I Don't Spruce (S1 E14, “That Damn Donna Reed”)

So or he's arriving in his golden to the town troop bodoor in his golden limousine somewhere on the highway making his way towards the green room and getting all miked up and ready for his appearance on our podcast. Grantly Phillips, the Town Troupe boder Anyway, what an epis? So it was a laugh riot for me and so major. There's so many things happening. This is episode fourteen that Damn Donna Read. Air date February twenty two, two thousand one.

Rory and Dean argue about women's roles after watching The Donna Rich Show, and Emily makes Lorelai face her feelings. I mean, where do you even begin? Where the heck do you even begin? I know where to begin. Laurela likes Luke. She thinks she might have feelings for him. Yeah, it's looking. Did you see him make his move though? When they were on the floor looking at the the he made you know where this dad wrote that order down for nails and stuff like, and then he just

he moved in a little bit. He made a move. And then Taylor, because Lusa staid, Lucas stead wait, I want to hear all your thoughts. Give us all your thoughts on the whole episode, Luca, lore La. You know, I think the Luke and Laurel I stuff was funny, entertaining and daring. Luke made his move, you know, he yet again made another move. This time it wasn't interrupted by Mrs Kim. It was interrupted by Taylor and Taylor man, I got old, Taylor, how great is hey? Man? How

great is hey? He's just like with a bunch of the town's folks have knocking on the door. Was he trying to wake me up for it? I was closed? You know what a busy body Jesus. But I loved God. I just love how breezy and easy and kind of perfect. The interaction is between Luke and Laurel I I just I just love us together, I really do. And uh, you know, as a critique of my own work, I

was really proud of my work. I really liked the work. Um. I thought there was some very funny moments, especially chasing the baby chick. Um, but I I enjoyed And now I remember doing those scenes and remembering how much I enjoyed doing those scenes. Um. You know, it was a new show and we were getting good ratings and we were happy, and everybody was you know, everybody kind of relaxed into the roles and we're sort of firing on

all cylinders but not pushing anything. So it was like, I think in the beginning, we're pushing a little bit, but now we're sort of easing into that that nice space where you're just doing some good work. And so do you think your performance in this episode was stronger than your performance in the episode where Richard has the hard issue? Well, there was more to for me to do in this episode. You know, I don't remember that

I had a lot to do in that episode. I mean it was just see, I thought you were brilliant. I thought Luke, really we really got to know Luke. And but but those situations. Okay, so those situations with the Richard episode, those are easier to play because anybody can play those those scenes because it's, of course that's what you're gonna do. Of course you're going to be

the support of end. You know. Wow, that's interesting. And this one it required a little it required another layer where it was sort of like, now you have to show that you're interested, that you really want her, but you know, be a little bit secretive about it, so it's not so super obvious and it doesn't turn her off. And and uh, that's what I enjoyed about it. It It was that sort of banter, that going back and forth.

I mean he would go from dismissive to kind of relax and accepting to a little bit of a smile, like just like that, and then move in for a kiss and get interrupted and and then take you know, I like that hit a beer. I took it that. When she left, I was like, jeez, I need a drink. I almost kissed her. It's like almost and denied again. I mean that's the second or third time he's been denied by a an annoying town member. Noted, interrupted, interrupted,

well denied, denied. The universe conspiring against me. That's how Yeah, the the chemistry is so it's just so cool. And are you feeling that when you're acting those scenes, almost like you get pumped up by it? What does that feel like when you're just ping ponging and having those scenes? What is that like? It feels great? It's fun it Yeah, it feels like a couple of tennis players playing a nice point, you know, just like hitting the ball, hitting shots,

hitting shots. But I think it's because I think that relationship worse. And this is this is what is dawning on me a little bit here as I watched these episodes, is that laurelized very rebellious personality. She just is and that's why we love her because she's unpredictable and she's rebellious and you never know what's going to come out of her mouth, but you know it's going to be something funny, or it's going to be something a little

bit of reverend and that kind of a thing. And she does it in the in the in the beginning the dinner scene again, which I thought was just brilliant hysterical reverence, such a great word, right, and then but THANKS think she when she encounters me, she's encountering somebody who is even more rebellious and more irreverence, so it almost makes her look and feel lighter. I think it's a sense, it's a good it's a good chemistry because I'm a sort of a darker, heavier presence, but still

bellious and irreverent with a heart not like her. She's got a heart for everybody. I've got a heart for her and Rory, and that's pretty much about it, you know, So I'm very limited in how I can use my heart. So it's like, you know, the chemistry is that she's going to be able to focus her heart maybe on me in a romantic way, and that she will open up my heart so I can lighten up and love other people as well as her. So I think that's the the sort of yang yin and the yang of it.

Do you feel like her moralized moments with Luke they are like a breath of fresh air for her or a lighter feeling. I don't know if anyone else feels that, but I do get what you're saying, like those scenes do feel lighter, where her Emily Richard scenes are more like snark, right, because because she I don't give off the impression to Laurel. Luke doesn't give off the impression to Laurel I that he needs her. There's no pressure on her coming from him. It's just that, you know,

I'm I'm the diner guy, I'm your friend. Everything is is, So there's just no pressure coming from him. There's no there are no head trips, there's no nothing. It's just he's there. She can tell he did that, he digs her. She can tell that she's not an idiot, and you know, she's just not giving into it yet. She doesn't. There's a lot at steak here. I mean there's a there's a lot at steak, and she's not going to give into it until it's just kind of overwhelming. And um

but yeah, I think Luke. And that's the reason I wanted to plan it that way, Uh, to to have somewhat of a way to your some darker, somewhat more serious presence in that show, because if I'm anything other than that, she's going to appear to be a little too much in a romantic relationship. So I had to kind of be the heavy and uh, you know, it

just works. It just worked. I totally agree. So what do you Scott slash Luke feel in that scene when Emily you know, goes aside with Laura Lyons says, you know this guy is finding the bird and and he was at the hospital and you're always with him. Do you have feelings for him? And she finally admits, Lord knows why she admits it to her mother, I don't know, maybe I do. How do you feel? When Emily says, well, and now there's a lot to talk about about that, right,

she says something dismissive about me. Yes, you like, then we have to discuss are you are you out of your mind or something like that to choose somebody like that, and right, okay. So that means therefore that Emily really is is digging for honesty from Laura La about that situation, because it's really, you know, her being selfish. She wants some closeness with her daughter. She wants her daughter, she wants to have That's her way of of telling Laura La,

I want to have a relationship with you. I want to I want to dish dish with me. Let's talk about this guy. You know. Yeah, that scene bothered me because I really didn't like Emily in that scene because I truly like Emily. I think she has mostly good intentions, although she's she's dark and complicated, but she gets Lorelei to open up to her and then dismisses it, and I that really bothered. But I think, Okay, you're right.

But I think it's because she doesn't she wants to have a an honest and kind of dishy mother daughter thing because that's her only daughter. She wants more closeness. She wants to be close. But why does she want to be close? I think her intention is she doesn't want Laurel I'm making another mistake with somebody like me. And if she has an influence in her life, if they're friends again, if they fall in love again, I'm talking mother and daughter, if they have a closeness, um,

maybe Emily can steer her in the right direction. I don't think Emily gives up. I don't think she's given up on Laurela trying to be an influence on her life, getting her back to the country club because they're you know what I mean. I mean, she's thirty two, she's young, she's very attractive, she's very young. She's going to be an empty nester at thirty three years old. She's thirty

two now. Rory's going away, so she's still young and very marketable on the dating scene at the country club, and I think I think Emily wants to set things right. It's like, do the right thing by Rory, get her to Yale, then get Laura La back in the country club, and get her going with the right guy who runs this corporation or that corporation is an international businessman, and so that I can have a normal life again and

not be embarrassed by my daughter anymore. I think you're nailing it because that bothered me so much, because I felt like she got Laura La to open up, and she was very clever about how she did it, and

she was almost loving and motherly. And then I was so disappointed in her reaction when Lorealy admitted it, and it felt like Emily is trying to control her and it didn't feel genuine that it really for some reason, in this amazing episode that has so many things I loved, especially Christopher coming back, we'll talk about that, but that really bothered me. No, No, but it's I think she's still Yes, she's self Emily, self serving, she wants her

life to go a certain way. She that's her child, that's her only child, and it's and it's just screwed up her life and it's screwed up her social life, and she's tired of apologizing for her daughter. And she do you think she really wants to sit there and dinner and say things like you know, and you know, and and talk under her breath about inappropriate things that her daughter is saying at the dinner table. What is it?

The very the very first scene, Emily had some snarky thing, you know, and it was just very quick and it was like, oh, here we go again, Laurali with the comments and the funny jokes and this and that and and what what? What did Emily say the very first thing? But it was it was really cutting, and it was really funny, and it was really kind of right on, and it just shows how irritated she is that she

has this daughter that turned out this way. It's like she wants to sit there and have an intelligent, sophisticated, culturally appropriate conversation that the upper crust has. It's like we needed, you know, we did the therapy episode about Luke and lore La it's like, we need a therapist again, and we'll do it soon. Really breaking down this eft up relationship that Emily and Laura la I have, it is a hot mess. Emily wants to save her daughter.

Now she sees an opportunity. She's taking control of Rory somewhat, she thinks, right, that's what the Friday night dinners are all about, getting control of Rory and then maybe trying to rein in and manipulate Laurela back into the country club sets so that she can meet an appropriate man because she's worried that that she likes me. She's worried about she doesn't want me in the mix with all that money. Right, yeah, and look at one ahead of myself.

But it's why they love Christopher. He's appropriate. They love Christy, he's one of them. And that's another strength of the show. It's it's it's it's how the rich fight. That's how they what they do. They don't want their kids trafficking in Luke Danes is they do not. They do not. Oh he owns a diner and stars hollow. Great, nice, good for you. They don't care about the chemistry between us.

They don't care about you know, if it could be potentially there you were, there, you were at the hospital. There you are on the floor of the house. You know, there you are there, you are bringing the ice. You know. It's like it's like Emily is missing the things that matter so much. She invited them to Martha's vineyard because they found the house. You know, the guy died, and and now they had a house to rent um and

and so she invited the two of them. She didn't didn't invite me or any but I mean, it's a little too soon for that anyway, But she she doesn't want to be in a position where I would show up anyway if Lauren and I were together. Very complicated, but there's so much in this episode. This really is a phenomenal episode without a question, my god, And you know what, I think. I was a little harsh about the Rory Dean stuff. It was pretty no I you know,

it's so weird. I enjoyed that because I sort of wasn't totally mad at Dean obviously, like, and I'd love to hear what Riley and Danielle say, Like I understand why Rory is like fired up about it, but at the same time, I sort of like that is so Dean of Dean, But but it's now it's just showing how naive kids are. They don't understand the period that

that was shot and written. I mean, this is the post World War two entertainment complex, right, I mean, all these guys coming back from World War Two, the whole country coming back from World War two, and women contributed mightily to the war effort in the United States. I mean they were on the assembly line putting missiles in bull It's together and all kinds of things. Everybody chipped in uma and it was a you know, it was a full time, full time job kicking those Nazis asses.

You know, it really was. Everybody chipped in and and but the men came back so traumatized and so young. Uh. And the government felt so bad about it because you know, PTSD wasn't a thing back then. Um. You know, these guys get the free college on the g I bill like my father did, and they all they wanted to is just to have families and quiet and peace and children and dogs in a white picket fence. And that's

all they wanted. So making your man a meal, knowing that we had just been through you know, four or five years of hell on earth and we almost lost our way of life and thank god, you know it's over now. You know you're gonna make the poor guy a meal because you know what he wants. Yeah, with the Donna Reed show and the shows of that time, everyone at home is wanting to total escape to look at how great everything is and pushing the American, pushing

the Levitt towns, pushing that way of life. A chicken and every pot in a car in every garage. Yes, So Riley and Danielle who are of a different generation, what did you guys think of the Rory Dean Donna Reed thing? So for me, like I I understood both sides, Like I have very traditional parents, so I understood Dean side of like, you know, making the meal from the wife, makes meal for the husband, like the very traditional side.

But then I also understand Rory side of like being an empowered woman and doesn't have to be that way and breaking out of the norm. So I definitely see both sides. I agree. I Mean the one thing that bothers me is if my husband's like, so, what's for dinner tonight? And I'm like, I don't know, you tell me, you know, like if he tells me that like red, see red, but I will. I do think it was very innocent of Dean, right, Like I think he was just a dude that likes to get fed. You know,

he's like, you're gonna make me dinner today. That makes me so happy. I don't think he had any like malintent to that at all. I think he was just a dude that loves a meal from the girl he likes. But it's not only it's not only genetic, it's it's it's it's behavioral, it's what it's conditioning, it's what they who fed me when I was growing up. My mom my dad didn't feed me. But my dad did feed me. He went out and made the money and you know, provided, provided, provided,

But it was my mother who was feeding me. She was cooking and feeding. That's all. That's all Guys at age one, I think guys as even if they get older, they want their mommy's feeding them. Yeah, Dean is a simple guy. Yeah, it's it's yeah, it's a different Uh, it was just a whole different generation. I mean, it's why, here's the thing, and we're getting ahead of ourselves. But it's why Dean and Rory don't end up together. Yeah, once traditional and one is non simple and she's so complicated.

That's why I love Logan. But we'll talk about it later. We're gonna talk. I mean, I cannot wait for that. But what do you think of a motorcycle and Christopher? And what did you you, Scott, because you couldn't probably remember everything. I think when that did you know immediately that Christopher was on that motorcycle? I figured it out pretty quick. Yeah, what did you think? It was a devastating moment personally for me because I thought Luke was

gaining so much ground. I mean, that's like, you know, that's like, you know, the quarterback is handing to the ball and you're going three yards and a and a cloud of dust and you're on the you know, you're just getting beat up and you're almost there and you're gonna score the winning goal, a little touchdown, and then all of a sudden, quarterback throws a little two yard passed to a wide receiver just came into the game, you know, this first end of when he gets all

the glory, and it's like that's how I felt. It's like rug pulled out from under you rug pulled out, as audience fans were like, yes, yes, oh wow, like it's the ultimate curveball, like here comes this motorcycle. And as a first time viewer, you know, Danielle, you can comment,

were you like who is that dude? And then all of a sudden, Rory's like, Dad, were you just like what just by the way that you saw Laura Lite When that motorcycle pulled up, I was like, oh, that's Christopher, Like I knew right away before Rory even said, Dad, I'm like, oh, no, here he is. It's amazingly well done, Scott. Can you remember I mean, I'm sure you probably weren't around that day, but can you remember then shooting that.

I can't wait to find out what everyone listening thinks of Christopher because I know how I feel about Christopher obviously I kind of know how you feel. But I can't wait to see like if fans I think they a lot? Do Yeah? I love it? I think a lot too, And I don't blame him. He's a hell of a guy. And man, I mean I mean talk about you know, just the visual alone, right, and he's like pulling up in the leather jacket and he says

the cool line, Hey, okay, take your shirt off. That's what he said from his motorcycle with a helmet on. Laureliz is like, huh, and I know we have to go to break, but like they've got a witty bantern you because they have a very similar ping pong that you do with Laura. Yeah, but there's this very country club yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, with the with the like,

but we don't want that. There's like, no, they have the country club ping pong with no conflict, even though they had the history Laureline and it's all it's all it's all sexual tension. Yes, yeah, alright, so we gotta take a break. We'll be back with Grant Lee Phillips, the town troubadour, who we see for the first time in this episode. So we'll we'll be right back. Yeah, there he is the legend. Are you doing, buddy, I'm doing good? Thank you? How are you good to see it?

Thanks for coming on, I'm good. Pleasure. So let's get into this this this episode. This is your first appearance, isn't it is? In an episode? There you were, There you were, and all your glory. Grant Lee Phillips appears as the grant the Town Troubadour until of nineteen Gilmour Girls episodes from two thousand and two thousand and seven. You're a musician who played guitar and sings and stars hollow.

It is said that you do not accept money. Uh, and you were elected the official town Troubadour during a town meeting two thousand and one. So let's talk about your background in music and how did you get the part of the Town Troubador. Where were you initially cast for a certain amount of episodes or was it just the one? And they said, I believe it was just for the one, you know, um Amy Sherman Palladino, Daniel Palladino.

They were fans of Grantly Buffalo and had followed me into what was the beginning of my solo career at that time, early early two thousand's, like maybe like two thousand, come to think of it, White two K days. Remember that the world was coming to an end. If we could just go back to White two k if we didn't know how good we had, Uh. Yeah, So I get this call, do you want to be on the

Gilmore Girls playing the Town Troubador? I had no idea what I was really getting, you know, involved with, but it was a great time for me to just to leap without looking. And um, I'm glad I did. I mean, I loved every second of the nice And how many of your songs actually made it on the soundtrack of any episode? Dudes? I mean, well, um goodness, Um, I think you said there were there were nineteen episodes, so you know, sometimes there were there were more than one song. Um,

I don't know definitively. Um, I'm guessing there there must be ten fifteen of my own original songs. Um. Yeah. Most most of the songs that I've played I had written, although there were a couple where, um, you know, the Troubador ventured out wake me up before you go go be true to your school. You know. Well, it's very difficult for the for the audience listening in, it's very difficult to get a song highly competitive arena. They're getting a song song on a place, to a TV show

or a film. It can be very lucrative, Um, but it's very very competitive, very difficult thing to accomplish. It. Good for you, um Tory musician, you know, and uh, you know now you're on Gilmore Girls, and I hope you're getting residuals uh in perpetuity this great music because for me, you know, the music sets the atmosphere of the show. The Carol King thing is King song is iconic. Your music is iconic, and it's it contributes mightily to the show. So you should be you should be paid

for it. So oh well, I appreciate that. And you know, I you know, and there are there are ways that I can't even really uh put into into a number. I can't quantify how many fans that I have made through the show who have then come to my concert. You know, that's an amazing thing, you know, mother's daughters. Yeah, I mean, do you notice it in the in the crowd when you were when you were, did you notice people, I mean you would know you get the direct feedback.

I'm I'm yeah. From from time to time, it's not an uncommon thing anywhere that I travel, could be overseas and they're at the show. Some some fans will show up and say, you know, I discovered you through The Gilmore Girls with my daughter here and we watched it and we and we have this great connection with the show and and that's how we discovered your music. So it's you know, it's as direct as that, and I think that's pretty amazing. So you know, I'm going to

go off script here. Um yeah, I have a bunch of questions they gave me. But you know, I'm a songwriter too, and I've dedicated a great deal of time to writing songs, and I want to know about your process. I want to know how you do it. Um who inspires you? You know? How do you how do you go about writing songs? Oh goodness, I do recall many times on the set when in between takes, there's so much time where we find ourselves just sitting around and

we would pass the twelve string back and forth. Um yeah, I always enjoyed that. You know, the process for me begins with um uh, becoming bored. It's probably as simple as that. And and and in some ways that was sort of the challenge when this pandemic set in. I'm I'm used to being out on the road and with that means that I've got a sound check at six o'clock shows at ten tonight. What do I do in between?

I go back the hotel, try to stay awake and naturally I began just thumping around on the guitar, and that's usually when I begin, Hey, there's a song there. You know. It's in those little moments when I'm totally by myself, and uh, I don't know when I'm you know, when those moments are going. I can't predict those moments necessarily, but they're they're pretty vital. So I had to kind of create that time in that situation. Uh, I mean, you're having a guitar in your hand, that's the thing.

I think. It's noodling around constantly. And then yeah, yeah, just constantly. And in the same goes for lyric writing, I'm I'm sort of always I think you could relate to this. To you, as a songwriter a lyricist, you develop a sense of of listening. As a songwriter, you know, you recognize when a string of words have the potential of being a song title or a chorus, or you know, have the seed of a song. It's a funny thing

that way. My wife we were talking about, uh, back in the in the in the nineties when we were living in the High Desert at that time, and we had the north Ridge earthquake and my wife was in the after shocks kept coming and just remember that you couldn't trust the ground anymore. It was a terrible feeling. And I said, can I trust the ground? Yeah? Okay, And I went and I wrote that song. So that's

some that's on my next records. That's you know, and it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with earthquakes a song, but you know, I think we we tend to have a metaphoric sensibility, you know. Yeah, alright, let's get into some Gilmore stuff here, because I could talk music with you all day, but we have to. We have to get some Gilmore stuff. And because that's what the podcast is about. I love that. I love that about you that you have so many You have such a wide

field of experience, music, sports, coffee, Gilmore of course. Yeah, well you know you gotta keep plugging, right. Um. The thing that the music is is I I started too late, and I wanted to out of high school. Our band kind of broke up and everybody pursued there separate interests, but I wanted to keep the band together. Um, so you know, it's it's a pipe dream. But I love writing and I love recording, and you know, it's a

it's a nice hobby, you know what I'm saying. Um um, So were you given direction as the town trooper or was there some kind of the direction I was given typically how to do with like can you maybe sing a little slower? Definitely walk a little faster as you're doing getting across the street, because we've got to pick up this other you know, caravan that's coming through and

uh and you know how that is. It's one long shot, like if you blow it, if you're the weakest link, then the whole thing has to be read as you were in all those white shots and they'd come zoom in on you and then moved aft right. Yeah, so there was a little bit of terror involved in that, you know, all that choreography. Yeah, but in terms of like,

you know, my what is my objective? But never I never really got to go as deep as I felt like I was capable of going hum with it, with the exception of you know that that episode where the you spoke of that involves the whole city meeting the town hall. Yes, exactly. Yeah, that was fun. That was That was one of the first ones that I that I did. You know, it was a long day, like yeah, I was given it my all. I get five in

the morning delivering those lines and bang, bang bang. You know I'm not missing a beat, having no idea that I was still gonna be delivering those lines at two that morning to a chair to air and everyone had gone home. Oh my god. Yeah, we say we knew to conserve our energy. Uh, you have such incredible stay power. Thank you. I'm going to That was a seven in the morning and the marathon man name Sprint, had no idea what yeah we uh but they were great scenes.

I mean they really were. They were really funny. Um. Thank god we had Michael Winters, his tailor Dosy keeping it all together. Oh. I know, I know the pressure he was under constantly and he just delivered every time. It's amazing, really amazing to watch. Were you playing or loitering on the street corner? This is a fan question. Goodness, why was emoting? I was sharing my bliss? Yeah, damn right, you were. That's that's right. Moding, You're you're a that's

what they do. I mean, you want to keep you do want to keep moving though, you know, because for one, it's it's freezing. You're lucky, you always got you always had layers, but not in the summertime. H really, I don't. I don't remember like any any scantily clad Luke episodes. I just remember like there was one there was a shirt and the flannel and the thermal. There was a T shirt one and one when we were when t J drove his carr into the diner and we had

to rebuild it and I was in a T shirt. Immersive, Okay, the one time, one time you remember that time. I think it just proves my point that was the only time it stands out. No, what I'm saying is is, you know it's it's wintertime and Stars Hollow, so you're all bundled up right, and it's a hundred and ten on in Burbank on set anyway, It's nice to have a job. Yes, that's true. In the streets are wet too. They would wet those street downs, they would they had

wet them down, everybody. You gotta wet down the streets make it look cool. Um, So you actually played on set. What were your impressions of the Stars Hollow set man talk about idyllic, talk about idyllic. I think most of us who fall in over the show, and I want to go there. I want to live there, you know. Um. Yeah, it's just that it's that magic place that you know, it seems so inviting. What that's free of of of stress, although we will create our own stress if you're the

Troubadour or Taylor or or Luke. Uh I think yeah, right, I mean yeah, there were there were a few characters that would have had a lot of a lot of stressers in their life. As I think back Sean, you know, I mean yeah, I think yeah, that was the whole point of the show. Yeah, too much coffee. Yeah. Did you ever have like any kind of incidents with a car, weird incidents with a car or something as you were trying to do your seen, do your your bit, because there were I remember a lot of a lot of

cars going by all the time. Well that's true. Yes, there were a lot of cars organized and they had people, you know, they had p a s on it with walkie talkies telling people when they go. But there were some screw ups at times. So did you were you ever involved in any of that stuff? No? Fortunately, you know, I managed to get to the other side of the street. Which that's it. That's that's acting all those years of Meissner, h did you study? Did you really study? You know what?

After after Gilmore Girls, Um, after the final season, I did some classes because I thought, you know what I want to I want to take this further and get a little deeper in some other areas I had done. I had done theater, community theater back in Stockton, California

when I was growing up. And and I went to film school for a bit of time when I first moved to l A. So I had I had some Jim Morris, thank you, Jim Morrison, of you although he graduated, I think school, Yeah, and I got through the first year and and to realize, I think I want to I think I just want to be a musician more than anything, right, you know. Huh Yeah. He didn't have to around an amplifier though he didn't known Fender twin harmonica. I think he just had the lugg around a whiskey bottle.

Yeah right, Um, all right, I'm gonna we got a couple of minutes here, uh left, So I want you to use one word to describe the following characters. Ready, m luke, Ah the Man, MS, Patty, Mother, Taylor, Josie, caffeinated, have that bad, that bad Oh the loving bubble of a person. Laurel, I m sensual. Hello, Rory, I mean I'm sorry, la Yeah, Rory, Rory, Rory um budding, Kirk, Kirk whimsical, Mrs Kim, this is cam Stern. Yes, so we've already been through this. But you, but you, you

do get recognized as the town troubadour at times, right dude? Yeah, okay, well most certainly when I attended the the fan Fest a couple of years ago. Sure, yeah, that was kind of wild. Yeah, right, that's the last time I think I ran into you, Yes, very briefly. But all all those all those lovely people standing outside in the freezing cold. That's why I ran outside. Um, because we were taking fifty at a time in the curling club and inside

it was just moving too slowly. And there was a thousand people out there and they were cold, and they had babies and it's like cold, and you were great with them, and you were serenading people, and it was just you know, that's why I ran out there and just did everything so fast, is just to get those people out of the cold. And it wasn't it wasn't

like it was super freezing. But it was like to stand in that for for an hour or two hours because it was going to take a while, um, to to meet and greet everybody and sign and to ELF's and all that stuff. But anyway, um, yeah, you did what you do, what you gotta do. A great bunch though. I loved it. Oh yeah, Um did you actually play your guitar and sing during the scenes or was there

Yes you did, I did? Yeah, Um. Yeah, sometimes we would have to go back if there were if there was an airplane that went over, we'd have to go back and you know, kind of fake it to to cover, you know, um, because it's sort of you know, there's a fair amount of ambient noise and when you're trying to capture a guitar and a vocal you know. Um. But yeah, it was all done live and most of the time that's that's kind of what made the final scene kill. Yeah. All right, buddy, thanks for coming on,

and thank you Scott. You're the best, and good luck with everything. And so do you have anything do you have a stage performance coming up? Do you have anything coming up that you want to tell us about after this, after this weekend? Um, a little further into August. Um, yeah, sometimes later in August outstage your show, he's called Grantly Phillips live from the parlor, and um, you know, and what's your what's your website so people can go download

your music. Grantly phillips dot com is a place to go. Yeah, definitely, Grantly tweets on Twitter, Instagram the works. You know. I want to come down to Nashville and gig with you. That would be nice. Come come down this way. I want to come down there some hot chicken. Yes, Grant, thank you for your time. Let's please please do this again. Um, like I said, well, we'll really get into some music stuff and good all that kind of stuff, because that's

that's right in my wheehouse. I love that stuff. Um a buddy, okay and good luck, alright, man, stay safe, alright. See yeah, okay, so we're back everybody. So let's get into this. The paint job that Laurela has convinced Luke that he needs for the diner that has not been painted since his father painted it obviously before he passed away. Um, and some of the colors that were tacked up by

the door, the pinks, yeah, the shades of pink. Well, that was talk about a trigger for old luki Um, but you know, it was just more of the tension, the sexual tension that was playing out. It's kind of the dance that they do before the consummation end. And that she convinced him to do it, and that she right, that was pretty major and it's such an excuse for them to spend all this time together. Had he not felt a certain depth of feeling for her, there's no

way he would have agreed to that. Totally agree with you. And she handled it, uh, with real finesse. She was very careful about it, even to the point where she said, well, we're not going to paint over that that order that your father scribbled down. We'll do it the right way. So yeah, he was just like, man, I just want to kiss her. I just want to kiss her. I just want to kiss her. I just want to kiss her. Oh my god, I love it. I mean, he wants to kiss us so bad it pisces him off. That's

probably why he's cranky all the time. You know, it's like he just wants to plant one on her. Man, he wants her. So it's getting good. It's getting pretty good. M yeah, so we saw, you know, we saw, we got to see other parts of the diner in some detail and even talk about some of the things that were up on the shelves that he was in no way, shape or form going to give in on and getting rid of them at her request. There was no way.

It was like, I'm I'm gonna let him do this painting thing, but you know, you're not going to change me completely. So it was like pretty much telling her, we get into a relationship, but I'm willing to sort of compromise with you, but not a. So he's his own man. He's his own guy, you know, and he's i think entering a relationship or potentially in any relationship, you've got to establish the ground rules that yeah, I'll meet you halfway, but that's it, you know. So he's

a he's a hardass. He wants her, but he's a hard ass for sure, which is I think important. That's why she likes him. He's as strong as she is ys him. That's pent he's as tough as she is. I think she Yeah, I think she likes the fact that he's never going to change and that she can't change him very much, you know, that's the that's this, that's how I approached it. I wanted him to be a rock of Gibraltar. He's got to be the rock he can't break ever. So anyway, Yeah, delightful stuff. Yeah,

delightful stuff. Just just wonderful home viewing. And hello, Christopher Well talking about home viewing. I'm Riley in this year pop culture and our first pop culture is The Donnerie Show. So this is the show that Dean Rory and Laura Lae were all watching, and the series was developed by Donna Reed and her then husband, producer Tony Owen. The show ran on ABC from to nineteen sixty six for

a total of two d seventy five episodes. Read often encouraged writers to create stories in which other characters had to be the main focus, and ABC nearly canceled the show, but it was renewed when ratings improved. When sponsors by Campbell, Soup and Johnson and Johnson were at it. Mhmm, Laura la says, it's getting a little to Lewis Carol for me. And Lewis Carroll was an English writer for the children's

fiction and it's known for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Luis's real name is actually Charles Dobson, and Louis wrote himself into the story as the Dodo Bird because he would sometimes introduce himself as Dodson due to his stutter. Carroll was not on drugs comparable to some of the rumors, but he did suffer from a strange disorder that caused him to have hallucinations which made him feel bigger or smaller than he was. WHOA Luke says, does Martha Stewart

do it? And this is when Laura Lai asked Luke if he knows what stenciling is when they're they're repainting the diner. And Martha Stewart was America's first self made female billionaire. She worked as a model throughout college to pay her for her tuition, and she was actually babysitter to high school kids of legendary baseball players Mickey Mantle and Yogi Barra. She was what she's there, it's babysitter.

She was a babysitter for Mickey Mantle kids. No, no, I know what you meant, not making Mantle back in Oklahoma when he was a kid. Stop it. And Martha Stewart recently posted a sexy selfie and admitted to it being a thirst strap. I'm still imagining Luke's denziling, Like on what planet would that ever happen? Lorelai says, all day long, just chirps like a maniac at the top of her lungs. Now nothing, silence Marcel Marcel chicken Uh. Marcel was actually a mime, and the troop was soon

touring European countries presenting mine dramas. He created the figure Bip, a melancholy, engaging clown with a limp red flower in his hat. But what's creepier the clown, pillow or the lime? I don't like times, I think David Bowie studied with Marcel Marcel. He did, I don't like I don't like minds. Well you should see this Marcel Marceau character. Wow, what is creepy? Our clowns are mimes equally bad maybe bad mimes, but good mimes are sort of magical. Oh I disagree,

but I love that you just think that. Suki says wild, that's very wild. Kingdom of you. Loria I says, I'm like the Martin Marlin Perkins of Stars Hollow Marlin Perkins Wild Kingdom. Yes, So. The Wild Kingdom was a nature and wildlife TV series airing from nineteen sixty three to ninety eight, and it was revived in two thousand two, airing until two thousand eleven on Animal Planet. Marlon Perkins

narrated it and starred in the series. Many people who watched the show recall the host being bitten by venomous snake, but it actually never happened on air. The snake bit Marlin Perkins in real life. It's up my love of snakes from that show. Thank you, Marlin Perkins. Laura I says A street car named Desire, Suki says Vivian Lee or Jessica Tandy. So A street Car Named Desire was at seven play written by Tennessee Williams and made popular

in the ninety one film adaptation. Vivian Lee started as the main character of Blanch in nineteen fifty one, and Tandy started as Blanch in ninety seven stage production. Jessica Tandy's husband played opposite her as the main character Mitch. Laura I says, all of a sudden, I'm trying to get any poor unsuspecting person in bed with me. I'm like Michael Douglas was the best line of the whole show. That was the best lad of the whole show. Brilliant.

What do you think? I'm like this crazy person going around trying to get everybody sleep with me. Like what am my Michael Douglas? I what was the deal? Right? Because I I know, but I want people that maybe don't know. Michael Douglas has been part of more than fifty Hollywood films, including Walls Street, Romancing the Stone, and Fatal Attraction. He is married to Katherine Sada Jones, who is twenty five years younger than him, and it has also said that he likes to date younger women, or

did before he was married. Yeah, I think I think Warren Beatty and Michael Douglas and Gilt Chamberlain, we're all having a competition. Back in the seventies, Jack Nicholson was probably in on that Dennis Hopper. You know, it's like different times. This was before AIDS. It was during the Cultural Revolution that was happening with the young people and the hippies and free Love and Matta Johanna and acid and you know everybody was burning their bras and uh

dropping their trial. Lorelai says, I'm being morbid. Morbid, Joan and Meliss Rivers think I'm being morbid. And this was Emily and Richard say In, the late owner of the Martha Vineyers House, which we had previously talked about. So, Joan Rivers was a famous stand up comic, and Melissa, her daughter, is known for her acting and producing. Joan got her big break on The Tonight Show after Bill

Cosby recommended she replaced another comic that had bombed. The mother daughter duo were longtime creative partners, appearing together on the Red Carpet and various reality shows such as Celebrity Apprentice and Joan and Melissa Joan Knows Best. Yeah, that was actually a great scene in this episode. That scene was a great scene before them. And that's it for pop and did were we clear? On? On on? She screams Stella when she when she got into the kitchen.

That's Marlon Brando screaming for his wife and speetcar named Desire because they had had a fight and I think he'd beaten her up a little bit because she tried to break up the card game early and and then he was gone. And every man's the king of his castle and Blanche was driving everybody crazy, and then he was you know, that was the famous stella stella up the stairs, you know, and then she melts and he just collapses in her lap. Husband and wife were reunited.

So that was Laurel I screaming for the chick. And for those keeping track in this episode, clown Pillow appeared ten seconds in. It was quick, but he was there really where um When Laurel I, Rory and Rory were eating pizza and Dean was eating a salad, which I thought was very funny. Um, right there on the couch, right next to Rory. There were some um continuity errors in this episode. Oh tell us that I noticed that maybe there were more, but I noticed two, one from

Rory and one from me. Yes, yes, Uh when Rory Rory already pulled a piece of pizza. When when they were coming in closer on Roy, she was already had a piece of pizza and she was eating it. And then when they punched out a little bit later in the scene, not much later in the scene, she reached in and grabbed her first slice at pizza, so that didn't match ouch. And then uh, in the diner when I was putting the uh, the half eaten burger from

that table into a styrofoam container and a napkin. We see me putting it in and then the very next cut, Uh, I'm starting it all over again. So ouch on Luke Coach smacked me down. Yeah, and Scott, there was a there was a continuity issue with a clown pillow too, because when Dean came in and sat down, he put his jacket on top of the clown pillow and then but a couple of seconds two into the scene, go back to clown pillow. It's showing again. Then a couple

of seconds later, Dean's jackets over it again. So I was like, oh my god, that's smart. Still that hurt. That's going to leave a mark on that. That's going to leave mark that one. So we got pizza. We're like, we're like dealing with the food, and the clown pillow seems to sort of elude us somehow problematic. It's it's a problem, you know. Anyway, I hope nobody noticed it, and I'm glad I brought it up so you can all notice it. So it adds to your enjoyment of

the episode. Love it Probably what's your favorite line. My favorite line is they're going to make me turn in my pearls from Rory, we'll see painting songs. Oh, that's good. That's good that that was a good painting. So that I don't spruce from Luke. I don't spruce, all right, I don't spruce scot Um. It's got to be the Michael Douglas line. I mean that made me just laugh out loud. Yeah, that was that was a home run.

That one. The Michael Douglas line was great. Anyway, Damn, Donna Reid was a wonderful episode, really full of laughs, full of great acting, you know, the narratives developing, the

storylines developing, and it's just just so great. And it's there's some nice momentum on on both tracks with the and then like we didn't discuss that scene when when when Luke went outside to take the trash simultaneous with the Dean and yes, oh, I was going to talk about the uh sort of the mirroring that was happening

in this episode. There was a lot of that. It was like those storylines were yeah, mom mother daughter having definitely and it's like, you know, it's like the Rory's getting further with Dean than I am getting with the Laurel. I forgot. It's like their way ahead. We had a lot of catching up to two. It's like, come on, old people, hurry up. Do you get in the horse, let's go. It's like planning on or let's move it. You gotta compete with your daughter now So anyway, um

but thoroughly enjoyable. Yes, and now we Christopher returns, Wow, sure does. It's gonna be good luck to Luke new Sheriff's coming to town. New Sheriffs in town. I hear there's a Luke here. Things he's in charge. Well, I got a silver dollars, says maybe he ain't so far no more? Oh good stuff. Christopher returns, All right, everybody,

so let's let's everybody watch Christopher returns. We will reconvene, we will discuss the subtleties and the themes going on in Christopher returns, as we are wont to do and uh, and that's gonna wrap her up. I'm Scott Patterson and this is the I Am All In Podcast with I Heart Radio and one Loven Productions. See you next time, dot jat Hey, everybody, and don't forget. Follow us on Instagram at I Am all In podcast, and emailis at Gilmore at I heart radio dot com. Oh you gil

More fans. If you're looking for the best cup of coffee in the world, go to my website for my company scott ep dot com, s CEO T. T. Y p dot com, scott ep dot com Grade one Specialty Coffee