Tonight on the TiFaux: Gilmore Girls Finale
Posted by Maggie
May 15th, 2007 at 02:15pm
In Gilmore Girls House Veronica Mars
This is it for the Gilmore Girls. I don’t have anything particularly eloquent to say, except that it was one of my favorite shows for a very long time, and I’ll miss the sheer volume of words said in any single episode. It’s a show that didn’t always go for the easy stories, and that’s pretty great. 
And there was Lauren Graham who is just fantastic in every way. So… au revoir, Stars Hollow.
Veronica Mars limps toward its possible series finale (fingers crossed; we find out Thursday) tonight as well. I miss the Lily Kane murder. Heck, I miss the bus crash. I even miss — a tiny bit — the Hearst rapist. But even with all that missing, I think we can agree that Paul Rudd last week was one of the greatest guest stars on a TV show ever.
A new House tonight, too, featuring an “obnoxious 16-year-old chess prodigy.” That sounds extremely promising.
We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming: Oooh, a show on WE called The Secret Lives of Women, all about crazy moms and sex addicts and stuff. Tonight’s episode is about Munchausen syndrome, a cool name for a sad syndrome.
TEARS!
The only thing missing was Mrs. Kim! WHY OH WHY WAS THERE NO Mrs. Kim?
Okay, okay, Paris and Doyle left last week… I understand, hesitantly, why they weren’t there, but Mrs. Kim? Even freaking LOU LOU had lines. WHO cares about Lou Lou?ANd we barely got any Michel! Even Carlos got lines!
Just finished the Gilmore finale and I have to say … it was pretty solid. It had a little of almost everything (the g-rents, silly town hall meeting, bizarre and ultimately useless guest star) and yet had time to linger on Lorelei’s face when she watched her daughter sleep. That Lauren Graham, I think she’s got something.
Definitely coulda used some Paris. Wouldn’t have minded any Sebastian Bach, either, but his “Hollaback Girl” was probably his high point.
Oh, and Munchausen syndrome bothers me because every medical show ever has a story about it (or the -by-proxy cousin) in its first season. Find new syndromes, people! Also, it makes me think of “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen,” but that actually works in its favor.
Well, I did weep, more than once, and so Maggie will tell you that this episode passed my prime directive for moving the thumb up - ‘Was I moved? Did I laugh? Did I cry?”.
But I must say that I ascribe any response to the skill of the actors and the inherent situation. Ali is right. The moments with Ms. Amanpour were a total waste. Moreover the whole idea of the Stars Hollow Graduation Party was such an obvious technical solution to the problem of Season(series) wrap up. The lead up scenes were just dumb. It’s a shame - because with Paladino this show was rarely, if ever, dumb.
Most of all, like all of the shows this year, the dialogue was pedestrian, the sentiment obvious and the style almost non existent. It’s been twelve hours and I’ve already forgotten the last line in the diner. Who even said it? L? R? How sad. To build something special for years and have it fade away so ingloriously.
Well I look forward to seeing the actors, particularly the spectacular Miss Graham, in new roles. (Did anyone else see the recent wretched Dianne Keaton/M. Moore flick, the name of which I have wiped from my memory banks, and notice that whenever LG was on the screen, she was the only thing that you could possibly look at?) I’ll always have a special fondness for Ms. Bledel, even if it turns out that my suspicion that she can’t act her way out of Connecticut is true.
More on GG:
Well Family Channel is reruning early GG episodes now while I exercise in the late afternoon and I am reminded why this show was so special. Lorelai invites Dean over to watch Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory and we are shown the bond between the girls and the intricacies of the characters: Lorelai, who wants so much to be R’s best friend but is also capable of putting Dean on the spot as a protective Mom. Compare to Richard’s evisceration of the hapless boy at dinner the next week. Or Rory pointing out to Lorelai that her behavior is not so different from Emily’s in fixing her up with a potential suitor. Notice Rory’s confusion and excitement at her sexual awakening (It’s enough to convince me that maybe AB can actually act her way out of the State of Connecticut - Also it underlines the truth of Maggie’s ‘Sick of Your Shit’ piece.) Or the next episode where in one magical stroke we understand Luke as he brings his bete noir Revolutionary War re-enactors coffee and we see the look on his face when he sees Lorelai Gamboling with Max in the snow and we know in that moment that he is heartbroken.
There were many other memorable moments in these early shows - Too numerous to mention. Subtle and delightful moments of exposition, often with minor characters as well. Exercise your Tivo and give yourself a treat - catch some classic GG and be reminded why this show is beloved.
More on GG Reruns:
I just caught “Rory’s First Dance” again and was just blown away. The scenes between EMily and Lorelai were thrilling. It’s such a sad story in a way, isn’t it. Does anyone know if Ms. Paladino comes from ‘prep school/mainline/money’? The Stars Hollow characters are fun but the really impressive aspect of this show was the class struggle. Has there ever been a show that so seriously explored the lives of the rich. Forget ‘Dallas’ or ‘Dynasty’ - They were as cartoonish as ‘Silver Spoons’. This show had real live people (except Logan, of course) and the poignancy of Emily’s (and Richard’s) misguided values was at the heart of GG.