Why can't I stop watching the Gilmore Girls?

This is going to reveal how tragically unhip I am (and this has absolutely nothing to do with sewing, so if you’re only here for that, you can stop reading now), but I need to come clean, even though it is terribly embarrassing. Dear friends, I can’t stop watching the Gilmore Girls. A quick check of my Netflix history reveals I’ve been watching it since September of last year…SEPTEMBER. And nothing else since then.

I can’t remember exactly why I started watching it, but I think the marketing campaign around their reunion show “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life” probably had something to do with it. I never watched the show when it was on TV, but it always had a vague whiff of “Felicity” about it that kept me away. And now, after nearly half a year of alternating between falling asleep each evening halfway through an episode only to have to rewatch it the next night and binge-watching it until 1 AM in the morning, I’m still not finished with it (so please, no spoilers in comments!!!).

I’m not sure why I continue to watch it, except that I think maybe now it has become a kind of personal challenge. I’m also fascinated slash puzzled by why I (and other people) like the show so much, so I keep tuning in, hoping for clues. But the main reason I keep watching is that I actually do like it. The characters are lovable and the show is wholesome and idyllic and square-sauce-vanilla, so it serves as a sort of balm for me from the toxic political atmosphere of late.

I was delighted yesterday when I discovered that one of the podcasts I’ve been listening to, The Simple Show, had dedicated an entire episode last fall to discussing the show (warning: the podcast does have some broad plot spoilers, though I didn’t mind it too much), so I’d recommend it if you’re a Gilmore Girls fan: I loved how they covered their least favorite characters and what they really disliked about the show in addition to what they love. Listening to that podcast yesterday, I started to get it. Also: I have the podcast to thank for discovering this awesome video of all of Kirk’s jobs.

I dislike the show for a number of reasons. The deliberate placement of minority extras in the background of scenes to make up for the lack of diversity in the main cast makes me cringe, and the theme song is pretty terrible. Sometimes the acting is downright awful. The last season (which I’m currently about 3/4 of the way through) is not great, as the show’s main creator had left by that time, and Karen informed me the other day that she didn’t love the reunion show, but I am bound and determined to watch this through to the bitter end, EVEN IF IT KILLS ME.

So tell me, have you watched Gilmore Girls? If so, do you love it? Hate it? Why do people love this show so much?

PS. I’m Team Kirk, in case you couldn’t tell.