[Rory walks through an empty parking garage. She hears a noise, and turns to find Francie] FRANCIE: Good, you’re here. We need to talk.
This scene is based on the Watergate investigation by Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward, who secretly met a contact known as “Deep Throat” in a parking garage between 1972 and 1973. Their information would help lead to the uncovering of the greatets scandal in US history, and the eventual resignation of President Richard Nixon.
In 2005, attorney Mark Felt would out himself as Deep Throat, after which Bob Woodward told everyone exactly where they had met – Space D3 in The Quotidian Underground Parking Garage beneath the Oakhill Office Building in Rosslyn, Virginia [pictured]. It has since become a tourist attraction.
Deer Hill Lodge is probably inspired by historic Deer Hill House in West Cummington, Massachusetts, a small town in the foothills of the Berkshires. First built as a hotel in 1832, it has since been an inn, a dance, and a café. It is now an Airbnb property, made into four separate apartments for rent.
PARIS: Wadsworth Mansion is owned by the Connecticut Daughters of the Mayflower. Most of those biddies couldn’t negotiate an icy sidewalk much less a contract. Took me about five minutes on the phone to get them down to half their asking price.
The Connecticut Daughters of the Mayflower is a fictional organisation. The nearest real world equivalent would be the The General Society of Mayflower Descendants, commonly called the Mayflower Society. It is a hereditary organisation of individuals who have documented their descent from at least one of the 102 passengers who arrived on the Mayflowerin 1620 at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Society was founded at Plymouth in 1897, and there is a Connecticut branch in Hartford, which has both male and female members.
In real life, the Wadsworth Mansion is owned by the city of Middletown, and there is no negotiation of fees for the venue.
PARIS: Why does one pinhead always have to vote for Jerry Garcia?
Jerome “Jerry” Garcia (1942-1995), musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence during the counterculture of the 1960s. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 as a member of the Grateful Dead.
He had already passed away at this stage, so the votes for him as commencement speaker were definitely jokes.
Joan Didion (1934-2021), journalist and author, considered one of the pioneers of New Journalism, along with such figures as Tom Wolfe and Hunter S. Thompson. Didion’s career began in the 1950s when she won an essay contest sponsored by Vogue.
Her writing in the 1960s and ’70s focused on the counterculture, Hollywood lifestyle, and Californian culture and history. In the 1980s and ’90s, her writing concentrated on the subtext of political and social rhetoric. In1991, she wrote the earliest mainstream media article to suggest the Central Park Five, previously discussed, were innocent.
She won the 2005 National Book Award for her memoir about the year following the death of her husband, The Year of Magical Thinking. In premiered as a Broadway play in 2007. In 2013, she was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama.
At this time, Didion had just won the St Louis Literary Prize in 2002, and had recently released her 2001 book of essays, Political Fictions. Her essays on the history and culture of California, Where I Was From, was due to be published in September 2003.
Joan Didion was the first woman to give the commencement address at the University of California in 1975, which is presumably why Paris thinks of her. Her address began with a few charming anecdotes about her own youth, before she launched into a blistering attack on her generation in the 1960s, and its refusal to face up to reality.
A quote from the speech that I think Paris would have warmed to:
“Planting a tree can be a useful and pleasant thing to do. Planting a tree is not a way of life. Planting a tree as a philosophical mode is just not good enough.”
There is no record of her giving a speech at Choate at any time, so it seems as if they didn’t get her after all.
PARIS: I knew that suggestion box was a bad idea. Watch Choate get Joan Didion …
Choate Rosemary Hall, often known as Choate, a private, co-educational, preparatory boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut. Choate is currently ranked as the second best boarding school and third best private high school in America.
Founded in 1890, it took its present name and began a co-educational system with the 1971 merger of The Choate School for boys and Rosemary Hall for girls. Its alumni include many members of the American political elite, including John F. Kennedy.
Choate was the inspiration for Chilton, Rory’s school in Gilmore Girls, even though it is in Wallingford, not Hartford. Just to confuse things further, the show gave Stars Hollow the same zip code as Wallingford. In this episode, Paris makes it seem as if Chilton and Choate are rival schools.
Phillip McGraw (born 1950), better known as Dr. Phil, television personality and author, best known for hosting the talk show, Dr. Phil. He holds a doctorate in clinical psychology, though he ceased renewing his license to practice psychology in 2006.
McGraw rose to fame with appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show, in the late 1990s. Oprah Winfrey then helped McGraw launch his own program in 2002.
Dr Phil has been a commencement speaker at the University of North Texas.
MICHEL: Oh, yes, that’s right. Tomorrow the two of you go back to school. LORELAI: It’s not school, it’s a one-day course at The Learning Center.
In real life, The Learning Center in Hartford is a preschool program for small children. There are a few adult education centres in Hartford, but they tend to focus on government programs such as GED testing, citizenship tests, and learning English as a second language.
Jackson learned beekeeping, how to buy foreclosed real estate, and diary writing, and all these educational opportunities are available in Connecticut (although not at the same place), so this doesn’t seem unrealistic.
MICHEL: Fill me in, please. LORELAI: Jackson brought pea tendrils instead of Brussels sprouts.
Pea tendrils, also known as pea shoots, are the young leaves, flowers, stems, and vines of a pea plant. Pea tendrils are harvested before the pea pods are matured, and are therefore available in the spring and early summer. They have a similar flavour to peas.
Sookie complains that the pea tendrils are too delicate to eat with lamb shanks, and she is correct. They are more often eaten raw in salads, or lightly stir-fried and added to rice or pasta dishes.
TRIX: Now, please take this to your chef. These are the times I would like each course to appear at this table. [Emily rolls her eyes, Lorelai looks at her] I like a brisk pace, twelve minutes per course is best for my digestion. However, please tell your servers that they are not to clear until everyone has finished. Thank you.
Sookie has made twelve courses, so even at a “brisk pace” of twelve minutes per course, the dinner would last more than two hours. Emily makes it last even longer.
The Annotated Gilmore Girls 