Gilmore Girls: The Complete Sixth Season

Remember the good old days? You know - back when people (or at least teenage girls and their semi-hip cat moms) used to unabashedly love Gilmore Girls? Everybody had screennames such as "Real Life Rory Gilmore XoXo" or "jessisHOTT." But ever since season six, Gilmore fans have begun to wither into Gilmore cynics. And while it would be easy to say that this reaction is just a lack of wherewithal on the part of the hardcores, who seem to forget that the format of good storytelling does not involve the title characters sitting around in a diner and drinking coffee all of the time, in this case it seems to be more than just an unwillingness to change on behalf of the fans. Instead, the sixth season of Gilmore Girls genuinely suffered because of a group of writers; writers who often seemed to forget about their characters in the face of dramatic plot devices.

Of course, there are many different things we could point to as a source for the inevitable decline of season six. And I'm going to ignore all of you who were upset by the separation between Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Rory (Alexis Bledel) which opened the season - while it is nice, warm, and fuzzy to think of a pair of characters who continue on a steady, untroubled line, such is not the nature of human relationships. To consistently stay the same and live in the constant present would have turned the Gilmore Girls into a deathlike mask of puppets who are both unlovable and unrelatable; instead, the sudden dip between Rory's and Lorelai's relationship made both characters seem more relatable and likable. But if not mother/daughter rifts, what then was the main problem with this season of Gilmore Girls? Three ridiculous words: "Luke's Secret Daughter."


Now, the new showrunner, David Rosenthal, has sworn that there are no sharks to be jumped in the upcoming seventh season; but that's most likely because his predecessors (Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Pallandino) already attempted to jump the shark and stumbled over its glossy white teeth. No one was thrilled at the idea of Luke (Scott Patterson) suddenly having an eleven-year-old daughter named April, and even more annoying was the fact that this new daughter wasn't even a unique character. The topic of Luke's daughter would have been a much more palatable plot device if she wasn't a more scientific, mousier version of Rory. Or if her mother, Anna (Twin Peaks' Sherilyn Fenn), didn't seem like a quirkier and even more inconsiderate version of Lorelai. Few people actually wanted to see this nerdier, less engaging Rory doppelganger grow up and split apart a couple who fans have wanted to see together since season one - although, to be fair to the April character, the season ended while beginning an even worse plot.

While most of the season six finale can be construed as an "I'm Sorry I Gave You an STD" card for the show's hipper fans - the best apologies should always come with cameo appearances made by Sparks - its ending came off as a petulant lashing-out by show creator Sherman-Palladino. This already mediocre season ended with Lorelai waking up naked in bed next to Rory's father Christopher (David Sutcliffe), rather than in the midst of the long-cultivated romantic entanglement with Luke, the way far superior seasons four and five ended. Such an ending would have been acceptable if it had come after season one or two, but season six? What about your plots? What about preserving a storyline which you have labored over for years? As a writer, an abrupt abandoment of that sort felt more like a slap in the face than a goodbye.


Even despite all of my complaints, though, it must still be noted that Gilmore Girls remains one of the most lovely and inventive shows on television. The town of Stars Hollow still shines with the delightfully surreal humor of Kirk (Sean Gunn); and whether they're sharing screen time or not, Lorelai and Rory still have some of the best laugh-out-loud lines on television. Plus, even if the fast-talking nature of the Gilmore Girls themselves doesn't work for you, you can always look to everyone's favorite sassy bitches, Michel (Yanic Truesdale) and Paris (Liza Weil). Every scene in which Michel and Paris appear is a delight, ranging from zany snarkiness to over-the-top crazed mania to a general wit which should remind disillusioned fans why they even tripped into the gates of Stars Hollow in the first place.

Still, it's hard to make a recommendation for this box set. For diehard fans, it will be tough reliving a season which seemed to disappoint so many of them. And yet, at the same time, the more views season six gets, especially in comparison to other new shows (see CBS's The Class), it will grow more and more on a devoted fan. So for those terribly disappointed fans, please try season six again. Give it a chance. You might regret it at first, but re-watch "Friday Night's All Right for Fighting," "Fight Face," "We've Got Magic to Do," "Let Me Hear Your Balalaikas Ringing Out," and "I'm OK, You're OK." That Stars Hollow Charm is still present and sparkly; it just takes a little longer to find it.

- Megan Giddings

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