Episode Report Card Pamie: C+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT We All Fall Down
By Pamie | Season 4 | Episode 19 | Aired on 04.26.2004
The most obvious sign in the world informs us that we're at the "Yale Book Store." You know. That one. Also: Don't those smarties know "bookstore" isn't two words? Michael York reads from his book to a crowd of mostly girls. I guess we're supposed to think that York is a hot professor? ["Yeah. I'm not buying what they're selling." -- Wing Chun] York finishes with a line, "like oil from Iraq," and girls swoon. The crowd applauds. The gushing bookstore woman thanks him for the moving excerpt. She flirts all over him and then gives a detailed description of how one gets a book signed and then where to go to pay for the book. Do we need all of this? It's like, really interesting things are going on, like divorces, broken marriages, broken ankles, financial ruin, and (soon) a separation. And we're stuck watching people fix toasters, line up for a book signing, discuss sandwiches and talk about cell phones. Either give us the good stuff or fill the mundane with subtext. Or at the very least -- jokes. Paris tells Rory that York was great. He's commanding and an extraordinary public speaker, not to mention sexy. She looks at all the young co-eds throwing themselves at York. (One receipt for when I mailed Mom the clothe she accidentally left in the hotel closet in Kansas City.)
We watch a redhead flirt with York. He flirts back. (Two lipsticks, two lip glosses, and one balm.)
Paris asks Rory if she wants to go up and say hello. Rory doesn't. Paris says that they won't be bothering York, because she's his girlfriend. She asks Rory if she's hiding because of her paper. Rory says she doesn't want to be reminded of how much it sucks. Paris shows Rory how the book is dedicated to her, even though it doesn't say her name: "To a wise, willful, wonderful woman." Paris snaps at Rory for questioning why York didn't write Paris name. She tells Rory not to take her loser paper out on her. Paris leaves to get him some water. Rory apologizes, and says that the dedication is nice. "Thanks," says Paris, before looking around the room at all the girls waiting to flirt with her man. "Oh, yes. Like they read," she scoffs. (One set of Topps 21 Jump Street collectible cards. Unopened. I should have bought two so I could see what one looks like inside. I'm so dumb! It's from the coolest little ice cream/ candy shop/ diner in San Francisco, in the Mission.)
And then randomly Rory walks over to Doyle, who complains that there are four women from his staff here. He plans on running a review of the book in the paper. Blah blah blah, Doyle tells Rory that every year York has another young student whom he dates for the year, breaking up with her by the summertime. He says he doesn't know who this year's Oleanna is, but he guesses York's trolling for next year, with eyes on the flirty redhead. (One packet Emer'gen-C vitamin powder.)