These mothers are definitely good to their daughters. Though the story and tone are different but in terms of the portrayal of mother/daughter relationship, Gilmore Girls and Jane the Virgin share similar plots.
I’ve watched Gilmore Girls back when it first aired on TV and though I can’t single out the details of the dialogue but I do remember that it was smart and fast-paced.
Of course there are other things I remembered too, such as the crackling and endearing chemistry between Lauren Graham’s Lorelai Gilmore and Alexis Bledel’s Rory Gilmore, bantering back-and-forth with clever quips; the grumpy café owner Luke (Scott Patterson); Rory’s best friend, Lane (Keiko Agena, who was a 26-year-old playing a teenager) and her superstrict mother; Rory’s annoying friend at school, Paris (Liza Weil); and, yes, current A-lister Melissa McCarthy was part of the gang too as the adorable chef Sookie.
Thanks to Netflix, I get to revisit the Gilmore Girls of Stars Hollow, and my impression hasn’t changed: I think it’s still one of the best shows on TV featuring single moms with great performances and clever, very hip dialogue with lotsa references to pop culture (especially concerning music, with both girls—plus Lane—are big fans of non-mainstream music). Not to mention a leading heroine that is strong and independent, though I think if you were asked to describe the coffee- and junk food-loving Lorelai, most fans would probably say, “fun, chatty, and sarcastic.”
Of course there are other things I remembered too, such as the crackling and endearing chemistry between Lauren Graham’s Lorelai Gilmore and Alexis Bledel’s Rory Gilmore, bantering back-and-forth with clever quips; the grumpy café owner Luke (Scott Patterson); Rory’s best friend, Lane (Keiko Agena, who was a 26-year-old playing a teenager) and her superstrict mother; Rory’s annoying friend at school, Paris (Liza Weil); and, yes, current A-lister Melissa McCarthy was part of the gang too as the adorable chef Sookie.
Thanks to Netflix, I get to revisit the Gilmore Girls of Stars Hollow, and my impression hasn’t changed: I think it’s still one of the best shows on TV featuring single moms with great performances and clever, very hip dialogue with lotsa references to pop culture (especially concerning music, with both girls—plus Lane—are big fans of non-mainstream music). Not to mention a leading heroine that is strong and independent, though I think if you were asked to describe the coffee- and junk food-loving Lorelai, most fans would probably say, “fun, chatty, and sarcastic.”
Lorelai is just a free-spirited, force-of-nature kind of gal, a woman who had her first and only daughter at 16 which further alienates her from her posh parents, Emily (Kelly Bishop) and Richard (the late Edward Herrman). She soon moved out and raised Rory all by herself. Rory grew up possessing her mother’s Girl Friday’s wit but sweeter and, well, smarter judging from her penchant in reading Moby Dick during her lunch break. When Lorelai’s needed money to pay for Rory’s college education (Harvard is obviously the top choice) she reaches out to dear ol’ aloof Mom for a loan, who agreed but under one condition: they must visit every Friday to have dinner together. Lorelai reluctantly agrees.
Obviously that’s the not whole plot of Gilmore Girls that ran for seven seasons but it’s certainly the catalyst for things to come. Showrunner Amy Sherman-Palladino and her teams of writers and directors was certainly successful in balancing the comedy with the drama, and I don’t know who started the trend but Gilmore Girls features a lot of walking-and-talking scenes that you’d think can only be found in Aaron Sorkin’s scripted shows. Kudos for the actors for never missing a beat even though I am sure they must memorize a hella lotsa lines!
Obviously that’s the not whole plot of Gilmore Girls that ran for seven seasons but it’s certainly the catalyst for things to come. Showrunner Amy Sherman-Palladino and her teams of writers and directors was certainly successful in balancing the comedy with the drama, and I don’t know who started the trend but Gilmore Girls features a lot of walking-and-talking scenes that you’d think can only be found in Aaron Sorkin’s scripted shows. Kudos for the actors for never missing a beat even though I am sure they must memorize a hella lotsa lines!
Despite the communal cast, most of the weight are still shouldered by Graham and she’s exceptional. Though at times she can come across as annoying, rude, and, quite possibly, mean (especially in front of her mother), a woman who uses her wicked sense-of-humour and sarcasm to deflect serious conversations (or disarmed a heated situation), but she even it out with her confident delivery and effortless exuberance, and she’s also a dang good dramatic actress as showcased during heavy-handed conflict with either Rory or the icy Emily.
Once again, as I’ve said of many actors, it’s egregious that Lauren Graham isn’t a bigger actress. Though she found fame on the small screen with Gilmore Girls and later Parenthood, but I can just imagine her dazzling blue eyes and charming presence captures the attention of theatregoers, starting with a sisterhood adventure film opposite Sandra Bullock, perhaps?
Anyway, Alexis Bledel is a great match for Graham. She balances her on-screen mother’s edge and vivacity with a softer and sophisticated demeanour, and having those warm baby blue eyes certainly helps. Apparently, a lot of popular TV actors these days started out as her love interests on the show, from Supernatural’s Jared Padalecki, One Tree Hill's Chad Michael Murray, Heroes’ Milo Ventimiglia, and The Good Wife’s Matt Czuchry. That’s a fine, good-looking love interests.
Once again, as I’ve said of many actors, it’s egregious that Lauren Graham isn’t a bigger actress. Though she found fame on the small screen with Gilmore Girls and later Parenthood, but I can just imagine her dazzling blue eyes and charming presence captures the attention of theatregoers, starting with a sisterhood adventure film opposite Sandra Bullock, perhaps?
Anyway, Alexis Bledel is a great match for Graham. She balances her on-screen mother’s edge and vivacity with a softer and sophisticated demeanour, and having those warm baby blue eyes certainly helps. Apparently, a lot of popular TV actors these days started out as her love interests on the show, from Supernatural’s Jared Padalecki, One Tree Hill's Chad Michael Murray, Heroes’ Milo Ventimiglia, and The Good Wife’s Matt Czuchry. That’s a fine, good-looking love interests.
Though Gilmore Girls lasted for seven seasons (2000 – 2007) I think I only watched the early seasons (and now I plan to see all of it). Now that I’ve rewatched the first season, my memory of it was just as I remembered: a heart-warming, witty show starring two of the coolest mother/daughter team on TV, with an opening credit soundtrack, “Where You Lead” by Carole King, that helps trigger the bittersweet memories. And I also love the quirky residents of Stars Hollow town, with regulars such as the oddball Kirk (Sean Gunn); feisty dance teacher Miss Patty (Liz Torres); the town’s stickler for rules Taylor (Michael Winters); Lorelai’s quirky next door neighbour Babette (Sally Struthers); and the insufferable cynic Michel (Yanic Truesdale).
I am glad all of them—including McCarthy—agreed to appear again on Netflix’s revival of the show entitled Gilmore Girls: A Year in The Life, with four, 90-minutes episode and each episode arc are based on the four seasons. I’ve seen the first one, and it’s great, still capturing the lively spirit of the show. Expectedly, Rory is now a freelance journalist globetrotting in search of hot news, but lucky for us, Lorelai hasn’t changed one bit.
That’s why we love her, right?
I am glad all of them—including McCarthy—agreed to appear again on Netflix’s revival of the show entitled Gilmore Girls: A Year in The Life, with four, 90-minutes episode and each episode arc are based on the four seasons. I’ve seen the first one, and it’s great, still capturing the lively spirit of the show. Expectedly, Rory is now a freelance journalist globetrotting in search of hot news, but lucky for us, Lorelai hasn’t changed one bit.
That’s why we love her, right?
Jane The Virgin
Though the mother & daughter character doesn’t actually define the central theme, but at the heart of Jane the Virgin lies a similarly endearing and unconventional relationship.
This time the daughter is driving the show, an admittedly very clever and gimmick-y show. The format Jane the Virgin takes it cues from telenovelas (it’s a loose adaptation of the Venezuelan telenovela Juana la Virgen), raising its quality while still acknowledging what made people fall in love with it in the first place. (Hint: the unapologetic romance between incredibly good-looking people and subplots involving evil twins.)
Though the mother & daughter character doesn’t actually define the central theme, but at the heart of Jane the Virgin lies a similarly endearing and unconventional relationship.
This time the daughter is driving the show, an admittedly very clever and gimmick-y show. The format Jane the Virgin takes it cues from telenovelas (it’s a loose adaptation of the Venezuelan telenovela Juana la Virgen), raising its quality while still acknowledging what made people fall in love with it in the first place. (Hint: the unapologetic romance between incredibly good-looking people and subplots involving evil twins.)
The CW Miami-set series (developed by Jennie Snyder Urman) stars the lovely and engaging Gina Rodriguez as Jane Villanueva, an aspiring romance novelist who accidentally got impregnated by a stranger’s sperm while visiting the doctor for her usual check-up. As the title suggest, Jane’s a virgin who—on account of her religious abuela (Ivonne Coll)—vows to remain one only after marriage, despite having a long and steady relationship with police officer Michael (Brett Dier).
Things get further complicated when she falls for the sperm donor, the dashing Rafael (Justin Baldoni), former playboy and co-owner of the Marbella Hotel where Jane works as a waitress, and Rafael is in the process of divorcing his manipulative wife, Petra (Yael Grobglass), who has an evil mother, Magda (Priscilla Barnes), and things gets more complicated when there’s a murder in the hotel with the suspect being a unidentified drug dealer called Sin Rostro who might be someone in Rafael’s family, which includes lesbian sister Luisa (Yara Martinez), the doctor who impregnated Jane in the first place, and the stunning Rose (Bridget Regan), Rafael’s young mother-in-law.
Phew, that’s a lot of who’s.
Things get further complicated when she falls for the sperm donor, the dashing Rafael (Justin Baldoni), former playboy and co-owner of the Marbella Hotel where Jane works as a waitress, and Rafael is in the process of divorcing his manipulative wife, Petra (Yael Grobglass), who has an evil mother, Magda (Priscilla Barnes), and things gets more complicated when there’s a murder in the hotel with the suspect being a unidentified drug dealer called Sin Rostro who might be someone in Rafael’s family, which includes lesbian sister Luisa (Yara Martinez), the doctor who impregnated Jane in the first place, and the stunning Rose (Bridget Regan), Rafael’s young mother-in-law.
Phew, that’s a lot of who’s.
Despite the telenovela shenanigans, my favourite part of the show is when the story centres on Jane’s family, especially her relationship with her mother, Xiomara (Andrea Navado). Like Lorelai Gilmore, Xiomara—or Xo—raised Jane on her own since she had her when she was 16, and they grew up more like sisters/best friends, until certain situation demands her to be more maternal. There’s a similar plotline mid-season with Gilmore Girls where Xo confesses that she never settled down—or downplayed her relationship with men—so she can focus on her daughter, or I think it’s because she hasn’t yet find the most suitable man to be Jane’s new father. Xo ultimately finds a man, and he is actually Jane’s real father: the silly and narcissistic telenovela star, Rogelio de la Vega (Jaime Camill).
Jane the Virgin is one of those comedy series where the actors all play it straight, except for the tongue-in-cheek presence of Rogelio and the brilliant narrator. Yes, most of the time the humour is provided by the cheeky, meta narration by Anthony Mendez, opening each episode with a witty recap of the previous story, often bursting into scenes to point out the ridiculousness of the plot (at times complemented with hilarious captions) thus infusing the show with a much-needed sense of levity. The narrator is one of the best part of Jane The Virgin.
Jane the Virgin is one of those comedy series where the actors all play it straight, except for the tongue-in-cheek presence of Rogelio and the brilliant narrator. Yes, most of the time the humour is provided by the cheeky, meta narration by Anthony Mendez, opening each episode with a witty recap of the previous story, often bursting into scenes to point out the ridiculousness of the plot (at times complemented with hilarious captions) thus infusing the show with a much-needed sense of levity. The narrator is one of the best part of Jane The Virgin.
Unfortunately, the series kind of loses steam nearing the end of the season, with trivial subplots and a tiring back-and-forth in the romance department between Jane, Rafael, and Michael. I like the standalone story better (like when Jane’s pursuing her dreams of becoming a writer and joined a book club headed by Jane Seymour), and of course when the script focuses on Jane, Xo, and her Abuela.
As I said before, Jane the Virgin is very gimmick-y. It’s great that it’s paying homage as well as making fun of the telenovela format, but what do you do when Jane is no longer a virgin? The title will be a misnomer, right? (Note: apparently the third season will just be titled Jane because of...oh you know!). A fair warning, though: there are THREE cliff-hangers in the finale—THREE!! To hook us for season 2, for sure.
But even if I do continue to the second season, it’s because of Gina Rodriguez, here giving a complex star-turn performance with an incredible range, and completely worthy of the Best Actress Golden Globe Award and other accolades she has received. Andrea Navado as Xo is also stellar as the supportive, sexy, fun-loving mother. For all the show’s shortcomings, this mother/daughter teams makes it up with an abundance of sass and charm.
As I said before, Jane the Virgin is very gimmick-y. It’s great that it’s paying homage as well as making fun of the telenovela format, but what do you do when Jane is no longer a virgin? The title will be a misnomer, right? (Note: apparently the third season will just be titled Jane because of...oh you know!). A fair warning, though: there are THREE cliff-hangers in the finale—THREE!! To hook us for season 2, for sure.
But even if I do continue to the second season, it’s because of Gina Rodriguez, here giving a complex star-turn performance with an incredible range, and completely worthy of the Best Actress Golden Globe Award and other accolades she has received. Andrea Navado as Xo is also stellar as the supportive, sexy, fun-loving mother. For all the show’s shortcomings, this mother/daughter teams makes it up with an abundance of sass and charm.