Note From Tongal: “Want To Be a Better Writer? Watch Gilmore Girls” is part of a series of Tongal Community-written blog posts that were originally sourced in the Tongal Blog Open Call Project. Read more Tongal Community-written posts here and then Pitch us a topic you'd like to write about for the Tongal Blog!
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Gilmore Girls is arguably the most well-written television series that has ever existed on this planet. The number of pop culture references packed into every episode are a feat in themselves, and the actors' abilities to get through the dialogue while making it feel real is mesmerizing. It continues to withstand the test of time, and there's a good reason why that's true. The writing on this show is truly second to none and I believe everyone who wants to be a successful writer can learn a thing or two from the show. In this blog post, I'll break down one of my favorite episodes of the show to prove the above claim and convince Tongalers who have been living under a rock to start watching this show!
When I was in high school, I’d walk through the door of my parents’ house at exactly 2:45pm every Monday to Friday. I know this because I won the only non-academic related award for Perfect Attendance throughout all 4 years of high school, so I can confidently say with certainty that I was always back home on my sofa by 2:45 every day. Why is this important? Before starting my homework, I’d always make sure I was in front of the television by 3pm to watch Gilmore Girls on ABC Family. There was just something about the fast-paced dialogue, the comedy, the cultural references, not wanting to do my homework, and everything else that made it such a compelling show to want to watch.
No matter what episode was on, I knew I’d be entertained for an entire hour without being able to remember a single thing they were talking about by the time the episode ended. That’s what makes re-watching the episodes again and again so enjoyable; there’s always something new to pick up on you might have missed during the first dozen viewings.
How does this relate to Tongal? Often, we’re forced to convey a TON of information into 140 characters or 30 seconds of footage. It’s a fast-paced environment, and there’s nothing faster than an Amy Sherman-Palladino Character hyped up on coffee. Amy FINALLY got her due when she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for her new project The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Somehow, my girlfriend has been watching it WITHOUT ME so I’ll need to find some free time to catch up and give my review in the future. This is another show that shares a similarly fast-paced, dialogue-heavy script in every episode much like Gilmore Girls. If you want to learn how to convey a pile of information and emotion in a short period of time, I’d suggest hopping on Netflix to learn from the best in the business.
The episode I’ve decided to talk about is Season 6: Episode 21 “Driving Miss Gilmore.”
(For those of you too lazy to fire up Netflix, we found it on Dailymotion, you’re welcome.)
Every storyline in this episode is going to follow the same common theme: Unexpected News Causes Main Character To Drop Everything And Help. As you’ll see, all 4 major stories in this episode are based around this same theme, but each story is so wildly different you might not have realized it upon first watch.
The episode opens at the family’s dinner table where daughter Rory and mother Lorelai are mid-argument over the deeper meaning of dying your hair blonde versus every other possible option. It’s spaghetti night, and every Gilmore Girls fan knows that Rory and Lorelai ALWAYS argue when it’s spaghetti night. This is why they can’t have nice things. Emily, the Gilmore matriarch, casually announces she’s going to get Lasik eye surgery on a whim, much like one does in a normal society.
Midway through the episode, Lorelai gets the phone call from her parents letting her know something went horribly wrong with the surgery, leaving Emily effectively blind for the foreseeable future. Despite this issue, Emily ends up firing the entire staff that normally takes care of her (did we mention the Gilmores are fancy?), forcing Lorelai to abandon her post at the Dragonfly Inn so she can drive her mother around in the same SUV Jay-Z rents when he’s in town.
At the Dragonfly Inn, Sookie is faced with a dilemma when Jackson runs in, explaining he discovered dozens of marijuana plants in their field…that eventually end up bagged up on their kitchen table. Sookie leaves her post in the kitchen to help Jackson figure out how to “dispose” of it properly.
Logan (Rory’s boy-toy) was recently released from the hospital following an accident and Rory is in charge of keeping him on strict bedrest. Unfortunately, Rory is sidetracked when the Wall Street Journal publishes an article she’s featured in without her consent. She runs off to deal with the fallout, leaving her best frienemy Paris to guard Logan instead. In typical Rory fashion, she misses his first steps post-accident while she has her head buried in the newspaper.
At Luke’s Diner, Kirk ignores Luke’s plea to just order food, and instead, monologues his reasons for deciding to grow out his beard. He’s only 2 days into his no-shave-November stint, but he’s extremely confident in his decision. Thirty seconds later, the tables are turned when Luke’s sister walks in and (unintentionally) spills the beans that she’s pregnant. As she keeps trying to order food, all he wants to do is talk about the pregnancy and her issues with her husband TJ. Luke drops his obligations to the diner to track down her husband and punch some sense into him. It’s these quick little moments and character shifts that really make the show stand out amongst the crowd.
What are Sookie and Jackson going to do with all that pot? What’s Luke going to do when he finally tracks down his sister’s baby daddy? Will Rory ever put the same amount of effort into her relationships as she does into reading? Will Emily ever see again? Will Lorelai ever have free time to get another cup of coffee? Why don’t you watch the rest of the episode and find out!
After you’ve finished watching the episode, head on over to Youtube and check out the Gilmore Guys Podcast. One host is a lifelong Gilmore Girls fan, while the other is watching through the series for the FIRST TIME EVER. After watching the episode, they hop on the microphone and talk about everything that just happened. Part of the reason why I picked this episode is the hysterical Gilmore Guys Podcast that ensued when special guest and Gilmore Girls superfan, Jason Mantzoukas, sat down with the guys to talk about the episode. My favorite part of every Gilmore Guys podcast is when they show a supercut of every pop culture reference from the episode. Skip ahead to 23:15 in the Gilmore Guys Podcast to see what I’m talking about. It is amazing, and they’ve done one for every episode of the series.
So again I ask rhetorically, how does this relate to Tongal? I believe most of the campaigns we pitch on follow a similar structure to Gilmore Girls. As writers, we’re usually asked to think of an overall theme for the campaign. Despite there being one focal point (Unexpected News Causes Main Character To Drop Everything And Help) there are infinite ways we can go about telling that story. Every time you see a writing project where you’re forced to keep your idea under 140 characters, they’re looking for the theme of the piece. When it’s time to pitch on the campaign, that’s when you get into the storytelling and situation. Dozens of multi-million dollar commercial campaigns have started with a simple idea. Concepts like “The Most Interesting Man In The World Prefers Our Beer” turned into dozens of memorable commercials, culminating in a trip to outer space to become The Most Interesting Man In The Universe. And much like the network-to-Netflix Gilmore Girls extension, “Can You Hear Me Now? Good!” was such a hit that it just got a re-boot with a whole new company. Commercial campaigns built around a great theme have greater staying power than one-off ideas.
In this episode, Lorelai, Rory, Sookie, and Luke all dropped what they were doing to help their family members. Despite each plot revolving around that central theme, all of the problems they dealt with were wildly different, making this one of the most compelling and relevant episodes of the series for a commercial writer. Where other shows would hit you over the head with the characters parallels to drill in the point, Gilmore Girls goes out of its way to try and hide it through clever writing and even more clever editing. If you’re looking to get into television writing, Gilmore Girls is an essential series to delve into.
In many ways, Gilmore Girls was ahead of its time. If you’re a fan of great writing, directing, and coffee, you can’t go wrong binge-watching all 7 original seasons in your free time. You can totally watch the Netflix reboot too if you want, but start with the original series first. Bust out the largest tub of popcorn you can find, make a few Pop Tarts, and learn a thing or two about writing from one of the best in the business!
