Warner Bros. // 2004 // 959 Minutes // Not Rated
Reviewed by Judge Ryan Keefer (Retired) // November 9th, 2005
Jason: "I have a bottle of vodka back at my place. A big bottle of
vodka. The world's biggest bottle."
Lorelai: "What'll you
drink?"
Jason: "Gin."
By its third season, Gilmore Girls had moved from a breakout success on a still emerging network to a staple program on the Warner Brothers schedule, featuring a cavalcade of young stars. Its dialogue is rapid-fire and full of pop culture references, and any show that provides mild nods or tributes to the SLA, Akira Kurosawa, and Howard Stern, sometimes in the same episode, has got to have some kind of gravitas to it. So, how does the last season before the magic of syndication look?
Much like previous seasons of the show, twenty-two episodes span six discs with four episodes on each of the first five discs and two on the sixth. The episodes are:
* "Ballrooms & Biscotti"
Resuming season three's
adventures, where Rory (Alexis Bledel, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants)
and Lorelai (Lauren Graham, Bad Santa) have just returned from a summer
of European backpacking after Rory's high school graduation, they catch up the
events in their sleepy town before Rory packs her bags for Yale.
* "The Lorelais' First Day at Yale"
As Rory is apparently
short for Lorelai, and Lorelai squared isn't too suitable for the hip crowd,
there's the reason for this nickname. Rory gets her footing at Yale, and finds
herself rooming with her friend Paris (Liza Weil, Stir of Echoes).
* "The Hobbit, the Sofa and Digger Stiles"
Aside from the
introduction of Jason (Chris Eigeman, Maid in Manhattan, the son of a
friend and former associate of Lorelai's father Richard (Edward Herrman, The
Aviator), there really isn't much to acquaint yourself with.
* "Chicken or Beef?"
The big news is that Rory's former
boyfriend Dean (Jared Padalecki, House of Wax) is getting married, and
invites her to the wedding. And Dean decides to open up on the feelings he still
has for her to Luke (Scott Patterson, Little Big League).
* "The Fundamental Things Apply"
As a result of Rory leaving
the nest for Yale, Lorelai invites Luke over for a movie, which the girls used
to do together. Lorelai also runs into problems as her and her friend Sookie
(Melissa McCarthy, The Life of David Gale) attempt to get their inn ready
for customers.
* "An Affair to Remember"
Lorelai and Sookie cater an event
for Lorelai's mother Emily (Kelly Bishop, Wonder Boys), and are insulted
when Jason suggests that the event is inappropriate. She is equally
flabbergasted when Jason asks her out.
* "The Festival of Living Art"
Luke, who was married very
quickly in season three, is surprised to find his wife come to town, and they
have been running hot and cold, but she still wants to save things.
* "Die, Jerk"
Well, the chemistry between Jason and Lorelai
continues to heat up, and Lorelai finds out more about Luke's relationship with
his wife Nicole.
* "Ted Koppel's Big Night Out"
The girls go to a tailgate
party at a Harvard/Yale game with Richard and Emily, where Emily finds out about
a secret that Richard's been hiding for years, and takes it out on Lorelai. In
return, Lorelai decides to pick up the pace on seeing Jason. In the meantime,
Paris is introduced to a Yale professor (played by Michael York, Logan's
Run) that she takes a fancy to.
* "The Nanny and the Professor"
Jason and Lorelai are seeing
each other, but Lorelai refuses to divulge this to her parents. Jason decides to
subtly push Lorelai into taking a position on their relationship. And Paris'
relationship with her professor starts to cause problems for Rory.
* "In the Clamor and the Clangor"
Lorelai and Luke get into
an argument about Luke's relationship with Nicole, and how it affects her life.
The private life of Lane (Keiko Agena, Cats and Mice) is discovered by
her mother, and she is forced to move out.
* "A Family Matter"
Not a lot going on in this episode.
Everyone is going to say something significant, but no one ever goes through
with it. Lorelai almost tells her mother about her relationship with Jason but
doesn't. Rory sees her ex-boyfriend Jess (Milo Ventimiglia, Cursed) but
doesn't say anything either. It's a pattern.
* "Nag Hammadi is Where They Found the Gnostic Gospels"
Rory
and Jess cross paths in Stars Hollow and never really talk to one another until
the end. Basically, Jess' character is the typical bad seed that comes from a
broken home and looks to cause trouble, without showing any sensitive side he
may have. But Ventimiglia is one of those people that you can easily see
yourself punching for justifiable reasons. He looks like a guy who would cry if
you looked at him long enough.
* "The Incredible Shrinking Lorelais"
Rory may possibly be
biting off more than she can chew at Yale, and the work of getting the inn ready
during the construction stages starts to get to Lorelai, and she gets into
arguments with her friends.
* "Scene in a Mall"
What do the Gilmore women do to relieve
stress? Why, they become part of the commercial revenue for the Connecticut
area, as Rory, Lorelai, and even Emily, spend a day in the mall to shop, with
various motivations.
* "The Reigning Lorelai"
Richard's mother (Marion Ross,
Happy Days) dies, and he takes the news hard. Emily decides to take care
of things for the funeral until she is surprised by an old letter from his
mother to Richard.
* "Girls in Bikinis, Boys Doin' the Twist"
Rory and Paris go
to Florida to enjoy spring break properly, and Lorelai and Jason's relationship
steps up a little bit as well, even though Lorelai has to bail Luke out of
jail.
* "Tick, Tick, Tick, Boom"
Jason's father and Richard's
former associate decides to sue Richard and Jason, seeing them as a business
threat, even though Richard is unsure if his new business can afford the trial.
Dean's wife tells him to stop talking to Rory. Jason's father outs Jason and
Lorelai's relationship to Lorelai's parents.
* "Afterboom"
While Luke is finally divorcing his wife,
Lorelai and Rory decide to see what their parents are doing, as Richard's secret
begins to wear on Emily.
* "Luke Can See Her Face"
Luke's sister Liz (Kathleen
Wilhoite, Pay It Forward) is getting married to TJ (Michael DeLuise,
21 Jump Street), while Luke gets an idea of who he should be with, and
the opening of the Inn (named the Dragonfly) gets Lorelai a little panicked.
* "Last Week Fights, This Week Tights"
Luke decides to ask
Lorelai out on a date, and Rory and Dean start to gravitate a little more
towards one another.
* "Raincoats and Recipes"
Despite Jason trying to reconcile
with Lorelai after the confrontation with his father, Luke decides to open up to
Lorelai, and Rory loses her virginity. Is it to Jess? Or Dean?
While Gilmore Girls does feature a lot of good performances by quality actors, sometimes the show immerses itself more in the pop culture references than actually advancing storylines. The B storylines feature characters that not many people can identify with or even tolerate. What makes this an even bigger problem is that these are given such little attention over the course of the season, that anything that doesn't involve a Gilmore is essentially an intrusion when one watches the show. And the reason why they are not discussed here is that they're not worth the eye strain to read, or the keystrokes to type. Does anyone want to hear about the emergence of Skid Row's Sebastian Bach as a television actor? OK.
The performances by the cast are still good, Graham plays a woman with conflicted feelings to two men kinda well, and Bledel's performances continue to improve, and this season provides her with the best lines and stories she's had to date. Patterson is still a little wooden and stoic, but the evolution of his character in season four is nice to see. Since they have always played a key part in the Gilmores' lives, it was great to finally see Bishop and Herrmann work in some scenes that had more teeth to them, and the characters were certainly hitting stride in the show, and the season is left with some interesting uncertainty.
All in all, fans of current events and humorous references will enjoy the dialogue, because that is what you're going to hear. It's certainly not as compelling as other sitcoms, but it's innocuous fun that spans a broad audience -- and it's better than anything else on the WB right now.
Six discs of quality young adult television, and there's nothing to inspire any prospective new fans to the show, aside from the possibility of incestuous desires that folks like Seth McFarlane have suggested at. But seriously, here's hoping that Graham, Bledel, and company can give some more love back to those that have helped in their success by contributing more to these sets.
In the last year that the Gilmore Girls were still under one roof, a lot of events were going on and culminated with a huge event in one girl's life, providing the perfect transition to future seasons of the show. Fans of the show enjoyed this season, and for those who are curious, there are enough substantial connections with each part of the family to bask in the quality acting.
Lorelai, Rory, Richard, and Emily are free to go with reservations. Assuming they meet the conditions of their probation and correct the wrongs the current season has experienced, the charge will be expunged from their record.
Review content copyright © 2005 Ryan Keefer; Site layout and review format copyright © 1998 - 2009 HipClick Designs LLC
Scales of Justice
Video: 88
Audio: 84
Extras: 30
Acting: 86
Story: 83
Judgment: 85
Perp Profile
Studio: Warner Bros.
Video Formats:
* Full Frame
Audio Formats:
* Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround (English)
Subtitles:
* English
* French
* Spanish
Running Time: 959 Minutes
Release Year: 2004
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Distinguishing Marks
* Additional Scenes
* Interactive Trivia Game
* Subtitled Trivia Track
* Montage of the Season's Romantic Moments
Accomplices
* IMDb
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0238784/combined
* Official Site
http://www2.warnerbros.com/gilmoregirls/index.html
* Fan Site
http://www.gilmoregirls.org/
* Season 1 Review
http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/gilmoregirlsseason1.php
* Season 2 Review
http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/gilmoregirlsseason2.php