A Year in the Life returns to Gilmore Girls TV series
What is it? Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, four 90-minute episodes on two discs from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
When? Now
How much? $24.98
I thought this show ended in 2007? It did. Thanks to Netflix and a trend toward reviving deceased series (see The X-Files and
Will & Grace), it’s back.
For those unfamiliar, the series (2000-2007) followed the lives of the Gilmore family: free spirited Lorelai (Lauren
Graham), who managed
(and eventually owned) an inn in the quirky Stars
Hollow, her intellectually gifted teen daughter,
Rory (Alexis Bledel), and Lorelai’s wealthy, high-society parents,
Richard and Emily (Edward Herrmann and Kelly Bishop).
The Gilmores’ complicated personal relationships were repaired, damaged and repaired again as the younger two women also dealt with romantic lives that were far from simple. Take Lorelai’s on-and-off romance with town diner owner Luke (Scott Patterson) for instance.
So, what’s up? Years have passed, but Lorelai is still co-owner of the Dragonfly Inn and is still romantically involved with (though not married to) Luke. Rory is juggling her uncertain professional and personal lives. Lorelai and Emily still have a strained relationship.
But there have been changes. Richard has recently passed away, leaving Emily a widow trying to figure out her place and purpose in life.
Meanwhile, Lorelai feels insecure in her relationship with Luke and Rory is finding that life as a globe-trotting freelance journalist isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Over the course of one year, all three women make big decisions that affect their lives and the lives of their friends and family.
Will fans love it? They should be happy to return to Stars Hollow and have the chance to see familiar places and faces. It seems like almost every supporting character at least makes an appearance: Paris (Liza Weil), Lane (Keiko Agena), Kirk (Sean Gunn), Michel (Yanic Truesdale).
The cast slips easily into their old roles and that familiar rapid-fire patter dialogue full of pop-culture references.
Since I was not a regular Gilmore viewer, I asked a longtime fan of the original series and she reported that while it wasn’t perfect, she did enjoy it. She also pointed out that creator Amy Sherman-Palladino was not involved in the original run’s final season, so her coming back to helm this mini-season gave it more of a feeling of closure (although it does end on a semi-cliffhanger).
What about people who didn’t watch the original show? Frankly, I’m not sure why they’d be interested. I was able to keep up pretty well thanks to a passing knowledge of the show’s history and characters. Complete newbies are likely to be lost. If you want to watch the Girls, start at the beginning.
And keep in mind the show’s signature wordy, cutesy style is hilarious and brilliant to some, annoying to others.
Extras? None. Though, considering the series was thought to be dead in 2007, the four episodes themselves could be considered a bonus. New this week: Daniel Boone, Season 6;
Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, Season 2 (Blu-ray); Police Woman, Season 3; Salvation, Season 1; South Park, Seasons 6-11 (Blu-ray);
Stan Lee’s Lucky Man, Season 1
Next week: Acceptable Risk, Season 1; Manhunt: Unabomber, miniseries.