Nitpicking

[candall]

In Red Light, even though Sookie is making the wedding cake, Lorelai and Rory are tasting a long line of mini wedding cakes.  Rory keeps digging into thd\e one with raspberries on top but when the scene is shot from where she is standing, the cake is entirely intact.   I only notice because it looks delicious and I would like a taste!

Oh, good.  You're watching exactly the same episodes I am.

 

So I have someone to complain to that I've just spent a solid 20 minutes watching Rory and Lorelei DITHER around their B&B room, complaining that they're starving, but food is out of the question because that might mean interacting with the other guests.  Better to make due with a dusty breathmints than speak to a stranger.

 

Geez, if they're all that socially impaired, it's no wonder they eat at Luke's all the time.

Edited June 10, 2015 by candall

[junienmomo]

So I have someone to complain to that I've just spent a solid 20 minutes watching Rory and Lorelei DITHER around their B&B room, complaining that they're starving, but food is out of the question because that might mean interacting with the other guests.  Better to eat dusty breathmints than speak to a stranger.

 

Geez, if they're all that socially impaired, it's no wonder they eat at Luke's all the time.

Yeah, it's not like Lorelai has to deal with the public or annoying customers all the time, either. LOL

Maybe Luke's is the Stars Hollow loser place, and we just didn't know it. Maybe all the cool citizens spend their time at Al's or the Chat Club.

 

Oops, sorry spelled Chat Club wrong. So much for my being with the cool kids.

Edited June 10, 2015 by junienmomo

[candall]

Yeah, it's not like Lorelai has to deal with the public or annoying customers all the time, either. LOL

Maybe Luke's is the Stars Hollow loser place, and we just didn't know it. Maybe all the cool citizens spend their time at Al's or the Kat Klub.

All you guys with your years of Gilmore under your belts ARE the cool kids!  Al's?  The Kat Klub?  Ha--the only place I could identify in Stars Hollow is Luke's.  It's at the stoplight.

[Taryn74]

Bahahahahahahahahaha!!!

[desertflower]

Yeah, Lorelei and Rory were pretty unlikable at the B&B. A little bit of that is funny; I myself have joked about not wanting to go to a B&B because you have to interact with strangers. But they took it to the extreme, and it was definitely one of those moments where their "We're better and cooler than you" attitude shone through. It might've been a refreshing plot twist if they got roped into an activity with the others and ended up (GASP!) having fun!!

[txhorns79]

But they took it to the extreme, and it was definitely one of those moments where their "We're better and cooler than you" attitude shone through. It might've been a refreshing plot twist if they got roped into an activity with the others and ended up (GASP!) having fun!!

 

I felt like they were the kind of people that would purposefully have a bad time in that situation just to prove how superior they were. 

[DisneyBoy]

Backtracking a few posts to agree with this! I love all the festivals and events but it is odd they don't get mentioned again, even just in passing. Especially the dance-a-thon, since they mention it's Dean's "first one" and how intent Lorelai is to beat Kirk. I'm surprised they didn't revisit that rivalry at some point.

 

Thanks! Yes - the Dance-a-thon is definitely one of those that made me scratch my head as well. If Dean had been there for two years but was busy with other things, then fine, but it's like he was completely unaware. And Lorelai's determination to beat Kirk was never even hinted at prior. Couldn't something like that be bantered about during a Diner scene? I know that Amy probably had a million things on her mind, but all the "annual" town events started to feel like retcons at a certain point.

[dustylil]

I didn't think it was odd that Dean was unfamiliar with the Dance-a-thon. It didn't seem like an activity that would either interest or involve many young people. Were there any teenagers on the dance floor beside Rory? It looked an activity for geezers. Geezers with stamina, but geezers :)

 

 

Getting back to the B & B for a moment, both Lorelai and Rory were insufferable (although Lorelai was  worse). It reminded me of their  attitude towards homemakers. Apparently, there were only a certain number of lifestyle choices women could  make that met with their approval.  

Frankly,  I thought Lorelai had quite the nerve being critical of the ambiance and interior design of the Cheshire Cat, given the tackiness of the décor of the Dragonfly Inn. I liked that building a good deal more when it was owned by the Waltons :)

[txhorns79]

I didn't think it was odd that Dean was unfamiliar with the Dance-a-thon. It didn't seem like an activity that would either interest or involve many young people. Were there any teenagers on the dance floor beside Rory? It looked an activity for geezers.

 

It was a huge town event that apparently was a big deal for his girlfriend's mother.  Even if he had not participated, it wouldn't make much sense that he'd be completely unaware.   

 

 

It reminded me of their  attitude towards homemakers. Apparently, there were only a certain number of lifestyle choices women could  make that met with their approval.

 

Aside from the Donna Reed episode, what attitude did they have regarding homemakers? 

Edited June 11, 2015 by txhorns79

[junienmomo]

Off the top of my head, there was the career speech at SH High. Also Lorelai's general refusal to acknowledge appreciatively what her mother did to fun that household. I would have expected that Dean's parents would at least have invited Lorelai over once, since they lived in the same town and the relationship lasted so long.

Chilton moms were a object of ridicule, more for their wealth and snobbery than being homemakers.

I guess the Mom code was only there for Lorelai's convenience. She certainly compartmentalized her own little corner of the world.

[dustylil]

junienmomo, in addition to those Chilton moms,  there was also that Stars Hollow  mother, Debbie Fincher  - parent of one of Rory's friends - who called her to invite her to give the speech at the high school. She was someone that apparently Lorelai had known and previously socialized with  for some years when the children were younger. Certainly Rory had a clear memory of her. Yet  Lorelai didn't know her name when she telephoned and didn't recognize her when they met in person.

I am in no way condoning the later conduct of Debbie and her posse, but it did strike me as odd that a people-oriented person like Lorelai would have no recollection whatsoever of the woman.

[txhorns79]

Off the top of my head, there was the career speech at SH High. Also Lorelai's general refusal to acknowledge appreciatively what her mother did to fun that household. I would have expected that Dean's parents would at least have invited Lorelai over once, since they lived in the same town and the relationship lasted so long.  Chilton moms were a object of ridicule, more for their wealth and snobbery than being homemakers.

 

I thought Lorelai's attitude regarding her mother was more about Emily personally, than anything having to do with her being a homemaker.  I honestly don't remember Lorelai's speech at the school, except that it devolved into talking about being a pregnant teen.  What did she say about homemaking?  

 

 

I am in no way condoning the later conduct of Debbie and her posse, but it did strike me as odd that a people-oriented person like Lorelai would have no recollection whatsoever of the woman.

 

Wasn't that kind of explained later in the episode when Debbie and her friends were all dressed alike and had similar hairstyles, i.e. Lorelai had no specific memory of Debbie because the women weren't particularly distinguishable?   

[sara416]

Just noticed something in my random watching of episodes. The drunken debutante when Rory comes out is the same actress as one of Honor Huntzberger's bridesmaids. She has a very distinct look, a bit manly, so seeing her was really noticeable. 

[blueray]

This may have been posted before, but I was just watching Tippecanoe and Taylor too:

 

Right before Hep Alien was about to go on stage, they were just listening to the song that he picked. They should have long learned it and also they magically all know the rock version that they are doing.

 

Also it seems weird that the band would play then not stick around for the results to come out. You'd think that it would have been set up that they would still be on stage when the results came out, or very least be still at the party. After their scene in the apartment where Lane tells Zack that she likes him, it cuts to everyone still standing around watching an empty stage, well that's boring. I feel like they should have had that scene take place at the event, after they had finished playing and were off the stage.

Edited June 26, 2015 by blueray

[JayInChicago]

Having run out of most of my interest in straight forward chronologically rewatching, i've been pairing a Season 1 ep with a Season 7 ep, in order.

Yes, it's jarring and kind of bad. Do Not Do.

anyway, I'm up to Santa's Secret Stuff and while the timing of when GiGi is back at Lorelai (and temporarily Chris's) house is not totally explained...it seems Lorelai decided to POSTPONE Christmas for a *22* year old's benefit, while making the 4-5 year old WAIT.  Seriously, if you watch that episode from GiGi's point of view, it's like no one even cares that she's there. I wonder what the point was to bringing her back after they wrote her off 'visiting Sherry in Paris'. 

I don't think there's someone in the Gilmore universe that I'm sadder for than Georgia Tinsdale Hayden. An immature jerk for a dad, a workholic turned New Agey Francophile for an absent mother, and beloved Lorelai "Rory" Gilmore for a much older half sister. Not to mention a momentary step-mother whose life your conception threw into disarray and who acts like you are some sort of fungus. Throw in dead Straub, and I think Francine (not Francie) Hayden's mention of off-screen support might be the only things she has going for her.

Edited June 28, 2015 by JayInChicago

[dustylil]

I am quite sure that having Christopher for a father and Sherry for a mother - and the complications brought about by their romantic lives - is going to cause young Georgia difficulties as her life goes on. However, it was not clear to me that the little girl had no Christmas celebration until Rory returned. Just not one with her father and step family. Gigi could well have made merry with Francine or with Sherry on the actual day. Having multiple holiday celebrations due to complex or diverse family  situations is not all that unusual in my observation.

[JayInChicago]

I dunno--having just watched the episode yesterday, it really read to me like Chris had had GiGi back for a while, and they just didn't do a family Christmas.

 

Mark my words though, Lorelai had no love for that little, weirdly voiced girl.

[dustylil]

Lorelai clearly seemed more fond of Davey and Martha than Gigi in my view.  Certainly she  did not seem to give much - if any - thought to how the end of her  marriage might affect the little girl.

Of course this is the same show that had responsible, dutiful Luke decide to ignore his newly discovered daughter for several weeks because she seemed to have no interest in him beyond his role in her science project. Because everyone knows twelve-year-olds are the best judges of what they need from the adults in their lives.

So perhaps I should not have been surprised at the apparent disinterest in Gigi once she and Christopher ended their relationship.

Edited June 29, 2015 by dustylil

[txhorns79]

Lorelai clearly seemed more fond of Davey and Martha than Gigi in my view.

 

Wouldn't the reason be that she would have regularly interacted with Davey and Martha (as she was best friends with their mother), while she barely saw Gigi prior to her marriage to Chris?  I'd imagine if Gigi had stayed a regular presence in her life, Lorelai would have warmed to her as they got to know each other.   

 

Edited June 29, 2015 by txhorns79

[readster]

I think they were just trying to show that Gigi had two parents who didn't know what to do and it made Lorelai come out looking like the better parent. I thought it was utterly ridiculous that Georgia didn't celebrate Christmas or anything. I could see how this went on: "Daddy, what's a birthday?" Christopher: "When kids get sick from eating too much cake and drinks." "Daddy, why are fireworks in the sky every 4th of July?" "Your grandmother just won her fundraiser for the DAR. Now, go back to playing outside and don't ask about pumpkins." 

[Kohola3]

Not sure what the big deal was when Emily's button broke when they were at Yale. It's not like her skirt would fall down around her ankles; it was presumably tailored and included a zipper so unless she had the hips of a snake, it wasn't going to slide off. Plus the jacket covered the back entirely.

 

Oh, the vagaries of the rich....

[readster]

Not sure what the big deal was when Emily's button broke when they were at Yale. It's not like her skirt would fall down around her ankles; it was presumably tailored and included a zipper so unless she had the hips of a snake, it wasn't going to slide off. Plus the jacket covered the back entirely.

 

Oh, the vagaries of the rich....

I guess she was worried there was going to be the tiniest appearance of her underwear hem. Gasp! The scandal! 

[Kohola3]

Gasp! The scandal!

 

Yeah, no first cups of tea for her!

[Guest]

I guess she was worried there was going to be the tiniest appearance of her underwear hem. Gasp! The scandal! 

Perhaps she wasn't wearing any? 

[jjj]

I was struck twice in two episodes by the fact that the writers seem to think that Hartford is *south* of Philadelphia and Princeton.  In the dance marathon episode, Jamie shows up at Chilton and said he had to "come down" to Chilton to visit Paris.  Then, in the Richard's birthday episode, two episodes later, Paris talked about visiting Jamie's family in Philadelphia at Christmas and that she was invited to "go up" there again for Easter.   One ride on the Amtrak NE Corridor would make the East Coast much more clear to Californians!  I lived there for decades, and no one in CT would say they were "going up" to Philadelphia, or say that someone "came down" from Princeton. 

 

I did know a Californian who came to Philadelphia for college, and truly did not know that Boston was north of Philadelphia. After almost two years there.  Every time I hear these lines on GG, I think of him! 

[solotrek]

Don't know if this was the a writer's room quirk or not, but sometimes people just say either "go up" or "come down" even if geographically it doesn't make sense. I know I do. Whenever I refer to someone going somewhere, I'll end up saying "go up" or "drive up". Whenever I refer to someone coming to where I am, I'll say "come down" or "drive down". For instance, I currently live downstate. For 4th of July, we ended up camping upstate. However, when referring to people who were arriving later, I always ended  up saying something like "____ is coming down in an hour or so" even though we were geographically north of where said person was coming from. I always ended up correcting myself, but it's a weird habit and I don't know when it was developed.

 

Or maybe the writer's room doesn't know geography.

[JayInChicago]

I have a friend who is constantly talking about "coming down to see you" when he lives in Champaign and I in Chicago.  That's not down!  

... I just read an extremely boring wikipedia page about the cardinal directions. I guess, perhaps my friend uses a "South Up" map. :)

[takalotti]

Okay, I don't think this technically counts as a nitpick, but I struggle with reconciling the facts and was curious what others thought. Disclaimer: Yes, I am aware I think too much. I have my reasons.

Okay, so the first time we meet Logan, one of the things he says to Marty is:

LOGAN: So, assuming your services are still for hire this year, your financial situation hasn't changed at all?

When I first heard this, I took it to mean that Marty just bartended parties for a fellow student. Pretty straight forward. I probably assumed it was a campus party, like at a frat.

Then we get a little more background:

Doyle: That guy’s a real piece of work. He took last year off with a bunch of his friends. He was going to sail Daddy’s yacht around till he sank it. [...] Right off of Fiji. They spent six months of gallivanting and partying and God knows what in there till Daddy sent one of his planes to bring him back.

So Logan wasn't a student last year (Rory and Marty's freshman year). In fact, he wasn't even in the country for a good while.

This is where I start to get into trouble. I think originally I interpreted Doyle's comment as meaning Logan set sail in the yacht early on in the school year, tooled around for a while, sank it off of Fiji, and THEN spent six months partying where they were stranded (so "in there" was Fiji). In this case, it was unlikely Marty bartended for Logan last year. It could only have been over the summer, between when Mitchum fetched Logan and this new school year.

But that doesn't make sense either. Why would Logan ask if Marty was still for hire "this year" or wonder if his financial situation had changed if Marty had just worked for him over the summer?

So, either the "tooled around" portion of the adventure was less than four months, or I misunderstood Doyle and the whole adventure was six months long (so "in there" was the yacht and maybe also Fiji). Either one would make it possible for Logan to be back in Hartford before the end of Marty's freshman year such that he could bartend some off-campus parties.

That makes the most sense, right?

[Guest]

It's most plausible to me that Doyle doesn't really know the comings and goings of Logan and his friend and is exaggerating or basing what he heard off of gossip. Or that Logan was back in town but not back in Yale, and he had some Life and Death parties Marty bartended at.

 

But you're right, it doesn't line up.

[desertflower]

I'm currently rewatching and am in season 5....at the inn their financial advisor suggests eliminating lunch service for a little while to save money. A couple eps later Lorelai confirms to Sookie they are indeed getting rid of lunch and Sookie has her freak out and yells at Norman Mailer. But then just a couple episodes after that, Lorelai invites Christopher, Gigi, and Rory to.....lunch at the inn. Maybe the no lunch rule doesn't apply to the owner!

[dustylil]

I don't recall if there were others eating in the dining room in that Happy Family scene :)

But it wouldn't surprise me if the "no lunch rule" didn't apply to owners, After all, wasn't it always one of the objectives of Sookie and Lorelai in owning and running their inn to  enjoy themselves in the process?  Devoted chef Sookie  making  a lovely meal for Lorelai and the others would seem to fit in with one of the criteria of their business partnership.

[Kohola3]

Why in the name of all that is holy did they toss most of those broccoli tarts in the trash?  Give them to a food bank or set up a stand in the square or something.  And why make a zillion ahead of time?  In my experience, something with a crust really needs to be made closer to  the time they are to be eaten, not days ahead.

 

I want a lobster pot pie, though. Right now.

[solotrek]

IIRC, Sookie made the million tarts before they really cleared a menu with Emily. It made no sense. It's like when they catered the kids LOTR birthday party and Sookie made a ton of extravagant entrees and appetizers with a chocolate rum raisin cake. That's a lot of money to spend on something they probably weren't going to get paid a lot for. And if the parents were going to get the receipts and pay for all the ingredients after the party, I'm surprised the mother didn't make sure what Sookie was going to serve was kid appropriate. It seems like they lost more money for that party than brought in. Sookie was an awful business partner in that regard.

[dustylil]

In my view, Sookie was an awful business partner in most respects. Off the top there was that waste of food during their brief catering venture, the blowing off of the installation of the Canadian sink, the over-hiring of staff for the dry-run, the major hissy fit over the abolition of lunch at the Dragonfly, her refusal to making arrangements for the management of the kitchen during her maternity leave with Martha, and  the lack of appreciation towards Luke - her own partner's boyfriend - for graciously stepping in when she was put on bed-rest. A brilliant and creative chef she may have been, but she was a disaster on the management side of things.

[chitowngirl]

"Ted Koppel's Big Night Out" is on. Kurt asked Brendan for a napkin and he pulled one out of his back pocket. Kurt is sitting at a table with a napkin dispenser. All the tables have napkin dispensers on them and he wasn't eating messy food making it hard to get a napkin out of the dispenser.

Edited August 6, 2015 by chitowngirl

[solotrek]

Ok so about that mattress that got moved around everywhere. While I get Lorelai's reason to be disgusted by just that mattress, isn't that easily solved with a mattress protector, a mattress pad, and sheets? It's not like Rory was going to sleep on the bare mattress.

[indiscutable]

Why did Brad give a speech at commencement from Chilton? He transferred schools more times than I change socks and was gone for a few months to go on Broadway. He wasn't valedictorian or senior class president or president of the student body. It wasn't the type of ceremony where all students spoke. What was the deal with it? ASP just liked the actor?

I know this is months late, but I had to chime in. Brad's song at graduation was a perfect example of art imitating life for me. There was a girl at my high school who was away for 2/3 of high school on Broadway in the very same production of Into the Woods that the actor who played Brad was in. Despite having attended our school for only about a year, she sang a song at our graduation! I thought it was weird then because no one had seen her for about two years at that point. I could not believe it when the same thing happened on Gilmore Girls!

[dustylil]

I thought perhaps they had Brad at commencement as part of an homage to Picket Fences, an earlier show also set in a quirky small town :)

 Brad (Adam Wylie), Francine Hayden (Cristine Rose) and the second Mia (Kathy Baker) all had significant roles on Picket Fences. There were also a number of guest stars on both series.

Edited September 5, 2015 by dustylil

[solotrek]

In Keg!Max!, when Rory and Jess are at the party, Luke and Nicole are spending the night in the inn so they can get a good start on their ski trip the next day. (where they'd be skiing in May/June is beyond me).  In Say Goodnight, Gracie, the episode right after that, Luke is called to Kyle's house to deal with the aftermath of the party fight the next morning. He says he was called by Kyle's parents when he still had 10 minutes of sleep left. This is pre-cell phone Luke. He then storms into the diner and talks to Jess about the fight. At no point is the mention of the fact that, he wasn't supposed to be at home or even in Stars Hollow at this point. Did the writers forget about this particular plot point?

[Kohola3]

Did the writers forget about this particular plot point?

 

Apparently. Continuity is not their strong suit.

[Guest]

I have no actual data to back this assertion, but I've always felt season 3 was the worst as far as continuity/timeline.

[JayInChicago]

While generally I like season 3, that minor plot with them at the Inn and Lorelai being an awkward ass is so not my favorite.

Good catch though on the continuity! Stars Hollow is a really magical place. It bends time at will.

[John Potts]

dustylil In my view, Sookie was an awful business partner in most respects.

 

In pretty much ALL respects. I remember getting incensed at her going "Yeah, well I'm not good at the money stuff" - you know what? LEARN. You've sunk however many thousands into the place, if you don't keep an eye on the bottom line (or hell, have Jackson do it, he seems to have kept his business running) the bank/IRS are not going to be charmed by your ditzy attitude, they're going to repossess the Inn and probably your house, too. You might also learn that (certainly when setting up) you have to make do with a workable (not deluxe) sink and maybe not buy a ridiculous extravagance like a horse (I don't remember them actually getting a horse at the Dragonfly. so maybe reality did smack Sookie and Lorelai on that one).

[Sara2009]

In pretty much ALL respects. I remember getting incensed at her going "Yeah, well I'm not good at the money stuff" - you know what? LEARN. You've sunk however many thousands into the place, if you don't keep an eye on the bottom line (or hell, have Jackson do it, he seems to have kept his business running) the bank/IRS are not going to be charmed by your ditzy attitude, they're going to repossess the Inn and probably your house, too. You might also learn that (certainly when setting up) you have to make do with a workable (not deluxe) sink and maybe not buy a ridiculous extravagance like a horse (I don't

remember them actually getting a horse at the Dragonfly. so maybe reality did smack Sookie and Lorelai on that one).

They got two horses at the Dragonfly, Desdemona and Cletus.

[dustylil]

And at one point in time one of the horses wandered into the Dragonfly building proper. I figured it was looking for the Waltons.

[solotrek]

In pretty much ALL respects. I remember getting incensed at her going "Yeah, well I'm not good at the money stuff" - you know what? LEARN.

 

To be fair, I don't think you need to be good at money stuff to figure out that: hiring 7 instead of 4 kitchen staff is one hell of a money drain; if lunch isn't turning a profit, cancel lunch and decrease staff for the time; or changing menus mid-cooking is a waste of resources, time, and money; getting a sink special ordered from France when you're tight on money is a shitty idea.

 

That's an easy excuse to throw out, but that's not being "bad at money stuff", that's not using common sense.

 

I don't know why they'd get their own horses for the inn. Why not set something up with a local stable instead? Horses are expensive to get and even more expensive to keep. Not to mention you now need to hire people to take care of the horses full time and would be able to take people out onto the trails.

Edited September 22, 2015 by solotrek

[Kohola3]

And at one point in time one of the horses wandered into the Dragonfly building proper. I figured it was looking for the Waltons.

 

Ha.  Although I thought they had a mule.  I know, off topic....

[blueray]

 

So, either the "tooled around" portion of the adventure was less than four months, or I misunderstood Doyle and the whole adventure was six months long (so "in there" was the yacht and maybe also Fiji). Either one would make it possible for Logan to be back in Hartford before the end of Marty's freshman year such that he could bartend some off-campus parties.

my take on that is that Logan spend the good part of the summer and last year school year partying it up. He did crash his yacht but wasn't there for 6 months, only the 4 months before school started. He hadn't been back to the paper in a year and obviously wasn't friends with Doyle, so he wouldn't know if he was back at Yale. Marty bar tended for parties that Logan was at his freshman year and Logan was seeing if he still is available this year.

[Eyes High]

I don't know whether this is a nitpick per se. I'm hoping someone in the know can enlighten me.

 

Wasn't Richard's mother, Lorelai (Trix), from a very high social standing? Wouldn't Lorelai be a pretty unusual name for someone of that social class from that time period? I honestly don't know.

[dustylil]

Perhaps that branch of the Gilmore clan was enamoured of German mythology. Does anyone know if she had a sister named Brunhilde? Seriously though, European travel and  familiarity with German culture  would be quite typical for the well-to-do of that time. Maybe one or both of her parents had visited Germany and thought the name interesting and attractive.

I was more puzzled by the clothes of Trix. She was born in the second decade of the twentieth century yet her attire resembled that of Queen Mary (1867-1953), consort of George V.

Edited November 13, 2015 by dustylil