Three-Way Phone Conversation

Rory helps Henry organise a three-way or party line conversation so that Lane and Henry can talk, while Mrs Kim believes that Lane is talking to Rory. It was done by calling the first person, then pressing the FLASH button before dialling the next person then pressing FLASH again. It cost extra and showed up on the phone bill. It’s still possible to do on a landline today, as well as a mobile phone.

This is the first thing Rory has done to help Lane and Henry, and it’s pretty minimal. Lorelai seems to be aware of the deception towards Mrs Kim, but doesn’t feel any need to tell her the truth despite her supposed “mom code”. Henry met Lane eight months ago, and must be very keen to be kept interested with occasional five minute phone calls, conducted with some difficulty.

Extended Family

As Lorelai begins calling relatives to find out if they sent her the ice cream maker, we learn a few names from the extended family. They are identified as aunts and uncles, which may be courtesy titles for any elderly distant relatives. Or they could be Richard’s aunts and uncles, the siblings of either Trix, or Richard’s father.

Aunt Bobbie. Aunt Bobbie is a traditional Bible-thumping Christian, by the sounds of it.

Aunt Clarissa. Turns out to have recently died. Aunt Bobbie seems to suggest a belief that Clarissa would have been hell-bound.

Aunt Bunny. Has also died.

Uncle Randolph. The older brother of Bunny. Lorelai doesn’t seem to think he has much longer to live.

The Pennsylvania Gilmores. A branch of the family in this state is next on Lorelai’s list. It sounds as if she is working her way through the Gilmore side of the family first.

Pamela and Tommy Lee

LORELAI: Sell it on the Internet, make a fortune. First we brought you Pamela and Tommy Lee, now prepare yourselves for the crazy antics of Rory and the Bard!

Pamela Anderson (born 1967), Canadian-American actress, model, and author, previously mentioned. In 1995, she married her first husband, Tommy Lee (born Thomas Bass in 1962), drummer for heavy metal band Mötley Crüe.

A sex tape of the couple on their honeymoon was stolen from their home in 1995, and widely discussed on the internet. Anderson sued the video distribution company, but eventually Pamela and Tommy entered into a confidential settlement agreement with the company, so that the sex tape was once again made available to subscribers, resulting in triple the normal traffic to their websites. Sceptics believe that the whole thing was a publicity stunt.

Billy Graham

LORELAI: The Bible said all that, huh? Did it, did it mention me by name? I’m just . . . okay, I’m just kidding. So, um, judging by your Billy Graham impression, I am guessing that you didn’t send me an ice cream maker, so maybe you could just give me Aunt Clarissa’s phone number?

William “Billy” Graham (1918-2018) was a prominent American evangelist and ordained Southern Baptist who became well-known internationally in the 1940s. He held large outdoor rallies and his sermons were broadcast on television from 1947 to 2005, with an entire lifetime audience of over two billion, meaning he preached the Gospel to more people than anyone in history. He repudiated racial segregation, and invited Martin Luther King Jr to preach alongside him at a joint rally in 1957. He became the spiritual adviser for every US president from Harry S. Truman to Barack Obama.

On the Town

RORY: How did [Tristan] fall in with those guys [Duncan and Bowman]?
MADELINE: The new year started and there they were, all three of them, side by side.
LOUISE: And practically dressing the same.
MADELINE: It’s very On the Town.

On the Town, a 1949 musical film directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, based on the 1944 Broadway musical with music by Leonard Bernstein and Roger Eden. It stars Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Jules Munshin as three sailors with a day’s leave in New York City, and their romantic escapades. An immediate succeess, it won the Oscar for Best Music and is regarded as one of the greatest musicals.

Like the three sailors, Tristan and his new pals all dress the same – although as there’s a school uniform, doesn’t everyone dress the same anyway?

Butch Cassidy and the Sun-dunce Kid

RORY: Tristan got suspended again? … What did he do? …
MADELINE: Took apart Mr. McCaffey’s car and put it back together in the science building hallway …
LOUISE: Yeah, well he didn’t do it by himself. Duncan and Bowman were there too …
PARIS: Hey, anyone stupid enough to hang out with Butch Cassidy and the Sun-dunce kid deserves whatever they get.

Paris references the 1969 Western film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, directed by George Roy Hill and written by William Goldman. The film is about the real life early twentieth century train and bank robber Robert Parker, better known by his alias, “Butch Cassidy” (played by Paul Newman), and his accomplice Harry Longabaugh, “The Sundance Kid” (played by Robert Redford).

Although the film became #1 at the box office for 1969, initial reviews were mixed. Over time, critics have warmed to it, and it is now considered a classic. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid won four Academy Awards, including Best Original Screenplay.

Sock Hops and Clambakes

PARIS: I’d really like to get an ‘A’ on this assignment, and in order to do that I’m afraid you’re gonna have to discuss your sock hops and your clambakes some other time, okay?

A sock hop [pictured] was an informal sponsored dance event for teenagers in the 1940s and ’50s, commonly held at high school gyms and cafeterias, and often as a fundraiser. The name comes from the fact that dancers were asked to remove their shoes so as not to damage the varnished floor of gymnasiums. The name was dropped once sneakers became common, so shoes could be worn. What we’d call a “school dance” today.

A clambake is a traditional method of cooking shellfish, such as lobsters, clams, and mussels, by steaming them over seaweed in a pit oven. Vegetables such as potatoes, onion, carrot and corn can be added. Usually held as festive occasions along the New England coast.

Chang and Eng

PARIS (to Rory): Why don’t they just sew our sides together and rename us Chang and Eng?

Chang and Eng Bunker (1811-1879), Siamese-American conjoined twins of Chinese ancestry, previously mentioned. Born in modern-day Thailand (then called Siam), they were brought to the US in 1829, and became wealthy by exhibiting themselves in “freak shows”. After ten years, they retired from touring, became American citizens, bought slaves, married two sisters, and fathered twenty-one children between them. For many years, conjoined twins were called “Siamese twins” because of Chang and Eng’s birthplace.

Richard III, The Sonny and Cher Show

PROFESSOR ANDERSON: Last year, we did Richard III. One group did their scene as the Mafiosi. Another set theirs during the Roman Empire. And my favorite, the climactic last scene was set during the final days of The Sonny and Cher Show. Just remember, whatever interpretation you choose should highlight the themes you see in the scene. And if the love of the Bard’s language still doesn’t inspire you, remember this will be fifty percent of your final grade.

Richard III is a historical tragedy by William Shakespeare, probably written around 1593. It is one of the longest of his plays, and is often abridged for performances. It is about King Richard III of England, depicted in the play as an ugly hunchback and an absolute villain. The final scene is set at the Battle of Bosworth, when Richard’s supporters desert him; he is killed by the Earl of Richmond, who claims the throne as Henry VII.

The Sonny and Cher Show was a 1976-77 television variety show with music and comic sketches, which followed on from The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour (1971-74), The Sonny Comedy Revue (1974), and Cher (1975). Sonny and Cher got divorced, hence the separate shows, but with the bitterness of their divorce behind them, they came back with another show made together, although slightly more subdued in tone. Variety shows were on their way out, and the final few episodes were quickly aired in a late-night Monday evening time slot – this would have been the “final days” of the show. In the last episode, Tina Turner was the guest star.