I just finished binge watching the entire Gilmore Girls show, and the follow-up 4 mini-movies shot 10 years later. ❤️❤️❤️ A dedicated task that only took a month or so of nights and weekends. 7 seasons, 22 episodes each, plus the final 4.

Gilmore Girls was always one of my favourite shows, but binge watching them back to back, savouring every episode, made my heart swell, my eyes soggy, and I just wanted to wrap my arms around the entire series and every character in it.

I don’t know if every older television show adapted so well to binging, but Gilmore Girls did. Back when it originally aired, you’d have to wait a week to catch the next episode, and if you missed it, you missed it. Or you watched it out of order during a summer rerun. Once a year you’d have wait with a cliff hanger for the new episodes to return in the fall. With the time between episodes, and with the commercials between the scenes, you’d weaken your emotional attachment, you’d forget little nuances, or conversations, or festivals and events in their beloved Stars Hallow. You loved the show, but there was so much waiting!

Watching them back to back had no annoying overlap between episodes, no annoying repeated scene after a commercial, like so many shows on tv today. In fact you didn’t perceive the original commercial breaks at all. It is just a lovely beautiful masterpiece from start until end.

I loved watching the series with an older perspective, and likely got more out of it now than I did 20 years ago. Yes it is that old! Can’t you believe it?  The first episode debuted on October 5, 2000.

It’s neat to watch the characters age when you watch them all together. Especially the 4 later episodes that were filmed in 2016, where they actually were all older. Amazing how they had the sets, the clothes, and just about every original character back to wrap up the stories!

I relate to the characters, in ways not easily explained. They’re real, they are flawed. They are caring and loving and generous and also angry, mean, guarded, and spoiled.

Although our lives are completely different, I relate mostly to Lorelei, and Jeff is my Luke. My absolute favourite part of the entire series is when Lorelei goes to hike the Pacific Crest Trail by herself.

I still love the final 5 minutes in the gazebo. I love the way the stories were wrapped up, leaving you wanting so much more, but also not needing more. It was perfect.

I’m going to miss spending my nights and weekends with the Gilmores.

And I have a hankering for a pop tart.