RORY: My favorite episode –
LORELAI: Mm, mm … tell me, tell me.
RORY: – is when their son, Jeff, comes home from school and nothing happens.
LORELAI: Oh that’s a good one. One of my favorites is when Mary, the daughter, gets a part-time job and nothing happens.
Television episodes where “nothing happens” is also criticism that could be levelled at Gilmore Girls, and has been (for example, at A.V. Club). Maybe your favourite episode is the one where Lorelai’s house gets termites, and nothing happens, or the one where Lane dyes her hair purple, and nothing happens – or even when Rory dresses up as Donna Reed, and nothing happens.
Like The Donna Reed Show, the world of Gilmore Girls is one where interpersonal relationships are more important than dramatic outer events. Even when something quite exciting does happen, the characters have often been returned to the status quo by the end by the episode, or only subtle changes have occurred.
The Annotated Gilmore Girls 