The term “snow globe town” has been thrown around quite a bit, usually in reference to cities like Pawnee, Indiana and Twin Peaks, Washington. These quirky, fictional locations are the epitome of small-town America: almost suffocatingly tiny and closed off from the outside world (thus the glass-encased “snow globe” imagery). But no TV town fits this phrase better than Stars Hollow, Connecticut, the kitschy setting of the ‘90s sitcom “Gilmore Girls”.
Like so many popular turn-of-the-century shows before it – “Full House”, “The X Files”, “Arrested Development” – “Gilmore Girls” has been given a second chance. Originally canceled in 2007 after seven seasons, the show was revived by Netflix this November in the form of a four-part miniseries entitled “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life”.
Each 90-minute episode chronicles a different season in one year of the lives of main characters Lorelai and Rory Gilmore. The first, “Winter”, is comprised mostly of visual reminiscence – scenes of Stars Hollow, just as it was nine years ago, with the exception of cell phones and Wifi. For fans of the original “Gilmore Girls”, this feels a lot like coming home – and it’s no coincidence that the miniseries was released on Thanksgiving, when the home-for-the-holidays feeling is already present.
Although the constant nods to past episodes are appealing to viewers who already know and love “Gilmore Girls”, they alienate newcomers to the show. If I had never seen or heard of “Gilmore Girls” before, I wouldn’t understand or enjoy “A Year in the Life”. There’s no exposition, no background information; the writers don’t even attempt to explain the references. Though they do a great job of targeting existing fans, Netflix does very little to draw new viewers in.
Another inevitable weakness of the revival is the writing. With a show as beloved as “Gilmore Girls”, no possible storyline will satisfy everyone. And this applies doubly for “Gilmore Girls”: the show was abruptly canceled after its seventh season because of contract issues, so it never really got an ending.
Many fans expected “A Year in the Life” to provide the perfect wrap to a classic show. That expectation definitely wasn’t satisfied, but there is no way it could have been. Too much has changed between 2007 and 2016 for there to be continuation between the installments – the most prominent being lead cast member Edward Herrmann’s death in 2014. The writers covered for it pretty well, working a funeral scene for Herrmann’s character into the show, but it prevents “A Year in the Life” from being the perfect ending that we all wanted.
Even so, “A Year in the Life” succeeds at reviving the idyllic town of Stars Hollow, which is by far the most redeeming quality of the show. Watching “Gilmore Girls” was always more about hanging out with the characters than being gripped by the plot. In this regard, watching “A Year in the Life” is like visiting an old friend you haven’t seen in years and somehow reconnecting seamlessly.
