Season 1, Episode 5: Cinnamon’s Wake
Directed by Michael Katleman, Written by Daniel Palladino
Air date: November 2nd, 2000
Cue the musical theme from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
More time with the Stars Hollow bunch, a cat’s funeral and the preludes to two new romantic subplots.
Season 1, Episode 2: The Lorelais’ First Day at Chilton
Directed by Arlene Sanford, Written by Amy Sherman-Palladino
Air date: October 12th, 2000
I did not realize this until I researched the production details of this episode, but director Arlene Sanford directed three episodes of Nashville, an episode of Friends, and, to my great surprise, nineteen of twenty episodes of little known show The Torkelsons, which I adored as a teenager. The Torkelsons was very successful at creating a believable warmth by way of an unquestionable sense of home and family, which lends itself naturally to the likes of Gilmore Girls.
One of the highlights of my young life came in the summer of 2008, when I was working in Marina del Rey, CA and, on my day off, drove to Burbank and took the Warner Brothers VIP Tour. I wore my ‘Luke’s Diner’ t-shirt, which I still have today. Needless to say, I’m rather a big fan of Gilmore Girls. Unlike many of the other fandoms to which I belong, however, there’s something a trifle mysterious and – dare I say – even out of place with this show. Most of my other escapes are to faraway worlds with the flair of the fantastical; Hogwarts, Gotham City, Pern, Middle Earth, Dragaera, Gallifrey, and so on. These universes, and the stories that take place within them, have all been well traversed, speaking to me on many different levels. From adolescence and early adulthood, they have proved to be the tools that would shed light on my innermost identity, shape who I am as a writer/filmmaker/creative and continue to help me understand and trust myself during my darkest hours. Gilmore Girls was no less instrumental in this process, but I still find myself at a bit of loss to explain why. To start with, fantasy worlds provide built-in escapism, but Gilmore Girls is a real-world sentimental drama series. Harry Potter (along with several of the others) place heavy emphasis on what it means to be powerful; Hogwarts has been the place where I go to remember my inner strength and find adventure.
So what drew me – and kept me attached – to Gilmore Girls?
