Cultural references

In Baldur's Gate, there are numerous references to books, movies, plays, TV shows, music and other subjects of pop culture inserted by the developers. This page is a list of all that appear in the base game and Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast and Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition.

Note: This list is far from complete, and more additions are needed.

Battlestar Galactica
Jaheira's comment "by your command," spoken in a monotonous, robotic manner, is very similar to the way the Cylons in the original Battlestar Galactica series would acknowledge an order given to them.

Bhagavad Gita
Xzar's line "I am become death, destroyer of worlds!" is a reference to a a verse from the Bhagavad Gita, a Hindu holy book, though it is slightly mis-quoted.

Comics

 * Bub Snikt is a reference to the Marvel character 'Wolverine.'  'Snikt' refers to the sound effect used in the comics to accompany the extension of his claws, and 'bub' is a nickname he uses for just about everyone he meets.  He also appears to have a heightened sense of smell, like Wolverine.  Lastly, he makes a similar comment, saying, "You could say that.  Ain't pretty though (when telling him that he appears to be good at what he does), whereas Wolverine has said, "I'm the best there is at what I do. But what I do best isn't very nice."

Jabberwocky

 * Montaron's line "I warrant your attention?!  Oh frabjous day, callooh callay!" is a reference to a line from Lewis Carrol's nonsense poem Jabberwocky.

Newhart

 * A kobold, xvart and a tasloi named Larry, Darryl & Darryl, respectively, are found in the Fire Leaf Forest, an homage to the characters of the same name from the 1980s sitcom 'Newhart.'

Of Mice and Men

 * Xzar's line "Ahh, tell me 'bout the rabbits" is a reference to a mentally-retarded man named Lenny, whose dream was to start a rabbit farm, from the 1937 play Of Mice and Men.

Porky Pig

 * One of the lines that Khalid stutters out is "Th-th-th-that's all, f-folks!," the catchphrase of the Warner Bros. character Porky pig.

Star Wars

 * In BG:EE, the wild mage Adoy is a reference to Yoda from the Star Wars franchise.  Both are old, wise and powerful individuals and both are depicted as living in caves (though Adoy is actually being held captive in a cave).

The Simpsons

 * Quayle's line "I am so smart! S M R T!  I ̶ I mean S M A R T!" is nearly identical to what the character Homer Simpson said after setting fire to his high school GED while it is still on the wall, inadvertently setting his home on fire, unaware of the blaze as he dances and sings the words.

The Silence of the Lambs

 * Xzar's line "I ate his liver with a nice chianti and some fava beans" is a reference to the character Hannibal Lechter, a cannibal from the book The Silence of the Lambs and its sequels, prequels and movie adaptations.

The Walking Dead

 * In BG:EE, during Dorn Il-Khan's quest, the skeletons raised by Kryll are references to characters from the graphic novel The Walking Dead and its TV adaptation.  Their names are Rick, Lori, Shane and Glen.