While Gilmore Girls has many unique features that make it stand out. The mother-daughter relationship between Lorelai and Rory Gilmore is at the heart of the series, and instead of Lorelai humiliating her daughter regularly, the two are best pals.
There may be countless dramas telling high school or family stories, but nothing compares to quirky Stars Hollow and the funny, unique people who live there. It's also true that there are many things that happen on Gilmore Girls that just wouldn't work on any other TV show.
Rory Has Two Birthday Parties
Rory and Lorelai are basically the same, so it makes sense that Rory would love the fun and casual sixteenth birthday party that her mom throws for her.
The season 1 episode "Rory's Birthday Parties" is a fan favorite as it's great to watch the whole town fete Rory in the tiny Gilmore home. The episode is about the two opposite birthday celebrations that Rory has, as her grandma Emily throws her a formal event with her Chilton classmates that she loathes. On another show, it would be boring to simply watch people at parties, but there was enough tension here to make it absolutely engrossing. This episode brought up how Emily and Richard missed out on so much with their daughter, as they attend Rory's party and Emily realizes she has been cut out of Lorelai's life for too long.
Rory Misses Curfew
In the first season episode "Rory's Dance," Rory is having the time of her life with Dean on her arm at Chilton's school dance. But things get sour and fast when they miss curfew, fall asleep in town, and Lorelai and Emily are left wondering where Rory is.
Dean wasn't always perfect but this wasn't necessarily his fault, as things happen. This was a unique Gilmore Girls storyline because while another show would have parents yelling at Rory for staying out too late, the fact that Lorelai had a kid in high school is why she and Emily get so mad and scared.
Lorelai Gets To Choose The Film For Movie Night
The fact that everyone knows each other's business is both a pro and a con of living in a small town. It's nice that people care but also tough when a breakup or other tough life event happens and the person in question just wants to hide from everyone so they can feel better.
Of course, Stars Hollow throws events called "Movie in the Square Night," and in the season 2 episode "Teach Me Tonight," Taylor Doose lets Lorelai choose the movie. This becomes a massive problem as she realizes that he has a rigid and small list that she has to pick from, and she doesn't like what's there. This is such a small-potatoes kind of storyline that really has no conflict or drama, but it works perfectly on Gilmore Girls because it's quirky and folksy.
The Characters Go To A New Creepy Museum
In the fifth season episode "To Live and Let Diorama," the death of Old Man Twickham results in his home being turned into a museum.
It's a hilarious sight, as there can't possibly be a creepier place. Rory and her friends Lane Kim and Paris Geller all get drunk because they're upset about their love lives, and the whole episode is hilarious in only the way Gilmore Girls can be.
Rory Wants A Huge Pizza For Lorelai's Birthday
In the season 3 episode "Happy Birthday, Baby," Rory wants to throw her mom an incredible birthday party, complete with a big pizza. It's actually supposed to be the largest pizza that has ever existed in the world, so that's no small feat.
Lorelai deals with a lot of tough things, so she definitely deserves a fun event like this one. However, it's tough to see this storyline working on another show as it's got no tension whatsoever. Sure, even if Rory can't get a huge pizza, it's easy to assume that she will still throw an enjoyable party. It works well here because the Gilmores love junk food so much that this seems like a totally reasonable request.
Taylor Renames The Stars Hollow Streets
The charm of Stars Hollow is sometimes dulled by the strange decisions that Taylor and other residents make. In the sixth season episode "Welcome to the Doll House," Taylor wants to rename the streets in town. Lorelai is upset that the Dragonfly Inn will be on a street called "Sores and Boils Alley."
While this is pretty funny, it's not a very exciting storyline at all. The stakes aren't that high because it's clear that Lorelai can convince anyone to do anything, so Taylor will definitely listen to her. Gilmore Girls will sometimes feature these tiny plotlines that don't really go anywhere but are still charming in and of themselves.
Lorelai Invites Dean To Movie Night
Many Gilmore Girls fans love the first season and one of the most charming episodes is "Kiss and Tell." Lorelai asks Dean if he wants to come to the Gilmore house for movie night, which means eating junk food and talking more than actually paying any attention to the entertainment.
This is a unique story to Gilmore Girls as it has a lot going on. For one thing, Lorelai is hurt that Dean kissed Rory and Rory hid it from her, so she's trying to do something that she thinks is nice. For another thing, Lorelai doesn't even check with Rory, which freaks her out. And finally, Rory is nervous about dating Dean because she doesn't have experience. Movie night is also a thing that the Gilmores do, and no other show could make watching movies and eating pizza seem so interesting, funny, and entertaining.
Lorelai And Luke Talk Seriously In A Maze
The great debate on Gilmore Girls is whether Luke or Christopher is Lorelai's one true love.
In the seventh season episode "Hay Bale Maze," Stars Hollow has a maze that Lorelai and Luke find themselves both in. They decide that this is a great time to talk seriously about their relationship's ups and downs and they chat about why they broke up and didn't get married. On another show, this would be silly and ridiculous, as it's a weird place to do this. On Gilmore Girls, it's just strange enough to seem perfectly normal.
Lorelai Can't Tell Who Sent A Wedding Gift
Lorelai wasn't a great girlfriend for Luke all the time and she also has trouble ending her engagement with Max Medina. It's fair to say that she runs away from the whole situation.
The main storyline in the second season episode "Run Away, Little Boy" is Lorelai not being able to tell who sent her a wedding gift. Why? Because they didn't include a card or a name or any other information. Like some of the other storylines on the show, this is really small and insignificant, but it's quaint and adorable, just like Stars Hollow itself.
Rory And Lorelai Hang Out, Shop, And Eat Some Food
In the seventh season episode "Lorelai? Lorelai?" Rory and Lorelai literally hang out together. They eat some food and shop, as Rory is getting upset and overwhelmed that she's almost finished with Yale and about to enter the real world.
Many fans hate the seventh season of the show, and while others think that some episodes are good, this one really has nothing going on. Haven't fans seen the mother and daughter duo eat and shop enough? And yet it works because sometimes, the show is about nothing more than how much these two love spending time together.