Cracking Cameos
All around me are familiar faces
While the internet watched the end of Breaking Bad this week, I finished season 2 of The Newsroom. The two-part finale delivered some real high notes, by far the standout being Olivia Munn’s deadpan delivery of some cracking lines.
Which led me to thinking - in my best Carrie Bradshaw impression - Whose was the greatest cameo in Gilmore Girls?
There have been some spectacular gonzo casting decisions both for occasional and one-off appearances. Traci Lords (pictured above, former adult entertainment star) played Natalie Zimmermann, the Dragonfly Inn interior designer caught between Lorelai and Emily:
Natalie So now that I talked myself back into a job, what do you think the outlook for this lawn jockey is? Lorelai Not good. Natalie Hmm. Emily would hate it. Lorelai Wrap it up. s04e05 The Fundamental Things Apply
Then there was Carole King enabling Lane’s drumming, pre-Superman Brandon Routh, Krysten Ritter playing a pre-Apartment 23 B, insipidly dull Jon Hamm (Mad Men) at a charity auction, and a pre-Community Abed (Danny Pudi).
Today, my favourite cameos are the venomous harpist Drella, played by Alex Borstein (does she even count as a cameo?), two-thirds of the classic gag: There was a priest, rabbi and Taylor Doose (Jim Jansen, Alan Blumenfeld and Michael Winters respectively):
Rabbi David Barans You’re gonna tell my little old ladies, my bubbies, you’re shutting down their bingo? Taylor I’m not afraid of your bubbies, Rabbi. Reverend Archie Skinner Oh, God, thank you for letting me be in the room when Taylor said that. s03e06 Take The Devilled Eggs
And there are so many single episode characters that you only know from your multiple viewings but you would recognise if you saw them in anything else:
The Jack Kerouac-boy from the pilot (‘you make that coffee look really good’)
Fran Weston’s son
The cat hotel lady and her guests
Lorelai’s Tiki Bar neighbour
Mia, Mia 2.0
… and more and more and more.
Who were your favourites?