is a lot of competition) is its depiction of men as either spineless, unreliable, effeminate, wimpy, or imbecilic, or all of the above. I appreciate a TV series or movie that features strong female characters that defy the brainless-bimbo-mold that makes up the lion's share of the women we see on TV. Smart, independent women are hot. It was one of the things that made Buffy such great television. However, in order to elevate the female characters, it does not require that you denigrate or marginalize all their male counterparts. The male character are clearly the creation of writers who demonstrate a profound lack of understanding of the male mind, or, worse, a deep-seated loathing of men in general. Not one male character is admirable, and all are reduced to little more than sounding boards for the unbearably whiny Loreli. Loreli's attitude towards this collection of eunuchs is, at best, dismissive, and, at worst, abusive. In one particularly egregious incident, in a display of monumental bad judgment, she begins an affair with Rory's teacher, then after breaking up with him, she entices him back with words of love and respect and promises of commitment. In no time, she impetuously agrees to marry him -- a decision based entirely on her fear of losing him and having nothing to do with love...again, what a free-thinker. However, the day of their wedding, Loreli suddenly panics at the prospect of sharing her life with this gutless panty-waist (the source of her panic is, it turns out, that up until the night before her wedding, she never gave thought to the fact they would live under the same roof, and, now, is repelled by the idea...bright girl...) and, being the free-spirit for whom convention will not suffice, she skipped town with Rory without so much as a word of explanation to her betrothed, the wedding guests and those who worked diligently to arrange the reception...including among them, her BEST FRIEND! And, of course, the writers have kindly presented the rough-edged, plaid-flannel-and-backwards-baseball-cap sportin', tactiturn, though deeply soulful local diner owner as the Sam to Loreli's Diane, in one of the least compelling "will they or won't they" story lines ever hatched in Cliché World.
In the case of Rory, her love interests have included a narcissistic, self-destructive preppy, a whipped townie whose most salient quality is his mistrustful attitude and soul-crushing neediness (whom, incidentally, pure and holy Rory lies to on a regular basis in order to hide her true feelings for another....seems the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree...), and a broken-home-bred bad boy who is equally at ease vandalizing property as he is quoting Steinbeck and Kerouac. You see, Rory is the only person in town who can see the true beauty of the aforementioned bad boy, ne'er do well, and, as we are so earnestly led to believe, she can tame his restless heart and draw forth the true potential that lies within.
And here is the part of the show that I find most troublesome: even though I hate most of the main characters, think the writing is contrived and the stories simple-minded cliché, find the depiction of men deplorable...despite all that...I can't stop watching the damn thing! I swear...it's like heroin.... I need help.
The first few episodes were by and large exposition, introducing the ensemble cast and the relationships among them. Center stage are the titular Gilmore Girls -- mother, Loreli and daughter, Rory. They are depicted as best friends, and more often than not, Rory as the voice of reason contrasted to her over-the-top, pop-culture-referencing, care-free, dare-to-be-different cliché of a mother. At first blush, the script seemed witty, the banter playful. But, after about three episodes, the style became forced and horribly contrived. Loreli's inability to provide a straight answer or simple declarative sentence under virtually every circumstance quickly turns from endearing to irritating.
Though the show's writer would have us embrace her as a free-thinking, independent woman, that facade quickly breaks down, and any sentient being watching sees her as little more than a selfish, vain, egotistical spoiled rich girl, who demands to be the center of everyone's attention. She demeans those who do not share her free-spirited world view, dismissing them as droll conformists who cannot appreciate her off-beat demeanor. She despises her parents, a wealthy insurance executive and his socialite wife, ridiculing them mercilessly and mocking them for their shallow need of respectability. But, her disapproval of them does not interfere with her turning to them for money when Rory is accepted to an exclusive private school. One need not be a PhD. In literature to spot the dripping irony of Loreli not only asking for the money from those she abhors, BUT for the purpose of sending Rory to a school that institutionalizes all that Loreli stands against. To stack the deck on her side, her parents are depicted as stodgy dullards, who have never resolved themselves with Loreli for getting knocked up at 16, and running away from home and have her child alone. (As an aside, Loreli's mother, Emily, though very much flawed, stands out as the only genuinely compelling and sympathetic character, as she struggles with her obvious mixed emotions for her ungrateful and overbearing daughter.) But, Loreli now puts up with their intrusive behavior in exchange for some quick cash. Free-spirited, indeed.
What is most appalling about show (and there is a lot of competition) is its depiction of men as either spineless, unreliable, effeminate, wimpy, or imbecilic, or all of the above. I appreciate a TV series or movie that features strong female characters that defy the brainless-bimbo-mold that makes up the lion's share of the women we see on TV. Smart, independent women are hot. It was one of the things that made Buffy such great television. However, in order to elevate the female characters, it does not require that you denigrate or marginalize all their male counterparts. The male character are clearly the creation of writers who demonstrate a profound lack of understanding of the male mind, or, worse, a deep-seated loathing of men in general. Not one male character is admirable, and all are reduced to little more than sounding boards for the unbearably whiny Loreli. Loreli's attitude towards this collection of eunuchs is, at best, dismissive, and, at worst, abusive. In one particularly egregious incident, in a display of monumental bad judgment, she begins an affair with Rory's teacher, then after breaking up with him, she entices him back with words of love and respect and promises of commitment. In no time, she impetuously agrees to marry him -- a decision based entirely on her fear of losing him and having nothing to do with love...again, what a free-thinker. However, the day of their wedding, Loreli suddenly panics at the prospect of sharing her life with this gutless panty-waist (the source of her panic is, it turns out, that up until the night before her wedding, she never gave thought to the fact they would live under the same roof, and, now, is repelled by the idea...bright girl...) and, being the free-spirit for whom convention will not suffice, she skipped town with Rory without so much as a word of explanation to her betrothed, the wedding guests and those who worked diligently to arrange the reception...including among them, her BEST FRIEND! And, of course, the writers have kindly presented the rough-edged, plaid-flannel-and-backwards-baseball-cap sportin', tactiturn, though deeply soulful local diner owner as the Sam to Loreli's Diane, in one of the least compelling "will they or won't they" story lines ever hatched in Cliché World.
In the case of Rory, her love interests have included a narcissistic, self-destructive preppy, a whipped townie whose most salient quality is his mistrustful attitude and soul-crushing neediness (whom, incidentally, pure and holy Rory lies to on a regular basis in order to hide her true feelings for another....seems the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree...), and a broken-home-bred bad boy who is equally at ease vandalizing property as he is quoting Steinbeck and Kerouac. You see, Rory is the only person in town who can see the true beauty of the aforementioned bad boy, ne'er do well, and, as we are so earnestly led to believe, she can tame his restless heart and draw forth the true potential that lies within.
And here is the part of the show that I find most troublesome: even though I hate most of the main characters, think the writing is contrived and the stories simple-minded cliché, find the depiction of men deplorable...despite all that...I can't stop watching the damn thing! I swear...it's like heroin.... I need help.