Less Is (Gil)More

I look like that little viking figurine up top, more or less. I'm of German, Scottish, and Irish descent. I have light brown hair, the sides of my head are shaved, I have a large, mostly red, beard (that includes blonde, brown, and, recently, grey hairs), and I weigh 265 pounds. I didn't always look like this, but I do now, and I will take to my grave that Gilmore Girls is one of the best shows ever created.

I think I was 17 when my sister said, "Hey. Watch a few episodes of this show and see what you think." So I did. And I loved it. So I told my mom the same thing the next time I saw her. And she did. And she loved it. Fast forward about six months, and all three of us have acquired every season on DVD, which we all still have. This was the show that made me start using subtitles religiously because I was laughing too loudly, too often, and I would miss the next joke.

The humor in this show comes at you like the magazine from a chaingun. It is belt-fed, rapid-fire, staggeringly paced, and for seven entire seasons, it never lets up or misses the mark. It doesn't stoop down to the least common denominator of intelligence either; the literary, historical, and cultural references are served as a buffet, and even now, 15 years later, there are comments made regarding certain people, places, and events that are still completely over my head. It doesn't care about you! It just wants to be as funny as possible as quickly as possible, but it's still got so much heart.

What does a single guy with no kids find so endearing about a show that revolves around a single mother who had her first and only child at a very young age and decided she'd rather have a best friend than a daughter? Well it's not the premise so much as the orbit of everyone else around them. The older I get the more I identify with the premiere cynic of the show, Luke Danes, who owns and operates the local diner. It's a combination of my short fuse for nonsense, my decade plus spent in the service industry, and that he's almost always wearing a flannel shirt, sleeves rolled up, and a backwards ball cap. Our two heroines are obsessed with, and fueled by, the sweet, sweet bean juice; life-giving coffee. Luke is the guardian of the coffee. Eventually, you fall in love with him as much as any other character in the show.

As important and astounding as the humor is, both in ferocity and frequency, it does take a break on occasion to tangle up your heartstrings in absolute knots. It makes you miss people that never existed. It makes you want to go find the people you care about most and give them bear hugs. It just makes you smile, and feel warm and cozy. And also, it makes you want coffee. Alot. Writing this has made me want to start it over from the beginning immediately, or possibly sooner.

The show works because it understands human beings. It illustrates them so well, in a whimsical and simultaneously realistic light. It's set in an idyllic New England town and yet manages to introduce characters that you know in your own personal life. The grandfather especially reminded me of my own; well-traveled, well-read, successful, but no misplaced sense of superiority. Old fashioned? Yes. Overbearing? Never. The grandmother? Entirely different story. Don't get me started.

We haven't even talked about how absolutely stunning Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel are, either. This show is unforgettable because it tickles your brain and your heart, but there are some very attractive people to keep you interested if the humor isn't working for you! I will always extend my deepest thanks to Lorelai and Rory Gilmore for existing, and yet somehow, not. If you haven't seen it, try it. The world feels like an odd and lonely place these days, but the show will remind of all the grand things in life.

After several years of a hiatus following the show being cancelled, Netflix picked up a reunion/continuation special of 4 episodes recently, and all those years later, it felt like going home, hugging your mom, curling up on the couch and picking right up where you left off; with a big cup of coffee and a heart full of nostalgia. Which is exactly what I did, and exactly what I will always do when I'm invited back to Stars Hollow.