Bunheads: The Second Coming of Gilmore Girls

No, seriously.  It really, really is.  Many have tried to copy the charm of Gilmore Girls over the years, even Amy Sherman-Palladino (GG creator and executive producer), but few have even come close to succeeding.  Indeed, even Palladino has struggled to recapture the magic with misfires like The Return of Jezebel James, trying to take an established look, and feel, and tone and cramming it into some other form.  Turns out, the secret to recapturing the magic of  Gilmore Girls is to make pretty much the exact same show, in the same setting, with the same characters, music, and actors.

That may sound like a dig, but in all honestly, I say stick to your strengths.  Clearly Palladino excels at a certain kind of show, so I say, if you can, make that show again.  Palladino's newest project Bunheads is Gilmore Girls is almost every possible way--and that's a good thing.

I have often said that I have little patience for the "same old thing", but in this case, I'm making an exception.  I have sorely missed Gilmore Girls since its demise some years back and could hardly believe my eyes when Bunheads gave me that charming, funny, authentic Gilmore Girlsy vibe that I hadn't felt in ages. 

Premiering on ABC Family on June 11th (I watched the pilot online already), Bunheads stars Broadway vet Sutton Foster as Lorelai (er, Michelle), a classically trained dancer whose life kind of flew off the rails, landing her in a Vegas showgirl act.  With nothing going her way and her life sitting next to "dead end" at the singles table, Michelle gives in to lovelorn Hubbel's offer to whisk her away from this life, take care of her, and give her a new life on the beach.  I don't want to give away all the pertinent details here, but the main point is that Michelle ends up in Stars Hollow (er, Paradise), a quirky small town full of peculiar, familiar characters.

Foster is an absolute delight as Michelle and even though it's completely apparent that Michelle is a thinly-veiled reincarnation of Lorelai, I am more than fine with that.  I could easily imagine every word coming out of Michelle's mouth being said by Lorelai and rather than annoying me or feeling like some ersatz, inferior clone, it made me smile ear to ear.  Oh Lorelai, how I've missed you!  Foster tackles the quick dialogue like a pro and her line deliveries had me laughing out loud.  Not a small feat.

Michelle finds herself in Paradise, which is basically Stars Hollow, only warmer.  The real difference with Bunheads is that she's not yet a part of the quirky town and is seen as an interloper and intruder, especially by her new mother-in-law, played by Kelly Bishop, aka Emily Gilmore.  Again, I don't want to give too much away here, so I'm going to save some of the salient points, but basically, Michelle is tossed into this new situation and has to sink or swim.  Helping her succeed is the fact that Emily (er, Fanny) is a dance teacher.  One of the most endearing aspects of the pilot was watching Michelle interact with the young dancers (a group which includes a Paris, Madeleine, and Louise type trio).  She's so warm and easy-going that it all just seems effortless.  And completely charming.  Based on where things end up at the end of the pilot, I suspect Michelle will join Fanny in teaching the girls, adding some much needed fun and youth to a fairly staid routine.

Perhaps it's because I already know many of these characters from their pseudo-stints on Gilmore Girls, but I found myself connecting with them almost instantly.  These are characters and character types that I adored for many years and it's so nice to have them back.  It kind of felt like a reunion with some old friends.  Gypsy and Emily are the only two actors to have come straight across so far (albeit in slightly different roles this time), but I imagine they won't be the last.  The rest of the town has some definite potential as well.  The only character that didn't work for me is Truly, a dressmaker in town who despises Michelle for stealing Hubbel, the only man she's ever loved.  It's not so much that the character is a problem so much as  the actress.  I don't know the actress' name, but she was really terrible.  Like,  this is a bad audition for community theatre terrible.  I'm hoping she settles into the role and can pull it off better in the future, but at this point, it all rang false to me. 

That said, overall, I was completely charmed by this show, it's warm blanket of familiarity, and the chance to see my darling characters back in action.  I grew so attached to all of them, in fact, that I'm already invested and dismayed at the things that happen to them.  Not to give too much away, but there's an event that happens in the episode that actually really got to me.  Generally speaking, just about anything can happen in a pilot and I simply don't care, but this one mattered.  This event facilitates the ongoing series in a number of ways, but it still struck me pretty hard.  You'll know what I mean when you see the episode. 

In summation, if you've been missing Gilmore Girls as much as I have, good news!  Seriously, I went in with trepidation and a pretty low bar and was delighted to get that same old feeling.  The second Michelle walked down the street and I heard the same (well, near same) strummy, la-la music start up, I couldn't help but smile.  And I kinda can't wait to see if  they can keep it going.  There are some logistical hurdles with this that Gilmore Girls didn't have, but I'm confident they can make it work.  The show has a lot of GG qualities, but it also blazes its own trail in certain ways as well.  Thematically, the show examines the consequences of squandered talent, wasted opportunities, and the necessity of adjusting your dreams based on what you've got.  A lot of shows take the "pursue your dream at any cost" approach, but Bunheads is more realistic and sobering.  Sometimes you have to rewrite your dreams.  There's a really lovely scene at the end of the episode where Michelle and Fanny, who have been oppositional and even confrontational thus far, come together over shared experiences and lost opportunities.  It really hit home and made me believe that these two characters, so different in so many ways, have a core of experience that few can truly understand.  If the series can pull of this kind of material with that kind of depth and heart going forward, it should be a long-time joy.  I sure as hell hope so at any rate. 

Gilmore Girls plus ballet?  Uh, sign me up!

Pilot Grade:  B+