Gilmore Girls

Gilmore Girls
Format	Comedy-drama
Created by	Amy Sherman-Palladino
Starring	Lauren Graham Alexis Bledel Melissa McCarthy Keiko Agena Yanic Truesdale Scott Patterson Kelly Bishop Edward Herrmann Liza Weil Jared Padalecki Milo Ventimiglia Sean Gunn Chris Eigeman Matt Czuchry
Opening theme	"Where You Lead" by Carole King and Louise Goffin
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	7
No. of episodes	153 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Amy Sherman-Palladino (seasons 1–6) David S Rosenthal (season 7)
Producer(s)	Lauren Graham
Running time	45 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	The WB Television Network (2000–2006) The CW Television Network (2006–2007)
Picture format	480i (Standard Definition), 1080i (HDTV)
Original run	October 5, 2000 (2000-10-05) – May 15, 2007 (2007-05-15)

Gilmore Girls is an American comedy drama series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. On October 5, 2000, the series debuted on The WB and was cancelled in its seventh season, ending on May 15, 2007 on The CW.^[1] The show follows single mother Lorelai Victoria Gilmore (Graham) and her daughter Lorelai "Rory" Leigh Gilmore (Bledel) living in the fictional New England town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut, located approximately thirty minutes from Hartford, Connecticut.^[2]

As signalled by its tagline "Life's short. Talk Fast", the show is known for its fast-paced dialogue filled with pop-culture references,^[3][4] which has drawn comparisons with the writing of Aaron Sorkin^[5] and David Mamet.

The series explores issues of family, friendship and romance, as well as generational divides and social class. Ambition, education and work also form part of the series' central concerns, telling Lorelai's story from pregnant teen runaway and highschool drop-out to co-owner and manager of the Dragonfly Inn. Rory's transition from public school to the prestigious preparatory school, Chilton, is similarly followed by the series, exploring her ambition to study at Harvard University and become a foreign correspondent. The show's social commentary manifests most clearly in Lorelai's difficult relationship with her wealthy upper-class parents, Emily and Richard Gilmore, and in the interaction between students at Chilton, and later, Yale University.

The show placed #32 on Entertainment Weekly's "New TV Classics" list,^[6] and in 2007 it was listed as one of Time magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME."^[1]

Contents 1 Production 1.1 History 1.2 Cultural references 1.3 Music 2 Cast 2.1 Main cast 2.2 Recurring cast 3 Episodes 3.1 Premise 3.2 Lorelai's romantic life 3.3 Rory's romantic life 3.4 Rory's friends 4 Media 4.1 DVD releases 4.2 Books 5 Reception 5.1 Awards 5.2 Ratings 6 References 7 External links

Production

History

The pilot episode of Gilmore Girls received financial support from the script development fund of the Family Friendly Programming Forum, which includes some of the nation's leading advertisers, making it one of the first network shows to reach the air with such funding.^[7]

The show was not a ratings success initially, airing in the tough Thursday 8pm/7pm Central time slot dominated by Survivor and Friends in its first season. When Gilmore Girls moved to Tuesday, its rating surpassed its time-slot competitor, popular series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.. In its fifth season, Gilmore Girls became The WB's second most watched primetime show, with viewer numbers which grew by double digits in all major demographics.^[8] In its syndicated release in the United States, the show airs on the ABC Family Channel, and Soap Net.

On May 3, 2007, The CW announced that the series would not be renewed.^[9][10] According to Variety, "Money was a key factor in the decision, with the parties involved not able to reach a deal on salaries for the main cast members. Other issues, such as number of episodes and production dates, may have also played a role".^[11] Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino has expressed an interest in pursuing a Gilmore Girls movie.^[12][13] Lauren Graham has noted that a lot of fans "were disappointed with how it [the series] ended" and commented on the possibility of a follow-up movie.^[14]

In the United Kingdom Gilmore Girls was initially screened on Nickelodeon from 2003 - it remains the only hour-long series to air on the channel to date - but only the first three seasons were shown, with episodes edited for content and some, like "The Big One," dropped entirely. The series was subsequently picked up by the Hallmark Channel, which gave UK premieres to seasons four and five, and E4, which continues to show all seven seasons in rotation.

In 2003, the WB planned a spin-off featuring Luke Danes's nephew, Jess Mariano, called Windward Circle, where he gets to know his estranged father and is befriended by California skateboarders. However, the network canceled the show before it aired, citing high production costs to shoot on location in Venice Beach.^[15] Gilmore Girls season three episode 'Here Comes the Son' was effectively a backdoor pilot for the unaired spin-off.

Cultural references

In addition to the fast-paced dialogue, Gilmore Girls is known for its abundant popular culture references. Much of the dialogue is laden with references to film, television shows, music, literature and celebrity culture. The relative obscurity of some of these allusions resulted in the production of "Gilmore-isms" booklets included by the WB in many of its DVD sets of the series. Subtitled "The 411 on many of the show's witty and memorable wordplays and pop culture references", the booklets also contain comments from the show creators.

Music

Music plays a large part in the show as a frequent topic of conversation between characters and in its appearance in scenes themselves. The musical tastes of most of the main and recurring characters are revealed at some point. The two leads have notoriously eclectic but discriminating tastes: both mother and daughter dislike the "nondescript jazz" played at a babyshower, sculpt a snowman in Bjork's image and proclaim Metallica a "great band".^[16] Lorelai famously likes '80s music including The Bangles, XTC, and The Go-Go's and her old bedroom at her parents' home has Duran Duran posters on the walls. Rory is often shown listening to alternative bands, like Sonic Youth and Franz Ferdinand, and expresses her liking for P J Harvey and distaste for Smashing Pumpkins. Rory also swaps CDs with her mother, and credits her with introducing her to new books and music throughout her life in her address as Chilton's valedictorian.^[17] Lane is a music enthusiast, and her list of musical influences runs to five pages when she writes her "drummer-seeks-rock-band" advertisement, which included the Ramones and Jackson Browne.^[18] Lane eventually forms her own band, Hep Alien, an anagram of the Gilmore Girls producer, Helen Pai's, name. The band plays rock with different influences, and Sebastian Bach, formerly of Skid Row, appears as the band's guitarist, Gil.

Various musical acts made guest appearances on the show, from The Bangles and The Shins, to Carole King, who re-recorded her 1971 song "Where You Lead" as a duet with her daughter Louise Goffin for the Gilmore Girls theme song. Grant-Lee Phillips appears in at least one episode per season as Grant, the town troubadour, singing his own songs and covers. Lorelai named her dog after singer Paul Anka, and he later appeared in her dream sequence in the season six episode 'The Real Paul Anka'. In 2002, a soundtrack to the show was released by Rhino Records, entitled Our Little Corner of the World: Music from Gilmore Girls. The CD booklet features anecdotes from show producers Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino about the large part music has played in their lives.

Cast

The season(s) during which each actor has been included in the main cast are marked in black. When a starring actor has also appeared as a guest star in other seasons, this is marked in gray, with the number of guest appearances noted in italics. A white square indicates the actor does not appear in the season.

Main cast

Actor	Character	Appearances
		S 1	S 2	S 3	S 4	S 5	S 6	S 7
Lauren Graham	Lorelai Gilmore
Alexis Bledel	Rory Gilmore
Melissa McCarthy	Sookie St. James
Keiko Agena	Lane Kim
Yanic Truesdale	Michel Gerard
Scott Patterson	Luke Danes
Kelly Bishop	Emily Gilmore
Edward Herrmann	Richard Gilmore
Liza Weil	Paris Geller	11
Jared Padalecki	Dean Forester	14			8	9
Milo Ventimiglia	Jess Mariano				4		2
Sean Gunn*	Kirk	9	16
Chris Eigeman	Jason Stiles
Matt Czuchry	Logan Huntzberger					15

* In the second episode of Season One (The Lorelais' First Day at Chilton), Sean Gunn played a character named "Mick", who worked for a telephone company as a DSL installer. Mick did not return as Gunn was given a part as Kirk.

Recurring cast

Actor	Character	Appearances
		S 1	S 2	S 3	S 4	S 5	S 6	S 7
Jackson Douglas	Jackson Belleville
Emily Kuroda	Mrs. Kim
Liz Torres	Miss Patty
Sally Struthers	Babette Dell
Ted Rooney	Morey Dell
Michael Winters	Taylor Doose
Teal Redmann	Louise Grant
Shelly Cole	Madeline Lynn
Chad Michael Murray	Tristin Dugray
Scott Cohen	Max Medina
David Sutcliffe	Christopher Hayden
Adam Brody	Dave Rygalski
John Cabrera	Brian Fuller
Todd Lowe	Zach Van Gerbig
Sebastian Bach	Gil
Danny Strong	Doyle McMaster
Wayne Wilcox	Marty
Kathleen Wilhoite	Liz Danes
Michael DeLuise	T J
Gregg Henry	Mitchum Huntzberger
Vanessa Marano	April Nardini
Sherilyn Fenn	Anna Nardini

Episodes

Premise

The pilot of Gilmore Girls sets up the premise of the show and a number of its recurrent themes: Lorelai became pregnant with Rory at sixteen, but chose not to marry her father, Christopher. Instead, she moved to Stars Hollow away from her disappointed parents in Hartford and has had only irregular contact with them ever since. Later episodes reveal Lorelai and the infant Rory were taken in by the owner of the Independence Inn, Mia, while Lorelai progressed from chambermaid to executive manager. Rory, about to turn sixteen, is accepted by Chilton Preparatory School so she can pursue her dream of studying at Harvard University. Lorelai, finding herself unable to afford the fees, strikes a bargain with her parents for a loan in return for eating dinner with them and Rory every Friday night, making them a greater part of the young women’s lives.

The tensions between Lorelai and her parents are central to the series, and the closer relationship Rory develops with her grandparents frequently draws attention to the choices Lorelai made at Rory’s age to leave the privileged world and follow her own path. Which path Rory chooses and whether she re-enters that world is similarly explored.

Lorelai's romantic life

Lorelai's various romantic entanglements also played a role in the show, which hooked viewers from the start. Her relationship with local restaurant owner Luke Danes (Scott Patterson) gradually grows from a playful, but close friendship. It is made more obvious as the series goes on that the entire town knows of Luke's crush on Lorelai, except her. In the fourth season, however, the two finally become romantically involved. In the fifth season (episode 100), they go through a rocky patch when Lorelai's parents don't approve of the pairing. Emily tells Christopher to make a move on Lorelai and the love triangle comes to a head at the renewing of Richard and Emily's vows, when Christopher tells Luke that his relationship with Lorelai is just "for now" and that Christopher and Lorelai are destined for each other, and "everyone knows it." Luke sulks out of the party and when Lorelai goes after him he tells her that he "needs time." She winds up pushing him and he breaks up with her. When Emily, hurt by her daughter's cold shoulder, goes back to tell Luke she will stay out of the relationship he gets back together with Lorelai. They get engaged in the last episode of the 5th season premiere after Lorelai sees how much Luke cares for Rory when he finds out she's not going back to Yale. When Luke finds out he has a daughter named April, he wants to slow things down with Lorelai. After a number of incidents, including a discussion with April's mother, Anna, she grows frustrated and finally gives Luke an ultimatum: she tells him they need to marry immediately or the relationship would be over. Stunned and feeling cornered, he is unable to give her an instant answer. Lorelai walks away and effectively ends the relationship, seeking out Christopher for comfort and ending up in bed with him.

The seventh season opens the day after their fight, and Luke goes back to plead to Lorelai to go away with him, but she informs him she slept with Christopher and he promptly leaves to go punch Christopher in the face. During the Spring Fling (one of the town's many festivals), the two meet in the middle of a hay maze, and both apologize for their behavior regarding the end of their relationship, thus beginning a new, tentative friendship. In the series finale, Luke moves mountains to throw Rory a graduation/going away party in the town square. When Sookie tells Lorelai that Luke painstakingly put the bash together, with the help of most of the townfolk, Lorelai decides to thank Luke for his thoughtfulness. Luke tells her that he just likes to see her happy, they embrace, and kiss. In the final scene of the episode, Lorelai and Rory are seated at Luke's Diner for an early breakfast before Rory must leave for her first job after graduating from Yale. When Luke asks Lorelai what she would like to eat, she says that she needs a minute as she can't decide. Luke smiles and tells her to take all the time she needs. Also, in this scene Lorelai is wearing a necklace that Luke gave to her as a gift. This last scene of the series mirrors the last scene of the first episode, where Lorelai and Rory are eating in the diner with Luke behind the counter.

Max Medina (Scott Cohen), Rory's Chilton English teacher, is briefly engaged to Lorelai. Luke, after learning of their engagement, makes Lorelai a chuppah, and when he presents it to her they talk. Luke observes that "you only get married once," then at her bachlorette party her mother talks about when she was about to marry Richard and that she would put on her wedding dress every night. This results in Lorelai's unexpected call to her maybe not so former lover, Christopher Hayden. These things make Lorelai realize that she does not truly love Max, and she ends their engagement by leaving for a spontaneous road trip with Rory early in the morning a week before her wedding. Max shows up again in the third season, but nothing serious, except one kiss, happens between them.

For a while in season three Lorelai casually dated Alex (Billy Burke), a divorced man with two kids who was starting his own coffee shop. He took her coffee tasting, fishing and to New York for a show and then, after Max Medina came back into town, he was no longer on the show.

Jason Stiles is Richard's much younger business partner and a childhood friend of Lorelai's; he once went by 'Digger', but does not wish to be called that anymore. She initially dated him to bother her mother, who she knew would disapprove of their relationship. However, when the relationship became more serious, she feared telling her parents. Jason and Lorelai's relationship was exposed when Jason's father hired a private investigator to follow his son. They broke up when Jason filed a lawsuit against Lorelai's father after Richard fires Jason. Lorelai eventually chose her father over Jason. In the fourth season finale, Jason comes to the test run at the Dragonfly to try to win Lorelai back. He becomes annoying by the end of the night (especially to Luke, who is unclear on the details of his and Lorelai's relationship status). At the end of the episode Lorelai adamantly tells Jason and Luke that her relationship with Jason is over. After which Jason is never seen again, although it is mentioned that Sookie and Michel called him and told him that his condo was on fire. That ends up being the night Luke and Lorelai first kiss.

Lorelai periodically reconnects with Christopher Hayden (David Sutcliffe), Rory's father. As their subplot develops, it becomes evident that Lorelai always expected to reunite with Christopher, but he was never prepared to commit seriously. In the first season when we meet him for the first time they go to Friday night dinner with both their parents. It ends up turning into a big fight and Chris and Lorelai end up on the balcony where they held many high school memories, including the initial conception of Rory. After much reminiscing, they find themselves having sex. The next morning Chris spontaneously proposes, but Lorelai knows he can't be a family man. When Rory asks if she loved him, she says, "I think I'll always love your dad." Christopher begins dating Sherry in season two, but when things are no longer going well between him and sherry he and Lorelai begin to rekindle their relationship, until Sherry reveals that she is pregnant and Lorelai gets dumped. Christopher and Sherry get engaged and have a daughter named Georgia (Gigi for short). Shortly afterwards, Sherry runs off to Paris for her job, abandoning Chris and their baby. At this point Lorelai was already romantically involved with Luke, although Christopher tried to win her back at Richard and Emily's wedding renewal vows. He messes things up with Lorelai and Luke and makes Lorelai even more irritated with him. They remained platonic until the final episode of the sixth season, when Lorelai goes to Chris for comfort after breaking up with Luke and again they end up having sex. In the seventh season, they take a romantic trip to Paris and decide to elope. During the November sweeps 2006, they are a married couple. However, soon into their marriage they break up again due to conflicts over lack of sincere devotion to their marriage on her part and her lingering feelings for Luke, as well as his inability to work through conflict. Lorelai tells Christopher, "I want you to know that you're the man I want to want." on the last episode Lorelai and Luke kiss.

Rory's romantic life

As with Lorelai, Rory's romantic attractions also run throughout the show.

Rory meets Dean Forester (Jared Padalecki) in the first episode of the series. He first approaches her by telling her that he has been "watching her." She helps him attain a job at Doose's Market. Rory shares her first kiss with Dean after he offers her a soda, then kisses her. They finalize their official dating status after a dance to which Dean escorted Rory. They fall asleep in Miss Patty's studio. Lorelai finding out that they were together all night made her resent Dean for a while, but after she gets to know him, she ends up really liking him. Rory maintains a relationship with Dean for almost two and a half years. He breaks up with her briefly in the first season, when she isn't able to reciprocate his statement, "I love you." In the season one finale Rory finally admits to Dean that she too loves him. Eventually, Rory renews her relationship with Dean and they remain a steady couple until the third season, when Dean decides to call it quits because he is convinced that Rory is in love with Jess Mariano, Luke Danes' nephew. They do not reunite until much later, when she loses her virginity to a now-married Dean in an unexpected fling, which ultimately ends his marriage and creates a short-lived rift between her and her mother. Rory and Dean break up when he decides he can't compete with her life at Yale and her new Yale friends including Logan Huntzberger.

Tristan Dugray (Chad Michael Murray), a Chilton classmate with whom she has a weird relationship. Tristin always shows signs he likes Rory. He initially calls her Mary, as in the Virgin Mary, because he thought she looked like a "goody-goody". She shares a kiss with him at Madeline's party, shortly after she and Dean had broken up. Tristin reminds Rory of this when he and Rory must share a kiss via reenacting the last scene from Romeo and Juliet. He purposely brings it up to annoy Dean who is watching the rehearsal. This also indicates he might be jealous of Dean for being with Rory.

Jess Mariano (Milo Ventimiglia), moves in with Luke in Stars Hollow in season two. He has been sent from New York by his mother, Luke's sister, Liz, for getting into trouble, though the details remain vague. During season two, Rory is torn between her current boyfriend, Dean, and her attraction to Jess. Jess makes several attempts to draw Rory's attention and spend time with her, antagonising Dean and driving a wedge between the couple. Disliked by Stars Hollow residents and regarded with suspicion by both Dean and Lorelai, Jess nevertheless appeals to Rory through their shared tastes in music and literature, as well as his acts of unexpected kindness. When confronted, Rory remains adamant that she is happy with Dean and there is nothing between her and Jess beyond friendship. Her actions frequently undermine these denials, however, and when Jess returns to New York after a car accident which leaves Rory with a fractured wrist, she skips school to visit him on impulse. In the season two finale, Jess returns to Stars Hollow during Sookie's wedding. Rory kisses him then runs away, instructing him not to tell anyone. During the first part of the third season, Rory continues to date Dean, while Jess dates a girl called Shane. In this part of the season, Rory and Jess’s interaction is fraught with antagonism and resentment, but there are also moments of sexual tension. This combination of flirtation and hostility culminates in Dean terminating his relationship with Rory at the Dance Marathon, after which Jess and Rory admit their mutual attraction. Although there are a few moments showing a relaxed and comfortable interaction between the pair, their relationship is an uneasy one, with mistrust and communication problems foregrounded. Sexual desire is a significant factor explored by the show through Jess and Rory's relationship, as Rory is shown to be thinking about sex for the first time, and contemplating losing her virginity. A shouting match after Rory repels Jess’s advances at a party and a fist-fight between Dean and Jess precipitate the end of the relationship: without telling Rory the truth, Jess leaves Stars Hollow for California, following an angry exchange with Luke over the appearance of his estranged father, Jimmy (Rob Estes).

In season four, Jess reappears in Stars Hollow after several months away and avoids her before finally declaring that he loves her. He leaves immediately, and Rory makes no reply. Later in the season, he finds Rory at her Yale dorm after Liz’s wedding to T J and implores her to rekindle their relationship and live with him in New York, opining that they are meant to be together. Rory declines and soon acts on the frisson with Dean which had been steadily building in the season. In season six, Jess makes an unexpected appearance at Rory's grandparents' house to present Rory with the novel he has written, telling her he could not have done it without her. Having planned to meet again the following night, Rory’s current boyfriend Logan Huntzberger interrupts them and the two men are later involved in a heated exchange: Jess leaves before matters escalate. Outside the restaurant, Jess questions Rory’s lifestyle, asking why she dropped out of Yale and telling her "this isn't you." Rory and Jess part on awkward terms, but after fighting with Logan about his treatment of Jess, Rory begins to reevaluate the directionless course of her life. Later in season six, Rory and Logan’s relationship is still suffering the after-effects of their earlier break-up, and upon receiving an invitation from Jess in Philadelphia for the open house at Truncheon Books, Rory impulsively travels to see him. Her visit ends with the pair kissing, but Rory curtails it and avows her love for Logan. At first angry, then resigned, Jess’s final gesture is to offer that Rory can lie to Logan that something happened between them, if it will make her feel better.

At Yale, Rory becomes involved with Logan Huntzberger (Matt Czuchry), a chronic underachiever whose wealthy family owns a newspaper empire and immediately disapproves of Rory. Logan's father, the infamous Mitchum Huntzberger, hires Rory as an intern. His crushingly negative evaluation of her work leads to her leaving Yale temporarily at the end of the fifth season. (The scenes of Logan's house are filmed at Doheny mansion on the Mount St Mary's campus ). In the sixth season premiere, Lorelai and Rory are estranged and Rory is living with her grandparents. She is taking time off from college and performing community service for stealing a yacht with Logan. Eventually, Rory grows tired of her grandparents treating her like a teenager and Jess coming and a fight with Logan causes Rory to revaluate her decision. Logan gets upset at Rory because of Jess' appearance and leaves without resolution. Rory then returns to Yale for the spring semester of the 2005–2006 school year. Rory's relationship with Logan is particularly tumultuous after she attends the wedding of Logan's sister, and discovers that he had sex with two of his sister's friends during their brief break up earlier in season six. In the next episode, Rory takes Logan back, although she has not forgiven him. Logan then leaves for three days on a Life and Death Brigade event, although Rory had expressed her concern. During his absence, Rory visits Jess in Philadelphia but realises she does not want to cheat on Logan and loves him despite his faults. Logan is seriously injured on the trip and Rory takes care of him after his accident, which serves to repair their relationship. In the season six finale, Logan graduates and leaves for London. In the seventh season, he relocates to New York City to start his own Internet company, which becomes a financial disaster. Logan has a breakdown and heads to Las Vegas, to avoid his problems. Rory and Logan fight over his irresponsible behavior, but eventually make up. Their relationship continues to strengthen when Logan comes home with Rory to Stars Hollow. There, he asks Lorelai for Rory's hand in marriage and reveals his plans to move to San Francisco. When Logan reveals his intentions to Rory at the graduation party held for her by Richard and Emily, she replies by saying she "needs more time. " After her graduation, Rory tells Logan that there is so much in life to pursue now, and that being married would change that. She attempts to convince him to give a long-distance relationship a try, but he tells her that it's "all or nothing." She gives the ring back to Logan and he ends their relationship that same day. Logan still plans to move to San Francisco without Rory.

Although she never dates him, Marty (Wayne Wilcox), one of Rory's best friends at Yale, has a crush on her throughout his role on the show. It is when he asks her if she has a boyfriend during Asher Fleming's wake that she goes to check on things with Dean. His noticeable rivalry, however, is with Logan Huntzberger. He is with Rory when she meets Logan for the first time, and Logan and his friend heckle him about his bar-tending job and, according to Rory, treat him like a servant. He tells Rory "I kind of hate those guys", and starts to distance himself from Rory as her relationship with Logan develops. In season five Marty goes out for dinner with Rory, Logan, and some of Logan's friends, and at the end of the night tells Rory, "I like you, and I don't want to be just friends with you", to which she responds, "I like Logan". In season seven Rory makes some new friends, Lucy and Olivia, two eccentric drama and art students at Yale; Lucy continues to mention her boyfriend, but only ever refers to him as 'boyfriend'. When Rory finally meets him she is shocked to discover that it's Marty, who pretends not to know her. At Lucy's 21st birthday party Rory confronts Marty about his behaviour, and they decide to act normally again. However later on at the party a very drunk Marty tells Rory that she is "as beautiful as ever", after which Rory, awkwardly, suggests he should dance with Lucy. This pretense continues until Rory, Marty, Lucy and Logan have dinner together. Logan, who is aware of the situation, is asked by Lucy how he and Rory met; he then proclaims he isn't going to lie, and that Marty introduced Rory to him, and that Rory and Marty were very close friends in their first year of college. Lucy storms off, with Marty fast on her heels. Logan apologizes to Rory off screen and Rory also realizes that it was her fault as well for not coming clean to Lucy from the beginning. Rory also tries to apologize to Lucy, but neither she nor Olivia will speak to her, leading to Rory writing a letter of explanation and apology. After this, Rory and Lucy make up, but Lucy and Marty break up, and he is never heard of again.

Rory's friends

Rory's friendships with long-time best friend Lane Kim (Keiko Agena), a second-generation Korean American from a strict background, and Paris Geller (Liza Weil), a Jewish friend/rival at both Chilton and Yale, are also themes in the show. At the end of the sixth season, Lane marries Hep Alien band-mate Zach van Gerbig (Todd Lowe), a sweet and slightly clumsy rocker. At the beginning of the seventh season, Lane discovers that she is unexpectedly pregnant and gives birth to twin boys (Kwan and Steve) later in the season. In the seventh season, Paris is accepted into Harvard Medical School (Harvard is the school she has wanted to go to for years, as her family are all alumni, but was not accepted for the undergraduate program during the third season). In season four, Doyle McMaster (Danny Strong) storms onto the show as the Yale Daily News editor. He and Paris start dating in the fifth season, after Paris' relationship with a much older Professor Asher Fleming (Michael York) ends with his sudden death.

Media

DVD releases

The Complete First Season
Set Details		Special Features
21 Episodes 6-Disc Set 1 33:1 Aspect Ratio Subtitles: English, Spanish and French English (Dolby Digital 2 0 Surround)		Additional Scenes "Love and War and Snow" "Forgiveness and Stuff" "Emily In Wonderland" "Welcome to the Gilmore Girls" — Making-of Documentary of the First Season "Gilmorisms Montage" Gilmore Goodies & Gossip: On-Screen Factoids — "Rory's Dance" "Guide to Gilmorisms" booklet
Release Dates
North America	United Kingdom	Continental Europe	Norway	Australia
May 4, 2004	February 6, 2006	November 16, 2005	November 16, 2005	April 5, 2006

The Complete Second Season
Set Details		Special Features
22 Episodes 6-Disc Set 1 33:1 Aspect Ratio Subtitles: English English (Dolby Digital 2 0 Surround)		Additional Scenes "Sadie, Sadie" "Presenting Lorelai Gilmore" "There's the Rub" "I Can't Get Started" "A Film by Kirk" "International Success" featurette Gilmore Goodies & Gossip: On-Screen Factoids — "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" "Who Wants to Argue" shouting matches "Guide to Gilmorisms" booklet
Release Dates
North America	United Kingdom	Continental Europe	Norway	Australia
December 7, 2004	March 13, 2006	March 15, 2006	March 8, 2006	April 5, 2006

The Complete Third Season
Set Details		Special Features
22 Episodes 6-Disc Set 1 33:1 Aspect Ratio Subtitles: English, Spanish and French English (Dolby Digital 2 0 Surround)		Additional Scenes "Swan Song" "Say Goodnight, Gracie" "Those Are Strings, Pinocchio" All Grown Up: a Documentary with the Cast about their Childhood Experiences Who Wants to Fall in Love: a Montage of the Best "Love Moments" from Season 3 Our Favorite '80s: the Cast and Crew Show off their Favorite '80s Dance Moves "Guide to Gilmorisms" booklet
Release Dates
North America	United Kingdom	Continental Europe	Norway	Australia
May 3, 2005	July 17, 2006	April 12, 2006	June 28, 2006	July 5, 2006

The Complete Fourth Season
Set Details		Special Features
22 Episodes 6-Disc Set 1 33:1 Aspect Ratio Subtitles: English, Spanish and French English (Dolby Digital 2 0 Surround)		Additional Scenes "Ballrooms and Biscotti" "The Reigning Lorelai" Who Wants to Get Together: A Montage of Season Four's Most Romantic Moments Gilmore Goodies & Gossip: On-Screen Factoids — "Girls in Bikinis, Boys Doin' the Twist" Stars Hollow Challenge Trivia Game "Guide to Gilmorisms" booklet
North America	United Kingdom	Continental Europe	Norway	Australia
September 27, 2005	July 27, 2009	June 14, 2006	November 15, 2006	July 5, 2006

The Complete Fifth Season
Set Details		Special Features
22 Episodes 6-Disc Set 1 33:1 Aspect Ratio Subtitles: English, Spanish and French English (Dolby Digital 2 0 Surround)		Commentary by: Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino on "You Jump, I Jump, Jack" Gilmore Girls Turns 100 – Featurette on the 100th episode Behind-the-Scenes of the 100th episode Who Wants to Talk Gilmore? The Season's Wittiest Wordplay Moments "Guide to Gilmorisms" booklet (available online only)
Release Dates
North America	United Kingdom	Continental Europe	Norway	Australia
December 13, 2005	January 18, 2010	August 16, 2006	January 24, 2007	September 6, 2006

The Complete Sixth Season
Set Details		Special Features
22 Episodes 6-Disc Set 1 33:1 Aspect Ratio Subtitles: Spanish and French English (Dolby Digital 2 0 Surround)		None
Release Dates
North America	United Kingdom	Continental Europe	Norway	Australia
September 19, 2006	April 19, 2010	January 10, 2007	May 25, 2007	February 6, 2007

The Complete Seventh Season
Set Details		Special Features
22 Episodes 6-Disc Set 1 33:1 Aspect Ratio Subtitles: English English (Dolby Digital 5 1 Surround)		Additional Scene "The Great Stink" Gilmore Fashionistas A Best Friend's Peek Inside the Gilmore Girls with Keiko Agena Kirk's Town Tours Who Wants to Talk Boys – Season Montage
Release Dates
North America	United Kingdom	Continental Europe	Norway	Australia
November 13, 2007	August 30, 2010	November 25, 2007	November 14, 2007	April 9, 2008

The Complete Series
Set Details		Special Features
153 Episodes 42-Disc Set 1 33:1 Aspect Ratio Subtitles: English, Spanish and French English (Dolby Digital 2 0 Surround)		Same Bonus Features as the Individual Season Sets Complete "Guide to Gilmorisms" booklet Episode Guide with pictures
Release Dates
North America	United Kingdom	Continental Europe	Norway	Australia
November 13, 2007	October 12, 2008	November 28, 2007	2009	April 9, 2008

Books

• Four books for young adults, based on episodes from the first and second seasons:
  • Like Mother, Like Daughter by Catherine Clark (2002, ISBN 0-06-051023-4)
  • I Love You, You Idiot by Cathy East Dubowski (2002, ISBN 0-06-050228-2)
  • I Do, Don't I? by Catherine Clark (2002, ISBN 0-06-009757-4)
  • The Other Side Of Summer by Amy Sherman-Palladino and Helen Pai (2002, ISBN 0-06-050916-3)
• Coffee At Luke's: An Unauthorized Gilmore Girls Gab Fest (2007, ISBN 1-933771-17-8)

Reception

Awards

Gilmore Girls received an American Film Institute Award and two Viewers For Quality Television Awards, and was named New Program of the Year by the Television Critics Association. The show won an Emmy for its only nomination: 2004's Outstanding Makeup for a Series for the episode "The Festival of Living Art". The show's actors have received many awards for their work on the series. Graham won two Family Television Awards and she won Teen Choice Award for Best TV Mom twice as well. Alexis Bledel has won a Young Artist Award and a Family Television Award. The series also won a Family Television Award for New Series, and was named Best Family TV Drama Series by the Young Artist Awards. Gilmore Girls was listed as one of Time magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME."^[1] Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "Thank you, fast-talking Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, for suggesting moms and teenage daughters really can get along—all it takes is love, patience, and copious quantities of coffee."^[19]

Ratings

The following list details the seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of Gilmore Girls in the United States. The show rated first in the 18-25 demographic for women and second for men throughout the first four seasons.

Note: Each U S network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.

Season	TV season	Broadcast network	Ranking	Viewers (in millions)
1	2000–2001	The WB	#126	3.6[20]
2	2001–2002	The WB	#121	5.2[21]
3	2002–2003	The WB	#121	5.2[22]
4	2003–2004	The WB	#157	4.13[23]
5	2004–2005	The WB	#110	4.8[24]
6	2005–2006	The WB	#119	4.5[25]
7	2006–2007	The CW	#129	3.7[26]

References

External links

• Official website from WB Studios
• Gilmore Girls at the Internet Movie Database

Gilmore Girls Creators Amy Sherman-Palladino • Daniel Palladino See also Lorelai Gilmore • Characters • Stars Hollow • List of episodes • Our Little Corner of the World: Music from Gilmore Girls • Awards • Quotes