There are some things that are true in this world. One of these things is that I am a TV lover. However, for being the nut that I am about TV, there really are very few shows that I truly love. One of them, Gilmore Girls, will air its final episode tonight, and because of that, I feel the need to pay it tribute.
I wasn't one of those who watched the Girls from the very first episode. In fact, I wasn't even one who watched it during the first two seasons. Truthfully, I'd never even heard of it until a few weeks before the third season began. It was the beginning of my grad year of college, and I had two separate friends mention the show to me. One of them had been watching from the beginning with her mom and another had just started watching over the summer. I moved into a dorm room next door to the latter of these two girls, and just for the heck of it, when S3 premiered, I started watching it with her. I enjoyed it, so it began a weekly Tuesday night tradition.
I laugh now, but even though I adored the show from the first moment I watched it, the obsession didn't kick in until almost two years later. I was still a die-hard Buffy, and then Angel, fan when I first started watching Gilmore, and I repeatedly said to myself - and to others - "This show is great, but it's never going to be my favorite. I'll never be obsessed." HA! Along came the end of fourth season of Gilmore, and everything changed. Angel was ending, and Gilmore aired three of its best episodes ever. Episodes that I am willing to say are some of the best things I have ever seen on television. Luke and Lorelai kissed, and the deal was sealed. I became a rabid fan.
I spent the summer (and the year) that followed buying the DVDs, watching reruns on ABC Family, and joining the online fandom here on LJ. It's funny how much differently you watch a show when you truly love it (or at least, I do). I fell in love with this show, you guys. Crazy, obsessive in love. And here we are at the end, and despite the crap that it's put me through for the past two seasons, I am still crazy, obsessive in love.
Never have I believed a show to be more underappreciated than this one. I think it often gets written off as that "cute" show on the WB about the mother and the daughter who are more like best friends. Sure, that's the premise, but it is so much more than that. It's about complicated family relationships. It's about struggling to get what you want out of life. It's about a quirky little town called Stars Hollow and the even quirkier (yet loveable) townies. It's about Luke's Diner and coffee and the will they/won't they of Luke and Lorelai. It's about Rory growing up and struggling to find an identity separate (and yet reminscent of) her mother. It's about fast-paced, witty dialogue and pop culture references. It's about funky music. It's about being who you are and making mistakes and learning from them. It's about having a place to call home.
There's a song that plays at the end of the premiere and also the S1 finale, My Little Corner of the World by Yo La Tengo. In the song it says, "We always knew that we'd find someone like you. So welcome to our little corner of the world." To me, those lyrics embody exactly what this show means to me. I watch it and I think, This is my town. These are my people. It is, quite simply, my favorite place to be.
On a personal level, this show has meant a lot to me as well. I have made friends with so many amazing women online because of this show. I have deepened friendships in real life because of the time we spent getting together to watch this show. I started an LJ community (![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
gg_watching) and organized several viewing marathons and other challenges. I've written fanfiction. I've heard so much music and seen so many movies I never would have otherwise heard or seen. I've grown a lot as a person because of Gilmore.
In 10 minutes the finale starts, and I will spend my last new hour ever with Gilmore Girls. It's really hard for me to believe that in an hour, this thing that I love so much will be no more. So, I bid you a fond farewell, Gilmore Girls. In the words of Lorelai Gilmore (or more accurately, Dolly Parton), "I will always love you."
I wasn't one of those who watched the Girls from the very first episode. In fact, I wasn't even one who watched it during the first two seasons. Truthfully, I'd never even heard of it until a few weeks before the third season began. It was the beginning of my grad year of college, and I had two separate friends mention the show to me. One of them had been watching from the beginning with her mom and another had just started watching over the summer. I moved into a dorm room next door to the latter of these two girls, and just for the heck of it, when S3 premiered, I started watching it with her. I enjoyed it, so it began a weekly Tuesday night tradition.
I laugh now, but even though I adored the show from the first moment I watched it, the obsession didn't kick in until almost two years later. I was still a die-hard Buffy, and then Angel, fan when I first started watching Gilmore, and I repeatedly said to myself - and to others - "This show is great, but it's never going to be my favorite. I'll never be obsessed." HA! Along came the end of fourth season of Gilmore, and everything changed. Angel was ending, and Gilmore aired three of its best episodes ever. Episodes that I am willing to say are some of the best things I have ever seen on television. Luke and Lorelai kissed, and the deal was sealed. I became a rabid fan.
I spent the summer (and the year) that followed buying the DVDs, watching reruns on ABC Family, and joining the online fandom here on LJ. It's funny how much differently you watch a show when you truly love it (or at least, I do). I fell in love with this show, you guys. Crazy, obsessive in love. And here we are at the end, and despite the crap that it's put me through for the past two seasons, I am still crazy, obsessive in love.
Never have I believed a show to be more underappreciated than this one. I think it often gets written off as that "cute" show on the WB about the mother and the daughter who are more like best friends. Sure, that's the premise, but it is so much more than that. It's about complicated family relationships. It's about struggling to get what you want out of life. It's about a quirky little town called Stars Hollow and the even quirkier (yet loveable) townies. It's about Luke's Diner and coffee and the will they/won't they of Luke and Lorelai. It's about Rory growing up and struggling to find an identity separate (and yet reminscent of) her mother. It's about fast-paced, witty dialogue and pop culture references. It's about funky music. It's about being who you are and making mistakes and learning from them. It's about having a place to call home.
There's a song that plays at the end of the premiere and also the S1 finale, My Little Corner of the World by Yo La Tengo. In the song it says, "We always knew that we'd find someone like you. So welcome to our little corner of the world." To me, those lyrics embody exactly what this show means to me. I watch it and I think, This is my town. These are my people. It is, quite simply, my favorite place to be.
On a personal level, this show has meant a lot to me as well. I have made friends with so many amazing women online because of this show. I have deepened friendships in real life because of the time we spent getting together to watch this show. I started an LJ community (
gg_watching) and organized several viewing marathons and other challenges. I've written fanfiction. I've heard so much music and seen so many movies I never would have otherwise heard or seen. I've grown a lot as a person because of Gilmore.In 10 minutes the finale starts, and I will spend my last new hour ever with Gilmore Girls. It's really hard for me to believe that in an hour, this thing that I love so much will be no more. So, I bid you a fond farewell, Gilmore Girls. In the words of Lorelai Gilmore (or more accurately, Dolly Parton), "I will always love you."
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