Gilmore Girls

[Ben Varkentine]

I don't remember Chris showing up this much in the past without him letting down the girls. What comes to mind is when he started showing up regularly, back in season 2 I believe, when he wanted to start over with Lorelai and Rory and then the whole Sherry-getting-pregenant thing happened and he walked out on them again.

I think they're showing that Chris is changing a little bit, as have the girls and most of the other major characters on the show. If all he ever did was show up and let them down it would get a little monotonous, and he's always had both sides.

That said, I still have to wonder what's gonna happen the next time he and Luke are in a room together, or how he's really going to react to the notion of Rory having a stepdad.

[HalfCamel]

So, we're finally getting a new episode tomorrow. It's been what a month?

Anyways, has anyone seen the previews yet? I saw it on the WB's website and towards the end it says something "leads to a shocking season finale." Does this means this is the season finale? Are we getting a full season? Or does it mean this episode gets the ball rolling for the season finale? I think we're barely on the 17th ep. I'm confused.

Anyways,

Spoiler:

I'm excited to see what they do with Jess.

(Just in case y'all haven't seen the preview).

And, I'm still not feeling the Lane/Zach wedding.

[Garner]

Well we've had two episodes and no comment!? Terrible. I was a bit surprised at how meekly Rory accepted Logans apology and the two got back together in the first of the new eps. I suppose what he was saying wasn't inaccurate and that he did think the two of them were separated, but I would have expected Rory to fight back a bit more, make demands or something. Given what we saw the latest ep, I am not surprised she hadn't really forgiven him. We'll have to see if this translates into anything. There were some funny moments in the ep, and I did like that Rory and Paris were bonding again. And the episode later it was nice to see Paris back on the paper and interacting a bit more normally, at least for her.

I loved the bit with Kirk and Ceaser this week, that was very amusing, And again, I thought Jess came off pretty well. He seems to have really matured, become more reasonable, lost alot of that chip off his shoulder. The two times we've seen him this year I've liked him. And he looks and acts like a total '50s beat, which is perfect for him. I don't see him as a long term boyfriend for Rory, but I do like him for one shots like this.

I also have to admit that I am getting tired of Luke and April. The parts in the current ep with April weren't bad exactly, but I can definitely see Lorelai having a blow up about all this soon. Luke is keeping this part of his life separate from her too long. I hope something resolves with this soon.

I also loved Richard and Emily looking for a house in Star's Hollow and how Lorelai reacted to that. That was really good. And the dress business with Lane was nice too. Overall, they were OK episodes, but nothing stellar. I hope that the last few are good. They hint at something big at the end of the season, anyone have any guesses what this will be?

Garner

[seurat]

I did see both recent ep's, but I had to watch the first one while visiting my parents and sister and enduring their constant complaints about the crummy show they were being forced to suffer through. (I gave up the fight for the rest of the week after that and watched everything else I liked after I got home - let us take a moment to bless TIVO.) But what I found myself thinking as I was watching GG and trying to defend what's special about it to me, is that it just isn't that special anymore. I kind of enjoyed that ep, at least chunks of it, but it was nowhere near as good as it can be and pretty nearly always was back in the old days of seasons one and two. I did enjoy Mama Kim though, and I did laugh a couple of times when Luke turned away from the door after being warned by Lorelai that her parents were in the house, and once at a remark Mama Kim made about the engagement ring. I loved Paris attacking Logan, and then Doyle, but hated that they were both forgiven so quickly. (Although Rory obviously hasn't actually forgiven him.) And Luke's blindness about how shutting Lorelai out of his relationship with his daughter hurts Lor is getting too painful to watch and increasingly hard to believe.

This week's ep, happily watched without frequent complaining, was ok. I thought the road trip with April and the kid's was entertaining, and I appreciated seeing Rory realize that despite everything she does love Logan and not Jess. And the stuff with Lorelai walking around with her parents running down the town so they wouldn't move there was well done. So all the parts were there for it to be a good ep, but somehow it didn't ever take off for me. Maybe I'll rate it higher many months from now when this season comes out on dvd. For now it looks like we are going to get a wedding, but not the one we hoped for, and the April story is going to drag on. There better be a lot of Paris in the last few new ep's to make up for that.

[HalfCamel]

I saw both episodes but, as was mentioned, nothing special so I just didn't comment.

I also found myself in the position of needing to defend my watching this show to a friend, and I found I really couldn't. While I still love the show, I find myself in the "It's just not what it use to be" camp. And I know that it couldn't have stayed the same throughout its run, because how boring would that be. It needed to evolve and change and have a new direction. But what I find myself asking is, "What direction do they want to go in?"

At first Rory was determined to go to Harvard and they had her story with Chilton in the foreground. And Lorelai was determined to have her own inn and they had her story with the Independence Inn. These two had a purpose and a direction back then. But now what? Rory got into her Ivy League and Lorelai got her inn. Where do they want to go now?

They're focusing soley on relationships now, which I don't mind, but life isn't just relationships with boyfriends. Yes you have your relationship problems but you also have real life problems. In the early seasons they balanced out things well with relationship and life stuff.

I guess my problem is that there seems to be no structure or plans for the girls. They don't have their ambitions anymore. They're just trying to deal with illegitimate children and cheating boyfriends. Yes, you could argue that life isn't always planned and sometimes you go where the road takes you, but I want to see the girls strive for something.

And I want to see them stop being such push-over's and so meek. I want Lorelai to confront Luke and put a stop to this ridiculous not meeting April thing. And I want Rory to let Logan know how much of an ass he was and that he hurt her.

Okay, rant over. I'll move on.

I hate that the writers are giving more screen time to April than to Sookie and Michel combined.

I hadn't noticed how Rory is now towards the Grandparents, how she didn't really want them to move to Stars Hollow. As well as other things that don't come to mind right now.

Garner, in the previews for the wedding they showed Chris, Lorelai, and Sookie, but no Luke. So, I'm guessing it has something to do with that. And I hate to say it but I'm thinking L/L might break up. Which I hope they don't.

[werewolf123]

Has anyone confirmed that Amy Sherman-Palladino is leaving gilmore girls at the end of this season? Ain't it cool news has a report.

[Garner]

For an ASP episode, this weeks was kinda flat, and I am not certain why. I will admit that on a second watch, it was better than the first one. The whole duel weddings was amusing and the 62 Koreans, 58 seats was a hoot. I loved Miss Patty being there the night before. And I did like the bar bit and Michele dancing and even Paris and both points of view for her story. But something felt a bit off. There was humor, but not as much as I have come to expect from GG. And for me that is the whole problem with this season, and some of last. It seems like they've lost some of that quirky humor and the just off edge to Star's Hollow. Maybe it was Lane/Zach, Lorelai/Luke and Rory/Logan were/are all going through troubles at the same time? I think Halfcamel is right that there is a balance that is missing. There is too much relationship stuff, too much serious stuff, and not enough other things going on. More dealing with the strangeness that is life in Star's Hollow, more college life or problems at the inn. I liked the Poe Society thing and some of the various odd things that occured at the old inn. I think GG must be hard to write as keeping that humorous edge, and yet still paying attention to the characters must be hard, especially after so many seasons.

This season reminds me of parts of the third season with Jess and Dean that I didn't like as much. Too much on relationships and not enough on other things. Again, it isn't bad. I can still defend the show as having weird moments of great humor and the mother-daughter banter is mostly back and still good. But some of the charm is missing. They definitely need Logan and Rory and then Lorelai and Luke to have a cleaning of the air and big blowout. I definitely want to see less April and more of Paris, Michele, Sookie and Lane. Or even just Rory and Lorelai. Maybe the two just need to say 'screw it' and go on a longer trip together and that could be the show for a a month. That could be fun.

I still like the show, and hope that ASP doesn't leave unless she's burned out, but if next season is the last, that wouldn't be the end of the world either. Go out with some good stuff, not crawling like BtVS.

Garner

[seurat]

ASP and DP are gone. The new showrunner is David Rosenthal, who wrote a couple of scripts for the show in the last two seasons. Don't remember if they were good ep's or not, but let us hope that they were.

A couple of seasons ago if this had happened I would have been very disturbed. Now I'm not sure what to think. Some of the individual ep scripts will suffer for this, but the overall storyline might get more promising. When Aaron Sorkin left the West Wing the show didn't tank completely, but it lost the spark that had made it special. It was still worth watching, but it was not the same show. I suspect something similar will happen to GG. I''ll still watch to see how they handle the change, but I'll be surprised it it ever reaches it's highest standards again.

As for this week's ep, I enjoyed most of it, loved Lane and Rory hiding things under the floorboards for Mama Kim, and the 58 seats, 62 Koreans thing really was hilarious. Nice to see Lulu again too even if only for a few seconds. But I couldn't watch all of Lor's drunken speech, just too painful. Scenes like that, and the rumors about what happens in the finale, make me think maybe ASP knew it was time to do something else. Well see.

ETA; I loved the fracking line too. I'm going to miss those effortless pop culture references.

[SySnootles]

Personally I loved that the word "fracking" was used in the episode. Yay for crossovers (even if they're just wee bits of dialogue)!

[urnofosiris]

I just saw ep 17 and 18. I do not buy Rory going back to Logan just like that after that lame ass explanation, not even if she really loves him. They are broken up for like two minutes and he manages to sleep with how many "vipers" exactly? If he was so hard up he could have pleasured himself instead of going at it with women he completely disrespects. He is far more cheap than any of them. Whiny snot. I used to like him better than Jess or Dean, but now I am not so sure. Jess has grown up into an ok guy, I am all confused now. Still, I don´t really care who Rory dates, I am far more annoyed with that dwarf who claims he is the best thing that ever happened to Paris. The joke that is the two of them has been milked ad nauseam. The cow is dry and very dead, time to move on.

They did not address the reasons behind Paris´ insane behavior, but I am actually ok with it. Her brief talk with Rory was good and I am satisfied as long as they don´t go over the top with insane Paris again just for laughs.
As for Luke and Lorelai, I find myself not caring if they break up yet again. I find his obtuse and offensive behavior too aggravating to watch for much longer. When he introduced Rory to April he sounded like he was completely embarrased by having to mention Lorelaias well, as if she is some sort of nasty disease he is carrying. It makes no sense why he is so spastic about keeping them apart. I am tired of it. ASP said we should trust them didn´t she, they were going somewhere with this April story weren´t they. They had better get there fast, so far I am finding nothing original or interesting about this storyline.

Having gotten these irks off my chest, I still liked the last two episodes well enough, plenty of amusing moments left in between the crap ones. Lane, Paris and Mrs Kim rocked. Lorelai is always a pleasure to watch and I even was amused by Emily again. I am guessing they are not househunting for themselves, that seems too obvious, I think that maybe they are trying to find a more "proper" place for Lorelai and a possible other grandchild to live in.

[Garner]

I have to agree with DrG that the April storyline has been way too drawn out and not that interesting. I am tired of waiting for the pay off. That has been true of a lot of this season, too much filler and not enough action or getting on with things. The Lorelai-Rory split was too long.

All that being said, I really liked last week's ep. It was one of the better ones so far. Paris was awesome, little that we saw her. I hate hospitals that don't release information to anyone but family. If they ask if I am family, I say "yes!"

And finally we get a reasonable answer for Luke freezing Lorelai out of April's life. I can see why he would fear her being more popular than him and he is probably right. Looking at how cool a job she did with the party, that just sort of proves the point. At least this I buy. I still don't like the tension and lack of real communication between Lorelai and Luke, but this may have helped. In contrast, Logan was very forthright and correct in what he said to Rory. I am impressed with how well they are able to communicate, sometimes after the fact, but still, less secrets or withheld feelings between them. And Rory telling off Mitchum was awesome and totally cool. I watched that part a few times.

I also think that Anne, April's mom, is totally out of line with her anger and reasoning. Maybe she is just jealous of Lorelai and fears that Luke will take April away from her. I could understand that. April probably came back and talked constantly about Lorelai and the party. But, she should be happy Luke had someone there to chaperone the sleep over, and other parents might be more comfortable that it was a female, not some 30+ year old bachelor. And the whole bonding thing is BS. Kids bond with all sorts of people, teachers, friends, pets who leave or are killed. They bounce back. There is no garuntee that Anne will live through the next day. Give me a break. Wait till they're married. BS! And if Luke wanted to get nasty, he could get a lawyer and demand time with April. That Anne didn't tell him about his own daughter would work heavily against her. I hope that this unreasonable attitude gets explained or turns on her. I really disliked her attitude and the crap she was spewing.

Overall, I liked this ep quite a bit. It was funnier than normal recently, even Michele's web page face deal was amusing and Lorelai's 'do you want to argue about this now or later?' and his, 'Later, I am having too much fun now,' was great. It should be interesting to see where all this heads tomorrow and then for the finale. I hope Luke and Lorelai get back on track and this April stuff gets settled.

Garner

[urnofosiris]

I had just about the same feelings about this last episode as Garner. I enjoyed it well enough. Plenty of humorous moments, Sookie was great this episode. Paris brief role was awesome, she really kicks ass and she was a great friend to Rory.

Luke´s explanation about why he wanted to keep April to himself actually makes sense to me, but that still does not excuse how long they have been dragging this along. Anne´s reaction made no sense indeed, at least her reasoning does not, as if marriage guarantees anything, as if Luke is changing girlfriends every other week, as if April is so fragile that she would not be able to cope with losing someone she likes in her life, and if she can´t she should learn, that is part of living.

Nah, Anne used a piss poor excuse to keep Lorelai from April. The only reason I can understand is her being jealous of Lorelai just like Luke is, but they both need to grow up and get over it yesterday. They are not in a popularity contest. April is their daughter, Lorelai is not going to steal her from them and so what if Lorelai is considered to be more cool by April? She would not be the first kid to think other people´s parents seem are cooler than their own.

[seurat]

I actually like about 90-95% of this ep too, which is encouraging considering the new showrunner wrote this script. I also loved Rory's takedown of Mitchum and also watched it more than once. I also liked the way she treated Colin and Finn. She has shown some affection for them in the past so it rang true that she was really disappointed in their joking at an inappropriate time and that they didn't put up any defense, maybe because they had actually been worried about Logan themselves but didn't want to admit it and fell back on their usual smartass routine instead. (Mitchum, on the other hand, she has nothing but contempt for and it showed.) And the relationship between Rory and Logan was well handled, you do forgive people in hospital and concentrate on getting them better. Doesn't mean all their problems are solved for good though. We'll wait and see.

It was good to see some explanation on Luke's refusal to let Lorelai get to know April, but I wasn't impressed with what they presented as his reason. Being worried that the kid might like Lor more than him is weak, and just how long is that supposed to go anyway? Until the kid's 18? Give me a break. The old Luke, the real Luke as opposed to the NotLuke we have now (if I may be allowed to borrow that title for him) would have been proud of Loreali and his relationship with her and wouldn't have been able to wait to have them meet and enjoy their interaction. This storyline bites. The bit with Anna made it even worse. I don't blame this writer for that though, that was an anvil left for him by ASP and he couldn't avoid running headlong into it at some point in the show. Most of the other stuff I like too, I loved the party and the trip to get fun makeup is just the kind of thing Lorelai would know was perfect and that would never occur to Luke in a million years. (Or me either, I have to admit.)

I'm also anxious to see these last couple of ep's but also a little afraid because I've heard some nasty rumors about them. Let's hope they were wrong and that we'll get a good wrap-up to the season.

[urnofosiris]

NotLuke is actually a good way to describe him. He does seem a different man than he was. His explanation of why he was keeping April from Lorelai seems weak if you put it like that, heh, but I really cannot think of another one that makes more sense. I can understand he would like to get to know her on his own at first, but he still could have done that without treating Lorelai like she has the plague and pretending she does not exist. It seems the writers have been jumping though hoops to create angst for Luke and Lorelai and all it achieved for me is that now I don´t care if they break up and never look at each other again. Given that I don´t care anymore, I am more free to enjoy the random bantering again, so I guess that is good, but probably not what the writers intended.

[Ben Varkentine]

This is blatant blogpimping, but I've done a little "tribute" to GG in mine-listing some of my favorite moments from the first handful of years. Drop by if you're so inclined:

http://varkentine.blogspot.com/2006/05/ ... to-be.html

As for the season wrap-up...well, at this point, I can't see me coming back next year. If ASP and DP were coming back, I might've, because I still have enough faith in their handling of the characters to see them walking the high-wire successfully.

Conversely, if they hadn't ended the season on such a disappointing note, I might've been more inclined to give the new showrunner a try.

But no Amy & Dan and Lorelei crossing what, to me, may be an unforgivable line?

No, sorry. Thanks, but if it's all the same to you, GG ended for me the minute I heard the Palladinos weren't coming back. It's easier that way.

[seurat]

Well, Ben, I certainly share your disappointment over the final scene with Lorelai in Christopher's bed. I've been dreading the scene for weeks since seeing a spoiler. I really don't think this is the way for them to go and it makes me sad that it will be the last scene ASP likely writes for the series.

But that's kind of my other main point here - ASP wrote that scene, and she dreamed up all the ridiculous troubles between Lor and Luke (or NotLuke), she came up with the child-nobody-knew-about and none of us needed storyline and every other contrived bit of plot that we've been subjected to recently. This is her grand plan, and DP's too. Her argument is that this show is her creation and this is what she wanted for it, to lead it into what she hoped would be two more seasons. And when she didn't get that commitment, she walked.

There's a whole argument we could get into here, about who a piece of art belongs to once it leaves the artist's hands, but for the sake of keeping this to something shorter than a novel, let's say that I for one don't believe that GG belongs to ASP anymore, or at least not just to her. All of the people who worked on it over the years, and those of us who watched have a stake in it too. And as one of those people I will be watching it next season, hoping that the new writer can fix the show and keep me interested. Maybe he'll fail, but I'm willing to give it a chance.

The irony of all this is that I actually enjoyed a lot of this last ep. I loved the troubador migration story and it was fun to see Sonic Youth and others on the show. I loved the model of Rory's building with the enormous plaque and the extreme discomfort it caused Rory. Even Chris being at the dinner was fine. The only problem I have is with the continuing trend of making Luke into NotLuke just to drive Lor into Christopher's arms. If they continue to play that out next season I may have to quit the show as well.

[Ben Varkentine]

Here I have to take the position you would expect me to take as a writer: Yes, a lot of people have contributed to Gilmore Girls over the years, as on any television show. But I believe absolutely that the love and care ASP and DP put into the scripts were its life's blood.

But (and here's where the metaphor breaks down, of course) I don't believe a "transfusion" is the answer. ASP and DP may have helped break it, I also believe they're the only persons who could fix it.

GG may well be "fixed" next year, but I can't imagine it's being "fixed" into a show that'll be anything like I recognize.

I was actually more okay with the Luke storyline for most of this season than some of you were-until it became plain that they weren't just going to tantalize us by having Lorelei wavering, but were actually going to send her diving into the crap.

That, for me, was an "I'm sorry, no" moment, and it's very hard for a series to regain my interest following an "I'm sorry, no" moment. It's a moment when someone does something so completely out of character that it wrenches you out of the series for good.

It's one thing for Logan to screw up like he did-he's 21, for god's sake, it's a license to stupid.

Lorelei is 38 years old, she's raised a child, she owns a business. However impulsive and knee-jerk she's been in the past, there are some things I just don't believe she'd do.

Yes, I still have enough faith in the Palladinos (however shaken) that I'd be back to see how they'd resolve the seemingly insurmountable corner they've backed themselves into.

But I won't be back to see someone else do it.

Bear in mind that I have watched exactly three entire West Wing episodes since Aaron Sorkin left...in many ways, I am not a typical TV viewer.

Rightly or wrongly, I consider myself very sensitive to authorial "voices."

[seurat]

I guess we'll just agree to disagree on this one Ben. As it happens I've published too - magazine articles and such - and in some cases I agree with you. With novels for example, I would never want to see one altered without the author's permission. And if ASP and DP had been fired I would probably support them despite my misgivings about their plotting of the show this year. But they weren't fired, they took a hard line in contract negotiations and chose to walk away rather than accept less than a two year contract. No doubt it won't be the same show next year, and may never be as good as it was in the past, but I'll still give it a chance. It will be interesting to see how many viewers agree with you and what kind of ratings they score.

Finally, back to the firmer ground of talking about the actual ep, I forgot to mention that I enjoyed the Rory/Logan scenes this week, the party was fun, I thought her talk with Mitchum in the elevator was well handled (even though I still despise Mitchum) and that Alexis actually did some really solid work in this ep. Of course Lauren Graham was great thoughout, but then we expect that from her. Just too bad about that last scene.

[Garner]

Well the last Palandino ep is done, and overall the episode was pretty good. We got enough laughs and some nice moments, BUT, I do agree that the end ruined the episode overall. Sort of like SR on BtVS, though no where near THAT bad. I don't know if I would have agreed with the NotLuke appelation just from the previous episode, but it seems like a lot of Luke's sensitivity towards Lorelai has gone. What happened to the guy who read her so well, who built the ice rink to get her back with snow, made the santa burger for her, did all sorts of little things to show how attentive he was to her? I can't see Luke being so distracted that he missed how badly the wedding being postponed hurt her, and the problems April is causing between them. Lorelai is right, how April will fit in their lives should be the issue, not the other way around. The whole April storyline has been very uninteresting and has twisted Luke and Lorelai's relationship way out of recognition. I understand the fear that just letting them marry would ruin the dynamic and the show, but seriously, this was no better. The only up side I could see to this would be if Emily and Richard somehow put Ana up to all this in an attempt to split Luke and Lorelai up. Now that would be shocking, interesting, and pretty cool (and end Lorelai's relationship with her parents too.) But I doubt that is what happened. It is sad that Logan paid way more attention to Rory, took the blame for his stupid stunt, realized that he needed to fix things, and was even looking forward to a quiet night alone with her (though he did seem to enjoy the party, but he also looked like it wasn't necessary, which is pretty nice growth for Logan.) Rory and Logan talk problems out, Luke and Lorelai just ignore them and don't talk now, that doesn't seem right.

As for watching next year, of course I'll give the show a chance. Why not? Plenty of good scripts have been written by others. ASP and DP may have been the soul of show, and did write some of the best eps, but not all of them. And if this storyline is the best they can do now, maybe it is time they move on. I still think on long running shows firing half to a third of the writers each year after year 4-5 is a good idea. They're spent and lose interest, or have to really stretch to come up with something for the characters to do. While the new team might blow it, I will at least grant them the benefit of a chance. I don't know if Lorelai and Christopher had sex or not, was that something Lorelai would do? Maybe, she was pretty upset, and Christopher has been around a bunch lately and they will always have feelings for each other. As a counterpoint to Logan and Rory, this could, and I mean a tiny chance, but a chance, that it could be interesting. Overall though, we watied too long for Luke and Lorelai to get together for this to be the way they end. That would bite.

I also did like Mitchum's explanation to Rory about Logan. They always did do a good job showing both sides and making even Mitchum seem more than just a 2 dimensional bad guy. That is what makes Emily and Richard so interesting. I just wish there was some pay off or resolution to the stupid April story.

Garner

[Ben Varkentine]

I don't know if Lorelai and Christopher had sex or not, was that something Lorelai would do? Maybe, she was pretty upset, and Christopher has been around a bunch lately and they will always have feelings for each other. As a counterpoint to Logan and Rory, this could, and I mean a tiny chance, but a chance, that it could be interesting. Overall though, we watied too long for Luke and Lorelai to get together for this to be the way they end. That would bite.

Problem is, this is one of those situations where they're screwed no matter what (another way it's like SR). If Lorelei and Chris didn't have sex, then it's dishonest, jerky writing because that's clearly what they were implying.

If they hadn't shown him taking off his clothes, getting into bed and putting his arms around her I would believe there was a chance they didn't.

But assuming they did, then Lorelei just cheated on her fiancee because he's having trouble adjusting to having a daughter. That is the situation as I understand it and it doesn't put her in a very good light..

[seurat]

We're still a day or so away from an official announcement, but the word is that GG only got a 13 episode order for next season on CW. This could easily be changed to a full season order later of course, but it does show how concerned they are about the current direction of the show, and maybe about the absence of ASP.

[Garner]

Ben, I have to agree that it is likely Lorelai slept with Christopher. His sort of satisfied smile certainly attests to that. And it would be sloppy writing to go back on it, but then it was sloppy writing to get her there in the first place, so I can forgive a slightly sloppy fix to what never should have happened. I could see Lorelai rationalizing sleeping with Christopher as not cheating in that she gave Luke The Ultimatum, now or never. He couldn't choose now, so they're through, it's never and they're on a break, broken up or whatever. Is that a good rationalization? Not really, and it was awfully quick (her getting together with Christopher), but she's been feeling frustrated and shut out by Luke for a while. The whole don't come over tonight, I'm busy shows that. One could almost say they were broken up an ep ago, just about. So like Logan, I think the 'cheating' part can be gotten around. The fact that she DID go to Christopher, which Luke has freaked out about once already, is going to be harder.

13 Episodes is an awfully cautious order for a veteran show that had good ratings last year, despite the shaky story. Still, it might put some pressure on the new team to do a good job right away. That might not be a bad thing all told. I still feel the show can maintain its high level, but for me, this last season was probably the least interesting so far. Season 4 had way more good moments and episodes, despite no boyfriend for Rory.

Garner

[Ben Varkentine]

Maybe it's a deal like Veronica Mars is reportedly getting-a 22 episode order that might be cut to 13 if the ratings aren't there. In VM's case, I think that was a good movie-I thought that show's writing spun out of control in the second half of last year.

[Garner]

Did anyone else see the write up in Entertainment Weekly a couple weeks ago on Gilmore Girls? I found it interesting that they said ASP was very strict on the scripts being followed without deviation and that there was no input by the actors or changing of the lines. Now however, Kelly Bishop and Lauren Graham have both stated that they are having more input and what is being said, lines are being re-written or improved. I find this actually encouraging as I find one of the problems with Buffy was that after season 5 Josswad was burned out and the writers obviously tapped on ideas and turning to the actors might, and I say might, have helped. Certainly someone like Amber had the talent to be able to maybe write and direct an ep if they'd thought to ask her. I think losing the Paladinos might not be the end of the world. There were too many aspects of last years season that were iffy at best and maybe some new blood will revitalize the show and return the fun that was missing a lot of the time last year. Anyway, I take what I read as positive news and it gives me some faith that maybe GG will be great again. I guess we'll see.

Garner

[urnofosiris]

Given what they produced last season I am not at all saddened or worried to have them exit the show. I have grown pretty tired of Luke´s nonsensical I have to consider April attitude. I never did find out where they went with that storyline other than make it serve as the umpteenth boring bump in the road for Lorelai and Luke. I look forward to this season, it surely has to be better. I should say that last season of GG was my least favorite of the lot, yet I still prefer it over many another show.

[seurat]

I was a little surprised by the comments the actors made, they were always so supportive of the Palladinos before. I guess the truth comes out eventually, huh? I still loved the way ASP wrote the dialogue, but after an admittedly dismal last half season or more a change is probably a good thing. I am concerned though that LG has also made some comments supportive of the horrible end of season finale scene that I'm still trying to blank out of my mind. Anyway, let's hope for a really good (almost certainly) final season of the show.

[urnofosiris]

I am concerned though that LG has also made some comments supportive of the horrible end of season finale scene that I'm still trying to blank out of my mind.

Oh ew, I had quite succeeded in forgetting all about that. They can break up Luke and Lorelai for all I care, they can have her marry Taylor or Kirk if they want, anything, anyone but that guy.

[Garner]

I don't know why everyone is so down on Christopher. I liked the, what, second season Sookie wedding ep, where it seemed like they were finally going to get together. They have history and I do think that Christopher has grown through the series. That being said, I prefer Luke and think that Christopher represents Lorelai's past and Luke her future. I would rather see them together by mid season or slightly earlier and the show revolve more around Rory and Lorelai than their respective man situations. Someone else mentioned before that that is what made the show really great and I definitely agree.

My only worry about the Paladino's being gone is that their eps were usually the best and they did have a great sense for dialog. But last seasons characterizations were just horrible. Sort of like season sux everyone seemed to be acting out of character, except maybe Logan and Christopher, well and Mitchum I suppose.

This season has to be better, but it is still one of the better shows on.

Garner

[Thorn]

I love Gilmore Girls

[HalfCamel]

Garner, I was usually against Christopher showing up because all he was used for was messing up Lorelai's life in way or another, or giving her false hope for something, or just using her. Now, I may be wrong but that's usually what I took from his visits. BUT, I do agree with you in that he has grown throughout the series. I hope if he sticks around this season they'll give him a legitimate story line and not just be the wrench in the works.

I also hope that this season revolves mostly around the Girls because that is truely what made the show great. I think the writers deviated too much from the original premise.

I read in some interview that Lauren gave that the actors weren't allowed to improvise with the Palladino's running the show, but she kind of hinted that if the new show runner (i forgot his name) wasn't getting the dialog right the actors already knew the show, so they could call him on it and change stuff up. Again, she didn't outright say that but she kind of hinted at it.

And I agree with you Thorn... I can't wait for Tuesday!