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

Janice?

 

Does Gunther not count?

 

Well, I was thinking of Janice, even though we only hear her in season 6. But yes, I obviously forgot about about Gunther. Stupid me...

 

10.05 "The One Where Rachel's Sister Baby-Sits"


* Episode Number: 222
* Production Code: 176255
* Original Air Date: October 30, 2003
* Written by: Dana Klein Borkow
* Directed by: Roger Christiansen
* Guest Cast:
o Christina Applegate (Amy Greene)
o Paul Rudd (Mike Hannigan)
o Aisha Tyler (Charlie Wheeler)


Detailed summary

Monica and Chandler ask Rachel to write a letter of recommendation to their adoption agency; Joey feels left out because they didn't ask him, so they do. After a botched attempt to write a good letter, he does a re-write and drops it off without showing it to them first. The adoption agency thinks it's wonderful that they had a "child" write their recommendation. Phoebe unknowingly ridicules every idea Mike has for proposing to her. He finally does it the right way - he gets down on one knee and opens his heart.

On Rachel's advice, her sister, Amy, breaks up with her fiance (whom she doesn't love), and temporarily moves in with Rachel. Rachel wants to help Amy be a better, more responsible person, so when Emma's nanny gets sick, Rachel decides to let her take care of Emma for the day. Emma ends up with pierced ears, and Rachel realizes Amy is beyond help.

_____________________________________________________________________________

I love that the adoption agency thought Joey's letter was from a child. That's just awesome.

I feel awkward for Mike and Phoebe every time she ruins a proposal...

I love Christina Applegate in most things... but I really never liked her role on friends. Everything she does seems so forced here. Nothing comes natural.

 

1005: The One Where Rachel?s Sister Baby-Sits

- ?Dear, baby adoption decider people.? ? hee; good teaser.
- By the way, do Phoebe and Mike get to have a one year anniversary when they?ve been broken up for a big chunk of that year?
- While I would have preferred Reese Witherspoon if one of Rachel?s sisters had to come back, I?m fine with Christina Applegate too. The Amy story is pretty good here, I especially enjoy Joey?s hatred of her.
- Great Joey story here. The thesaurus is indeed a much appreciated tool.
- Wow, been a while since we got a mention of Barry.
- Decent, but not great Phoebe and Mike story here. It seems way too early for those two to get engaged at this point.
- ?They?re humid, prepossessing Homo Sapiens with full-sized aortic pumps.? ? hee, love that one.
- ?If I were a guy?? ? hee
- Love Ross describing what a great feeling it is to propose to someone.
- The adoption agency thinking Joey?s letter was written by a child is awesome, I especially love that Joey did drawings in it.
- Phoebe proposing to Mike: not funny at all.
- ?No, my mommy and daddy aren?t home right now.? ? hee
- Don?t really care that Phoebe and Mike got engaged. Guess I?m still bitter from the David situation?
- By the way, I liked how Aisha Tyler showed up in this one in one scene just to show that Ross and Charlie are still together. That?s exactly the kind of thing what the show should have done when Chandler and Kathy was together.
- So two pretty good stories and one that?s basically decent.

B +

 

10.06 "The One With Ross's Grant"


* Episode Number: 223
* Production Code: 176256
* Original Air Date: November 06, 2003
* Written by: Sebastian Jones
* Directed by: Ben Weiss
* Guest Cast:
o Aisha Tyler (Charlie)
o Greg Kinnear (Dr. Benjamin Hobart)
o Ming Lo (Dr. Li)
o Cathy Lind Hayes (Dr. Biely)


Detailed summary

Chandler's ad agency gets a new account and Joey wants Chandler to get him in the commercial. Chandler doesn't think he's right for the part, so Joey gives him a video tape containing a sample of his commercial work. Chandler doesn't watch it, but lies that he did. Joey realizes the truth because Chandler never says anything about his Japanese "Ichiban: Lipstick for men" commercial.

Ross is applying for a paleontology grant and finds out Charlie's old boyfriend evaluates the applicants. Charlie introduces them, and Benjamin immediately starts pressuring Ross to break up with her, so he can get her back. Ross doesn't give in, but eventually Charlie decides to get back together with Benjamin anyway. Phoebe is clearing stuff out of her apartment to make room for Mike; she decides to get rid of some hideous artwork she created, and tries to give it to Monica and Rachel, who had been pretending to like it.

________________________________________________________________________

I love Greg Kinnear in almost everything he does and he's awesome here as well.

Joey's Ichiban commercial is one of the few classic moments from the last season IMO.

Phoebe's art gives me nightmares.

 

1006:The One With Ross? Grant

- Teaser?s fine, I guess. I liked the Janice mention.
- Joey showing off his acting abilities is good.
- Okay Phoebe story here. What?s great about Gladys is that we?ve seen other versions of similar ?artwork? in Phoebe?s apartment before, but I never noticed it until after I saw this episode. Phoebe?s art is appropriately creepy by the way.
- While I get that Chandler don?t want to suggest Joey to his bosses, he?s kind of an idiot for not watching the tape.
- Greg Kinnear! With him and Aisha Tyler here it?s Friends, the Talk Soup Edition! Good Ross story here.
- ?Oh well, likewise!? ? hee
- I like the Gladys story. Though mostly because of Rachel?s contributions.
- ?And Dr. Geller, when is my birthday?? ? hee; while that scene is very silly, I like it a lot.
- I love the Lipstick For Men commercial. My favorite bit is the random shot of Joey playing a guitar.
- Bye Charlie! I never liked you wt Joey, but you were good with Ross.
- Great tag!
- Pretty solid episode.

B +

 

For some reason, the ears pierced part of 10.05 really grates me. If someone did that to one of my kids, I would freak out a HELL of a lot more than Rachel or Ross did.

 

10.04 "The One With the Cake"

Straight to the point: C. I'm with AJ on this one: lame and mostly boring.

And there is the recycling element in that it's similar to everybody being late to Phoebe's b-day dinner.

Strangely enough, I find the cake/sex humor to be the thing that keeps the ep from falling further. I'd usually consider this kind of gimmick to be weak, but at this point the show needs all the help it can get. And who the **** gives a party for a 1-year old that only has adults??

10.05 "The One Where Rachel's Sister Baby-Sits"

And we agree again. Applegate just isn't being given anything worthy of her talent in this role. I thought so when she first guested, I still think so now, only more strongly. Even Reese Witherspoon as Jill managed to evoke some kind of sympathy from the audience, but Amy just doesn't do that. Any time she's on the screen I don't even crack a smile. And I'd strangle anybody who pierced my kid's ears. Some parents flip out if their baby's given a sugary treat at that age, so why R&R don't chase Amy down the street with a couple of baseball bats is beyond me.

Mike & Phoebe: funny, despite that this one is rife with sitcom clichés too.

Joey's letter: ****ing hilarious. And it's awesome that his letter worked to TGCMAS's benefit. It's ironic that every now and then the show totally digs deep and remembers its greatness.

B-

10.06 "The One With Ross's Grant"

Greg Kinnear: 7 on DSFGS. Just not a fan of his. And it doesn't help that he plays a role that you just end up hating because of his arrogance--no trace of TGRCD here. It's several seasons too late, but I just can't help but finally feel some real empathy for Ross. He finally gets something going with Charlie, only to have the rug pulled from under him. Just like the end of TGJRD2.0, this relationship is also terminated waaay too fast to be plausible, but hey we have to gear up for the big final arc, so...

Joey & the blue lipstick: I once spent a week in Japan, and caught some Japanese TV commercials. Some of them really were this silly, childlike & goofy, so I also laugh at it as it's pretty dead-on.

Phoebe's "art": I'd freak too if I had to hang those nightmares on my wall. The gals trying to dump them onto each other without Phoebe's knowing it also harkens back to the peak years.

B-

 

10.07 "The One With Home Study"


* Episode Number: 224
* Production Code: 176257
* Original Air Date: November 13, 2003
* Written by: Mark Kunerth
* Directed by: Kevin S. Bright
* Guest Cast:
o Paul Rudd (Mike Hannigan)
o Maria Pitillo (Laura)
o Matt Winston (The Charity Clerk)


Detailed summary

Phoebe and Mike, stunned by the expenses involved with a wedding, decide they'll get married in City Hall and give the money to charity. Once they donate it, Phoebe changes her mind and they ask for it back. But Phoebe is still unsure. The adoption agency sends a woman (Laura) to evaluate Chandler and Monica and their home. They want everything to go perfectly, so when it turns out that Laura had a bad dating experience with Joey, they pretend not to know him.

Joey manages to turn the situation around and make Laura think she wronged him. Rachel freaks out when Ross wants to take Emma to the playground, due to her childhood hair-related playground accident. Ross convinces her it will be okay, so they all go together. Ross gets kicked in the head by a kid on the swings.

___________________________________________________________________________

I like this episode. None of the stories are really that great, but they're all pretty good. I love Joey turning the situation around on the adoption lady.

 

1007: The One With The Home Study

- Okay teaser. I like Ross poking fun at himself and his supposed love for marriage.
- I kind of like the Phoebe and Mike story here. Mostly because of Mike though.
- ?All the rest look like they should live under a bridge!? ? Not a funny line, but I love David Schwimmer?s delivery of it.
- Speaking of line deliveries I like: ?And it was uneven for weeks!?
- While I?m not sure I buy how openly Laura talks about her one night with Joey to two complete strangers, I do like when Joey comes over yelling if anyone ordered a celebrity.
- Rachel and Ross got a good story here, but I like the actors more than the writing here.
- Joey coming up the fire escape is great as well, as is his big scene when Laura sees him.
- I?m gonna count Rachel obviously having no fear of spiders as good continuity.
- A good, but not standout episode. There?s nothing here I don?t really like.

B

 

10.08 "The One With The Late Thanksgiving"


* Episode Number: 225
* Production Code: 176259
* Original Air Date: November 20, 2003
* Written by: Shana Goldberg-Meehan
* Directed by: Gary Halvorson


Detailed summary

Monica doesn't want to host Thanksgiving until Phoebe suggests that she see it as a competition with herself, to top her previous year. Phoebe convinces Rachel to enter Emma in a baby beauty pageant. Joey gets tickets to a hockey game and he and Ross go, even though it could conflict with the Thanksgiving dinner.

Rachel, Phoebe, Joey, and Ross are all late for dinner, angering Monica and Chandler, who didn't want to host the dinner anyway. At the height of the conflict, Monica gets a call from the adoption agency telling them they're getting a baby.

________________________________________________________________________

As with most Thanksgiving episodes, this one's great. Doesn't quite live up to the other Thanksgiving ones though.

 

1008: The One With The Late Thanksgiving

- Pretty good teaser.
- ?Hemingway Bing? ? really Chandler? You really wanna be one of those parents who are unable to name their kids in a normal manner.
- ?Or should I say chanberries?? ? That one, along with Matthew Perry?s line delivery, always kills me.
- No stories I don?t like here, but the Rachel/Phoebe one is my least favorite here.
- First half of this one is just okay, but I love the second half. Most of the stuff with Ross, Joey, Rachel and Phoebe in the hallway is great: Joey ripping Ross? clothes, the big foam finger and Phoebe?s PCP idea is especially good.
- I might just be too tired, but there?s not much I want to single out here?
- I think my favorite part here is Monica and Chandler getting the call that they?re getting a baby. I?m just a sucker for the feel good moments.
- Solid episode.

B +

 

10.09 "The One With The Birth Mother"


* Episode Number: 226
* Production Code: 176258
* Original Air Date: January 08, 2004
* Written by: Scott Silveri
* Directed by: David Schwimmer
* Guest Cast:
o Anna Faris (Erica)
o Jim O'Heir (Adoption Agency Worker)
o Annie Parisse (Sarah)
o Jorge Luis Abreu (The Waiter)
o Carla Toutz (Joan)


Detailed summary

Chandler and Monica go to Ohio to be interviewed by the birth mother (Erica) of their prospective child. Due to a mix-up, she thinks Chandler is a doctor and Monica a reverend. Monica wants to let the illusion continue, but Chandler insists on telling the truth, which almost costs them the baby. Joey persuades a reluctant Phoebe to set him up with her friend, Sarah. Joey is hesitant to call Sarah for a second date, because during dinner she took some fries from his plate (Joey doesn't share food).

Ross seeks fashion advice from Rachel and Phoebe for an upcoming date (with Joan), so they take him shopping. Their bags get mixed up; Ross ends up wearing a women's blouse -- the same blouse Joan is wearing.

________________________________________________________________________

Anna Faris... ugh. She plays the same character she plays in almost every movie she's been in. Boring.

 

1009: The One With The Birth mother

- An okay teaser here.
- Anna Faris! Not a fan of the Scary Movie franchise, but I love Anna Faris. Hot and funny.
- Now, I don?t like the reverend/doctor mix up at the adoption agency. And I like even less that Monica and Chandler keeps going with the lie for so long.
- Good Joey story here: ?JOEY DOESN?T SHARE FOOD!?
- I love how disgusted Ross is at the shirt with padlocks.
- I can?t stand Monica lying to Erica to get the baby; it just makes her completely unlikable.
- Ross and the woman?s shirt are okay, but nothing exceptional.
- Joey casually scoping the food off the floor and eating t is an excellent moment.
- The episode peters out towards the end, but I like the big Chandler/Erica scene where Erica decides to give the baby to them anyway.
- So, some good and some bad.

B -

 

10.07 "The One With Home Study"

A whole lotta "meh" in this one.

Phoebe & Mike: meh. It has a positive resolution, but the repeated mixup of their wanting to put on a certain appearance and then getting the opposite result of what they wanted is a total sitcom cliché. It's getting to the point where I'm tempted to start giving an automatic 'C' anytime the show recycles an old plot theme or gag they've already done or if the show resorts to a beaten-to-death sitcom cliché.

R&R and the playground: more meh, and a dash of 'WT*' implausibility thrown in. Rachel's still not scared of spiders, but she now has a playground swingset phobia to match her equally implausible eye-touching phobia. Just seems like by now the entire cast, production crew, and writers have all hit the cruise control button until the last four or five eps that will end the series. The bizarre phobias assigned to some of the cast seem to me like they were cribbing from the Seinfeld "character quirk" playbook once Seinfeld went off the air in 1998. At least when Chandler was revealed to have a bizarre phobia of Lord of the Dance, he was goofed-on for it by Joey. And rightly so, as all six of the cast wouldn't have been written in such a cheesy way during the peak years.

TGCMAS watch: Joey turning the tables on the adoption lady. This one's a little better. But one outta three isn't enough to save it.

C

10.08 "The One With The Late Thanksgiving"

I'm having trouble remembering this one. So I'd have to call it an I for incomplete, though I'm tempted to give it an automatic C if it still doesn't stand out in my mind despite having seen it several times over the years. The TGCMAS moment at the end doesn't really do anything for me. Anybody here think they weren't going to get a baby??

10.09 "The One With The Birth Mother"

Joey & not sharing his food: another 'cynical personality quirk' being introduced that's a little too Seinfeldian for my taste, but I have to admit that this story is still funny as hell. I guess it's because this 'quirk' is actually a lot more believable than Chandler not being able to smile or Rachel freaking out over her eyeballs. Best part is when Sarah returns from the restroom and finds that Joey's eaten all of her dessert, and he just laughs it off and says "I'm not even sorry!!!" See, if you're going to steal from the Seinfeld playbook, then it makes sense to create a Seinfeldian punchline as well for the gag to even work. Too many times this show has tried to pull a 'Seinfeld' gag, but with a 'Friends' punchline at the end. Uh, no. You don't fit square pegs into round holes, TV writers of the world.

Ross & the shirt mixup: another winner. The look of horror on his face & his date's face as they both remove their coats is great. But I'd still question his judgement at putting himself at the mercy of a burned-out hippie and a fashion slave for advice. Didn't he learn from the salmon/pink sweater???

TGCMAS watch: Monica opting to stick with the misunderstanding about their real identities.

I couldn't agree more. And we're not alone, as I remember reading a TV critic in either my newspaper or in some blog stating that Monica had become a shrill, ruthless person by this point, and it was really disturbing to see the shift in her character. Having a cousin who did the go-to-China-to-adopt-a-baby route twice, I can't help but recoil at the idea of Monica willingly lying to make their chances of adopting easier. It's only that difficult if you insist on on adopting domestically. China's restrictions weren't as tough, but you do have to pay a fortune in fees & costs to adopt a girl there (let's face it, you're basically buying a girl from a Chinese orphanage). So if money's not an issue (and you get the feeling that it wouldn't have been, at least no

 

10.10 "The One Where Chandler Gets Caught"


* Episode Number: 227
* Production Code: 176266
* Original Air Date: January 15, 2004
* Written by: Doty Abrams
* Directed by: Gary Halvorson


Detailed summary

Rachel and Phoebe spot Chandler with a blonde stranger; Phoebe thinks he's having an affair. They follow the pair to a house outside the city. They tell the rest of the gang, and then confront Monica and Chandler, forcing the revelation that Monica and Chandler are trying to move to a house outside the city to raise their child.

In attempts to convince Chandler and Monica to stay, their friends remind them of all the great memories they've had in their apartment in the city (shown as clips from previous episodes).

________________________________________________________________________

clip show. yay.

 

1010: The One Where Chandler Gets Caught

- Very good teaser. The sex or food dilemma feels like it would fit nicely in the peak years of this show.
- Thankfully we don?t have to go through more than one scene where we?re supposed to believe that Chandler would cheat on Monica. Any more than that would have been painful, considering I don?t think it ever would actually happen.
- Monica vacuuming the vacuum cleaner is awesome.
- Courteney Cox is obviously pregnant and gaining weight at this point.
- Only one story here.
- Oh no! Monica and Chandler are moving out of the apartment! A true sign that the show is ending soon. I like that the other friends initially react somewhat negatively to them wanting to move since it is pretty much the reaction I would have.
- And then, ten minutes in, this episode suddenly turns into a clip show. Very strange. I do like how the first clip is from the pilot and is the first scene where all six of them were in the apartment together for the first time.
- Lots of excellent clips from some of the very best episodes the show ever did here.
- ?And about this Nancy; if you?re not sleeping with her, should I?? ? hee
- So, in total there?s 14 minutes of new content and 8 minutes of old content. While the clips are the best part, the new stuff is pretty good too. This leaves us with what I consider the best clip show they ever did. I do think it was kinda stupid to do a clip show in the last season when they were only doing 18 episodes, but I?ll live.

B -

 

10.11 "The One Where the Stripper Cries"


* Episode Number: 228
* Production Code: 176260
* Original Air Date: February 05, 2004
* Written by: Marta Kaufmann & David Crane
* Directed by: Kevin S. Bright
* Guest Cast:
o Danny DeVito (Roy the Stripper)
o Ellen Pompeo (Missy Goldberg)
o Donny Osmond (Himself)
o Gregory Jbara (Gene Lester - Contestant)
o Leslie Charleson (Herself)
o Kimberley Davies (Adrienne Turner)
o Ryan Carlberg (Pizza Delivery Boy)
o Cyndi Martino (Henrietta Cherry - Contestant)
o Matthew Mullany (Stage Manager)


Detailed summary

Joey's a celebrity guest on Pyramid; he does horribly until he's in the Winner's Circle, where he does very well... until the last clue. Rachel and Monica throw a bachelorette party for Phoebe, but haven't hired a stripper. When they learn that Phoebe's counting on one, they make a quick call and hire the first one that is available. He turns out to be short, fat, and old.

When Phoebe doesn't like him, he cries. Ross and Chandler go to a college alumni gathering. They argue about girls from their past, prompting a series of flashbacks to 1987 and their freshman year of college, including a party where Rachel (with her old nose) and Monica (before she lost the weight) come for a visit. Several discoveries are made, including the fact that Chandler kissed Rachel, and Ross (who thought he kissed Rachel) actually kissed Monica.

_____________________________________________________________________

As always, I love the pre-Friends "Friends". And Joey's game show is awesome too.

But Danny Devito as the stripper who cries always kind of bugged me... never really felt like a Friends plotline to me. It always felt like I was watching another show during those parts.

 

1011: The One Where The Stripper Cries

- I like when we hear about how dorky Ross and Monica were as kids. Good teaser.
- Ellen Pompeo! She?s hardly the best part of Grey?s Anatomy (yes, I watch that one), but she?s not bad either. And she?s hot!
- Yay! Our final flashbacks to the eighties! I love that we got some more flashbacks in this final season. Ross and Chandler got a good story in this one.
- ?Yeah, but that?s not what they?re looking for!? ? hee; Joey got an okay story here, but it?s kind of the same joke over and over.
- I do love how Joey yells ?A GHOST!?
- Danny Devito! The reveal is the best part of his appearance here. The girls got the least interesting story here. It never really takes off. I wouldn?t say it?s bad though.
- Fat Monica! Pre-nosejob Rachel! Good continuity on the flashbacks in this episode being after Chandler called Monica fat.
- I?ve complained about the Rachel knowing Chandler before the pilot thing before, so? yeah.
- ?I was the pile of coats!? ? hee; I love that scene.
- And a good tag with our very final dose of Fat Monica..
- So one great story and two decent ones.

B

 

10.10 "The One Where Chandler Gets Caught"

Clip show = automatic C.

[image=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/nofo/cruise-control.jpg]

As warm & fuzzy as everybody's intentions are supposed to be, trying to persuade C&M to stay in Manhattan "just because" strikes me as more than a little selfish & unrealistic. If they're all supposed to be "real" New Yorkers, then this concept of moving out of the 5 boroughs and into the 'burbs of Long Island should hardly be a surprise. You're all in your 30s folks. It's called Life.

10.11 "The One Where the Stripper Cries"

Danny DeVito = 4 on DSFGS. He's basically playing... Danny DeVito. Phoebe's bachelorette party is total weaksauce. It was all just horribly 'meh'.

Ross & Chandler at the reunion: funny as hell. The reveal at the end was pure "peak years", which is always welcome, especially as the series is finally winding down. The creeptastic reactions of Ross & Monica =

Joey on Pyramid: EPIC WIN. "A Ghost!!1!"

So I'll give it a B. Too bad Phoebe's party wasn't better, 'cause this could have been a solid A. Soooo close...

 

10.12 "The One With Phoebe's Wedding"


* Episode Number: 229
* Production Code: 176262
* Original Air Date: February 12, 2004
* Written by: Robert Carlock & Dana Klein Borkow
* Directed by: Kevin S. Bright
* Guest Cast:
o Paul Rudd (Mike Hanigan)
o James Michael Tyler (Gunther)
o Gregory Itzin (Mr Theodore Hanigan)
o Christine Rose (Mrs Bitsy Hanigan)


Detailed summary

Phoebe's Dad can't come to the wedding, so she asks Joey to walk her down the aisle; he plays the overprotective father figure a little too well. Phoebe is driven crazy by her wedding planner - - Monica. Chandler and Ross realize they aren't in the wedding. When one of the groomsmen drops out, they compete for the spot. Phoebe gives the groomsman's job to Rachel and fires Monica.

The day of the wedding, New York is hit with the worst snowstorm its seen in 20 years. Phoebe rehires Monica, and the wedding ends up taking place in the street outside of Central Perk. When the priest can't make it, Joey steps in for him, and Chandler gives the bride away, while groomsman Ross is stuck taking care of Mike's old dog.

____________________________________________________________________

Late for work! No time! Not much to say about another wedding episode though!

 

1012: The One With Phoebe?s Wedding

- Did we know that Phoebe has regular contact with her step father who?s in prison? That seems odd. Teaser?s not very good anyway.
- While the first mention of Joey being like a father to Phoebe was good, every mention of it afterwards annoys me terribly.
- I like Monica as the wedding planner. Phoebe trying to figure out military time is good.
- Mike parents! I love that they brought them back here. I hate that nobody from Phoebe?s family is here.
- Chandler and Ross got a good story here.
- I really hate the Joey story here, I can?t stand him behaving as if he?s actually Phoebe?s father. It mostly just reminds me of how stupid it is that they didn?t bring back Bob Balaban for this one. And where?s Phoebe?s mother by the way?
- Monica trying to speed up Monica?s speech and Phoebe?s breakdown are not funny at all.
- ?My god, you?re breathtaking!? ? hee
- This episode drags in the middle.
- I like Phoebe having her wedding outside, the feel of it is really nice. I also like Joey ending up doing the ceremony.
- I?m all for Phoebe getting married and settling down essentially being how she ends these ten seasons, but I still wish it had been David, rather than Mike. No point in complaining much about that now though.
- A little bit great, some good and some bad.

B

 

10.12 "The One With Phoebe's Wedding"

Well, we've discussed this before, but it's become loud and clear that Phoebe's character got the least development over the 10 seasons, and thus she's often had oddball, random backstory elements that were awkwardly crammed into the episodes. So it's clearly poor, poor continuity to suggest that Phoebe's been in contact with EITHER dad, when she clearly wasn't. (The grandma, she was close with and even lived with, and this continuity was observed. Ursula too, obviously. But her parents? Hardly.) This might have been a good time to bring back either Balaban or Teri Garr, just for this ep, but no, we have to have more Joey-as-the-goofy-wedding-minister crap. So where we differ is that I wasn't all that impressed with him officiating at C&M's wedding, so it doesn't really impress me in this ep either.

Overall, this one just doesn't really impress me, despite that all the stories are tied back to Phoebe's wedding. Since she's a flakey hippie, I don't really buy that she'd have a priest at the wedding, (or a conventional wedding at all, for that matter) unless we're to think that this was Mike's idea. I just think it could have been improved had there been some really off the wall, crazy slapstick moments instead of all the sappy/sentimental stuff that lightened the humor. But hey, we're getting into the show's home stretch, so the sentimental stuff is beginning to kick into high gear and becomes the order of the day for the remaining eps.

C

 

10.13 "The One Where Joey Speaks French"


* Episode Number: 230
* Production Code: 176261
* Original Air Date: February 19, 2004
* Written by: Sherry Bilsing & Ellen Plumber
* Directed by: Gary Halvorson
* Guest Cast:
o Anna Faris (Erica)
o Ron Leibman (Dr. Leonard Green)
o Hira Ambrosino (The Nurse)
o Alex Craig Mann (The Casting Assistant)
o Tim Edward Rhoze (The Director)


Detailed summary

Joey is auditioning for a play and need to speak French, so he enlists Phoebe to teach him. She tries, but he just can't get it. Rachel's father has a heart attack; accompanied by Ross, she goes home to Long Island to visit him. In her vulnerable state, she asks Ross to spend the night and makes her desires very clear. He doesn't want to take advantage of her, so he leaves. Rachel is angry.

Erica (the mother of Monica and Chandler's future child) comes to New York for a visit. They ask about the child's father, and find out she's not sure whether the father is the all american football player, or the convicted murderer who killed his father with a shovel. Joey thinks he can drink a gallon of milk in ten seconds.

______________________________________________________________________

Joey's crappy french is so forced and unfunny that it makes me cringe.

That's all I have to say about this one.