There are a few prejudices people have against this show even if they've never seen it, so let's get those out of the way right now. Most commonly, people associate it with dumb teenage girl programming because they remember thinking "Dawson's Creek" and the WB network sucked. The thing is, those people don't even remember "Dawson's Creek," they mostly just remember having hated the theme song for the show and what it stood for. In reality, sure, "Dawson's Creek" was actually not that great (especially after its first season), but its popularity and notoriety made it the face of the station, which really undermined an otherwise pretty good lineup of shows. "Gilmore Girls" aside, The WB was the home of "Popular", which was "Glee" creator Ryan Murphy's first TV show, and "Felicity," JJ Abrams' first real hit, both of which are very, very good and extremely rewatchable even now.

The other main qualm people have with "Gilmore Girls" is the "fast talking." And well, if you can't get used to that, then maybe this show's not for you. So, fair enough.

If you are able to get past your memory's incorrect blind judgments of teen programming and are also capable of embracing charming and witty dialogue spoken quickly, then man, you will really love "Gilmore Girls."

The strength of this show is the fact that it revolves around very strong, and surprisingly complicated, characters in the actual Gilmore girls played by the very charming and lovely Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel, and to a slightly (although not much) lesser extent Kelly Bishop who plays Lauren Graham's mother, the oldest Gilmore girl. "Gilmore Girls" also features a great and entertaining supporting cast of character actors playing various roles as the townspeople of Stars Hallow. (I know that this description and the design of the DVD cases is not doing much to help my "This is not a normal teen girl TV show argument", but please, trust me.)

What really got me hooked, aside from the characters—most specifically the love triangle involving Rory, Dean, and Jess (and if anyone I know ever chooses Dean over Jess, I know then to ignore their opinion on most everything moving forward)—was how well the episodes were structured. The show, especially in season two, really nailed how to do serialized TV. Each episode ended on a plot twist that more often than not was paid off at the start of the next episode, at which point the show would spend the next 40 minutes setting up what would be the next mini-cliffhanger. I'm not saying it's on "LOST"'s level as far as this sort of stuff goes, but it's not not on "LOST"'s level either. This savvy fades a little in the show's last couple of seasons, but at that point you're so invested in the characters you end up seeing the whole thing through.

In retrospect, there's even more of a weird, all the stars lining up in a row, sort of charm to the show. This is especially clear after you see what the show's principals did after "Gilmore Girls." Lauren Graham has been in other things, most recently "Parenthood," but she's sort of always wired and buzzing in that Lorelai Gilmore sort of way, which seems jarring in other roles. Alexis Bledel was also in some other teen, straight-to-DVD seeming movies, I think one about a pair of pants, in which she was amiable and cute and charming, but never to the extent that she was as Rory Gilmore. But probably the most telling is what happened with show creator Amy Sherman-Palladino's "Gilmore Girls" follow-up series for Fox, "The Return of Jezebel James."

Apart from having a sort of long and hard to remember name, "The Return of Jezebel James" seemed sort of like a second shot at "Gilmore Girls," but this time set in New York, looking more like a traditional three camera show with sets and a laugh track, and lacking almost all of the heart and charm that made "Gilmore Girls" compelling. Even Parker Posey, who by all accounts is pretty good at what she does, comes off really annoying as the Lauren Graham-esque character, and does a very bad job at the fast talking thing that Lorelai Gilmore made so lovable. Watching "The Return of Jezebel James" (which you actually can do in its entirety on Hulu) is a reminder of how unique and exceptional "Gilmore Girls" actually was. But don't take my word for it. Thanks to modern technology, the whole thing is available in DVD format. Give it a shot.

---

See more posts by David Cho

68 comments

• "Officials described the outcome of the six day search as 'positive.'" – ABC 7

• "The sassy snake, @BronxZoosCobra, has not commented on its reported capture." – NBC New York

• "gotz to go drain da snake, or az i callz him my 20" long bronx cobra!" – @wrongronniemund

—

3:50 – Watching NY1 hoping that there's some pre-press conference coverage. Nothing yet. They are helping me start my weekend early though. Sounds like there's a cool thing happening at the Kimmel Gallery about faces of Ethiopia. Cool stuff!

3:55 – Wow, everyone who won the lottery is getting $19 million each, that's still probably $8 million after taxes. That's crazy. More importantly though, I'm trying to find out if ABC will preempt Oprah to air the press conference. I called Oprah, no word back yet.

4:02 – Oprah is still on. Presser isn't on NY1, but it's still streaming online.

OH SHIT. Someone just knocked over the camera that ABC is using to stream here. Static everywhere.

4:03 – Okay, close one. It's back now.

4:05 – This woman is wearing fleece. That makes me trust her and her knowledge of reptile matters.

4:06 – Too bad she's passing it off to some guy named Jim.

4:07 – FOUND IN THE REPTILE HOUSE. "The key was patience... So that she would feel secure and come out... Resting comfortably... When they're sure she's in good condition, we will put her back out on exhibit."

4:08 – They always knew the snake was in the place and just had to make her "comfortable" to come out. Seems like they had it all under control, much moreso than what my imagination and what I read on the fake Twitter had led me to believe.

4:09 – These guys are sneaky, used wood chips that SMELLED like mice and rats to lure her out. Jim seems like a chill dude though.

4:10 – Asked about the Twitter account, Jim was happy that it was lighthearted, took it as a sign that people believed in him and his team. Did not read it to avoid distraction. I would trust Jim with my life. He also has a mustache and a jacket that makes swish-y noises.

4:11 – "Snakes are shy, secretive creatures. Venom is used not as defense but only to hunt food."

4:12 – Jim keeps calling the snake "the snake", seems rude.

4:12 – I SPOKE TOO SOON, THE SNAKE HAS NO NAME. THERE MAY BE A SNAKE NAMING CONTEST SOON.

4:14 – The snake was captured at 9am. What have they been doing since then?

4:14 – Jim just described the size of the snake as, "that long" but the camera was not on him but on his team.

4:16 – These reporters are being sort of dicks to Jim. They're questioning where she was being kept before she escaped out of her holding cage. It seems like they are trying to pin this on him, when it seems like it was a simple mistake anyone could have made, and the snake was just hiding out in some corner. Chill out reporters! Jim's doing his best here!

4:17 – "Well it's been getting more publicity than Charlie Sheen..." – NY1 anchor as they wrap up the press conference. Lol, topical.

4:18 – Welp, I guess this is over! Everyone back to complaining about the weather! (Apparently there's supposed to be some sort of wintry mix tonight? It's crazy!)

---

See more posts by David Cho

16 comments

Here's some of what you, if you weren't there, missed:

Asian people are really into food and taking pictures of food. A few weeks ago, writer Ben Detrick tweeted an intensely correct observation identifying Yelp as, "The internet's premier site for learning what Asian women think about restaurants," and about half of the Choice Eats event felt like an IRL Yelp. There were lots of Asian girls with SLRs hanging around their neck standing in my way as I tried to get to the Del Posto chocolate and eggplant dish. The other half of the Choice Eats was just normie white people. Nothing new to see here, folks.

"Foodies." Are you into food? Cool! I 100% agree that eating is great. In fact, some food is really dope. You know what undermines all of these positive sentiments I have towards you, person who also agrees with me that food can invoke some real genuine happiness? The fact that you're calling yourself a "foodie." I don't know why this term is so offensive, maybe it's because there's a sort of implied haughtiness or something, but you're better than that. We clearly have a lot in common, let's not ruin what we have going.

But is it a VALUE? A weird phenomenon that happens in the city is people's willingness to wait and wait and wait for things that they perceive to be a deal. On days when there's free or really cheap ice cream or yogurt, you'll see long, long lines of people, often in suboptimal weather, just waiting for the opportunity to save (no more than) $1-$2. I actually love savings, so I get how and why this happens, but it seems like, at some point, you have to respect yourself and your time and value it more for more than $1-$2 for an hour. So where does Choice Eats fall on this scale? Well, on the one hand, there is a line, and it was very, very long. But on the other hand, you're essentially paying $35-45 to eat and drink as much as you want of this pretty good food. Now, I can't tell you how to live your life, but I think this one leans more on the value side of the spectrum. So keep that in mind for next year.

Photo by Jeffrey Tastes, from Flickr.

---

See more posts by David Cho

22 comments

VCU is in Richmond! People are really into talking about this for some reason. The "TWO TEAMS FROM RICHMOND" fact was one that was mentioned repeatedly and emphatically when Richmond and VCU both made the Sweet Sixteen. Not sure why people are so into Richmond, Virginia.

College players aren't getting paid but their coaches are! The narrative of college athletes not getting paid is always hovers over the conversation, but it seems especially noteworthy this weekend when you consider that Kentucky coach John Calipari made $175,000 with yesterday's win to send Kentucky to the Final Four. That makes his haul for this school year more than $4 million dollars. In comparison, the college players will make $0, maybe some free clothes depending on the school's athletic sponsorships, and will be very seriously penalized if any other earnings from outside sources are reported. That seems a little unfair right?

But enough about real sports issues, what about The Awl's bracket contest(?)! Curiously enough, someone who's username is "Bryan H" has a bracket named "Shannon" and this person is in first. Isn't that weird? What is this person's real name? Is it Shannon? Is it actually a woman using someone else's (Bryan H's) account to fill out her bracket? What's their relationship like? Dating? Newly exclusive? Are things going well? Too much too soon? Did he fill out her bracket for her? Is he still paying for everything? That's nice of him. I hope he doesn't expect anything in return though. That would be unfair to Shannon. Realistically they will be winning this whole contest (hopefully we'll be invited to their wedding) because they have the highest point potential left, with Kentucky winning the national championship.

Otherwise it seems like everyone else is doing pretty miserably, not only do we all not have the relationship and companionship that Bryan and Shannon have, but we are also incredibly miserable at picking sports team winners. Adam and Edith, because of their UConn picks and with many thanks to Kemba Walker, are still in the mix to finish in the top 5 (which is good because we're not giving anyone anything for finishing 2nd place and below). No other Awl pals are faring particularly well: "Deep Omega", "KarenUhOh", Lindsay Robertson, and "Boy of Destiny" are also in the mix, but, in case I haven't made it entirely clear yet, this is all really Bryan and Shannon's contest to lose. I think I can speak for everyone when I say that we're all rooting for them though.

---

See more posts by David Cho

23 comments

The Big East? More Like The Not-So-Good-At-College-Basketball-East! If you weren't following college basketball this year, there was a lot of talk about how the Big East conference was head and shoulders above everyone else. As it turns out, this is not really the case! Of the 11 Big East teams given bids to the tournament, only 2 remain. But, don't fret: Those of you who picked the Big East to excel at the women's tournament should know that the Big East is an incredible, undefeated, 9-0! Lol, jk. No one picked any teams for a women's college basketball bracket, ever. How many women's brackets do you think were filled out this year by not Barack Obama? Two? Three? Are these games even televised? Don't worry, people who are saddened by your brackets being ruined by the Big East sucking in the tournament, let's all share a big laugh at the expense of women's sports!

Buzzer Beaters! There were a lot of them! How exciting!

Children Make Mistakes! If you didn't catch the end of the Pittsburgh/Butler game, there was some controversy after a foul was called at the end of a tie game on a Pittsburgh player who was rebounding a missed free throw by his teammate. Now, if you aren't familiar with how this works, it's a pretty big mistake by the Pittsuburgh player to foul in that instance, although there's an argument for the fact the officials could probably just let that call not happen as it's the end of a tie game that would go to overtime and give both teams a chance to play an extra period of basketball in order to determine the winner. But back to Nasir Robinson, the Pittsburgh player who committed the foul: it's insane to think that there is so much pressure put on this kid, because, despite the fact that he's 6'5"/200+ pound huge basketball player, he's still a junior in college who was born in 1989 (1989!!!). I'm probably being a little more sympathetic than I would otherwise be because of ESPN's Fab Five documentary that showed Chris Webber's mistake in his final college game, and obviously that was a much bigger mistake on a much bigger scale, but, still, seems crazy to think that these kids handle that sort of pressure. (1989!!!!!!)

Can That NAPA Auto Karaoke Guy Ever Work Again?! I mean, the commercial should be applauded for being so standout, but don't you feel sort of bad for the guy in it because it seems like now that this is successful he's locked in to being the NAPA Auto Karaoke Guy forever, not unlike the Verizon guy or Jared Fogle. (Probably worth mentioning that he's also probably getting really rich off that commercial too, but still, FOREVER THAT GUY!)

The Awl Bracket Topped By "Bittersweet"! I would have more insights here, but everyone decided to come up with clever names for their brackets, instead of using their commenter names, making it mostly impossible for me to identify them and mock or laud them for being able to pick teams so well! To "Bittersweet"'s credit, although he/she/it claims to have picked "A completely random bracket" (the name of his/her/its bracket), it seems like there was at least a little know-how involved in his/her/its picking as he/she/it didn't pick, like, Wofford to win it all. So, kudos to you thus far!

As far as Awl contributors, Abe Sauer looks to be closest to the top. I can tell it's him because he thankfully made his bracket name the same as his commenter name. Tell me other people, was your bracket pun worth it? Was "Kenny Bracketface Edmonds" really that good of a joke that you couldn't pass it up? Think long and hard "Vicky J"! Amongst Awl staffers, Edith and Adam are performing the best, but will probably be undermined by the fact that they stuck to their WASP-y Northeastern roots (they're both from New England or some other really White people-y place) and both picked UConn to win it all, which, no matter how good Kemba is, isn't happening.

(Also, If you'd like to associate your bracket with your commenter name, feel free to put your bracket name below in the comments. This is not meant to be as comment bait-y as it sounds. Honestly.)

---

See more posts by David Cho

55 comments

The details are as follows:

1. Go to our official bracket page at Yahoo! (ESPN's system is way too confusing and it was annoying to deal with last year) and sign up for an account if you don't have an one already.
1b. Try to remember your Yahoo! account login and/or password.
1c. Click the password recovery link, but realize that you can't remember what your alternate email address from 2003 was.
1d. Give up, take a deep breath, and just make a brand new Yahoo! account.
1e. Oh, Yahoo! ids work with Flickr now? That's cool!

2. Fill out a bracket. You can find some pro tips here. NOTE: ONLY ONE BRACKET PER USER. Please don't try to circumvent this rule, it will be annoying for us to police and embarrassing for you that you even tried to do that. If you want to name your bracket the same as your commenter name, that could be helpful for identification, but I'm sure you have some clever name picked out for your bracket that involves punnery. Oh, you and your wordplay!

3. Sit back and ENJOY THE TOURNEY—that's short for tournament, but as if I had to tell you that, you crazy sports fan, you. Will Alex beat Choire this year? Where will young upstarts Adam Frucci, Edith Zimmerman and Carrie Frye land? Which users will complain to me that this bracket challenge system is annoying and they don't get how it works! The suspense is killing me! Is it killing you? RIP me. I'm dead!

4. So get this, let's say you win the whole bracket contest (Congratulations! You've won!), you win an actual awl, the very object that will never exist in the logo of this website. So that's pretty fun for you! March is turning out better than you thought!

* Websites with poetry sections are often known to cater to the most savvy and fanatical sports fans.

Also: Contest void where prohibited by law etc., etc. disclaimer, disclaimer, you can imagine what sort of terms and conditions would need to be here.

---

See more posts by David Cho

39 comments

Now I know what you're thinking (or maybe I don't, I'm not really making the argument that I'm clairvoyant here): "I like sweaters already!" But sweaters, like the other things you take for granted in your life and don't appreciate enough (other things in this category include: the crisper drawer in your refrigerator, hot water, and the alarm clock on your cell phone), deserve more credit, praise, and use than you're currently giving them.

One of the best things about sweaters is how they really can accommodate any situation. I'm assuming you know that sweaters are warm and that wearing them as a base layer when it's cold outside is in your best interests. I'm assuming you're not an idiot. So moving on from their most rudimentary function, let's look at some ways you could be using sweaters better.

Are you a guy? (SORRY LADIES.) Do you often not know how to dress in social settings aside from putting on some sort of striped shirt and denim with stitching on the pockets (maybe stop doing that btw) and dress shoes with a boxy toe in the front? Perhaps you should lose the blazer that you were going to wear on top of this "cool" ensemble and put on a sweater instead! In an informal survey of people on my gchat, a majority indicated that they appreciate a good sweater more than a good blazer. The two articles of clothing serve the same function, but one makes you look significantly less like a) a dick and b) everyone else. And you know what? If you love your blazer, great news! You can still wear a sweater underneath your blazer, and you will still look cooler than you would otherwise.

(Sidebar: if you ever find yourself dressed too much like someone who appears on "elimiDATE," maybe take a step back, look in the mirror, and reevaluate. Are you being your best self?)

Are you a guy who misses the touch of people? Well, put on a soft fuzzy sweater, and I promise that (not like a real promise, but you know, the kind of noncommital promise someone who writes something on the Internet makes to a stranger) the next time you're in a social setting, someone will touch your sweater, because they have nothing else to do, and be like, "Hey! That's a really nice/soft sweater!" Make sure you have words planned for after this compliment, because if not, you will be the weird guy in a sweater, and sweaters don't deserve to be ruined by someone like you.

If you're a girl and wondering how to wear sweaters, the only real advice I can give you is that you're not Felicity, and a big, chunky turtleneck sweater is not ALWAYS the answer.

So you've figured out how to wear a sweater. Congratulations! But what else are sweaters good for besides just you wearing them to make yourself look nice or be warm? That's a great question. Do you ever find yourself perplexed as to what to get someone as a gift? Well, if it's someone above the age of 15, you can get them a sweater! I know it might seem boring, but you know what never goes out of style? Sweaters. If you get someone a cool sweater, someone will always come up to them and be like, "Hey, you, nice sweater!" (Honestly, people say the weirdest things in social situations when they have nothing else to talk about. It is estimated that 73% of all cocktail party conversation is sweater-related.) And then you will forever be associated in their memory as the person who got them a great sweater and also a great compliment. Believe it or not, Arianna Huffington gets her entire staff sweaters every year for the holidays. I mean, should I even keep writing? Have you already left this tab to go peruse sweaters for all of your gift-giving needs?

Now that you're into sweaters, go mix it up a little! This is a whole new world for you! Get excited! Maybe something with a nice pattern? Go crazy! (But not argyle. Don't ever wear argyle. If you take anything away from today's lesson, and you almost certainly will, it should be this: Argyle is to be avoided in any circumstance.) Sweater up, everyone. It will make all the difference in the world.

This content is brought to you by the new Hyundai Elantra which helps you "Snap Out" of your routine to live your best life.

Sponsored posts are purely editorial content that we are pleased to have presented by a participating sponsor, in this case the Hyundai Elantra; advertisers do not produce the content.

---

See more posts by David Cho

43 comments

The Awl: It's always a tricky thing to ask an artist about his intentions, but I'm curious about what you're trying to say with Racist Cat.
David Cho: I find it amusing to attribute human characteristics to things that can't actually possess those traits.

So you're denying that there's some larger statement to it about cultural stereotypes or the feline bigotry? That seems a bit disingenuous.
Any stereotypes we put on the cat are more of a reflection of ourselves. The animals are just screens that we project upon in the theatre we call life.

But the title itself contains so much ambiguity. Is the cat racist or is the cat being put in a racist scenario? Or were you trying to suggest something altogether different?
Look inside yourself. Look past yourself. That's where the answer is.

I can see you want to leave it open to interpretation. Fair enough. I have a question about form, though: What I find most remarkable about Racist Cat is its concision. You've managed to pack several layers of meaning into a short period. Is that itself a statement on the fast pace of our modern world, or were you attempting to convey a message about the way racism permeates even our most brief interactions?
I believe less is more. Think about it: Everything happens in an instant. How many interactions or experiences do you have that last longer than this film? Or are they just a series of smaller instances that go on to create something bigger? The cat in Racist Cat... it's a stranger whose reality you have the opportunity to make into whatever you want, because all you see is this brief window on his life. Did he drink that beer on the table? Where did the gyoza originally come from? That's all up to you.

You've given us a lot to think about. One last question: Variety is reporting that you're in talks to helm your long-gestating project Jew-Hating Ferret for DreamWorks Animation. Can we expect to see an expansion of the themes touched on in Cat or are you going in a different direction?
It would be premature to talk about anything beyond what I've already shown you. For what it's worth, though, I think my canon speaks for itself: Dancing Bear, Dancing Grimace, Dancing Panda, A Group Of Ducks Is Blown Away By The Wind... the work answers any questions you might have.

And with that Cho takes his leave. "I have so much more to do," he says, with a mercurial twinkle in his eye. It's a fool's errand to bet on what to expect next from David Cho, but one thing seems sure: it'll probably have animals in it.

---

See more posts by Alex Balk

25 comments

Do you want to be your best self? Sure you do. Here's how to start. Buy a Roku Box. Wait, what? Your life plan for being the best you can be didn't involve a small $100 box that would allow you to watch Netflix Watch Instantly and all sorts of other online streaming television AND media files from a portable hard drive via USB directly on your TV? Well, that's why you're letting us—me, your parents, everybody—all down with what you've done with yourself thus far.

It's fine. You're behind the curve. You were under the impression that nerds who could setup a modded out XBox (cool job nerds) were the only ones who could watch the best in streaming online video content and not not-pirated and illegally downloaded media. I'll be honest, that's what we'd suspected you'd think. You haven't so much let us down as continued to meet our managed (read "lowered") expectations of you.

But enough about you failing the people who care about you most in life, here's what's great about the Roku Box: You just get it, plug it into your TV, connect it to your Wi-Fi, and then you're ready to go. Everything on Netflix Watch Instantly is right there! Boom! Hulu Plus! Boom! Let's kick it up another notch: Plug a portable hard drive into the USB port and, just like that, you can watch all of the episodes of the Korean soap opera "Secret Garden" that you downloaded off the really cool Korean soap opera messageboard just a few days prior! BOOM! It's really that easy.

So stop trying so hard to be someone you're not by "going out" and enjoying an "active social life." You're just disappointing everyone! Stay at home, watch Korean soap operas on your Roku Box, cool guy.

This content is brought to you by the new Hyundai Elantra which helps you "Snap Out" of your routine to live your best life.

Sponsored posts are purely editorial content that we are pleased to have presented by a participating sponsor, in this case the Hyundai Elantra; advertisers do not produce the content.

---

See more posts by David Cho

23 comments

---

See more posts by David Cho

8 comments