Season 4 Gilmore-isms
4-01 Ballroom and Biscotti
Daria - Cynical MTV animated character.
Iran in ’79 - Iranian militants took U.S. embassy employees in Tehran hostage in 1979.
Jim Morrison - Lead singer of The Doors who is buried in the Pere LaChaise cemetery in Paris.
Prog rock - Short for progressive rock, featuring a combination of musical elements (classical, jazz, etc.) and occasionally over-wrought structures.
Sandinistas - Members of a leftist Nicaraguan political party, and a Clash album.
“Sk8er Boi” - Avril Lavigne’s annoyingly ubiquitous hit song from the album Let Go.
Sputnik - Satellite launched by the USSR that began the space race in 1957.
The Strand - New York used bookstore that claims to stock 16 miles of books.
4-02 The Lorelais First Day at Yale
Alfalfa and Darla - Characters from The Little Rascals television series. Alfalfa spent much time courting Darla.
Annie Leibowitz - Famous celebrity photographer whose work regularly appears in Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair.
Barry White - Singer with the unmistakable deep voice who topped the music charts in the 70’s.
Doogie - Doogie Houser, M.D. was an 80’s television series about a genius teenaged doctor.
Hare Krishnas - Members of a religious sect easily recognized by their colorful robes and chants.
Henry Box Brown - Plantation slave who escaped to freedom in the North by shipping himself in a 3 foot x 2 foot box.
Keith Richards at Altamont - Guitarist for the Rolling Stones, performed at an infamous free concert in Altamont, CA, marred by violence between concert goers and the Hell’s Angels.
Pat Summerall - Famed football play-by-play announcer.
4-03 The Hobbit, The Sofa, and Digger Stiles
Gravlax - Raw, thinly sliced cured salmon.
Heidi’s grandfather - Classic story of a girl sent to live in the mountains with her reclusive grandfather.
John Nash - Brilliant mathematician who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and was the inspiration for the 2001 film A Beautiful Mind.
Mommie Dearest - 1981 movie starring Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford – the screen legend and abusive mother.
Romanov kids - Children of Russian Tsar Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, the kids were born into a life of incredible wealth and luxury.
4-04 Chicken or Beef
Augustus Gloop - Bad rotund child from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
Braille Institute - Non-profit organization for the blind.
GI Jane - 1997 movie starring Demi Moore as the head-shaved first female Navy SEALS trainee.
Persis Khambatta - Actress who played the bald Lt. Ilia in the 1979 Star Trek movie.
Ted Knight - Silver-haired actor who played newscaster Ted Baxter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
4-05 The Fundamental Things Apply
Grey Gardens - 1975 documentary about a reclusive and eccentric mother and daughter holed up in a mansion in East Hampton.
Mel - The grumpy owner and cook at Mel’s Diner in the television series Alice.
National Velvet - 1944 Elizabeth Taylor movie about a young equestrian named Velvet who hopes to win England’s greatest racing event, the Grand National.
Woody - As in Guthrie, Depression-era folk singer best known for the song “This Land is Your Land.”
4-06 An Affair to Remember
Hans Christian Andersen - Danish author in the 1800’s whose work is the basis for many modern fairy tales, including The Ugly Duckling and The Little Mermaid.
The Three Stooges - Popular slapstick comedy group made up of Moe, Larry, and Curly.
Trigger - A.K.A. The Smartest Horse in the Movies. He appeared in over 80 films - always playing a horse named Trigger.
4-07 The Festival of Living Art
Caiphas - High priest involved in the crucifixion of Christ.
John Ashcroft - Over-reaching Attorney General during George W. Bush’s first term.
Norman Rockwell - Beloved artist whose sweet depictions of American life appeared on the covers of The Saturday Evening Post.
Pink Floyd - Classic rock and roll band formed in the 60’s, best known for the albums Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall.
Quiet Riot - 80’s heavy metal band who gained fame from a remake of Slade’s “Cum On Feel the Noize.”
4-08 Die Jerk!
Brown Bunny - Controversial indie film directed by Vincent Gallo that included a very graphic sex scene.
Capone - Reference to Al Capone, famed American gangster of the 20’s and 30’s who was arrested for income tax evasion.
Ebert - Noted film critic Roger Ebert, co-host of a television program that critiques new releases, he also writes a review column for the Chicago-Sun Times.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi - Popularizer of Transcendental Meditation around the world.
New Zoo Review - 1972 television series for kids.
Owsley - Potent form of LSD, named after its manufacturer in San Francisco.
Salvador Dali - Surrealist painter of dream-like images, the most recognizable being the melting watch.
Sharon - As in Ariel Sharon, the prominent military leader and Prime Minister of Israel.
Stations of the Cross - Fourteen sculptures found in Catholic churches depicting Christ’s journey from sentencing to his burial.
4-09 Ted Koppel's Big Night Out
Eartha Kitt - Actress and singer best known for playing Catwoman on the Batman television series in the 60’s.
Schleprock - Unfortunate teenage caveman character on the animated series The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show.
Valley of the Dolls - 1966 best-selling novel by Jacqueline Susann about the rise and fall of three women in Hollywood.
4-10 The Nanny and the Professor
The Sound of Music - Movie set in Austria starring Julie Andrews as a nun-turned-nanny.
Woody Allen - American filmmaker once married to Mia Farrow and now married to her adopted daughter, who is over thirty years his junior.
4-11 In the Clamor and the Clangor
Clyde - Half of the infamous outlaw duo Bonnie and Clyde, who committed murder and robbery during the Great Depression.
Hart to Hart - Television series about a wealthy husband and wife who play detective.
Kraftwerk - German electro-pop group credited with the growing interest and development of electronic music.
Madeleine Albright - Nominated by President Clinton and the highest-ranking woman in the history of the U.S. Government when she was sworn in as the 64th Secretary of State in 1997.
Prog rock - Short for progressive rock, featuring a combination of musical elements (classical, jazz, etc.) and occasionally over-wrought structures.
Witches of Eastwick - Novel and movie about three witches who innocently conjure up a mystery man to free them from their boredom.
4-12 A Family Matter
Arnold Palmer - Championship golfer.
Cole Porter - Famed American composer known for popular songs like “Night and Day” and “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.”
David Blaine - Street magician and stunt performer who spent several days standing in a block of ice.
Doobie Brothers - American rock band popular in the 70’s for such hits as “Black Water” and “Takin’ It to the Streets.”
Ebola - Named for a river in Congo (formerly Zairre), this virus is severe and often fatal in humans.
Foreigner - Middle of the road rock group whose songs included “Cold as Ice” and “I Want to Know What Love Is.”
Ming Dynasty - Ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 16444, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were members of the Zhu family.
Mrs. Robinson - Character in the 1967 film The Graduate. Mrs. Robinson is a married woman who seduces a much younger man.
Tolstoy - Genius Russian author of War and Peace and Anna Karenina.
Wolfowitz - A Neo-Conservative U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense who was a leading proponent of the 2003 Iraq War and the architect of George W. Bush’s foreign policy.
4-13 Nag Hammadi Is Where They Found the Gnostic Gospels
Adrian - Rocky’s girlfriend in the Rocky films.
Alive - 1993 movie about a rugby team trying to survive the freezing weather of the Andes after a plane crash.
Frances Farmer - Film actress whose questionable behavior put her in and out of mental institutions.
Nag Hammadi - In the 1940’s an important collection of ancient texts dealing with the gospels was found near Nag Hammadi in Egypt.
Robert Downey Jr. - Actor who broke into a stranger’s house tthinking it was his own and fell asleep.
4-14 The Incredible Shrinking Lorelais
Adolphe Menjou - Popular silent film actor known for wearing natty attire.
Carpenters songs - Popular 70’s musical group made up of siblings Karen and Richard. They had a string of soft rock hits including “Top of the World” and “Close to You.”
Kids in the Hall - Canadian sketch comedy group with an 80’s-90’s television series of the same name. Kids member Bruce McCulloch has guested on Gilmore Girls.
Lou Ferrigno - Bodybuilder and actor who played The Incrredible Hulk on the television series.
Mummenschanz - Pantomime group from Switzerland that makkes use of surreal masks and props.
Rockefeller - One of the richest men of the 1800’s, John D. Rockefeller was the founder of Standard Oil.
Taxi Driver - 1976 movie starring Robert De Niro as a NNew York cabby slowly losing his sanity in what he perceives to be a hopeless city.
4-15 Scene in a Mall
Hogan’s Heroes - Television sitcom of the late 60’s that wwas set in a German POW camp during WWII.
Joy Division - Late 70’s post punk band. Later morphed into New Order following singer Ian Curtis’s death.
The L Word - Television series about the lives of a group of lesbians.
Village People - Disco group of the 70’s best known for their use of costumes and their hit “YMCA.”
4-16 The Reigning Lorelai
Jayson Blair - New York Times reporter caught plagiarizing and subsequently forced off the paper.
Stephen Glass - Reporter for The New Republic magazine who was fired after it was discovered that over half of his stories were in some degree fabricated.
“Winona in the Family” - Actress Winona Ryder was caught stealing from Saks Fifth Avenue in 2001.
4-17 Girls in Bikinis, Boys Doing the Twist
Anna Nicole - Model and actress most famous for marrying billionaire J. Howard Marshall when he was close to ninety and she was in her twenties. After his death, she went into a long court battle with her husband’s son over the inheritance.
Casper -The friendliest ghost from the animated Casper series.
Fagin - Character in Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist, who is the leader of a group of boy thieves.
Maxim - Magazine for young men, always featuring a scantily clad woman on the cover.
Shirley MacLaine - Oscar®-winning actress who is outspoken about her belief in reincarnation.
Shriner hats - The Shriners is a men’s organization whose members wear fezes and drive tiny cars in local parades.
4-18 Tick, Tick, Tick, Boom
“25, and then 30. . . and then 45 and then 50, until we find all 59 and take back the square! Yeah!” - Reference to Howard Dean’s uninhibited speech during the 2004 Democratic nomination campaign.
Donna Summer - Earned the title of “Disco Queen” singing hits like “Hot Stuff ” and “Last Dance.”
Dorf - Memorable Tim Conway character that golfed and was part dork, part dwarf.
“get medieval on their ass” - Line from the film Pulp Fiction.
Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and Zeppo - First names of the Marx Brothers, a comedic troupe who performed on vaudeville stages and in film.
Harry Chapin - Singer-songwriter known for his melancholy hit about a father and son, “Cat’s in the Cradle.”
Metrosexual - Newly coined phrase used to describe a heterosexual male with good fashion sense.
Petticoat Junction - 60’s television series centered around the goings-on at the Shady Rest Hotel and its colorful country characters.
Tony Robbins - Well-known motivational speaker.
4-19 Afterboom
The Carringtons - Dysfunctional family from the soap opera Dynasty.
Kofi Annan - Secretary of the United Nations, known for his astute diplomacy.
Matchbox Twenty - Much-mocked rock band led by singer Rob Thomas.
Timothy Leary - Psychologist who walked a fine line between genius and insanity, he was outspoken about his belief in drug use and spent some time dabbling in the occult.
4-20 Luke Can See Her Face
Annie Sullivan - Teacher of the deaf and blind, her relationship with Helen Keller was depicted in the film The Miracle Worker.
Fatso - 1980 film about an overweight man who has a hard time getting motivated to lose weight until he falls in love.
Jethro Tull - Progressive English rock band of the 60’s, considered passé by boys Jess’s age.
The Lords of Flatbush - Movie about greasers (50’s gang members with greased hair and leather jackets) starring Sylvester Stallone and Henry Winkler.
Toby from American Splendor - Reference to chatty geek character in the movie based on the writings of cartoonist Harvey Pekar.
4-21 Last Week Fights, This Week Tights
Blossom Dearie - Squeaky-voiced cabaret singer and pianist.
Jack LaLanne - Bodybuilder and well-known fitness expert. He spent years on television giving fitness instruction.
Joan Crawford - Award-winning actress with a reputation for being difficult. The book and movie Mommie Dearest are based on Crawford’s shortcomings as a mother.
4-22 Raincoats and Recipes
Aragorn - Heir to the throne of men in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Blake Edwards - Film director and producer who worked with Peter Sellers on the Pink Panther movies.
Farrah on Letterman - Reference to Farrah Fawcett’s infamous 1997 appearance on The Late Show. Her behavior was unaccountably bizarre.
Hayley Mills - Played twins in The Parent Trap – a movie about sisters trying to bring their parents back together.
James Spader / Pretty in Pink - Spader plays a rich, smarmy brat in this 80’s teen flick.
Pop locked - A style of dance, spin-off of break dancing.
Roslyn Kind - Popular nightclub singer and little sister of Barbara Streisand.
“What’s your damage, Heather?” - Referring to the 1989 cult movie Heathers about three cruel girls named Heather.