Gilmore Girls - Season 1  (2000)

Rating: NR

Distributor: Warner Home Video

Release Date: May 4, 2004
Review posted: May 6, 2004

Spoilers: Minor

Reviewed by Dennis Landmann

SYNOPSIS

Lauren Graham plays quick-witted Lorelai, manager of historic Independence Inn, mother of Rory (Alexis Bledel) and also her daughter's best friend, confidante and mentor who's determined to help her avoid the mistakes that sidetracked Lorelai when she was a teen. A gifted ensemble plays the colorful Stars Hollow townies. And Kelly Bishop and Edward Herrmann play Lorelai's blue-blooded parents. Once kept at a distance by Lorelai, they're back in her life. So are the issues that originally drove them apart.

CRITIQUE

I knew of Gilmore Girls when it premiered on the WB network in 2000, but I figured it wasn't a show for me. Like Dawson's Creek, it seemed like a small-town drama except that it was about a mother and daughter relationship. Now, four years later, the first season is now out on DVD, and I thought why the heck no, give it a shot. And I'm glad I did.

Gilmore Girls is somewhat of a strange pairing, but the outcome is worthwhile and usually funny. Here we have a young mother and her teenager daughter living together as not only family but also as friends. Their relationship is not far-fetched or anything, it's simply something else that I haven't seen before; a relationship I haven't seen explored on television or in movies. What makes their relationship work is respect for each other and their privacy, but also their honesty.

It is also important to mention their wicked outlook on life and living. Lorelai likes sarcasm and drinks ten cups of coffee every day (more or less). Despite such a nasty addiction, she's a likeable character and a fun mom, at least in my eyes. Rory picks up from her mother, of course. She likes to read classic books and is a great student at her high school. Moreover, she can talk fast but doesn't need a sentence to make her point. Both Lorelai and Rory speak very different to each other than they would to a stranger or somebody in town. Sometimes it's only a word that requires a mutual understanding, yet confrontations between the Gilmore girls happen from time to time. But they always make up.

Lorelai manages the Independence Inn, a famous motel/hotel in town, which keeps her busy most of the day, that is if she doesn't hang around the kitchen to chat with Sookie St. James (Melissa McCarthy), the hectic chef. This girl is some piece of work, she'll talk you to the next day if something or someone doesn't interrupt. In that case, assistant hotel manager Michel Gerard (Yanic Truesdale) always calls Lorelai away to attend a hotel-related matter (phone call, etc.), and aside from constant gripes about this and that (general working conditions, such as dealing with customers), in a French accent no less, he keeps to himself. In a way he's sort of a funny character, but lighten up, man. Also, Sookie is the type of character personality that seems either funny/cute or annoying depending on the viewer, and I'm more inclined to go with the latter often times. Scott Patterson stars as Luke Danes, the server/owner of the local restaurant establishment (dubbed something Hardware, located inside a store it seems) that is frequented by Lorelai and Rory almost daily.

On Rory's side of life is attending the local high school and hanging out with her best friend Lane (Keiko Agena). But in the first episode we learn she's been accepted to Chilton, a prestigious school that requires a semester's worth for a deposit. "That's a lot of 0's after the five," Lorelai tells the school over the phone. Her only option of providing Rory with that education is by asking her parents for the money. Emily and Richard Gilmore (Kelly Bishop and Edward Herrmann, respectively) are rich and living a perfect live, except that they don't see Lorelai or Rory at all. A deal is made for the girls to visit each Friday for dinner in exchange for the deposit to Chilton. That's what happens in the pilot episode, however, each new visit to the Gilmore estate raises new questions, sarcasm, and over time mutual respect for each other.

What makes the show interesting to watch is seeing these two likeable (and quirky) characters go through life day by day, week by week, and so on. However, there are minor discrepancies in that statement. Some instances of Gilmore Girls tend to drag on. The fifth episode of the season, Cinnamon's Wake, included a subplot of the passing of a neighbor's kitten. Not just any kitten, mind you, but the princess of Gilmore neighbors Morey and Babette (Sally Struthers). It later turns out the whole town gets together for a memorial. For a moment I wondered what exactly I was watching, but then the episode went back to the normal and more interesting storyline of Rory acting awkwardly around Dean (Jared Padalecki), a boy she likes.

In general, some scenes move rather slow, and this happens in every second episode at least. There are also some irks here and there when certain things happen in odd ways. Perhaps this little gripe is just my shortened attention span when it comes to dramas. The drama in Gilmore Girls works well and it hardly ever forces the issue. Plot developments over the first season are well-written and interesting to follow, most of them anyhow. A lot of the dialogue, sometimes between Lorelai and Rory, other times to and with other people, is not very realistic, but it adds a quirkiness factor to the enjoyment of the show. Making it work, however, is the chemistry between actors Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. They both have their characters down to the roots. The supporting cast also does a fine job, but the girls can carry the show on their own.

THE VIDEO

Warner Home Video presents Gilmore girls in 1.33:1 fullscreen format. Colors look nice but are not very bright. They're well saturated, however. Sharpness is good, as is detail. Grain rarely appears, but no compression artifacts show up. The print image is in good condition without scratches or dirt. The show is only four years young, so there are no decomposition problems obviously. Edge enhancement is not visible. Dark tones and black levels look decent. This fullscreen presentation looks pretty nice, it gets the job done just fine. Optional subtitles include English, Spanish and French.

THE AUDIO

Warner Home Video presents Gilmore girls in English 2.0 Dolby Surround. The front speakers give it their best to emit clear and easily audible dialogue, music, and the occasional sound effect or two (birds tweeting, eh). This presentation is perfectly well suited for this type of show.

THE EXTRAS

All bonus material is featured on disc six. Starting off the extras is Welcome to The Gilmore Girls (21:53), a nice featurette on the first season, including discussions with Amy Sherman-Palladino, Daniel Palladino, director Lesli Linka Glater, and the cast on the show's origin, the characters and relationships, and specific events of the season.

Gilmore Goodies and Gossip - Rory's Dance takes the VH1 pop-up video idea to display various factoids and references throughout the course of the episode, yet the pop-up's are part of the video. Forwarding to the appropriate spot in the episode to see the factoids, especially if you're already seen it, would be a good idea.

Gilmore-isms are phrases and lines of dialogue from the first season, kind of neat.

Rounding out the extras are 3 deleted/additional scenes (3:36) from the entire season.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Despite some slow scenes and a few irks, Gilmore Girls is a nice drama with likeable characters. Warner's video/audio presentation is good, and the extras are fine. This 6-disc set is recommended. Fans will want to own it.

VERDICT: RECOMMENDED

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