Nitpicking

[Kohola3]

I think ASP reached into her bag of wacky names for a lot of the characters.  No Tom, Dick, or Harry for her - we have Lane, Paris, Maury, Babette, Drella, Kirk, Taylor, Jackson, Sookie, Madeline, Mia, Rune, and the once-mentioned-but-nevermore-heard-of Hopey (sp?). The most WASPish names were Emily, Richard, And Luke.

[dustylil]

No Tom, Dick or Harry for her

 

Why whatever do you mean! We had

Tom - the contractor who renovated the Dragonfly.

Dick - Richard Gilmore

Harry - the early mayor of Stars Hollow.

 

 

[Kohola3]

Yeah, whatever happened to old Harry?  He morphed into Taylor right before our eyes.

[JayInChicago]

Ol Kevin Arnold's grandpa...

[RoyRogersMcFreely]

Something that bugs me every time I see it is the episode where Lorelai see's the mom taking the little boy to the bathroom and then rants about it. She doesn't know this family's situation something could be wrong with the kid, something could have happened to the kid before. Heck, even if none of that is true, I don't think the woman who's 18yr old adult child needs her mommy to come stay with her on her first night at Yale, who basically acted like Rory was dying when she broke her arm, who practically wore a mourning shawl when Rory was living in a beach house has any room to talk about being overprotective and overbearing especially when it comes to the safety of ones child.

[Nancybeth]

I'm in the midst of a complete GG rewatch and one of the things that really bugs me is the mystical geography of CT, especially in relation to Boston. We know that Emily and Richard live in Hartford, and that's where Chilton is, so it must not be too far a drive from Stars Hollow -- I always assumed about half an hour.  New Haven is also supposed to be about 30 minutes from Stars Hollow, which I assume places Stars Hollow somewhere directly between those two cities.  New Haven to Hartford is about an hour, although Rory and everyone else seem to go back and forth between the two with ease.

 

But it gets really confusing when it seems that Boston is a short little jaunt from ANY OF THOSE THREE PLACES!  Lorelai frequently tells Christopher (or Rory, when she's at the hospital when Sheri in in labor) that she'll be right there when it would take her about 2 hours from Hartford and longer from Stars Hollow!

 

Also, where the hell does Logan's family live?  I assume the Huntzberger media empire is based in NYC, so the palatial estate that Roy and Logan have dinner at would most likely be in Greenwich or one of the other super ritzy CT or NY suburbs.  But they seem to know the Gilmores well and move in the same circles, so are they in Hartford too? 

 

This is the danger of watching 5 or 6 eps in a row!

[takalotti]

Ugh, yes.

I don't mind people saying "I'll be right there" for a long drive, since I just take that to mean "I'm leaving right now and will get there as quickly as I can."

But one example that always drove me nuts was when Emily drove out to see Christopher unannounced. What if he wasn't home? It's really not that inconvenient to drive almost 2 hours in each direction without making sure he was home first?

And I always assumed the Hs lived in Hartford and Mitchum just travelled all the time. Otherwise it would be weird for them to bother coming to a DAR fundraiser in CT, I think.

[Nancybeth]

While I'm on the subject, the geography of Stars Hollow itself was wacky.  When Rachel first showed Lorelai pictures of The Dragonfly Inn, they made it sound like it was outside of town a couple miles...certainly not right in the middle of everything.  But after it was renovated it seemed mysteriously closer and Lorelai would routinely dash from the inn to Luke's for coffee, like in the episode where the snowplow blocked in the inn's driveway.  There's no way she would have hiked a mile or more in her fancy boots! 

[txhorns79]

We know that Emily and Richard live in Hartford, and that's where Chilton is, so it must not be too far a drive from Stars Hollow -- I always assumed about half an hour.

 

I want to say I remember in one episode where Lorelai says that Hartford is about a half hour from Stars Hollow when the traffic is moving at a decent speed.  But yeah, geography on this show seems to change to match the needs of a particular episode. 

 

 

But one example that always drove me nuts was when Emily drove out to see Christopher unannounced. What if he wasn't home? It's really not that inconvenient to drive almost 2 hours in each direction without making sure he was home first?

 

Part of me thinks Emily would do something like this (drive for hours to drop in on someone unexpectedly) for the pure drama of it all. 

[readster]

While I'm on the subject, the geography of Stars Hollow itself was wacky.  When Rachel first showed Lorelai pictures of The Dragonfly Inn, they made it sound like it was outside of town a couple miles...certainly not right in the middle of everything.  But after it was renovated it seemed mysteriously closer and Lorelai would routinely dash from the inn to Luke's for coffee, like in the episode where the snowplow blocked in the inn's driveway.  There's no way she would have hiked a mile or more in her fancy boots! 

Probably because Taylor was always requesting that things be moved since he was the Selectman. Who's job is to take care of property and residential locations and make sure they are in city limits or drawn up correctly. However, as we know, he controlled everything even the mayor couldn't. Because he was Taylor.

[Llywela]

I want to say I remember in one episode where Lorelai says that Hartford is about a half hour from Stars Hollow when the traffic is moving at a decent speed.  But yeah, geography on this show seems to change to match the needs of a particular episode.

That's Rory in the pilot, talking to Dean:

 

RORY: I was actually born in Hartford.

DEAN: Well, that's not far.

RORY: Thirty minutes with no traffic.

DEAN: Really?

RORY: I timed it.

[Kohola3]

Just caught the rerun where Taylor finds the body outline outside his store (accompanied by fire trucks, police, and a crowd) and flips out.  

 

Now in Stars Hollow everyone knows everyone else's business at all times.  In what universe would a news about a dead body not spread throughout the town in a nanosecond initiated by East Side Tilly?  Wouldn't the police have called the business owner if a body shows up on his doorstep?  Another stupid plot contrivance that bugged me.

[FictionLover]

Another small town gossip that didn't get spread throughout the town like wildfire...Rory and Dean committing adultery! Come on, the big argument in the apartment then Lindsey's mom yelling at Lorelai and no one seems to have a clue that the town princess isn't an angel! I wonder how many of Lindsey's family showed up at Rory's bonvoyage party...

[readster]

Another small town gossip that didn't get spread throughout the town like wildfire...Rory and Dean committing adultery! Come on, the big argument in the apartment then Lindsey's mom yelling at Lorelai and no one seems to have a clue that the town princess isn't an angel! I wonder how many of Lindsey's family showed up at Rory's bonvoyage party...

Yet, the rift between Lorelai and Rory travelled in 30 seconds or the secret of Luke's daughter when everything came out. Let's not forget about Jess showing up in town and people trying to push his POS car to Gypsy's without going: "You ran out on Luke and lied to everyone. Jerk!"

[dustylil]

Do we know the Rory/Dean relationship wasn't common knowledge in Stars Hollow? Luke certainly didn't appear to be aware. But then, who would tell him?

Given the population of the town was around ten thousand and the Bon Voyage party appeared to have been attended by a couple of hundred, I would surmise that none of Lindsay's family were in attendance. None of Dean's either, for that matter.

[steff13]

The Lorelais First Day at Yale, and the stupid Yale mattress!  Lorelai tries to make Luke store the janky Yale mattress, because she got Rory a new one, and he refuses, as he has no space.  She says she has no space.  It isn't as though she has a HUGE garage right next to her house or anything.  I get her not wanting to store it there, but why didn't Luke suggest it?  Hep Alien was practicing there at the time, but how much space does a twin mattress take up?!  Just lean it up against the wall.  I think at the end of the episode, Luke ends up stuck with it, because she leaves it in the back of his truck.  It just really bugs that Luke doesn't point out that she has a garage where she could store it.  

[txhorns79]

I get her not wanting to store it there, but why didn't Luke suggest it?  Hep Alien was practicing there at the time, but how much space does a twin mattress take up?!  Just lean it up against the wall.  I think at the end of the episode, Luke ends up stuck with it, because she leaves it in the back of his truck.  It just really bugs that Luke doesn't point out that she has a garage where she could store it.

 

Heck, why not just suggest to Lorelai that she store it in Rory's room since Rory is mostly going to be away at college? 

[Kohola3]

Yes but that would taint Princess Rory's chambers with its "usedness".

[JayInChicago]

I have nightmares about that mattress.

Edited December 3, 2015 by JayInChicago

[DisneyBoy]

Having watched the finale for only the second time, I remember being disturbed in round 1 with the lame ass camera angle for that conciliatory kiss. And on the second watching I thought the same thing. Maybe it's just me but it was just.....bizarre.

I watched the finale with family and literally YELLED at the camera operator during the pan up. We didn't need to see the flipping tent again!! Gah!!!

That was the moment I really felt that the rumors of Lauren and Scott not liking each other were true. Because that kiss was so...flat...and they couldn't shift the focus away fast enough, like the actors were counting down the seconds in their heads...

[egilsdottir]

So I got into GG for the first time last year, when it was released on Netflix. Love the show - that said, here's my nitpicks:

 

• No one is ever eating at Luke's diner. People talk, drink coffee, and push their food around on their plates but never.take.a.bite. I guess the background people can't actually eat for continuity purposes, but it drives me nuts!
• Whenever it's cold or snows, the characters walk around with jackets, scarves and hats, but almost never zip their jacket. Lorelai especially does this. When it snows for the first time at the Dragonfly, the plows shove a mound of snow in front of the inn, and Lorelai goes to get coffee - I'm pretty sure that not only is her coat unzipped, but she's also wearing heels instead of boots and walks into town to get coffee. HER PANTS WOULD BE SOAKED AND HER SHOES WOULD BE RUINED if she walked through all of that snow!
• The back of Christopher's head after he gets a haircut - he has this squiggly taper-thing and it irritates me.

[Commando Cody]

I wasn't sure where to post this. I guess either this thread or the all episodes thread. 

 

I just marathon-ed the whole series on Netflix. I had a lot of thoughts, but since I didn't write anything down I don't remember everything that I had thoughts about.

 

The thing that stuck out the most was why didn't Sookie get a tubal Ligation? After you have two kids the doctor will ask you if you want one. Instead she pulls a surprise vasectomy on her unsuspecting husband. There is a process. You don't just schedule one for somebody. 

 

I really hated season six. When the little girl in the stupid looking helmet went into the diner I thought "Please don't be Luke's daughter. Please don't be Luke's daughter". Oh fuck.

 

Also, April was old enough where the courts would have asked her how she felt.
Luke's marriage wasn't long enough for all that effort they put into getting a divorce.

 

We didn't get full frontal shirtless Luke until season six - in the swimming pool with the horny swimming coach. I was kind of surprised at how built he really was. He always looked so bulky in those plaid shirts. 

[timimouse]

I wasn't sure where to post this. I guess either this thread or the all episodes thread. 

 

I just marathon-ed the whole series on Netflix. I had a lot of thoughts, but since I didn't write anything down I don't remember everything that I had thoughts about.

 

The thing that stuck out the most was why didn't Sookie get a tubal Ligation? After you have two kids the doctor will ask you if you want one. Instead she pulls a surprise vasectomy on her unsuspecting husband. There is a process. You don't just schedule one for somebody. 

 

I really hated season six. When the little girl in the stupid looking helmet went into the diner I thought "Please don't be Luke's daughter. Please don't be Luke's daughter". Oh fuck.

 

Also, April was old enough where the courts would have asked her how she felt.

Luke's marriage wasn't long enough for all that effort they put into getting a divorce.

 

We didn't get full frontal shirtless Luke until season six - in the swimming pool with the horny swimming coach. I was kind of surprised at how built he really was. He always looked so bulky in those plaid shirts. 

You may like the "One is the Loneliest Number: Unpopular GG Opinions" thread

[Guest]

The thing that stuck out the most was why didn't Sookie get a tubal Ligation? After you have two kids the doctor will ask you if you want one. Instead she pulls a surprise vasectomy on her unsuspecting husband. There is a process. You don't just schedule one for somebody.

 

I'm going to reply to this in the All-Episodes thread. Welcome!

[lulu1960]

The full frontal shirtless Luke comment made me giggle. SP is a former athelete plus if I recall he was/is big into kick boxing and the gym. So he's fit ... and nice to look at. I'll just see my way out now. LOL

[clack]

Doing my first re-watch, having only seen the show on its initial run, and one thing I've noticed ( through season 3 anyway) is a lot of allusions to bar mitzvahs and rabbis, particularly on the part of Lorelai and Rory. In fact the cultural milieu of the show as a whole seems as much Jewish as it does WASP-y.

These allusions seem as implausible, coming from these characters, as all the references to the popular culture of the 50s and 60s that Lorelai and Rory are continually dropping.

[JayInChicago]

Amy Sherman Palladino's influence and Lorelai's kinda borscht belt humor I guess

[dustylil]

There were certainly a lot of references to popular culture of the fifties and sixties. But  given the importance of television as a curator of such culture and the significance  of the boob tube for both Lorelai and Rory, I didn't find it surprising. 

However, if  rock and roll and related music genres are  included in pop culture, as I think they should be, the show acquitted itself quite well over the decades. There were  a  number of references to bands and individuals of the seventies, eighties and nineties made by Lorelai and/or Rory. Among those  were Metallica, Nena, Blondie, Foreigner, PJ Harvey, Bjork, Offspring, Cyndi Lauper, Korn,  and the Go-Gos. Two groups -The Bangles (from the eighties) and  the Shins (the nineties) - even appeared on the series.

And  I would be remiss not to mention two performers and songwriters who were active in the fifties and continue to this day (!)  who appeared on  the show  - Carole KIng and Paul Anka. As did their work.

Amy Sherman Palladino's influence and Lorelai's kinda borscht belt humor I guess

 

Quite probably. I would like to know however why they had such a peculiar take on the Seventh Day Adventist faith.

[Aloeonatable]

 

I would like to know however why they had such a peculiar take on the Seventh Day Adventist faith.

 

 

Wasn't Helen Pai, one of the producers and a good friend of ASP, who the Lane character was based on? I believe she must have also been of the Seventh Day Adventist faith. 

[dustylil]

Wasn't Helen Pai, one of the producers and a good friend of ASP, who the Lane character was based on? I believe she must have also been of the Seventh Day Adventist faith

 

Yes, that was my understanding. Perhaps the depiction of her former faith community was payback for being  repressed  as an adolescent ;)

[clack]

In 'Help Wanted', we see on a table in Lorelai and Rory's home a dancing rabbi thingamabob which plays Hava Nagila. Very unlikely to be something amusing or meaningful to a non-Jewish person.

Again, it's ASP imposing her own frame of reference on a character implausibly, a real weakness in her writing.

[dustylil]

In 'Help Wanted', we see on a table in Lorelai and Rory's home a dancing rabbi thingamabob which plays Hava Nagila. Very unlikely to be something amusing or meaningful to a non-Jewish person

 

Lorelai had a number of kitschy things in her home. Among the items we saw were a fuzzy clock, a peculiarly  shaped ceramic cookie jar, a naked monkey lamp and a dancing rabbi figure. Perhaps the crooning Pope was out being repaired:)

 

If the Gilmore home in Stars Hollow had been as elegant and austere as the residence of Richard and Emily in Hartford, then I would be surprised by any these knick-knacks  being there. But Lorelai's home was comfortable and cluttered and filled with items that amused and comforted she and Rory.

 

It is true that Lorelai was a Gentile. But she had been living all of her adult life in a small town  with a significant Jewish community. She would very likely be familiar at least some Jewish customs and traditions. I can see her being amused by such an unlikely ornament.

[txhorns79]

It is true that Lorelai was a Gentile. But she had been living all of her adult life in a small town  with a significant Jewish community. She would very likely be familiar at least some Jewish customs and traditions. I can see her being amused by such an unlikely ornament.

 

I think it would make more sense that Lorelai would be familiar with Jewish-related items from pop culture, or had Jewish friends growing up in Hartford.  For me,having grown up in a place where there were multiple synagogues and a JCC that served thousands of families, Stars Hollow appeared to have a small Jewish population, at best.  Maybe there was a line from an episode that said otherwise, but unless you are comparing Stars Hollow to a town that had no Jewish families, it did not appear to have a significant Jewish population.     

[solotrek]

I mean, I'm not religious at all but I thought it was just kitschy and amusing; and if I weren't trying to get rid of useless crap in my life and willing to spend money on more useless crap, would probably have one as well if I saw it at the thrift store or something. Lorelai has an alarm clock that makes animal sounds and a crude monkey lamp.  It's really not something that stood out to me as odd in their mini cabinet of curiosities.

[txhorns79]

I mean, I'm not religious at all but I thought it was just kitschy and amusing; and if I weren't trying to get rid of useless crap in my life and willing to spend money on more useless crap, would probably have one as well if I saw it at the thrift store or something. Lorelai has an alarm clock that makes animal sounds and a crude monkey lamp.  It's really not something that stood out to me as odd in their mini cabinet of curiosities.

 

Yeah, I think it was less about religion, and more about Lorelai's bizarrely unlimited budget for kitschy crap.   

[solotrek]

Yeah, I think it was less about religion, and more about Lorelai's bizarrely unlimited budget for kitschy crap.   

Every second one of us spends trying to figure out Lorelai's budget is a second more than any of the writers.

[txhorns79]

Every second one of us spends trying to figure out Lorelai's budget is a second more than any of the writers.

 

It's easy to figure out.  Pretend Lorelai takes home $3,000.00 a month:

Mortgage - 500.00

Utilities - 200.00

Crap Around the House - $300.00

Luke's - $1,950.00

Savings - $50.00

Edited December 28, 2015 by txhorns79

[solotrek]

It's easy to figure out.  Pretend Lorelai takes home $3,000.00 a month:

Mortgage - 500.00

Utilities - 200.00

Crap Around the House - $300.00

Luke's - $1,950.00

Savings - $50.00

Lorelai Gilmore, the golden child of financial stability.

[dustylil]

I figured she acquired at least some of those tchotchkes at the never ending rummage sales Stars Hollow seemed to hold.

[clack]

For someone of Lorelai's background, it's odd that her default reference points for banter are 1) showbiz minutiae and 2) Judaism.

Another nitpick : pretty colonial-era Conneticut towns are sure to be the weekend or even primary homes for wealthy folk who work in Manhattan. The real life town on which Stars Hollow is based had Joan Rivers and the editor of Vanity Fair as residents, for example. Yet we never see these rich people at town hall meetings, charity events, etc.

Far from being regarded by folks from Chilton and Hartford as a town of yokels, a real - life Stars Hollow would be a prestigious town in which to live. I mean, it's a tourist destination, right?

[txhorns79]

Another nitpick : pretty colonial-era Conneticut towns are sure to be the weekend or even primary homes for wealthy folk who work in Manhattan. The real life town on which Stars Hollow is based had Joan Rivers and the editor of Vanity Fair as residents, for example. Yet we never see these rich people at town hall meetings, charity events, etc.

 

I'd like to think the townies would do a pretty good job of keeping any celebrities or wealthy people from ever wanting to move permanently to the town.  For example, imagine being trapped behind Lorelai while waiting to order at Luke's, or being in the general vicinity of Kirk on a regular basis.  No thank you! 

[dustylil]

The real life town on which Stars Hollow is based had Joan Rivers and the editor of Vanity Fair as residents, for example. Yet we never see these rich people at town hall meetings, charity events, etc.

Far from being regarded by folks from Chilton and Hartford as a town of yokels, a real - life Stars Hollow would be a prestigious town in which to live. I mean, it's a tourist destination, right?

 

Respectfully, if Stars Hollow was really based on Washington Depot, Connecticut - as opposed to the town being an inspiration and a jumping off point  for ASP's fervid and fertile imagination - why wasn't its own name used? It is not as if other state towns and cities that featured in the series were made up. We had Hartford, Woodbridge, Woodbury and New Haven to name just some.

 

I am not sure why a tourist destination would necessarily be viewed as a prestigious place to live. Certainly some are. But a lot of them are not.  Niagara Falls, Michigan's Greenfield Village and Coney Island - to name three diverse ones - have been tourist destinations for a long time and I don't believe their nearby communities are regarded as sought after residential areas. Many tourists  are attracted to a specific activity or venue, stay a while and then they leave.

 

Stars Hollow was much like that. A lot of the things that  drew people - the festivals, the leaf peeping, tours of the town and nearby scenic spots - were events of limited duration, perhaps lasting a couple of days each - at most. It was a tourist town, plain and simple. Most of its businesses directly or indirectly supported the tourism industry.

 

There was little else to attract and keep incomers, well to do or otherwise - no highly regarded schools, no businesses in up-and-coming industries,  no sports and recreational facilities, no actual historical sites or  museums. It was just a quirky, old fashioned town that derived its income from visitors.

[txhorns79]

Respectfully, if Stars Hollow was really based on Washington Depot, Connecticut - as opposed to the town being an inspiration and a jumping off point  for ASP's fervid and fertile imagination - why wasn't its own name used? It is not as if other state towns and cities that featured in the series were made up. We had Hartford, Woodbridge, Woodbury and New Haven to name just some.

 

Has the topic train really run out to the point where the debate is over the terms "based on" versus "inspired by?"  It seems like in this particular case, it is a distinction without a difference, and you probably could find websites that use both terms with reference to Washingon Depot's role vis a vis Stars Hollow.  

 

In terms of the town name, I would think the answer for not using the actual town name is that ASP may have based Stars Hollow on Washington Depot or been otherwise inspired by it, but she didn't want to feel bound and/or limited by the actual town for her stories.     

Edited December 29, 2015 by txhorns79

[clack]

Are there examples of pretty towns with colonial and Victorian-era architecture within commuting distance of NY that does not attract the wealthy?

And we've specifically seen that Stars Hollow does attract visits from the wealthy and the celebrated : Norman Mailer, Chrisine Ampour, etc. Rich people travel there to have weddings. It has inns and antique shops. In real life, Richard and Emily would have had friends or acquaintances living in the area.

The social strata of Stars Hollow doesn't make sense, inhabited as it apparently is only by the middle and working classes. I guess that ASP decided that that would work best for storytelling purposes, and that's fine, but this is the nitpicking thread.

[solotrek]

Places like the Hamptons (and a more and more towns on LI at the east end) are well known to have insanely rich people weekend there or have second homes there, etc...However, the townies, the people who keep the place running and "born and bred there" are not in the same "class". When we first moved to LI we checked out the Hamptons (never again) and it's pretty easy to see which places are for the rich/celebrities and which places are for the locals.

 

Gilmore Girls is ostensibly about the townies. And more specifically, the townies who basically live right in town and run the small businesses. Any celebrity there would probably be more in the outskirts as the ones who move to small towns are there to have a more "normal life". And also be able to build massive homes.

 

 Respectfully, if Stars Hollow was really based on Washington Depot, Connecticut - as opposed to the town being an inspiration and a jumping off point  for ASP's fervid and fertile imagination - why wasn't its own name used?

Similarly, it's like FNL the TV show being set in Dillon, TX but it's based on Odessa. Stars Hollow is just a typical small Connecticut town. Dillon is a typical small Texas football town. Tree Hill (OTH) is a typical small North Carolina basketball town. Plus with the over the topness of Stars Hollow, they really can't use the name of a real town.

[John Potts]

txhorns79 Mortgage - 500.00

Utilities - 200.00

Crap Around the House - $300.00

Luke's - $1,950.00

Savings - $50.00

 

 

You've left out all the takeaways (we know Lorelai never cooks), which would presumably come out of the amount spent at Luke's. I kinda assumed paid for her food at Luke's in (ahem) "Personal Services", TPTB were just too coy to mention that.

[dustylil]

And we've specifically seen that Stars Hollow does attract visits from the wealthy and the celebrated : Norman Mailer, Chrisine Ampour, etc. Rich people travel there to have weddings. It has inns and antique shops

 

Kind of my point. Visits there, not lives then.

Edited December 29, 2015 by dustylil

[txhorns79]

Are there examples of pretty towns with colonial and Victorian-era architecture within commuting distance of NY that does not attract the wealthy?

 

I think you are mostly right, in that some of those quaint Connecticut towns, particularly those within commuting distance of NYC attract both tourists and wealthier folks who may buy a home or country home in the area.  Dustylil is right in the sense that not all tourist towns attract wealthy people to live in them.

 

It could certainly be argued that a town that was well known enough to attract famous people to visit, likely also would have probably had some famous and/or wealthy people living in the area.     

[clack]

Well, they don't live there only because it's fictional. If Stars Hollow did exist in real life, wealthy people would live there.

But that's not my nickpick. GG presents a highly stylized, unrealistic world. A town that people all over the world seek out to visit, but that is populated only by the middle and lower classes despite being within commuting distance of NY, is just another stylized, unrealistic detail among many.

What does bother me is when the show violates its own premises and contradicts itself. Stars Hollow apparently has some element of prestige and fame, otherwise it wouldn't be a tourist destination. And yet we sometimes see people sneering at it as if it were Bumfuck, Indiana.

The show seemingly can't make up its mind. Is it a beautiful, historic New England town, or just a generic, dead-end small town in the middle of nowhere?

Edited December 29, 2015 by clack

[solotrek]

And yet we sometimes see people sneering at it as if it were Bumfuck, Indiana.

 

When you're from a city and have a chip on your shoulder (NYC for Jess and Hartford for Paris), anything smaller is pretty Bumfuck. Heck if you're from NYC like Jess, most cities are pretty Bumfuck in comparison. If you've ever been in a room with someone from LA and someone from NYC arguing over which city is better, I'm sure you know that attitude I'm talking about. Wasn't it mainly the teens who gave off that impression anyways? People who want to see the world and travel as opposed to settling down in a small town with a family? Emily seemed to regard it as a quaint small town but she hated the idea of having intimacy like that.

 

Is it a beautiful, historic New England town, or just a generic, dead-end small town in the middle of nowhere?

It can be both. It's a generic dead-end small town in the middle of nowhere in New England that happens to have a lot of history and is well loved and kept to make it a tourist destination. Say what you want about Taylor, but they did show how much effort went into maintaining Stars Hollow and keeping it a good tourist attraction.