Volume 7: January 6, 2023

Happy New Year! May 2023 be filled with love, health, happiness and all things Gilmore!

Jan 06, 2023

Gilmore Girls Corner

This week’s podcast episode is all about episode 5x07, “You Jump, I Jump, Jack.” This episode always makes the lists of best Gilmore Girls episodes. Before the revival aired in 2016, a bunch of publications, including the National Post and Mashable, recommended fans rewatch 5x07. In an interview, Matt Czuchry said he thinks it’s the most important Rory and Logan episode of the series. In 2020, Vox’s Constance Grady ranked the episode 19th overall (out of 157 episodes) and had this to say about it how the show’s relationship with wealth and class started changing:

This is the episode that has to sell the fantasy of Logan’s world, and the Life and Death Brigade, and all those rich kids doing irresponsible things that Rory’s going to find so fascinating over the next season or so. It manages because it is so immensely gorgeous. Before this episode, wealth was firmly associated with Richard and Emily, meaning it felt old and stuffy next to Lorelai’s youthful bohemian verve — but now it’s beautiful young people in formalwear, wandering through pristine white tents in candlelight. You get why Rory finds it so compelling.

See all of Grady’s rankings here.

Raise your hand if you would jump off an 85-foot scaffold whilst holding Logan’s hand, and then place said hand on your beating heart/bosom! *Enthusiastically raises hand*

The episode was shot in Santa Monica’s Griffith Park during the night - hence the forest setting - from 10 pm to 3 in the morning. The cast and crew then packed up and made their way to Golden Road Ranch, also known as Disney Ranch, for two days of filming the open-air scenes, such as the polo, paintball and scaffold jump scenes. If you love The Office, you’ll be interested to know that the Schrute Farms scenes were also filmed on the Disney Ranch.

Wanna hear a fun fact? Nick Holmes, the actor who plays LDB member Robert, had previously auditioned for the show a total of three times - since the pilot, actually. He first auditioned for the role of Dean, then the role of Tristan, and finally, Jess, before finally landing the role of Robert in 2004. I don’t fault him his persistence. Who wouldn’t want to be on such an amazing show? Holmes, Tanc Sade (the actor who plays Finn) and Czuchry also all shot their own paintball guns, much to ASP’s delight. The Safari theme of the event was actually a nod to Out of Africa. If you don’t know anything about Out of Africa, it’s a tale of rich white people living in Africa and exploiting the people and resources. It would definitely make sense that a bunch of rich white kids love the movie enough to plan an event around it.

If you’re like us and don’t understand the point of secret societies, you can read up on some famous ones here and here. We were indeed correct when we speculated that it’s just an excuse for elite students to get together and do whatever they want without thinking of the consequences. The Life and Death Brigade storyline was probably written to emulate what is probably the most famous of all secret societies, Skull and Bones, also at Yale. Unlike other secret societies, Skull and Bones actually made their member list public. Notable members include George W. Bush, John Kerry, and Paul Giamatti. All straight white men. Interesting.

We definitely have to give props to the set and costume designers. Not since the Festival of Living Art episode have we seen such beautiful scenes. I would definitely go camping if it looked like it did in this episode. Walking amongst the trees with a lantern and a glass of champagne? Sign me up!

And as for the outfits, it couldn’t have been easy to switch so flawlessly between Safari attire to ballroom attire. I’ve often wondered what everyone else thought of Rory’s dress. I kind of love the fact that Logan picked it for her. And the color definitely brings out her eyes. Her hair was also flawless in this episode, especially considering she had just woken up in a tent after sleeping on a cot and didn’t have a brush.

“I’ve got your event integrity right here, mister.”

What We’re Reading

Eleni: Acts of Violet by Margarita Montimore

I don’t know how to explain it, but this book is therapy. It was everything I needed to end 2022 on a high note.

Ten years ago, magician Violet Volk (née Verushka Volken) went missing under very suspicious circumstances. Was there foul play involved? Had her lies finally caught up to her? Or was it the best magic trick she’s ever pulled off? Her sister Sasha has no clue, even though she’s been accused of all kinds of nefarious things by Violet’s devoted fans. As the ten-year anniversary of the disappearance creeps up on Sasha and her family, Sasha must come to terms with her and her sister’s relationship and decide how much of their lives she wants to reveal to her daughter and the rest of the world. This book is for anyone who’s ever lost something or someone and desperately wanted answers. It’s about finally getting some sort of closure, even if that closure doesn’t make things better. It’s about healing.

“You have to stop underestimating yourself. What you did just now was put on a parachute, get in an airplane, and fly miles above the ground. It’s okay that you didn’t jump. Lots of people would’ve never even strapped on the chute or gotten on the plane. It doesn’t only take guts to do the brave thing. It also takes guts to try to do the brave thing.”

Jeffrey: Our Favorite Songs by Anita Kelly

I read this novella in one afternoon a few days before Christmas and it was everything my sad gay heart needed. I highly recommend for fans of Heartstopper. It’s also hands down the most erotic gay YA book I’ve ever read and I was not against it. Restless and disillusioned with his life, Aiden McCarstle is ready for a night out at The Moonlight Café with his best friend Penelope: one night to not think about how much he hates grad school, to watch queer people make fools of themselves singing karaoke. But instead of Penelope he gets stuck with Kai Andrews, the “straight” boy he hated in high school. But Kai is not the guy Aiden remembers or ever really knew. As a surprising, intimate night at Moonie’s brings Aiden and Kai closer together, a winter storm moves in. And what was meant to be a simple night out turns into over 24 hours of being snowed in together. Through confessions, memories, and games of Boggle, Aiden and Kai have to figure out if this unexpected second chance at connection was merely a temporary interlude—or if they can each come out better on the other side of the storm.

What We’re Watching

Eleni: The Summer I Turned Pretty

There is nothing you can say to shame me that I haven’t already said while hanging my own head in shame. Yes, I watched The Summer I Turned Pretty, and yes, I have thoughts on the whole Jeremiah/Belly/Conrad love triangle, and yes, I am eagerly awaiting the second season, and yes, I am 30 years old.

I recently made a discovery about myself and my need to watch mindless teeny-bopper television shows, especially when there are several shows of substance on my watch list. My brain is constantly ON. I want to be able to come home, sit on my couch and switch my brain OFF. I can’t just start a new show that has an actual plot and plot twists and guessing games. I’ve come to rely on the predictability of trashy television to unwind. Also, it helps that this man is very, very pretty:

Christopher Briney as Conrad Fisher. I’ve never wanted to be a cigarette so badly.

Eleni: Lady Chatterley’s Lover (2022)

…or as I’m calling it, Sex Through the Twilight Filter. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the story of Lady Chatterley, it was originally a novel published in the late 1920s and both scandalized and thrilled the masses because of its very explicit descriptions of sex and its printing of many four-letter words, including “fuck,” and others meant to be stand-ins for genitalia. The book was also banned in several countries for obscenity, and it wasn’t until the mid-1960s that the bans were lifted. In Canada, a professor at my alma mater, McGill University, fought all the way to the Supreme Court for the book to be published and read. Netflix recently created its own film adaptation starring Emma Corrin and Jack O’Connell.

I don’t know what this adaptation was hoping to bring that the good people at Netflix thought was missing from the other half-dozen attempts produced throughout the years - most recently in 2015 by the BBC. How many times can you retell the story of a young woman who is unhappy in her marriage and decides to boink the help? I was more interested in the landscapes and the scenery than anything else. Was the story original or even enticing? Not really. Was it sexy? Sure. But I think the reason the novel was so popular was that sex and expressing one’s sexuality was so taboo at the time. Nowadays, we can turn on HBO and watch two cousins going at it while a dragon looks on in boredom (can you tell I don’t watch Game of Thrones?). There are so many original stories out there. It’s time to stop remaking derivative ones.

Jeffrey: Harry and Meghan

Listen, I get why some people are fed up of hearing about Harry and Meghan. The media makes sure they are in our faces and feeds 24/7. But I’m someone who generally avoids that gossipy type of tabloid literature if I can help it, and I was intrigued by the intimate premise of their limited docuseries for Netflix. And since I was avoiding a lot of the media coverage about them since their wedding, there was a lot of stuff they discussed in the series that was news to me. This might be controversial, but I’m on their side when it comes to sharing their story and experience with the Royal Family as many times as they please, because if my voice and narrative was constantly being silenced and twisted, I would make damn sure to reclaim them as best I could. I was specifically in awe of Meghan’s strength and vulnerability throughout the six episodes. It’s worth the watch in my eyes.

Jeffrey: Carol

My mother: What’s a fun, upbeat holiday movie we can watch this weekend?

My gay ass: Carol.

Just kidding. I rewatched it by myself last week because she said it looked like too much of a downer, which it really is. But the cinematography is gorgeous, both Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara are exquisite, and there’s a difference between a straight downer movie and a gay downer movie. Mainstream gay movies that generate Oscar buzz are usually melancholic as hell, I don’t make the rules!

What We’re Listening To

Eleni: CBC’s Front Burner: “The good, bad and ugly of pop culture of 2022”

I’ve been experiencing two phenomena since the pandemic started: either time moves super slowly, and I have no idea what day it is, or I’m thinking, “how are we already in [insert month here]?” I can’t keep track of anything, so it was great to have a nice little recap and remind myself that, yes, this did happen in 2022. If you would also like to be reminded of all the pop culture moments that marked this dumpster fire of a year, have a listen below.

Jeffrey: It’s Good, Eve by Vonda Shepard

You may recall from a previous newsletter that I finished watching Ally McBeal for the first time last year, and while I already had most of Vonda Shepard’s soundtrack albums from the series in my music library, I’ve recently delved into her catalogue of original studio albums and they are *chef’s kiss.* Shepard’s music is to Ally McBeal what Sam Phillips’ music is to Gilmore Girls. Except Shepard actually appeared in the main cast of the series as a fictionalized version of herself, the singer who usually performed at the bar where the main characters go after work. It’s Good, Eve was the album that got her noticed by David E. Kelley, who recruited her to do the soundtracks for the show. I love her music because it is literally the embodiment of a late ‘90s network dramedy score, which just feels like a warm blanket on cold nights.