History SmallReferencePools / LiveACtionTV

* ''Series/RuPaulsDragRace'' is packed with references to all manner of pop culture, especially those areas of pop culture significant to the gay male and drag communities. Lampshaded almost by name in an episode in which [=RuPaul=] worries that a contestant (professional Britney Spears impersonator Derrick Barry) simply does not have a deep enough pool of cultural references to win the show.

* Courtroom dramas aka Lawyer shows? ''Series/LALaw'' and ''Series/LawAndOrder''.

* Favorite feminist show? ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' or ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}''. Older viewers will tend to mention ''Series/CharliesAngels'' or ''Series/WonderWoman''. It also depends what your definition of ''feminist'' is. If you just mean ''show with some women in it'', well then you can add a lot of programs.

* If a SoapOpera gets referenced (and isn't a BlandNameProduct) chances are it's Series/DaysOfOurLives. To many however it will be ''Series/{{Dallas}}'' and ''Series/{{Dynasty}}''. ''Series/{{Eastenders}}'' and ''Series/CoronationStreet'' in the UK. ''Series/{{Neighbours}}'' if you need an Australian one.

** ''Series/SesameStreet''. The only Sesame Street characters are Big Bird, Elmo, Bert & Ernie, Cookie Monster, Grover, and Oscar. And sometimes the Count and Snuffy. There are no human (non-muppet) characters, except maybe Gordon.

* ''Series/{{Psych}}'' is an exception to Small References Pools in general; some of the references will fly over the heads of people not born in the 80's or 90's, since Shawn and Gus are well-versed in more obscure media. Lampshading: In an episode, a character refers to Shawn as [[Theatre/{{Othello}} Iago]], to which he responds, "What does the parrot from ''Disney/{{Aladdin}}'' have to do with this?"

* Hari Seldon (of the ''Literature/{{Foundation}}'' series) was referenced in ''Series/TheDailyShow'' by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita (2009-09-28). Given that Bueno de Mesquita is working to create something he [[NotUsingTheZWord doesn't call psychohistory]], the only possible surprise is that he was on ''Series/TheDailyShow'' at all.

* For a while in the 80's, the only poet TV characters had ever heard of was Byron. And the only poem he ever wrote was "She walks in beauty like the night..." Which apparently only consisted of that line. Then on an episode of ''Series/KateAndAllie'', a character quotes this line and wrongly attributes it to Keats. The best part? The character in question was a professor of literature.
* Reverend Jim from ''Series/{{Taxi}}'' recites the entire first stanza of 'She Walks in Beauty', but when asked who wrote it says that he doesn't know. Some punk spray-painted it on the side of his van.
* ''Series/TheCosbyShow'': "Cliff, please let the woman sit down, she's been walking a long time."
* Artemus Gordon read 'She Walks in Beauty' on ''Series/TheWildWildWest'' (in the '60s.) The show featured a variety of literary allusions, though they are sometimes anachronistic, like when Dr. Loveless (in the early 1870s) quotes "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" by Oscar Wilde, not written until about the turn of the century.
* Averted in ''Series/GossipGirl'' of all places. Serena Van Der Woodsen in the books would ''never'' have referenced ''Literature/AnnaKarenina'', making the TV show an example of AdaptationExpansion.

** "Stay back or I'll pull a William Burroughs on your leader here." -- Buffy, in "New Moon Rising," threatening to kill the Initiative colonel in "New Moon Rising" by referring to the beat poet who shot and killed his lover in a drunken game of William Tell in 1951. In this example, the [[LampshadeHanging joke]] is that no one gets the reference and Buffy has to explain her threat.

--->'''Giles:''' We few, we merry few.
--->'''Spike:''' We band of buggered.
** {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in an episode of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. Vamps are preying on college freshmen, killing them and stealing everything from their dorms. They have a running contest to see which artist has the most posters: Monet or Klimt. Monet is winning, if only because the only Klimt people have posters of is ''The Kiss''.
* ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' and other UsefulNotes/{{Oxbridge}}-derived comedy. Hands up who had heard of Albrecht Dürer before they watched the German Python episodes? Sure! He's [[WeirdAlEffect that guy that makes colouring pencils]], right? If they have, the only picture he ever made was [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Durer_Young_Hare.jpg The Young Hare]] (and sometimes [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Duerer-Prayer.jpg The Praying Hands]], though that is rarely attributed to him). To be fair, it was made for a German audience, and Germans surely heard of Dürer.
* Not only is ''Series/InspectorMorse'' more than knowledgeable of classical music and opera, so are the writers on the show, leading to the use of works far outside the limits of this trope in the mysteries, and obscure jokes that only viewers with an interest in music will ever get.
* ''Series/{{Blackadder}}'' was full of obscure historical jokes, particularly in the third series.

** The old series featured appearances by Robespierre, Catherine de' Medici, Pancho Villa, John Aubrey, George Stephenson, and a UsefulNotes/WorldWarII episode ''without Nazis''. The First Doctor story with Catherine de' Medici featured [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Bartholomew%27s_Day_massacre The 1572 St. Bartholomew's Eve massacre of Protestants in Paris]].
** The episode "Midnight" in the new series 4 has a passenger start chanting a stanza from the poem "Literature/GoblinMarket" by Christina Rossetti.
** In "The Unicorn and the Wasp", when they visit Agatha Christie, Donna mentions ''The Murder on the Orient Express'' and Miss Marple. Christie hadn't created either of those yet. The reason the episode was created was because of the [[CoversAlwaysLie distinct]] cover of ''Death in the Clouds'' featuring a giant wasp.
** Rose was once referred to as a "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_a_Mouse tim'rous beasty]]" in an episode set in Scotland.
** "The Impossible Astronaut"/"Day of the Moon", featuring UsefulNotes/RichardNixon, only hints at Watergate toward the end, being set near the beginning of Tricky Dick's term.
* While ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' has plenty of the more common ones, they fit in plenty of less common references, often to the area that they live in.
** As an extreme example, Mike and the bots pile on so many Chicagoland references in the final act of ''Beginning of the End'' that if you aren't familiar with the region you'll probably be bored to tears.
** The ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'' episode had lots of increasingly obscure Shakespeare references, including a few cracks about ''seating arrangements at the Globe theater''.
** Servo can't see a frog without making the (Ancient Greek!) frog noise from Aristophanes' ''The Frogs'', and then there was the time (in ''The Deadly Bees'') that Mike said, "This must be the 'bee-loud glade' that [[Creator/WilliamButlerYeats Yeats]] spoke of."
* Hari Seldon (of the ''Literature/{{Foundation}}'' series) was referenced in ''Series/TheDailyShow'' by Bruce Bueno De Mesquita (2009-09-28). Given that Bueno de Mesquita is working to create something he [[NotUsingTheZWord doesn't call psychohistory]], the only possible surprise is that he was on ''Series/TheDailyShow'' at all.
* ''Series/RedDwarf'' includes Rimmer talking about the cream of Earth's classical music: "Why don't you listen to something ''really'' classical, like [[RuleOfThree Mozart, Mendelssohn or Motörhead.]]"
* It's not like many viewers know that much about UrbanLegends anyway but ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' has devoted itself to doing every single Legend that it can cram in, no matter how known or unknown it is.
* Completely turned on its head by ''Series/{{Lost}}''. Numerous works, especially novels, are explicitly mentioned and many, many more are alluded to. Often being seen on the show [[ColbertBump increases interest in a particular book]].
* ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' takes place in the Pegasus galaxy. And yes, it actually exists. In fact there are two galaxies by that name, one 2.7 million light-years away, the other 3 Mly.

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'' is pretty bad for this, but will occasionally surprise. The conclusion of one ''[[Series/StarTrekVoyager Voyager]]'' episode prominently featured Dante's ''Vita Nuova''.
* ''Series/{{Psych}}'' is an exception to Small References Pools in general; some of the references will fly over the heads of people not born in the 80's or 90's, since Shawn and Gus are well-versed in more obscure media. Lampshading: In an episode, a character refers to Shawn as [[Theatre/{{Othello}} Iago]], to which he responds, "What does the parrot from ''Disney/{{Aladdin}}'' have to do with this?"
* Although ''Series/BeakmansWorld'' would a lot of times reference the more famous Famous Dead Guys, quite a few were more obscure. For example, in their segment of the microscope, they skipped using Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (the Father of Microbiology) and went for the more obscure Zacharias Jansen, who though credited with creating the compound microscope is far less well-known than Leeuwenhoek (and the FDG Jansen makes sure the kids know it in no uncertain terms).
* One ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' episode was based on Creator/HaroldPinter's play ''Betrayal''.
* ''Series/{{Angel}}'' flirts with this, albeit occasionally. Perhaps the best example is a quote from Wesley. (She, naturally, fails to get the reference at all.)
-->'''Wesley:''' You'd be locked up faster than Lady Hamilton's virtue! [looks at Cordelia]
--> My apologies
* Probably the entire point of "game show" ''Series/{{QI}}''.

* ''Series/CriminalMinds'' begins and ends most episodes with a quote, and there is a huge variety in the sources for these quotes. Plus, one episode had the team only able to solve a case because of knowledge of Creator/GeoffreyChaucer's poem ''Parlement of Foules'' and the John Fowles novel ''The Collector''. Then there's all the obscure knowledge Reid spouts on a regular basis... Also, the serial killers who are referenced as precedent are usually real-life examples, indicating that [[ShownTheirWork someone did their homework]]. Unfortunately played straight with the psychology they feature on the show, which is one massive example of at best only doing half the research.

* On ''Series/HomeImprovement'', the well-traveled and learned Wilson constantly referenced the ideas of various philosophers and thinkers, both famous and obscure, and took interest in the odd traditions of obscure cultures. A lot of the humor was derived from Tim, who exemplified MenAreUncultured, reacting to and being confused by Wilson's knowledge.
* Promos for an episode of ''Series/{{Community}}'' made it seem like it was going to be a parody of the more popular ''Film/PulpFiction'' when in reality it was an homage to a more obscure art house film, [[spoiler: ''Film/MyDinnerWithAndre'']].
* ''Series/GilmoreGirls'' was rife with obscure music, pop-culture and literary references.
* Possible example: The 1966 ''Series/{{Batman}}'' episode "The Bookworm Turns (While Gotham City Burns)" features a villain called The Bookworm (Roddy [=McDowall=]), whose crimes are based on book plots. Most of the books referenced are fairly well-known, but at one point Bookworm, having threatened to "blow up" a valuable book, surprises Batman and Robin not by exploding it, but by making a ''much'' larger copy of it. This is [[JustForPun obviously a pun on the "blowing up" of photographs]], and just might be a hidden reference to the Julio Cortazar short story "Blow Up" (on which, yes, the Michelangelo Antonioni film about enlarging a photograph was based). On the other hand, since that story and the movie based on it were not yet widely known when the episode aired, this might be more of a coincidence than a GeniusBonus.
* The very first [[ComicBook/TheJoker Joker]] episode, "The Joker Is Wild", had the Joker disguising himself as Pagliaccio, the white-faced, sobbing clown of the Leoncavallo opera of the same name. Batman even {{lampshade|Hanging}}d this fact, mentioning to Robin that most people would picture the typical circus archetype when they thought of clowns, and Joker was counting on Batman's knowledge of opera when he sent him a Pagliaccio doll as a clue.
* Creator/ConanOBrien brings us the [[http://teamcoco.com/video/museum-pop-culture The Museum of Old Pop Culture References]] to help combat this issue.
* Marcus Cole of ''Series/BabylonFive'' makes reference to Creator/AlexanderPushkin. Very common in Russia, common in Europe, special in America.
* Averted in ''Series/TheBigBangTheory''. While the bigger names are more likely to come up (because they are bigger names), the cast of geeks will reference virtually anything big or small, from the last thirty years of geek culture. Played straight in-universe by Penny, who can only pay attention long enough to absorb the larger things.
* In the 2014 [[Creator/{{Syfy}} Sci-Fi Channel]] miniseries ''[[Series/AscensionMiniseries Ascension]]'', the library of the titular GenerationShip naturally doesn't include any works created after 1963 (the year it was launched). And when [[NumberTwo Executive Officer Gault]] tries to check out a book on police procedures to help investigate a murder, his sister the librarian tells him they didn't think to bring one along. He ends up watching crime movies; the classic film ''Film/{{M}}'' gives him an idea of [[SplashOfColor how to follow one of the suspects]].
* ''Series/RuPaulsDragRace'' is packed with references to all manner of pop culture, especially those areas of pop culture significant to the gay male and drag communities. Lampshaded almost by name in an episode in which [=RuPaul=] worries that a contestant (professional Britney Spears impersonator Derrick Barry) simply does not have a deep enough pool of cultural references to win the show.

* For a while in the 80's, the only poet TV characters had ever heard of was Byron. And the only poem he ever wrote was "She walks in beauty like the night..." Which apparently only consisted of that line. Then on an episode of ''KateAndAllie'', a character quotes this line and wrongly attributes it to Keats. The best part? The character in question was a professor of literature.

* ''Series/TheCosbyShow'': "Cliff, please let the woman sit down, she's been walking a long time".

** "Scream Montresor all you like, pet." -- Spike to Buffy, referring to the Edgar Allen Poe story "Literature/TheCaskOfAmontillado".

** Lampshaded in an episode of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. Vamps are preying on college freshmen, killing them and stealing everything from their dorms. They have a running contest to see which artist has the most posters: Monet or Klimt. Monet is winning, if only because the only Klimt people have posters of is ''The Kiss''.
* ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' and other UsefulNotes/{{Oxbridge}}-derived comedy. Hands up who had heard of Albrecht Dürer before they watched the German Python episodes? Sure! He's [[WeirdAlEffect that guy that makes colouring pencils]], right? If they have, the only picture he ever made was [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Durer_Young_Hare.jpg The Young Hare]] (and sometimes [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Duerer-Prayer.jpg The Praying Hands]], though that is rarely attributed to him). To be fair, it was made for a German audience, and Germans surely heard of Dürer.

** In "The Unicorn and the Wasp," when they visit Agatha Christie, Donna mentions ''The Murder on the Orient Express'' and Miss Marple. Christie hadn't created either of those yet. The reason the episode was created was because of the [[CoversAlwaysLie distinct]] cover of ''Death in the Clouds'' featuring a giant wasp.
** Rose was once referred to as a "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_a_Mouse tim'rous beasty]]" in an episode set in Scotland.

* This trope is the point of the British GameShow ''Series/{{Pointless}}''. The show's researchers give 100 people a short length of time to name as many things in a certain group as they can (e.g. types of shark, Creator/JohnGrisham novels, Creator/ClintEastwood films), and on the show itself, the contestants have to try to score as few points as possible by giving the answers they think none of the research group has said, with answers no-one said landing you an ideal 0 points. Therefore, the larger the reference pools of the contestants, the better they'll do.

* The very first [[ComicBook/TheJoker Joker]] episode, "The Joker Is Wild," had the Joker disguising himself as Pagliaccio, the white-faced, sobbing clown of the Leoncavallo opera of the same name. Batman even {{lampshade|Hanging}}d this fact, mentioning to Robin that most people would picture the typical circus archetype when they thought of clowns, and Joker was counting on Batman's knowledge of opera when he sent him a Pagliaccio doll as a clue.

* Averted in ''Series/TheBigBangTheory''. While the bigger names are more likely to come up (because they are bigger names), the cast of geeks will reference virtually anything big or small, from the last thirty years of geek culture. Played straight in-universe by Penny, who can only pay attention long enough to absorp the larger things.

* Mystery series/horror series? ''Series/TheTwilightZone'', ''Series/AlfredHitchcockPresents'', ''Series/TwinPeaks'', and ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''.

* ''Series/RuPaulsDragRace'' is packed with references to all manner of pop culture, especially those areas of pop culture significant to the gay male and drag communities. Lampshaded almost by name in an episode in which RuPaul worries that a contestant (professional Britney Spears impersonator Derrick Barry) simply does not have a deep enough pool of cultural references to win the show.

** ''Series/BarneyAndFriends''

* Favorite feminist show? ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' or ''Series/{{Charmed}}''. Older viewers will tend to mention ''Series/CharliesAngels'' or ''Series/WonderWoman''. It also depends what your definition of ''feminist'' is. If you just mean ''show with some women in it'', well then you can add a lot of programs.

* ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' and other {{Oxbridge}}-derived comedy. Hands up who had heard of Albrecht Dürer before they watched the German Python episodes? Sure! He's [[WeirdAlEffect that guy that makes colouring pencils]], right? If they have, the only picture he ever made was [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Durer_Young_Hare.jpg The Young Hare]] (and sometimes [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Duerer-Prayer.jpg The Praying Hands]], though that is rarely attributed to him). To be fair, it was made for a German audience, and Germans surely heard of Dürer.

** Japanese TV? Mostly anime, ''Series/IronChef'', ''PowerRangers'' and sadistic quiz shows.

* Hari Seldon (of the ''Literature/{{Foundation}}'' series) was referenced in ''Series/TheDailyShow'' by Bruce Bueno De Mesquita (2009-09-28).
** Given that Bueno de Mesquita is working to create something he [[NotUsingTheZWord doesn't call psychohistory]], the only possible surprise is that he was on ''Series/TheDailyShow'' at all.

* In the 2014 [[Creator/{{Syfy}} Sci-Fi Channel]] miniseries ''[[Series/AscensionMiniseries Ascension]]'', the library of the titular GenerationShip naturally doesn't include any works created after 1963 (the year it was launched). And when [[NumberTwo Executive Officer Gault]] tries to check out a book on police procedures to help investigate a murder, his sister the librarian tells him they didn't think to bring one along. He ends up watching crime movies; the classic film ''Film/{{M}}'' gives him an idea of [[SplashOfColor how to follow one of the suspects]].

** CW: ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' and ''Series/{{Riverdale}}''.

** CW: ''Series/Supernatural'' and ''Series/Riverdale''.

** ''Series/SesameStreet''. The only Sesame Street characters are Big Bird, Elmo, Bert & Ernie, Cookie Monster, Grover, and Oscar. And sometimes the Count. There are no human (non-muppet) characters, except maybe Gordon.

* Mystery series/horror series? ''Series/TheTwilightZone'', ''Series/AlfredHitchcockPresents'', ''Series/TwinPeaks''.

* Promos for an episode of ''Series/{{Community}}'' made it seem like it was going to be a parody of the more popular ''Film/PulpFiction'' when in reality it was an homage to a more obscure art house film, [[spoiler: ''MyDinnerWithAndre'']].

* Non-japanese {{Toku}} shows can be easily written off as Power Rangers or worse Power Rangers rip-offs if acknowledged at all.

** FX: a.k.a the home of ''Series/SonsOfAnarchy'', ''Series/AmericanHorrorStory'', and ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''. And maybe ''Series/TheShield'' and ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia''.

** FX: a.k.a the home of ''Series/SonsOfAnarchy'' and ''Series/AmericanHorrorStory'', ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' and possibly ''Series/TheShield'' and ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia''.

** FX: a.k.a the home of ''Series/SonsOfAnarchy'' and ''Series/AmericanHorrorStory'', and possibly ''Series/TheShield.''

* The very first [[SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker Joker]] episode, "The Joker Is Wild," had the Joker disguising himself as Pagliaccio, the white-faced, sobbing clown of the Leoncavallo opera of the same name. Batman even {{lampshade|Hanging}}d this fact, mentioning to Robin that most people would picture the typical circus archetype when they thought of clowns, and Joker was counting on Batman's knowledge of opera when he sent him a Pagliaccio doll as a clue.