[Source.]
I was a full-blown Gilmore Girls devotee from Day One.
As part of an unreasonably large group of dorky college girls, I would fight for a spot on the nasty dorm sofa once a week to take in the antics of Rory & Lorelai all the way to the bitter end — of the series, that is.
Now, Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino has a brand new show, which I can only hope will fill the gaping void left by the residents of Stars Hollow. The show is called Bunheads — which I found really confusing until someone pointed out that "bunheads" is ballerina slang. Who knew ballerinas even had slang?!
Bunheads gets off to a clunky start, but manages to save itself with a bevy of witty dialogue (Gilmore Girls style!) and intensely likeable characters. Thank God, because the pilot had me seriously worried.
It's probably just that I've been watching too many crime dramas & shows produced by Shonda Rhimes (please don't judge me), but when Bunheads' protagonist Michelle (played by Broadway actor Sutton Foster) decides to ditch her Vegas showgirl lifestyle by marrying her (supposedly sweet & well-meaning) patron Hubbell, I was certain she was going to get murdered. Or assaulted. Or locked in a freezer & thrown off a bridge.
I get where the writers were going with this. I do. Michelle's so burned out on Vegas & her shitty apartment that some dweeb who brings her flowers every week & recklessly proposes marriage seems like a great escape. But if working in the safety & security industry has taught me anything, it's that a guy who consistently ignores your boundaries, buys you unwanted gifts, & shows up to your work uninvited is a freaking stalker.
So yeah, I kind of had a problem with the pilot — that is, until (spoiler alert!) Hubbell is tragically killed in a car accident at the end of the episode. Thank God!
Apparently, though, I am the only person in the whole world (or at least according to the reviews on IMDB) who was happy about this. Everyone else was looking forward to "seeing their love grow." Good riddance to that. I mean, the guy brought her to his house — which is covered in weird clown paraphernalia by the way — where he lives with his mother. If they didn't kill him off, somebody would eventually have to write an episode about Hubbell's dark, scary past, in which he threw the bodies of his victims into the lake at the back of the property.
Anyway, besides all the weird Hubbell stuff, this show is totally adorbs. I absolutely love, love, love the teenage ballerinas who study under Michelle's mother-in-law Fanny (played by Gilmore Girls' veteran Kelly Bishop). I love the scenery (Paradise, Calif., is a mash-up of San Pedro & Hermosa Beach, which is awesome since I live in the area & can actively recognized locations). I love the wacky neighbors & the excessive single-gal drinking scenes (yes, I too decant wine on weekdays to cope with the crazy).
Basically, Amy Sherman-Palladino has gotten the show's only obstacle (Hubbell) out of the way. Therefore, I'm ready to commit my Monday nights to Bunheads.
