When I heard Amy Sherman-Palladino would be making a follow-up to Gilmore Girls for Netflix, two things happened.
First, much to my husband's amusement, I did a fist-pump. Literally. Us diehard Gilmore Girls fans had been waiting for what felt like a lifetime for this. After numerous blog posts, fan campaigns and even appeals from cast members, it was finally happening.
This jubilation was quickly followed by an internal plea to Sherman-Palladino: “Please don’t screw this up.” I am all-too aware of how badly wrong a sequel/reboot can turn out, so as someone who spent most of her formative years following the mother-daughter duo of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, and the other colourful characters of Stars Hollow, I had my reservations.
Here was a show that introduced me to everything from Edith Wharton and Molly Ringwald to Norman Mailer and rock band XTC, thanks to its witty, mile-a-minute dialogue peppered with all manner of pop-culture references. Even my caffeine addiction is, in part, down to the show – if I learnt one thing, it is there is no such thing as too much coffee.
Yet for all the quirkiness and acumen, it was the sheer emotional strength of the leading female characters, a fiercely independent single mother and her exceedingly intelligent daughter, that kept me hooked for seven years.
Sherman-Palladino created two women who my 14-year-old self desperately wanted to emulate, whether it was Lorelai's unwavering "coolness" and savvy business sense, or Rory's enviable intelligence and journalistic drive – even at 16 she wanted to be CNN international correspondent Christiane Ammanpour, rather than "Oprah, Rosie or one of the women from The View".
Moreover, here were two characters who were not validated by the men in their lives – love interests were secondary plots rather than what drove the show. They were in love as quickly, and as comfortably, as they were out of it.
Most of the show’s female characters, in fact, fit this mould – something that will no doubt still resonate with young women today. They took on all manner of careers, from lawyers to mechanics, and lifestyles, from a vagabond existence to the “traditional” family set-up of a stay-at-home mother with 2.4 children and a white picket fence. For those of us who watched from an early age, it was encouraging to see that there was no “right” way to live. Each woman – and man, for that matter – who chose their own path was, generally, celebrated for it rather than scrutinised.
For this alone, Gilmore Girls was indeed years ahead of its time Even Lorelai, who had Rory at such a young age and was no less successful because of it, was seen as something of a wonder woman. .
Sherman-Palladino pushed the envelope further by exploring the issue of a fractured mother-daughter relationship, as seen with Lorelai and her mother, Emily. This was something I found both refreshing and personally relatable.
While Rory and Lorelai were exceedingly close – in one scene, Lorelai struggles to explain to Emily that she and Rory are “friends first, mother and daughter second” – Sherman-Palladino contrasted that relationship with one deeply rooted in disappointment and resentment. Watching Lorelai and Emily navigate this tempestuous relationship offered an unconventional dynamic – both messy and beautifully flawed – that was, at the time, not often seen on TV.
Nine years after Gilmore Girls ended, fans are bracing ourselves for the new episodes, which will be released this Friday on Netflix. We already know most of the original cast will return. We also know that the three generations of Gilmore women are navigating new chapters of their lives.
How they handle the fresh obstacles thrown at them remains to be seen. What I do know, however, is that for all my scepticism and fears that it might not live up to the original, I am looking forward to checking in with the residents of Stars Hollow one final time.
alane@thenational.ae
