IAAI Town Meeting: It’s a Lifestyle. It’s a Religion (Season 1 E14 “That Damn Donna Reed”)

I Am all in again. Oh it's just you.

I Am All in Town meeting with Suzanne French and Tara suit An iHeartRadio podcast. Hey guys, welcome to another episode of I'm All in Town Meeting with myself, Tara and Suzanne.

Hello.

Hello, all right.

So we are on season one, episode fourteen, that Damn Donna Reed, which aired February twenty second, two thousand and.

One, which we had spoke.

About last week that we think this could have been a Valentine's episode and it just like didn't happen. That didn't It didn't align with the network.

Maybe yeah, there was. The scheduling might have been a little off because this was definitely more of a Valentiney kind of feel.

And I hate to say it watching back, No, I think it's.

The first episode in season one. I'm like, not my favorite, you know, I like Luke and Lurli. Everything else could go.

Yeah. I thought it was cute ish, there were some I have a few bones to pick though, Okay, hit me the first question I had, So I don't know. The whole timing just seemed off, that with the dinner thing that Rory did because she went over there like in the evening. It was already after dinner by the time she went to Babbett's house. And then she hatches this whole plan and somehow carries out this whole plan and then Dean comes over for dinner. It seems like

Was also the way she was like acting. I was like, this is not Rory.

And I understand she was playing a character and making a point, but like I didn't buy it.

Yeah, her voice was really squeaky. She had like this little kid voice, and it was weird. So I don't know the whole I just I can't saying, like where did she get that dress from? I don't you know. She maybe she went to Miss Patty's or something, because you know Miss Patty always has That's true. Yeah, but I thought it was weird that they chose to show the scene with Lane instead of the scene of her doing the other pieces of it, which right for questions to me.

Also, the fight with Dean, I was just like, okay, like you know what I mean, it was just one of those things that I'm like, I don't really need this, Not that I get why it happened, but like I don't really care for this whole storylines.

I think I didn't care for the fight, you.

Know what I mean.

It was it seemed very much like filler to me, one hundred percent.

It's like they got fourteen episodes in and they're like, well, we kind of ran out of ideas and it's not the it's like, what is it called that Amyan with Amy and Scott was. It wasn't sweeps, like it was just kind of like, yeah, mid February, so.

Yeah, yeah, well in February used to be a sweeps month, so I don't know if it's still the case, but there used to. They used to do like bigger episodes, but I yeah, I don't know. I did like the Luke and Laurel I stuff. Yes, that was very cute. And the one the one line that made me laugh was when Luke comes out with the trash and he runs into Dean and Dean says, what are you doing here? Luke says, I'm looking for a chick.

Yes, honestly, that part like I actually really love the like can you come over? I have a chick like goose and it's like it's so like what like out of context that I actually loved when Luke comes and he's like, oh, there really is age like he thought it was a booty call basically.

Yeah, yeah, pretty much. Well, and the whole like diner scene where they like came so they.

Were so close and they were like kneeling on the floor together. I was like, yeah, I you know in that moment, mind you, I've seen this so how many times?

I was like are they gonna kiss? Like I was even like.

I know not no matter how many times you see, or like is this gonna be it?

I also was like where's his hand placement? Like is it like on her back? Like I was just so like, oh, like first time watcher.

I did love that storyline. And then at the end when Emily gets Loreli to admit that maybe she's got some feelings, I did like that part of it. But other than.

That, I did I also thought like the part like to tie it all of the what we didn't like, and I'll at the end when they're like, oh, Apricot ran out, I'm like, so now we're just losing. I understand the joke of like we're not pet people, but I was just like I don't know. I was just like okay, like I don't really care for the storyline at all.

Yeah, it was. It was interesting. And when Richard and Emily were talking about going to Europe and they're like, it's just not in the budget every year, I'm like, what are you talking about? You guys have no budget.

That's so true.

What are they ever worried about money?

Apparently this episode and that was it, Like they just I wonder if the writers were like, let's make them like a tad like relatable, yeah, but like one episode yeah maybe speaking of just like in general, I didn't realize my cousin has never watched Gilmore Girls.

Oh.

She came over and I.

Had it like on pause in the background, and she's like, you know, I've never watched, Like she knows all about it. She's like, I've never watched it, and I'm like, are you kidding? So she just started and she's on like episode five of season one, and I was like.

What do you think?

And she's like, man, Rory's really annoying. And I'm like she's good, now keep going.

Yeah, this is the best of Rory.

But it's so funny because it reminds me of like watching with Danielle. Because Danielle like you know, really didn't know what was coming. I was like, oh my god, she doesn't know who Logan is. Like my cousin was like, I know Mile of Vntimilia isn't it, but like who does he play? And I was like, let's just wait until you get there, Like it's so exciting to like have those conversations.

Oh, that's fun. We'll have to bring her on her I know.

Hopefully she keeps going.

She's she's pretty good at sticking with a show. But it's so funny. I sent her a meme of Emily and Richard that I on Instagram, and she's like, oh my god, I need to get to this episode. I'm like, well, this is season five, so you gotta keep going. It was the take me to Reno quote.

Oh yeah, that's always a popular one in our house because my son goes to school in Reno.

So we're funny.

We're always making jokes about that.

Well.

I saw the clown pillow.

Yes, I mean the clown pillow basically was a paid actor in Seame one.

He had a spot on the.

Couch yep, yep until Dean threw his jacket.

And then in my head, I was like he had to have been instructed to throw the jacket on top, because if that pillow was that close in the camera shot, I'd be looking at the clown the whole time.

It's true, it was like a third person sitting on the couch.

Yeah, it was a paid actor.

Yeah, Although the plot didn't thrill me. There were a lot of cute little cultural pop culture references and a few little inconsistencies that I did catch, like clown pillow. We got that one, And then in that same scene, that same opening scene, the Dean's salad box was opened and then it was closed, kind of depending on the take.

Did you notice the hangars and Luke's diner that I pointed out the other day still there?

Look okay?

So when he's like before, sorry, I'm jumping around before they like go and sit in that corner where his dad had written like an order, there's like this like rack and it has a bunch of crap on it, like okay, and then on the side there are blue hagers and those are the same blue hagers. In my head, I'm like, was it just me?

Or was Luke's diner a little messier than usual?

It seemed dingier, like the balls looked dinny.

I thought it was just me.

Yeah, I guess that's we're supposed to think, like, yeah, it needs to be repainted. It looked kind of gross. But that order, Like why was his dad kneeling on the floor writing orders on the side of the cabinet.

And also it was in the doorway, so like Luke has definitely seen it just walking in out of the kitchen a hundred times. Yeah, yeah, I mean I understand the point, but it was a bone to pick and it was.

Like six inches off the floor, like really like his dad would have been sitting on the floor writing on the furniture. I didn't. That was a little weird.

To me, with like a sharp like he found like a sharpie, I get, like, I don't know, it was weird. And it also threw me off as he was taking an order.

But he owned a.

Warehouse or sorry, a hardware store. Yeah, so what order is he taking?

Well, it's a small town. He probably would take orders and then deliver them later or something.

I guess.

But when you say take orders, I feel like we're ordering a hamburger and fries.

Or maybe like set it aside and now you know they'll true.

I think the way he said he took an order, I'm like, but he owned a hardware store.

He didn't own them, right, It's not like the customer was standing right there.

Yeah, it was just it was just a funny way of warding it.

Yeah, there was a boom mic in the shot it was like bright green, and it's in the scene where where Taylor's in the diner and they're talking about repainting the diner and laurel Li sings the painting song. So right after lorele I says there's trouble in River City and it cuts to Luke, you can see like the green mic drop into the shot Man.

Season one had a herd Boom boom operator had a rough time, I know.

So the one of the pop culture references, whether it was inadvertent or not, when lorel I says trouble, there's trouble in River City. That's from the song from The music Man, which was filmed right there on the Warner back lot in Stars Hollow. So I just thought that was a fun little like music Man, I.

Don't know that.

Yeah, So if you google it, there's a video of the song and they they're like, Into's market I'm like, I mean, obviously it's not Dosie's marketing. Yeah, sixties, But so that was that was a fun little thing. Uh, let's see and then bab Bat okay, Babat never disappoints. I mean it's always never Yeah, it's always fun to

I love that, honestly. It's such a bad bad thing to do.

It's totally a bad bad thing, yeah, larele I, I guess, yeah it was, but it was so funny because she says no coffee and then Lorelai knows to just make.

It for Yeah, I did, like I did like Laureley's tied eye blue shirt this episode and the black puffer that was cute very two thousand and one, Yeah.

For sure. One other, like minor little inconsistency thing was when Rory was feeding the kitten, which it was always you know, I love cats, so it was nice to see a little orange kitten. But Rory had a mixer, you know, like you like a hand mixer, like you would mix cake batter or something with I don't know now, I have had cats for my entire life, and we have never used a mixer. To make cat food.

I mean, I just hope she's not mixing that with whatever she's making for Dean, because she's not a cook.

Yeah, But so the mixer was on the table in front of her, and then all of a sudden, like the angle changes and it's like on the counter behind her, which I thought was kind of funny. But I don't even know there was a mixer there in the first place.

I realized that we saw the inside of Babbett's house at the wake. Yeah, and because no one was in it, it seems so much bigger, Yeah, like like longer.

Yeah, like it was you could see like really the setup better because it wasn't full of people, like the kitchen dining area and then the couch.

And the the height of everything just still throws me off because like, like Dean is tall, like Maury, but like who.

Built a house that short? Right, it doesn't look that way from the outside.

Yeah. But then when Dean came in the door and he had to.

Like he's like, yeah, I was like, damn, he's tall. I mean, he is tall, but you know what I mean.

It's just I just love the quirkiness of Marian Badbad and like that house just seems to fit them.

Oh my god, could you imagine, like every time you wake up you have to bend your whole body to get through another room.

Yeah, because he loves her like the show, that's true. And then one other fun little background thing I noticed was in the scene where they're where Rory and Dean are eating the dinner. The song Johnny Angel was playing in the background is very soft, and so I don't I don't know if you heard it or not, but that the song was sung by Shelley Fabret, who played the daughter in the Donna Reed show.

Oh a callback.

Yeah, it was like a little tie into to the whole thing. So cool. You know, maybe because Rory researched it, maybe she found that out and then that was why she picked that music.

I mean, knowing Amy and Dan, that was yeah planned and yeah yeah.

And then let's see what did I have? Oh we got a little bit of the Troubadour at the end. Yes, so that was good to see him. I got Christopher, Oh my gosh, I was just gonna say, so it sets up the next episode. Yeah, and Christopher, Oh my gosh, I it's kind of icky how she told her to take her shirt off with his teenage daughter standing.

I think, yeah, see that was weird. It was really hot until he opened his mouth. Yeah you know what I mean.

Kikky, Like why would you say that in front of your teenage daughter and be like you know this is how men? Yeah, I don't know. I mean, it was supposed to be funny, I guess, but it wasn't.

Also, it just made me realize, like, so, okay, when you first watch this show, it makes you think that Rory has not seen or heard from her dad since she was a child. That's how it plays out. Like she doesn't recognize him at first. It takes her like it there's a.

There's a pause before she goes.

Over to him, and then like, also, wouldn't you I understand he's wearing a helmet, but like why didn't you kind of know like the person's body type, Like yeah, maybe not Rory, but like Laura I would like.

This is someone she's known her whole life. You just wouldn't know.

And then also when he said it right away, like you know, his voice right exactly, it just it just threw me off, Like I understand. To the viewer, we're like, oh my god, we got Rory's dad. But then, like the show continues and you're like, well, they're not like that strange, you know what I mean, Like because this doesn't she talk to him all the time supposedly or.

Yeah, theoretically they call each other, and they've implied before that they see each other like on holidays, so I guess, say at Richard and Emily's house or something. But I definitely did notice that pause before Rory ran up to him, because she like she didn't immediately realize it was him. So that kind of implies that they probably don't see each other very often. But you're right, Laurel, I should have recognized his voice.

And then when he says that his parents just moved. Haven't his parents always been there?

Yeah? He said, he said they came back to Connecticut and going to visit them, I'm like, I don't know, it just was it was just yucky that, like he comes to Connecticut to visit his parents but not to visit his daughter. I don't know. He's just right, Oh, I was good.

I came to visit my parents and I thought I just swing by and see my daughter, you know, Yeah, it was.

Like an afterthought, like well, I'm gonna be there anyway, so I guess I might as well go see.

It's like when you go to like I don't know, for me, like I go on a work trip to New York and I'm like, well, I have friends in New York.

We should try to make an effort to see them.

You know. It's like one of those like but my child exactly exactly.

I would make a point to see my child.

But you know what, that kind of sets up Christopher just perfectly in my opinions, I totally agree. But yeah, it's just funny because I wonder if like Amy and Dan had this concept of who Christopher is and then it changed along the way. But like this initial meeting was like yeah, as someone who's viewed the show before, we're all just like, okay, well this doesn't seem to add up right right.

And I know I don't want to get to ahead because we're going to talk about it in the next episode. But Lurlay was not pleased to see him. It's it's not like in you know, later on where she's like Google eyed over him. She was like, you know, what are you doing here? You know?

Unnounced?

Yeah exactly, I'm kind of surprised that she let Rory on the motorcycle.

Yeah, I yeah, I thought she should have protes to that a little more. Well, maybe she figures since the speed limits only like seventeen.

It would be you'd like tip over the motorcycle when you're at the red light.

Actually no, there's no red light yet. That comes in way later that.

Oh my gosh, Well I think that's all I have.

Is there anything else ye had?

Yeah? Not my favorite, but about to get more interesting because the next episode is season one, episode fifteen.

Christopher returns, looking forward to it. That'll be a good conversation. We'll see you then meeting adjourn. Hey everybody, and don't forget. Follow us on Instagram at I Am all In podcast and email us at Gilmore at iHeartRadio dot com.