Footnotes to the TV series
EMILY: Fine. You go and I’ll wait and hold your cotton candy for you.
Cotton candy, otherwise known as candy floss or fairy floss, is a spun sugar confection, often coloured pink or blue and carried on a stick. The machine-made variety was invented by a dentist named William Morrison and a confectioner named John Wharton in 1897; it was first widely made available to the public at the World’s Fair in 1904. It’s a traditional treat sold at circuses, fairgrounds, and carnivals.
RICHARD: Say, when was the last time we were on a roller coaster?
EMILY: Never.
RICHARD: Didn’t we ever go to Coney Island?
EMILY: That must’ve been your other wife.
Coney Island is a neighbourhood of Brooklyn in New York. Originally one of the Outer Barrier Islands, it became a peninsula in the early twentieth century when landfill connected it to Long Island. It became a seaside resort in the mid-nineteenth century, and by the late nineteenth century amusement parks had been built there.
The amusement parks began to decline after World War II, and by the 1950s were confined to a small area. At the time Richard and Emily would have been dating in the 1960s, Coney Island was considered crime-ridden and dangerous, so I don’t think Richard could ever have taken Emily there, and the last amusement park closed there in 1964, not to open again until the next decade. He might have gone there as a child though.
The amusement parks began to be revitalised in the early twenty-first century, and once more has many attractions. The famous roller coaster there is the Coney Island Cyclone, built in 1927, and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. Richard and Emily could have gone on it in 2001-2002 when it was part of Astroland, despite feeling as if Coney Island is something from another era.
LUKE: Okay, well that means Jess has some time off from school. His mom knew that and she never called.
LORELAI: Ugh, it makes me sick
LUKE: So I decided just to keep Jess with me, and I told him that his mom wanted him to come home but I thought since he just got there and was still adjusting that I thought he should stay, and his mom was really upset but I insisted. He bought it hook, line and sinker. Saved him a lot of hurt.
Liz has neglected Jess to the point that she doesn’t phone him for the Christmas holidays. Even Lorelai, not exactly Jess’ biggest fan, is disgusted that Liz doesn’t want to see her son when he has a break from school.
With the best of intentions, Luke made up a story that Liz did want him, but Luke decided it would be better for him to remain in Stars Hollow, even though that upset Liz. Lorelai knows that Jess would never have believed this story, but seems unable to completely convince Luke of this. Shortly afterwards Jess confirms that he knows Luke wasn’t truthful with him.
LORELAI: It’s magical …
LUKE: Oh look. There’s the magical Luke’s Diner right underneath the apartment that Jess magically lit by leaving every stinkin’ light on.
Luke and Jess live in a tiny one bedroom apartment (a maisonette, really) … how many lights could he have realistically left on? Two?
LORELAI: Giddy up. [the sleigh starts moving] Uh! The horses heard me, I speak horse language! I’m Dr. Dolittle!
Dr Dolittle is the protagonist of the Dr Dolittle children’s book series by British author Hugh Lofting, a doctor who only treats animal patients, and is able to speak all their various languages. The first book was The Story of Dr Dolittle (1920), and it has several times been adapted into other media. The 1967 film version starred Rex Harrison, and most recently at this stage, Eddie Murphy had starred in Dr Dolittle (1998) and its sequel Dr Dolittle 2 (2001) – possibly one of the “disgusting cow” films that Rory mentions seeing that year.
This is the first mention we have of Lorelai liking horses, which we hear more of throughout the show.
LORELAI: Hey, you in the belt – get in.
LUKE: What? Oh, no, I was just sort of checking things out.
LORELAI: Come on. We can pull a Ben-Hur and take down Taylor’s sleigh.
Ben-Hur, 1959 religious epic film directed by William Wyler and starring Charlton Heston, previously discussed, in the title role. It’s based on the 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace, and a remake of the 1925 silent film version.
The film focuses on a Jewish prince named Judah Ben-Hur, living in Jerusalem during the days of Christ’s ministry. Unfairly condemned to the galleys as a slave after an accidental death, Ben-Hur is later freed and becomes a champion charioteer, the film reaching its climax with a thrilling race-to-the-death against the man who sent him to the galleys.
Ben-Hur had the largest budget and the largest sets built of any film produced at the time, leading to the phrase “bigger than Ben-Hur” to describe anything on a grand scale. It was the #1 film of 1959 at the box office, received overwhelming critical acclaim, and was the second-highest grossing film of that time, after Gone With the Wind. It won a record eleven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor in a Leading Role, and Best Cinematographer. It is considered one of the greatest epics of all time, and one of the best films in cinematic history.
The film was released on DVD in 2001, suggesting the possibility that Lorelai had watched it fairly recently.
BOOTSY: I spent a summer training horses in Montana.
Montana is the fourth-largest US state, situated in the north west region of the nation. Its name is from the Spanish for “mountainous country”, and the Rocky Mountains are in the west of the state, while the eastern side is characterised by prairies and badlands. It is sometimes called “Big Sky Country”. The economy is primarily based on agriculture, including cereal crops and ranching. Dude ranches are common here, and it’s possible that Bootsy is exaggerating a summer vacation on a dude ranch as “working with horses”.
EDIT: Thanks to sharp-eyed reader melcauble for pointing out a silly error in this entry, where I accidentally wrote Rune instead of Bootsy!
LUKE: You gonna go [for a ride on a sleigh]?
JESS: I think I’ll wait for the clog dancing.
Clog dancing is a traditional step dance performed wearing wooden clogs, originating in mining districts of Wales and the north of England. The tradition came to the US via immigration, and is typically associated with the Appalachian region, where it combined with bluegrass, Native American, and African-American dance rhythms. It is from clog dancing that tap dancing formed.
Jess turns down the ride in the sleigh with Luke because he’s planning on jumping on Rory’s sleigh when he can do so while unobserved.
LORELAI: Ugh, a hostess’ job is never done.
Lorelai is playing with the common phrase, “A woman’s work is never done”. The old proverb states:
A man must work from sun to sun, but a woman’s work is never done.
LORELAI: They’re here.
RORY: Who?
LORELAI: The Joy-less Luck Club.
Lorelai references the 1993 drama film, The Joy Luck Club, directed by Wayne Wang, and based on the 1989 novel of the same name by Amy Tan, who co-wrote the screenplay. The film is about a group of older Chinese-American women in San Francisco, all with adult daughters, who meet regularly to play mah-jong. The stories they tell each other reveals their hidden pasts, and how their family dynamics have been shaped by the interplay of Chinese and American culture.
The film was financially successful, and praised by critics for its diverse and nuanced portrayals of the experiences of Chinese-American women. It was only the second Hollywood film to have an all-Asian main cast; the first was Flower Drum Song, in 1961.
The Annotated Gilmore Girls 