At the risk of repeating myself, "Gilmore Girls" is one of the best things on TV. Still.
Let's see . . . my original review of the show (Oct. 4, 2000) was headlined "Gilmore Girls" is great. Since then, there have been updates headlined, "Gilmore Girls' is truly great TV. And Gotta love the "Gilmore Girls.' " And several other uses of the word "great."
OK, so I need to consult the thesaurus more often. But that doesn't change the fact that, in its sixth season, "Gilmore Girls" is as, well, as great as it ever was.
The event we've been waiting for is finally going to happen tonight (7 p.m., WB/Ch. 30). After months of estrangement — nine episodes, actually — mother and daughter Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Rory (Alexis Bledel) are finally going to reconcile.
Their estrangement was a risky move for creator/executive producer/writer Amy Sherman-Palladino and her team. This is a show built around the relationship between Rory and Lorelai, and having them not on speaking terms was a huge departure.
But, like just about everything else they've done since the show premiered, it worked. (Hey, even the fourth season — by far the series' weakest — set up the exceptional fifth and now sixth seasons.)
"Gilmore Girls" has also been about Rory growing up, and she's done a lot of that in those nine episodes. She's had to toughen up a bit, and she's seen people — including both her grandmother and her boyfriend — for who they really are.
And, I must say, Lorelai may be the greatest TV mother ever — she resisted the urge to order Rory to straighten up. (In her place, I would have done a lot of yelling about how my child better get herself back to Yale this very minute!)
Not that this means everything is smooth sailing in Stars Hollow, however. Also in tonight's episode, Luke (Scott Patterson) gets a big surprise that will affect his relationship with Lorelai.
But without conflict, there's no show. And "Gilmore Girls" is a great show.
Where's that thesaurus?
E-mail: pierce@desnews.com