Author: A.O.

Andy Warhol

JESS: Find someone who vaguely resembles me. Take him. Just don’t kiss him goodnight.
RORY: That’s not going to work.
JESS: Andy Warhol did it all the time.

Andy Warhol, born Andrew Warhola Jr (1928-1987), artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the art movement known as Pop Art. His works explore the relationship between artistic expression, advertising, and celebrity culture that flourished by the 1960s, and span a variety of media.

I’m not completely sure what Jess is referring to here, except that Andy Warhol did have something of a “type” when it came to his lovers and muses, both male and female. If anyone has any more specific ideas, please write in!

Salt Mines

In slang, the term salt mines, and especially the phrase back to the salt mines, refers ironically to one’s workplace, or a dull, tedious task. This phrase originates from the early 19th century in reference to the Russian practice of sending prisoners to forced labour in Siberian salt mines.

Memorial to Casimir Pulaski

In the background in the town square is a memorial to Casimir Pulaski (1745-1779), Polish nobleman, soldier, and military commander who has been called the “father of the American cavalry.”

Driven into exile after a failed uprising against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, he came to North America to help in the American Revolutionary War, following a recommendation by Benjamin Franklin. He distinguished himself throughout the revolution, most notably when he saved the life of George Washington.

Pulaski became a general in the Continental Army, and he created the Pulaski Cavalry Legion, reforming the American cavalry as a whole. He was killed at the Battle of Savannah, and is remembered as a hero who fought for independence and freedom in Poland and the US.

Numerous places and events are named in his honour, and he is one of only eight people to be awarded honorary United States citizenship. There is a very fine statue in his honour in Hartford, and the memorial in Stars Hollow may be an attempt to provide a fictional counterpart.

The Holy Barbarians

RORY: The Holy Barbarians. I mean, what a title. And it’s by a Venice Beach beatnik about Venice Beach beatniks, and to top it off, the beatnik who wrote it is the father of the guy that does those Actor’s Studio interviews on TV.

The Holy Barbarians, a 1959 non-fiction book about the “Beat Generation” subculture by poet, critic, and jazz teacher Lawrence Lipton. The book is an insider’s look at the beatniks, and an interesting piece of social history. He is the father of James Lipton, the host of Inside the Actor’s Studio, previously discussed.

We can see in this scene how Rory and Jess are still enjoying sharing and discussing books together, and that Rory is having a lot more success getting Jess interested in the books she is reading than she had with Dean.

Another Confusing Timeline

Yep, it’s an episode of Gilmore Girls written by Daniel Palladino, so it’s time for another segment of “How to Make Sense of This Timeline”.

To recap. The episode begins with a Friday Night Dinner on February 7th, where Emily asks Rory to invite her boyfriend Jess to the next Friday Night Dinner, which would be February 14th. Sounds simple, right? Wrong.

The next scene appears to be the Sunday after the Friday Night Dinner, where Lorelai and Rory watch movies on the one day of the week they have to spend together. They discuss their future plans, which are that Rory is going on a date with Jess on the following Saturday afternoon, followed by studying in the evening, while Lorelai has a date with Alex at the same time.

Next, we cross straight to Rory and Jess’ Saturday afternoon date, which appears to be hanging around the town square together yet again. So … where did Friday go? That is, the Friday Night Dinner which was the day before this date?

The only way you can make sense of this is that Emily said next Friday, but she actually meant the next Friday to that, February 21st. As Friday the 14th is Valentine’s Day, it is possible that Emily gave them the night off from Friday Night Dinner so they could go out with their respective boyfriends. (There is precedent for Emily making allowances for romantic dates).

Therefore, the next Friday Night Dinner to February 7th would be February 21st, and this is the dinner Emily invites Jess to.

Lord of the Rings DVD, Footloose

RORY: Do you wanna watch more of the extra supplementary stuff on the Lord of the Rings DVD?
LORELAI: Well, it’s just the drawings and that fat guy talking.

RORY: Well, let’s watch Footloose again.

At this point, only the first film in the trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, previously discussed, had been released on DVD. An extended edition was released in November 2002, with 30 minutes of new material, added special effects and music, plus 19 minutes of fan-club credits. The DVD set included four commentaries and over three hours of supplementary material. The “fat guy” was the film’s director, New Zealander Sir Peter Jackson (he has since lost weight). You can tell this is a Daniel Palladino script, with someone’s weight being mentioned like this!

You might remember that Rory balked at watching The Fellowship of the Ring with Dean another time, even though he reminded her that she had earlier said she wanted to watch it “a hundred times”. Obviously it was Dean she was sick of, not the film, as she and Lorelai got it on DVD and are even watching the extra stuff on the disc together.

Footloose, previously discussed and frequently mentioned as a favourite film of Lorelai’s.

During this scene, Lorelai and Rory have to coordinate their schedules, because with both of them so busy, it’s getting harder for them to spend mother-and-daughter alone time. Each of them are getting more conscious of the fact that Rory will be going to college later in the year, and their time for having their “secret little club” is fast coming to a close.

Sunday is the only day they have to spend together now. As they immediately start getting ready to watch a movie together, it suggests that this scene takes place on Sunday 9th February.

Lyndon Johnson with the Senate

LORELAI: Man, that was some stealthy little maneuver she pulled there, huh? Applying the guilt over not knowing about the Dean breakup and making you all weak, and then using that to get Jess to come to dinner on Friday. She’s like Lyndon Johnson with the Senate, effortless.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, the 36th president of the US from 1963 to 1969. Elected to the US Senate in 1948, he was appointed Senate Majority Whip in 1951, and Majority Leader of the Senate in 1954.

Lyndon Johnson is considered the most effective Senate majority leader in history. He was unusually proficient at gathering information, discovering exactly where every senator stood on issues, his philosophy and prejudices, his strengths and weaknesses and what it took to get his vote.

Central to his control of the Senate was what was called “The Treatment”, his way of emotionally manipulating, intimidating, or bullying people into doing what he wanted. Lorelai is suggesting that Emily uses similar techniques to get her own way.

Jim Dunning

LORELAI: No, Jim is coming here to fix the garbage disposal.
RORY: Jim Dunning, got it.

In an earlier episode, Jim Dunning is mentioned as the auto mechanic who used to run the Hewes Brothers garage – before Gypsy became the mechanic there (although there may have been someone named Musky in between them, it’s not made explicit).

Either Jim Dunning (who Lorelai couldn’t remember before, not even whether he was tall and thin or short and stocky) is now fixing garbage disposals, or Rory is joking, as if “Jim Dunning” has become their name for any random guy who fixes stuff.

Talbotts, Deloitte and Touche

EMILY: A mutual friend or something.
LORELAI: You and Dean have mutual friends in common that Rory and I don’t? Who would that be, the Talbotts or that senior partner at Deloitte & Touche?

Talbotts

Possibly referencing Nelson “Strobe” Talbott III (born 1946) [pictured], foreign policy analyst and diplomat from a distinguished family who served as the Deputy Secretary of State from 1994 to 2001, during the Clinton Administration. A Yale alumnus, after leaving government he was briefly the Director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization. Notice that his nickname is said the same way as the name of Rory’s paternal grandfather, Straub Hayden.

Deloitte & Touche

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, commonly referred to as Deloitte, is an international professional services network headquartered in London, England. Deloitte is the largest professional services network by revenue and number of professionals in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting firms.