Lorem Ipsum

Entering stories into the SH database takes an average of, oh, 30 to 60 seconds per story, but it doesn't require much attention. (Some day I'll automate it.)

So while I do it, I sometimes quasi-watch some TV. I used to do this with Gilmore Girls episodes when I was watching the series last year; since finishing, I've occasionally used other shows, but a lot of shows have more action sequences and other stuff that requires eyes to be on the screen.

In late May of this year, I wanted something to do while entering subs into the database, and somehow got it into my head to re-watch the beginning of the series. So I re-watched episode 1 and was charmed and amused all over again.

So now I'm regularly re-watching episodes while entering subs into the database.

One thing I'm noticing is that I'm more comfortable with the rhythms of the episodes now.

I liked most of them the first time through, but for a long time I kept expecting sitcom rhythms and tropes—I expected that every opportunity for misunderstanding, for example, would turn into a major plot point; that every time someone promised to do something, they would forget or be detained; that things would always happen in the most embarrassing way possible. Whereas in fact this show rarely does any of that. There are occasional moments of misunderstanding, embarrassment, or confusion, but there are also lots of times when things work out nicely and people don't forget things and comic awfulness doesn't happen.

So this time around, knowing the general tone of the show better, I'm not tensely waiting for things to go wrong, and relaxing into it makes me enjoy it more. There've been a couple of episodes where my original notes talk about how tense and awkward and difficult the episode was, but on re-watching I find it largely charming and enjoyable.

And in a couple of cases, there are characters who I never liked much, who I can relax about because I know that they won't be around for long.

And there are a couple of other characters who I initially disliked but who later became more sympathetic, and this time through I'm more aware of, and more sympathetic to, the little humanizing moments for those characters. (Which is something the show does unusually well.)

I'm also taking more notes on dialogue than I did in these early episodes the first time through; some day I still intend to put together a page of some of my favorite quotes from the show.

This time through, I have a new hobby: bookmarking all the Luke/Lorelai scenes where there's any flirting or romantic tension. I have a vague idea that I might try to put together a montage at some point, but that's the sort of project I never actually get around to following through on. But for now, it lets me pay extra attention to those scenes, which are almost all totally charming.

One other thing that I love: the opening credits song. I usually sing along with it; it invariably makes me happy.

Anyway. Dunno if I'll keep doing this; I'm usually watching an average of only one episode a week or so, and at that rate it would take three or four years to get through the whole series again. Which I'm not sure I want to do anyway; it's comfort food, but on the other hand there's an awful lot of other stuff that I haven't seen or done that I might rather do than re-watch a show. (I rarely re-watch anything.) But for now, I'm enjoying it.