The Lorelais' First Day At Chilton

"The Lorelais' First Day At Chilton" is the second episode of the first season of the American comedy-drama series Gilmore Girls. It originally aired on the WB in the United States on October 12, 2000. The episode was written by series creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and directed by Arlene Sanford.

Synopsis

Lorelai oversleeps on Rory's first day at Chilton and discovers that all her good clothes are in the cleaners. She throws on a tie-dyed top, Daisy Mae shorts, and cowboy boots to the dismay of Rory, the Chilton headmaster, and Emily, who has shown up for Rory's first day. Lorelai and Emily leave after some awkward moments in the headmaster's office, bickering the entire way out.

Rory's day goes downhill from there. She is handed a three inch binder containing one week's worth of notes from one class and meets some insufferable classmates including Paris, who sees Rory as a rival and tells her that she is the smartest student, and Tristan, who teases Rory by incessantly calling her "Mary." Later, Rory ruins Paris's class project as she tries to open her locker and begins to answer questions Paris would usually answer, further provoking her rage.

Meanwhile in Stars Hollow, Luke chastises Lorelai for her wardrobe choice. Later Ian, a man Lorelai met that morning at Chilton, comes by the Inn to ask her to dinner, but she declines because he is a "Chilton Dad."

At the end of the day, Lorelai picks Rory up from Chilton with coffee in hand, and they commiserate about their bad days.

Cast

• Scott Patterson as Luke Danes
• Melissa McCarthy as Sookie St. James
• Yanic Truesdale as Michel Gerard
• Lauren Graham as Lorelai Gilmore
• Alexis Bledel as Rory Gilmore
• Kelly Bishop as Emily Gilmore
• Keiko Agena as Lane Kim

Recurring Roles

• Ted Rooney as Morey Dell
• Alex Borstein as Drella
• Sally Struthers as Babette Dell
• Liz Torres as Patricia "Miss Patty" LaCosta
• Shelly Cole as Madeline Lynn
• Jackson Douglas as Jackson Melville
• Teal Redmann as Louise Grant
• Dakin Matthews as Hanlin Charleston
• Chad Michael Murray as Tristan DuGray
• Liza Weil as Paris Geller
• Sean Gunn as Mick
  • Gunn will later play the recurring/main character Kirk

Production Details

• In this episode, Lorelai declines the Chilton dad's invitation because it would be weird for Rory if she dated a Chilton dad. Yet, a couple of episodes later she accepts an invitation to go out with Mr. Medina who is Rory's teacher. Although she tried to refuse at first, she went anyway. Dating Rory's teacher was undoubtedly more embarrassing for her daughter than dating another father from the same school.
• When Lorelai asks Rory what she thinks about Luke, Rory tells her that she can't date him because they will break up and they won't be able to eat at the diner anymore. Rory will show the same concerns in "Raincoats and Recipes" when Lorelai tells her that she thinks she's dating Luke.
• While Rory and Lorelai are driving to Chilton, you see Rory look out her window, then the camera cuts to a shot of Stars Hollow High, as if that's what Rory sees. But right before it cuts to that shot, if you look through Lorelai's window, you see Stars Hollow High across the town square.
• When the Gilmore girls are on their way to Chilton, they pass The Gelston House, which is a restaurant in East Haddam CT. From there, it takes about forty minutes to get to Hartford and New Haven. It is said in later episodes that forty minutes is about how long it takes to get to both destinations. This means that East Haddam might be the area of Stars Hollow or near it.
• Lorelai named Rory after herself because she thought that it was sexist of men to name their sons after themselves so she thought, "If men can do it... so can I!"
• This marks the first appearance of Jackson.
• The scene when Lorelai and Rory are walking past Luke's marks the first clear hint at an attraction between Luke and Lorelai. However, there is a scene inside Luke's Diner which prepares for this when Lorelai tells Luke she has decided she is not going to date the Chilton dad who is asking her out. The way Luke approves of this decision already indicates clearly that he is unhappy about Lorelai dating other guys.
• In this episode, the cable installer is introduced as Mick, but in later episodes, the same actor Sean Gunn is known as Kirk.
• When Lorelai gets to Luke's he's fixing a toaster and leaves his screwdriver inside when he gets her coffee. When he returns the screwdriver is on the counter.
• When Lorelai picks Rory up from school, she throws Rory's backpack in the backseat twice.
• In the beginning, there's a shot of Sookie's house that is meant to be the exterior of Lorelai's bedroom.
• German episode title: "Ein klassischer Fehlstart", meaning "A Classic Case Of A False Start".
• Edward Herrmann (Richard) does not appear in this episode.

Music

• "I'm The Man Who Murdered Love" by XTC
• "I Don't Know How To Say Goodbye To You" by Sam Philips
• "Stars And Stripes Forever" by John Phillips Sousa

Reception

While rewatching the series, David Sims of The A.V. Club wrote: "Of all the early season-one episodes that see Gilmore Girls finding its groove, this is definitely the weakest."^[1]

References

External links

• "The Lorelais' First Day at Chilton" at the Internet Movie Database
• "The Lorelais' First Day at Chilton" at TV.com