Footnotes to the TV series
BRAD: My mom works. She’s a curator at the Hartford Natural History Museum.
In real life, Hartford doesn’t have a natural history museum. The Connecticut State Museum of Natural History was at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, about half an hour’s drive east of Hartford; it closed in 2016. A more famous collection is the Peabody Museum of Natural History, at Yale University [pictured].
LOUISE: Someone’s not taking to Elba too kindly.
PARIS: What does that mean?
LOUISE: Just that Rory’s the leader of this group, Napoleon, and you’re not.
Napoleon Bonaparte, born Napoleone di Buonaparte (1769-1821), French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution, becoming Emperor of France in the early 19th century. He was one of the greatest military commanders in history, and his wars and campaigns are studied in military schools worldwide.
After Napoleon was forced to abdicate in 1814 he was exiled to the island of Elba, between Corsica and Italy. Louise is saying that now that Rory is leader of their group, Paris is like a great leader forced into the political wilderness.
In fact, Napoleon didn’t waste his time on Elba, improving the island with his usual energy and vision. He escaped from it nine months later and briefly took control of France again before being defeated at Waterloo. Like Napoleon, Paris is unlikely to languish in the background for too long.
[Picture shows Napoleon Crossing the Alps by Jacques-Louis David (1800)]
TROUBADOUR #2: Sold it all, made enough money to do some traveling. Have you ever been to Israel? Turbulent, I know, but I thought I’d go down and try to plant some peace down there, know what I mean? See if it grows and see if it spreads.
Israel, earlier alluded to as a place of discord. This is the second person to travel between Israel and Connecticut in the show, the other being Rachel. The Second Troubadour must have made a lot of money from his vegetables if it was enough for him to visit Israel.
Prague, Czech Republic – big ceramic stands
Paris, France – giant papier-mache mushrooms
Belgium – the papier-mache from here was rejected as hack work
Oslo, Norway
Copenhagen, Denmark
Bora Bora, an island group in French Polynesia, popular honeymoon destination [pictured]
Hong Kong – acrobats
After a few words from Lorelai, Sookie suddenly understands that she’s wandered into Emilyland, and that she wants her nice simple wedding with Jackson back. A subplot which ran its course very quickly.
JACKSON: Your mother got her [tape measure] at Neiman Marcus.
Neiman Marcus, a chain of luxury department stores founded in 1907 by department store workers Herbert Marcus, his sister Carrie Marcus Neiman, and her husband, A.L. Neiman. Its headquarters are in Dallas, Texas. There is a Neiman Marcus department store in West Hartford where Emily could have bought her luxury tape measure.
JACKSON: Remember that sweet, simple, affordable little wedding Sookie and I agreed on with minimal disagreement … Gone. Ancient history. It’s the Library of Alexandria, it’s the Colossus of Rhodes, it’s Pop Rocks, it’s over.
Library of Alexandria
The Great Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world, part of a larger institution called The Musaeum, dedicated to the nine Muses, and the source of the modern word “museum”.
It is said to have been founded by Ptolemy II Philadelphus around 285 BC, in an attempt to bring together the best minds of the Hellenistic world and collect all books known at the time – at its height, it may have had as many as 400 000 scrolls. Due mostly to the Great Library, Alexandria became known as the capital of knowledge and learning.
Although there is a popular modern belief that the Library was destroyed in a cataclysmic fire, in fact it gradually declined over the course of several centuries. It was accidentally burned by Julius Caesar in 48 BC, but it is not known how much damage was done. Under the Romans, the Library dwindled from lack of funding, and an invasion by Palmyra in 270 AD probably destroyed what little was left of it.
Colossus of Rhodes
The Colossus of Rhodes was a statue of the Greek sun god Helios, erected in the city of Rhodes on the island of the same name by Chares of Lindos in 280 BC. One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, it was constructed to celebrate a military victory against Macedon. According to descriptions at the time, the statue was 108 feet high – about the same size as the Statue of Liberty – making it the tallest statue in the ancient world. The statue was destroyed in 653 AD by Arab forces. Since 2008, discussions have been underway about building a new Colossus in Rhodes Harbour, so it may not be ancient history for much longer.
Pop Rocks
A candy with bubbles in it, causing a small popping sensation when it dissolves. First offered to the public in 1976 by General Foods, sales were withdrawn in 1983, citing its lack of success and short shelf life. After that, Kraft licensed the product to a Spanish company called Zeta Espacial S.A., who distributes it in the US through Pop Rocks Inc., in Atlanta, Georgia. Jackson seems to think Pop Rocks are gone, but they aren’t.
LORELAI: Florida? I thought he was in the area.
LUKE: No no, he spent most of his life here but retired to Orlando, so I gotta ship the body back here.
Orlando is the seat of Orange County in Central Florida, a city founded in 1838, and with a population of more than 300 000, making it the 67th largest city in the US (the entire metropolitan area is more than 2.5 million).
Orlando is nicknamed “the City Beautiful”, and is heavily visited due to the Walt Disney World Resort, and the Universal Orlando Resort, as well as being extremely popular for conventions. It is a common place to choose for retirement, like Louie did.
Orlando is about 1200 miles from Hartford, and can be more than four hours by air, if that’s how Luke is having him shipped. By road, it’s about 18 hours.
EMILY: You do know, in the course of one night, you have turned me into an adulterer and a thief.
LORELAI: I’ll have you working at the Chicken Ranch by the end of the month.
The Chicken Ranch is a legal, licensed brothel about 60 miles west of Las Vegas, near the town of Pahrump, Nevada. Approximately 60 women call the Chicken Ranch “home”, with 12-15 women living there at any one time. The women usually stay there for two weeks at a time. The Chicken Ranch opened in 1976.
EMILY: This is either the greatest steak I’ve ever eaten, or I’m so hungry, I’m delirious. Pass the horseradish, please.
LORELAI: I never knew you were a spicy girl.
EMILY: Oh, believe me, I can handle my heat. One summer when we were first married, your father and I stayed at this little village in Thailand where we spent two weeks eating viciously hot chillies and skinny-dipping.
Emily and Richard would have visited Thailand in the late 1960s, considered to be during the Golden Age of Tourism in Thailand. Westerners had been travelling to Thailand (Siam) since the 19th century, but it was only in 1947 that the first flights from the US to Bangkok began, when Pan Am offered it as part of its around the world ticket. By the 1960s, flights to Bangkok were cheaper and shorter.
The “little village” the Gilmores stayed in was almost certainly Pattaya – originally a fishing village with a perfect crescent of beach, only 99 miles from Bangkok, on a decent road. That made it very attractive to tourists, and by the early 1960s, some development had already begun. Today it is a modern city of more than 120 000 people with a very seedy red light district, and a major pollution problem. The once-pristine beach is now considered poor quality due to sewage dumping.
It’s interesting that Emily remembers skinny-dipping with Richard for two weeks, as he later has quite a different recollection. It is just possible that it was on this summer vacation in Thailand that Lorelai was conceived – she was born in late April 1968, meaning that she could have been conceived in July-August the previous year.
Note that Emily’s enjoyment of hot horseradish on her steak parallels Rory eating her French fries dipped in pepper and hot sauce. (And her love of Indian curry!).
[Picture shows Pattaya in 1965].
LUKE: He’s systematically buying up the town. He’s gonna turn it into Taylorville where everyone’ll wear cardigans and have the same grass height.
A possible allusion to The Andy Griffith Show, previously discussed. It is set in the small town of Mayberry (one of the models for Stars Hollow). One episode of The Andy Griffith Show explained that Mayberry was almost named Taylortown in honour of Colonel Taylor, an early settler. Andy Griffith’s character himself is named Andy Taylor.
There is a real-life Taylorville in Illinois, a city of around 11 000 people. (In the US, the designation of “city” does not seem to be dependent on achieving a minimum population size; Taylorville is barely bigger than “small town” Stars Hollow).
The Annotated Gilmore Girls 