Gilmore Girls

Gilmore Girls is an hour-long American television drama/comedy that has aired since 2000. It airs on The WB network in the United States and in dozens of other markets. It was created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, who serves as executive producer with husband Daniel Palladino. Season 6 premiered September 13, 2005.

Plot

Lorelai's conflict with her wealthy parents is central to the back-story for the series. Her headstrong mother, Emily (Kelly Bishop) and her father Richard (Edward Herrmann) had their hopes for Lorelai dashed by her becoming an unwed teenage mother at the age of 16. Lorelai repaid her parents for their disapproval by keeping their contact with their granddaughter Rory to a minimum; by the time the series begins, Rory's private school fees require Lorelai to approach her parents for help, which is provided with the proviso they both join Emily and Richard for dinner every Friday night.

Related Topics:
Back-story - Kelly Bishop - Edward Herrmann - Teenage mother

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Lorelai's various romantic entanglements also play a role in the show. Her relationship with Luke (Scott Patterson) finally grows from friendship to a romantic relationship at the end of the fourth season. Lorelai's periodic reconnections with Rory's father, Christopher (David Sutcliffe), another child of a wealthy family, also play a large part in the series.

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Lorelai's career as the manager of an inn is pivotal to the first few seasons of the show, as well as her aspirations to open an inn of her own. After years of planning, she and her best friend Sookie (Melissa McCarthy) have opened their own inn, the Dragonfly.

Related Topics:
Inn - Melissa McCarthy

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Rory's coming of age is complicated by her close relationship with her mother, whose youth and demeanor give the relationship elements of an older-sister/younger sister relationship. Rory was fifteen when the show began (although Lorelai said she was sixteen in the pilot, she celebrated her birthday several episodes later). At the time the series begins, Lorelai and Rory regard each other more as best friends than as mother and daughter. Rory's burgeoning adulthood and occasional need to pull away begin to complicate this relationship, although the closeness between them remains a constant on the show.

Related Topics:
Coming of age - Pilot - Birthday

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Rory's academic aspirations also complicate matters. Rory had wanted to attend the elite Harvard University since she was born; to achieve this she transfers to the elite (fictional) Chilton Academy from the public Stars Hollow High at the beginning of her sophomore year. There, she encountered an unfamiliar world filled with the rich and the high-strung. Rory ultimately decides to go to Yale after visiting the campus with her mother and alumnus grandfather.

Related Topics:
Harvard University - Yale - Alumnus

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As with Lorelai, Rory's romantic attractions also play a part in the show. Rory's relationships with long-time best friend Lane Kim (Keiko Agena)—a second-generation Korean American from a strict background—and Paris Geller (Liza Weil), a friend/rival at both Chilton and Yale are also themes in the show.

Related Topics:
Keiko Agena - Korean American - Liza Weil

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