Gilmore Girls The Complete Sixth Season

The sixth season of this equally loved and loathed series finds both of the lovely Gilmores left in the wake of the quandary of season five, which ended with Rory getting arrested for stealing her boyfriend’s father’s yacht and subsequently dropping out of Yale, and leaving Lorelei’s house to move in with her grandparents. Lorelei is left living with diner owner Luke, to whom she is now engaged, and spends almost half the season ignoring the fact that her estrangement from Rory is having a ripple effect on everything else in her life. In fact, much of the season is bumpy for Lorelei and Luke, as he must tell her of his discovery that he has a daughter, and Lorelei struggles to cope with the return of Rory’s father, Christopher. As always, the dialogue is witty but a little too constructed; everyone in this town seems to go home and rationally work out their reactions to things before confronting another character. Lauren Graham continues to shine as the good-willed but charmingly imperfect Lorelei, with quips that reference pop culture ("Enjoy Wysteria Lane, you drama queen”) endearing her to other characters and fans alike. This season is packed with tear-inducing moments, as young Rory deals with her overbearing grandparents and the choices she’s made for her future, echoing the same questions Lorelei struggled with as a young woman. To lighten the impact of the intense storylines, fans are given a mighty dose of guest stars, with appearances from Madeleine Albright, Paul Anka, Sparks, Sebastian Bach, Joe Pernice, Yo la Tengo, and even Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon (with daughter Coco), who star as troubadours in the final episode. The season leaves both Gilmores’ love lives in question, as Rory’s boyfriend Logan takes off to London and Lorelei and Luke try, unsuccessfully, to confront the issues that hold them back from getting married. This situation is all the more unnerving for Gilmore fans when one considers that the show’s creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino have left due to conflicts with the studio and that season seven will be run by a new team. However, if stars Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel are anything like their Gilmore characters, viewers can rest assured that they won’t let the show fizzle out. Season six dug these characters into a deep hole and the new writers have one season left to get them out. (Warner)