Episode Report Card Pamie: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Smoke 'Em If You've Got 'Em
By Pamie | Season 5 | Episode 2 | Aired on 09.27.2004
Lorelai gets a cell phone call from Emily, who is yelling because she's on another continent. Lorelai reminds Emily that phone service has improved greatly over the decades, and Emily resumes a normal speaking voice. Emily tells Lorelai that this is their last stop: "And it's a good thing, too, because I don't know how long I can keep these randy European men off me." As Lorelai listens to Emily brag about the men who flirt with her, she takes over making a bed from a housekeeper. For such a small inn, Lorelai has way too much staff. That might be why they're hurting for cash. Lauren Graham's never made a bed in her life, and it shows. She doesn't even seem to understand a fitted sheet. She tosses it around the bed this way and that as she and Rory have a very perfunctory conversation about the weather. Rory hangs up and Lorelai balls up the sheet, tossing it back to the housekeeper, saying something about bouncing a quarter. The housekeeper is understandably upset as we go to commercial.
"Rome." Emily and Rory have just finished shopping. Rory thinks this was a waste of money, since now they'll have to pay duty (tee hee) on it. Emily just wants Rory to be able to say she bought these things in Rome. Emily orders in Italian, blushing and gushing to Rory that the waiter is practically hitting on her, the way he's lavishing her with praise. We don't get the benefit of subtitles, but I assume the Italian is pretty good because there's no joke here. I love Rory's outfit again. Man, the girl had to have packed more than that duffel bag with the wardrobe she's sporting. Everyone around the ladies is smoking, because...when in Rome, I guess. Emily goes on and on in Italian while Rory stares off into space, her attention clearly elsewhere. No, it's not on a hunky Italian boy. Rory doesn't like boys. Rory is thinking about someone very special back home. No, not Dean. Gah. Pay attention!
Luke's. Band meeting, minus Sebastian Bach. MfTL explains that they've got a forty-minute gig, five original songs, and six or seven covers. The problem is that their covers are too good, which will make their original songs sound lame. You can tell Todd's from Texas here, because he calls them the "White Stripes." That's the key to talking like a Texan: always stress the first syllable. Ce-ment. Co-caine. To-ny Hawk. I just stole that joke from an old friend named Joey Gibson. He's cute, talented and Texan -- someone put him on a television show too, would you? Brian suggests that they play all their originals up front and close with the covers. MfTL thinks that would be "asymmetrical," and that they'd lose their audience if they played their lame originals all in a row. They decide to cut all their good covers out of the set: "If we play nothing but crappy covers our originals will stand out." Brian thinks this is brilliant. They decide to play anything by Men at Work. Hey, now. "Who Can It Be Now?" is an awesome song and Colin Hay rocks. Back off, Palladino. Chicago, Wings, Styx, Culture Club -- does this mean they already have covers of these songs, or these are the bands they'd cover? And Violent Femmes does an awesome "Do You Really Wanna Hurt Me." Lane says this is a "kooky" idea, and that they should get together again tonight (at home) and figure it out then. Instead of while Lane's at work. And why are we having this scene? And where's Sebastian Bach? Brian leaves with his helmet. As Lane goes back to work, mfTL is flanked by two girls who enter Luke's like Thing One and Thing Two being unleashed from their box. We watch Lane watch mfTL flirt with the girls. Lane rolls her eyes.