'Gilmore Girls'

In honor of the recent news of a possible "Gilmore Girls" reunion series on Netflix, I’m going to write about one of my all time favorite shows. "Gilmore Girls" (2000-2007) is a classic comedy-drama created by Amy Sherman-Palladino starring actresses Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. The series premiered on Oct. 5, 2000 to critical acclaim and aired its final episode on May 15, 2007 after seven seasons. The show remains a cult classic for many, and episodes still air as reruns today.

I started watching Gilmore Girls in the sixth grade. ABC Family showed reruns of it every day at 4 p.m., and I would watch them when I ate snacks after school. I loved and still love everything about the mother and daughter pair of Rory and Lorelai Gilmore and their interactions with the show's many wacky characters, including people from their town, Stars Hollow, the insane Gilmore family and their high society friends. Over the years, I grew up watching Rory grow up from a timid high school sophomore to a college graduate to a professional journalist. Rory was my role model, and I wanted my life to mirror her's. The characters that Rory and Lorelai met along the journey were also very funny, and I became invested in how these recurring characters would impact Rory's and Lorelai's lives. For example, the town funny-man, Kirk, shows up in almost every episode of "Gilmore Girls" in a comedic way because he handles various jobs around town including store employee, t-shirt maker, gutter cleaner, etc.

The show was recently added to Netflix, which made it a prime candidate to begin binge-watching again. There are references in the show that I see now that I didn’t understand when I watched it for the first time in middle school -- specifically language and references to cultural figures that went above the heads of most middle schoolers. For example, in one episode, Rory has a dream that her mother is Madeleine Albright, the former United States Secretary of State. Before watching the show for the second time, I had no idea who this woman in bed with Rory was. Now that I’m older, I can also relate more to Rory than I could in the past, as before I could only relate to her high school years, but now I can connect to certain instances in Rory’s college experience, like when she moved into her dorm, went to her first college party, had difficulties with classes, etc.

I wouldn’t say this show is perfect for binge-watching. I wish it were, but if you’ve never watched the show, it might be best to take it in slowly. I know that if I had the opportunity to watch the show, without having seen it before, I would want to savor every moment. In addition, there aren’t any particular merits that would come from binge-watching that one wouldn’t otherwise get from just watching the show sequentially over a longer period of time. Each episode ends slightly further along the same plot arc, leaving audience members begging to know what happens next. With such a great show, sometimes it can be beneficial to savor each moment.