A Statement About the Gilmores

OK, so maybe I'm having some sort of johnny-come-lately WB experience, but in addition to the now decade old (!!) seasons of the Buffster, I also find myself watching the slightly younger, but no-less WB-in-its-heyday fantasmagorical Gilmore Girls. Having caught (and enjoyed) several individual episodes over the years, it is no surprise to find it, in its entirety, wholly enjoyable. What's even cooler, though, is that I have been watching it with my grandmother. NP's cool factor has been discussed over the years as being exponentially higher than most grandmothers, but this takes the cake.

I have to confess to having not seen any of Season 1 and only selected parts of Season 2 (including the "what the frak?" shocking finale), but Season 3 has been stellar. While totally unrealistic, the relationship between Rory and Lorelai is snap-crackle-pop effortless... For those not familiar with the story, 16-year-old Lorelai got pregnant back in the day, refused to marry the babydaddy, and now here we are, 17 years later, while her remarkably well-adjusted offspring (Rory) is preparing to go off to Harvard. Offsetting the mother-daughter dynamic is another mother-daughter pairing, the distinctly uncomfortable relationship between Lorelai and her own mother, Emily, and the often times icy interplay between Lorelai and her father.

Adding comic relief are the members of the small hamlet where Rory and Lorelai live-- town oddities, weirdos, and eccentrics that do nothing if not keep things interesting. And the relationship between Lorelai and Luke, the grouchy owner of the local diner where mom and daughter eat four meals a day, features some of the best chemistry (and unconsumated oompf) seen on TV in a long time. Like, a really, really long time.

The Gilmore Girls is 21st century comfort food-- smiles, stars and butterfly family relations... only not... but served with a lightness that makes you know that everything will be ok. No matter what. Now that's something I think we can all get behind.

A Statement About Buffy

I waited as long as I could, but I am pleased to report that I finally caved and started watching the inimitable Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

To be honest, I tried to resist for quite a while; traumatic high school memories kept me from admitting what appeared to others to be incontrovertible.  I am geek enough, dork enough, and ass-kicking-girl-loving enough to be as obsessed with Buffy as the rest.  

Of course it's ridiculous.  A sixteen year old petite blond charged with saving the world from vampires.  Naturally, her job as slayer is rather hard to hide, and she has just been kicked out of her school in LA when the show begins (she burned down the gym... you know, because there were vampires inside).  And it just so happens that her mother relocates them to Sunnydale, one of the most supernaturally active places in th country, if not the world.

It's all terribly convenient, so just get over it.  You're not watching for intrigue and surprising plot twists, you're watching for snappy dialogue, evolved characters, and David Boreanaz in all of his pre-Bones glory.  There's a larger mythology in the grand scheme of things to add originality of the Scooby Doo gang of characters, but I haven't yet gotten far enough with it to speak on it intellgently.

"Scooby Doo?" you ask.

"Scooby Doo," I nod sagely.

Buffy is like watching Scooby Doo with Daphne in charge.  She's got a Fred (some combination of her Watcher, Giles, and uber-hottie Angel), she's got a Shaggy (hapless Xander) and a Velma (pre-HIMYM Allyson Hannigan in full geektastic mode).  

Anyway, obviously it's not on TV anymore, but if you're not vampire/supernatural saturated from, you know, the entire pop-culture market, check it out on DVD.  I haven't made my final diagnosis yet, but the Buffster (as she is known in elite circles) may land next to Sydney Bristow amongst my favorite heroines.

A Statement About Arrested Development

OK, yeah... So that didn't work very well. We might have to put the critic internship on hold, well... for a bit.

Onward.

So Arrested Development. I know have listed the top Arrested Development moments in the past, but I don't think I have ever extolled the virtues of this late, great television show. At least, not in writing in this forum.

Let me start by saying that it might be the best comedy ever put on television.

I know, I know, controversial. Let me also say that I recognize MASH and Seinfeld as accomplishments in forwarding the medium, I recognize that they were mainstream darlings who extended and bettered the national discourse on just about everything.

It can be argued, though, that Arrested Development's power as a show was never hindered by self-importance and significance; the show went off the air with nary a whimper in the winter of 2006 and almost no one noticed. Until the rabid fans began converting the Ignorant into the Faithful, at which point Arrested Development turned into everyone's favorite cult show, and the standard by which acquaintances are judged against friends (Sample: you're at a party, and you say to someone "And that's why you don't use a one armed person to scare people." A blank stare indicates that this person should remain a mere acquaintance. The people who start jumping up and down and blathering about J. Walter Weatherman should be considered friends for life.) Those who know the difference between light and heavy treason receive permanent invitations to all family events.

Viewers were rewarded for their faithfulness with ongoing inside jokes, continuing themes, and genius casting stunts (see: Justine Bateman as real-life brother Justin's potential love interest. The ep is entitled "Family Ties." Seriously). The layers of comedy are so brilliant it's scary, and so subtle that one viewing is not sufficient to get all of the sight-gags, double-entendres, and innuendos.

Rumors have abounded in the past year that an Arrested Development movie is imminent; that everyone but Michael Cera has signed on, and that the writing has begun. Some might be scared at the prospect of their favorite TV show being turned into a film. Questions of faithfulness to the show itself, the quality of the film, the expression of the characters are perfectly reasonable, but not when it comes to AD. The actors are so dedicated, the writers so particular, that most of them said they were glad when it ended, that they would rather have gone out in the blaze of glory than run the show into the ground.

What does that mean for the movie? With everyone signing up, it can only mean it's going to be the best thing ever.

Seriously.