Advanced Placement

The Chilton parents are very concerned about whether the texts Mr. Medina has chosen will be covered in the Advanced Placement tests.

In the US and Canada, Advanced Placement (AP) is a program which offers college-level curricula and exmainations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course credit to those students who get high scores in the AP exams.

Mr. Medina says that the next AP test will be held in the following month (November), but in real life AP Tests are always held in May.

We learn from this that Rory is in the AP English Literature class to improve her chances of attending university. We don’t know what other AP classes she might be doing at Chilton, but any class that she has with Paris seems like a pretty safe bet.

Artie Shaw

DRELLA: I am the Artie Shaw of harpists.

Artie Shaw (1910-2004) was an American musician who grew up in Connecticut, widely regarded as one of the greatest jazz clarinetists of all time. He led one of the most popular big bands through the 1930s and ’40s, and is best known for his 1938 recording of Cole Porter’s Begin the Beguine.

A serious artist, Shaw was a perfectionist who was known for forming bands, working to make them successful, and then quickly disbanding them. In 1954 he stopped playing the clarinet, explaining that he had taken the instrument as far as it could go. After World War II, Shaw gradually withdrew from the world of music to pursue a writing career.

This comment may explain why we never see Drella again after this episode – like Artie Shaw, she simply felt she had achieved the pinnacle of success as a harpist and stopped playing. Of course, given her constant rudeness to staff and customers, it is quite believable that Lorelai sacked her. Artie Shaw was apparently a very difficult person as well.

The actor portraying Drella, Alex Borstein, was originally cast as Sookie on Gilmore Girls, playing her in the original, unaired pilot. Borstein was unable to continue in the role as she was still contracted to the sketch comedy show MADtv. Although busy voicing Lois Griffin on Family Guy, Borstein managed to appear as various characters on Gilmore Girls from time to time.

Chevalier

DRELLA (to Michel): Back off, Chevalier.

Drella is referring to French actor and singer Maurice Chevalier (1888-1972). He is best known for his signature songs, including Thank Heavens for Little Girls, from the 1958 musical film Gigi. At the peak of his career, he was the highest-paid actor in Hollywood.

When performing in English, Chevalier adopted a heavy “stage French” accent, although in everyday life he spoke fluent English with a slight American tone. Drella may be indicating that Michel is also “faking” his French accent.

Luxembourg Gardens

MICHEL: I was attacked by a band of swans in the Luxembourg Gardens when I was a boy.

Le Jardin du Luxembourg, called the Luxembourg Garden in English, is a formal garden in Paris outside the Luxembourg Palace. The garden is owned by the French Senate.

Although there is a large pool in the Garden, it doesn’t have a “band of swans”; there is a fountain which depicts Leda and the Swan instead. This calls into question Michel’s story, and the fact that he gets the name of the Garden wrong makes one wonder if he grew up in Paris at all.

Travel

RICHARD: I think travelling for a young girl is a very important thing. Your mother never got a chance to travel much.
RORY: I know. She talks about that all the time.

We learn that Rory longs to travel the world, and that, like Harvard, this is another of Lorelai’s dreams which was never fulfilled because she had Rory. We might well begin to wonder if Rory has any dreams of her own, or if they are all second-hand from her mother.

Masquerade ball

Richard tells us that Lorelai the First was famous for her masquerade balls. These are formal dances where everyone attends wearing a costume and a mask to hide their identity. Originally they were entertainments for the aristocracy, and were traditionally held in the Carnival season before Lent.

Perhaps it is from Lorelai the First that Lorelai and Rory inherit their love of dressing up in costumes.

“You’re not buying us a DSL”

In the scene where Lorelai confronts Emily at the salon, we learn that Lorelai and Rory have dial-up internet access, and that Lorelai is turning down the offer of free broadband from her mother, even though that would be of genuine help to Rory’s education. To maintain her independence from Emily, Lorelai is willing to disadvantage her own daughter.

In the Pilot, when Lorelai and Rory are arguing about going to Chilton, Lorelai claims that their household has always been a democracy, with Rory getting an equal say in all decisions, until she decided to use the “mom card” and force her daughter to attend private school. Yet in this instance, Rory is never even told about the offer of free broadband so that she can put forward her views. We may wonder how many other times Rory remained unaware that a choice was being made on her behalf.

Turtle

Emily tells the internet access company that Lorelai keeps her spare key in a frog, but it’s actually a turtle. The fact that Emily makes an error was probably meant to suggest that she rarely visited Lorelai and didn’t pay much attention to the details of her life. Later on it turns out that Emily has never visited Lorelai’s house at this point, which makes you wonder how she knew about the spare key holder at all. Possibly Lorelai had mentioned it to her at some time, although it’s difficult to imagine the circumstances in which this would have occurred.

The fact that Emily gives the internet company permission to break into her daughter’s house while she is away from home speaks volumes about her high-handed attitude. It’s apt for the scene that Lorelai keeps the spare key to the house in a turtle, considering that she wants her internet to remain slow.

Paris goes through Rory’s academic file

Paris (Liza Weil), Louise (Teal Redmann), and Madeline (Shelly Cole) gain access to Rory’s academic file before she even meets them. It is unclear whether something about Rory has Paris spooked, or whether she stalks every new student this way. The smooth running of their plan argues long practice, suggesting the latter, and it’s the first indication of Paris’ intense insecurity and competitiveness.

Liza Weil was originally considered for the role of Rory, and when Alexis Bledel was chosen for the part instead, the character of Paris was created for Liza.

“You have to go in with me”

Rory insists that Lorelai go in with her to meet the headmaster – our first clear sign of Rory’s deep dependence on her mother, especially in situations where she has to meet new people. Lorelai doesn’t encourage it, and tries to send her off on her own with a wave and a smile, but when Rory begs her mother for support, Lorelai can’t say no to her. This pattern is set to continue into Rory’s adult years.

(It also makes us wonder – did Lorelai deliberately sabotage her wardrobe choices, hoping that she would look so embarrassing that Rory would not want her mother to accompany her? If so, her plan fails, and she looks like an idiot for nothing).