Stars Hollow. Say these two words to some television fans and their own eyes will fill with stars. Stars Hollow is an almost surreal little town that is filled as much with charm as it is with its own cast of quirky characters.
The two characters you’ll probably first meet when you step into the town limits of Stars Hollow are Lorelai and Rory Gilmore. A mother and daughter team that has lived in Stars Hollow since Rory was just one, the two could as easily be mistaken for sisters as they could offspring and parent. It’s around these two characters that Gilmore Girls revolves.
It’s the relationship between Lorelai and Rory that makes Gilmore Girls so dynamic. Instead of the cliche, “I can’t stand my mother” stance that so many shows and films deal with, Lorelai and Rory have a healthy and close relationship that drives their relationships between the peripheral characters of Gilmore Girls.
First, there is Lorelai’s current beau, Luke. Luke, proprietor of Luke’s Diner, has been the longtime target of many of Lorelai’s pent up feelings and vice versa. It was only at the end of season four that Luke and Lorelai confirmed their romantic intentions toward one another and embarked on an relationship that has lasted until this season.
Along with Luke are a cast of unforgettable characters that add to both Stars Hollow’s quirkiness and charm. There’s Taylor, the neurotic, power tripping Town Selectman and Taylor’s ever faithful lapdog, Kirk, who you might flitting from career to career as easily as one flips from channel to channel.
There’s no true antagonist in the series, though you may sometimes feel as if Richard and Emily Gilmore, Lorelai’s high society parents, fill that role during opportune or not-so-opportune times in Lorelai’s life.
As the series stands now, it’s Lorelai’s impending nuptials to Luke that are in rocky waters. Luke, who has just discovered that he has a 12 year old daughter from a previous relationship, has put the nuptials on hold and is requesting that he be allowed to bond with his daughter before Lorelai is entered into the picture. This has, of course, put strain on the relationship.
While Lorelai battles her ever-changing relationship with Luke, Rory has her own relationship problems back at Yale. No longer in the safe confines of Stars Hollow, Rory is entering her junior year at Yale and continues a volatile relationship with Logan, a college playboy with a dad who just happens to be a media tycoon.
The one constant anchor in both Lorelai and Rory’s lives are each other. Even though the relationship might become rocky, it always boil down to one thing: an amazing bond between mother and daughter that no man, woman, or dog can tear asunder and it is this reason that viewers everywhere tune in every Tuesday to watch one of television’s lightest, yet best written series.
Now that you’ve been formally introduced to the series, keep an eye on our Media Reviews blog as I will be covering the ending of this season as well as next season’s progressions.
Until then, Gilmore Girls airs on the WB at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. You can also buy the first five seasons on DVD through amazon.com.