New to the GG? Try these 5 episodes

[junienmomo]

For all of the new people who will shortly enjoy the Gilmore Girls on Netflix, let's build up a list of recommended episodes.

 

Which episodes would you recommend to a newbie to watch to get a good sense of GG?

 

1.06 Rory's Birthdays

1.17 The Breakup, part 2

2.17 Dead Uncles and Vegetables

3.02 Haunted Leg

3.09 Deep Fried Korean Thanksgiving

[amensisterfriend]

At the risk of being really boring and predictable, I think the Pilot---while suffering from a little bit of clunky Pilot-itis---does a surprisingly good job of setting up the show and establishing its tone and characterizations for new viewers. And the "Menendez" line will never not appeal to my highly warped sense of humor :) 

 

If asked to pick one from each of the first four seasons, I'd go with:

 

Pilot 

 

Like Mother, Like Daughter----I know, I know...my love for this one is well documented by now! I really do think it's a great episode to give newbies a sense of the show's characters, relationships, dialogue and core values (like, for instance, how an interest in activities like books and music and a healthy mix of independence and compromise are all awesome---while going blindly along with the group to please other people isn't!

 

Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer----I love They Shoot Gilmores, Let The Games Begin and Those Are Strings Pinnochio even more, but those episodes are probably better appreciated by people who already have more familiarity with our characters and their storylines. This one is a terrific look at the Lorelai/Rory relationship---their closeness and understandable, quickly resolved conflict, the beautifully understated but highly effective "Come again, Mimi" scene between Luke and Lorelai, an example of how food symbolizes so much on this show (the purse donut!), a lovably nutty Stars Hollow festival, and some of my very favorite Paris/Rory scenes! 

 

The Fundamental Things Apply---a self-contained GG episode that's endlessly rewatchable and the TV equivalent of 'comfort food' for me. It beautifully illustrates the show's ability to wring humor and poignancy from minor events, features a great look at the Lorelai/Rory, Lorelai/Luke and even Lorelai/Emily relationships, is a nice balance between Yale and Stars Hollow, features Rory at her most relatable, and has some endlessly quotable, quintessentially GG-esque one-liners! 

 

Bonus 5th episode for newbies: Rory's Birthday Parties. 

Edited September 29, 2014 by amensisterfriend

[junienmomo]

Wonderful, amensisterfriend! Your list is better than mine. Now I think I have to go back and watch them. :)

[amensisterfriend]

Hee---juniemomo, it might also be fun to warn new viewers against five S1-S4 GG episodes they might want to stay way from...or at least watch with the fast forward button within pressing range at all times :) 

[lulu1960]

Now these aren't all  my favorites but just to give newbies a taste I'd have to go with:

 

Pilot: Always good to set up the series and I think this set the stage.

Bracebridge or Dead Uncles: Gives us townie goodness. Both show potential love interests for both the girls

Those Are Strings: Rory got through Chilton and she's going to Yale plus the speech is a good one.

Raincoats: Lorelai's dream is fulfilled. Plus of course the kiss.

Bon Voyage: Everything is brought full circle (even though I wanted a bit more) it showed the girls were heading towards positive futures

[blueray]

I'd honestly tell them to start with the pilot, then watch the next four episodes lol. This way they know what's going on and can decided if they like it.

[barbedwire]

This is one of the very few shows that I really adore the pilot episode.  It was wonderfully done.  How the grandmother gets to see not only her daughter but her granddaughter and that the granddaughter is smart!  And they will compromise and have dinners together.  And Edward Hermann.  Always great.

[anastasiabeaverhausen]

I figured since this thread was directed at newbies that it would be the right place to ask this. Okay, so I've been watching this for the first time and I'm up to the first part of the 2nd season. It just wasn't a show that caught my attention when it was on, but I figured I might as well try it since it popped up on Netflix, and since a lot of people who like my other favorite shows seem to really like this one.

 

My question is this: Is every Rory/Lorelai love interest on this show a complete and unrepentant asshole? Because so far that's the idea I'm getting. I'm up to the episode where Jess first appears, and I want so badly to just punch him in the face. Like, his face is more punchable to me at this point than the Tristan character (I think it was Tara on an EHG ep who said CMM had the most punchable face on TV? I agree that he's pretty bad, but this Jess dude is just the worst).

 

I really like this show a lot, but I don't see a lot of redeeming qualities in any of these guys, and I kind of don't buy any of them as viable love interests. And it really seems like these women, who for the most part seem really intelligent and strong, are super into these dudes and totally okay with their whiny, jealous, entitled behavior. Is this an ongoing thing throughout the length of the series?

[Aloeonatable]

Well since you've only just "met" Jess, I can see how you'd want to punch him in the face. Maybe after you've watched him throughout the series you might change your mind. Or you might not. There is not one character on this show who isn't flawed and punchable at some point in the series. 

[Kohola3]

There is not one character on this show who isn't flawed and punchable at some point in the series.

 

Well put.  Even our heroines deserve a swift kick on more than one occasion.  And those most kickable sometimes show a positive side. I guess that's what makes it so much like real life. Minus the rapid fire conversations. I don't know anyone who can talk that fast let alone THINK that fast!

[junienmomo]

Anastasia, have some patience. Guys do exhibit less than gentlemanly habits on GG, but they do grow and learn. Also, look for those moments when the guys are really sweet in that way only guys seem to be able to do, you'll enjoy it. 

[amensisterfriend]

Welcome, Anastasia! I love this show to a ridiculous degree, but I have to say that I think the male characters and the show's depiction of romance/relationships leave a lot to be desired. Rest assured that a whole lot of old AND new fans agree with you here:

 

 

 

I really like this show a lot, but I don't see a lot of redeeming qualities in any of these guys, and I kind of don't buy any of them as viable love interests. And it really seems like these women, who for the most part seem really intelligent and strong, are super into these dudes and totally okay with their whiny, jealous, entitled behavior. Is this an ongoing thing throughout the length of the series?

 

Sadly, yeah, I think jealousy, entitlement, anger, bitterness, sulkiness, a brutish inability to control one's temper, fixation with a Gilmore Girl at the expense of having other interests, etc. are definitely traits shared by the majority of the GG males. AS-P seems to find those sorts of traits and behavior adorable, funny and/or (*shudder*) sexy. Here are some possible coping strategies:

 

1. Take heart that a couple of the male characters DO have good traits to (partly!) counterbalance the aforementioned terrible ones. 

2. View the male characters and the show's depiction of romance (and a lot of other things on the show!) as deliberate exaGGeration for comedic and/or dramatic effect and tell yourself that in 'real life' many of these male love interests and their relationships with the females in their life would be healthier and more appealing :) (And, as others have pointed out, the female characters are deeply flawed as well!)

3. Focus on the show's familial relationships, wit, warmth, crazily clever dialogue and general 'joie de vivre'...this is the strategy that I adopt most often! :) 

 

Please let us know what you think of the series! 

Edited October 26, 2014 by amensisterfriend

[amensisterfriend]

Which 5-10 episodes are the kind of 'go to' ones you've ended up watching more than any other? I'm thinking about that while watching Double Date on TV right now and reflecting on how I've probably seen that one 50 billion or so times by now...and how I could very happily rewatch it again immediately :) 

[lulu1960]

Forgiveness and Stuff, Dead Uncles and Vegetables, Last Week Fights, This Week Tights, Raincoats and Recipes, and Written in the Stars

[amensisterfriend]

Lulu, you've seen DD quite a lot as well, right?! Would it be in your top 10? (And I swear that I knew your exact top five...we've known each other here too long!) 

[lulu1960]

I have seen DD a lot but I don't think it would be in the top 10.

 Lost and Found, A Tisket. A Tasket, A Tale of Poes and Fires. There's probably two more in there but those were off the top of my head.

[Kohola3]

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Forgiveness and Stuff, Dead Uncles and Vegetables, Last Week Fights, This Week Tights, Raincoats and Recipes, and Written in the Stars

All my absolute favorites.  To which I would add A Deep Fried Korean Thanksgiving, Clamor and Clangor, The Bracebridge Dinner, and The Reigning Lorelai (I could watch the "Bathrobe Family" forever).

[amensisterfriend]

I think the ones I've seen with the most absurd frequency are Double Date, Rory's Birthday Parties, Road Trip to Harvard (I get why many dislike it, but it's just always been one that I love popping in), Like Mother Like Daughter, Lorelai's Graduation Day, Those Lazy Crazy Hazy Days, They Shoot Gilmores, and The Lorelais' First day at Yale (like to the point where I overdosed on it and became relatively less in love with TLFDAY now!) TASP might be my pick for the very best episode, but I haven't seen it as often for some reason---it makes me emotional, so I have to be in a certain mood! Oh, and The Fundamental Things Apply is also a 'go to' episode I've seen a million times, and I've also seen Pushkin and LMHYBRO a ton of times too, but I think I'm already past 10. Honestly, I've all but memorized every episode on this list. It's sad but true :)   

Edited June 22, 2016 by amensisterfriend

[lulu1960]

Ohhhhhh Bracebridge. How could I forget. My friend Looooooves Bathrobe!Emily

Of the season six episodes, Balalaikas is my fave I think. I almost put that one on the list. As well as the series finale which I found to be well done *(except for the L/L kiss ;) )

[33kaitykaity]

1.03 Kill Me Now -- Richard falls desperately in love with Rory and vice-versa.

2.22 I Can't Get Started -- sookie's wedding, Chris blows into town and the heartbreak ensues.  

[betterthisway]

I agree with every choice so far! I have so many favorite episodes that I've never even tried to narrow it down to five or ten, but now I can't pass up this challenge. I'll try to limit myself to two per season. 

I'll pick Rory's Birthday's Parties because it gives such a good illustration of all the characters and their relationships and That Damn Donna Reed because it contains some of my favorite Luke and Lorelai scenes and also because I am the only person here who likes Dean's relationship with Rory at the beginning and thought a lot of their scenes in this episode were interesting! From the second season I'll choose Bracebridge and Dead Uncles. For season three, I'll be boring and stick with the very popular They Shoot Gilmores and the season finale. Now that I'm looking at a list, I think seasons 1, 2 4 and 5 have a lot more episodes I love than season three, which I would guess is an unpopular opinion? It's mostly because I'm not a big Jess fan, don't really like the way the Chilton scenes in season three, don't like Nicole and don't think there are as many moments between LL or even Lorelai and Rory that season.  I'll choose In the Clamor and Last Week Fights from season four, but season four is my second favorite season behind season one, so I could really pick all but two or three episodes as my favorites! From the fifth I will choose Written in the Stars for all the LL parts and the scenes with Rory sympathizing with Paris over Asher Flemming's death even though I hate the introduction of Logan. I deeply dislike Logan and his friends in general, which I think might be unpopular here too, but I understand why others might enjoy them. 21 and Balalaikas are my favorites from the sixth season. Bike and Bon Voyage are the ones I'd pick from the final season. Like a lot of people here, many more of my favorites come from the first five seasons than the final two, which are hard for me to watch.  

Every time I read threads like this I want to watch these episodes again! 

[Kohola3]

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 I am the only person here who likes Dean's relationship with Rory at the beginning and thought a lot of their scenes in this episode were interesting!

Table for two. Loved the early seasons Dean.  Anybody that will wear a monkey suit complete with white gloves at his girlfriend's debut (with minimal complaining) AND learn to dance for it is a good guy in my book.

[lulu1960]

I didn't mind Dean in the beginning either. I thought he was a sweet first boyfriend. Yes, he had his moments as any teenage boy would. I believe he started acting the way he did because he sensed Rory pulling away. I believe Rory strung him along for a while.

[betterthisway]

Table for two. Loved the early seasons Dean.  Anybody that will wear a monkey suit complete with white gloves at his girlfriend's debut (with minimal complaining) AND learn to dance for it is a good guy in my book.

I didn't mind Dean in the beginning either. I thought he was a sweet first boyfriend.

I feel like I found my home. I want to shout "solidarity sisters" and have you both respond with "ya ya." If you get that reference, I'm even more at home than I thought! 

Are we allowed to ask other top five questions here? If we are, I would be so interested to hear your five favorite romances, five favorite friendships, five favorite Luke/Lorelai episodes and five episodes you wish didn't exist! 

[junienmomo]

five favorite romances

1. Luke and Lorelai
2. Luke and Paul Anka (subtle, and it took a while, but Luke came around)
3. Dave and Lane
4. Rory and Logan
5. Michel and Lorelai

five favorite friendships

1. Lorelai and Luke
2. Rory and Paris
3. Miss Patty and Babette
4. Debbie Fincher and Lorelai
5. Madeleine and Louise

five favorite Luke/Lorelai episodes

1. Forgiveness
2. Double Date
3. Damn Donna Reed
4. Uncles
5. WITS

five episodes you wish didn't exist

1. Partings
2. Prodigal Daughter
3. Vineyard Valentine
4. French Twist
5. Great Stink

[betterthisway]

This makes Monday a lot more fun! Junie, your answers are so good that I may have to steal some. 

"five favorite romances

Luke and Paul Anka (subtle, and it took a while, but Luke came around)"

LOL! 

Five Favorite Romances

1. Luke/Lorelai

2. Rory/Dean, mostly in the first season 

3. Paris/Doyle

4. Lane/Dave 

5. Emily/Richard or Sookie/Jackson

 

Five Least Favorite Romances

1. Rory/Logan

2. Luke/Nicole 

3. Lorelai/Christopher

4. Lane/Zach

5. Lorelai/Max 

 

Romance I wish had happened

1. Lane/Brian 

2. Rory/Marty 

Can't think of three more yet! I like the idea some people brought up about Paris/Jess, but only if it didn't interfere with Paris and Rory's friendship. 

 

Five Favorite Friendships

1. Rory/Paris

2. Lorelai/Luke 

3. Lorelai/Sookie

4. Rory/Lane 

5. Rory/Freshman year roommates 

 

Five favorite Luke/Lorelai episodes

1. Double Date

2. That Damn Donna Reed

3. Dead Uncles

4. Last Week Fights 

5. Written in the Stars

 

What about five favorite characters, five characters you'd want to get rid of, five stories people wish we had seen? 

I'm sorry that I'm too dumb to understand how the quote function works here! 

 

Quote

 

 

Edited June 27, 2016 by betterthisway

[betterthisway]

Does Rory/Luke count as a friendship even though they're a little bit like family? If they do, I want to add them to the list! 

[junienmomo]

Rory and Luke were also friends. They really had each other's backs, so I'd say yes! You betcha!

 

five favorite characters 

1. Luke
2. Paris
3. Michel
4. Babette
5. Rory 

five characters you'd want to get rid of,

1. TJ
2. Liz
3. Anna
4. April
5. Zach

five stories people wish we had seen? 

1. Luke and Lorelai married with a baby
2. Paris and Jess dating
3. Emily and Lorelai fixing their communication issues
4. Christopher getting squashed by an anvil early, like season 1
5. Just one time Rory and Lorelai finishing all the food on their plates at the diner, paying for it, and saying thank you before they left

[betterthisway]

Junie, we have such similar opinions about this show! The only difference seems to be that I love Lorelai a lot and don't like Logan, but I can see why both of those characters are polarizing. 

Five Favorite Characters

Lorelai, Rory, Luke, Paris, Gypsy or Michel. That's not in order because Luke, Lorelai and Rory are all tied! 

Five Characters You'd Want to Get Rid Of

TJ

Liz

Anna

Zach

Logan and his punchable friends 

Copying junie's list because it's perfect, but I put in Logan instead of April. I feel guilty because I know many love him and he has good traits, but he just has a lot of characteristics I dislike and I don't really like his relationship with Rory or how she seems when she's around him. Maybe Logan and the Rory/Logan relationship will grow on me eventually like they did for many others. 

"Luke and Lorelai married with a baby

Paris and Jess dating"

This is the show I want to watch! 

 

 

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Edited June 27, 2016 by betterthisway

[junienmomo]

48 minutes ago, betterthisway said:

Junie, we have such similar opinions about this show! The only difference seems to be that I love Lorelai a lot and don't like Logan, but I can see why both of those characters are polarizing. 

<snip>

"Luke and Lorelai married with a baby

Paris and Jess dating"

This is the show I want to watch! 

I want to see that show, too! It would have been so great to have Paris not taking any guff from Jess while he was still young enough to change his youth. 

With Lorelai (and many other characters), I go hot and cold. I'm currently in the 'how stupid is she to not recognize how much she hurts others?' mode. It will change, probably the next time I watch an episode in which she does something utterly sweet for Luke.

[Viqutorious]

Five favorite: Emily, Richard, Paris, Lorelai, and Christopher. I find them the most interesting, witty and intelligent. 

Least favorite: TJ, Dean in the later seasons, Luke, ( I find him utterly joyless) Tana and April.

i wish they would have kept Luke and Lorelai friends and skipped the dating. 

Rory forming strong female friends at college would have made an interesting storyline, they wasted Yale.