Nitpicking

[javajunkie86]

We had this topic posted on the twop forum and so I thought I would continue it here. Anything you want to nitpick about the show, specific episodes, storylines, characters that bug you.  I thought I would start by saying how much it bugs me that Rory rarely carries a purse anywhere she goes. I am watching season 5 off my dvds and I noticed how many times she goes anywhere without a purse. We always see Lorelai with a purse, but never Rory. Did Rory ever mention she hates purses or something?  It drives me crazy.

[jjj]

Oh, I missed this thread!  Okay, as I have caught bits of the GG reruns on ABC Family (thank you!!!), the nitpicks abound!  Last week was "Not as Cute as Pushkin," and after Anna is busted by the police, Rory is called and chastised by Headmaster Charleston.  Who cuts her short because "very unhappy parents" were descending on his office.  If the parents got a call from the New Haven or Yale police force, why are they heading to Chilton to meet the headmaster in the middle of the night?  Any parents I know would be on the road to New Haven with legal representation on the phone. 

[txhorns79]

Here's a nitpick.  In The Third Lorelai, Paris goes to Rory's before her date with Tristan and needs something to wear.   Rory finds her an outfit from Lorelai's closet which fits Paris perfectly.  So you have 5'4 Liza Weil being a perfect size match to 5'9 Lauren Graham.  And that doesn't even get into the fact that the mini-skirt they put Paris in looks about four inches or so inches above her knee, so I can't imagine how short that skirt would be on someone five or so inches taller.    

Edited July 27, 2014 by txhorns79

[AlinaRay]

One thing that comes to mind with the clothes is I've seen Lorelai's clothes on Lane before, specifically a blue shirt with a little rainbow by the collar. I actually thought it was really sweet that Lane might get Lorelai's hand-me-downs (assuming Rory doesn't want them).

[mstaken]

Speaking of clothing-related nitpicks, for some reason it just really bugs me that we're supposed to believe Lorelai had NO choice but to wear that ridiculous outfit in Lorelai's First Day at Chilton. Even if every single one of her 'nice' clothes was at the cleaners or in the hamper or whatever, which is a stretch in and of itself, wouldn't she just throw on, like, jeans and a t-shirt or even sweats? Were ALL of her non-Daisy-Duke clothes so horrifically filthy that she couldn't even bear to wear them for a quick car ride to drop Rory off at Chilton?! This one wouldn't bug me so much if it weren't for the fact that the outfit was brought up about a million times throughout the episode, and it just felt like such a forced contrivance. I know it's silly, but it just bugs me somehow! 

 

Also, the inconsistencies re. nearly every characters' finances are maddening in general, but did we ever find out why Rory---who was suddenly absolutely 'desperate' for money in, like, an average of one episode per season---never returned to that card swiping job after a grand total of one brief shift? Did those few hours magically earn her all the money she needed for the remainder of the school year?! (And it's not that we were supposed to assume she still had the job but that the show just didn't bother showing it; in Pushkin, Paris specifically mentions that Rory no longer even has her card swiping job but was somehow able to buy a prospective Yale student she'd never even met hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise which...yeah, like I said, don't get me started on the show's wildly inconsistent depiction of finances!)  

Edited July 28, 2014 by mstaken

[jjj]

Oh, yes, it was so ridiculous that Lorelai had not a single piece of public clothing in the house in the "Lorelais First Day at Chilton"!  I mean, she had a full closet of clothing, and even if some was designed for evening, it would have been better than the cutoffs.  (Which she rocked, of course!).  But who sends *all* their clothing to the dry cleaners? 

 

Plus, what time was this dry cleaner supposed to be open, for her to PICK UP her clothing and CHANGE into it before the early departure for the first day?  And why not pick up ALL her clothing the evening previous, instead of painting Rory's toenails? 

[dustylil]

The episode with  one  of my favourite later season nitpicks recently aired here. For reasons known only to the showrunners Richard  - possessor of a decades-old  undergraduate degree in an unknown field and with no known academic career - was lecturing a classroom of Yale students in economics. At the time, I thought it was another dream sequence. But no. It was for real.

Presumably had he not been felled by a heart attack,  he would continue to be teaching for the remainder of the term. And had apparently been teaching in an earlier term as well.

Had I been the parent of a Yale student paying thousands of dollars in tuition and fees, I might verging on a heart attack myself, wondering what other ringers there were among the academic staff.

[jjj]

I could have bought this concept if he had been teaching business -- universities (including Yale) often bring in practitioners who have practical experience (law, music), but are not academicians.  Some work out very well.  But teaching economics -- I agree, that is a stretch worth nitpicking!  It's not like he had been on the board of the World Bank. 

[txhorns79]

Had I been the parent of a Yale student paying thousands of dollars in tuition and fees, I might verging on a heart attack myself, wondering what other ringers there were among the academic staff.

 

I don't know.  Many American universities, including Yale, use graduate students as adjunct professors.  Their main qualification for teaching courses is generally that they are seeking a graduate degree in the respective subject they are teaching and will work for cheap.  My only point being that you would be surprised how little your tuition correlates to the quality of teacher who ends up teaching a class.       

[Taryn74]

Another one that I'm bringing in from a different thread - how in the world did Dean have time (not to mention the $$$) to rebuild that car for Rory?

[jjj]

I think he said he worked with his Dad on the car, so it sounds like a many-weekends project.  I agree, the parts would have cost $$$.   I'm with Richard -- I would not let a 17-year-old driver loose in a rebuilt car without air bags. 

[JayInChicago]

i may be repeating myself, but surely in a situation like when the Puffs break into the office and ring the bell--certainly something like that is a bit of a "wink wink" prank that the school would turn a blind eye towards?

also, from Pushkin, I'm absolutely sure what happened was not at all Rory's fault. She tried really hard to entertain the boy crazy Prospie, who basically ran away from her, and suddenly it's all Rory's fault? I got drunk and locked out of a dorm as a 17 year old prospective though not at quite a prestigious school--and the only person whose fault it was was my own.

Edited July 30, 2014 by JayInChicago

[Taryn74]

surely in a situation like when the Puffs break into the office and ring the bell--certainly something like that is a bit of a "wink wink" prank that the school would turn a blind eye towards?

 

 

Oh definitely.  I never understood why that one got so blown out of proportion.  Maybe if someone had gotten hurt and the school had to make a big deal out of it to save face, it would have made sense.  But as it stands?  None whatsoever.

[dustylil]

But what exactly did happen to the Puffs after the break-in  incident? Were there any expulsions or other punishments given out? Perhaps I am not remembering correctly,  but I don't recall anything further coming  of the matter.

I can understand the fuss the night of the event, but I thought in the cold light of day, the school did nothing.

[blueray]

I was annoyed that Lane's dad is mentioned in the first season then never mentioned again or explained. I guess its assumed that he isn't involved in Lane's life at all.

 

As for Richard, I never thought him becoming a professor was weird. He was a known professional in the field, an alumini of the school and could have had some background in teaching. I assumed he was an adjunct professor.

[BC Mama]

Speaking of clothing-related nitpicks, for some reason it just really bugs me that we're supposed to believe Lorelai had NO choice but to wear that ridiculous outfit in Lorelai's First Day at Chilton. Even if every single one of her 'nice' clothes was at the cleaners or in the hamper or whatever, which is a stretch in and of itself, wouldn't she just throw on, like, jeans and a t-shirt or even sweats? Were ALL of her non-Daisy-Duke clothes so horrifically filthy that she couldn't even bear to wear them for a quick car ride to drop Rory off at Chilton?! This one wouldn't bug me so much if it weren't for the fact that the outfit was brought up about a million times throughout the episode, and it just felt like such a forced contrivance. I know it's silly, but it just bugs me somehow! 

This always bugged me too! Especially because not too many episodes later, when Lorelai hosts the town's rummage sale, Rory berates her for having so much clothes she never wears. Surely she had other options! And, even if ALL of her clothes were dirty, she did not need to wear cowboy boots.

 

But what exactly did happen to the Puffs after the break-in  incident? Were there any expulsions or other punishments given out? Perhaps I am not remembering correctly,  but I don't recall anything further coming  of the matter.

I can understand the fuss the night of the event, but I thought in the cold light of day, the school did nothing.

All I remember is Charleston mentioning suspensions, which Rory talks her way out of in her sincere but rambling manner! There was no follow-through. I would have liked to see how Paris handled that punishment.

[JayInChicago]

teeny tiny nitpick:

when richard and em are like "his blond hair and her blue eyes on a little child" or whatever....

as if Matt Czurchy is a natural blond.  LOL.  I see those frosted tips a mile away.

(of course, he probably was towheaded as a child...)

[dustylil]

Weren't both Logan's parents -Shira and Mitchum - blonde?

[jjj]

Lord knows what Shira was originally -- her bleached blond goes with being the C-word.  (Cocktail waitress, for those of you who have not memorized that FND episode.)  I thought of Mitch as going grey, but maybe that is blond heading to grey?  Logan may have frosted tips, but he is probably on the blond side underneath the tips.  Honor was blond, as far as we know! 

Edited August 22, 2014 by jjj

[dustylil]

Undoubtedly it is my working class background coming to the fore, but I never understood why  Shira having been a cocktail waitress when she met Mitchum  was such a source of derision for all the Gilmores at that FND.

Are inn maids that much higher up in the economic pecking order?

[scarynikki12]

The actor who played Mitchum is blond in real life.  Leann Hunley, who played Shira, is a bottle blonde.  She's stuck with the same shade for the last 20-30 years but it's definitely not her natural color.  Still, Logan being a natural blond isn't unlikely no matter what Shira's natural color is supposed to be. 

[txhorns79]

Undoubtedly it is my working class background coming to the fore, but I never understood why  Shira having been a cocktail waitress when she met Mitchum  was such a source of derision for all the Gilmores at that FND.  Are inn maids that much higher up in the economic pecking order?

 

I think it's the idea that given Shira's very modest background, it's comical that she is off judging who is fit to marry into the Huntzberger family.  That Lorelai had been a maid really wouldn't be relevant unless she was similarly pulling a Shira. 

 

 

Still, Logan being a natural blond isn't unlikely no matter what Shira's natural color is supposed to be.

 

Agreed.  My very dark haired brother and sister in law have a very blonde daughter.  Recessive genes at work. 

Edited August 23, 2014 by txhorns79

[JayInChicago]

"Constance Betterton" aka the DAR lady who is trying to unseat Emily in the Rory Works for the DAR arc is one of the worst names on this show, and let's face it, there's been some doozies.  or dooses.

[dustylil]

Concerning Shira's previous line of work, my phrasing was  inartful. I wasn't thinking of it in the context of who should and could marry among the Hartford elite. It was Lorelai's hypocrisy. Apparently, if it involves people she is fond of (like Luke or Dean), then it is quite alright for them to have what might be considered down market jobs and ambitions. And Emily and Richard should be severely chastised for their snobbery. Including how they viewed their own daughter over the years. But if it is someone Lorelai  herself dislikes, then everything about the individual - from  marital problems to how he or she  once earned  a living - can be a source of amusement and derision.

 

JayInChicago what often struck me as odd about the names in the series, was the mix of  unusual and evocative names with the repetition of other more common ones. No, not the three Lorelais! But there were two Annas and an Ann, two Jamies and a Jim and a Franci and a Francine. There may we be more repeated names but those are the ones that I readily recall. It seemed like great effort had been put into coming up with some names, but that effort was so exhausting, the showrunners and writers simply fell back  to recycling ones already in use.

Edited August 23, 2014 by dustylil

[txhorns79]

Emily and Richard should be severely chastised for their snobbery. Including how they viewed their own daughter over the years.

 

If you viewed yourself as giving your kid all the best opportunities, only to have said kid dramatically throw it back on your face by running away with your grandchild at 17, and mostly cutting you off, I'm going to guess you are not going to be all that thrilled over what the kid has done since that point in time.  For all of Lorelai's accomplishments, just imagine what she could have done with a college education, and a more traditional job path.     

 

 

Apparently, if it involves people she is fond of (like Luke or Dean), then it is quite alright for them to have what might be considered down market jobs and ambitions.

 

Did Luke have a down market job?   I would agree Luke's ambitions were pretty limited, but he, himself, seemed fairly well off, if he was able to loan Lorelai 30,000.00 or so dollars without even the slightest hesitation.  As for Dean, when he was in high school, I don't know if Lorelai would really care about his job or prospects for the future, and as for later, I suppose if Rory had been seriously considering a permanent future with Dean, Lorelai would have brought up his limited potential and questioned the relationship.

Edited August 23, 2014 by txhorns79

[HoosierJen]

I forget which episode it was -- maybe Rory's first day at Chilton -- but Rory and Lorelai go into the headmaster's office and speak to his secretary. When she looks up from her desk, the viewer is apparently supposed to be startled at her unattractiveness and Lorelai makes a remark about the importance of taking off your makeup before bed. I adore The Gilmore Girls, but that scene has always bothered me.....that woman did nothing wrong, but it's apparently okay to make cracks about her looks because she wasn't beautiful like Lorelai and Rory. It just made Lorelai seem like a jerk, when through the rest of the season she wasn't judgmental and snotty like that.

[jjj]

Yes, that scene would have been fine and funny with the reaction shot, but for that remark about makeup.  The woman did have a very intentionally severe glare that put Lorelai and Rory in their place, and they could have said something about her being an interior gargoyle instead.  There is a big difference between being frightened by someone's expression versus someone's appearance. 

[txhorns79]

I just kind of viewed it as Lorelai's poor choice of words to break what was a tense moment between she and Rory.  They were running late and Lorelai was dressed like Daisy Duke.  You are totally right that it would have been a rude comment, but Lorelai wasn't making those cracks all the time, so I cut her some slack.  

 

Here's my nitpick.  In Rory's Birthday Parties, there are clearly other girls Rory's age at the Stars Hollow blowout, which would imply she had some local friends aside from Lane.  We never see those girls again, and the show acts like Rory has no friends in Stars Hollow outside of Lane and Rory's various love interests.  Maybe she really is the loner with the duffel bag she worried about being in the episode with the Puffs?        

[jjj]

Speaking of peers in Stars Hollow -- it never fails to bug me that Rory was planning to attend the Stars Hollow High prom instead of the Chilton prom, when she was the class vice-president and involved in the planning of the Chilton prom!  As you point out, she had only Lane as a friend in Stars Hollow, so why would she abandon the Chilton prom?  At the very least, she could have attended both.  Jess SURE did not have friends he wanted to hang with at the Stars Hollow High prom!  So, why even bother with that one? 

[AlinaRay]

I think that was one of those "Lane and I planned to go to prom together ever since we were little" type deals, so I could see her wanting to do that. I agree she should have at least gone to both. I would have liked to see Rory's prom dress.

 

And another nitpicky thing - maybe an UO, I'm not sure, but I really didn't like the dress that Lorelai made Rory for that one dance. I thought it fit awkwardly and didn't flatter Rory at all. I was really surprised she got so many compliments on it...

[nolieblue]

I didn't like the dress either. It looked homemade and not in a good way.

[jjj]

Given that Lane never thought she would get to go to a prom or any dance, I can't believe that she and Rory had been planning on going together at all. And Rory planned to attend the SH prom before Lane knew she would be allowed to attend. It just made no sense. My nitpick!

[Taryn74]

When she looks up from her desk, the viewer is apparently supposed to be startled at her unattractiveness and Lorelai makes a remark about the importance of taking off your makeup before bed. I adore The Gilmore Girls, but that scene has always bothered me.....that woman did nothing wrong, but it's apparently okay to make cracks about her looks because she wasn't beautiful like Lorelai and Rory.

 

 

I've decided I have to just kind of ignore some of the show's early attempts at "humor" and be thankful that most of the time they didn't go there.  It still pisses me off what the unaired Pilot script says about Miss Patty.  >:

[jjj]

Do tell!!!

[txhorns79]

I think Taryn might be referring to this description of Miss Patty given in the unaired pilot:

"Miss Patty was formerly a professional dancer who at some point decided having a sandwich was more important then working with Bob Fosse. Miss Patty is smoking a cigarette and pounding a cane to help the girls keep time."

 

No one actually says that to Miss Patty, it's just given as a character description. 

[Taryn74]

That's the one txhorns.  I just really didn't appreciate the 'Oh ha ha, this zany town has a dance instructor that's too fat to even dance!' tone to it.  Plus, Liz Torres showed several times IMO that she still had it, so..... suck on that, show.

[Shades of Red]

I agree about Lane's dad.  She talks about him in the first episode and we never see or hear about him again.   I thought he might show up at her wedding to Zach but he doesn't.   Speaking of relatives, I'm pretty sure initially Dean had more than one sister.   He mentions "sisters" when he talks about Disney princes if memory serves me correctly.  We only see one sister and hear about her after that.

 

Re-watching the episode on the weekend when Richard is pawned off on the girls by Emily.  He arrives at Lorelei's and she asks him if he had problems finding the place.  Well I'm pretty sure he managed to find it for Rory's birthday.  This actually happens a couple of times but I can't remember another specific time right now.  It seems as if each visit from Lorelei's parents are their first time there until later seasons.

[lulu1960]

This one always bugged me. From New and Improved Lorelai.

 

PARIS: Are you busy? Is this a bad time?

LORELAI: No we're just getting ready to go out. It's fine. Have you met Luke?

PARIS: No.

LUKE: I'm Luke.

PARIS: Paris.

LUKE: Nice to.....
(Paris diverts her attention from Luke and turns to Lorelai)

 

They have met. When Paris visited SH looking for the 'seedy underbelly' and She was at The Bracebridge Dinner which Luke also attended.

[jjj]

The Luke thing I always took to be a running gag -- of course Paris could not be bothered to remember the little people who had no direct impact on her! 

[lulu1960]

The Luke thing I always took to be a running gag -- of course Paris could not be bothered to remember the little people who had no direct impact on her!

 

Yeah, I did too. But it still bugged me. LOL. Even Luke said nice to meet you instead of oh we've met before

[dustylil]

Speaking of missing relatives - and fathers - in Season 3 when the Gilmore tribe visited Yale, we learned that Richard while at college had taken both Pennilyn Lott and Emily - at  different times clearly - home  to meet his parents. Yet later we were told that Trix had raised him on her own, Charles Gilmore having died when Richard was a boy.

Of course, Trix herself started off dead in the series, so I guess further confusion about mortality should have been expected.

Edited August 26, 2014 by dustylil

[txhorns79]

He arrives at Lorelei's and she asks him if he had problems finding the place.  Well I'm pretty sure he managed to find it for Rory's birthday.

 

In fairness, I think that visit to Stars Hollow when he got pawned off was only his second time at the house.  I'll give you Lane's dad though.  The show never did seem to know what to do with him. 

[dustylil]

As to Richard being able to get to Lorelai's house - the first time he drove there for Rory's birthday party, Emily was with him. She may well have been acting as navigator. The second time - more than a year later - he was on his own.  That may have made driving trickier. 

[txhorns79]

I think my nit to pick might be how it was that Rory was able to be valedictorian for her class.  At my school, no student who entered after 9th grade could be part of the class ranking system (though that could be different for other schools).  But even assuming Chilton didn't follow that example, we saw that Rory seemed to really struggle in her first semester at Chilton, so even if her grades dramatically improved to get a 4.0 for every subsequent semester, I don't see how she would have been able to beat every other student in her class.         

[BC Mama]

Also, with Lane's dad, when Lane is sent to Korea for the summer (and she fears it is forever), she talks about her parents quite a bit! I'm not sure if I remember any allusions to her dad after. 

 

As for the valedictorian thing, I'm okay with it. If I can remember correctly, at my high school the valedictorian was elected by the students from a shortlist decided by the teachers.

[jb0495]

I always thought that Rory had trouble with certain assignments/tests, like her D paper, but improved and by the end of the semester had A's in her classes.

[nolieblue]

At my high school, the valedictorian was chosen by the graduating class.

I have a way bigger problem with Rory becoming editor of the Yale newspaper. I would think that an advisor would have to sigh off on it. I mean they made Rory see a psychologist upon returning so why would they let her take on such a high-pressure position?

[Taryn74]

Also, with Lane's dad, when Lane is sent to Korea for the summer (and she fears it is forever), she talks about her parents quite a bit! I'm not sure if I remember any allusions to her dad after.

 

 

The last time I remember a reference to "my parents" was in S4 when she wore a bracelet or nail polish or whatever to school.  She said "My parents were called."

[scarynikki12]

My school didn't weigh grades, so no valedictorians but we do elect our class speaker.  Rory being elected by her class for that honor would have made sense as she seemed decently liked but the way Chilton was presented I think we were to assume that she really did top them all academically rather than win a popular vote.  Chilton is absolutely the school that wants to put its top students front and center whenever possible and that would include graduation.  I don't know that an institution that refused to accept a car accident as a valid reason for missing a test* would allow their graduation speaker to be elected by the class. 

 

*Though they may have relented if Rory had a record of the accident rather than just her word.

 

I definitely agree that Rory becoming the Yale editor was way harder to swallow, as was her joining Phi Beta Kappa.  The Chilton valedictorian is a minor offense in comparison to the other two which just further prove that No One Was Better Than Rory.  I'd far prefer to see her simply return to the paper as a writer, commit herself to her studies, and aim for graduate school.  Let Paris keep the editor job rather than go insane and don't even mention Phi Beta Kappa.  Plus, the other students writing for the paper would likely want that position themselves so everyone banding together and being all "let's give it to Rory!" didn't work.  If Paris had to lose it, there should have been a fight for the job among the others and, yes, an advisor would have stepped in.  Not to mention, Rory dropping out for a semester after being arrested would have been brought up immediately as a disqualifier rather than something that was no big deal.  Right or wrong, the other students would have used that against her even if they didn't care outside of the paper.

[txhorns79]

I would think that an advisor would have to sigh off on it.  I mean they made Rory see a psychologist upon returning so why would they let her take on such a high-pressure position?

 

On my college newspaper, the faculty advisor was really more of a background role.  They were there if there was something specific that might be needed, but otherwise they had no editorial control, nor did they have any say on staff selections. 

 

In terms of the shrink, I want to say that Rory says something to the extent that every student who unexpectedly took time off had to see the psychologist once, not that the school specifically thought she needed to go.