Hanging Out With Friends 06.12.08: The One Where Dr. Ramoray Dies
Posted by Jerome Cusson on 06.12.2008
The friends are quite horny this week. Click above to learn more.
Jennifer Aniston...Rachel Green
Courteney Cox...Monica Geller
Lisa Kudrow...Phoebe Buffay
Matt LeBlanc...Joey Tribbiani
Matthew Perry...Chandler Bing
David Schwimmer...Ross Gellar
Tom Selleck...Dr. Richard Burke
Adam Goldberg...Eddie
Roark Critchlow...Dr. Mike Horton of Day of Our Lives
Mary Gallagher...Tilly
Vanessa Sandin...Amber
Brian Posehn...Messenger
Jim Reilly...Writer
Teleplay by Michael Borkow
Story by Alexa Junge
Directed by Michael Lembeck
Original Airdate: March 21, 1996
I enjoyed the cold introduction so much, I think I’ll get right to it again.
We open with Joey on the television, and the gang enjoying it. Ross is late and comes in for the ending. Joey gleefully enjoys a huge plot twist. I love it when Friends makes fun of soap operas because as absurd as sitcoms can be sometimes, soap opera are one hundred times worse with their improbable situations and twists.
Chandler begs Phoebe to play foosball, and she has none of it. This is the part where Chandler starts complaining about Eddie. Phoebe bounces the ball off the door to get Eddie out of his room. They have a little getting to know you session. Too bad Phoebe has the lamest excuse ever for leaving. Chandler and Eddie talk about ex-girlfriends amongst other things, including what exactly the capital of Cambodia is. Eddie’s story about his ex is about as much fun as watching TNA while not drunk, except his was far bloodier.
Over to Central Perk with Phoebe singing. I guess this is Richard’s first time hearing Phoebe. Both the happy couples are going to spending the evening at the girls’ apartment. Phoebe’s comment about Monica being with a lot of guys naturally leads to Richard and Monica have a discussion about just how many. Phoebe is a dead woman. Elsewhere, Chandler answers the door for Eddie’s ex-girlfriend, who has brought a fish tank. Tilly is her name, and she seems nice enough. Eddie arrives at a pretty bad place in time. Tilly did just come back to drop off the tank as I realize that Eddie has this whole Robert Di Niro intensity thing going on Funny stuff.
Joey hands out the latest edition of Soap Opera Digest to Phoebe. He gives an interview where he trashes the writers by writing his own lines, not a very good idea considering his fate is determined by them. The jokes on him though as he’s written to die by one of the scriptwriters. Dr. Ramoray is gonna die, and there’s nothing he can do about it. Poor Joey. His big break now ruined.
Monica, Richard, Rachel, and Ross return home. The double R’s go to Rachel’s room while Monica and Richard continue their discussion from earlier about how many people each have been with. Richard’s is a remarkable two. Monica heads off for the bathroom and then to bed. Monica gives him a ballpark figure, as in it’s less then what you can fit in a ballpark. See, that just isn’t fair because there are some ballparks that are tiny like Schaumburg’s Alexian Field (8,000) or some that are quite big like The Big House in Ann Arbor, Michigan (over 100,000).
This talks inspires Ross and Rachel to talk about how many people they’ve been with as well. Rachel’s list is slightly longer, but not as bad as I thought it was. Paolo is mentioned as being animal sex, but nothing more. Chandler is having trouble convincing Eddie he didn’t sleep with the ex-girlfriend, and that he didn’t kill Eddie’s fish. Chandler even puts his hand on Eddie, which is just a bad idea considering the man is Travis Bickle levels of crazy here.
Monica and Richard have a great conversation with each other about the how and why they’ve slept together. Ross, on the other hand, can’t get over Rachel’s comment about Paolo. I think this little sequence shows who the mature ones are. Ross and Rachel decide to have sex. Only one problem. Monica wants sex too and there’s only one condom when the girls look for them in the bathroom. Seriously, what parallel universe do these people live in where there isn’t a gas station, CVS, 7 11, or Walgreens open 24 hours so they can purchase some damn condoms. This is completely ridiculous. SO Rachel and Monica debate over who gets the condom as Ross (w/tiger noises) and Richard awaiting their women. Their conversation is suitably awkward, yet so oh so funny.
Monica and Rachel can’t decide so there’s only one way to do this thing, “Rock, Paper, Scissors.” Richard and Ross debate movies, but that doesn’t last very long since Rachel has the condom and she’s horny. And if she’s asking for sex, unless I’m 99.9% this close to finding a cure for cancer, I’m all over that like white on rice.
Chandler talks about Eddie with everyone except Joey. They watch Days of Our Lives and see Joey get killed when walking into the elevator shaft. Terrible way to die. Joey is back at his apartment very depressed, as everyone else is concerned. They try to make Joey feel better, but that isn’t exactly happening as this was the best gig he ever had.
Chandler arrives home sweet home to find Eddie being creepy again. Eddie has decided to put some goldfish in the fish tank and name one of them Chandler. It gets worse.
In the last scene, Ross and Richard are both wearing the girliest robes ever as it’s their turn to get the condoms.
The “How you Doin’ moment?”Funniest Lines/Moments: Has to be the last scene with Richard and Ross.
The “Oh no!” moment (weakest moment of the episode): Eddie is just way too weird for words.
FRIENDS TRIVIA REVEALED!: Nothing to see here. Move on.
The 411: It’s very odd to see a network television show address sex so openly, and especially to have almost an entire subplot on the basis of two couples having sex. I’m not sure if they’re breaking any new ground here, but it certainly led to some very funny results. I wish the Eddie storyline would have been more subtle and longer so the next episode could mean a lot more. For you see it’s a big one…
