Welcome to the Friday Night Readers podcast! In this Gilmore Girls podcast episode #1, we break down our pop culture rewatch of Season 1, Episode 1, “Pilot.” Listen below and get the full transcript.
Here’s What Happened in Stars Hollow in Season 1, Episode 1: “Pilot”
The pilot of Gilmore Girls aired on October 5, 2000.
For background, at that time, I had just begun college close to New England (in a small town in Northeastern Pennsylvania). I studied political science and English and worked at the iconic American retailer, Gap, which has so many overlaps with the show in terms of pop culture, fashion, and music—more on that in future podcast episodes. The point is that I totally “get” that time and Rory, and am so excited to share all the things with you!
In the “Pilot,” the bright, book-loving teen, Rory Gilmore, is accepted into Chilton Prep School in Connecticut, but she’s hesitant to attend because she has a crush on Dean Forester, the tall and handsome “new guy” at Stars Hollow High School in her small town.
Meanwhile, her young, single, coffee-addicted mother, Lorelai Gilmore, a manager at the local Independence Inn, needs financial help to cover the tuition, so she reluctantly turns to her wealthy Hartford, Connecticut, parents, Emily and Richard Gilmore, with whom she has a strained relationship, due to her decision to raise Rory on her own as a teen mom. The Gilmores agree to cover the tuition in exchange for the girls attending Friday night dinners at their home.
(Side note: Our name, Friday Night Readers, is inspired by this. But instead of dining at the Gilmores, we stay home and read like Rory.)
We also meet Rory’s best friend, Lane Kim, a music-obsessed Korean teen with a strict mother, and Lorelai’s best friend, Sookie St. James, a sweet and friendly chef at the Inn.
Then, Rory and Lorelai eat at the local diner, Luke’s. The owner, Luke Danes, is a friend and potential love interest for Lorelai.
The Gilmores’ World of Books
Let’s break down this episode’s most iconic literary references for those taking the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge with us, where we read from the list of books mentioned on Gilmore Girls.
The first author mentioned is Jack Kerouac. Lorelai calls the guy hitting on her in the opening sequence “a regular Jack Kerouac.” Kerouac was an American novelist and poet in the Beat Generation, a literary movement of the 1950s that rejected mainstream culture. Kerouac is most known for On the Road, a novel about a cross-country journey for meaning. Both Kerouac and the Beat Generation feature repeatedly in the series, particularly through Jess Mariano’s character.
The first book mentioned is Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. This popular classic, often banned for racism and profanity, follows young Huckleberry “Huck” Finn as he escapes his abusive father and journeys down the Mississippi River with Jim, an enslaved man seeking freedom. Its early reference in the show may be a nod to the fact that showrunner Amy Sherman-Palladino created its concept when visiting Mark Twain’s Connecticut home.
Next, Dean admits that he first noticed Rory reading:
“After school you come out and you sit under that tree there and you read. Last week it was Madame Bovary. This week it’s Moby Dick.”
Rory says it’s “cliche” that Moby Dick is her first Melville. This is because it’s his most famous work. Considered by many to be the Great American Novel, this is an epic novel about Captain Ahab’s obsessive quest to hunt the white whale– man vs. nature.
Madame Bovary is Gustave Flaubert’s controversial 1856 novel about an affair, considered to be obscene. Seriously– Flaubert was tried, but acquitted, of the charge. To be honest, I haven’t heard the best reviews of this novel from readers in our Rory Gilmore reading challenge over the years.
Lorelai also refers to standing outside like The Little Match Girl, which is a title by the Brothers Grimm. I don’t want to say too much about this very brief fairy tale, because it would give the plot away, but trust me when I say that despite being a “Christmas story,” it is, indeed, as “grim” as the name of the authors.
Lorelai also asks Rory if she’s going to give her the “Mommie Dearest” treatment. This #1 bestselling book by Christina Crawford, also a popular movie, is about a controlling and overbearing mother.
Curious about every single book mentioned in this Gilmore Girls episode—even the obscure references most people miss, like the Steinbeck classic quoted, and the book Rory pulls out of her locker? Head to this episode’s page at Fridaynightreaders.substack.com. When you upgrade to a paid membership, you’ll get printable episode guides for every Gilmore Girls episode—perfect for tracking your own Rory-inspired reading journey.
Oy With the Pop Culture Already!
Now, because I want you to understand even more of the Gilmore Girls’ fast talk, here’s what some of this episode’s best pop culture references mean. I’m not going to go through all of them, but rather focus on the ones I think some viewers of various age groups and locales outside the United States may not already know.
Fashion
In this episode, Rory wears the iconic “Rory Gilmore sweater.” This is also known as a “fisherman sweater,” a heavy cable knit wool sweater traditionally worn by Irish fishermen and popular in New England, where there are many chilly coastal fishing villages. The ones I personally own are from Maine retailer L.L. Bean. However, I’ll link a variety of options for you in the show notes.
Movies
In the pilot, Rory and Dean discuss the movie Rosemary’s Baby, which was also a book by Ira Levin. Rory says,
“You’re like Ruth Gordon just standing there with the tannis root. Make a noise.”
Ruth Gordon plays an eccentric neighbor who secretly lures Rosemary into a satanic plot, giving her a charm filled with the tannis root, tied to witchcraft.
Lorelai refers to “Officer Krupke,” who was a character in the iconic movie and musical, West Side Story, a 1950s New York retelling of another iconic Gilmore book, Romeo and Juliet, told through rival street gangs. If it’s new to you, definitely try the great 2021 Stephen Spielberg adaptation.
Famous People
Lorelai says her pâté is at Zsa Zsa Gabor‘s house, which refers to the elite status of the Hungarian-American socialite and actress known for many marriages– a Kardashian of her time.
Next, you may know exactly what Lorelai’s referring to when she talks about “pull[ing] a Menendez” after Friday night dinner. The Menendez brothers have been back in the news, seeking release from prison after killing their parents decades earlier.
Lorelai also tells Rory she’ll have to turn into Flo Jo to get away from her. Flo Jo was an Olympic gold medalist and the fastest woman ever recorded.
Music
According to Vice, there is so much music in Gilmore Girls because:
“Amy Sherman-Palladino and her husband [Danny Palladino] both wanted the show to have its own sound, putting a significant amount of focus on the theme song and score.”
“There She Goes” by the La’s is the first song featured on the show– and one of the most popular. It has millions more Spotify listens than the iconic theme song, “Where You Lead” by Carole King.
Speaking of “las,” we are introduced to the “la la” sounds of Sam Phillips, whose songs like “Where the Colors Don’t Go” feature heavily throughout the series.
The resident music lover, Lane, refers to Eminem, who was arguably the most popular American rapper at the time. Seriously, when he appeared on MTV, thousands of fans would swarm the streets.
We also hear both the name Macy Gray, and her song “I Try” (after Lorelai and Rory argue about Dean), which was one of the most popular songs at the time. This song is a good representation of the Gilmore Girls’ awareness of pop culture and how small the age gap is between Lorelai and Rory. They seemingly listen to the same music!
The episode closes with the song “My Little Corner of the World” by Yo La Tengo. It’s simply the perfect way to describe Stars Hollow:
Come along with me to my little corner of the world
Dream a little dream in my little corner of the world
You’ll soon forget that there’s any other place […]
So welcome to our little corner of the world
Book Tease
Lastly, the time has come for me to be what Jess called Rory—a book tease. Tune in next Friday, when we dive into episode 1.2 “The Lorelais’ First Day at Chilton,” and books like Anna Karenina and all things Charles Dickens.
Frequently Asked Questions
At the beginning of Gilmore Girls, Rory Gilmore is a fifteen-year-old high school student at Stars Hollow High School. She turns 16 in Season 1, Episode 6 “Rory’s Birthday Parties,” on October 8.
If Stars Hollow looks different to you in the Gilmore Girls pilot, that’s because it was filmed in Unionville, Canada, near Toronto, versus the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, California, where the remainder of the series was filmed.
Gilmore Girls has an unaired and aired pilot. The unaired pilot starred Alex Borstein as Sookie and Nathan Wetherington as Dean. Later, Melissa McCarthy and Jared Padalecki were recast in these roles.
