# Wizard of Oz references in pop culture **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 14, 2019, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-oz-references-in-pop-culture/833951 "2019-05-14T15:47:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2019, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-oz-references-in-pop-culture/833951/81 "2019-05-15T19:13:54Z")
you can visit a former amusement park in the NC mountains, the Land of Oz. It’s open a couple of times a year to visit . They have a yellow brick road. [https://www.landofoznc.com/](https://www.landofoznc.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-oz-references-in-pop-culture/833951/82 "2019-05-16T00:46:55Z")
In “The Silence of the Lambs” (the book, not the movie) Clarice Starling enters a storage facility holding the possessions of one of Hannibal Lecter’s former psychiatric patients (and a certain souvenir left behind for Clarice to discover). At one spooky juncture she says to herself “Well Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore”. :smack::eek::🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-oz-references-in-pop-culture/833951/83 "2019-05-16T01:23:29Z")
In _Twister_, the equipment pack was named Dorothy. Plus the cow in the tornado. In the TV series _ER_, Dr. Mark Greene died peacefully to Israel Kamakawiwo’Ole’s version of [Somewhere Over the Rainbow.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPa0OpcbmB8) ---
**Author:** ![MacSpon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@MacSpon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacSpon)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-oz-references-in-pop-culture/833951/84 "2019-05-16T01:35:36Z")
**Stargate SG1** has frequent, and I mean _frequent_, Wizard of Oz references. There’s a partial list [here](https://stargate.fandom.com/wiki/The_Wizard_of_Oz). ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-oz-references-in-pop-culture/833951/85 "2019-05-16T09:44:23Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Couldn’t they have stopped it? :dubious: 😕 That’s exactly what Picard thought in the episode. Turns out, the tornadoes were actually other Q sent to execute them. And they were living as humans at the time, so they had no opportunity to fight back. You’re the one person I associate with having a lot of Star Trek knowledge. Do you not remember “True Q” from TNG? ---
**Author:** ![Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fake_Tales_of_San_Francisco)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-oz-references-in-pop-culture/833951/86 "2019-05-16T10:18:29Z")
> [@MacSpon](#): > > **Stargate SG1** has frequent, and I mean _frequent_, Wizard of Oz references. > > There’s a partial list [here](https://stargate.fandom.com/wiki/The_Wizard_of_Oz). I came here to say this - my favourite being Daniel Jackson stalling for time by pretending to be a Goa’uld called “the Great and Powerful Oz”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-oz-references-in-pop-culture/833951/87 "2019-05-16T10:40:41Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > That’s exactly what Picard thought in the episode. Turns out, the tornadoes were actually other Q sent to execute them. And they were living as humans at the time, so they had no opportunity to fight back. > > You’re the one person I associate with having a lot of Star Trek knowledge. Do you not remember “True Q” from TNG? Nope. I missed a lot of \*\*\*TNG \*\*\*episodes when I was living abroad full time and have yet to catch up on them. Haven’t seen that many _ **DS9** _ episodes either. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-oz-references-in-pop-culture/833951/88 "2019-05-16T10:58:13Z")
There was an X-Files episode–I forget which one–where Mulder comes out of a concussion and is face to face with the Lone Gunmen. He looks at one of them and says “Oh Scarecrow, I think I’ll miss you most of all!” Gooodbye Yellow Brick Road Scarecrow and Mrs King ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-oz-references-in-pop-culture/833951/89 "2019-05-16T11:19:41Z")
WOW! 88 posts and no mention of MST3K!? I think there is an obligatory Wizard of Oz reference in almost every episode! “Step forward cowardly lion!” > [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > “Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man” is the first thing that popped into my head. The song by America. “that he didn’t already have.” > [@Telemark](#): > > “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain” get’s used frequently. Yep, or simply referencing “the man behind the curtain” is used often. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-oz-references-in-pop-culture/833951/90 "2019-05-17T04:43:58Z")
“… And your little dog, too!” was used on _ **Frasier** _, in reference to Eddie. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-oz-references-in-pop-culture/833951/91 "2019-05-17T05:34:41Z")
In the ending of the novel _Hyperion_, the 6 pilgrims end the novel by singing “Follow the Yellow Brick Road” and then asking themselves “who is the wizard?” and “what is Oz?”. ---
**Author:** ![RobotDevilDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19adc/32.png) [@RobotDevilDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobotDevilDog)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-oz-references-in-pop-culture/833951/92 "2019-05-17T09:18:42Z")
In an episode of M_A_S\*H, Klinger dresses up as Dorothy, complete with a dog named Toto. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-oz-references-in-pop-culture/833951/93 "2019-05-17T11:42:27Z")
Ooh…can’t believe we haven’t yet mentioned Lost - two biggies from there are that Ben Linus originally used the alias “Henry Gale”, and the episode in which Locke meets Jacob is titled “The Man Behind the Curtain.” ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-oz-references-in-pop-culture/833951/94 "2019-05-17T11:56:56Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > My brother was fond of telling the story of the saxophonist in Paris who was so distraught about not being able to remember how “Somewhere over the Rainbow” went, he flung himself out the window of his high-rise apartment. > > As he lay on the pavement below, the last thing he heard was the ambulance coming to pick him up: _“Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do…”_ That joke works better if you specify the bridge as the problem element, as “…not being able to remember how the ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ _bridge_ went…” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-oz-references-in-pop-culture/833951/95 "2019-05-17T12:02:50Z")
The 1970 Robert Altman film **Brewster McCloud** has lots of Wizard of Oz references, including a character dressed as Dorothy (who ends up with a dog, Toto). Margaret Hamilton, the Wicked Witch herself, was cast in the film, and is shown wearing ruby slippers. She dies in them, her ruby-slipper-clad feet stretching out like the Wicked Witch of the East’s: https://www.google.com/search?q=Brewster+McCloud+Margaret+Hamilton&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjopfmqwqLiAhWHZd8KHfNHCNAQ\_AUIDigB&biw=1440&bih=708#imgrc=P9CH2uBCYjI7eM:&spf=1558094578542 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-oz-references-in-pop-culture/833951/96 "2019-05-17T12:05:06Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > That joke works better if you specify the bridge as the problem element, as “..not being able to remember how the ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ _bridge_ went…” An excellent point, thank you! I should also mention that the saxophonist was down-and-out and had hoped to make a comeback, which is why he was so distraught. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-oz-references-in-pop-culture/833951/97 "2019-05-17T13:00:43Z")
Another musical reference: Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band - [Yellow Brick Road](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz3WJ1l1dNM) ---
**Author:** ![Dandan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Dandan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandan)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-oz-references-in-pop-culture/833951/98 "2019-05-17T18:42:04Z")
A friend’s expat father lived in the Netherlands for about twenty years. At his funeral, his many friends sang “Over The Rainbow”, in Dutch. Dan ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-oz-references-in-pop-culture/833951/99 "2019-05-17T21:33:19Z")
I just learned about another reference of Wizard of Oz I wasn’t aware of, but which makes sense: I saw a documentary about Nirvana’s last video for ["Heart Shaped Box"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6P0SitRwy8)with comments from its director Anton Corbijn, and he mentions that all the visual ideas came from Kurt Cobain himself and that “of course it was all inspired by the Wizard of Oz.” ETA: just noticed a connection to the post above: of course Anton Corbijn is Dutch and just like the wedding company mentioned above familiar with the film. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-oz-references-in-pop-culture/833951/100 "2019-05-17T22:10:35Z")
A debatable one: Cracker’s 1993 hit song “Low” has the line “a million poppies gonna make me sleep” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-oz-references-in-pop-culture/833951.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-oz-references-in-pop-culture/833951.md?page=6)