GILMORE GIRLS: THE BIG ONE (TV)
Summary
One in this dramatic series about Lorelai Gilmore, a thirty-something mother raising her teenage daughter Rory under the constant surveillance of her overbearing and very wealthy parents, Emily and Richard. In this episode, Rory and Lorelai wait eagerly for good news from Harvard, but are stymied by Kirk’s poor mail-carrying skills. Later, they dine at Luke’s with Lane, and are surprised to see that he has new menus, encouraged by his girlfriend, Nicole, and Lorelai tells him that he is “menu-whipped.”
At Chilton, the students learn that there is to be a speech contest for the school’s bicentennial anniversary, and that the winner will be broadcast on C-SPAN. They also welcome back Brad, a former classmate and victim of much mockery from Paris. Paris immediately signs up for the speech contest, declaring her intentions to defeat Rory. At the Independence Inn, Sookie is outraged that customers have sent her food back, as she is known for being an exceptional chef, but when Lorelai tastes the dish, she agrees that it is terrible and speculates that Sookie is ill. Rory arrives and discusses Paris with her mother, and Lorelai encourages her to participate in the contest, and she agrees. Suddenly, Lorelai realizes something, and runs to Sookie, who has also just understood that she is pregnant, and the girls celebrate happily.
As the students prepare to submit their speeches for consideration, Paris psyches out her fellow competitors, including Brad. Rory defends him and suggests Paris’ speech must be sub-par if she needs to harass others about it, but Paris is undeterred. That evening, Sookie calls Lorelai to tell her about informing Jackson of her pregnancy, and says that he did not react joyously, but rather immediately began “crunching numbers” and fretting about the expense of having a child. Lorelai assures her that he will come around. She stops by Doose’s Market and observes Kirk being harassed by angry Stars Hollow residents wanting their mail, and goes to a store in Hartford instead, where she runs into Max. They talk briefly, catching up about their lives in a friendly way, and Max departs. Lorelai goes to her parents’ house, where Richard is holding down the fort with Emily at the hospital visiting several sick friends, and tells Rory about seeing Max. She admits she is surprised at his cordial greeting when their breakup was less than amiable.
After dinner, Lorelai goes to Sookie’s home and learns that Jackson is already being extremely cautious about the pregnancy, attempting to “baby-proof” the entire house and telling Sookie she must get rid of all of her dangerous cooking tools. Back at home, Rory receives a three-way call from Headmaster Charleston and Paris. The principal tells them that their speeches were both excellent and that he would like the two girls to combine their work and present together, and they unhappily agree. They decide to merge the speeches over the phone to avoid having to work together, but the next evening Paris arrives on Rory’s doorstep and says they have to do it in person to insure the best possible job. As they brusquely discuss the speeches, however, Paris blurts out that she lost her virginity the previous night to her college boyfriend, Jamie, which shocks Rory. Paris rambles that she is unsure about her feelings and would like to have a “healthy debate” with her about it. Lorelai comes home and overhears the girls talking, and is startled and then relieved when Paris asks about Rory’s relationships with Dean and Jess, and Rory says that she has not been intimate with either of them, as it was “just not the time.” Paris awkwardly apologizes to Rory for their recent issues, and they seem to renew their friendship.
The next day, at the speech presentation, Rory frets that Paris has not arrived yet. Lorelai runs into Max again and they talk in private, with Lorelai saying that she should have explained why she ended things with him, and Max stating bluntly that she did not love him. She tries to explain that she was just unready to be married, but he calmly says that he is over it and OK with what happened. At the last moment, Paris arrived, looking disheveled and distraught. She takes the stage with Rory and Rory begins the speech, but Paris remains silent for several minutes until finally beginning an unscripted rant about how she has devoted her life to Chilton for years in order to achieve her dream of going to Harvard. However, she reveals, she has been rejected from Harvard, despite her exceptional grades and extremely hard work. She begins to break down entirely and shouts that she is possibly being punished for having sex, whereas innocent Rory is sure to be admitted. Rory hurriedly ends the speech and drags Paris off the stage as the audience reacts in shock, and comforts her heartbroken friend, saying she can attend one of many other excellent schools. Lorelai and Max meet up again in the coat room, and this time they share an impulsive kiss, leading Max to admit that he is not “over it” after all.
At their home, Sookie is upset about Jackson’s reaction to her pregnancy, and he warmly assures her that he is very happy about the development. When Lorelai and Rory get home from the speech, they find “the big envelopes” in the mailbox: acceptance letters from Harvard, Princeton and Yale. Rory, stunned, regards the three packages and says she is unsure which to choose. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: WB
- DATE: February 25, 2003 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:44:20
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:85105
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama; Mothers and daughters
- SERIES RUN: WB/CW - TV series, 2000-2007; Netflix - Internet series, 2016
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Daniel Palladino … Executive Producer
- Gavin Polone … Executive Producer
- Amy Sherman-Palladino … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
- Sheila R. Lawrence … Co-Executive Producer
- Patricia Fass Palmer … Producer
- Helen Pai … Co-Producer
- Keira Morrisette … Associate Producer
- Janet Leahy … Consulting Producer
- Jamie Babbit … Director
- Sam Phillips … Music by
- Carole King … Theme Music by
- Toni Stern … Theme Music by
- Lauren Graham … Cast, Lorelai Gilmore
- Alexis Bledel … Cast, Rory Gilmore
- Melissa McCarthy … Cast, Sookie St. James
- Keiko Agena … Cast, Lane Kim
- Yanic Truesdale … Cast, Michel Gerard
- Scott Patterson … Cast, Luke Danes
- Liza Weil … Cast, Paris Geller
- Jared Padalecki … Cast, Dean Forester
- Sean Gunn … Cast, Kirk Gleason
- Kelly Bishop … Cast, Emily Gilmore
- Edward Herrmann … Cast, Richard Gilmore
- Jackson Douglas … Cast, Jackson Belleville
- Shelly Cole … Cast, Madeline Lynn
- Teal Redmann … Cast, Louise Grant
- Dakin Matthews … Cast, Hanlin Charleston
- Adam Wylie … Cast, Brad Langford
- Jill Matson … Cast, Teacher
- Scott Cohen … Cast, Max Medina
- Lauren Cohn … Cast, Woman
- Jeff Snyder … Cast, Waiter
- Kim Fifield … Cast, Girl
- Jared Hillman … Cast, Student