After Rory is accepted at Chilton, an extremely prestigious and expensive prep school, Lorelai's difficulty in raising the tuition money forces her to ask her wealthy parents, from whom she is estranged, for a loan. The elder Gilmores happily loan their daughter the money in exchange for an end to the estrangement and a family dinner every Friday night. In her last week at Stars Hollow High School, Rory meets a very cute new transfer student named Dean, which gives her second thoughts about attending Chilton. When Lorelai discovers that her ambivalence about Chilton centers on a boy, they argue about her future, but after the first Friday night family dinner at her grandparents' house, Rory makes up with her mother and decides to go to Chilton after all when she realizes the sacrifice her mother has made in agreeing to end the estrangement with her grandparents.

The Lorelais' First Day at Chilton First Aired: October 12, 2000

Lorelai oversleeps on Rory's first day at Chilton, and discovers that all her good clothes are at the cleaners. She throws on a tiny 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's handed a three inch binder containing one week's worth of notes from one class and meets some insufferable classmates who are determined to make her life at Chilton miserable.

Kill Me Now First Aired: October 19,2000

When Rory announces at Friday night dinner that she has to pick a team sport to play at Chilton, Emily insists that Richard take Rory to the club and teach her golf. Although Rory tees off to a rocky start, she soon gets into the swing of things and has a great time walking and talking with Richard. Later, Lorelai's mixed feelings as Rory tells her how much she enjoyed being with Richard at the club provokes her into an intensely stupid argument with Rory, which is soon patched up when Lorelai realizes that she's not losing Rory to her parents. At the Inn, Lorelai has her hands full overseeing all the preparations for an ornate double wedding ceremony and contending with a pair of spoiled and quarrelsome twin brides, their exhausted mother, their twin grooms, Michel, and the rest of her staff.

The Deer Hunters First Aired:October 26,2000

Max Medina gives Rory the first "D" of her life on an English paper. Paris taunts her non-stop about being a failure and gets Rory very stressed about an upcoming test on Shakespeare that will count for 20% of her English grade. Lorelai spends the week helping Rory study, and they both collapse exhausted at the kitchen table in the early morning hours of the day of the big test. Naturally, they oversleep. In her panic to get to school on time, Rory gets into a car accident -- she gets hit by a deer who runs into Lorelai's car at a stop sign. When she walks into class late, Max tells her that she can't take the test, and Rory has a meltdown, finally giving Paris and Tristan the chewing out they so richly deserve. Lorelai pleads Rory's case with the headmaster to no avail, and has her own meltdown, leaving with a few not-so-well-chosen insults to the headmaster and Chilton. On their way home, Rory insists that they stop and look for the deer to make sure it's all right and Loralei reassures Rory that she will be able to make it at Chilton after all. When they arrive home, Max has left the message that he's talked the headmaster into allowing Rory to do extra credit work to bring up her grade. Sookie gets a rave review in a magazine, but fixates only on the critic's use of the word "fine" to describe her famous risotto. She drives everyone crazy trying to figure out the critic's identity and what went wrong with the rice, finally discovering that the problem was the wine that was served with the dish. She promptly makes up a batch of risotto and arrives at the critic's doorstep, rice and appropriate wine in hand, to receive the kudos she deserves.

Cinnamon's Wake First Aired: November 2, 2000

Sookie sets Chilton's Annual Bake Sale on fire with a table of fabulous treats, drawing Max's attention. He takes Lorelai aside and asks her out on a date. She's conflicted and suggests that they meet for coffee first, where sparks fly and Lorelai finally agrees to a date. When Max shows up at their front door before Lorelai has had a chance to tell Rory, mother and daughter find they have a few things to work out about mothers dating teachers. Dean and Rory keep running into each other, but a flustered Rory doesn't encourage his attentions. When Dean finally tells her that he'll stop bugging her if she's not interested, she gathers up her courage and tells him that she is interested, and then runs away, much to his amusement. Babette and Morey's beloved Cinnamon goes to Kitty Heaven, and Stars Hollow gathers to console them. Emily is less than thrilled when she finds out that Lorelai ditched the funeral of an unknown cousin to attend a wake for a cat.

Rory's Birthday Parties First Aired: November 9, 2000

It's Rory's birthday, and her grandmother and mother each plan a party representative of their respective styles; Emily's elegant party so discomfits Rory that they argue; to make peace, Emily and Richard attend Lorelai's informal bash the next evening.

Kiss and Tell First Aired: November 16, 2000

Dean gives Rory her first kiss; fearful of her mother's disapproval, Rory decides not to tell Lorelai for a little while; Lorelai gets stressed when she hears about the kiss from Mrs. Kim instead of Rory; Rory freaks out at first when Lorelai invites Dean over to watch videos and eat junk food, but ends up having a good time after all.

Love and War and Snow First Aired: December 14,2000

The first snow of the season falls heavily, stranding Rory at Emily and Richard's house and their cook at home, leaving Rory to make dinner and introduce her grandparents to the joys of frozen pizza with extra cheese. Luke is obsessing about the silliness of the re-enactment of the Battle of Stars Hollow in the town square, which basically consisted of twelve men who stood waiting all night for Redcoats who never arrived. He finally relents and makes amends to all by bringing them coffee. Lorelai is enjoying a walk alone in the snow when she comes upon Max, whose car has died in Stars Hollow on the way home from Stamford. She whisks him off for fiesta burgers and the movies, and they have a marvelous time on their first date. Luke gets a very pained expression on his face as he sees them walk through town arm-in-arm and kiss. When they arrive at Lorelai's house, their passionate embraces are interrupted by a distraught Lane, who was waiting there for Rory. Lorelai has a heart-to-heart with Lane, who is afraid she can never go back to school again because she ran her fingers through a cute boy's hair in front of everyone. In the morning, Rory returns home to find Max asleep on the couch and Lane packing up after her overnight stay in Rory's room. Rory apologizes to Lane for not being there for her enough lately, and they vow to spend more time with each other. Lorelai and Rory talk about Lorelai's dating again, and Rory reassures her mother that she wants her to be happy, even though it's still a little strange to her that Lorelai's dating her English teacher.

Rory's Dance First Aired: December 20,2000

During dinner at her mother's, Lorelai finds out that not only is there a formal dance at Chilton, but that Rory doesn't want to go. On the way home, Lorelai convinces Rory that she needs to have this experience, and even offers to make Rory a dress. Lane prods Rory into asking Dean to go, and she nervously does. Even though he says he doesn't really like dances, he agrees to go with Rory. When Emily arrives at Lorelai's the night of the dance to see Rory off and take some pictures, she finds that Lorelai has thrown her back out. She decides to stay and to take care of Lorelai,and they manage to get in some nice mother-daughter bonding during the course of the evening. The dance starts off well; Rory's dress is complimented, Dean is admired, and Paris is embarrassed when everyone finds out that her date is her cousin and that he insisted upon being paid to escort Paris. Unfortunately, Tristan baits Dean, and they almost get into a fight before Dean warns him never to come near Rory again. Rory and Dean leave, take a walk around Stars Hollow, decide that they are girlfriend and boyfriend, and fall asleep reading poetry in Miss Patty's studio. In the morning, Rory's absence causes Lorelai and Emily great alarm, and they have a major argument about Lorelai's parenting, her past, and Emily's parenting. Rory arrives home to hear her mother order her grandmother out of the house. Lorelai vents her fear and anger at Rory, and Rory yells back, accusing Lorelai of actually being upset that she failed in front of Emily.

Forgiveness and Stuff First Aired: December 21, 2000

Things are still chilly between Rory and Lorelai; Lane gives Rory advice about the right Christmas gift for Dean; Emily and Lorelai have a tiff about Christmas dinner, leaving Rory to go by herself; Dean and Lorelai patch things up; Luke makes a lonely Lorelai a Santa burger; Richard collapses and is rushed to the hospital; Luke gives a car-less Lorelai a ride to the hospital; relieved that Richard's collapse was only a bout of angina, the Gilmores settle their differences.

Paris is Burning First Aired: January 11, 2001

As Lorelai and Max grow closer, Rory begins to get attached to the idea of Max in their lives, which freaks Lorelai out; Sookie and Lorelai have a frank talk about relationships; Lorelai tries to ease out of her relationship with Max during Parent's Day at Chilton, but ends up passionately kissing him in his classroom just as Paris walks by; stung by the details in the newspapers about her parents' messy divorce, Paris tells everyone in the lunchroom about Max and Lorelai to deflect gossip away from her and towards Rory; Rory confronts Paris, gets an apology, and offers a sympathetic ear, which is grudgingly accepted; Sookie asks Jackson out on a date and he accepts.

Double Date First Aired: January 18, 2001

After Lorelai encourages Sookie to ask out her produce man, Jackson, she soon finds herself on the double date from hell with Jackson's very odd cousin (guest star Max Perlich, "Homicide: Life on the Street"), which makes Luke jealous enough to finally work up the courage to ask Lorelai out. Meanwhile, Rory and Lane get into trouble when they double date with Dean and his friend Todd (guest star Lukas Behnken) without telling their moms.

Concert Interruptus First Aired: February 15, 2001

Lorelai organizes the Stars Hollow Charity Rummage Sale and buys a sweatshirt donated by Luke. When she wears it into the diner, he goes ballistic, much to her shock. Sookie tells her later that the sweatshirt belonged to his old girlfriend Rachel, who broke his heart. When Lorelai's curiosity gets the better of her and she demands details from Sookie, Sookie teases her about being jealous of Rachel, which Lorelai denies a little too strongly. Lorelai returns the sweatshirt to Luke, reminding him that it's okay to hold onto some good memories. To the delight of Lorelai and Rory, Sookie gets great tickets to a Bangles concert in New York City. When Lane's mother won't let her join them, Lorelai suggests that Rory invite Paris, Madeline, and Louise, who have gathered at the house to prepare for a school debate. The girls accept and take Sookie's good seats while she and Lorelai head for seats in the nosebleed section that they bought at the door. During the concert, Madeline and Louise meet some cute guys and leave with them to go to a party, over Rory's objections. Lorelai is freaked when she finds out, but finally manages to track them down with the help of Sookie, Rory and Paris.

That Damn Donna Reed First Aired: February 22, 2001

An evening of "The Donna Reed Show" reruns infects Dean and both Gilmore Girls -- Dean expresses a longing for the type of family represented by the show, Lorelai helps Luke spruce up the diner with a fresh paint job and new curtains, and Rory dresses up like Donna and fixes a 1950s style dinner for Dean while petsitting Babette's new kitten; when the baby chick that's the subject of Rory's midterm project gets loose in the house, Lorelai frantically calls Luke to help her search the house; both Sookie and Emily force Lorelai to confront her feelings for Luke; Christopher roars into town on his motorcycle, and agrees to stay at Lorelai's and Rory's during his visit.

Christopher Returns First Aired: March 1, 2001

Wanting to play a greater role in Rory's life, Christopher settles in for his visit and lets Rory give him the grand tour of Stars Hollow. When his parents arrive in Hartford for a visit, Emily invites everyone to Friday night dinner, which turns out to be an unqualified disaster after Richard nearly comes to blows with Christopher's father over critical comments about Lorelai. In the aftermath of the ruined dinner party, Richard retreats to his study to calm down, Emily makes a plate for Rory in the kitchen and reassures her how much she is loved and regarded, and Christopher finds Lorelai on the balcony of her old bedroom and comforts her by repeating a little romantic history. The next morning, Lorelai awakens with a start, horrified that she forgot to help Luke paint the diner after dinner on Friday night. Grabbing a jacket, she races to the diner still clad in her pajamas, and begs Luke's forgiveness. He shrugs it off at first, but appears somewhat wounded when he realizes that Lorelai was with Christopher the night before. When Lorelai returns to the house, Christopher asks her to marry him and she regretfully turns him down, claiming he's not ready for the responsibility of a family quite yet. Christopher returns to California with the promise of doing a better job of staying in touch. The next morning, Lorelai surprises Luke by having the diner completely repainted when he arrives to open up for the day.

Star-Crossed Lovers and Other Strangers First Aired: March 8, 2001

Luke's ex-girlfriend Rachel arrives in Stars Hollow unexpectedly, and immediately picks up on the attraction between Luke and Lorelai, which they deny. Rachel decides to stay for awhile, which leaves Luke and Lorelai with mixed feelings. Lorelai and Rory are amazed when Emily agrees to excuse Rory from Friday night dinner so that Rory and Dean can celebrate their three month anniversary. When Lorelai arrives for dinner, she discovers the source of Emily's largesse -- her mother has invited another guest -- a man with whom she secretly hopes to fix Lorelai up. After a painful dinner with one of the world's most boring men, Lorelai attempts to escape through the window of her old bedroom, but is caught in the act by Richard. When he is forced to admit that even he is bored by the man, he uncharacteristically covers for her and lets her make her getaway. Back in Stars Hollow, Dean treats Rory to a wonderfully romantic dinner, and then gives her a present -- a car that he's restoring for her. As they sit in the car, Dean professes his love, but Rory is unsure how to respond. Crushed, Dean breaks up with Rory, who is heartbroken.

The Breakup, Part 2 First Aired: March 15, 2001

Rory decides to engage in a flurry of activity to avoid thinking about Dean, despite Lorelai's advice to wallow; Lorelai runs interference as the residents of Stars Hollow reach out to console Rory and Luke attempts to bar Dean from the diner; Rachel pitches in to help Luke out at the diner; Jackson prepares dinner for Sookie, and has a tough time keeping her out of the kitchen; Rory decides to attend Madeline's party and takes Lane along for company; Lorelai decides to visit Max when she realizes how much she misses him; Lane is torn when she meets the perfect guy at the party; Rory attempts to befriend Tristan after he has very public breakup with his girlfriend at the party, and when he apologizes for his past bad behavior towards her and kisses her, she bursts into tears; at home, Rory sobs to Lorelai that she's ready to wallow now.

The Third Lorelai First Aired: March 22,2001

Emily becomes unhinged at the prospect of a visit from Richard's mother Trix; Paris is outraged when she discovers that Tristan asked her for a date at Rory's urging; fearing that she'll never see Lorelai again, Emily opposes Trix's offer to set up a trust fund for Rory.

Emily In Wonderland First Aired: April 26, 2001

Rachel finds an abandoned inn that Lorelai and Sookie fall in love with; Lorelai and Rachel spend the afternoon getting to know each other and Rachel asks Lorelai to put in a good word for her with Luke; as Rory takes Emily on a tour of Stars Hollow, Emily hits it off with Mrs. Kim and Michel, but becomes distraught when she sees Lorelai and Rory's first home; at Sookie's urging, Lorelai gives Jackson's cousin Rune a job at the Inn.

P.S. I Lo... First Aired: May 3,2001

Lorelai helps Luke shop for a birthday present for Rachel and goes wild outfitting him with a new wardrobe; overwhelmed by sadness at her breakup with Dean, Rory is distressed to discover that Lane and Dean have become science project partners, and incensed to find out from Max that Lorelai has neglected to mention that they are dating again, so she argues with Lorelai and then takes off for Hartford to spend the night at her grandparents' house without telling her mother; when an angry Lorelai confronts Dean and discovers the truth about his breakup with Rory, she fears that she has taught Rory not to commit to a relationship.

Love, Daisies and Troubadours First Aired: May 10,2001

Paris wreaks her revenge after Tristan lies about going to a concert with Rory; Rachel leaves Stars Hollow after she becomes convinced that despite his protests, Luke is in love with Lorelai; Rory's defense of the Stars Hollow troubadour during a town meeting brings her back together with Dean, enabling her to finally say, and mean, the words that he's been longing to hear; Luke and Max meet and engage in a little not-so-friendly rivalry as Max begins to suspect, despite her protests, that Lorelai and Luke were once an item; Max proposes to Lorelai with a thousand yellow daisies.

You can watch Gilmore Girls Monday thru Friday on ABCFamily at 5pm/4pmc and on The WB on Saturdays at 9pm/8pmc. You can also purchase the First Season of Gilmore Girls on DVD and Video.