Friends: Episode-by-Episode 10.17 & 10.18 "The Last One"

0902: The One Where Emma Cries

- Besides Joey?s last line, the teaser?s really no good.
- I love how Phoebe fixes the sign, but the rest of the scene: not so much?
- Emma crying is a little tiresome, and not in a funny way either?
- ?This just proves no good can come from having sex with Ross!? ? hee; I do like that line.
- Good Gunther appearance: ?I can?t even believe she slept with you in the first place.?
- I LOVE Joey not knowing how to use air quotes correctly. I realize we have seen him use them the right way repeatedly in the past, but it?s just so funny in this one that I really don?t care. Joey using air quotes when he legitimately wants to apologize to Ross puts me on the floor laughing. And then when he only adjusts the distance between the quotes when told he?s not using them right is even better. Pure awesomeness!
- Ross trying hit Joey, but missing and hurting himself instead doesn?t really work for me. I do love Gunther?s huge grin afterwards though.
- The only part of the Chandler story in this one that I like is the scene when he goes back to his boss to get out of moving to Tulsa.
- Joey filling out Ross? medical form is pretty funny: ?Occupation: Dinosaurs?
- More not funny stuff with Emma crying. And why do we never hear about Monica?s magical touch with Emma ever again?
- Tag?s not funny.
- Very uneven with mostly boring scenes with some hilarity sprinkled in between.

C +

 

(Nat was what, two years old? God, I'm old)

Hey! Actually, we're starting to hit the episodes that I actually saw on TV. I was totally too young, but whatever

I didn't like season eight (so I don't remember it which is why I've been absent in here ). The Joey/Rachel stuff was just soooo stupid - including the proposing bit. That was nonsense that could have been cleared up very easily by, as someone said, communication.

The Emma crying one was meh. Some funny lines (and the air quotes ). Chandler moving to Tulsa is okay. I think it's interesting that he has enough money to fly back to Monica every weekend.

 

9.01 "The One Where No One Proposes"

Season 9 takes its bow with an epilogue to The Great Rachel Pregnancy Melodrama, which could have been retitled The Great Rachel Single Motherhood Melodrama, but the writers consciously pushed the baby into the background. Evidently for once the writers were paying attention to popular perception of R&R's baby and decided to keep her mostly out of sight, lest they fall victim to one of the classic jump-the-shark categories: birth of a baby. (Yeah, 'cause that was a near-miss...)

Um, she already said yes. Shouldn't that be a sign that they ruined her character?

Amazingly, I have to agree with Hansen on one thing: there's no TGRCD moment, because the dude's just bewildered at what happened. Oh, well, there is the fact that knucklehead was just about to propose to Rachel himself despite his genuine ambivalence about their romantic future (plus her likely ambivalence to him). But still, there IS a difference in his would-be weaksauce proposal to Rachel and the imagined one that Joey "made". Ross at least has a history with Rachel plus the baby. Joey's got... a shared apartment and a mutual love for highly eroticized English romance novels. But the mop-up of the proposal confusion is still convoluted and ridiculous, and therefore unacceptable IMO.

C&M in the closet: not bad. I too like how Jack is creeped out until he sees the potential for a grandchild--why do people get so damn selfishly greedy when they realize they might become grandparents?

C

9.02 "The One Where Emma Cries"

I agree with AJ; I'm still not a fan of Rachel just discovering that she has zero maternal instincts & skills. Enough already. We get it. It's difficult for her. See, this is why so many comedies experience a shark-jump when there's a birth: the shows often resort to a well-worn cliché about trying to get the baby to stop crying or sleep on their own or whatever and just how HARD it is. THE KID'S BORN, SHOVE HER INTO THE BACKGROUND ALREADY. Some woman had octuplets born to her the other day. Hearing stuff like that makes it even harder to sympathize with Rachel's character. It's like we're now in the middle of "Rachel's muthrhood: srs biznss!11!"

Chandler getting himself transferred: meh. Dude, it's called coffee. Drink some next time. So nope, I don't feel much pity for him, and Chandler's my favorite character.

Joey's airquotes & Ross's punch: the redeemer. Joey's airquote flubs still make me crack up to this day. It says a lot about how much this show's changed when Joey alone becomes the actual 'comedy relief' on a show that's supposed to be a comedy. Ross's punch = hilarious. Their wait in the emergency room = hilarious.

So it's an F for the Rachel nonsense and an A for the Joey/Chandler stuff... split the difference and I give it a C.

 

9.03 "The One With The Pediatrician"


* Episode Number: 196
* Production Code: 175253
* Original Air Date: October 10, 2002
* Written by: Brian Buckner & Sebastian Jones
* Directed by: Roger Christiansen
* Guest Cast:
o Paul Rudd (Mike)
o Dedee Pfeiffer (Mary Ellen)
o Elaine Hendrix (Sally)
o Gregory White (Dr. Gettleman)
o Angee Hughes (Nurse)
o Greta Sesheta (Receptionist)


Detailed summary

Rachel has to find a new pediatrician because her persistent calls to Emma's doctor leads him to take them of the patient list. She decides to go to Monica and Ross's old pediatrician. It turns out though that Ross still sees his pediatrician. Meanwhile Joey is supposed to set Phoebe up on a blind date but forgets, and has to setup a guy called Mike on very short notice.

Unable to get out of moving to Tulsa, Chandler and Monica agree to move together so that Chandler can work in Tulsa. However, at the last minute, Monica is offered a job as a chef at a famous restaurant. They decide to allow Monica to accept her job, while Chandler agrees to work in Tulsa four days a week and spend the other three days in New York.

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Paul Rudd! I love Paul Rudd, but I always felt like he wasn't used right in this show. He's not as funny on Friends as he's been in everything else he's done.

 

0903: The One With The Pediatrician

- Phoebe calling the apartment is the best part of the teaser; the rest is not that funny.
- Beyond most of the Rachel stuff the early scenes here are pretty boring.
- I love that Ross used to have a recurring nightmare that Monica was going to eat him.
- Paul Rudd! I like Paul Rudd and think he?s pretty good here. The Joey and Phoebe story in this one gets distinctly better once Mike?s introduced.
- Dedee Pfeiffer is pretty hot.
- The Chandler and Monica story doesn?t do anything for me.
- Ross still going to his pediatrician is very silly, but I love it.
- Phoebe and Mike are actually rather sweet together.
- The scene with Ross in the waiting room is awesome.
- Good tag.
- So the Chandler/Monica story and half the Joey/Phoebe story is no good, while the rest is solid.

B -

 

I think Ross going to his ped. is silly. He's what, thirty-three? I understand people going for a couple more years after they turn eighteen (okay, maybe just because I didn't switch this summer - but it's damn hard to switch when you have a big medical history and no longer live in your home city for two-thirds of the year . . .).

I ranted about the Emma thing a while back, and I'll repeat - it seems unrealistic to shove her in the background while both her parents are main characters (unlike the Ben thing, since Carol has custody).

 

9.03 "The One With The Pediatrician"

Well, well. The Great Ross Character Decline returns with a vengeance. Not that it ever really went away.

I almost can't even watch the Ross scenes in this ep. It's that ridiculous. It's just really difficult to picture the Ross of S1 or S2 doing this. He's already made trips to the doctor (once for the broken nose in S1, once for the kiwi allergy, and another time for the funny "thing" on his ass) and each time he was seen by an adult doctor. So since he's been seen by grown-up doctors, it now seems really like a stretch to imply that he's only comfortable with his doctor from when he was a kid. Not quite a character violation, but it's not plausible if you've been watching the show for a while. Hansen, I'm kinda surprised that you're not stomping all over this as a semi-continuity violation.

Paul Rudd = ineligible on DSFGS. He's not really a guest star, since his becomes a recurring role, so I don't think it's right to consider him a "guest" star in the traditional "special guest star" sense of the word. But Hansen's right, his role isn't really much to write home about. I guess it's because we're not used to seeing Rudd strictly play the straight man, certainly not in a comedy anyway. So his appearance here just doesn't do much for me at this point.

C&M and the Tulsa commute: more meh. Being the jaded Gen-Xer that I am, I suppose I (still) just don't feel any sympathy for Chandler having created this problem himself. Nat made an earlier point that I never considered: how the hell could he afford to fly back to NY every weekend??? I thought the point was that Chandler had some money, but was hardly Uncle Moneybags.

It's a valid gripe, but I'll just repeat my own earlier comment: it looks to me that the writers/producers were at this point highly self-conscious about the dynamic that the baby would bring to the show (like I said, I don't think they really planned for the baby to be anything other than a series-ending plot arc... until the better ratings came back in). Since the ratings were a little better, it's like the writers were very vigiliant about the the old jump-the-shark category of baby birth, so I think they made a conscious effort to put Emma in the background and re-focus on the original six of the cast. Even though it would have been realistic to have Emma front & center with her crying, fussing, and diaper-changing, the writers apparently anticipated a viewer revolt against the show had it morphed from "Friends" into "Rachel Green: NYC Single Mother". I didn't watch the show, but one of the most famous shark-jumps ever was on the show Mad About You, when that show's baby was born, and I think the Friends writers/producers and even NBC in general were very apprehensive about this baby element, so they kept the baby to mere mentions in S9. While I'm no baby-hater, I think it was the right move. If it had become the "R&R + baby show", I woulda tuned out right there and then, and I don't think I would have been alone.

But this ep gets a C-. I still don't like TGRCD.

 

9.04 "The One With The Sharks"


* Episode Number: 197
* Production Code: 175254
* Original Air Date: October 17, 2002
* Written by: Andrew Reich & Ted Cohen
* Directed by: Ben Weiss
* Guest Cast:
o Paul Rudd (Mike)
o James Michael Tyler (Gunther)
o Susan Ward (Hayley)
o Nikita Ager (Hayley's Roomate)


Detailed summary

Ross upsets Phoebe by telling her she's never been in a long term relationship. Joey dates a girl he thinks he's already slept with and, after a visit to Tulsa to visit Chandler, Monica thinks Chandler is turned on by sharks, when in fact he was trying to change the channel from porn.

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How could Monica ever truly think Chandler gets turned on by sharks?!?!


anyway, late for work once again! brb

 

I don' really see the pediatrician things as a continuity foul considering Ross' prior trips to the doctor has consistently been to the emergency room, except when he had the thing on his butt where we never actually see him go to his own doctor. But really, the idea just tickled me the right way.

0904: The One With The Sharks

- While I?m fine with Phoebe realizing that she?s never been in a long term relationship and isn?t happy about it, I do wish the teaser actually had some funny in it.
- I like Monica not knowing why Chandler has to stay in Tulsa over the weekend because she never listens to him when he talks about his job.
- Susan Ward! Totally hot! She was probably one of my first celebrity crushes back in her Sunset Beach days.
- Gunther?s loud ?Ha?s as Joey asks out Hayley is awesome. Gunther?s having a good season so far.
- Good Joey story, I love the voice over when he?s in Hayley?s apartment.
- While the early Ross and Phoebe scenes don?t work for me, I do like the Mike and Ross scene. Mike?s attitude towards Ross amuses me a lot.
- Monica?s walking in on Chandler about to masturbate is funny. Her thinking he was masturbating to shark porn is not. Monica not being able to make the conclusion that Chandler might have switched the channel is just stupid.
- I like Rachel revealing some fascinating insights into Ross? sexual fantasies.
- ?I?m trying to remember the last time I opened a door and you weren?t there.? - hee
- While I object to the premise, I do think the scene where Monica puts the shark movie on for Chandler is funny in and of itself. I guess the actors save the writers in that one.
- The tag makes no sense. Why would Joey?s confidence be shaken when it eventually turned out that the girl he slept with remembered him?
- I guess we?ll label this a mostly average episode.

B -

 

9.04 "The One With The Sharks"

Two words: Shark Porn.

[image=http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/mustangtuning/cel-image-lg.jpg]

I remember this little gem of a plot set the chatroom/blog world just ablaze with hatin'. Was this the writers' little wink & a nod at the jump-the-shark concept? If so, it was in poor taste. Just imagine the writers' round-table discussing this episode: "So, yeah, we've got this idea. Chandler's just about to touch himself, but then Monica startles him, and he changes the channel! But he changes it to a great white shark feeding frenzy!! And then Monica thinks he was touching himself to the shark program instead!!! And so she makes an effort to indulge his shark porn fetish!!! DOESN'T THAT JUST SCREAM HILARIOUS TO YOU????"



Joey's deja vu dilemma = win. This was something that makes perfect sense for Joey's characterization: eventually he'd run through all the women in the Tri-State area and begin to think that he's dating somebody he'd already bedded & cast off long ago. In effect, Joey's encountering a repeat.

Mike's relationship with Phoebe still isn't doing much for me, but I can't help but smile that Ross completely knocks her sideways with the truth that she's never had a serious relationship. He's not even knocking her for it, but she panics. For once Ross totally upends Phoebe's self-confidence. Karma's a bitch, hm?

So here's the math: Shark Porn (F) + Joey deja vu (A) + Phoebe panic (C+) = C

 

9.05 "The One With Phoebe's Birthday Dinner"


* Episode Number: 198
* Production Code: 175255
* Original Air Date: October 31, 2002
* Written by: Scott Silveri
* Directed by: David Schwimmer
* Guest Cast:
o Christina Pickles (Judy Geller)
o Dan Bucatinsky (Waiter)
o Kevin Farrell (Maitre D')
o Monique Edwards (Claudia)
o Brian Chenoweth (Ken)


Detailed summary

While a hungry Joey and a famished Phoebe wait for their friends to arrive at the fancy restaurant, Rachel frets about leaving Emma with a baby-sitter (Ross's mother). Monica and Chandler are also running late because they end up fighting over Chandler starting smoking again, despite wanting to sleep with him as she is ovulating.

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This is an ok episode, there's nothing really wrong with it... there's just nothing spectacular either.

 

Had you asked me about this one before I watched it again a few days ago, I probably would not even have been able to remember it, but I was actually very much surprised by my reaction to it:


0905: The One With Phoebe?s Birthday Dinner

- Besides Monica forgetting about Chandler, the teaser?s nothing special.
- ?Happy humping!? ? hee.
- Phoebe transfixed by the thoughts of Monica?s breasts is awesome. And totally understandable, considering how totally hot Monica looks in this one.
- Pretty good Chandler and Monica story here.
- I like the Rachel and Ross story in this one as well. I appreciate when Ross gets to be the voice of reason and it?s not a bad thing.
- Phoebe and Joey got my least favorite story in this one. But it?s not bad at all.
- ?Mommy, I?m a girl! Take me with you!? ? hee. That?s so awesome!
- Love how annoyed Joey is as Ross and Rachel ponders what to order: ?Never hit a woman. Never hit a woman.?
- ?I suppose that Monica will have the manipulative shrew!? ? hee
- Actually, everything with everybody at the restaurant is classic stuff.
- Good tag.
- Best episode in a long while.

A -

 

My thoughts of that episode may be because I haven't seen it in a while then.


I'm gonna do Saturday's update now, because I'm gonna be leaving for Phoenix first thing in the morning. And there may or may not be an update on Sunday. I'll still be in Phoenix and depending on how late I get back up to Flagstaff, there might not be an update. I hope I don't get crucified for this.

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9.06 "The One With The Male Nanny"


* Episode Number: 199
* Production Code: 175256
* Original Air Date: November 07, 2002
* Written by: Marta Kauffman & David Crane
* Directed by: Kevin S. Bright
* Guest Cast:
o Freddie Prinze Jr. (Sandy)
o Paul Rudd (Mike)
o Hank Azaria (David)
o Susan Slome (Prospective Nanny)


Detailed summary

In the 200th episode, a jealous Ross mocks Rachel's choice of an over sensitive male nanny for Emma while Phoebe must choose between two ardent suitors -- new friend Mike or visiting former boyfriend David. Elsewhere, Chandler feels threatened by Monica's constant chatter about a male co-worker whose sense of humor outwits even his.

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that's weird, the site has this listed as the 199th episode, but the summary has it as the 200th...

anyway, I normally don't like Freddie Prinze Jr., but I thought he was actually really good here.

And also, HANK AZARIA!!! I love his character so much and I really wish Phoebe ended up with him instead of Mike...

 

0906: The One With The Male Nanny

- Pretty good teaser.
- I?ve been enjoying the Mike arc at this point. In my opinion this is Phoebe?s best arc yet on the show, but then she hasn?t had that many. Now I?m not counting arcs that consist of episodes not in a close proximity of each other, such as her looking for her dad or the two prior David episodes. It?s been nice seeing her in a serious relationship with a character that?s not played by Michael Rapaport.
- Freddy Prince Jr! No strong feelings about him, but I think he?s good here. The Ross and Rachel story in this one is a good one, but I don?t really agree with Ross on the male nanny issue. I do think something is off with Sandy though?
- Speaking of David: David?s back!
- ?Dammit!? ? hee, Hank Azaria is awesome.
- ?Really? Chandler?? ? hee; Lisa Kudrow is excellent in this one. I totally buy how conflicted Phoebe is about this David/Mike situation.
- Chandler got a good story here as well.
- ?FIRETRUCKS!!? ? hee
- I love that Phoebe got a story here that really originated nine seasons ago. At this point I?m fine with the conclusion to the Phoebe story since David said from the beginning that he was only in town for a few days and he didn?t make any real attempt at winning Phoebe back. But I continue to contend that Phoebe never works better than when she is with David.
- I actually think the Sandy character could have been on the show for a few more episodes. He was pretty good here, and I especially liked that last scene with him and Ross.
- So all stories are good and we got another solid episode.

A -

 

9.05 "The One With Phoebe's Birthday Dinner"

While not a return to the peak years, this one's an improvement on the slop we've been getting so far in S9. But I do get a slight recycle vibe like we've seen this sort of thing before: The One Where No One's Ready, the ep where everybody's staying up all night for one reason or another. But I do find it interesting that the flakey one and the doofus are the ones who are being inconvenienced by everybody else--it's a flip side to what we've normally seen all these years.

I also agree that I like it that Ross acts as the voice of reason and isn't made into a punchline. That's how his character started and it's where his character should have stayed after the R&R soap opera(s) cooled off. But TGRCD had other ideas.

Since Emma's born, it's almost as if the writers thought they had a gold mine with pregnancy arcs, so now were into The Minor Chandler/Monica Conception Melodrama. I say "minor" because even though C&M's conception adventures take a large chunk of S9, the writers at least didn't beat the viewer over the head with it they way they did with Rachel's pregnancy. And since C&M haven't gotten the bad news yet about their chances for conception, this plot is treated with silly and light jokes that are easy to laugh at.

Overall, a step back in the right direction.

B

9.06 "The One With The Male Nanny"

Freddie Prinze Jr = 9 on DSFGS. I like the way Prinze, as the "manny", is playing against his type in this one, and he looks like he's enjoying every minute of it. His wife Sarah Michelle Gellar would have been a perfect guest on this show as well, now that I think about it.

Chandler's insecurity: again, enough already. But this was is played as his being upset that Monica is close to a guy who upstages Chandler's central characteristic of smartass humor. So it's different, but still treading a very well-worn path.

David pops back up into Phoebe's life. Okay, forget Mike. David is Phoebs' true soulmate. Yes, he's a socially awkward dork, but he was the only guy whom we've seen to have touched her emotionally.

Exactly, and this would have been an acceptable end to their story, but David later gets thrown under the bus in a horrible way. But I'll address that when the time comes.

B

(wow, the show's on a roll here.)

 

Sorry for the lack of an update yesterday! I was too busy being suicidal over the Cardinals loss!

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9.07 "The One With Ross's Inappropriate Song"


* Episode Number: 200
* Production Code: 175257
* Original Air Date: November 14, 2002
* Written by: Robert Carlock
* Directed by: Gary Halvorson
* Guest Cast:
o Paul Rudd (Mike)
o Gregory Itzin (Mr Hannigan)
o Cristine Rose (Mrs Hannigan)
o Robin Kreiger (The Realtor)


Detailed summary

When Chandler drags Joey along with him to secretly inspect an apartment put up for sale by his former romantic rival, Richard, the pair are aghast to discover an old videotape that possibly showcases Monica in compromising positions. Elsewhere, Ross accidentally discovers that singing the suggestive lyrics to "Baby Got Back" is the only way to get baby Emma to sleep but fears telling Rachel, and Phoebe self-destructs when she tries to make a good impression at a dinner party hosted by the huffy parents of her new boyfriend Mike.

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Once again, late for work!

 

0907: The One With Ross? Inappropriate Song

- ?And that?s why, no matter what mommy says, we really were on a break.? ? hee
- Emma laughing is adorable. I totally get why Ross would continue singing the song when it produces such a response.
- ?Helping to plant the emus.? ? hee
- Ross? mother once saying Rachel is like the daughter she never had is awesome. I never get tired of Judy?s casual dismissal of Monica.
- Yay! A good old fashioned ?Chandler and Joey are gay? joke. Been way too long since one of those. I?m very much enjoying Chandler?s attitude towards Richard by the way.
- All the stories are good here, but the least favorite award goes to Rachel and Ross. That?s really just because there?s the least amount of content there. I do like what there is.
- Gregory Itzin! He?s awesome: ?How could you know! Why wouldn?t you punch me in the stomach!? ? hee
- Some good slapstick here with Joey throwing himself on Chandler to save him from seeing the sex tape.
- I love that Phoebe teaches the Hannigans (as well as Tom and Sue) Smelly Cat.
- ?Is all of this about you not being able to grow a mustache?? ? hee
- I don?t really agree with Monica that it would be sad and pathetic if Richard had kept the tape of the two of them having sex so he could look at it whenever he wants. Who wouldn?t want to be able to see Courteney Cox naked whenever they want?
- Mike standing up for Phoebe at the end is great.
- The tag with Rachel and Ross is great as well.
- I really, really like this one.

A -

 

9.08 "The One With Rachel's Other Sister"


* Episode Number: 201
* Production Code: 175258
* Original Air Date: November 21, 2002
* Written by: Shana Goldberg-Meehan
* Directed by: Kevin S. Bright
* Guest Cast:
o Christina Applegate (Amy Green)


Detailed summary

Rachel's sister Amy comes to visit for Thanksgiving at Monica's place, but annoys everyone with her out-spoken observations. She gets really upset with Rachel when Rachel says she wouldn't get Emma if Ross and she were to die. Phoebe tries to teach Joey how to lie to his producers because he forgot to join his co-stars in the Days of Our Lives parade and Monica frets about damage to her best china.

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HUGE continuity error.

HUGE.

in an earlier season, Rachel's sister wants to know if Rachel slept with some guy, because after sleeping with Rachel's sister, he kept shouting "2 for 2!!!" If Rachel has 3 sisters, the guy should be shouting "2 for 3!!!" So we've known for a long time that she only has one sister, and yet they spring another one on us. Asses.

 

Not really sure what line you're referring to, but we've known that Rachel has two sisters since at least season 6; when Jill arrives, Phoebe asks if she's the spoiled one or the who bit Rachel. So if there's a continuity error somewhere regarding the number of Green sisters, it's not in this one.

0908: The One With Rachel?s Other Sister

- Thanksgiving time!
- The Monica/Chandler part of the teaser is funny, the Chandler/Joey part not so much.
- ?Lot of people are thankful of those.?
- Christina Applegate! Rachel?s second sister! I think she?s good in this one.
- ?Is this Emmet?? ? hee
- I like Amy not remembering Ross and going on and on about Rachel?s fat friend?s geeky brother from high school who was creepy and had a huge afro.
- Joey and Phoebe got my least favorite story here; it?s just rarely particularly funny. I do like how raccoons keep showing up in Joey?s bad lies though.
- ?Ross got a PHD.? ?Eww!? - hee
- ?Oh, that?s a funny noise? ? hee
- I like the ?who gets the baby? story. It?s a nice use of Emma, without her taking over the focus of the show.
- ?Put the plates back in the boxes! Put the plates back in the boxes!? ? hee
- I think the show is churning out some really good episodes at this point, and this one is a another great one.

B +

 

you're right, I forgot about that episode. That's where the continuity error starts then.


The episode I'm referring to is, I think, The One Where No One's Ready. When they're listening to the messages on the machine. And one of them is from Rachel's sister. I'm pretty sure it's that episode. Actually I'm almost certain.

 

Yup, I just checked and that's the one.

Good catch! I find it very strange that I never noticed that...

 

Actually, it was established before The One Where No One's Ready that Rachel has two sisters. Near the beginning of The One With Two Parties, when the friends are discussing who to invite to Rachel's bday party, Ross mentions that he talked to both of Rachel's sisters, and that neither of them can come. The answering machine message from Rachel's sister in The One Where No One's Ready wasn't in the original broadcast, it was added in for the DVD release, so technically there was no continuity violation during the show's initial run. I suppose one could argue that the "2 for 2" guy simply didn't know there was a third Greene sister, or that he was simply referring to the fact that he managed to bed the only two sisters he actually went after.

There actually is another mention of Rachel's sisters later on in Season 5, in The One With the Inappropriate Sister. Danny asks Rachel if she has any brothers, and she replies that she has 2 sisters, but one of them has very masculine energy.

 

Well, I guess that's why they cut that scene in the initial run. In that case, it's a mistake to have it on the dvd's IMO.

 

9.07 "The One With Ross's Inappropriate Song"

Ross singing "Baby Got Back" is hilarious. It seems kinda weird that Rachel would be upset by it--you'd think she'd freak out more if Emma took to "Smelly Cat" instead.

Well, I guess I was wrong: the days of Insecure Chandler just won't go away (The Great Insecure Chandler Eruptions?). I'll grant that it's the sort of thing that's perfectly in his character for, say, S3 Chandler. But that's the problem, Chandler's supposed to have matured from those days. The Monica tape just bugs the hell out of me, even if it's resolved easily. Next!

Phoebe's epic fail attempts at impressing Mike's parents are awesome, especially when she puts on the phony accent. Little did she know her future father-in-law would eventually plot with terrorist agents to destroy the US Government.

B+

9.08 "The One With Rachel's Other Sister"

THANK YOU for clearing that up, LQ. I read the last four posts with a bigger and bigger 'what the **** is everybody talking about' expression on my face. With the exception of the "super size" episodes that NBC broadcast, I've never seen any of the deleted scenes, as I've never watched this show on DVD.

Now that it's cleared up, I give Christina Applegate an 8 on DSFGS. She should be a perfect 10, but for some reason her role never really clicked with me the way Reese Witherspoon did as the other sister. I just don't think Rachel's sister Amy was that funny. I blame the writers for not making her very funny IMO. (Trivia tidbit: waaay back during the days of Married With Children, Kelly Bundy (Applegate) dated a guy (Matt LeBlanc) who was the son of Al Bundy's buddy.)

Phoebe & Joey: meh.

Monica's dishes: meh.

Overall, I can't give this one anything better than a C+. Applegate's poorly-written role just overshadows everything else. I don't hate her character, but I hardly laughed at her story, and I think that the writers dropped the ball on that one. It was a waste of Applegate's comedic talents.

 

9.09 "The One With Rachel's Phone Number"


* Episode Number: 202
* Production Code: 175259
* Original Air Date: December 05, 2002
* Written by: Mark Kunerth
* Directed by: Ben Weiss
* Guest Cast:
o Paul Rudd (Mike)
o Alan F. Smith (Kevin)
o Chris Payne Gilbert (Bill)
o Kevin Brief (The Bartender)
o Irene White (The Assistant)


Detailed summary

While out with Phoebe Rachel gives her phone number to a handsome guy but later is worried that he will phone while Ross is in their apartment. Meanwhile Ross wanting to get to know Phoebe's boyfriend Mike a bit better invites him over but regrets it as they have nothing to talk about. After telling Joey he can't come home from Tulsa to visit a sport's game Chandler returns home to visit Monica and tries to hide from Joey, who is guarding the apartment.

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I love Joey and Chandler in this one. Feels like the old days to me.