Oprah, Uma

LORELAI: Rory, Gigi. Rory, Gigi. They’re identical.

RORY: They are not identical.

LORELAI: Two syllables, repeating consonants. Rory . . . .Gigi.

RORY: Oprah, Uma.

Rory references the 67th Academy Awards in 1995, which were hosted by David Letterman. He made a joke about Oprah Winfrey and actress Uma Thurman, by introducing them to each other:

“I’ve been dying to do something all day and I think maybe we can take care of this. Oprah? Uma. Uma? Oprah”.

The joke is simply that they are two women with unusual names. The punchline to the joke was, “I feel much better. Have you kids met Keanu?”. (Meaning actor Keanu Reeves, who, like Winfrey, was a presenter at the awards – Uma Thurman was nominated for Pulp Fiction).

The joke was considered so random and ridiculous that hardly anybody laughed – perhaps in desperation, Letterman kept repeating the joke, and even tried it again with different celebrities (Signourney Weaver and Quincy Jones). Although the awards ceremony got good ratings, Letterman was flayed by the press.

David Letterman was named one of the worst hosts of the awards, and ratings on his own show suffered and never recovered. It further damaged his relationship with Oprah Winfrey, who he was already in a bit of a feud with (they officially made up in 2005).

Lorelai is really stretching things to say Rory and Gigi are identical names. A bunch of names have two syllables, and repeating consonants are not that unusual (Nina, Lily, and Poppy would also fit, for example, and does anyone really think Nina is identical to Rory?).

“I can’t even look at this mayonnaise”

RABBI BARANS: Ugh, I can’t even look at this mayonnaise.

A joke based on the stereotype that Jewish people hate mayonnaise, preferring mustard as their condiment of choice. It has nothing to do with mayonnaise not being kosher – there’s no religious stipulation against it.

Jewish comedian Milton Berle once cracked, “Anytime somebody orders a corned beef sandwich on white bread with mayonnaise, somewhere in the world, a Jew dies” – I guess, dies in horror? Although Milton Berle himself ate mayonnaise on his corned beef sandwiches, making fun of people eating mayonnaise became a staple of Jewish comedy.

“Two wild and crazy guys”

LORELAI: Well, we are not two wild and crazy guys.

Lorelai is referencing a series of sketches on comedy television show, Saturday Night Live. They feature the Festrunk Brothers, Yortuk (played by Dan Akroyd) and Georg (played by Steve Martin), who have emigrated to the US from Czechoslovakia. Culturally inept, they went to a variety of social venues (bars, dance clubs, art galleries) in an attempt to meet American women – who were invariably put off by their clumsy behaviour. Their catchphrase was, “We are two wild and crazy guys!”. The sketch debuted in 1977, and the last one was in 2013.

Schnitzel

LORELAI: And the rabbit says, ‘How about that schnitzel!’

A schnitzel is a thin slice of meat that has been pounded into a flat shape using a meat tenderiser. It is usually breaded before being fried. The word is German, and means “slice” or “little slice”. Wiener schnitzel is a popular Viennese dish made of veal, traditionally garnished with a slice of lemon and served with potato salad or boiled potatoes with parsley and butter. It dates to the 19^th century, and is one of the national dishes of Austria. There are numerous international versions of the dish.

The punchline to Lorelai’s alleged joke (Rory doesn’t think it is one) appears to be original.

An Evening at the Improv

LORELAI: It wasn’t funny.

LUKE: Not from your angle. From mine, it was An Evening at the Improv.

An Evening at the Improv, cable television series running from 1982 to 1996. It showcased live comedy from The L.A. Improv comedy club, which opened in 1974, the sister venue to The Improv in New York City, which opened in 1963. Originally for singers, then singers and comedians, it became a stand up comedy club in the 1970s.

Some of the comedians featured on An Evening at the Improv include Bill Maher, Gary Mule Deer, Jerry Seinfeld, Janeane Garofalo, Steven Wright, Rich Hall, Rosie O’Donnell, Adam Sandler, George Lopez, Sandra Bernhard, Tim Allen, Drew Carey, Dave Chapelle, and Jim Carrey.

Lorelai’s Careers Talk Goes Off Script

Lorelai begins giving her careers talk at Stars Hollow High, but it is almost immediately hijacked by students who are more interested in hearing about when she got pregnant with Rory, and whether she regrets it. You get the distinct impression that for these teens, Lorelai has long been a source of fascination (and probably of gossip), and they have been waiting for an opportunity to ask questions about her decision to keep Rory and commit to being a single mother.

Lorelai looks to Debbie Fincher for help, but receives absolutely none – it’s a supervised event organised by the PTA, and yet nobody steps in to ask the students to keep their questions only on the subject of Lorelai’s career, not her personal life. Lorelai could have said something along these lines herself, but she makes an attempt to answer their questions honestly, to show that she’s not ashamed. Unfortunately, she makes a bit of a mess of it – by the end she is very unwisely offering to take them all out for coffee to discuss her life in more depth. Boundaries, Lorelai!

One of the girls asking questions is Riki Lindhome (she’s the one with blonde pigtails), who would play the role of Juliet in later seasons of Gilmore Girls. At that time she had had a small role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She later got her big break in Tim Robbins’ hit play, Embedded, and was then cast in her first film role by Clint Eastwood in Million Dollar Baby (2004). She’s gone on to have a successful career in film and television, and performs in a comedy duo called Garfunkel and Oates with Kate Micucci.

Johnny Yune

LANE: We practice for two hours, I’m home in time to watch reruns of Johnny Yune’s talk show on Korean television with my mom, who thinks I hooked up with you guys – which I did, so I’m not even lying.

Johnny Yune, born Yoon Jong-seung (1936-2020), Korean-American actor, singer, and comedian. He began performing stand up in 1964, and got his big break appearing on The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson in 1979. He was one of the show’s most frequent comedy guests. He is best known for playing the lead role in the 1980s comedy films, They Call Me Bruce, and They Still Call Me Bruce.

From 1989-90, he hosted The Johnny Yune Show, the first Americanised talk show in Korea The show was a hit, but after only a year, Yune decided to leave due to limited freedom of the media.

Mrs Kim is watching reruns of his talk show on KBS America, the local platform for Korean Broadcasting System, South Korea’s national broadcaster.

Daffy Duck

LORELAI: Now, this last one’s a little more gory. I’m out hunting … And my gun backfires and my whole face spins around a bunch of times and winds up in the back of my head like Daffy Duck.

Daffy Duck, animated cartoon character created for Leon Schlesinger Productions by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett. He first appeared in the short film Porky’s Duck Hunt in 1937, and is a staple character in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoon series. He is an assertive, combative figure whose lisp never stops him from putting forward his strong opinions.

A common gag is for Daffy to get shot in the face (quite often accidentally by himself), and his face spins around so that his bill ends up behind his head.

Ish Kabiddle

RORY: Ish Kabibble.

Ish Kabibble, born Merwyn Bogue (1908-1994), comedian and cornet player. He appeared in ten films between 1939 and 1950, and although his stage persona was a gangly goofball, he was also a notable cornet player. He performed with bandleader Kay Kyser, and was the manager for the Kay Kyser Orchestra. After the band broke up in 1950, he worked as a solo act until 1961, when he became a real estate agent. He has become an icon of American comedy, often referenced in popular culture.

His stage name came from the lyrics to one of his comic songs, “Isch ga-bibble.” It’s a mock-Yiddish expression, supposedly meaning, “I should worry?”. In fact, it isn’t Yiddish at all, although there’s a Yiddish phrase nisht gefidlt meaning “it doesn’t matter to me,” from which the term “isch ga-bibble” may have been derived.

I’m not sure if Rory is simply answering one name from Jewish culture with another, or if she is literally saying, “I’m not worried”, or “It doesn’t matter right now”.

Danny Gans

LORELAI: My mother will be there, too. She’s terrific . . . All right, I’ll see you this weekend . . . Mm, bye. [hangs up]

RORY: You’re no Danny Gans.

Daniel “Danny” Gans (1956-2009), singer, comedian, and vocal impressionist. He was a performer in Las Vegas since 1996, billed as “The Man of Many Voices”, and was named Las Vegas Entertainer of the Year for ten years in a row until 2008.