‘Gilmore Girls’: The 3 Funniest Town Meeting Scenes
Many Gilmore Girls fans know that Stars Hollow wouldn’t feel complete without its weekly town meetings. Ran by the uptight, sweater vest-clad Taylor Doose (Michael Winters), town meetings served as a platform for Stars Hollow residents to address concerns (no matter how silly some might have seemed). Gilmore Girls included a town meeting in practically every episode, so it’s not surprising that some of the series’ most memorable moments took place during the gatherings at Miss Patty’s Dance Studio. Here are some of the funniest town meeting scenes.
Cart, kiosk, cart/kiosk
How many times can you say “cart” and “kiosk” in one sentence? Gilmore Girls Season 2 Episode 17, “Dead Uncles and Vegetables,” might have the answer. During a town meeting, Taylor lodged a complaint about the new vegetable stand in town, which competed against his grocery store. He told the stand’s owner (played by Dave Allen) that he didn’t have the proper permit for running his stand. However, the townspeople could only focus on the permit saying “cart kiosk” twice in a row.
Taylor explained that the permit covered carts, kiosks, and cart-kiosk hybrids, but everyone had already lost focus. “It’s repetitive and redundant,” Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Rory (Alexis Bledel) said twice.
“He’s been stressed lately. His store is deserted,” Kirk (Sean Gunn) explained, adding salt to Taylor’s wound. This scene also featured an appearance from the Town Troubador (Grant-Lee Phillips), who demonstrated a hilarious song about Taylor’s betrayal called “Taylor Left Me Twistin’.”
Taylor’s 3 a.m. emergency town meeting
There’s never a wrong time for a Stars Hollow town meeting — not even 3 a.m., apparently. In season 6 episode 12, “Just Like Gwen and Gavin,” Taylor called for an emergency meeting in the middle of the night. When the sleepy residents arrived at the dance studio, they found a computer monitor instead of Taylor. He video called in from a “remote location” (read: his sister’s house in Maine) to address his absence at the annual Winter Carnival. However, the townspeople didn’t understand the problem.
“I must be tired. I’m not getting this,” Patty (Liz Torres) said.
“It’s like a riddle or something,” Babette (Sally Struthers) added.
Finally, after a few more explanations, everyone understood that someone had to take over the carnival for Taylor. Patty appointed Kirk to the role, and that ended that.
“I’m gonna fall back to sleep and dream about running Taylor over in that car I was looking at,” Luke (Scott Patterson) added as everyone exited the building.
Figuring out Kirk’s next living situation
Many Gilmore Girls fans might remember those episodes where Kirk moved out of his mom’s house and had nowhere to sleep. So, he couch-surfed with the people of Stars Hollow, choosing his next location at a town meeting. In season 5 episode 18, “To Live and Let Diorama,” he insisted that he didn’t want to be a burden and would just sleep in the town gazebo.
“I would ask, though, that if I die from exposure, don’t just dump me in the landfill,” he said.
“No one’s dumping you in a landfill, Kirk,” Patty added.
Later, Kirk asked if he could sleep in Mr. Twickam’s death bed because he’s not picky. He also offered to sleep in an igloo.
“No, Kirk. If you build an igloo to sleep in, and the town plow runs over it and kills you, we are not going to just leave your corpse in the snow,” Taylor assured.
“OK, but I don’t want to be a burden,” Kirk replied.
Gilmore Girls and Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life are now streaming on Netflix.
