Hockey puck, rattle snake, monkey, monkey, underpants

 

I re-watch the television show Gilmore Girls when my life is less than settled. I'm not sure why but it's typically my thing. Something stressful happens and I pop in season four and watch The Dragonfly Inn come to life while Rory is making questionable life choices by sleeping with a married man and Lorelai is hiding her boyfriend from her parents like she's the teenager and not the mom. Or maybe it's more of a season six kind of binge, all "I'm leaving Yale and living in the pool house and joining the DAR" and "June 3rd is the perfect day for a wedding until it's not" and "Luke hides a daughter for almost an entire season for no apparent reason." Better yet, what about season two where we meet Jess, the Puffs, and Sookie gets married?

I could literally spend all day talking about my favorite episodes (four Thanksgivings, the opening of the Dragonfly Inn, Rory graduating from high school, the Life & Death Brigade, Lane's baby shower, Michel's dog funeral), the best characters who are not the main characters (Miss Patty, Babette, Kirk, Lane, Zack, Tom, and Lane's little cousin who yells at Zack during a super formal Korean dinner), and who are the worst (Taylor but with affection, April, Dean, Francie, Sherry, and Jackson's weird cousin). I took an informal poll on Facebook (source of all great news and facts; just ask John Oliver) and no one could name just one favorite episode or even one favorite season. To me, that gets to the heart of what was truly magical about this show - everything. It wasn't one character, one event, one location that made it special. It was each detail, each character, each moment.

As we near the premiere of A Year in the Life on Netflix this coming Friday, I thought I'd spend less time reflecting on the seven seasons we've had and focus on what I hope we get in the revival. I haven't read much about the revival; fan theories and potential spoilers are not my thing. I want to go into the new episodes armed with nothing more than the love of this show and maybe some coffee and a pop tart. Here's what I hope we get in these four episodes:

• Team Rory: I'm will forever be #TeamLogan (and I'm not going to spend any time here defending my choice) but I really don't care which guy she ends up with if she ends up with any of the original three boyfriends. Show creator, Amy Sherman-Palladino, doesn't care either. One of the great things about this show was Rory as an independent young woman. She can have a dude in her life but let's not care about it so much. 
• Are Kirk and Lulu still together? They are one of my favorite couples from the show so I hope they are still together and being their weird selves.
• We get to see older versions of all the kids that were babies or toddlers in the last few seasons. Sookie's kids, Steve and Kwan, Gigi - what will they all be like? Are they cool? I hope they're all cool.
• Can we please meet Mr. Kim?
• Is Emily really wearing jeans and concert t-shirt? I saw it in the preview but I don't believe it. I feel like this is actually the equivalent of seeing Emily Gilmore naked. It could supplant that episode where Emily is basically drunk the whole time as the greatest un-Emily episode of the entire series. Apparently, that's Kelly Bishop's favorite episode so there's that. 
• An ugly cry tribute to Richard Gilmore. Let's face it, it's going to happen and we all need to prepare. 
• Sookie's kitchen and her ability to break something or catch stoves on fire. Sookie is one of my favorite characters and I'm glad that Melissa McCarthy was able to be part of the revival. I hope we get to see her in her kitchen but maybe not injured or destroying expensive kitchen equipment.
• Babette and Miss Patty singing. 
• Town Hall meetings! I have missed Town Hall meetings so much. Is Taylor still being insufferable (yes)? How often does Babette interrupt things with an inappropriate story about her and Maury (frequently)? Is Gypsy going to be sassy (yes)? I can't wait!
• Is there a new town troubadour? The regular troubadour came back but did he stay?
• More Hep Alien. I hope that Hep Alien went on to be a famous-ish band. Zack has always been one of my favorite characters and Gil and Brian were awesome. Seriously, getting Sebastian Bach on this show was genius. They did get back together without Bach back in 2015 so it would be great to that the band was successful. Todd Lowe will always be my dream dude (after Chief Hopper from Stranger Things).
• Paris and Doyle's wedding and/or the knowledge that they're engaged. Obviously they make sense together and will eventually take over the world. 
• Quotable moments like this: Mrs. Kim: Boys don't like funny girls.
  Lorelai: I took a bite, and I thought nothing had ever tasted so good. I thought it tasted like freedom. It tasted like I was my own person. The pop-tart tasted like freedom and rebellion and independence.
• Christopher messing up something. It's inevitable that Christopher will be here somewhere messing up something. I'm hoping it's his own life and not Lorelai's. It didn't work twice so let's move on.
• Michel! I've missed Michel so much. His rudeness, his random acts of kindness, his dogs. Do you think he adopted another dog? Will his flawless mother make another appearance? 
• A town festival. Stars Hollow is a town of festivals. It seemed like no matter how out there one festival was (living art for example), the town (and Taylor) would come up with another idea. The Firelight Festival has always been my favorite. 
• More dialogue like this:
  Lorelai: Because my brain is a wild jungle full of scary gibberish…I’m writing a letter…I can’t write a letter…why can’t I write a letter?…I’m wearing a green dress…I wish I was wearing my blue dress…my blue dress is at the cleaners…the Germans wore grey…you wore blue…Casablanca, Casablanca…such a good movie…Casablanca…the White House…Bush…why don’t I drive a hybrid car? I should really drive a hybrid car…I should really take my bicycle to work…bicycle, unicycle, unitard…hockey puck, rattle snake, monkey, monkey, underpants.
  Rory: Hockey puck, rattle snake, monkey, monkey, underpants?
  Lorelai: Exactly! That’s what I’m saying. Its a big bag of weird in there.

No matter what happens, it'll be great to spend a few hours back in the magical world of Gilmore Girls. We all deserve a little something to look forward to these days. 

PS - Team Dean will never win. Dean is the worst. He needs to take his floppy hair and tallness and get the hell out of Rory's life. #sorrynotsorry

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Welcome to Star's Hollow, Population Awesome

Sometimes the world works in the most perfect way. You miss all of the traffic and hit all of the green lights. Dunkin' Donuts doesn't take away the butter pecan flavored iced coffee that you love. No one annoys you the entire day. Netflix finally grants you access to a magical television show, Gilmore Girls. 

I hope, dear Island readers, that those of you who have Netflix have dived into the wonderful world of Stars Hallow. I watched the show when it originally aired and own all seven seasons on DVD. I have re-watched the show in its entirety (since watching it on television) at least four times. If you haven't added it to your queue or started watching it already, I implore you to do so right after you finish reading this post. You won't be disappointed with the experience.

The release of the show on Netflix has unleashed a flurry of articles and Buzzfeed quizzes and posts about the show. The show aired in 2000 on the WB and ended seven years later on the CW. It chronicles the adventures of the dynamic mother-daughter duo of Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Rory (Alexis Bledel) Gilmore. The Gilmore girls live in the quirky town of Stars Hollow, CT and are surrounded by a cast of amazingly funny and interesting characters. Lorelai was a teen mom who left her affluent family after giving birth to Rory and found a life for herself. Over the course of seven seasons, we follow Lorelai and Rory through their many loves, private high schools, getting into an Ivy League college, opening an inn, and so many town festivals. The fast-paced dialogue and pop culture references are worth the time. Amy Sherman-Palladino, the series creator, injects the right amount of weird and normal to the world of Gilmore Girls.

One of the things that I most enjoy about the world of Stars Hollow (and Chilton, Yale, etc.) is the secondary characters. These are the people that truly bring the show to life. The best shows are the ones in which the world of the show seems real (even if it's a bit quirky). Stars Hollow and the other locations of the show only make sense if you add in all the secondary and tertiary characters. I thought that for my first Gilmore Girls Island post, I'd talk about my favorite side characters. They may not appear in every episode or even make it to the end of the series but they are important in our little corner of the world. Grab some takeout from Al's Pancake World or some dessert sushi and let's talk Gilmore Girls.

1. The Trifecta - Miss Patty, Babette, and Taylor.
You can't have Stars Hollow without these three. Miss Patty and Babette know everything about everyone in town and are some of the sassiest women you will ever meet. Babette is the neighbor that I hope I have if I ever buy a house. I'd trust her to collect my mail and call the embassies in the countries I was visiting if I didn't return from my European vacation on the day she thought I was returning. Did I mention that Babette is portrayed by Sally Struthers? That voice! No Stars Hollow festival (and there are lots of them) would be the same without the choreography skills of Miss Patty. Her stories are the greatest and I want her one woman show to be a real thing that I can go see. Now. What's even more wonderful is that they provide balance to Taylor, the town selectman.Taylor truly cares about Stars Hollow but he's also crazy. His brand of particularness is overwhelming but is also what keeps Stars Hollow going. His scenes with Kirk (who we'll discuss shortly) are some of my favorites on the show. I want to attend a town meeting, volunteer to be a pilgrim at the food drive, and invest in some sweaters with elbow patches so Taylor will be happy.


2. The Love Interest No One Understands - Jason Stiles
I have to confess that part of my love for Jason Stiles comes from the fact that I have the biggest crush on Chris Eigeman. I first saw him in Whit Stillman's 1990 debut Metropolitan and was immediately hooked. I will watch anything that he's in and I was sad that his role on Bunheads was so limited. He is every preppy boy that I've crushed on in my life (which is so not my type but I can't help it). Popped collars make me rageful but deal with popped collar/uncomfortable suit Jason Stiles.

Jason "Digger" Stiles appears in season four which is one of my favorite seasons to watch when I'm in a state of transition or uncertainty. He and Lorelai grew up together and he becomes business partners with Mr. Gilmore. He and Lorelai also start a secret relationship (a frequent Lorelai relationship tactic). Jason is not the great love of Lorelai's life but he's an important part of Lorelai's life as she's working on opening the Dragonfly Inn and she's not quite ready to be with Luke (she's almost there). Jason is unexpected, weird, has a lot neuroses, and is not the kind of guy she should be with and that is exactly why she should be with him. He helps her reflect on the parts of her past that she needs to move forward with her life. Also, he basically calls Emily Gilmore obsolete (he actually says it about cocktail parties but same difference). I was glad to see Jason go but I'm super glad he was there.

3.The Nemesis (but not really) - Paris Geller
Let's be honest, I could write an entire post on Paris. She is the quintessential mean super smart girl when we meet her on Rory's first day at Chilton. These first days would set the stage for a long friendship that has a lot of ups and downs over seven seasons (just like a real friendship). Paris needs Rory and Rory needs Paris. They might not want to admit it but it's the truth. The Yale years are my favorite of her episodes. She has an affair with a professor, becomes editor/dictator of the newspaper, and provides her own brand of Paris tough love to Rory when she needs it. Paris is another extreme character but is at the same time, incredibly relatable. I remember feeling bad for Paris...a lot. Her family life was not ideal (despite the privilege) and she's the kind of person that's had her life mapped out since she could write her name. She has a hard time being flexible and I totally feel for her on that one. One of my favorite non-Yale episodes featuring Paris was the one in season three when she and Rory are both giving speeches at the Chilton bicentennial and right before, Paris finds out that she didn't get into Harvard. And she's crushed. This particular episode showed us that Paris was indeed human and had feelings. I tear up every time I re-watch this one.

Like Lorelai, we all come to love Paris in the end.

4. Why You Hide Music in the Floorboards - Mrs. Kim
"Boys don't like funny girls." And so begins my adoration of Mrs. Kim (Emily Kuroda), Lane's mom and Lorelai's complete parenting opposite. In the hands of less skilled writers and a less skilled actor, Mrs. Kim could have become a terrible stereotype of a Korean parent. Mrs. Kim is traditional and wants Lane to marry a nice Korean boy who happens to be a doctor and who Mrs. Kim picks for her BUT Mrs. Kim is also incredibly honest and forgiving. She's a realist and a perfect counter to Lorelai. Every time Lorelai tries to explain about teenagers, Mrs. Kim just gives her a look and the conversation ends. Mrs. Kim understands teenagers and young women, but she also believes in rules and respect. When Lane finally does break away, you can see the influence of her mother in her despite her desire to rebel. My favorite Mrs. Kim moment of all time is when she takes over as manager of Hep Alien and books them on a tour...that takes them to Seventh Day Adventist church groups and college campuses. I'd book Mrs. Kim to be my band's manager any day.

5. The Everyman - Kirk Gleason
If you've seen Guardians of the Galaxy than you know Sean Gunn, the actor who portrayed Kirk. He played Raglin, one of Yondu's gang. More importantly, he was the actor who performed the motion capture for Rocket. I had a hard time not imagining Kirk in any scene featuring Rocket. I couldn't help it.

Kirk appears in 137 episodes of Gilmore Girls. There are 154 total episodes - that's a lot of time on the show. Kirk has probably that many jobs during the series. Everyone should have a Kirk in their life; he's odd and endearing and funny. He truly cares about the people in his life (like that time that he installed a security system for Lorelai because she was now by herself and he followed her home in a golf cart to make sure she got there safely); he just has to show it in his very Kirk way. I wish we had gotten to meet his mother (whom he lives with). That probably would have explained a lot more. His scenes with Luke are an excellent study in contrasts and one of my favorite Kirk moments is when he opened a diner in the square called Duke's. Was I the only one who cheered when he finally got a girlfriend? Kirk is the sidekick of the entire town and without him Stars Hollow would not be the place it is.

I could go on for days about all of these characters and the many that I left out (I didn't get to talk about Sebastian Bach or Max or Francie, one of two characters on the show that I actually hate). Maybe one day we'll finally get to see a Gilmore Girls movie (I would wait in line at the midnight show). Or maybe Kirk will get his own show. Or maybe I'll figure out how to organize the first ever con devoted entirely to the show. Until then, I'll just plan on re-watching the series again and again.

Who's your favorite Gilmore Girls side character?

More Gilmore Girls coming soon to the Island! This fall/winter I'll be re-watching the series and writing about it. We'll talk Dean v. Jess v. Logan; why Sookie is the greatest character of all; and we'll breakdown all the junk food that Lorelai and Rory eat without ever having to go to the gym.

Photos:
Miss Patty & Babette
Taylor
Jason Stiles
Paris 
Mrs. Kim 
Kirk 

Birthdays should never be on a Monday

Here is why:

• No one likes Monday. It's a fact (and if you do, there is something wrong with you). The euphoria of the weekend has worn off and you're spending most of the day dealing with being back at work or school or whatever you do with your time. Birthdays should not be a part of that.
• There is absolutely nothing fun about Monday. It's not even fun to say.
• The line at the coffee shop is always longer on a Monday.
• The only holidays that consistently take place on Mondays are federal holidays. That means that people will associate your birthday with discounts on furniture and cars. Also, not everyone gets to take every federal holiday off so there's always a little resentment associated with holidays on a Monday. And yes, I know that a birthday is not an actual holiday but it is the one day of the year that people celebrate you and your birth so it's like a mini-holiday.
• More traffic. People don't typically telecommute on Mondays so everyone is driving to work or taking public transportation. I spent most of today's commute behind a bus.
• I have awesome co-workers who planned to have lunch with me today but normally no one wants to take a lunch break on Monday because we all have too much to do.
• If you wanted to go out and really celebrate (you know, with adult beverages and staying up late enough to watch The Daily Show), it's a school night so you really can't. I have an 8 am training tomorrow morning that I have to drive an hour or so to get to so no late night out for me.

Since today is my birthday and it's Monday (stupid leap year) I've planned an appropriate celebration  - work, Indian take out, and the premiere of the new Amy Sherman-Palladino show Bunheads on ABC Family. I can only assume that Ms. Sherman-Palladino timed this show to premiere today as a birthday present to me. Gilmore Girls will always be my favorite but I'm hopeful that Bunheads will fill the void that was left when the magic of Stars Hollow ended.

I share a birthday with Jacques Cousteau, William Styron, Gene Wilder, Joe Montana, and PETER DINKLAGE! That last one had to be in all caps and I don't even watch Game of Thrones.

I'm also going to pretend that today is Tuesday. I can do this because it's my birthday and that's how birthday magic works. I'll still recognize tomorrow as Tuesday; I'm just going to call it Tuesday, part 2.

Today is also:

• Kamehameha Day - celebrates the unification of the Hawaiian Islands by King Kamehameha. When I lived in Hawaii I pretended that the parades were for me. No, I was not 10 (I was in my 20s).
• Hug Day - apparently we need 4 hugs to survive, 8 for maintenance, and 12 for survival (per day)
• Asparagus Day
• Dirty Book Day
• German Chocolate Cake Day
• Triple Crown Day

If today is your birthday too, I hope you're having a wonderful and magical day!

My horoscope for the day. Hmmm....