RORY: Blonde hair, medium height, drove a Range Rover.
A Range Rover is a 4×4 (sports utility or SUV) car produced by Land Rover. It was first launched in 1970 by British Leyland, and is now owned by Jaguar. Range Rovers only began to be officially imported there in 1987. Since 1993, US sales are under the name Land Rover North America.
In the US, there is a stereotype that Range Rovers tend to be driven by well-off suburban mothers driving them for their status value. This episode contrasts the boring PTA mothers with “cool mom” Lorelai Gilmore.
Lorelai gets a phone call from Debbie Fincher, one of the mothers from Stars Hollow High School Parents and Teachers Association. We learn here that when Rory was a student at the school, Lorelai was actively involved in the PTA and got along well with the other parents, even being considered “a kick” because of her wicked sense of humour (very much like Emily, as it happens).
Rory was even friends (or at least friendly) with Debbie’s daughter Kathy Fincher, and used to go to her house to swim in their pool. Perhaps Kathy was one of the mysterious Stars Hollow girls who appeared at Rory’s sixteenth birthday party, and was never seen again? It does seem a little odd that Rory lives in a small town with teenagers that she went to school with and was apparently even friends with, yet has only kept in contact with Lane. Perhaps she runs into them offscreen.
The reason for Debbie’s call is to ask Lorelai to give a talk at the high school about her success in business, and to think of someone else they might ask. Lorelai agrees, and promptly suggests Luke as the second person.
Debbie Fincher is played by Heidi Swedberg, who had been in TV series such as Northern Exposure (1991), Murder She Wrote (1994), and Touched by an Angel (1996). She was best known for playing George Costanza’s fiancée Susan Ross in Seinfeld (1992-1997).
LANE: No, you’re thinking your mom, here, Rory. If I said that to mine, she’d start waving a crucifix at me.
A crucifix is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a plain cross. The word comes from the Latin for “fixed to a cross”. It’s a principal symbol in Christianity, particularly for those in the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox faiths.
Seventh Day Adventists, like many Protestant religions, don’t actually use crucifixes, or wear crosses on chains, and often Seventh Day Adventist churches don’t even have a plain cross. Gilmore Girls seems to use Mrs Kim as a sort of grab-bag of extreme religious tropes and clichés, even when it doesn’t make any logical sense.
The piece by jazz legend John Coltrane Lane is listening to in her bedroom.
“Naima” is a 1959 ballad John Coltrane composed, naming it after his wife, Juanita Naima Grubbs. He recorded it for his fifth studio album, Giant Steps, released in 1960. Giant Steps is regarded as one of the most influential jazz albums of all time, while “Naima” was one of his first well-known works, and is a jazz standard. John Coltrane recorded it many times, and it appears on several live albums and compilation albums.
It seems slightly unusual that Lane loves both punk and jazz, but her tastes are clearly eclectic. You may recall she is also a huge fan of jazz legend Charlie Parker.
The song by British indie band Cornershop that Rory is listening to in her bedroom.
“Funky Days Are Back Again” was written by singer and guitarist Tinder Singh. It was the B-side to the 1997 single “Good Ships” (a radio-friendly version of their song “Good Shit”), which went to #107 in the UK. Both songs were tracks on their third studio album, When I Was Born for the 7th Time. The album was critically acclaimed, and named the best album of the year by Spin magazine. It is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
DAVE: There’s no way you’re gonna become our Pete Best. There’s no way.
LANE: You’re sweet.
Randolph Peter “Pete” Best (born 1941), English musician known for being the drummer for The Beatles, dismissed immediately before The Beatles found worldwide fame. Fired in 1962 in favour of Ringo Starr, he started his own group, The Pete Best Four, and later joined other bands. He is sometimes referred to as “the fifth Beatle”.
Note how quickly Lane finds a way to tell Dave he is sweet … Maybe Dave touching her arm supportively in this scene had an effect on her.
LANE: So I have to figure out a way to rehearse in Hartford two or three nights a week … And maybe at the same time I’ll attempt to master quantum physics, and throw Sanskrit in there, too.
Quantum Physics: quantum mechanics, a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atom and subatomic particles.
Sanskrit: a classical language of South Asia belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of languages. It is the sacred language of Hinduism, the language of Hindu philosophy, and of historical texts for Buddhism and Jainism. The word literally means “well-made, perfectly formed”, to suggest pure, carefully prepared sacred texts.
[Picture shows a passage from the Bhagavad Gita in Sanskrit]
DAVE: Lane, think about this, do you really believe this is working?
LANE: No, it’s not working. We sound like a bunch of wankers.
Wanker, offensive British slang literally referring to someone who masturbates, used to mean someone is stupid, foolish, or unpleasant (often obnoxious or arrogant). I’m not sure if Lane realises how offensive the word is, and may be using it as an approximation of “jerks”. I presume that rehearsing “London Calling” has inspired the use of British slang.
LANE: Dave, talk to them. You’re the leader, that’s flat out insubordination going on in there! They should be flogged, keelhauled, strung up from the highest yard-arm!
Lane’s suggestions for punishments Dave should use on Zack and Brian come from those used on sailors long ago, suggesting that she sees Dave as the “captain” of the band.
Flogging: being beaten with a lash or a cat o’ nine tails, a whip made from nine strands with small knots on the ends (see Flagellation). This was a common punishment, administered to a sailor’s bare back while his wrists were tied to a grate, performed in front of the entire ship’s company. Outlawed in 1806, it wasn’t suspended until 1881.
Keelhauling [pictured]: a form of punishment where the offending sailor was tied to a line looped beneath the vessel, thrown overboard on one side of the ship, and dragged under the ship’s keel, either from one side of the ship to the other, or the length of the ship. It could lead to death by drowning or head trauma, or result in permanent injury. It was an official, although rare, punishment in the Dutch navy. There are vague reports of it being used elsewhere, although there are no records of it.
Strung from the highest yard-arm: sentenced to being hanged after an official court-martial, the ultimate punishment for desertion, rebellion, or mutiny. A noose would be placed around their necks, the rope running through a tackle, or pulley, hanging from the yard-arm (a large pole going across the mast). A team of sailors would slowly pull on the rope until the hanging was complete. The last such hanging was in 1860.
LANE: Once, a guy in our town named Kirk was practicing “Bohemian Rhapsody” with his band, the Kirk Gleason Five …
Kirk’s band name is a possible allusion to The Jackson 5, a pop band composed of brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael Jackson, previously discussed and frequently mentioned. They released their first singles in 1967, and had numerous hits, including the award-winning #1 songs “ABC”, “I Want You Back”, and “I’ll Be There”.
The Jackson 5 received a star on the Walk of Fame in 1980, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. They changed their name to The Jacksons in 1976.
The Annotated Gilmore Girls 