Geektastic Thursday: Bunheads

You may have noticed that a particular show was lacking from my summer "to watch" list.  This is not because I was not looking forward to it, but rather because I was truly afraid that I would hate it.  What is more, I could not bear the thought of bringing it to anyone's attention only to have it be a complete disaster.  I am talking, of course, about Bunheads.

It comes as no surprise to anyone who has a conversation with me for more than five minutes that I am a Gilmore Girls fan.  I have watched the first few seasons so many times that I need to replace my box sets.  The snappy dialogue, the strong female characters, the wealth of pop culture references.  It was a show tailor-made for me.  Which is why when ABC Family announced that they would be airing a new show written by Amy Sherman-Palladino I knew I would have to watch.  I was also very apprehensive.  What if they tried to reinvent the magic of Gilmore Girls?  What if they would not let her write the way she wanted?  What if it is just really really bad?  What if it was even better?  Despite all of these questions I feel it is safe to say, after only a single episode, and with great caution, that I love it.

From the start, the show made me into a complete dork.  I squealed when I saw the name "Amy Sherman-Palladino".  I felt my jaw drop when I realized that Sam Phillips is doing the music.  And I paused to applaud when Kelley Bishop first appeared.  Not to mention that the writing is strong.  It is not the same, but you can definitely tell it is Amy's show in the way I can always identify things done by Jane Espenson.

I am afraid to say that I love it as certain elements gave me pause, but I will definitely be returning for more. I already adore the minor characters who were introduced (Truly is just brilliant), and I have to have to know what happens next.  The main character is no Lorelei Gilmore, but she has great depth.  And I love the set up for multiple generations of women.  That was part of what made Gilmore Girls so great -- the interplay of women at different stages of their lives.  The fact that the ballet students and Fanny already have an established positive relationship is a nice twist.  

At this point I feel the show could go either way.  It could carry on to do its own thing, or it could try to essentially re-do what has been done before.  Either way I will be there to find out.

Plus, anything that involves Kelley Bishop is in my book worth watching.  Particularly if she gets to dance.