Footnotes to the TV series
EMILY: My first trip to Europe, I went to Paris and stayed at the Ritz.
The luxurious Hôtel Ritz in Paris, previously mentioned. Emily spent her honeymoon in Europe, but it is possible she went to Europe earlier than that.
RORY: Looks like Italy for us!
LORELAI: Mamma mia!
Mamma mia, an Italian interjection of surprise, literally meaning “my mom/mum”, possibly in reference to the Virgin Mary.
Lorelai may be thinking of the 1975 ABBA song, “Mamma Mia”, from their self-titled third album. It went to #32 in the US, but was #1 in the UK, Ireland, Australia, Switzerland, and West Germany. It is widely considered one of their best songs, although in a deleted scene of Gilmore Girls, Lorelai refers to it as an earworm.
It is possibly a little insensitive to say this is front of Emily, given that Lorelai ran away from home to work for Mia, who she regards as a beloved mother figure.
RORY: But we want to be spontaneous. Jump a train to Paris, head off to Spain.
LORELAI: Oh no, it’s raining in Spain. But since the rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain . . .
Lorelai quotes from the song, “The Rain in Spain”, from the musical film, My Fair Lady, previously discussed.
The line is used in the film purely to teach elocution, and is not geographically accurate. The plains in Spain are parched and arid, and most of the country’s rainfall is in the north.
Upon learning that Lorelai and Rory are planning to backpack around Europe and stay in hostels after graduation, Richard and Emily first of all think they are joking, then throw a fit about it as unsafe and reckless.
The only trouble is, Rory already told her grandfather that’s what they were planning in “Kill Me Now”, and he said it was a great idea. And in “Rory’s Dance”, they talked about staying in hostels while having dinner with Emily, and she didn’t say anything. Suddenly it’s a major problem.
I guess you could justify this by saying that they were simply humouring Lorelai and Rory before, and now they are giving their real opinions, or that they didn’t understand before, but they behave as if this is entirely new information, not information they previously ignored or misinterpreted. It feels like a retcon.
Rick Steves’ Europe Through the Back Door
Rick Steves self-published his first European travel guide in 1980, and it found a traditional publisher in 1982. He advocates independent travel, and urges travellers to visit less touristy places (Lorelai and Rory apparently ignore this advice). He hosts travel shows on TV and radio, has his own tour business, a travel website, and of course, writes numerous travel guide books.
The Rough Guide to Europe on a Budget
Rough Guides Ltd is a British travel guide book publisher; their first title was the 1982 Rough Guide to Greece. Initially aimed at low-budget backpackers, the guidebooks have incorporated more expensive recommendations since the early 1990s, and are now marketed at all budgets. This makes it seem like a rather outdated reference for this episode, although it was probably a book that Lorelai considered in the 1980s, when she first thought about going to Europe as a teenager.
EMILY: Aunt Maureen would never hike up her skirt in public.
LORELAI: She would after half a gallon of eggnog.
EMILY: Richard, who was the one who got drunk at our Christmas party and hiked up her skirt in front of the Town & Country photographer?
Town & Country, formerly the Home Journal and The National Press, is a monthly lifestyle magazine. Founded in 1846, it is the oldest continually published general interest magazine in the US. Its current name dates to 1901, and it was about this date that its focus changed from poetry and literature to the social activities of the upper classes.
Aunt Maureen, another member of the sometimes eccentric Gilmore clan – unless she is Emily’s aunt. It seems that Richard and Emily’s Christmas parties were so notable that they were covered by Town & Country! Presumably this was in their heyday in the 1970s or 1980s, before Lorelai had Rory.
Eggnog, previously discussed.
LORELAI: Two dates with this guy and you’re already in cahoots with each other.
In cahoots, informal language meaning “colluding or conspiring secretly”. The word came into English from French, via the Scots. It’s found in Scots English in the 16th century as cahute, French for “cabin, small hut”. It may be a corruption of the French word cohorte, which meant a companion or partner.
Upon getting back from her fishing date with Alex, Lorelai says her next date with him will be camping. In winter! She has become frog girl. The relationship already feels doomed.
Note the rare chance to see the Gilmore girls’ bathroom in this scene.
LORELAI: The cork fell off my hook and Jayne Mansfield over here bit … Not the brightest fish in the pond, but she’s awfully pretty.
Jayne Mansfield, born Vera Palmer (1933-1967), actress, singer, nightclub entertainer, and Playboy Playmate. A sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s, Mansfield was known for her personal life and publicity stunts. Her film career was short-lived, but she had several box-office successes and won a 1956 Theatre World Award for Will Sucess Spoil Rock Hunter?, and a 1957 Golden Globe Award for The Girl Can’t Help It [pictured].
Mansfield was married three times, including to Mickey Hargitay, previously discussed. She is the mother of actress Mariska Hargitay. When Jayne was killed in a car accident at the age of 34, Mariska was one of three children asleep in the back seat, who survived with minor injuries.
Although Lorelai has called the fish Jayne because she’s not very bright, Jayne Mansfield had a reported IQ of 149, received solid if unspectacular grades at school, attended acting classes at several universities, and spoke five languages.
MRS. KIM: He’s not Korean.
[cut to front hallway]
DAVE: Lane? Hey, Lane? Is everything all right?
LANE: You’re not Korean.
Just as Mrs Kim has blindsided Lane, so she too receives a shock when Lane says she wants to go to the prom with Dave. It’s clear that Mrs Kim quite likes Dave, but has never considered him as someone her daughter might date – Lane and Dave have been so very careful not to let anyone know they are seeing each other. Mrs Kim has always imagined Lane dating a Korean boy, and can’t yet get past that.
Lane is naturally devastated. The red roses in the scene seem to offer hope for the future.
MRS. KIM: Young Chui works for his father who builds Adventist hospitals. Young Chui will go to college at Loma Linda University. Then he will return to work for his father building Adventist hospitals.
Loma Linda University, private Seventh-day Adventist health sciences university in Loma Linda, California, near San Bernardino. It was founded in 1906, gained university status in 1961, and has about 7000 students.
The Annotated Gilmore Girls 