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

When the bells start to chime, you know it’s Hart to Hart time! But who knew this ‘80s TV drama could be so educational? We sure didn’t, which is why we needed to watch a few episodes to figure out how it would help Luke and Lorelai break into a church. We talk about hypnotism, detective procedurals, and how this show is related to a new HBO documentary. Plus, our butler Max makes his first appear...

It was the beginning of an incredible time—bad time, good time...Ragtime! Richard and Emily are having a not-so-incredible time because of their visitors while we’re having a bad time watching a movie but a good time discussing it...Ragtime! If that makes no sense, well, neither does this 1981 movie. It kicks off our conversation about the architect Stanford White, whose murder led to the Trial of...

Swish swish! We’re back with the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad to talk all the Tarantino, samurai swords, and complicated plot of the Kill Bill saga. Since Lorelai is comparing Emily to Uma Thurman’s revenge-focused Bride and Rory is dressing up as the ball-and-chain-wielding Gogo, we gotta talk about how these blood-soaked movies relate to the Gilmores. We cover (some of) the influences on thi...

It’s Gilmore Girls meets Eminem! Rory is trying to sell a rewrite of an article to Doyle, and B-Rabbit is trying to sell his music in Detroit. We take on one of the Gilmores’ most recent pop culture refs with the help of an Eminem super fan. With Heather’s help, we talk differences between the movie starring Eminem and the real Eminem, how it compares to Fame, and whether Rory’s sell on this artic...

We're rebroadcasting this episode (originally our episode 64) in preparation for next week when we tackle a two-in-one reference, involving Fame. Enjoy! We’re gonna live forever, just like Michel and Debbie Allen! We’re talking about paying in sweat in the various versions of Fame. How did the characters in Fame pay in sweat? Did the cast really go on to achieve Fame? And how are Luke, Lorelai, an...

Bada bing! Is this the most-referenced piece of pop culture on Gilmore Girls? While we’re focusing on one reference in the only Emmy-winning episode of our favorite show, we can’t ignore how many times The Godfather has gotten a shout-out. What did the real mafia think of this movie? Why did it have so much Oscar controversy? And how do the Corleones compare to the Gilmores? We complete the Holy F...

Welcome to another episode of SO IT’S A SHOW?...hopefully you’re emotionally ready for it! We return to the age-old (or at least, 1980s-old) question: Duckie or Blane? Kirk is referencing Pretty in Pink, and that means it’s time for us to go back to ‘80s teen movies. We discuss why Lindsay wanted to talk about this movie, why it reminded Kyla of her own high school experience, and why it was so im...

Listen, National Velvet, you have to listen to this episode. The Kyla and The Taylor are talking THE Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet. This movie has a lot of animal-obsessed kids, and we’re digging in to how they connect with Lorelai’s pony obsession as a kid. The Kyla and The Taylor also debate if this movie was good, the varying shades of Mickey Rooney performances, and how the decorator of...

Pull out your magnifying glass and take another look at those declassified FBI files—we’re looking for conspiracies today! Luke’s not convinced Jim Morrison and Elvis are alive or that not-sex-symbol Marilyn Monroe is dead because of the Kennedy brothers, but today, we are! We’re throwing out our usual sources and instead looking to “Marilyn Monroe experts,” personal essays, and weird YouTube clip...

“NO. WIRE. HAAAANGGEERRS! EVER!” —Joan Crawford, not Sookie St. James Sookie is having a motherhood crisis, but spoiler alert: It’s not nearly as traumatic as the pop culture she’s referencing. We go back to the 1981 camp classic Mommie Dearest, aka the story of the abusive Hollywood mother Joan Crawford. This movie is the kind that won a lot of awards a movie doesn’t want to win, and it’s the kin...

Sounds like a very specific look, Rory—so specific we needed some special guests to help us figure out what look she’s talking about. Christian Bonner and Tim Lindsay, co-hosts of the Rolling Stones podcast Under the Radar, join us to discuss the Stones’ chaotic concert at Altamont in 1969 and the documentary all about it, Gimme Shelter. Christian and Tim school us on the legacy of one of the grea...

We love Lucy, and we…kinda like Dick Van Dyke? Jackson wants to be just like Rick(y Ricardo) and Dick, and we’re wondering what on Earth those classic sitcoms have to do with Sookie’s pregnancy. Turns out both I Love Lucy and The Dick Van Dyke Show were subversive for their time, and both of their birth episodes made headlines. We talk famous TV births, why people thought it was risky to say “preg...

We think the title says it all…we went to Stars Hollow! As a special episode before we kick off our dive into the fourth season of Gilmore Girls, we’re recapping all the magic of of our visit to Lorelai and Rory’s hometown on the Warner Brothers Studio Tour. We walked around the town square, ate just like Gilmore Girls, and almost met Mindy Kaling—wait, what? Check out our tour photos as you liste...

Hope we didn't spook you with this trailer on this Friday the 13th, but we're just too excited to announce our fourth season! We're launching on January 10th with a special episode, then we'll continue with a couple TV shows that might sound familiar, a concert we hope you didn't attend, a scary movie we're not sure why we watched, and even a couple of conspiracy theories. Can't wait to share all...

And here’s to you, Miss Gilmore—Jess loves you more than you will know. We’re breaking out of our usual mold with this episode just like Ben Braddock broke out of society’s expectations in The Graduate. We’re taking a closer look at some scenes that look a lot like the 1967 classic, even if they never mention the movie by name. What does Jess and Rory’s bus ride have in common with Dustin Hoffman...

Get a clue, who? Jess is comparing Luke to a TV detective who made his debut in the ‘70s, and we’re doing some detective work on a pop culture ref in season 3 that we missed the first time around. This time, Kyla is picking the smart, unassuming Peter Falk character Columbo, and we’re talking his raincoat, all the deadly episodes he starred in, and how it was an unusual show for the era. Other pop...

Just be our #1 fan and listen to this cockadoodie episode already! Unlike Richard, we HAVE seen Misery, which is a good thing because we have a lot to say about the 1990 movie. What does a psycho Kathy Bates character have to do with Emily Gilmore? According to Lorelai, more than you think. We also discuss a traumatic incident in Kyla’s childhood, recent Emmy nominations for Gilmore Girls actors,...

Welcome to The Looove Booooat, starring Kyla, Taylor, and your cruise director Julie! We’ve got our clipboards ready to set sail into the story of this ‘70s-’80s TV show that wasn’t like anything else on air at the time. With lots of love stories, lots of guest stars, and lots of weddings and engagements, we dig into what Lorelai’s reference tells us about Luke’s summer plans and the dangers of va...

Look, it’s Miss Celine! We’re dialing our pop culture references up to 15 in this ep to pay tribute to the most fashionable lady in all of Gilmore Girls who seems to have known every major star in Old Hollywood during her career. Who influenced her style? Who didn’t take her advice? Which celebrities does she think the Gilmore Girls resemble? While there are still a couple mysteries to be resolved...

It’s time to jump back, cut loose, and kick off those Sunday shoes! Just like every teen-centered TV show and every teen-centered ‘80s movie, we’re going to the Prom, and our Prom is less Cinderella, more Footloose. When we’re not busy gushing about how great Adam Brody is in Gilmore Girls, we’re gushing about how great Kevin Bacon is in this dance movie classic. We dig into the real story that in...

We’re gonna live forever, just like Michel and Debbie Allen! We’re talking about paying in sweat in the various versions of Fame. How did the characters in Fame pay in sweat? Did the cast really go on to achieve Fame? And how are Luke, Lorelai, and Nicole paying in sweat at the Independence Inn? Plus, we check in on the real school that inspired the story and what modern movies it connects with. O...

Huh-ello and welcome to our episode about the huh-larious Carol Burnett! We’re looking into another pop culture reference we weren’t even sure was a reference (okay, at least Taylor wasn’t), and laughing the whole way through.  Who is Mrs. Wiggins? Will she ever do her job correctly? And what does she have to do with Richard’s secretary? We give an overview of the classic variety/sketch series fro...

Home? We have no homes! The good news is that while Lorelai may be feeling hunted and despised, we’re just feeling like we got to watch another good movie about the craziness of making movies. This time it’s 1994′s Ed Wood, the real-life story of the unusual Edward D. Wood, Jr. and one of the first of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp’s unusual collabs. Amid the low-budget campiness of films he made (lik...

There’s no business like show business, and there are no references like theatre references! Thanks to Paris (and later, Lorelai), our programs say we’re in for a full two acts of Broadway pop culture refs. Why does Paris want to beat Jerome Robbins? How is Brad like Chita Rivera? Why does Paris want him to sit down like Mary Martin? And how does Lorelai’s doodling resemble Al Hirschfeld’s? And bo...

Lorelai’s got some questions, so we’re doing journalistic research to find some answers! First off, we have no idea who Susan Faludi is, much less where she came from. We dig into her work as a gender-focused journalist, her debunking of popular statistics, and what she has to do with Lorelai’s bad experience at a middle school Sadie Hawkins dance. Next up, how are supposed to know what Miss Manne...