burning questions

Why Is the Second ‘G’ in Gilmore Girls Lowercase?

Why. Photo: WB

I have a lot of problems with the television series you all know and love as Gilmore Girls. Lorelai and Rory are the actual worst. No one on this planet has ever spoken like Jess Mariano. Emily Gilmore is a queen and no one treats her as such. But perhaps my biggest issue with this show is the glaring eyesore of the title. Why on earth is that second “g” lowercase? Who was possessed to make such a structural error? Now, I never watched the show back in its original run, so I don’t have the same affection for the series as many my age do. And every damn time I watch this show it’s the first thing I think about, and I can’t shake the annoyance. To get to the bottom of this I did some significant research (read: Googling) and all I could find was this very short Reddit thread. So in lieu of an actual investigation, here are my best guesses at why the show chose this maddening grammatical faux pas for its title.

To represent the mother-daughter relationship.
Big G, little G, big Lorelai, little Lorelai. The show is ostensibly about the power of love between a mother and daughter, but I think the series is really about a Connecticut grand dame who can’t get anyone to appreciate her dinner parties. This is the most obvious reason, but I think there’s another answer.

To illustrate the quirkiness of Stars Hollow.
A pancake house that doesn’t sell pancakes. “Annual” traditions that only appear once over the course of seven years. A gazebo. This town is so wacky! Only a title so annoyingly incorrect would do for a town as ~unconventional~ as our dear setting.

The WB was trying to be hip.
In an effort to capture the elusive teen audience, the network tried speaking in AOL chat jargon. The original titled was actually GiLmOrE gIrLz.

The G’s growth was stunted from too much caffeine.
Five cups a day really does affect your health.

Kirk was in charge of the title design and he forgot to hit caps lock.
Just like the forgotten Easter egg map before it, naming the show was a task Kirk was just not up for.

There was a budget issue.
The show spent so much money on the rights to Carole King’s seminal “Where You Lead” that there was no money left for a second capital G.

Hollywood’s oppressive gender wage gap.
A much younger G was brought in to play alongside the veteran capital G to add some moxie.

The second capital G got lost trying to escape one of Amy Sherman-Palladino’s hats.
They are cavernous.

The first G requested she be the only capital in her contract.
A notorious diva.

Why Is the Second ‘G’ in Gilmore Girls Lowercase