Why ‘Gilmore Girls’ still matters 15 years later

STARS HOLLOW — The cast of the beloved sitcom “Gilmore Girls” gathered for a reunion Saturday in celebration of the show’s 15th anniversary.

“Gilmore Girls” premiered in 2000 and aired for seven years, winning a total of 18 awards. Known for its fast-paced dialogue and quick wit, the popular series revolved around single mother Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and her daughter, Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel.)

To the delight of fans everywhere, 15 of the cast members attended the ATX Television Festival in Austin, Texas, on Saturday for a reunion panel, according to The Washington Post. The panel was nearly two hours long and the cast told stories and reminisced about the show, which recently got a boost after being added to Netflix in October.

Edward Hermann, who played Richard Gilmore in the series, died Dec. 31, 2014 and was honored during the reunion, according to Entertainment Weekly.

“Gilmore Girls” creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and five of the cast members appeared on the Today Show on Thursday and while there are no current plans, they talked about the possibility of a movie.

“Here’s the good thing: Nobody here hates each other,” Sherman-Palladino told the Today Show. “It would have to be the right everything — the right format, the right timing. It would have to be honored in a certain way…And I think that if it ever came around, we would all jump in and do it. And if it ever happens, I promise you we’ll do it correctly.”

Scott Patterson, who played Lorelai’s love interest, Luke Danes, said he was definitely interested in doing a “Gilmore Girls” movie.

”I’m all in. I mean, absolutely all in,” Patterson told Today.

While a movie may or may not ever happen, here are some of our favorite scenes from “Gilmore Girls.”

Lorelai and Luke’s first kiss

It built up to it for several seasons and we watched Lorelai get engaged, break off a wedding and then date several other guys, but during the season four finale, Luke and Lorelai finally kiss. And it’s magical. Even when a naked, screaming, sleep walking Kirk Gleason (Sean Gunn) interrupts them, it’s magical.

Kirk working at every store

This happens throughout the entire show and Kirk continues to pop up in new jobs around Stars Hollow — he seriously works at every establishment in town. But one scene that is particularly delightful is when Rory goes to the Stars Hollow beauty supply store and Kirk proceeds to list a variety of creams for Rory’s fair skin. In great detail.

You gotta love quirky Kirk.

Jess giving Rory his book

Although there is an ongoing debate about which of Rory’s three boyfriends is the favorite, when Jess Mariano (Milo Ventimiglia) visits Rory a year after they have broken up and gives her his published book in season six, it’s a really sweet scene. Always-the-bad-boy Jess finally proved that there was more to him and he was beginning to realize his potential.

Rory reacts by repeatedly saying, “You wrote a book?!” It’s adorable.

Rory’s graduation from high school

Rory graduates as valedictorian from her private high school, Chilton, and during her speech, Lorelai, Sookie St. James (Melissa McCarthy) and Jackson Belleville (Jackson Douglas) keep reassuring each other that they are “not crying.” Unemotional Luke is befuddled as usual.

Rory pays a sweet tribute to her grandparents and to Lorelai, which of course results in thousands of crying fans. Seriously, watch this episode with some tissues.

Lorelai writing Luke’s letter of reference

Lorelai’s fast-talking monologues are largely what make the show so great and this scene in particular showcases her spastic, coffee-addicted character. Luke asks Lorelai to write him a letter of reference when he is fighting for custody of his daughter, April Nardini (Vanessa Marano).

Lorelai struggles for several days to find the right words and finally demonstrates her scatter-brained thought process to Rory. As Lorelai puts it, “My brain is a wild jungle full of scary jibberish… Bicycle. Unicycle. Unitard. Hockey puck. Rattle snake. Monkey monkey underpants… It’s a big bag of weird in there.”What are you favorite moments from “Gilmore Girls?”