First appearance of the town troubadour.
Lorelai jokes "Right here in River City!" when Taylor is discussing the "trouble" in Stars Hollow. This is a reference to The Music Man (1962). The 1962 film version filmed on the same set as Stars Hollow.
While Rory and Dean are having their "Donna Reed" dinner, the song "Johnny Angel" by Shelley Fabares is playing in the background. Shelly played Donna Reed's daughter on The Donna Reed Show (1958).