Category: S1Ep4: The Deer Hunters

B-52s

Lorelai wears a B-52’s (now known as the B-52s) tee-shirt to the parent-teacher night. It’s apparently one she keeps in the car in case of accidents to clothing, and in this case she spilled coffee on herself while driving. The vision of Lorelai sitting half-naked in the car while she changes shirts is a strange one, and we might wonder where and how she managed to do this in a way that nobody noticed.

Perhaps she was able to pull over in the woods on the road to Hartford, or she’s one of those people who think nobody can see them while they’re in a car, despite the windows being made of glass, and happily pick their nose or get undressed in front of others.

The B-52s are an American new wave band formed in 1976, with an original line-up of Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson, Cindy Wilson, Ricky Wilson, and Keith Strickland. They are best known for their 1978 debut single Rock Lobster, and their 1989 hit single Love Shack.

“She’s always wanted to go to Harvard”

LORELAI: I mean it’s an adjustment of course, but she’s always wanted to go to Harvard and this is how she’ll get there.
MAX: Harvard?
LORELAI: Yeah. Ever since she could crawl, I’ve really wanted her to go there.

As we have suspected ever since the Pilot, it was Lorelai’s idea for Rory to attend Harvard. Here she admits that she has been longing for Rory to go to Harvard since she was a baby.

SAT

MAX: I apologize for the behaviours of some of our guests tonight. It’s a tense time for some people.
LORELAI: The SAT season?
MAX: The waking hours.

The SAT Subject Tests are multiple-choice tests in various subjects given by the College Board, and taken to improve a student’s credentials for admission to universities in the United States. The SAT tests are generally held in early to mid-October.

SAT originally stood for Scholastic Aptitude Test, but by now it is just a brand name and not an acronym of anything in particular.

“Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and a camel”

LORELAI: Jesus, Mary, Joseph and a camel [whispers] This is really bad coffee.

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph” is a specifically Catholic expletive, which expands on the expletive “Jesus!” by adding his earthly parents. Lorelai humorously expands it further by adding a camel.

It suggests that Lorelai is familiar with the original expletive through contact with a Catholic friend or acquaintance, but who this might be remains a mystery.

Advanced Placement

The Chilton parents are very concerned about whether the texts Mr. Medina has chosen will be covered in the Advanced Placement tests.

In the US and Canada, Advanced Placement (AP) is a program which offers college-level curricula and exmainations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course credit to those students who get high scores in the AP exams.

Mr. Medina says that the next AP test will be held in the following month (November), but in real life AP Tests are always held in May.

We learn from this that Rory is in the AP English Literature class to improve her chances of attending university. We don’t know what other AP classes she might be doing at Chilton, but any class that she has with Paris seems like a pretty safe bet.

Mr. Medina’s Syllabus

At the parent-teacher meeting, Mr. Medina discusses what he has in store for the children this semester – Elizabethan literature.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is the focus of this episode. Oddly, Mr. Medina doesn’t mention that the class has a test on Shakespeare that very Friday.

Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593) was the foremost tragedian of his day, despite the Chilton parent who questions his significance. He had a rather mysterious life, and some scholars believe he may have co-authored certain of Shakespeare’s works. His most famous plays include Edward the Second and Doctor Faustus; his most popular poem is The Passionate Shepherd to His Love.

Francis Bacon (1561-1626) was a philosopher, scientist, jurist, statesman, and author, serving as both Attorney-General and Lord Chancellor of England. He has been called the father of empiricism and the modern scientific method, and he has influenced the modern world in countless ways. There is a theory that he may have written some, or all, of Shakespeare’s plays. One of his most famous literary works is The New Atlantis, a utopian story.

Ben Jonson (1572-1637) is considered the second most important playwright of his era after Shakespeare. He is best known for his satirical plays such as Every Man in His Humour and Volpone, and for his lyrical poetry.

John Webster (c1580-c1634) is a playwright best known for his tragedies The White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi. His dark, almost Gothic, view of the world is one which went down very well in the twentieth century, and he has been re-assessed favourably by modern audiences.

Huckleberry

JACKSON: So, I hear the huckleberry crops are gonna totally suck this year!
[Sookie just looks at him.]

Huckleberry is an American dialect word for the shrub fruit known as the bilberry – a variant of the English dialect word hurtleberry or whortleberry. In America, the term huckleberry is applied to several different species of berry, including dangleberries and blueberries.

The peak season for huckleberries finishes in mid-September, so by this time of year the huckleberry crop would normally “suck” anyway. No wonder Sookie gives Jackson a look.

The huckleberry crops serve as a reminder of Huckleberry Finn.

Scrunchies

LORELAI: Last week there was a huge debate over whether plaid scrunchies were acceptable head wear [at Chilton]. People took sides, things got ugly, the scrunchie motion finally passed and I’d like to think I was the tie breaker.

A scrunchie is a fabric-covered elastic hair accessory, used to tie back long hair. Scrunchies were particularly fashionable during the 1980s and ’90s. They were falling out of style in 2000, but at Chilton are still a source of concern.

Later in the episode, we learn that Lorelai’s championing of plaid scrunchies has led some parents to put her down as lower class, as they speculate that her child must be at Chilton on a scholarship, rather than because of rich grandparents.