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Millions of fans of the TV phenomenon Gilmore Girls are eagerly awaiting the Netflix drop on Nov. 25 of four new 90-minute episodes.
Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life moves the story of a young single mom and her teen daughter into current times, returning them to the small Connecticut town of quirky characters that made it a warmhearted drama with a devoted following. It aired for seven seasons on the WB network, ending in 2007 after 153 episodes. All can be found now on Netflix.
The "girls" are mom Lorelai Gilmore, played by Lauren Graham; her daughter, Rory, played by Alexis Bledel; and grandmother Emily Gilmore, played by Kelly Bishop. The original series ignited a culture of fandom and still resonates with viewers of all ages, particularly millennial women and their mothers.
The Gilmore Girls extended gang: Melissa McCarthy (left), Scott Patterson (2nd from left), Edward Herrmann (center, back), Lauren Graham (center, front), Alexis Bledel (4th from right), Yanic Truesdale (2nd from right), Keiko Agena (right), (Season 1), 2000-2007
Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
Among the many charms of the show is the constant exchange of smart and fast repartee among all characters, into which is tucked dozens of life lessons. Among those we like best:
1. Be smart
In the first season Lorelai, who became pregnant with Rory at 16, makes one thing clear to her now-teen daughter: School trumps boys. She tells supersmart Rory, who wants to stay at the town high school for a boyfriend rather than go to an elite prep school: "Babe, guys are always going to be there. This school isn't. It's more important. It has to be more important."
Actors Lauren Graham, Scott Patterson and David Sutcliffe in "Wedding Bell Blues" episode
Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
2. Do not meddle
Grandma Emily is a first-class meddler, but in Season 5 she goes too far. Her scheme to break up Lorelai and then-boyfriend Luke, of whom Emily disapproves, works very well: Inviting Lorelai's ex to a family function does the trick. Soon, however, it's Lorelai and Emily who are estranged.
3. Grandkid shaming will not stand
When the parents of Rory's rich boyfriend humiliate Rory, Emily unleashes a tirade of nasty insults at his mother. "You were a two-bit gold digger fresh off the bus from Hicksville when you met Mitchum at whatever bar you happened to stumble into. And what made Mitchum decide to choose you to marry amongst the pack of women he was bedding at the time, I'll never know." Whoa.
