They Shoot Gilmores, Don't They?

Season 3, Episode 7, Aired
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Episode Summary

Lorelai is determined to win the Stars Hollow Dance Marathon and wrest the trophy from four-time champion Kirk, but has trouble getting a partner until she finally convinces Rory to help her dance her way to victory. Dean sits on the sidelines to cheer his girl on, and is soon joined by Jess and Shane, who spend their time making out while Jess keeps his eye on Rory. Lorelai breaks her heel, and Dean takes her place while Luke plays shoe repairman. On the dance floor, Dean realizes that Rory is attracted to Jess and breaks up with her. Rory tearfully runs off, followed closely by Jess, and Kirk is declared the winner once again.moreless
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Fan Episode Reviews (34)

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  • Another Festival in Stars Hollow - seems cool. But a dance marathon? With a break up? Haven't we seen it somewhere else? Oh yes, we have, not once. I'm not used to this level at this show. [ Plus I really hated the breakup. :) ]moreless

    7.3
    "Good"
    By vajka, Dec 03, 2011 Report Abuse
    The dance marathon idea was not very original. At least the episode title reflects it. There were a lot of goofs in this episode, that you can't explain and these come from the writing which I am very sensitive to. But I liked Paris in this episode, she had the funniest lines and a good story line.
    It didn't start that bad actually. Luke and Lorelai are having their usual back-and-forth discussions like an old couple with audience. Taylor is very much into his character by playing very important and we can see him drunk later on, kudos! :) Emily and Lorelai also have a sweet moment when Lorelai gets dumped by her dance partner and Emily tells her: "you can make my asparagus talk". I liked to see Paris happy, I can so relate to that girl! :) But it's hard to imagine that Madeline can be that dull in a school like Chilton where everyone prepares for ivy colleges... Paris had the nicest moment with Jamie who teased her so well by naming her "disturbance". And the end of the scene: "He took my books." - "Well, go get 'em back." Another great scene with Paris when she's late: "I overslept." - "You're kidding." Later, when Lorelai asks Rory to dance with her, Rory says that this is Dean's first marathon which cannot be true, being here for 2 years...
    But a wise line from Lorelai comes in the very early morning of the marathon: " Oh, it's so cool to be married. You have your own spot-scoper." If nothing else... :) Then, Luke doesn't serve coffee at 6 in the morning. Why? As far as I remember, there were like 127 couples in the beginning - not only that we didn't see almost 300 people but there was not enough space for 300 people either! Then the dancers doesn't seem to get tired after 6 hours. The girls doesn't seem to get tired at all. Only sleepy - strange. Dean comes in the 6th hour which is then noon, stays all day, all night and does the breakup in the 24th hour - hell of an enduring person together with Jess and Shean.
    When Andrew flips out (again in 6th hour), Lorelai says: "Right on time!" while he should've been left already after 15 minutes according to Rory's description of the marathon earlier.
    14 hours passed: Sookie and Jackson are still dancing, no foot-hurt or anything. My least favourite scene of this episode is when Rory has a debate with Jess in front of the sandwiches (a very good debate by the way) and cares not at all about Dean's feelings. Later, on the dance floor, I can accept that she was too tired to hide her feelings but here it was quite cruel from her. But Jess replied very cleverly, I liked that part. And the very end when in Lorelai's 10-minute long emergency break a lot happen: she goes to Luke with her broken shoe, he goes back to the diner. She talks to Sookie 17 lines (like 2 mins) and Luke's already back from the diner! Then they talk about wanting babies with the right partner - about 2 more minutes. In the meantime, David goes to Lane. At 5 in the morning! And at 5 in the morning, his parents are in Bible class! In the meantime, when Lorelai is let's say in the bathroom after her shoe is fixed (which was at least 4 mins), my heart and Dean's heart breaks and he tells Rory how dishonest she was. Let's say 2 mins with which 6 mins have passed from Lorelai's 10-minute break. Then Rory runs away to the bridge, she talks to Jess, and comes back just like 2 minutes after Lorelai came back from her break, leaving 6 minutes for herself to all the way to the bridge and back and talking to Jess. Very lifelike... It's I think the worst written episode of this show, not reaching the usual level. Still better than most of the writing somewhere else but we're spoilt.moreless

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  • A 24 hour dance marathon takes place in Stars Hollow, leading to some big events. Brilliant episode, finally it happens.

    9.8
    "Superb"
    By stewie1423, Jun 18, 2010 Report Abuse
    Defiantly an action packed episode and the one thing I've been waiting for happened, Dean broke up with Rory after realising that she's into Jess and there's nothing he can do. It was really entertaining to see Jess and Rory argue purely because they were both jealous. I felt a bit sorry for Dean, he looked so disappointed, didn't feel anything for Shane, who would.

    The break up scene itself was my favourite of the episode, loved how she was just left that, very dramatic, then she walked off in tears. Jess generally looked sorry for her but when the break up was going on, he looked more surprised. The ending part where Jess found Rory on the bridge, great scene for them as a couple. He admitted he had feelings for her, as did she and then went to break up with Shane (Fairly obvious anyway).

    The whole dance was a really great, fun idea. I liked the music in the background, made the episode more engrossing. Luke and Lorelai even had a moment, when they spoke about kids, they love each other, just realise it already. Very good scene. Liked how Lorelai was competing against Kirk, who won in the end after the events with Rory.

    The Sookie and Jackson argument was good for the episode too, especially how it was handled during the dancing itself. Glad they figured it out, wonder if they'll have kids. Lane and Dave, good couple, liked his fake speech to Mrs Kim, her reaction was funny. I wonder if Lane will actually date him for real this time, not like Henry.

    Taylor was going on his usual power trip, amusing. Babette leaving so early was also funny. Can't wait to see Jess and Rory actually be a couple. The end scene was great, Rory crying on Lorelai's shoulder and Kirk doing his victory dance, music was great with it. This was an anticipated episode and it was brilliant. Look forward to more!moreless

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  • Totally loved it

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By Doortje12, Nov 19, 2008 Report Abuse
    I absoluteley loved this episode. I have waited forever for jess and rory to get together!! I did not like Dean at all, they didnt match; first i didn't noticed that but when Jess came into the picture, you can see that he is soooo right for her!!!
    the theme of the episode, the dance marathon, is a bit weird; but it works in this episode; especially with the music in the background. thought rory looked lovely (reaallly safe). The only thing that bothered me was taylor( he's so... you know, right?), but it could have been because i just watched 10 episodes right after each other..

    I think it's one of my favourites, but when you're a Dean fan, you'll probably hate it.moreless

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  • Stars Hollow has its annual dance marathon. Lorelai convinces Rory to be her partner. Dean sits and watches them dance. Jess also comes with his girlfriend. Jess gets to Dean, who breaks up with Rory because he knows she has feelings for Jess.moreless

    10
    "Perfect"
    By heartsgalur08, Aug 02, 2008 Report Abuse
    This episode was brilliant. It was my favorite episode out of all seven seasons of Gilmore Girls. The dance marathon was such a good idea. It seems like so much fun, I would love to try that. I also love this episode, because Rory and Jess finally get together for the first time. Luke and Lorelai also have a little moment in this episode. She asks him to fix the broken heel on her shoe and he wants to make sure she knows that he is not completely against kids and that with the right person he may want to have some one day. If you are a Gilmore Girls and haven't seen this episode you really need to, it is the best!!!moreless

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    0 0

  • The dance marathon in stars hollow

    10
    "Perfect"
    By gosoxjavajunkie, Jan 09, 2008 Report Abuse
    This episode is one of my favorites. It was so funny with mrs. kim and her sandwiches lol. I am a rory and jess fan so this episode was a good one because it was a turning point in their relationship. You could see that they were just trying to make each other jealous when they were in the gazebo and argueing about their relationships. Jess's reaction was classic when he heard that dean was finally breaking up with rory. Also, this is a greay luke and lorelai episode. They have the famous discussion about having kids. It is very obvious that luke wants lorelai to know that he is not completely anti-kid It is an overall great episode!moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • Luke's coffee table was very near to where Lorelai and Rory were dancing when Dean came in. Assuming that he was manning the coffee station, there's no way that he could have missed the big, loud fight that Dean had with Rory, and in that case, he would've known that they broke up. Edit
    • While Kirk is running his victory lap, Lorelai is hugging Rory, comforting her because of her break up with Dean. The Gilmore girls are initially standing outside a circle drawn on the floor. The camera pans in on Kirk celebrating. When it moves out again, Lorelai and Rory are in the center of the circle. Edit
    • Rory and Dean officially break up for the 2nd time. Edit

  • Notes

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    • German episode title: "Tanzmarathon", meaning "Dance Marathon". Edit
    • Teal Readman (Louise) and Adam Brody (Dave) previously worked togethor on the MTV series Undressed in a four episode arc. Actress Jessica Kiper (Shane) who appears in this episode was also a star on that series. Edit
    • Music: "In The Mood" by Glenn Miller "Sing Sing Sing (With a Swing)" by Louis Prima "Walkin' My Baby Back Home" by the Swingin Deacons-Band "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" by the Swingin Deacons-Band "By the Beautiful Sea" by the Swingin Deacons-Band "String of Pearls" by Glenn Miller "These foolish things" by the Swingin Deacons-Band "Gonna Fly Now" (Theme from Rocky) Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Rory: What is that stuff? Lane: Eggless egg salad. Though this year my mom added food coloring to make the egg-like product look more eggy. Rory: Smart. Lane: And every sandwich comes with your own personal pamphlet "Dancing for the Devil", an illustrated look at the effect of dancing on your chances of spending all eternity in hell. Rory: Boy, her flames are getting really good. Lane: Well, she just bought a new color printer. You can do a ton of stuff with it. Edit
    • Lorelai: Hi there. Um, this is Rory Gilmore and I'm Lorelai Gilmore. Nurse: Lorelai Gilmore? Lorelai: Yeah, L – o – r . .. Nurse: You don't look like you've recently suffered a face-altering car crash. Lorelai: Uh, excuse me? Nurse: You're also supposed to have buck teeth, a club foot, and alopecia. Lorelai: Oh. I'm sorry, who told you this? Nurse: My husband. Lorelai: Your husband? Well, who's... Stanley Appleman. Your husband is Stanley Appleman. Nurse: Mmhmm. Lorelai: Okay, well, it's very nice to meet you. Stanley's said the nicest things about you. In the one tiny short conversation we had, you know, standing way far apart. You know, too far to touch, but close enough to hear all the wonderful things he said about his adorable, sweet-tempered, lovable. . . can we have someone else do our physical? Edit
    • (Rory and Paris area coming out of Chilton and Paris stops.) Rory: What? (Jaime is there) Paris: What's he doing here? Rory: I bet he is here to see you. Paris: He hasn't called me once! I haven't seen or heard from him since we had our date in Washington three months ago. Rory: Maybe he wants to explain why. (Jaime stars walking towards them) Paris: He was suppose to go away, never come back. I already wrote his name on my revenge notebook. Rory: Paris, he knows you are standing here talking about him. Paris: What does he want? Rory: Go over there and find out! (she goes to him) Paris: What do you want? Jaime: I'm on break from school, I thought I'd come down and see you. Paris: But...you never called. Jaime: I know. Paris: You lost my number? Jaime: Nope. I memorized your number. Paris: You didn't want to use my number. Jaime: I was starting classes... Paris: In phone dialing? How's it going? Jaime: Look Paris, this year is very important for me, I thought the last thing I needed was a distraction. Paris: Well I totally understand! This year is very important for me too! I am focusing on getting into Harvard and the last thing that I need is a distraction. Good move! You saved us both a lot of distractions!(she shakes his hand) Thank you and good luck! ( He doesn't let go...) Paris: I need my hand. Jaime: If I let go, how fast will you run away? Paris: 3.2 seconds. Jaime: I thought so. Hey Rory! Rory: Hey Jaime! How's Princeton? Jaime: It's good! Crazy but.. Paris: Let go!! Jaime: No. Paris: Yes! Jaime: Paris... Paris: Look you don't have to be nice, you don't have to tie up lose ends, I get it! I'm a distraction! Now, either pull a Boxing Helena or give me back my hand. Jaime: Yes, talking to you would have been distraction. Paris: I know! I heard you already! My God find a pirate to sit on, OK? Jaime: However not talking to you has turned out to be impossible Paris: What? Jaime: I flunked a pop quiz in Poli-Sci because I couldn't stop thinking about you. Still want your hand back? Paris: I've got another. Jaime: I thought a lot about this and apparently you are a distraction that I'm suppose to have. Paris: You didn't have a bad time on our date? Jaime: Are you busy right now? Paris: Well.. Rory: No, we are done. She is free! Jaime: Good! Lets go get some coffee. (He grabs her books and walks away) Jaime: Bye Rory! Rory: Bye Jaime! Paris: He took my books. Rory: Well go get them back! Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Emily: You'll find another partner, Elizabeth Taylor always did. Alluding to the fact that Elizabeth Taylor married 9 times. Twice to Richard Burton Edit
    • Jackson: Does anyone here understand that a man has a right not to have his personal life debated in a public forum? I'm not Winona Ryder. Winona Ryder is an American actres who, at the time, was facing charges of shop lifting and using drugs without a valid prescription. This incident was well documented by the media, and every aspect of her life was being scrutinized. Edit
    • Luke: Oh, hey, look. There goes Tommy Tune. Tommy Tune is a Tony-winning actor/singer/dancer/choreographer who danced in many Broadway musicals. Edit

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