Returning to Stars Hollow: "Gilmore Girls - A Year in the Life"

It's not often that after almost a decade of being off the air, one of your all time favourite television shows comes back for a four part mini-series. Looking back at some of my old blogposts then, I'm sure you could imagine my excitement when Netflix announced that it was official - a Gilmore Girls revival was in the works, and set to hit our screens in 2016. Anticipation has been building online for the past few months, with trailers and teaser clips and cast interviews flooding my timeline on a daily basis, and I've been loving it. It seems that lately, more people than ever have welcomed this show into their homes, and despite having finished the original run way back in 2007, the show is proving now to be more popular than ever. As a fan from way back when, this is something I am immensely pleased to see!

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Today is Sunday 27th November, and I have pretty much spent my whole weekend in Stars Hollow. I avoided social media as much as possible at work on Friday, hid my phone while I was out for dinner with friends, and then came home to watch the first episode. Saturday was spent watching the other three, and today was spent thinking about, reading about and talking about my thoughts on Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. Having been putting up with an ongoing cold for three weeks now, it was perfectly timed - my ultimate comfort tv returning exactly when I needed it. For weeks and months I have been excited about this, counting down the days this past week until it arrived, but never once stopping to think "am I emotionally prepared for this?". Turns out, I was not.

Some shows come in to your life for a short time. They serve a purpose, whether that is easy entertainment after a long day at work, or thrilling, suspenseful "water cooler" conversation fodder, jumping on the bandwagon of whatever series everyone and their aunt seems to be raving about at the time. But some shows are different - they get under your skin and work their way into your life in a way that means that you'll always come back to them. They bring comfort at stressful times, laughter during boredom, and the characters you meet become more than simply works of fiction, or vehicles for a writer to discuss a particular issue. You feel like you really know them, like you understand them, and like they will always be there waiting for you when you need them. Gilmore Girls is one of those shows. And no matter how much time passes, or how long I leave it between revisiting old episodes, the moment those characters appear on my screen it's like they never left. This deep rooted connection that I, and so many other fans of the show, have had to Stars Hollow and it's inhabitants for years now, is what made me so excited about this revival, and the involvement of creators Amy and Dan, and so many members of the cast, made me confident that this was something that was going to work. Revisiting old shows years after they end can be dangerous - sometimes that old spark is just gone, and it doesn't feel the same. This trip back to Stars Hollow, however, was (at least to me), pretty perfect. I cried a lot of tears, some from nostalgia, some from the plot, laughed out loud, and once again got lost in the cosy bubble that is Lorelai and Rory's world.

Were there a few small issues? Sure. But no original TV series never mind a revival is ever going to be perfect. Those (in)famous last four words, which, from what we understand is exactly how Amy always intended to end the show, have left us in a bit of a spin, and with a lot of questions (and a desperate desire for more episodes). There were also a couple of moments when I questioned Lorelai's reaction (or lack thereof) to some of Rory's choices. But overall, it all worked brilliantly. They all slipped so effortlessly back into those iconic roles - Lauren and Alexis were Lorelai and Rory again from the first scene. Liza Weil as a thirty something year old Paris was perfect, Kelly Bishop's portrayal of a grieving Emily was so moving; every one of them picked up where they left off as if it was ten days never mind ten years since they last played these characters. We had a couple of town meetings, another short film from Kirk, scenes with Rory and every one of her exes (more on that later), and a return to Chilton. The loss of Ed Herrmann was felt throughout, with Richard remaining a strong presence in every episode. Melissa McCarthy could only make one scene but Lorelai and Sookie's reunion was heartwarming, Michel's dry one liners were as funny as ever, and we witnessed new squabbles between Luke and Taylor over trivial town matters. Lorelai and Luke finally tied the knot in one of the most visually beautiful scenes Gilmore Girls has ever given us. We even saw Lane's dad, if only for a second! It was a total nostaglia-fest, with every episode giving fans more to reminisce about, while exploring these characters at a different stage in all of their lives.

I've been reading a lot of reviews of the series today, and most have approached this either in an all in one type of manner, discussing all four episodes in one post, or in an episode by episode style over four posts. Because so much happened, however, I think I'm going to go with a blog post per character approach, with a post for Lorelai, a post for Rory, one for Emily, and then a fourth exploring some of my other favourites (Paris, Lane, Luke, Kirk and Michel - maybe more!). I feel like that will let me summarise my feelings on the arc for each character in a more focused way.

So keep your eyes peeled this week for those reviews. It has been so long since I have properly blogged, so I'll sign off here in the cheesiest way I can possibly think of, by quoting the first episode to reflect how I felt writing this post...

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Thanks so much for reading! Let me know in the comments down below how you felt about the series! :)

Top 5 Songs From Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Season 1!

If you follow me on twitter, you will perhaps have noticed that over the past couple of weeks, I developed somewhat of an obsession with Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. While it took me longer than it should have to start it (so many shows, so little time), once I got past the first few episodes it was a classic binge-watching affair, not stopping to watch anything else with the exception of the PLL midseason finale (thoughts on that here), until season one was done.

If the show has managed to escape your attention until now, a brief overview - Rebecca Bunch is a kick ass lawyer in her late twenties, working a high pay/high pressure job in New York City and killing it. In the process, however, she is also killing her soul. A chance encounter with her summer camp boyfriend of over a decade ago, leads to an impulsive move from the Big Apple to the small town of West Covina, California, where, as the ever so catchy title song explains, she lands a new job, meets an interesting group of new friends, and begins an ill-advised quest to win back Josh Chan.

The show is incredibly clever, exploring serious issues such as depression and anxiety, in amongst the many laughs. The acting is fantastic - Rebecca, played by the incredible Rachel Bloom (who is also co-creator of the show), is a vibrant, flawed and complex character, and the group of friends she surrounds herself with are portrayed beautifully by a stellar ensemble cast. If you haven't watched the show yet, I'd suggest stopping reading here, popping on over to Netflix if you have it and getting started with episode one! If, however, you've had the joy of experiencing the entire season already, click that more button and I'll share with you my top 5 songs from season one!

Fairy Tale Fashion Exhibition at FIT - New York!

Well hello there - very long time, no see!

I apologise for the lengthy absence here on my little corner of the internet. If you're subscribed to my YouTube channel you'll know I've still been posting weekly content over there during my blogging break, but between work, YouTube, socialising and binging a lot of Netflix (for the purposes of reviewing for YouTube, of course), blogging fell by the wayside.

I can't promise that this is me back, however, this is a post I felt I had to do to go along with the video that is going up on my channel today! It's Day Five of my New York vlogs, and the only one which required photos to be inserted - wouldn't you know it, iPhoto just will not play ball at the moment. It keeps buffering and freezing and crashing, generally driving me mad. Anyone with any tips on fixing that, please feel free to leave advice in the comments, or tweet me (@lynseymac1)!

ANYWAY, here are the photos from the beautiful Fairy Tale Fashion Exhibition at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York that we visited on day five. The photos don't actually do justice to how utterly stunning these dresses were, but it's better than nothing!

Suffice to say, we fell completely in love with this exhibition - huge thanks to our lovely friend Lianne for telling us about it! Hope you enjoyed seeing these photos, and if you fancy checking out my New York vlogs, head on over to my channel where days one to four are already live!

Thanks for stopping by!

September TV Blog Chat!

Hello all!

This Thursday (3rd September) marks the second monthly TV Blog Chat - where did August disappear to?? So tonight I wanted to share the questions I'll be throwing out there between 7.30pm and 8.30pm BST this week!

Q1. Do you have a favourite genre of television? Are you partial to a comedy, a drama, a teen show or a bit of everything?! #TVBlogChat

Q2: What is one show that everyone else seems to love that you haven't watched or struggled to get in to (no judgement!)? #TVBlogChat

Q3: If you could pick your dream cast for a new TV show, who would you pick? #TVBlogChat

Q4: If you could bring back one show from the past that has now finished, what would it be? #TVBlogChat

Q5: What shows are you most looking forward to starting/returning this Autumn/Fall?! #TVBlogChat

Q6: Suggest a topic for the next TV Blog Chat - I'd love to hear your ideas! #TVBlogChat


Hope to see some of your faces (or Twitter handles!) on Thursday evening - be sure to spread the word!!!

Thanks for reading!

Centre Stage Competition - Clydesdale Bank & SSE Hydro | Ad

Hi all! Hope you're doing well!

Today's post is celebrating a pretty exciting contest. As a Glasgow native, yet one time only (as of yet) visitor to the SSE Hydro, I was intrigued to hear about the Centre Stage competition, currently being run by Clydesdale Bank in collaboration with The Hydro.

What is it?

The Centre Stage competition gives people the chance to say thank you to someone who has gone the extra mile for them. In our day to day lives (if we're lucky), there are people who constantly support us and build us up; people who give us unconditional love, people who push us to be the best version of ourselves, or even just people who can always make us laugh, even after a bad day. And, hopefully, we do the same for them. But we don't often get an opportunity to give them a shout out for being so great, or to just say "thanks so much for everything you do for me". It sometimes feels like we only think to say that at particularly big life moments (both good and bad), when it's important to be grateful for these wonderful people every day!

So, what's great about this competition is that really, it's a win-win. Even if the tickets and VIP evening don't come your way, you get the opportunity to tell someone how thankful you are for them by letting them you know you nominated them - and that could maybe even mean more than the grand prize! Best case scenario, you get both!! I don't know about you, but hearing how positively I've impacted on someone's life would be an incredible feeling.

The prize...

Okay, I know I've just said being nominated is wonderful in itself, but this prize is pretty amazing! Clydesdale Bank and the Hydro are offering you and your nominated friend/family member/mentor/colleague/insert-appropriate word here, two tickets to a show at the Hydro, to see one of Glasgow's top comedians perform live! While the identity is a secret for now, if they're performing at the Hydro, it's bound to be good. The tickets are seated, with an amazing view of the stage, and you will also have access to the VIP Hydro Club - so you know it's guaranteed to be an exciting evening!

How do you enter?

Here's the easy part - just pop on to the Clydesdale Bank website, enter your name, your nominee's name, your email address and tell them how your nominee has gone the extra mile!

I nominate...

I'm writing this blog post on the train home from work, scribbling it down in a notebook because I don't have my laptop with me - #oldschool. I finished work at the usual ten to five, in order to get the bus in time to make my train home. I work in Edinburgh one day a week, so in order to get the direct train that doesn't stop at every station under the sun, I have to leave at an exact time, and I have my journey and timing down to a fine art. Today though, was not one of those days. I got to the bus stop and not one but two buses didn't show, meaning by the time I got to Waverley, having run like my version of an Olympic athlete (it wasn't pretty)from St Andrews Square to the station through the Fringe crowd, I missed my train. The reason for this anecdote, is that when I finally got on a train, one that took much longer and meant I had to change at the town next to my hometown and wait half an hour for a connection, I texted my mum to let her know I would be significantly later home from work than usual. She has immediately fired back a text saying she will come and pick me up at that station. It sounds small, but it's just an example of one of the million and one ways my mum goes out of her way for me every day, and has done my whole life. I'm a grown up now (yikes), a proper, mid-twenties, starting to hear myself say things like "when I was younger" grown up, but even through my childhood and teens, my mum and I have been very much pals as well as mother and daughter. No matter what stage of my life I've been in, whether it was going to uni first time around, jetting off on my trip to Australia, freaking out over what to do with my life, or going back to do my Masters, my parents have always been unbelievably supportive, and I'm so very lucky to have both of them. So today, I'm nominating my mum, for always going the extra mile for me and for my brother.

As expected, my nomination is significantly longer than your average message - a couple of sentences will suffice, but you know me - I do love 

Good luck with your entries!! 

Thanks for reading!

This post was written in collaboration with Clydesdale Bank, but all views and opinions are my own.

Regular #tvblogchat!

Hey guys!

First things first, I just want to say a HUGE thanks to everyone who participated in my trial #tvblogchat last Thursday. It was so much fun -o spend an hour chatting to people who are just as enthusiastic about TV as I am was so lovely, and to hear such positive comments at the end was such a boost.

So, given the fact that some of you sounded interested, I've decided to make TV Blog Chat a monthly event! I considered weekly, but honestly, I think having a month between chats will be more productive! It gives everyone time to discover new shows, or rediscover old ones, and means the topics won't get stale! I think there's a danger with any weekly chat that, depending on the subject matter, things can become a little repetitive, and I'd hate for that to happen! With that in mind, you can look forward to a TV chat on the first Thursday of every month at 7.30pm!

So here are the dates of the chat for the next few months (say whaaaat, how can December be so close already??!), and closer to the time, topics will be listed on my blog and on the snazzy new @TvBlogChat twitter account I may have just set up...

Thursday 3rd September

Thursday 1st October

Thursday 5th November

Thursday 3rd December

I will be on the lookout for topic suggestions and potentially guest hosts soon, so please send me your ideas! Follow along on Twitter at @TVBlogChat. And, as a sidenote, you absolutely don't have to be a blogger yourself to participate in this chat - all you need is a healthy appetite for television and a twitter account!

Happy chatting and thanks for reading :)

#tvblogchat

Hello all!

My my... it has been a while, hasn't it?

While I haven't posted on here for a few weeks (sorry about that!), my YouTube channel has been seeing very regular uploads - I've been trying to do three videos a week lately, and absolutely loving it. So I'll direct you to my channel to make up for the little blank space here through June/July on my blog!

ANYWAY. I'm back, and delighted to be here. I hope you are all well and enjoying whatever sort of summer you're having. Here in Glasgow we aren't having what you might call summery weather - grey skies, lots of rain, cold enough to have the heating on in the house. Dreich, to say the least. We were spoilt by the high temperatures and sunshine we had during the Commonwealth Games last July, so this miserable weather is even a shock to our Scottish systems.

The point of this post, however, was to let you all know that after spending a great deal of time thinking about it, I've decided to host a TV related twitter chat next week! I mentioned this earlier in the year, and then put off doing it because I was nervous, thinking no-one would join in. I've hosted twitter chats before (#lbloggers and #careerblogchat) and had so much fun, so this was something I really wanted to do, but let the thought of it not going well put me off. Which, let's be honest, is totally daft.

So, the chat will be happening next Thursday, 6th August 2015, from 7.30pm to 8.30pm, and the questions (at the moment!) will be as follows:

1. What TV shows are you loving right now?

2. How do you usually watch your favourite shows? Netflix, Amazon, Now TV, dvd, etc? And do you watch more on TV/iPad/Laptop?

3. Are you more of a binge-watcher or a week by week viewer? If you binge, what show has been your fastest binge watch?!

4. Name three of your all time favourite television shows - let's see who shares some favourites!

5. BFFs and soul mates - which TV character would you have as a best friend, and who would you date (given the chance!)?

6. Recommend a show to someone based on one of their earlier tweets :)


I thought I'd keep the questions fairly general on this occasion! Then, if it goes well and I decide to make it a more regular thing (probably monthly rather than weekly!), the questions can maybe get a little more specific then, with more of a theme or topic!

One tiny thing I would suggest is to avoid any huge spoilers! Try to avoid tweeting the way a show ends, or about the death of a major character, etc. - the internet is, understandably, full of spoilers, so it's often impossible to avoid these things, but on the off-chance someone is currently on season five of a six season show (having avoided how it ends), let's avoid ruining it! Just because it's nice to be nice. And because I remember how it felt to find out how Season 4 of Dexter ended via Twitter before I saw it!

Anyway, if you're a TV fan, which I know a lot of you guys are, I hope you stop by Twitter next week to talk all things TV! You can follow me there at @lynseymac1.

Hope you're having a fantastic week and thanks for reading :)