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Season Two, Episode One: “Sadie, Sadie”

    Season 2, episode 1: “Sadie, Sadie”
    Original air date: 9 October 2001
    Directed by: Amy Sherman-Palladino
    Written by: Amy Sherman-Palladino

    Summary: Word of Lorelai’s possible engagement spreads through Stars Hollow. Rory invites Dean to dinner at her grandparents’ house, where he is interrogated by Richard.

    On this page: All References in Chronological Order | References Sorted by Category | Frequent References | Indigenous Land Acknowledgment

    All References in Chronological Order

    00:00 – 🎥 reference
    Episode title: “Sadie, Sadie”
    20:30
    SOOKIE: You’re gonna be a Sadie!
    LORELAI: A what?
    SOOKIE: A Sadie! (singing) Sadie, Sadie, married lady / Meet a mortgagee!
    LORELAI: Funny Girl!
    SOOKIE: Streisand!

    • Funny Girl (1968, dir. William Wyler) is a US musical film adapted from the 1964 stage musical of the same name. It is based loosely on the life of US comedian, actor, and singer Fanny Brice, played by Barbra Streisand on both stage and screen. The story follows Brice’s career and tumultuous relationship with professional gambler Nicky Arnstein, and Streisand performs the musical number “Sadie, Sadie” when the Brice and Arnstein characters are married. The film was selected for preservation in the US National Film Registry in 2016.
    • Streisand’s singing career was referenced previously in season one, episode six, and her performance in The Way We Were (1973) was mentioned in season one, episode seven.

    02:05 – 🎧 feature
    “I Found Love” by the Free Design plays as the camera pans across the Stars Hollow town square, which is festooned in yellow daisies.

    • This song comes from the 1968 album You Could Be Born Again by US pop vocal group the Free Design. They were a family musical group, with all members belonging to the Dedrick family.

    02:30 – 🗺️ mention
    RORY: You should get married in Italy.

    • Italy (officially the Italian Republic) “is a country in Southern and Western Europe. It consists of a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land border” (Wikipedia). It was the fourth most visited country in the world as of 2023, and scenic locations like Tuscany and the Amalfi Coast are popular destinations for wedding tourism.
    • Italy’s capital city, Rome (Italian: Roma), was mentioned in season one, episodes two and three.

    02:35 – 🗺️ reference
    LORELAI: There’s tons of stuff going on in the world. Big stuff.
    RORY: Like?
    LORELAI: Balkans.
    RORY: That was ages ago.

    • Lorelai is referring to the Yugoslav Wars, “a series of separate but related ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and insurgencies that took place [in southeastern Europe] from 1991 to 2001. … The conflicts both led up to and resulted from the breakup of Yugoslavia, which began in mid-1991, into six independent countries” (Wikipedia). The region these countries inhabit is sometimes referred to as the Balkans, named for the Balkan mountain range that spans Bulgaria; today, some prefer the term Southeast or Southeastern Europe. Given Rory’s response, she and Lorelai may be thinking specifically of the Bosnian War and genocide that occurred in Bosnia and Herzegovina (one of the former republics of Yugoslavia) from 1992 to 1995.

    02:40 – 🎧 mention
    RORY: You should walk down the aisle to Frank Sinatra with a huge bouquet of something that smells really good.

    • Frank Sinatra (born Francis Sinatra, 1915-1998) was a US jazz, swing, and pop singer ranked among the best-selling music artists of all time. His catalog features many love songs, including whole albums such as Songs for Young Lovers (1954) and Songs for Swingin’ Lovers (1956). For the purposes of walking down the aisle, Rory may be thinking of one of his slower songs, like “Strangers in the Night” (1966).
    • The period of Sinatra’s career known as “the Capitol years,” when he was signed to Capitol Records, was mentioned in season one, episode fourteen.

    02:45 – 🎥 reference
    LORELAI: I’ll take any other subject in the world for 200, Alex.

    • Jeopardy! is a US television quiz show that debuted in 1964 and, though it has aired in different versions across different networks, is still ongoing today. US-Canadian television personality Alex Trebek hosted the show from 1984 until his death in 2021. On the show, contestants choose clues, each of which has an assigned dollar value, from various categories. For example, if the category is “Gilmore Girls,” and the clue is worth $200, the contestant might say, “I’ll take Gilmore Girls for 200, Alex.” When the clue is presented, the contestant must answer in the form of a question. So, if the clue reads, “This character is daughter to Emily and mother to Rory,” the correct answer is, “Who is Lorelai?”
    • Melissa McCarthy (who plays Sookie) appears as a Jeopardy! clue in this compilation.

    03:00 – 🎥 reference
    LORELAI: You know how on All in the Family when Edith would be yapping about something, and Archie would pretend to make a noose and hang himself or shoot himself in the head?

    • All in the Family (1971-1979) is a US television sitcom about a working-class white family living in Queens, New York. The series “broke ground by introducing challenging and complex issues into mainstream network television comedy” (Wikipedia), often via the family patriarch and “lovable bigot” Archie Bunker. In this compilation, Archie (Carroll O’Connor) mimes hanging himself, shooting himself, and overdosing on pills while his wife, Edith (Jean Stapleton), continues talking.
    • Jerome “Stretch” Cunningham, a recurring character from All in the Family, was referenced in season one, episode twenty-one. The show also shares actors in common with Gilmore Girls: Sally Struthers (who plays Babette) appeared in the first eight seasons as Archie and Edith’s daughter, Gloria, and Liz Torres (who plays Miss Patty) appeared on the show in a recurring role from 1976 to 1977.

    04:45 – 🗺️ mention
    LANE: My mother and father are sending me to Korea for the summer to visit my cousins.

    • South Korea (officially the Republic of Korea) “is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone” (Wikipedia). In order to reach South Korea’s capital city, Seoul, from Hartford, Connecticut, Lane would need to travel about 6,833 miles (10,996 kilometers) by air.
    • Korean reunification was mentioned in season one, episode five.

    05:10 – 🎥 reference
    LANE: It’s gonna be just like that Sally Field movie when her husband took to them to Iran and wouldn’t let them come back, except that I won’t have to keep my head covered.

    • Not Without My Daughter is a 1991 US drama film directed by Brian Gilbert and based on Betty Mahmoody’s 1987 book of the same name. Sally Field plays Mahmoody, a US citizen who becomes trapped in Iran after her abusive husband brings the family there, ostensibly on a two-week trip, and will not let them leave. The rest of the film depicts her struggle to escape him, with the aid of sympathetic Iranians, and return to the US with her young daughter. The film has been criticized for perpetuating Islamophobia in its Western audience.
    • While in Iran, Mahmoody conforms with the Muslim custom of wearing a head covering in public. Though there is a small Muslim population in South Korea, Lane’s family are practicing Christians (and Buddhists, as we will later learn); these are the two dominant organized religions in the country, with Christians “accounting for more than half of all South Korean adherents” (Wikipedia) to organized religion.

    05:55 – ⭐ mention + 🕊️ reference
    BOOTSY: So, apparently they shoot a gland from a pig’s head in Ivana Trump’s rear end twice a month to keep her looking young.
    LORELAI: Wow. Hope she’s not kosher.

    • Ivana Trump (born Ivana Zelníčková, 1949-2022) was a Czech-born US model and socialite. In 1977, she married real-estate heir Donald Trump, who appointed her to high-level managerial positions within The Trump Organization. Following their 1990 divorce, she launched her own fashion and beauty lines, which were sold on television shopping networks. Though Ivana likely underwent cosmetic procedures as she aged, there doesn’t seem to be any genuine rumor concerning the use of pig’s glands.
    • Kashrut (Hebrew: כַּשְׁרוּת‎) “is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law” (Wikipedia). Foods that comply with the laws of kashrut, and are thus deemed fit for consumption, are described as “kosher.” Pig products, for example, are not kosher, as pigs are forbidden animals under kashrut. Compliance with Jewish dietary law varies by individual, and only about a sixth of US Jews report keeping kosher at home. (Ivana Trump, for the record, was Catholic.)

    06:55 – 📖 feature
    RORY: InStyle Weddings. Very interesting.
    07:10
    MISS PATTY: InStyle Weddings! You said yes!

    Lorelai reads the Spring 2001 issue at the newsstand. She also purchases a copy of The New York Times, per Rory’s request.

    • InStyle Weddings is an offshoot of InStyle magazine, which has been published by Dotdash Meredith (formerly the Meredith Corporation) since 1994. While InStyle concerns fashion, beauty, and lifestyle generally, InStyle Weddings is specific to wedding planning. InStyle was featured previously in season one, episodes seven and fourteen.
    • The New York Times (abbreviated: NYT) is a US daily newspaper founded in 1851 as the New-York Daily Times. It “covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of the longest-running newspapers in the United States, the Times serves as one of the country’s newspapers of record” (Wikipedia). As of 2023, it has received 137 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any publication. It was featured previously in season one, episode twenty.

    08:55 – 🎥 reference
    LORELAI: Remember when I called him Ranger Bob last week? He hated that!

    • There doesn’t seem to be a clear reference behind Lorelai’s choice of the name “Ranger Bob.” William Shatner (best known for his role as Captain Kirk on Star Trek) appeared on the Canadian version of the US children’s television series The Howdy Doody Show in 1954, playing a character named Ranger Bob. However, Shatner himself claims not to remember his time on the show.
    • Alternatively, Lorelai may be borrowing from the US cartoon series The Yogi Bear Show (1961-1962), which features a park ranger named Ranger Smith. “He is the serious and stern authority figure in Jellystone Park, in contrast to the antics of the troublesome Yogi [Bear], and he greatly disapproves of Yogi’s picnic basket thievery” (Wikipedia).

    09:10 – 🏷️ feature
    Luke pours ground coffee from a Hills Bros. can into a coffee filter.

    • Hills Bros. Coffee is a brand of packaged coffee founded in San Francisco, California, in the 19th century. It is named for its founders, brothers Austin Herbert Hills and Reuben Wilmarth “R. W.” Hills. According to the company’s website, R. W. pioneered the use of vacuum sealed coffee packaging, as a method of preserving freshness.

    10:35 – 🏷️ menion
    LORELAI: Sharing is a nice gesture. Like when you’re a kid, and you have one of those popsicles, and you break it in two and offer half to another kid, that is sharing, and that is what I’m doing.

    • Popsicle is a US brand of frozen dessert consisting of flavored ice on a stick. Like the brand names Post-it, Scotch Tape, and Kleenex, “popsicle” has become a genericized trademark, or proprietary eponym, in US English. The same confection may also be referred to as an ice pop or ice lolly in other English-speaking countries. Popsicle was introduced in 1922 and later followed by the Double Pop, which consists of two Popsicles joined together. Today, the double-stick version is discontinued.
    • In a season-two episode of the television drama series Mad Men (2007-2015), copywriter Peggy Olson pitches an advertisement for the Double Pop specifically highlighting the practice of breaking it in two and sharing it.

    15:00 – 🪶 reference
    LORELAI: Oh, yeah, Dad, J. Edgar Hoover over here was just telling us.

    • J. Edgar Hoover (born John Edgar Hoover, 1895-1972) was a US law enforcement administrator who directed the Bureau of Investigation (BOI) from 1924 to 1935; he became the first director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) when it replaced the BOI in 1935, holding the position until his death in 1972. FBI agents handle sensitive information and perform classified work, hence Lorelai’s joke about Emily’s failure to keep a secret.
    • The FBI has been the subject of many controversies over the course of its existence, and Hoover was personally “found to have routinely violated both the FBI’s own policies and the very laws which the FBI was charged with enforcing” (Wikipedia). Many of his abuses of power remained shrouded in secrecy until after his death.

    19:30 – 🎥 reference
    SOOKIE: So you’re gonna live forever? Like on Fame?

    • Fame (1982-1987) is a US musical drama television series about the students and faculty of the High School of Performing Arts in New York City. It is based on the 1980 film of the same name. The film’s theme song, “Fame” (performed by Irene Cara), won Best Original Song at the 53rd Academy Awards and was also used as the series theme. Its chorus contains the line, “I’m gonna live forever.” The film was selected for preservation in the US National Film Registry in 2023.
    • I’m guessing Lorelai and Sookie are referring to the television version since they say “on Fame” rather than “in Fame.” Alan Parker, who directed the film version, also directed Midnight Express.

    20:40 – ⭐ reference
    SOOKIE: Who’s catering?
    LORELAI: Um, Bobby Flay?

    • Bobby Flay (born Robert Flay, 1964) is a US “celebrity chef, food writer, restaurateur, and television personality. … He has worked with Food Network since 1995, which won him four Daytime Emmy Awards and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame” (Wikipedia), though he had not yet received these accolades at the time this episode aired.
    • Food Network was mentioned previously in season one, episode sixteen.

    22:35 – 🎧 feature
    “I’ll Be Your Mirror” by the Velvet Underground and Nico plays in Lane’s closet/music den during her phone conversation with Rory.

    • This song was released as a single in 1966 and later appeared on the Velvet Underground’s debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967). The band was mentioned previously in season one, episode twelve, and Nico, who provides lead vocals on the song, was mentioned again in season one, episode twenty-one.

    23:10 – 🏷️ mention
    LORELAI: Do you want Tater Tots also?

    • Tater tots are small, deep-fried cylinders formed from grated potatoes. They are often served as a side or incorporated into a larger dish, such as a casserole. “Tater Tot” is a brand name owned by US frozen-foods producer Ore-Ida, but, much like Post-it, Scotch Tape, Kleenex, and Popsicle, it is often used generically in US English.

    23:15 – ⭐ mention + 🎧 reference
    RORY: What kind of dress are you thinking of?
    LORELAI: Um… The one Stephanie Seymour wore in the Guns N’ Roses video?

    • Stephanie Seymour (born 1968) is a US model who posed for Sports Illustrated, Vogue, and Victoria’s Secret during the 1980s and ’90s. In 1991, she became involved with the lead singer of US rock band Guns N’ Roses, appearing in the music videos for their songs “Don’t Cry” and “November Rain.” The latter video features wedding scenes in which Seymour plays the bride; she wears a poufy white dress with a mini-length skirt in front and a long train in back. The “November Rain” video ranks among the most expensive music videos ever made.

    25:45 – 🪶 mention
    MAX: The third one…is from the twenties …. Large diamond in the middle. … Diamond clusters on the sides. … It’s a little Deco.

    • Art Deco is a design style that emerged in Paris, France, in the 1910s and flourished in the US and Europe during the 1920s. The name is short for the French Arts décoratifs, or “Decorative Arts.” Its hallmarks include geometric designs, “rare and expensive materials, such as ebony and ivory, and exquisite craftsmanship” (Wikipedia). Art Deco jewelry often features elaborate designs and nontraditional stone cuts, like emerald or baguette. Based on the description, Max’s ring may look something like this.
    • Two other design styles, Georgian and Biedermeier, were mentioned in season one.

    25:00 – 📖/🎥 reference
    MAX: I thought I heard her bark.
    RORY: No, that’s just a wild jackal that hangs out here sometimes.
    MAX: Mm-hmm. Put Cujo on the phone, please.

    • Cujo is a 1981 US horror novel by Stephen King. It tells the story of a family who are terrorized by a rabid Saint Bernard named Cujo. The dog’s name comes from the alias of William “Willie” Wolfe, one of the men responsible for kidnapping Patricia “Patty” Hearst in 1974. The book was a bestseller in the US and was adapted into a film directed by Lewis Teague in 1983.
    • Film adaptations of other Stephen King novels were referenced in season one, episodes two, eleven, thirteen, and sixteen. Another story featuring a rabid dog, Old Yeller (1957), was mentioned in season one, episode seventeen.

    25:50 – ⭐ reference
    RORY: Okay, good, so it’s decided. Breaking up? Not for us.
    DEAN: I mean, hey, not that it’s a bad thing. I’m sure some people like it.
    RORY: Oh, sure. Cher, Gregg Allman. I bet they’d give it a big thumbs up.

    • Cher (born Cherilyn Sarkisian, 1946) is a US singer and actor. She is one of the best-selling music artists of all time and holds the distinction of having won Emmy, Grammy, and Oscar awards – if she wins a Tony, she will have achieved EGOT status.
    • Gregg Allman (born Gregory Allman, 1947-2017) was a US musician known for his work as a vocalist, guitarist, and keyboardist with the Allman Brothers Band, which he formed with his brother Duane in 1969. The band incorporated elements of blues, jazz, and country, and is known for its contributions to Southern rock.
    • Just nine days after Cher and Allman married in 1975, she filed for divorce because of his problems with heroin and alcohol; they reconciled within a month, but the marriage remained troubled. Allman later filed for divorce himself, but reconsidered when he learned Cher was pregnant with their first (and only) child. Their son was born in 1976, and they ultimately divorced in 1979.

    26:05 – ⭐ reference
    RORY: Twenties Deco?
    LORELAI: Supposedly ripped right off of Zelda Fitzgerald’s cold, dead hand.

    • Zelda Fitzgerald (born Zelda Sayre, 1900-1948) was a US writer, painter, and socialite. She and her husband, US writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, were Jazz Age celebrities, and Zelda “became known in the national press as the first American flapper” (Wikipedia). Zelda’s actual engagement ring might be considered an unlucky one given the unhappiness of her marriage, which was marred by Scott’s alcoholism, Zelda’s mental illness, and mutual jealousies.

    26:10 – 🏷️ reference
    LORELAI: Silly rabbit.
    RORY: Timers are for kids.

    • Trix is a brand of breakfast cereal consisting of colorful, sweetened corn puffs; the cereal was originally spherical in shape, but was changed to fruit-shaped pieces in 1991. Since 1959, Trix has been marketed toward children via television commercials in which a white rabbit schemes to obtain Trix for himself. Children thwart his attempts, telling him, “Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids!” The cereal has been produced by US processed-foods company General Mills since 1954.

    26:15 – 🎥 mention
    RORY: The Joan and Melissa Rivers Story, starring…
    LORELAI: Joan and Melissa Rivers. A mother and daughter torn apart by tragedy.
    RORY: Suicide.
    LORELAI: Not getting The Tonight Show.
    RORY: Mean boyfriends.
    LORELAI: Identical noses. … And in the pivotal scene where a very distraught Joan gets locked out of high-holiday services because she’s late, I will be forced to rewind it and play it over and over about 4,000 times.

    • Joan Rivers (born Joan Molinsky, 1933-2014) was a US comedian, writer, actor, and producer. Actor and television host Melissa Rivers (born Melissa Rosenberg, 1968) is the only child of Joan’s marriage to German-born British television producer Edgar Rosenberg, who died by suicide in 1987.
    • In 1994, Joan and Melissa portrayed themselves in the television docudrama Tears and Laughter: The Joan and Melissa Rivers Story (also titled Starting Again), which depicts the aftermath of Rosenberg’s suicide. Lorelai and Rory touch on other aspects of the women’s lives, including Melissa’s relationship with a drug-abusing boyfriend, the end of Joan’s friendship with her longtime mentor Johnny Carson, and her subsequent ban from his show, The Tonight Show. In 2009, Joan admitted to having compelled Melissa to get a nose job in her late teens, hence the “identical noses.” The scene Lorelai describes, in which Joan and Melissa are locked out of Yom Kippur services, can be seen in the context of the full movie on YouTube. (The scene doesn’t strike me as particularly funny, but that’s just me.)
    • While the film was described by Entertainment Tonight as “ghoulishly creepy,” it received a more positive appraisal from Variety. Joan discusses the impact of the film and the significance of talking about suicide in this interview with the Archive of American Television. Joan and Melissa were referenced previously in episode fourteen.
    • “The Tonight Show is [a US] late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954″ (Wikipedia). Six comedians have hosted the show regularly since its debut, but it is probably most associated with US comedian Johnny Carson, who hosted the show from 1962 to 1992. It is the longest-running talk show in the world and the longest-running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the US.

    28:35 – 📖 mention
    RICHARD: I’m going to give Rory that first edition of Mencken’s Chrestomathy.
    34:40
    Emily enters holding a first edition copy of the book.

    • A Mencken Chrestomathy: His Own Selection of His Choicest Writings is a 1949 collection of writings chosen, edited, and annotated by the author, Henry Louis “H. L.” Mencken. Mencken was a social and cultural commentator of his time, particularly noted for “his satirical reporting on the [1925] Scopes Trial, which he dubbed the ‘Monkey Trial’” (Wikipedia). Mencken’s Chrestomathy and memoirs were mentioned previously in season one, episode three.
    • The word “chrestomathy” can refer to either “a selection of passages used to help learn a language” or “a volume of selected passages or stories of an author” (Merriam-Webster). Mencken is also known for his multi-volume study of US English, The American Language (1919), but the latter definition obviously applies to Mencken’s Chrestomathy.

    29:30 – 🏷️ mention
    LORELAI: I’ll have a white wine, and Dean’ll have a beer.
    DEAN: What!?
    LORELAI: Corona, right?

    • Corona is a Mexican brand of beer produced by Grupo Modelo since 1925. It is among the top-selling imported beverages in the US.

    31:50 – 🏷️ mention
    LORELAI: I just bet there is a fabulous, fancy dessert just sitting out there in that kitchen of yours.
    EMILY: As a matter of fact, there is. Twinkies.
    36:45
    Lorelai takes a regular, store-bought Twinkie out of its plastic wrapper.

    • A Twinkie is a snack cake, consisting of an oblong sponge cake with a cream filling, produced by US bakery brand Hostess Brands since 1930. Twinkies are highly processed, giving rise to the urban legend that they have an indefinite shelf life and could potentially survive a nuclear war. The actual shelf life is reported to be 45 days, raised from 26 in 2013 by the addition of stronger preservatives.
    • Another Hostess product, Fruit Pie, was mentioned in season one, episode thirteen.

    32:55 – ⭐ reference
    DEAN: I’m not great in math.
    LORELAI: Yeah, except who is, really? You know. Except mathematicians or blackjack dealers, or I guess Stephen Hawking doesn’t suck.

    • Stephen Hawking (1942-2018) “was an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author. … Between 1979 and 2009, he was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, widely viewed as one of the most prestigious academic posts in the world” (Wikipedia). He is also known for his works of popular science, especially A Brief History of Time (1988), which “appeared on the Sunday Times bestseller list for a record-breaking 237 weeks.”

    33:05 – 🏷️ mention
    LORELAI: You know what else is good though, Mom, is a Ho Ho. Because if you can’t find a Twinkie, you know, you can treat yourself to a nice Ho Ho.

    • Ho Hos are oblong, cream-filled chocolate snack cakes with a pinwheel design, similar to a Swiss roll. They were introduced in 1967 and, today, are produced by Hostess Brands, Inc.
    • Other Hostess products, Fruit Pie and Twinkie, were mentioned in season one, episode thirteen, and earlier in this episode.

    33:25 – 🎓 mention
    RICHARD: You do know that Rory’s going to an Ivy League school. … Harvard, Princeton, Yale.

    • The term “Ivy League” originates in US collegiate athletics. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) comprises three divisions, each of which is made up of several regional conferences. The Ivy League is one of these conferences, comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term is used more broadly, outside the world of college sports, to refer to the eight schools as a group of “elite colleges associated with academic excellence, highly selective admissions, and social elitism” (Wikipedia).
    • Harvard University (first mentioned in the pilot episode), Princeton University (mentioned in season one, episode fifteen), and Yale University (mentioned in season one, episode eighteen) are three of the eight schools that make up the Ivy League.

    34:15 – 🎧 mention + 🗺️ mention
    RICHARD: I wanted to see La traviata at the La Scala opera house.

    • La traviata (English: The Fallen Woman) is an Italian opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi and set to a libretto (a text) by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on the 1852 play La Dame aux camélias, usually titled Camille in English-language productions, by Alexandre Dumas fils. (Fils is French for “son,” denoting that Dumas is the son of Alexandre Dumas père, or “father.”) La traviata was first performed in 1853 and is among the most popular operas today.
    • La Scala (officially Teatro alla Scala) is an opera house located in Milan, Italy. Since its inauguration in 1778, “most of Italy’s greatest operatic artists, and many of the finest singers from around the world, have appeared at La Scala. The theatre is regarded as one of the leading opera and ballet theatres globally” (Wikipedia).

    34:20 – 🪶 mention + 🗺️ mention
    RICHARD: I wanted to walk the ruins of Pompeii. I wanted to travel the Far East.

    • Pompeii was an ancient Italian city, near present-day Naples, that was destroyed when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE. The city and its people were buried under volcanic ash and pumice, preserving them until they were unearthed in the 18th century. Excavators uncovered buildings and the remains of people sheltering or fleeing from the eruption. “Bakeries were found with loaves still in the ovens” (Encyclopaedia Britannica). The preserved ruins provide a snapshot of ancient daily life and of the disaster, itself.
    • “Far East” is a historical term used to refer collectively to East, North, and Southeast Asia. This region includes Russia in North Asia, countries like China, Japan, and South Korea in East Asia, and countries like Cambodia and Thailand in Southeast Asia. Much like the term “Middle East,” or “Mideast,” the term “Far East” has come under criticism for its Eurocentric perspective. The term “Asia-Pacific” may be used alternatively.

    37:45 – 🪶 reference
    LORELAI: You are the great white hope of the Gilmore clan.

    • John “Jack” Johnson (1878-1946) was a US boxer who became the first Black world heavyweight champion in 1908, at the height of the Jim Crow era. Racist backlash was so intense, many white people called for a “Great White Hope” to defeat Johnson. Undefeated world heavyweight champion James J. Jeffries, a white man, came out of retirement to fight Johnson in what was dubbed “the fight of the century.” Johnson won the fight, which took place in 1910, thereby retaining his title. US actor James Earl Jones portrayed Johnson in the 1970 romantic drama film, The Great White Hope, directed by Martin Ritt. It is based on Howard Sackler’s 1967 play of the same name.
    • Lorelai isn’t invoking the racist connotations of the phrase, of course. She is referring to the hopes placed on Rory that she may fulfill Lorelai’s “lost” potential and redeem some of the shame the family experienced over Lorelai’s teenage pregnancy.

    References Sorted by Category

    Jump to category: Academia | Brand Names | Famous Figures | Film, Television & Theater | Geography & Politics | History | Literature | Music | Religion

    🎓 Academia

    • 33:25 – Ivy League (athletic conference)
    • 33:25 – Harvard University (academic institution)
    • 33:25 – Princeton University (academic institution)
    • 33:25 – Yale University (academic institution)

    🏷️ Brand Names

    • 09:10 – Hills Bros. Coffee (packaged coffee)
    • 10:35 – Popsicle (ice pop), Double Pop (product)
    • 23:10 – Ore-Ida (frozen food), Tater Tots (product)
    • 26:10 – Trix (cereal), “Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids!” (advertising slogan)
    • 29:30 – Corona (beer)
    • 31:50, 36:45 – Hostess Brands (baked goods), Twinkie (product)
    • 33:05 – Hostess Brands (baked goods), Ho Ho (product)

    ⭐ Famous Figures

    • 05:55 – Ivana Trump (model and socialite)
    • 20:40 – Bobby Flay (chef and television host)
    • 23:15 – Stephanie Seymour (model)
    • 25:50 – Cher (singer and actor)
    • 25:50 – Gregg Allman (musician)
    • 26:05 – Zelda Fitzgerald (writer, painter, and socialite)
    • 32:55 – Stephen Hawking (theoretical physicist)

    🎥 Film, Television & Theater

    • 00:00, 20:30 – Funny Girl (1964 stage musical, 1968 film), “Sadie, Sadie” (musical number), Barbra Streisand (actor and singer)
    • 02:45 – Jeopardy! (television game show), Alex Trebek (television host)
    • 03:00 – All in the Family (television show), Edith Bunker (character), Archie Bunker (character)
    • 05:10 – Not Without My Daughter (1991 film), Sally Field (actor)
    • 08:55 – Howdy Doody (television show), Ranger Bob (character)
    • 08:55 – The Yogi Bear Show (television show), Ranger Smith (character)
    • 19:30 – Fame (1980 film), Fame (television show)
    • 25:00 – Cujo (1983 film)
    • 26:15 – Tears and Laughter: The Joan and Melissa Rivers Story (1994 film), Joan Rivers (comedian and actor), Melissa Rivers (actor and television host)
    • 26:15 – The Tonight Show (television talk show)

    🗺️ Geography & Politics

    • 02:30 – Italy (European country)
    • 02:35 – Southeast Europe (geographical region), Balkans (also known as), Yugoslav Wars (series of military conflicts)
    • 04:45 – South Korea (Asian country)
    • 34:15 – La Scala (opera house)
    • 34:20 – Far East (geographical region), Asia-Pacific (also known as)

    🪶 History

    • 15:00 – J. Edgar Hoover (FBI director)
    • 25:45 – Art Deco (design style)
    • 34:20 – Pompeii (ancient city)
    • 37:45 – Jack Johnson (boxer)
      • James J. Jeffries (opponent), “Great White Hope” (also known as)

    📖 Literature

    • 28:35, 34:40 – A Mencken Chrestomathy: His Own Selection of His Choicest Writings by H. L. Mencken (book)
    • 06:55, 07:10 – InStyle Weddings (magazine)
    • 06:55 – The New York Times (newspaper)
    • 25:00 – Cujo by Stephen King (book)

    🎧 Music

    🕊️ Religion

    • 05:55 – kashrut (dietary law), kosher (denotes compliance)

    Frequent References

    A few things come up so routinely in the show, I am not going to include an entry for them every time they do. I wrote about the following people, places, and things when they first appeared or were mentioned.

    Indigenous Land Acknowledgment

    In beginning my work on this guide, I’ve come to realize just how many references (however subtle) the show contains to the Revolutionary War and the colonial history of the United States. It is important and necessary to acknowledge the people whose lands were usurped when these events took place, though this is not a simple matter. Please visit my land acknowledgment page to view the results of my research.

    Episode citation: “Sadie, Sadie.” Gilmore Girls, created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, season 2, episode 1, Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, Hofflund/Polone, Warner Bros. Television, 2001.

    Posted 21 October 2024

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