Tag: Reality Check

Richard’s Antique Car

The car that Richard has bought to work on is a 1929 Packard Deluxe Eight Dual Cowl Sport Phaeton (type 640), a convertible sedan in a deep dark red colour. The Series Eight sedan was Packard’s best-selling model for many years, making Packard the best-selling luxury car maker, selling twice as many cars overseas as any other in its high price range; it was the number one designer and manufacturer of luxury vehicles from the turn of the twentieth century until World War II. Note the “Flying Goddess” hood ornament, this style used on Packard cars in the mid to late 1920s is considered a rare find in itself.

A classic car of this type would have cost at least $100 000 in 2002 (today it could go for $250 000), so Richard has bought himself a very expensive little hobby – which he will very soon tire of.

Hartford Natural History Museum

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].

The Specials at Luke’s Diner

LORELAI: Luke’s special omelette. That is brand new.

RORY: A new special? His four-slice French toast has been up there since I was born!

An obvious exaggeration. Luke’s Diner didn’t exist when Rory was born, and Rory didn’t live in Stars Hollow until she was two. It shows just how much Rory dislikes change – in “Like Mother, Like Daughter”, Rory bewails being forced out of her cosy little rut at Chilton to make friends.

French toast seems to be Rory’s go-to breakfast at Luke’s Diner, apparently because it is always on the specials board.

No Eating at Friday Night Dinner

The episode begins with Rory and Lorelai sitting at the table with Emily, but unable to begin eating because Richard is not there yet. Emily says that she will never start dinner without Richard unless he’s out of town or seriously ill, but in fact there’s been a few episodes where Emily has started dinner without Richard because he’s been busy or on the phone. And in “Hammers and Veils”, she rushes them to start dinner without Richard because he has an early flight the next day.

What makes it even more unbelievable is that Emily has allowed the cook/maid to serve the meal, and there is actually roast beef and vegetables sitting right on the table in front of them, getting cold. Apparently Emily will serve a meal without Richard, but won’t start eating until he arrives. Emily’s annoyance with Richard’s tardiness is soon weaponised to make everyone else miserable.

Yellow Pages

LUKE: So I got a Yellow Pages and I found the Big and Tall Casket Shop in Hartford.

The Yellow Pages are phone books which are for businesses, as opposed to the residential White Pages. They were originally printed on yellow paper, and came about in 1883 in Cheyenne, Wyoming, when a printer ran out of white paper and had to use yellow instead. The name and concept are now used globally.

In real life, Hartford does not have a Big and Tall Casket Shop, although it is certainly possible to order extra-large caskets for large people (or medium size people who want to be buried with all their worldly goods).

Neiman Marcus

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.

The Wedding Company’s Former Clients

SOOKIE: Oh, it’s this company’s sample place setting. Emily set me up with them. They did Celine Dion’s wedding, and Steven Spielberg’s daughter’s Jack Russell Terrier’s Bark Mitzvah.

Celine Dion, previously discussed. She married her manager, Canadian music producer René Angélil, in 1994 [pictured]; they first met in 1980, when Dion was 12 and Angélil was 38. They remained married until Angélil’s death in 2016.

Steven Spielberg (born 1946), film director, previously mentioned. He is one of the most commercially successful directors of all time. He has four daughters (Jessica, Sasha, Destry, and Mikaela), but I can find no reference to any of them having a Bark Mitzvah for a Jack Russell – although the Spielberg family does seem very attached to their pet dogs, so it’s not wildly unbelievable.

A Bark Mitzvah is a fun coming-of-age celebration for pet dogs with Jewish owners, held as a joke counterpart to the Bar Mitzvah, previously discussed. The first one was held in 1958, and although some rabbis find the idea offensive, they continue to be popular.

Orlando, Florida

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.

Jerry Lewis in “The Diner Guy”

LUKE: Yeah, I can’t serve and be on the phone.

LORELAI: But your reenactment of Jerry Lewis in The Diner Guy is gonna wow the critics.

Jerry Lewis, born Joseph Levitch (1926-2017), comedian, director, actor, screenwriter, singer, humanitarian and producer. Nicknamed “The King of Comedy”, Lewis is regarded as one of the most significant American cultural figures of the 20th century, was widely known for his “kid” and “idiot” persona and his contributions to comedy and charity, making him a global figure in popular culture over an eight-decade career. He debuted professionally in 1946 working with Dean Martin as Martin and Lewis, and they performed together until 1956.

Although Jerry Lewis never did a film called The Diner Guy, several of his films had titles such as The Geisha Boy, The Ladies Man, and The Errand Boy, so The Diner Guy would actually fit right in.