All-Time Favorites: Gilmore Girls

Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel, an unfairly pretty mother-daughter combo, am I right?

I don't know if any TV show has had the effect on me that Gilmore Girls has had. I'm not saying there aren't other shows I've completely loved in my long career of television appreciation, but Gilmore Girls is the show that I think most affected me as a person.

For the GG-illiterate, Gilmore Girls is about a mother and a daughter, Lorelai and Rory (short for Lorelai also) Gilmore. Twist: Lorelai had Rory when she was 16, so when the show starts Lorelai is 32 and Rory is 16. Partly because of their closeness in age, they have an almost freakish bond that makes them best friends as well as mother and daughter. The bulk of the obstacles in their relationships are when they have trouble figuring out which side of the friends-or-family line they are on in certain situations, which is really interesting. They also talk incredibly fast in conversations so full of pop-culture references, you need Wikipedia open for quick searches during each episode. As a fast talker and pop-culture geek girl myself, I find myself envious of their conversational abilities, although some critics found it jarring when the show initially aired.

Yes, that's the mom from Dirty Dancing.

Another main plotline is a focus on Lorelai's tense relationship with her incredibly WASP-y parents, Richard and Emily Gilmore. The entire show and its driving plot force begins with Rory getting into a very elite private school, Chilton, and Lorelai learning that she is unable to pay for this incredible opportunity for her daughter. With nowhere else to turn, she goes to her parents for help and the elder Gilmores agree to pay for Rory's expensive private education as long as Lorelai will agree to attend dinner with them every Friday with Rory in tow. This is a huge deal for Lorelai because, as mentioned before, she and her parents do not get along and previous to this arrangement, they saw each other maybe twice a year on major holidays. You're hooked right? But wait, there's more.

For real, who wouldn't want to live there?

Another essential element in GG is the quirky, Pleasantville-like town that Lorelai and Rory live in, Stars Hollow. This town is full of eccentric and lively characters that include: Miss Patty, the local dance teacher with cougar tendencies, Taylor, the local politician and busybody, and Luke, the local diner owner and torch-carrier for Lorelai. There are more, but honestly, I couldn't do them justice. Stars Hollow is a magical place where there always seems to be an over-the-top all-town event taking place in every episode. I'm dying to live there.

Now that's a flannel.

 What's that readers? You picked up from my description of Luke that he carries a torch for Lorelai? Well good work, because that will be a plot point woven throughout all 7 seasons of this amazing program and Luke is amazing. Not only does he provide the Gilmore girls with most of their daily meals (the GGs are not cooks), but he has been a father figure to Rory her whole life and he is a notorious curmudgeon with a soft gooey center that basically makes him the perfect man. And he can fix anything. And he can cook excellent diner food as well as gourmet meals. And looks good in flannel. Seriously ladies, this man is a catch. Too bad he's not real. (Quick shout out to the hubs: you're almost perfect babe! Don't get jealous of my love for Luke Danes because I promise I know he's not real, I swear!)

Ok, I could go on forever on the brilliant characters and story telling that is done through this show, and trust me those are all excellent reasons to watch it on ABC Family, DVDs or really any form you can get your hands on. However, the real reason I wrote this post is to tell you why this show actually had an effect on me as a person.

Books are cool, just ask Rory!

First and foremost, Rory Gilmore made it cool to be smart and to be a book nerd. She didn't try to hide how smart she was; in fact, she completely owned it. The guys she dated throughout the series also loved how smart she was as opposed to trying to squash it. I love this, because growing up as a smart girl and a book nerd myself, it was really hard to find boys who weren't intimidated by that. It was also a challenge in high school because even though I was social and loved to have fun, I was always labeled the smart girl and therefore not 100% included. Rory Gilmore wasn't 100% included either, but she was ok with that. She still had good friends, plenty of very cute boys after her and a full, busy life. I wish I had actually watched this show all through high school, because I could have used that lesson earlier than I learned it.

Couldn't find a pic of just Lorelai in a wrap dress, but seriously, no one can rock a wrap dress like her.

Second, despite the teen pregnancy, Lorelai Gilmore is a true role model for making something of herself. Through a huge amount of hard work and sacrifice, she makes a beautiful life for Rory, owns her own home and eventually her own inn. She does this all while wearing a rainbow of beautiful wrap dresses, drinking probably 6 million cups of coffee (coffee is big in GG), and living through several great love stories. She's also a good mom and knows when to play the mom card even if it makes her intense friendship with her daughter a little rocky at times. While I don't advocate getting preggo at 16, I do advocate being like Lorelai in lots of other ways, not least importantly in her business casual fashion sense. My mom reminds me a lot of Lorelai, except that she had me at the much more appropriate age of 29, don't be jealous, but do, because my mom's awesome.

Additionally, Gilmore Girls taught me a lot about relationships. All kinds of relationships too. GG taught me that no matter how strong the bond, all mothers and daughters fight sometimes and that's healthy. GG taught me a guy who lets you down over and over will always be the guy who lets you down over and over, no matter how hard you try to change him. GG taught me that I should look for a man who both takes care of me and lets me take care of him (a la Luke and Lorelai). GG taught me to never neglect my besties, no matter how much boys, work and family take up my time.

Worth every penny.

Finally, GG taught me about the importance of home. Now I'm not referring to a specific house or town, but a place where the people you love can come and feel safe and loved and completely comfortable being themselves. Rory always had home to go back to, which for her was their house and Stars Hollow in general. That is something I want to create for my future children and my husband and anyone else we welcome into our home. I feel like that's a pretty great life goal, to create a home. Not in the 1950s sense necessarily, although go on with your bad self if you want to Martha Stewart all over the place. I mean to foster an atmosphere of security and love and acceptance for the people around me. That's the essence of Gilmore Girls, in my opinion, and that's what makes the show so extraordinary.

*Sorry this is the longest post ever, but I can't think of a TV show more worthy of all of these words. :)
Images via: Electrolund, Gilmore News, Preble Activities, Google Images, We Heart It, Adelka 1620, American Listed