Gilmore Girls: It's back so get on board, or at least pretend to

Two more words: It's. Back.

After an excruciatingly long build-up, Gilmore Girls has returned for a short eighth series called Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life.

We've had to endure a break of nine years since seeing mother and daughter duo Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Rory (Alexis Bledel) on TV so we're pretty thrilled about their return.

Whether you've never watched it before and want to know what you're missing - or you just want a reminder - here are reasons to get excited, as well as a cheat's guide to appearing knowledgeable on the show.

The basics

Stars Hollow is an idyllic town in Connecticut. It's also home to mother Lorelai and her daughter, Rory. They are the central characters - the Gilmore Girls.

Lorelai comes from an incredibly well-off family who were not pleased when, at age 16, she became pregnant with Rory. Her relationship with her parents has been strained, but they clearly love each other. While Emily and Richard Gilmore are very well-to-do and straight laced, their daughter Lorelai rebelled against this lifestyle, finding her own way in life as a single mother and as a businesswoman (she's the owner of the Dragonfly Inn).

Rory is incredibly smart, always has a book in hand and, while she's well-behaved, has her mum's sense of independence. Owing to her kind but slightly nerdy disposition, she is doted on by pretty much everyone - but especially her mum, father-figure Luke and her grandparents.

Effectively, the programme sees Rory and Lorelai trying to navigate their way through life. But it's a lot more exciting than that sounds.

Gilmore Girls cheat sheet

Never watched an episode? Everyone's going to be talking about it, so here's how you can appear knowledgeable without having to watch the previous 153 episodes:

1. Talk about how season seven wasn't a 'real' series

The people behind Gilmore Girls - series creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and producer Daniel Palladino - left after the sixth series due to a contract dispute. People were not happy with how series seven turned out and it's not looked at with fondness.

The good news? Both are back for the revival on Netflix.

2. Talk about the ultimate GG romance: Lane and Dave.

Rory's best friend Lane (Keiko Agena) is amazing. Nice, smart and she plays drums. Hard. Back when she first got into a band, she met guitarist Dave. He read the entire bible in one sitting to get on the right side of Lane's ultra-religious mum, and they were so sweet together. Then he went to California for college and he was never seen again. We miss Dave. Want another fact about him? He was played by Adam Brody who also stared in The OC as Seth. In real life he's married (and has a child with) Gossip Girl's Leighton Meester.

3. Say that the show would be nothing without Babette and Miss Patty.

Babette (Sally Struthers) lives next door to Lorelai and has an amazing gravelly voice. She knows everything that's going on in Stars Hollow and is obsessed with cats.

Miss Patty (Liz Torres) is the local dance teacher and, before coming to Stars Hollow, lived an extravagant and glamorous showbiz-filled lifestyle.

4. Go on about how you're desperate for a T-shirt that says "Babette ate oatmeal"

As one of his money-making schemes, Kirk (Sean Gunn) decides he'll print t-shirts with local gossip on. One says 'Babette ate oatmeal'. In real life, people then produced and sold such t-shirts. If you spot someone with the slogan across their chest you know they are the ultimate GG fan.

Reasons to watch Gilmore Girls Part I: The perfect life

1. It’s set in a small town in New England. Everyone looks out for each other and even the local weirdo (Kirk) is nice to be around.

2. Everything is safe and comforting and, while the reality of living in such a place would probably prove to be a bit boring, the TV version is really exciting. To the point that if it was real life, you doubt you’d ever leave it. Not even to go to the big shopping centre half an hour away.

3. Mum and daughter have the perfect relationship – even when Rory was a teenager and would've had hormones flying around all over the place, there were very few disagreements. In fact, other than a big old barney in season six, they’ve had no notable arguments. We love our mums more than anything, but still our relationship isn’t quite at Rory-Lorelai level.

4. They eat whatever they want, whenever they want. Fancy four types of take-away for one meal? You got it. How about loads of doughnuts for breakfast and actually why not throw in some pancakes, cakes and pie too? We dream of eating like they do. They eat out pretty much every day, with no real mention of it denting their bank balance. And despite their love of processed and fast food, they never worry about putting on a pound – because they’re those people who never do.

5. They drink unlimited amounts of coffee - even just before going to bed - with no repercussions. If that was us, we’d be up all night counting down to when our alarm clock would be going off. We’d constantly be thinking back to that cup of coffee and hating ourselves for such foolhardy behaviour.

Reasons to watch Gilmore Girls Part II: The answers to life's big questions

How is Lenny Kravitz so rich from just one big hit, Lorelai asked Rory in season 6? Yes, how is he?

The GG asks those important questions that no one knows the answer to.

You can also completely relate to their issues. One episode sees Lorelai and best friend Sookie (played by the amazing Melissa McCarthy) attending a show put on by local dance teacher Miss Patty. They are deeply uncomfortable when the students come out into the audience and perform. "This is so stressful," says Sookie when she's having to pretend she likes the children singing and dancing around her, rather than staying on stage.

They were right. Anyone that's ever been to the theatre and had to do that grimace while someone shows off their best moves while staring you in the face will know that it is indeed embarrassing and awkward. We just hadn't realised we felt that way until we watched Gilmore Girls.

Reasons to watch Gilmore Girls Part III: The speed talking

Get annoyed by people who drag out a two-minute conversation into a 10-minute mumble? You absolutely do not need to worry about that in this programme. The Gilmore girls well, Gilmore women now, are the Usain Bolts of talking. They’ll whittle out a conversation in the blink of an eye - in fact, there are rumours they talk faster than the speed of light. You’d think this would make things hard to understand but like watching a foreign film with subtitles, you quickly adapt and stop noticing it.

What this means is they are able to jam-pack loads into just one episode. Efficiency at its finest.

Reasons to watch the new series Part I: Finding out who's with who

Will Lorelai be shacked up with Luke? If so, will they have got married? Will Rory still have an army of followers including first boyfriend and all-round nice guy Dean, bad boy but deeply sensitive and clever underneath it all Jess, and rich and smart Yale boy, Logan?

These are questions we need answers to. We're definitely on Team Jess though. He's moody, which makes him a winner in our eyes.

Reasons to watch the new series Part II: Finding out if the town survived the financial crisis

Sorry everyone, this sounds a bit miserable doesn't it. But aren't you the least bit curious? The last episode aired in 2007. The financial crisis happened near enough at the same time. Will it have had any impact on Stars Hollow's businesses? Will the book shop still be there or will it have closed down? How about Al's Pancake World? The general consensus was that it wasn't fit for purpose back in the day. Surely that can't have survived. We just want to see if the Stars Hollow bubble still exists or if it felt the impact of world events.

And if you have never watched it, go on - after all, the world is descending into chaos, so grab some full-fat cookies and a slanket, and enter GG heaven.

Can't get enough of the Gilmore Girls? You're not the only one, read Newsbeat's Bad day? Bad 2016? Gilmore Girls might be the comfort you need