So it's a show?: keeping up with the Gilmore Girls

For 8 years, you've led where we've followed, and we've loved every minute—well, almost every minute! Before we kick off our final discussion of a Gilmore Girls pop culture reference, we take a look back at our favorite references and guests, as well as a few that surprised us and few we're happy we won't ever need to revisit. Then we dig into His Girl Friday , the classic screwball romantic comed...

In our (probably) penultimate episode, we turn into correspondents on a topic we've wanted to investigate for years: Christiane Amanpour. And to do this research, we go to the most important primary sources we could find: sub-par Hollywood sequels! What inspired Amanpour to become a journalist? Is she a good role model for Rory? And what did she think of the Gilmore Girls revival on Netflix? W...

In this episode, we're taking on a listener request! We're reading the works of (but mostly watching a movie about) Sylvia Plath. What is the tragedy that Rory and Lorelai allude to? Is Gwyneth Paltrow any good at playing this poet in a movie? And why does Rory love her work so much? No need to finish that copy of The Bell Jar that's been sitting half-read on your nightstand for years—...

What's a girl to do when she has no time to write a valedictorian speech? And what's a girl to do when she has to choose between two terrible love interests while working in the world of TV journalism? We're digging into the '80s romantic dramedy Broadcast News and trying to figure out what the hey it has to do with Rory's graduation. Why is Lorelai comparing Rory to Holly Hunt...

Sorry if you thought we had a deep Rory and Lorelai thing—because we totally do! We're holding hands as we drive straight into our newest pop culture ref, the 1991 crime classic Thelma & Louise . What does this movie have to say about female friendships? What did we think of THAT ending? And is Rory totally a Thelma? We Wholeheartedly Recommend:  The Sound of Music Sing-Along, Persuasion b...

Because Barbra is queen! In the first pop culture ref of our final season, we finally watch and discuss The Way We Were . This '70s weepy features a Palladino-esque heroine, Robert Redford in a cable knit sweater, heartache, laugher, and Communism all in one neat package! We discuss the cultural changes in parenting since the 1970s, why the Gilmores reference this movie several times in the se...

Did you miss us? We're back with our final season covering Gilmore Girls's final season, but with a few changes to our previous format. We explain all that, PLUS talk about seeing the one and only Amy Sherman-Palladino at PaleyFest, her upcoming show Etoile , and the new children's book Gilmore Girls: At Home in Stars Hollow .

Pull on your tights and lace up your ballet slippers—it’s a Turning Point!  Why is Miss Patty obsessed with this ‘70s movie? Is Mikhail Baryshnikov a secret superstar we somehow missed the memo on? Whether or you call them “tights” or “air paints” (we’re looking at you, TJ), you won’t want to miss our first Miss Patty pop culture reference. We Wholeheartedly Recommend: Nintendo World, The Golden G...

Hot or not: Emily’s latest pop culture ref! As she’s prepping for eye surgery, she’s ranking handsome TV doctors, specifically the ones from Marcus Welby, M.D. and ER. Why did audiences love these shows? How accurate were the medical procedures they were depicting? And how many Gilmore Girls cast members guest-starred on each one? Put on that stethoscope stat to find out! Other pop culture we ref:...

Enjoy this replay of our Laverne & Shirley episode, in memoriam of the passing of Cindy Williams. We invited our moms back to ask them about their memories of the ‘70s sitcom Laverne & Shirley, why they loved the show, and what TV shows do differently today. Also, who is more like Laverne and who is more like Shirley? Does Sookie have anything in common with Laverne and Shirley’s neighbor Squiggy?...

Before Elsa Klensch was Rory’s fashion icon, she looked to...1970s sitcoms? In this ep, Taylor and the Woman (Kyla) take on hard-to-find Chico and the Man. How has the show aged? What is its legacy—if it has one? And what does this reference tell us about Rory and Lane in kindergarten? TBH, some answers are a little fuzzy, but at least we know Charo is going to show up and shout, “Coochie Coochie!...

No need to wake up from a dream—the real Paul Anka is here in our episode—er, at least our tribute to his Dog counterpart is here. We dig into the namesake of Lorelai’s first surviving pet: What are his biggest hits? Who else has he written songs for? Which band can we credit him with for bringing to America? And why on Earth would he inspire Lorelai to name her pup after him? Listen into our conc...

Cue up your favorite cute little ditty and pack your bags for a trip to the bizarre world of Pippi Longstocking...aka Sweden? We research the country's favorite child superheroine, who was inspired by bedtime stories and inspired many characters and women of the future. Was Lorelai one of the women she inspired? And exactly what version of her story are Luke, Lorelai, Dean, and Rory watching in St...

No one knows how to hurl an insult like Paris Geller—maybe it’s because her inspiration is Danny Bonaduce! In this short and sweet episode, we trade the la la-filled soundtrack of Stars Hollow for the la la-filled songs of The Partridge Family. What was Bonaduce’s role on the ‘70s family sitcom? And how did his later career inspire Paris’s showdown with Logan? Hop in the ring and find out! Other p...

Lorelai is hanging with the Holy Trinity of A Star Is Born—that is, Janet, Judy, and Babs—and we're adding Lady Gaga and Dorothy Parker to the party, too! We're talking all four versions of A Star Is Born (plus, another almost-version), ranking our favorites, and comparing and contrasting each story. How did true stories from early Hollywood influence the story? How are Lorelai and Luke like the s...

This episode is going to make our ratings bigger than Watergate! Rory is taking her fashion inspiration from another 1976 movie and a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. What is the legacy of the classic Network? What about Maureen Dowd’s pumps say “come hither” (if anything)? And what do these inspirations mean for a journalism panel Rory is participating in? You know we won’t stay in the dark any...

It’s a George Clooney double feature! In honor of his new rom-com with Julia Roberts releasing today (Ticket to Paradise), we’re watching two movies he starred in (and one he directed) that are referenced in the Gilmore Girls season 6 episode “You’ve Been Gilmored.” First it’s the 2002 sci-fi drama Solaris, in which Clooney is investigating some weird behavior in outer space, and then it’s the 200...

Lorelai is looking for a man like Aragon (um, Luke much?), and we’re looking for an excuse to talk about some of our favorite movies. We love The Lord of the Rings almost as much Dean does, and we have almost as many memories of watching these movies and reading the books by J.R.R. Tolkien as we do of watching Gilmore Girls. Whether they’re naming their pets after characters, planning a LOTR birth...

We welcome back our Meryl Streep Correspondent Maddie Brophy to chat about the ‘90s romantic drama The Bridges of Madison County. We discuss another instance of Streep and her whole accent thing, movies about cheating, and a Gilmore Girls episode that reminded Maddie of her 14th birthday. What bridges does Rory need to cross with her grandparents, and where does the episode “Friday Night’s Alright...

Gilmore Girls: The Official Cookbookuse coupon code INSIGHT25 to get 25% off through 9/16/22 at www.insighteditions.com (https://publish.blubrry.com/s-427066/episodes/e-89317112/edit/www.insighteditions.com)We want to take a bath in these recipes! We are taking a break from our regularly scheduled program to review the delicious and fun Gilmore Girls: The Official Cookbook by Elena P. Craig and Kr...

This ep is Gilmore Girls meets music meets Hep Alien meets John Cabrera! In a very special episode, we chat with John Cabrera about his time playing our favorite bassist, Brian Fuller, on Gilmore Girls and all the pop culture that influenced Hep Alien. What was it like working with real-life rock ‘n’ roll legends like Sebastian Bach and Carole King? How well did John know the pop culture refs that...

Gilmore Girls and Buffy the Vampire Slayer go together...perfectly, it turns out! Taylor is on vacation, so Kyla is joined by the hosts of the Buffy the Gilmore Slayer podcast Stacey Kulow and Bryan Morris. They share the connections between these two shows that they've discovered, just how much they believe Amy Sherman-Palladino was inspired by Buffy, and of course what all these Buffy references...

Toto, I don’t think we’re in Stars Hollow anymore! We’re taking a look at The Wizard of Oz, one of the movies Lorelai and Rory love to reference most. Who in their lives are like the Witches of Oz? How many of the movie’s songs did they sing in the series? What special connection does the Life and Death Brigade have with the characters? And what is the only season of Gilmore Girls that doesn’t ref...

Stop the presses—we’ve got a scandal! We’re trying to figure out what “Howell Raines-ing” Paris means for the Yale Daily News Staff, which means we’re doing some investigative journalism about Raines and his role in the Jayson Blair scandal of the early ‘00s. We watch the documentary A Fragile Trust: Plagiarism, Power and Jayson Blair at the New York Times, and then we ask questions like: How many...

Welcome to our biweekly round up of sadness and misery! Lorelai is comparing Rory’s new apartment to an Irish memoir and a ‘70s sitcom—you know, like you do all the time. How were we introduced to these references by two modern sitcoms? What do Harry Potter actors have to do with Angela’s Ashes? Can you still go to the Sanford and Son junkyard? And are Rory’s new digs with Paris really as bad as t...