RORY: The Holy Barbarians. I mean, what a title. And it’s by a Venice Beach beatnik about Venice Beach beatniks, and to top it off, the beatnik who wrote it is the father of the guy that does those Actor’s Studio interviews on TV.
The Holy Barbarians, a 1959 non-fiction book about the “Beat Generation” subculture by poet, critic, and jazz teacher Lawrence Lipton. The book is an insider’s look at the beatniks, and an interesting piece of social history. He is the father of James Lipton, the host of Inside the Actor’s Studio, previously discussed.
We can see in this scene how Rory and Jess are still enjoying sharing and discussing books together, and that Rory is having a lot more success getting Jess interested in the books she is reading than she had with Dean.
RORY: Do you wanna watch more of the extra supplementary stuff on the Lord of the Rings DVD? LORELAI: Well, it’s just the drawings and that fat guy talking.
RORY: Well, let’s watch Footloose again.
At this point, only the first film in the trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, previously discussed, had been released on DVD. An extended edition was released in November 2002, with 30 minutes of new material, added special effects and music, plus 19 minutes of fan-club credits. The DVD set included four commentaries and over three hours of supplementary material. The “fat guy” was the film’s director, New Zealander Sir Peter Jackson (he has since lost weight). You can tell this is a Daniel Palladino script, with someone’s weight being mentioned like this!
You might remember that Rory balked at watching The Fellowship of the Ring with Dean another time, even though he reminded her that she had earlier said she wanted to watch it “a hundred times”. Obviously it was Dean she was sick of, not the film, as she and Lorelai got it on DVD and are even watching the extra stuff on the disc together.
Footloose, previously discussed and frequently mentioned as a favourite film of Lorelai’s.
During this scene, Lorelai and Rory have to coordinate their schedules, because with both of them so busy, it’s getting harder for them to spend mother-and-daughter alone time. Each of them are getting more conscious of the fact that Rory will be going to college later in the year, and their time for having their “secret little club” is fast coming to a close.
Sunday is the only day they have to spend together now. As they immediately start getting ready to watch a movie together, it suggests that this scene takes place on Sunday 9th February.
LORELAI: Man, that was some stealthy little maneuver she pulled there, huh? Applying the guilt over not knowing about the Dean breakup and making you all weak, and then using that to get Jess to come to dinner on Friday. She’s like Lyndon Johnson with the Senate, effortless.
Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, the 36th president of the US from 1963 to 1969. Elected to the US Senate in 1948, he was appointed Senate Majority Whip in 1951, and Majority Leader of the Senate in 1954.
Lyndon Johnson is considered the most effective Senate majority leader in history. He was unusually proficient at gathering information, discovering exactly where every senator stood on issues, his philosophy and prejudices, his strengths and weaknesses and what it took to get his vote.
Central to his control of the Senate was what was called “The Treatment”, his way of emotionally manipulating, intimidating, or bullying people into doing what he wanted. Lorelai is suggesting that Emily uses similar techniques to get her own way.
EMILY: A mutual friend or something. LORELAI: You and Dean have mutual friends in common that Rory and I don’t? Who would that be, the Talbotts or that senior partner at Deloitte & Touche?
Talbotts
Possibly referencing Nelson “Strobe” Talbott III (born 1946) [pictured], foreign policy analyst and diplomat from a distinguished family who served as the Deputy Secretary of State from 1994 to 2001, during the Clinton Administration. A Yale alumnus, after leaving government he was briefly the Director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization. Notice that his nickname is said the same way as the name of Rory’s paternal grandfather, Straub Hayden.
Deloitte & Touche
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, commonly referred to as Deloitte, is an international professional services network headquartered in London, England. Deloitte is the largest professional services network by revenue and number of professionals in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting firms.
LORELAI: Yeah, they’re mean. RORY: Except for Don Rickles. LORELAI: Totally except for Rickles.
Donald “Don” Rickles (1926-2017), stand-up comedian and actor. He became known primarily for his insult comedy. He was a regular roaster on The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast, and was the host of the final special, when Dean Martin himself got roasted.
LORELAI: And the second thing is, you need to tell me why you’re sitting like that. SHERRY: Maureen told me that Howard Stern said that if you squat, it makes the baby come out faster. LORELAI: Okay, as long as you have a sane reason from a reliable source.
Howard Stern (born 1954), radio and television personality, comedian, and author. He is best known for his radio show, The Howard Stern Show, which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. His show attracted a lot of controversy and was considered vulgar and outrageous.
Despite this, and Lorelai’s understandable disdain for Stern as an authority on medical issues, squatting is actually recommended as a safe and effective position to give birth in.
LORELAI: I’ll be right there. RORY: I really, really like you.
A possible reference to the actress Sally Field. In 1985 she received her second Best Actress Oscar for Places in the Heart (1984), and made an acceptance speech which was both admired for its earnest sincerity and mocked for being excessive.
Its closing words were, “I haven’t had an orthodox career. And I’ve wanted more than anything to have your respect. The first time I didn’t feel it, but this time I feel it. And I can’t deny the fact that you like me … right now … you like me! Thank you!”.
Field was making a humorous reference to her dialogue in the 1979 film Norma Rae, but most people missed the reference, and it was widely misquoted as, “You like me! You really, really like me!’. Field later parodied herself when she delivered the line in a commercial for finance company Charles Schwab.
RORY: [on phone] So, we’ll see you next Friday at three. And once again, sorry for the short notice. Okay, bye. [hangs up] SHERRY: Great, who’s next? RORY: Um, Sheldon Harnick.
Sheldon Harnick (born 1924), award-winning lyricist and songwriter best known for his collaborations with composer Jerry Bock on musicals such as Fiddler on the Roof. His musical Dragons was performed in New Jersey in late 2003, and this is possibly what Sherry is working on promoting.
Sherry says that Sheldon Harnick “hates pregnancy”, so Rory suggests they tell him Sherry has a plumbing issue instead. In real life, Sheldon Harnick is married to actress Margery Gray and is a father, so it doesn’t seem likely he’s really that panicked by pregnancy. In 2011, he was a special guest to a performance of his songs by Kate Baldwin who was seven months pregnant at the time, and they sang a duet together.
Sherry now has Rory handling her business calls at the hospital! Yes, at night! Rory is a people pleaser, specifically an adult pleaser, who genuinely likes to help, so she complies with this obviously terrible treatment.
EMILY: Lelaini made a roast before she left and I heated it up … I even added a little wine to the pan to keep it from drying out. LORELAI: Well, who died and made you Sara Moulton?
Sara Moulton (born 1952), cookbook author and TV chef. She began working with Julia Child on TV in 1979, went on to a regular position with Good Morning America until 1997, and hosted Cooking Live until 2002, after which she began her new show, Sara’s Secrets. Her first cookbook had come out the previous year in 2002, Sara Moulton Cooks at Home. She continues to be a popular author and TV host.
The Spanish-American music star moved to Hawaii in the 1980s, where she produced and starred in the variety show Tropical Heat at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort in Waikiki. For ten years, it was the most successful show in Hawaii. She moved back to Beverley Hills in the 1990s.
The Annotated Gilmore Girls 