Gilmore Girls Pilot Review: Coffee, Chaos, and the Dinner Table Nobody Wants
Autumn has officially hit the northern hemisphere, which means it’s time to get cozy and watch Gilmore Girls. I don’t make the rules. Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino’s script follows the perfect formula for a light-hearted drama, the likes of which we can only hope to see again in this age of 8-episode streaming series and medical/law enforcement procedurals (all of which have their value…but don’t you miss holiday episodes of happy little shows?).
The 57-page script follows a four-act structure (as well as a teaser) and, like all Sherman-Palladino shows, has lots of dialogue meant to be delivered fast fast fast.
Strike up that folksy acoustic guitar and let’s go visit Stars Hollow.
Remember that rule about keeping your action lines to three lines or more? Sherman-Palladino left that rule in the big city when she dreamt up Stars Hollow. She is giving us vibes. And a very detailed description of her lead Gilmore girl, LORELAI GILMORE (a very attractive, vibrant, thirty-three year-old woman, though she could easily pass for twenties).
There are even more details letting us know exactly who Lorelai is. She’s carrying “the world’s largest purse.” She “starts unraveling herself” after dumping said purse on a chair. And boy oh boy does she have a rapport with diner owner LUKE DANES (a scruffy though handsome man in his thirties with the body of a fireman under that apron).
These two have played this game of Lorelai-drinks-too-much-coffee (and Lorelai-gets-what-she-wants) before.
Something to note: in the script, Sherman-Palladino called Luke an angel after he gives in and pours the coffee. “Angel. You’re a Goddamn Angel.” The network changed that line to “Angel. You’ve got wings, baby.”
So, you know, write the dialogue you want but know what potential buyers are looking for, too.
A guy hits on Lorelai. She shuts him down. She’s waiting for someone. And here she is: RORY (another bundled up young woman; she looks a bit younger than Lorelai, but is also tall and pretty. Rory’s more serious and shy than Lorelai, but just as sharp).
Congrats! You’ve now met two out of three of the Gilmore girls. And so has the guy, who returns to the table to hit on Rory next.
And there you have it. In five pages (3:22 seconds filmed — remember, the dialogue is fast) we’ve seen the quaint town where our story takes place, seen the quick-wit and friendship between mother and daughter that will define the show, and even met one of the most central figures in the girls’ lives.
ACT ONE
Gilmore Girls brims with quirky characters, from the grumpy Frenchman MICHEL who is the opposite of what a concierge at a charming inn should be to the accident-prone head chef SOOKIE ST. JAMES (a brilliant cook with no hand-eye coordination whatsoever), who is also Lorelai’s best friend (and is also covered in Band-Aids).
The entire town is inhabited by contradictions and that is a big reason why Lorelai chose to live there. She handles every obstacle at the inn with ease.
Meanwhile, Rory attends Stars Hollow High with her best friend LANE KIM (a bright, quiet Korean girl with the constant dilemma of having very traditional Korean parents while being an Americanized girl).
The show has drawn criticism for its stereotypes when it comes to race. It’s perhaps much easier to identify racist tropes now, twenty-six years after the show debuted and in a time when social media gives a voice to minority communities. Still, it’s an important reminder that, when writing about experiences and cultures that are not your own, you should consult the people who lived them.
That said, Sherman-Palladino was inspired to create Lane by her own best friend, Helen Pai, who was also a producer and script coordinator for Gilmore Girls.
Our act out occurs when Lorelai receives a letter saying that Rory has been accepted to Chilton Preparatory, a private school that will pave the way for Rory’s future at Harvard.
ACT TWO
Lorelai surprises Rory with a plaid skirt to reveal the big news. Rory, in shock, still manages to double-check that Lorelai hadn’t slept with the principal (a play on the same joke Lorelai made in the previous scene — yet another example of how the girls think alike).
They celebrate…but of course, there are complications.
First, Lorelai learns that in order for Rory to secure her spot for Monday, she needs to pay a very expensive enrollment check to Chilton. Lorelai simply doesn’t have the money.
Sookie points out that Lorelai has no choice but to ask for the money. From whom? We don’t know, but Lorelai does and she shuts it down immediately. Then she sees Rory’s excitement.
And so, with a great match cut, we move on to meet our third and final Gilmore girl, EMILY (a distinguished looking woman in her early sixties. Her dress is impeccable, her hair is perfect, and the pearls are real).
And right off the bat we can see that this mother-daughter relationship is very different from the codependent close one between Lorelai and Rory. Not only did Lorelai really not want to make this visit, but Emily is “absolutely astonished” to see her daughter and instantly (and passive aggressively) asks if it’s Easter already, telling us that Lorelai and Rory pretty much only visit for holidays.
Emily invites Lorelai in — to the sweeping estate, by the way, very different from Lorelai’s shabby chic cottage in Stars Hollow — to join RICHARD GILMORE (a tall, strong, opinionated man of a few words. He doesn’t need that many), Lorelai’s father.
Richard instantly quips that it must be Christmas already before shrewdly deducing that Lorelai needs money.
Lorelai explains that she doesn’t need money; it’s for Rory. Emily and Richard are thrilled that Rory got into Chilton, a wonderful school that’s only five minutes from their home, and Richard grabs the checkbook.
But then Emily dictates a condition:
And so, our second act out sets up the condition that will unite these characters for the rest of the series: mandatory Friday Night Dinners.
ACT THREE
Ah, but there’s another complication. Back at Stars Hollow High, Rory meets…a boy. The new, mystery boy. “A beautiful stranger” named DEAN. Rory melts. He feels it too. She offers to walk him to Miss Patty’s so our sultry dance teacher and town know-it-all can recommend a job for him.
Later that night, Lorelai gets her first taste of teenage angst when she informs Rory that they’ll be going to her grandparents’ house on Friday. (“But it’s September. What holiday is in September?” Gilmore Girls excels at the use of repetition and callbacks.)
Lorelai is stunned to hear that Rory has changed her mind and she knows her daughter well enough to recognize that her excuses for not wanting to go are weak (bad timing, the long bus commute, the steep financial burden).
But it’s actually Lorelai who storms out — not the teenager.
This is a great and subtle way of introducing one of Lorelai’s vices; she’s not just a young mom (if you did the math, she was sixteen when she had Rory), she’s immature. Especially when pushed.
Rory follows her and outside they run into Miss Patty, who informs Rory that she found a job for her “male friend.”
Suddenly it all clicks for Lorelai. Rory doesn’t want to leave Stars Hollow High because of a boy.
Like mother like daughter.
The fight escalates as they return home. Lorelai tries to make peace and get Rory to talk about the boy. Rory won’t budge — this is her first serious crush and she doesn’t even want to talk to her mom about it.
And so, for one of the first times in Rory’s life, Lorelai puts down her foot and plays the mom card.
And we act out on their fight; and even then we see how similar the two are as they each storm to their own rooms and then play the same CD.
ACT FOUR
The tension hasn’t cooled by the time the girls arrive at Emily and Richard’s home for their first Friday Night Dinner.
There, the dynamics (and dysfunction) become more apparent; Emily continues to be critical and passive aggressive with Lorelai while being warm with Rory. Lorelai deals by making jokes that, while amusing to the audience, are not amusing to her parents — especially Emily.
Richard announces that Christopher called…and suddenly an old fight erupts. Lorelai stalks to the kitchen. Emily follows.
We learn that when Lorelai got pregnant (by Christopher) at age sixteen, she left home and raised Rory on her own, something that broke Emily and Richard’s hearts. In their minds, Lorelai ruined the future they had laid out for her (college, a high-paying job, marriage). Lorelai insists that she loves her life.
Emily accuses Lorelai of being too proud to accept help and instead shut them out. Lorelai retorts that she wasn’t too proud to come ask for money for Chilton.
Meanwhile, Rory has heard everything and this confession melts her anger toward her mother.
They leave and grab coffee and chili fries at Luke’s where Rory finally consents to going to Chilton and tells Lorelai it was brave of her to ask for the money.
Their first big fight over, Lorelai finally brings it back to girl talk, and we end right where we began.
END OF SHOW
