Tag: Callback

DAR Luncheon

LORELAI: What are you doing here?
EMILY: Well, I was thinking about possibly having our next DAR luncheon here.

It was established in the previous season that the Hartford DAR hold their monthly meetings at the Independence Inn, which Lorelai had to agree to in order to get help with a loan she needed, in “Secrets and Loans”.

The monthly meeting included a luncheon, but this DAR luncheon is presumably something separate from, and far more elaborate than, the monthly meeting luncheons. Lorelai books the DAR luncheon for the 15th March, which was a Saturday in 2003. (There may be some joke here about the Ides of March – the 15th of March – the day on which Julius Caesar was assassinated).

Atlantic Ocean

EMILY: I never really truly appreciated the Atlantic Ocean before. Three thousand lovely miles of water.

The Atlantic Ocean, the second-largest of the world’s five oceans, with an area of about 106,460,000 square km (41,100,000 sq mi). It covers approximately 20% of Earth’s surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known for separating the “Old World” of Africa, Europe, and Asia from the “New World” of the Americas in the European perception of the World. The name Atlantic refers to the ocean being beyond the Strait of Gibraltar between Spain and Africa, opposite the Atlas Mountains in Morocco.

There are 3360 miles between Hartford and London, or 2929 nautical miles – very close to Emily’s estimate of 3000.

Note that Emily thinking of the lovely miles of water that used to separate her and Trix is very similar to Lorelai once saying that the best thing about Stars Hollow is the “miles and miles and miles” it is from Hartford – underlining that Lorelai’s relationship with Emily is very much like Emily’s relationship with Trix.

Holiday Inn

RICHARD: Well, she’s going to be staying with us, Emily. She just wants to know she’ll be comfortable.
EMILY: Yes, because we usually give our guests the towels we’ve stolen from the Holiday Inn.

Holiday Inn, previously discussed. Lorelai and Rory actually stole their wine glasses from a Holiday Inn they stayed in.

Emily is very uppity about stealing from hotels, considering that she and Lorelai stole their bathrobes when they stayed at a spa. (Although Lorelai had to stop Emily from returning hers).

“Ten minutes”

LUKE: I go up there every ten minutes pretending to get something to keep them from doing something we don’t want … I got a good system, it works.
LORELAI: Every ten minutes?
LUKE: Like clockwork …
LORELAI: Ten minutes. Yeah, that’s pretty much the time it took to create Rory. And that included getting dressed and freshening my lipstick.

Luke was originally so concerned about Jess and Rory kissing in the apartment that he laid down the law and said they weren’t even allowed to sit on the sofa at the same time. Now he’s become so relaxed that he’s cool with them lying on the sofa in an embrace, making out for hours. He just checks on them every ten minutes.

Luke’s sudden change of attitude seems to have begun when he started dating Nicole, suggesting that his concern about Jess and Rory being together was at least partly fuelled by an unhappy awareness that he was without a partner, while his teenage nephew had a girlfriend.

Lorelai points out that ten minutes provides ample time to have sex, and says that conceiving Rory took her well under that time. (Yes, this is a slam to Christopher, but to be fair, he was a teenage boy). She doesn’t labour the point, but Luke immediately looks panicked.

Hairspray and The Producers

LORELAI: I cannot picture you watching Hairspray.
LUKE: It was okay. I liked The Producers better.

Hairspray, musical with music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, with book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on John Water’s 1988 film of the same name. Set in 1962 Baltimore, the story follows teenage Tracy Turnblad’s dream to dance on a local TV dance program. When Tracy wins a role on the show, she becomes a celebrity overnight, leading to social change as Tracy campaigns for the show’s racial integration.

The musical opened in Seattle in 2002 and moved to Broadway later that year. In 2003, Hairspray won eight Tony Awards, including one for Best Musical. It ran for 2,642 performances before closing in 2009. Hairspray has also had national tours, a West End production, numerous foreign productions, and was adapted as a 2007 musical film.

The Producers, previously discussed. Lorelai mentioned wanting to see this musical, but thought it was too hard to get tickets. Luke and Nicole don’t seem to have had any trouble – a sign of Luke leaving Lorelai behind a little bit through his relationships with Nicole.

Flashback 6

In the hospital, Lorelai shows Christopher his daughter Rory, who is a newborn in the nursery – a clear parallel with Christopher showing her Georgia in 2003. Christopher says that Rory is “pretty”, which Lorelai firmly corrects to “perfect”, in parallel to Christopher saying Georgia is perfect in the present day scene, with Lorelai saying she is “beautiful”, but a “solid second” to Rory.

Although slightly insulting, Georgia literally is Christopher’s second daughter after Rory – it’s as if Lorelai is keen to remind Christopher that Rory comes first.

We already know that Christopher proposed marriage to Lorelai, and she turned it down – a point of conflict between she and her parents, and something Christopher continued to feel aggrieved about well int adulthood. In this flashback, we actually see the proposal. Christopher uncertainly says, “So, I guess we should get married”, and then the scene ends.

We never see Lorelai turn this half-hearted non-proposal down, but can understand why she does so. It’s hardly the stuff of romance, and it’s clear that Christopher doesn’t really want to, and isn’t committed to the idea. Richard’s plan of Lorelai and Christopher marrying and living with the elder Gilmores comes to nothing.

Apparently Christopher was only going to be given a job at Richard’s company once he was married, as that never happens either. Richard feels resentful about his “plan” not working out, and continues to blame Lorelai for that right up to the present day.

99 Luftballoons

The song Lorelai is listening to while waiting to give birth at the hospital.

“99 Luftballons” (in German, “99 Balloons”) is a 1983 song by the German band Nena from their self-titled album. It is an anti-war song, telling the story of a devastating war without victors which was originally sparked by the release of 99 balloons, believed to be UFOs. Written by guitarist Carlos Karges, he was inspired by balloons released at a Rolling Stones concert in West Berlin, noticing that they looked like spacecraft as they changed shape in the air. He wondered what might happen if they floated over the Berlin Wall into the Soviet-controlled East Berlin.

“99 Luftballons” went to #1 in West Germany, and many other countries around the world, including Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. It reached #2 in the US.

An English-language version called “99 Red Balloons” was written by Irish musician Kevin McAlea, and recorded by Nena. It went to #1 in the UK, Ireland, Canada, and Australia, but wasn’t a hit in either West Germany or the US. Australia is the only country where both versions went to #1. The band did not care for the English-language version, and thought the lyrics were “silly”.

Not only was this song popular the year before Lorelai had Rory, it also provides a little callback to the scene in this episode where Lorelai and Rory talk about visiting the Berlin Wall.

Flashback 4

Lorelai is eating a sandwich and watching TV when her labour pains begin. We know it’s a pepper sandwich (I think this means a bell pepper or capsicum sandwich, which sounds weird?), because it was mentioned in an earlier episode. There is a cut, and then we see her at the hospital registry, filling out forms on her own.

She has come to the hospital by herself (presumably in a taxi) and there’s nobody to help her with the paperwork or offer support, not even Christopher. To add poignancy to this, there is a young man standing behind Lorelai with a bunch of flowers for someone, but there is nothing for Lorelai.