Guy Lochhead, 05/09/10
Long-running American television comedy-drama that broadcast from 2000-2007. The shows are characterised by their fast-paced dialogue and constant pop culture referencing (‘Gilmore-isms’, which came to be explained in booklets accompanying the DVD releases of the series). I’m not sure where I stand on this series. It portrays a very false, idealised world in which everyone is either good or simply misguided. This could be seen to reflect the inevitably constructed nature of every television programme ever, but I don’t believe this was the original intention. Everything is worked out. The characterisation is fair – strong male and female characters of all sexualities and races, the storylines are clean but with a bit of an edge – and the ratings were high. However, the Gilmore Girls’ world is largely white and middle-class, the plots are boring, the references are tired and lazy, and it’s not funny.