The End

I have NEVER done this in my entire life.

Sure I have written tributes to very special friends and yes, family. And there were those occasional gushing over a movie or a book or a hunk I read and saw but I don't think I have ever composed an entry solely for a TV Show. But when something that has affected you in levels you never thought possible, then maybe it is okay to make one.

People of the World:

Anyone who's anyone in my life knows that I LOVE THIS SHOW. I have single-handedly turned 20 of my closest friends into fans and though I don't know what has really made them such converts, I guess it's a safe assumption that it's a show rarely forgettable by anyone who sees it. And no, it just hasn't been my girlfriends who have fallen in love with it but my male friends bought their box sets as well. It is dominated by women (duh) but it is the farthest thing from a chick-show. For one, it's wicked smart, hilarious in every pan of the camera and it's one of those shows that just grows on you. For 7 years, I felt I knew Lorelai and Rory. For 7 years I thought I was part of their world and them in mine. Creepy? No, just really a fan.

My Most Perfect Companion

Set in a storybook Connecticut town populated with an eclectic mix of everyday folks and lovable lunatics, GILMORE GIRLS is a humorous multigenerational series about friendship, family and the ties that bind. Now beginning its seventh season, the series revolves around thirtysomething Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) and her college-age daughter, and best friend in the world, Rory (Alexis Bledel). Lorelai has made her share of mistakes in life, but she has been doing her best to see that Rory doesn't follow in her footsteps. That may be easier said than done, considering that the two share the same interests, the same intellect, the same coffee addiction and the same eyes.

From the beginning, this unique mother-daughter team has been growing up together. Lorelai was just Rory's age when she became pregnant and made the tough decision to raise her baby alone. This defiant move, along with Lorelai's fiercely independent nature, caused a rift between her and her extremely proper, patrician, old-money parents, Emily (Kelly Bishop) and Richard (Edward Herrmann). However, Lorelai was forced to reconcile with them when she found herself in desperate need of money for Rory's tuition.

At the end of season six, Lorelai's elation over her engagement to diner-owner Luke Danes (Scott Patterson) turned to frustration when he learned of the existence of his 12-year-old daughter, April (Vanessa Marano). Luke asked Lorelai to be patient while he came to terms with this life-changing discovery. After difficult months of giving Luke all the time and space she could, Lorelai delivered a tearful now-or-never ultimatum. Bristling under her emotional demand, Luke let Lorelai walk out of his life. A heartbroken Lorelai took comfort in the arms of her old flame and Rory's father, Christopher Hayden (David Sutcliffe).

Rory also faced a tumultuous year, dropping out of Yale after her dreams of becoming a journalist were dashed by newspaper mogul Mitchum Huntzberger (Gregg Henry), who just happens to be the father of her boyfriend, Logan (Matt Czuchry). Rory's reckless behavior led to an unusual and painful parting of the ways between mother and daughter. After a few months spent organizing DAR events for Emily, Rory realized she belonged back at Yale, and she and Lorelai joyfully reunited. Rory and Logan then faced their toughest challenge when she learned of his infidelity during a brief separation. Unable to forgive him at first, Rory realized her love for Logan could overcome even such a serious mistake when he was badly injured in a childish "Life and Death Brigade" stunt. As season six ended however, the two faced a devastating separation when Logan was forced by his father to move to London to take his place in the family's empire. Rory now begins her senior year at Yale and continues as editor of the Yale Daily News without Logan's supportive presence.

As season seven unfolds, Lorelai and Rory will turn to one another to get through the complications in their respective romances. It may be that Lorelai's relationship with Luke has been irretrievably marred now that she has once again let Christopher come between them. Even so, she and Luke still have to co-exist in tiny, close-knit Stars Hollow with the town's watchful eyes on them and all their charged history. Meanwhile, Rory will attempt to keep her long-distance romance with Logan alive, even though communication has never been their strong suit, and London is far away.

Continuing to add to the unmistakable style of Stars Hollow is a colorful roster of town characters, including Lorelai's best friend and business partner Sookie St. James (Melissa McCarthy), Miss Patty (Liz Torres), the local dance teacher and social commentator, Michel Gerard (Yanic Truesdale), the haughty concierge of the Dragonfly Inn, and Kirk (Sean Gunn), the town's jack-of-all-trades and master of none. Rory's two best friends are her intense classmate Paris Geller (Liza Weil) and childhood pal Lane Kim (Keiko Agena), who just married fellow musician, Zack (Todd Lowe), in a typically quirky Stars Hollow celebration.

GILMORE GIRLS was the first series to make it to air supported by the Family Friendly Forum's script development fund. The strong and loving mother-daughter relationship portrayed in GILMORE GIRLS reflects the growing reality of this new type of American family.

This is all sounding too mu c h of a gush but whatever, I am a Gilmore Girls fan and I don't care who hears it! It's one of those things I looked forward to every Saturdays back home (studio 23) and when the episodes weren't coming out as they should have been, I took upon buying every box set imaginable to a fan. I've liked a lot of shows in my life but not like this. FRIENDS, 7th Heaven, Sex and the City and the others were you know, amongst my favorites and I also bought their DVDs and all but I don't think anything hit me as hard as Gilmore Girls did. I don't even know why I'm getting so sentimental over all of this but I guess this is born out of just another great loss. A loss that although can be relived over and over again just by a pop of a DVD, it's just never gonna be the same. May 15 aired the final episode in its final season.

It truly is, an end of an era.