1996–1998

Return to Gallery Directory  

1996–1998

The Daytrippers
A funny indie movie starring Hope Davis ’86. Davis is looking for her husband, who’s lied to her about his whereabouts; she tracks him to a party and finds a drunk Marcia Gay Harden. Vassar as character point to no real purpose, except perhaps as an in-joke since Davis is actually an alum.

Thanks to Jim German for the tip.


Living Single
An African-American-led sitcom from the 90s and one of the few instances of Vassar in African-American-themed material. Vassar here as a character point for class distinctions; not really a joke, but setting up toward one.

Friends
One of the most iconic sitcoms of the ’90s, and no great surprise to find a Vassar reference here since Lisa Kudrow ’85 had a starring role. Our scene doesn’t feature her, though. It’s a bit of a strained joke about Vassar and football.



Kingpin
We’ve seen little digs at Vassar being a hotbed of sexual activity, but here that idea is writ large. Woody Harrelson has a rubber prosthetic hand and is known on the competitive bowling circuit as “Rubberman”; this fact has attracted a new sponsor.

Thanks to Soyon Im ’91 for the tip.


Saturday Night Live (2 episodes in 1997-98 season; 1 in the 2008-2009 season; 1 in 2019-2020 season)
See separate post for a reference in the 1977 season as well.
Perhaps someone on the writing staff was a graduate, since Vassar showed up twice in this season. Four complete sketches are here, though unless you’re a fan you might want to skip past the first one (the line is a throwaway in the first minute.  Steve Buscemi’s “Judge Judy” sketch and the Aladdin parody are funnier. And the Weekend Update segment in 2019 is a bit of a weird comment.

Thanks to Erica Slutsky ’05 and Christian Bagin ’91 for the tips.


Dharma & Greg (4 episodes)
A character point for the wealthy, stuffy mother of Greg, a modern-day Mrs. Howell. What’s fun here, though, is that one of the episodes mentions one of Vassar’s oldest traditions—either we had a graduate on the writing staff or they really did some research for the character!

Thanks to Liz Gates ’97, Prof. Denise Walen, Jim German, and Randy Nathan ’79 for the tip.


The Nanny
Another prominent ’90s sitcom, about a wealthy, highbrow family and their lowbrow, Queens-born nanny. Nothing too special, just Vassar as a character point for a place for elite girls.

Thanks to M. Davis for the tip.


Babylon 5
One of two scenes in the collection set far in the future. Good to know Vassar’s still around in the 23rd century! (And the 31st; see Futurama)

Thanks to Miriam Vega and Jon Cruz ‘05 for the tip.


Thursday
An obscure attempt to copy Pulp Fiction but without being nearly as intelligent or funny. Our scene, though, offers a somewhat unusual take on a Vassar girl. Vassar as character point for a hard-partying grifter.

Jane Austen’s Mafia!
This is a broad Godfather parody from the folks who made Airplane! and The Naked Gun. It may not be entirely clear in the clip but the film is set, as was The Godfather, in the late ’50s/early ’60s, and so there were no men at Vassar.

Spin City
The show is about the mayoral staff in New York’s City Hall. There’s not too much to say here; it’s just a character point for a smart, ambitious career woman.

Thanks to Jason Evans’94 for the tip.

Continue to:
Page One: 1926-1944
Page Two: 1945-1954
Page Three: 1955-1964
Page Four: 1965-1967
Page Five: 1968-1976
Page Six: 1977-1983
Page Seven: 1984-1987
Page Eight: 1988-1990
Page Nine: 1991-1995
Page Eleven: 1999-2000
Page Twelve: 2001
Page Thirteen: 2002-2003
Page Fourteen: 2004-2005
Page Fifteen: 2006-2008
Page Sixteen: 2009-2010
Page Seventeen: 2011-2013
Page Eighteen: 2014-2016
Page Nineteen: 2017-2019
Page Twenty: 2020-

Genre Index
Star Index