Lara C. Stache - Gilmore Girls: A Cultural History

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Gilmore Girls: A Cultural History, by Lara C. Stache and Rachel D. Davidson

ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD

Lanham Boulder New York London

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Stache, Lara C., 1981- author. | Davidson, Rachel D., 1978- author.

Title: Gilmore girls : a cultural history / Lara C. Stache, Rachel Davidson.

Description: Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, 2019. | Series: The cultural history of television | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019001931 (print) | LCCN 2019005459 (ebook) | ISBN 9781538112847 (electronic) | ISBN 9781538112830 (cloth : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Gilmore girls (Television program : 2000-2007)

Classification: LCC PN1992.77.G54 (ebook) | LCC PN1992.77.G54 S73 2019 (print) | DDC 791.45/72dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019001931

TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Printed in the United States of America

For John Wayne, Carolina, and Ivymy three desert stars. Where you lead, I will follow.

R. D.

For R.O.C., as strong as Dwayne Johnson and
Alcatraz combined.

L. S.

Thank you to my friends and family who always give nothing but support and positive encouragement.

To a wonderful writing partner and fabulous friend, Rachel D. Davidson. I am so happy to have sat next to you on a panel all those years ago. To the Chase family, who loves Gilmore Girls as much as I do, and to Sheena Ozbolt and Christine OBrien, who have discussed the series with me in depth over the years. You all are my Sookie, my Lane, and even my Paris combined.

Thank you to the series editors, Keith Booker, Bob Batchelor, and Kathleen Turner, for taking on the monumental task of a series that explores the cultural history and impact of television. Thanks especially to Stephen Ryan, senior editor at Rowman & Littlefield, for your patience, knowledge, and support.

To the Stache, Altwine, and Mangun familiesyour support is always felt one million times over.

To my incredible husband, a Gilmore guy by all rights, and the best writer I know, Rob Mangun. I love this car. To Ogden and CampbellI hope you always want me to sing you the Gilmore Girls theme song at bedtime, and when you inevitably do not, if it sticks in your head anyway, my job will be complete. I love you.

Lara C. Stache

Thank you to the series editors, Keith Booker, Bob Batchelor, and Kathleen Turner, for giving us the opportunity to contribute to this exciting book series. A special thanks to Stephen Ryan, senior editor at Rowman & Littlefield, for your guidance and support of our project.

To my collaborator, colleague, and dear friend, Lara Stache. You have been the most ideal writing partnerpatient, reassuring, brilliant, and an expert on all things Gilmore. Thank you for forcing me to watch Gilmore Girls. You were right! It is life-changing and so smartjust like you.

Lauren Graham, thank you for your inspiration (#momgoals) and for your kitchen timer technique... it works!

To my biggest fan, my mom, for always cheering me on and championing my work. Your support means so much to me.

John, thank you for watching (and rewatching) every episode of Gilmore Girls with me. Carolina and Ivy, thank you for your enthusiasm, curiosity, and overall support of me while working on this book. I love you, family.

Finally, to everyone who asked about the book and allowed me to gush for a moment about this researchTHANK YOU! I hope you enjoy the final product.

Rachel D. Davidson

We Had a Gilmore Girl, We Lost a Gilmore Girl...

Gilmore Girls (20002007) debuted in 2000 on the WB network and features seven seasons with young single mother, Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham), and her daughter, Rory (Alexis Bledel). The series is especially distinctive for its rapid dialogue, like some kind of party game for smarty pants, the Cool Girls verbal Twister, pitched right at us so we all can play, as well as the numerous popular-culture references sprinkled liberally throughout each episode. Nuggets of wisdom like, You cant always control who you are attracted to, you know? I think the whole Angelina JolieBilly Bob Thornton thing really proves that, are par for the course (Episode 1.5, Cinnamons Wake). The central premise to the show revolves around the uniquely close relationship of mother and daughter, who only have a sixteen-year age difference. In the premiere episode, a dimwitted dude, who tries to hit on both Lorelai and Rory, quips, You do not look like a mother. And you do not look like a daughter (Episode 1.1, Pilot). Mother and daughter laugh together as he hightails it out of Lukes diner after learning Rory is only sixteen (not even yet), and the audience is officially introduced to the Gilmore girls and the utopian town of Stars Hollow.

The idea for the series came from something creator [Amy] Sherman-Palladino pitched to executives from the WB on a whim: a TV show about a mother and a daughter who are best friends. But that off-the-cuff pitch led to a show that was witty, big-hearted, and full of quirky characters. Moved across various networks during its run, as well as suffering a major shake-up with the departure of creator and showrunner, Amy Sherman-Palladino, as well as her writing partner and co-showrunner, Daniel Palladino, before the final year, Gilmore Girls lasted seven seasons and continues to gain new viewers. Although not entirely without criticism, Gilmore Girls was a closet hit garnering a devoted fan base that watched weekly as the various relationships developed. The series picked up an even larger audience once episodes began streaming on Netflix, and more than ten years later Sherman-Palladino and the actors negotiated a final season revival of four episodes, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life (2016), exclusive to Netflix. The revival had five million viewers in the first three days of the launch, a number that speaks to the appeal of the original series and the desperate desire to reconnect with Stars Hollow and the gang.