Hey Richard, welcome to the ORG! Yeah, this show is amazing isn't it - the dialogue is so intelligent and witty which is great as so many tv shows these days assume the audience is stupid. What series are you on and who is your favourite character so far? I'm glad you're getting the dvds, the first 3 seasons are my personal favourites. 

I think I should contribute my opinions to this thread. Many of my opinions people have said so I'll TRY not to repeat  (but I don't promise!)

1) Chris and Lorelai had better chemistry then Luke and Lorelai. It's just that no one was going to accept it - the fans loved L/L, the producers loved L/L. C/L were written off before they even began.

2) Lane should NOT have married Zack and had kids. When she and Zack broke up they should have stayed broken up. Lane should have got a new boyfriend or something. They could have had a storyline that it put pressure on the band and eventually the band broke up. At the end of the series Lane should have moved away from Stars Hollow, to LA or New York, and joined another band to pursue the rock star dream. I just hate that they left her married with 2 kids at 22 (not that that is a bad thing, I just really don't think it was Lane). I just know that 10 years down the line Lane would still be living in Stars Hollow, possibly still playing local venues with her band. I know that Rory is the main character but I just hate that Rory gets to do all this amazing stuff whilst Lane, who is as hardworking and passionate about her dreams as Rory, is left behind, stuck in Stars Hollow.

3) The Chilton Years were the Golden Years of the show. Don't et me wrong, I love the later seasons too but when I truly think of Gilmore Girls, I think of the happier days, seasons 1-3. When there was less soapy drama and more heart.

4) Marty and Rory wouldn't have made a good couple but they made great friends. Why oh why did they have to make Marty have a crush on Rory? I think that had they made them really good friends - just friends - it could have contributed a lot to the show.

They would have gone to different schools but still have been good friends, although the difference in worlds would have been a source of contention. There would have been a Lorelai - Luke - Chris (remember, he was the hot rebellious bad boy when he was young) love triangle throughout high school. Lorelai would have ultimately chosen Luke though.

What if Taylor got married?

Lorelai would not know whether to tell him. She wouldeventually tell him and Luke would initially get angry with her for not telling him sooner, They would have a massive fight, not speak for a few weeks until things calmed down and Luke thanked Lor for telling him. Then maybe L/L would have got together sooner.

What if...Dave (Lane's boyfriend) had not moved away to California?

I don't really have anything to add (then why the heck am I posting this?! ). I agree with the reasons why April sucked - as a character she was fine, albeit a little bit of annoying miss smarty-pants, but I hated WHY she was brought in. Among many of the reasons I love G.G, one was that it had sufficient drama to make it exciting whilst not being too 'soapy' or unrealistic. The emergence of April stretched my suspension of disbelief too far. It was a hugely obvious attempt to break up Luke and Lorelai (oh no, they are happy! Well, we can't have that now can we?) and to cause even MORE drama and issues. To be honest, I think the season would have got a lot better ratings/reviews if Luke and Lorelai HAD got married. Why the need to break them up? I'm not saying this because I'm this super JavaJunkie (I like them but I also like Lorelai with Max and Chris) but because - although I do like many aspects of season 6 - Gilmore Girls got pushed into the ridiculous.

Oh dear, I've gone completely off topic. Ummm, let's get back to it. APRIL SUCKS. There we go 

He would say:

"Rory, I've become a pathetic, spineless doormat who is STILL madly in love with you because you are so unforgettable. Please, use me and abuse me again, and I'm sure I will find a way to publicly breakup with you when I'm finally tired of it." 

What if...Lorelai had a sibling?

Emily's greatest fear was losing her daughter, and she controlled Lorelai's every step to prevent it happening before she was ready. Lorelai shares the fear, but she reacts to it by encouraging, even coercing, Rory into flying free whenever possible. It's like her every prop is daring Rory to run away, and that reversed action is naturally having the reverse reaction - Lorelai never needs her mom, and Rory always does. Go figure.

I never thought of it as Lorelai almost daring Rory to flee - nice theory Lessa! It's true that Rory always needs her Mum, even after the disaster at the end of season 4/beginning of season 5 and during their silent period in season 6 when Rory is rebelling against Lorelai, she still inwardly wants and needs her mother. This was not the case with Lorelai and Emily. Perhaps the Sherman - Palladinos are trying to comment on how one should raise a child?

This is one of the WORST episodes EVER!!!!!!

Could you elaborate on that please? Why was it bad? Did you not like the way certian characters behaved? The events in the episode? Did you see plotholes, bad acting or directing? Here on the ORG we like to explain why we don't like, or do like, something. 

This is the first episode of Gilmore Girls I ever saw and, corny as this sounds, will always hold a special place in my heart. I was completely intrigued by the show from the pre-credits, where Lorelai is painting Rory's toes on the porch and Rory is squirting whipped cream into her mouth. I could already see the close mother/daughter bond that is so essential to the show. From then on it just got better and better - Lorelai's hilarious outfit, Paris being threatened by Rory, Lor and Luke's little flirting/banter, Rory answering the question in class before Paris...I truly love this whole episode.

One bit I love which is a tiny thing but really gets to me is when Lorelai is waiting for Rory after school with coffee and they share this loooong hug. For me that just epitomises the heart of the show - the love and support that the Gilmore Girls share. I do like the later seasons, don't get me wrong, but when I'm tired of all the drama that goes on in those I like to watch the first season, it makes me feel all warm and squishy inside 

I know, Imy, it's great isn't it?!!! I've managed to get many people hooked on G.G by lending them my dvds and now they have the pleasure of watching it on tv too. Wooot!

It would/could have ended in no harm no foul, had Sherry not discovered that she was pregnant.  Christopher should have completely ended things with her before getting involved with Lorelai and Lorelai should have made sure that had happened before jumping in with Christopher.  Though I didn’t get the impression that either of them were plotting for their relationship to take that course as quickly as it did. 

I really believe that if Sherry had not become pregnant, that Christopher would have gone back to Boston to 'finalize the break-up' and would have actively persued a relationship with Lor that would have worked. Heck, I think they were both so ready and finally in the right place for this relationship that if HAD worked out, and nothing had got in the way, it would have lasted and perhaps *gasp*, there would have been no Lorelai/Luke.

Oh yeah, hi everyone. I'm back! I know I've been absent for the whole summer but now I'm here and ready to discuss/debate 

So when considering the besotted perfect Dean and the mischievously annoying Jess, she's probably thinking a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, that perfection was not as important as security, and so on.

I think you've hit the nail on the head Lessa. Rory never intended to break up with Dean. She still had feelings for him, waning ones admitedly, but she still cared about him. I think she considered Jess to be a crush that would 'go away soon'. She enjoyed spending time with him and did like him but she would never break up with secure, stable, loving Dean to be with the wild, spontanouis rebel. I think that during this season, and especially during (or maybe after) this episode she was beating herself up iabout it - how she SHOULD be studying towards havard spending time with her perfect boyfriend, rather than hanging out with the intriguing, but altogether bad - for - her boy. Obviously she didn't listen to her head very much! 

No matter how stupid and thoughtless Rory was in this episode - letting Paris conver for her, letting Jess stay etc - I still believe her intentions were pure towards Dean. Though she shows signs of being manipulative and selfish, I honestly believe that her actions were (semi) unconsciously done. I say semi because Rory has always been one to avoid conflict, and so yes she did try to protect herself too. I think that she was behaving like a true naive teenager - which is what she was! Lorelai, Emily and Richard (as well as all the townsfolk) always go on about Rory being old and mature for her age, and I think it's good that we see places where she slips up and acts what people her age sometimes act like. 

I hear a lot about how Rory tars and feathers her halo whenever Jess sticks his head up, but be fair; Dean was being really unreasonable about her just being friends. He doesn't want to hear about Jess, doesn't want to talk about Jess, and doesn't want to catch Jess within 50 feet of his gf.

You make a good point Lessa. Even before it was obvious that Rory liked Jess, Dean was NOT happy about her being friends with him. On one hand it was out of concern for her as he considered Jess a 'bad seed'. The guy was trouble and he didn't want Jess to get Rory into trouble, I get it. But then again surely he should have respected her wishes to be friends with him (whilst having his own reservations about it.)

But then again he doesn't seem to like Rory hanging out with other guys in ANY circumstance. He didn't want her to practice the play because of Tristan even though there were 4 other people there, he even looked at Christopher a bit funnily when she took him to Dean's baseball game. I wonder how he would have reacted to Marty?

Ah, I love this episode. I must admit, I'm suprised no one has ranted about what a jerk Jess was for deliberately coming in between Rory and Dean  Actually, although I know he probabaly is being jerky, I definetely tend to ignore it and make Dean the bad guy. This is when my rose-tinted Lit side comes out! It was great to see Paris and Jess - not the most social adept people ever - actually getting along with someone they didn't know  The salt/pepper dip thing made me smile. I do get why Dean came over, he wanted to suprise his girlfriend and this is when he was REALLY desperate to keep her as he saw she was slipping away. But I still think he should have respected her wishes and not have come. I wonder if part of him was wondering whether she really was there alone or if she had lied to him. Hmmm

The Emily/Lorelai scenes at the spa were hilarious. I wonder why I find Emily annoying when she chatters on and on but with Lorelai I find it endearing? It was so great to see them getting along for once and then Emily reverting back to her usual self in the 60-40 bar. A case of one step forward and two steps back. 

So, I'm totally artistically challenged and would LOVE to have a banner but don't know how to make one! Would any of you be willing to make me one? PM me if yes and I'll tell you what I want. Full credit would go to you of course of the banner. Thanks!