Fart-Stewed Gym Socks, And Other Apt Metaphors For A Palladino-less Gilmore Girls

[Primetimer]

Behold, a list of grievances about the seventh-season premiere of Gilmore Girls.

Read the story

[AndySmith]

 

There's no question that the cliffhanger ending of the S6 finale made things difficult on the left-behind writers, and it's entirely possible that even ASP herself didn't know how that plot was going to resolve itself.

 

I was always under the impression that cliffhanger ending was ASP's 'eff you!' to the network/incoming showrunners.

[Spartan Girl]

Not to mention the fans.

[tv-is-addicting]

The series finale did its best to pay homage to the pilot at least in the final scene but an entire S7 to get to that one shot where the camera pulls back was indeed not worth it. Wishing Lauren Graham was the lead in Bunheads then we could've pretended that was season 7.

[txhorns79]

Wishing Lauren Graham was the lead in Bunheads then we could've pretended that was season 7.

 

Bunheads was a total mess of a show, that only started to right itself just prior to cancellation.  You wouldn't want to wish that show on anyone. 

 

 

was always under the impression that cliffhanger ending was ASP's 'eff you!' to the network/incoming showrunners.

 

I thought it was.  I thought I recalled reading at the time that ASP got replaced in what was essentially a game of chicken between she, her husband and the network.  She wanted certain commitments before she would agree to renew her deal, and I guess was under the impression that the network would cave.   

[readster]

  I will say this, they did their best to put together a puzzle with no idea what it looked like when season 7 started and where it ended. They tried, they really tried but I still consider season 6 to be the worse. It was ASP's power trip and basically said FU to everyone once it was over. Why the writers just finally said: "We are going to put L/C together and when you see how it turns out. You will see why it won't work." Truth is, we saw it the second they went to France because nothing would have been legal in the US from that kind of marriage but oh well right?

[stillshimpy]

It was interesting to read the perspectives in this piece, but I mainly found them sort of confusing vs. real evidence that GG was just that different without ASP.  Most of season six was a case of "What the hell are you even doing, ASP?" and then the finale of the six season really did feel like Amy Sherman-Palladino did her very best to burn down the house on her way out of the door.  

 

Season 7 had some good points and bad points, but it felt more like Gilmore Girls than most of overly sudsy and sad season six did to me.  

 

I thought David Rosenthal did a decent job of cleaning up a  monumental mess left behind by a disillusioned show-runner.  

 

To each their own, but you can't pay me to watch the back half of the dreadful season six and at least half of season seven....arguably more...is at least far less freaking depressing.   

Edited February 9, 2015 by stillshimpy

[stillshimpy]

but there was so much else right with that season that it didn't bother me as much.

 

That's also an interesting perspective.  What did you feel was done well in the season?  I'm not asking in that "A gauntlet!! Pistols at dawn!" sort of way, I'm genuinely curious what it was that you liked in season six.  

 

I didn't enjoy Luke and Lorelai's relationship in that season.  It was joyless and both Luke and Lorelai behaved in ways I felt were inconsistent to their overall characters.  I thought April was one of the worst decisions I'd seen anywhere.   

 

The one thing I actually liked in the season is the infamous "rift" which I know wasn't popular, but I felt rang true to most parent-child relationships.  As difficult as it was to watch at certain points, I thought it was believable character development that had a footing in the real world.  I've seen a lot of real-life parent/child relationships have to go through that kind of rebellious "I will define myself in all the opposite ways possible so as to firmly establish my identity!"  

 

You said you find Babette grating in larger doses and I feel you on that one, but the irritation caused by Babette for me was nothing in comparison to TJ and Liz in higher doses.  Yikes.   I felt like I couldn't  escape them in season six.  Then there was the bizarre use of Sherilyn Fenn, that just felt like ASP was bound and determined to shoehorn one of her favorite actresses in.  

 

That's all just my opinion, of course, but I am genuinely interested in what you found valuable and enjoyable, if you don't mind.  

Edited February 9, 2015 by stillshimpy

[C. Toastncrunch]

This is all so fascinating to me--particularly because a) I didn't know ASP and DP were oustered before the seventh season and b) I've been doing a GG rewatch and just started watching the final season for the first time ever. I immediately noticed significantly different things--including new/different ways the camera is being used and unfamiliar/new locations (seriously, never thought I'd see Lorelai at a car dealership). Season seven isn't as bad as I'd thought it would be, although I am hopping mad at how Lane's storyline has played out. But it does, at times, feel like Bizarro GG.

I'm another defender of season 6. I kind of loved "the rift"--it gave viewers a glimpse into an alternate world where Rory and Lorelai weren't BFF, it gave us an idea of what life might have been like for Lorelai if she'd stayed under her parents' roof (via Rory's experience with Richard and Emily), and it changed the dynamic between Rory, Richard, and Emily in interesting ways. That said, I can't buy Luke and Lorelai's relationship this time around, and the only reason I can forgive The April Debacle is because April is played by little baby Bay Kennish from Switched at Birth and thus now comes with instant appeal (for me).

[timimouse]

I didn't mind season 6 as much as everyone else seemed to.... I do agree that April was a bit of a curve ball but I like the test to their relationship as it made them a bit more "human" in my eyes. However, I don't think Luke dealt with it very well and I DESPISED the Christopher arc. They should NOT have brought him back.

As to season seven, it certainly was missing *something*, although I am not sure exactly what that something is. I have watched it many times and it really just felt very rushed. They knew it was coming to an end and they just threw everything in there to tie it all up.

[JayInChicago]

My current feeling is that the Rift was an interesting idea and not completely implausible, but, and this is a bigggg butttt--nothing was really gained from it. It did not pay off in any real way, and given that the central relationship of the show is between mother and daughter, having a giant hole in one season is just not what I want to watch.

 

I prefer season 7's back half to any half of season 6. But that's pretty faint praise.

[stillshimpy]

but, and this is a bigggg butttt--nothing was really gained from it. It did not pay off in any real way

 

I think that's an entirely fair criticism.  It was an interesting idea, I'd ever argue that parts of it were well-done.  However, the way it was resolved was definitely the stuff of "Wha...huh...? Okay, so that was abrupt, to say the least"  they did better job of establishing what went into causing the problems (it had been established since the first season that Rory was actually drawn to a world of wealth and privilege, for starters) than of resolving the conflict between them.  

 

It was just pfffft gone.  Although, I did like the episode Friday Night's All Right for Fighting, so there was some fun in the resolution.   But overall it was something that happened just to have it happen, as opposed to achieving any last character growth.  

 

Still, I liked that there was some believable conflict, even if it magically vanished as soon as the script was done with it.  

 

Oddly enough, the only believable echo of it, again just my opinion here, was in season seven when both Rory and Lorelai reacted to something kind of huge (Lorelai getting married without Rory there) as if they were both aware that there could potentially be some fragility in their relationship.  They both seemed a little guarded in how they reacted to or explained that to the other. 

Edited February 10, 2015 by stillshimpy

[stillshimpy]

Even if the storylines were imperfect, they moved along at a good clip, whereas seasons 3-5 all had a bunch of filler episodes where absolutely nothing happened.

 

That's an entirely valid point, season six did have a definite (and recognizable), deliberate pace so it does actually have the tightest plotting arc in the series.  The other seasons have a tendency to meander and suffer from pacing problems. There is a lot of time spent where the focus is -- forget about lost -- undetectable.  I confess, that is part of what I liked about the series though.  The daffy town, the often silly stories that seemed to wander around in silly slippers. 

 

I see what you're saying there.  The narrative structure being tighter isn't worth quite as much to me though.  Thanks for the answer,  that was interesting and I think it's a valid point.    I also agree that Twenty-one is the Loneliest Number was a good look into the household in which Lorelai grew up.  The biggest problem with that, from my standpoint, is that it didn't exist in a vacuum so some of the earlier work had presented a different perspective (Dear Richard and Emily; Wedding Bell Blues -- actually a lot of stuff surrounding that arc in season five -- and actually almost anything that ever involved Christoper. there's more) as they'd been exploring that aspect of the story to varying degrees of success since the first season.  Arguably the first episode.  

 

To my mind the first season did the best work with the development of Lorelai's background and relationship to her parents. Subsequent seasons seemed to sort of try to build on that, but became less and less nuanced, to my mind. 

 

But again, thanks for the answer.  I did see what you're saying and agree that season six had the best (or perhaps least meandering) pacing and story structure.   Season four has a decent structure too, but it's only apparent in retrospect, so it's a lot more difficult think highly of it.  

[JayInChicago]

When I watch the episodes quickly in sequence, I appreciate the pacing of season 6. That's a very trenchant point and not one to take lightly. But ultimately if I'm (re)watching this show years after it was first broadcast, the pacing of season 6 actually feels kind of exhausting. 

This show obviously has some quirks and the plodding pace of most of it is one that from this distance I can say I really like.