What Was The World Like When â€˜Gilmore Girlsâ€™ Debuted?

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What the heck was going on 14 years ago when the pilot of Gilmore Girls first aired on October 5th? The year 2000 seems like eons ago now, doesn't it? It was a simpler time in America: we hadn't yet experienced the scale of terrorism like we did on 9/11, global warming wasn't a term we uttered regularly (if at all), and the country was bracing itself for an intense, dramatic election that would rock the nation for the next decade. But what else was going on outside of the quaint, fictional realm of Stars Hollow, Connecticut?

Revisiting the Gilmore Girls pilot after its much-anticipated arrival on Netflix, I was surprised at my hesitation drifting back into the world of Lorelai and Rory and their safe, little bubble of a town. Even though the Gilmores' situations weren't always perfect (even middle class white women have their days!) everything about that pilot is a time capsule of pre-9/11 purity. I had to resist rolling my eyes when Lorelai's (Lauren Graham) biggest issue was having to play nice with her mother (Kelly Bishop) after she offered to foot the bill for Rory's (Alexis Bledel) private school education. Fourteen years ago, I would have sympathized. A year after Gilmore Girls debuted, tones drastically shifted and the first seasons of shows that ushered in the Golden Age of Television premiered, possibly out out of angst and a certain loss of innocence. We were handed shows like The Sopranos, The Wire, and just before them, CSI: heavy, gritty shows audiences had never experienced before.

Yet, that's what makes Gilmore Girls so special. It will always be a sweet portrait of innocence, we can now regularly revisit and finally make some room on the DVR. We were introduced to Lorelai's impulsiveness and caffeine addiction, Rory's adorable neuroticism, Sookie's clumsiness, Michel's grumpy attitude, and Luke's aloof ways at a time when the world allowed us to indulge in such wholesome fickleness. Returning to Stars Hollow as an adult and product of the 9/11 generation was odd, but so completely heart-warming. In an age where nostalgia has become the zeitgeist, it's difficult to figure out which cultural influences we should revel in their remembrance or leave them behind where they belong. Gilmore Girls, I assure you, is worth revisiting. Since we're already throwing it back to 2000, here's a peak at what else was happening that year.

Sean Parker of Napster

Winter: Napster shakes the music industry

So long CDs! MP3s are here to stay. What started as a peer-to-peer audio sharing platform became a game-changing element in the destruction of the financial state of the music industry. Even though Napster was bought by Roxio then Rhapsody in 2001, its independent presence was pivotal in how we share and listen to music.

**Winter: "WASSUP?!"**

The fratty Anheuser-Busch Budweiser commercials had the nation in a fit of hysteria after the first of many aired during Monday Night Football. Everyone and their mother was trying to reenact the phrase, sparking hundreds of parodies, including one in Scary Movie.

March 9th: The London Eye opens to the public

Everybody loves a giant ferris wheel! Upon completion, The Eye is the world's tallest wheel at a towering 443 feet.

March 15th: Vermont passed HB847, legalizing Civil Unions for same-sex couples

Vermont was the first state in the nation to grant same-sex couples the same legal rights as married couples, a ground-breaking piece of legislation that set forth a ripple effect of gay rights awareness throughout the country.

May 5th: Gladiator is released

Russell Crowe was in his prime back in 2000, being preened for Best Actor for his role as General Maximus Decimus Meridus, which he took home the following January (even though everyone thought Tom Hanks had it in the bag for Cast Away). Other major films released the same year include Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous, Steven Soderbergh's Traffic and Erin Brockovich, Guy Ritchie's cult fave Snatch, and Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which is getting a sequel next year through Netflix. [Where to stream Gladiator]

May 24th: Jack and Ethan make history with a kiss

Jack McPhee (Kerr Smith) is finally ready to show his affection toward Ethan, whose heart, unfortunately, is elsewhere at the time. Though it was a brief peck, Dawson's Creek broke barriers for showing the first same-sex male kiss ever aired on network television. [Where to stream Dawson's Creek]

Fall: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and MTV Cribs all made their debut

CSI, as ground-breaking as it is, spawned dozens of forensic dramas, most of which you've only seen on airport TV or at your grandmother's house. Curb Your Enthusiasm gave Larry David's career a second life, and MTV Cribs clued us in on the key to success: own a plethora of cars. You don't even have to own them, just borrow some from your rich friends, park them in your driveway, and invite people over.

October 26th: The Yankees won the World Series (Against The Mets!)

That's right: the first Subway Series in over 40 years was played in New York City. Joe Torre led the Yanks to their third consecutive championship with Derek Jeter as MVP.

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