All the Pop Culture References in the 'Gilmore Girls' Pilot

Quote: "God, RuPaul doesn't wear this much makeup."
Context: Rory Gilmore has just come in from the autumn cold and asks her mother for lip gloss. Lorelai offers her a variety: vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, even toasted marshmallow. To bookish Rory, this arsenal of makeup seems more appropriate for the iconic drag queen.

Quote: "Sorry, I lost my Macy Gray CD and I need caffeine."
Context: Lorelai borrows Rory’s CD of 'On How Life Is' (remember CDs? Oh man, the early 2000’s were a trip). Later, after their first big fight, the Gilmore girls both play the song “I Try“ to themselves.

Quote: “If my parents still get upset over the obscene portion size of American food, I seriously doubt I'm gonna make any in-roads with Eminem.”
Context: Lane’s quick switch into a Woodstock shirt gives viewers our first indication of her strict parenting. What Eminem has to do with Woodstock or “rock music” is left unexplained.

Quote: “You’re like Ruth Gordon standing there with the tannis root. Make a noise!”
Context: Rory Gilmore read more books and saw more old movies than most of us probably ever will. Naturally, as Dean finds out here, the key to her heart is understanding one of her references - in that case, to a creepy scene from 'Rosemary's Baby.'

Quote: "Chicago. Windy. Oprah." "Yeah, that's the place."
Context: Rory is struck dumb by Dean's interest. When he mentions he just moved from Chicago, all she can do is list associations, such as the iconic TV personality.

Quote: “You’ll have to run faster than that! You’ll have to turn into friggin’ FloJo to get away from me!”
Context: Miss Patty references Dean in front of Lorelai, who immediately pieces together why Rory has suddenly refused to go to Chilton. Lorelai's life was changed by a stupid choice with a boy, and is enraged that her daughter might do the same. Only running like the iconic Olympian could spare Rory from her wrath.

Quote: "So do we go in or do we just stand here reenacting The Little Match Girl?"
Context: Still in the middle of their own fight, the Gilmores hesitate before entering Emily and Richard's for their first Friday night dinner. Shivering on the porch reminds Rory of the depressing Hans Christian Andersen fairytale where a poor girl freezes to death on Christmas Eve.

Quote: "I need you to be civil, at least through dinner, and then on the way home you can pull a Menendez."
Context: Lorelai matches Rory's bitter Little Match Girl reference with one of her own, a joke about the brothers who famously killed their parents in 1989.

Quote: "Is he dreamy?" "Ugh, that's so Nick @ Nite."
Context: Having finally resolved their issues, Lorelai and Rory can finally discuss Dean - though Lorelai's question sounds as archaic to Rory as Nickelodeon's late-night reruns of old sitcoms.