The opening scene of the series shows an obnoxious guy hitting on Lorelai at Luke’s Diner. A few minutes later, the same guy hits on Rory. The point is that the Gilmore girls are hot.

After the opening credits, we see Lorelai hard at work at the Independence Inn, arguing with Drella, the disgruntled harp player. Rory, wearing the biggest sweater I’ve ever seen, walks to school with Lane, who changes clothes while walking and laments the fact that she has to go to some crappy hayride with a future Korean doctor. Lane’s hardcore Korean mother thinks rock music is evil and she likes Lane to wear slacks and button down shirts. Lane, a rock star at heart, would rather wear band t-shirts and pink hoodies. A guy (Dean, though we don’t know who he is yet) checks Rory out as she walks into school. In class, Rory smiles when a bunch of girls whisper about her actually doing the assignment instead of painting her nails like they are.

At the inn, Sookie knocks over a bunch of pots and pans because she’s a lovable klutz. Sookie and Lorelai talk about opening their own inn. Later, in one of my favorite scenes, Sookie goes bustling around the kitchen while the kitchen staff tries to keep her from hurting herself or setting the place on fire. Then Lorelai comes in screaming that Rory has gotten into Chilton, a snobby prep school. Rory is super excited when she finds out.

Lorelai gets an invoice for Chilton’s enrollment fee, but she doesn’t have enough money and the humorless woman on the phone won’t help her out. Sookie tells her to ask her parents for money. Lorelai doesn’t like the idea, but it turns out to be the only option.

Emily Gilmore is surprised to see her daughter and asks if it’s Easter already. Lorelai states her case, but when Richard goes for the checkbook, Emily says they will only pay for Rory’s schooling if Lorelai and Rory come to dinner every Friday night at seven.

Rory’s totally excited to be getting out of Stars Hollow High. Until she meets Dean, that is. He totally impresses her when he gets her Rosemary’s Baby reference. Dean’s from Chicago and has just started at Stars Hollow High. He’s looking for a job, so Rory walks him to Miss Patty’s after school to see if she knows of any job openings. Now Rory doesn’t want to go to Chilton because she likes Dean and wants to go to school with him.

The Gilmore girls meet for dinner at Luke’s and they’re both crabby and secretive. Lorelai doesn’t want to tell Rory she’s borrowing money from her parents, and Rory doesn’t want to tell Lorelai she has a crush on a boy. Rory says she doesn’t want to go to Chilton and Lorelai freaks out instead of understanding that her daughter might just be afraid of switching schools. On the way home, they run into Miss Patty, who mentions Rory’s “male friend.” There’s an argument, and Lorelai tries to smooth things over, but Rory acts like a brat. Lorelai lays down the law and says Rory’s going to Chilton whether she likes it or not. Finally, she does something motherly.

Friday night dinner is intense. After Richard says Rory’s father is smart and Rory must take after him, Lorelai runs into the kitchen. Emily follows her and they have a very loud argument. Rory overhears and learns that Lorelai asked her parents for money. She changes her mind about Chilton and the girls go to Luke’s for coffee. Luke is dressed up because he had a meeting at the bank earlier. He and Lorelai make googly eyes at each other for a second, and then Lorelai grills Rory about Dean.

Mrs. Kim: So, how was school? None of the girls get pregnant, drop out?

Rory: Chicago. Windy. Oprah.

All images in this post are from http://www.leavemethewhite.com/starshollow

• Original Air Date: October 5, 2000

Categories: Season 1
Tags: Dean, Lane, Lorelai acts like a brat, Lorelai-Emily fight, Mother-Daughter Miscommunication, Premiere, Rory acts like a brat

Posted on November 20, 2009