The One With The Dirty Girl - S4-E6
Question: Monica: "I can cook and you can take care of the money." Phoebe: "Oh! It will be like I have a wife in the 50's!" What did Phoebe mean? (00:18:50)
Answer: Exactly as she said - in the 50s it was near-universal for husbands to work and be the sole breadwinner/handle finances, while their wives stayed home and managed the house, including cooking.
The One With Ross's Tan - S10-E3
Question: I occasionally perform spray tans as a side gig, and the solution usually takes around 8 hours to set. Is there any reason aside from creating a comedy situation that the spray tan salon wouldn't just tell Ross to immediately go home and shower so that his tan won't look so ridiculous?
Answer: None at all. It's played for laughs and that's all. If we really wanted to give it a real-world explanation, we can speculate that maybe Ross stormed out of the tanning salon without giving the staff a chance to recommend a shower.
Question: The seventh season opening shows a scene where Phoebe gets trapped in some sort of cage - anybody know what episode that's from?
Answer: It's from s06e23, "The One With The Ring." Chandler and Phoebe are at a jewelry store and Phoebe tried to run after a guy while still holding store property, which caused the door to lock and the metal gate to come down.
Question: Why did Ross out of nowhere say to Joey at the end of the show "How small are your feet?"
Answer: Earlier Chandler asked to borrow Joey's shoes, as his were too slippery to dance in, and he discovered that Joey's feet were much smaller than his. Ross then noticed the same thing at the end of the episode. Like a lot of TV show contrivances, it's a reveal which multiple characters conveniently discover around the same time for the sake of a gag.
The One With Barry & Mindy's Wedding - S2-E24
Question: Why are Monica and Richard invited to Barry's wedding? Monica wasn't even invited to Barry's first wedding to Rachel, they did not know each other.
Answer: I agree with the other answers. Another possibility is, Rachel was close friends with both Monica and Mindy in high school. Mindy was likely friends with Monica, and therefore invited her to the wedding along with Rachel, knowing they were roommates. Richard has known the Geller and Green families for years and may also know Mindy's parents and was invited separately. He could be Monica's +1, or she his, but even if both were invited separately, they are still attending as a couple. Monica wasn't invited to Rachel and Barry's wedding because the girls had lost touch after high school and Monica moved to NYC.
Answer: It's never explained, and the writers probably didn't gave it serious thought, just using their presence at the wedding as a plot device. But since, as you say, Monica was not invited to Rachel's wedding, the most logical explanation is that Richard is the invitee, and Monica is his +1. Richard and Barry are both doctors and so could know one another, or perhaps Richard is friends with Barry's, or Mindy's, parents. If the latter, this would not be unbelievable, as Mindy's parents would likely be in the same circle as the Gellers, with whom Richard is close.
Question: One episode has a very short scene with Rachel + Phoebe in Central Perk, just them, sitting near the door (not sofa). Rachel has a problem, Phoebe is solving, while Rachel eats cake. While chatting, but not mentioned at all, Phoebe tries to get Rachel's cake. End of scene, Phoebe succeeds and Rachel has gained advice but lost cake. Cake is not referred to at all in the dialogue or plot, making it pretty tricky to search for. Anyone know the episode?
Chosen answer: It sounds like you're describing a scene in S6 E3 "The One With Ross's Denial", with Phoebe and Ross when they're sitting at a table. Ross has a cookie and a coffee. Phoebe is telling Ross he's still in love with Rachel and Ross is denying it. While they talk, Phoebe grabs Ross' coffee at one point and Ross takes it right back. Then she does the same with his cookie and Ross again takes it back. At the very end of the conversation and scene, she grabs a magazine that Ross is also reading, and when he grabs the magazine back from her, she then grabs both the coffee and the muffin and starts eating the muffin.
Question: There are a few episodes where Phoebe is talking with her twin sister Ursula, and one of them will hand something to the other person, and you can tell a stand-in is not being used for one of them because Lisa Kudrow's face is visible for both characters. How do they achieve this effect?
Chosen answer: The effect can be achieved in various ways. Split screen and image overlapping is one method. CGI can simulate body movements making it appear the characters are physically interacting, or a face can be superimposed over a body double. Lisa Kudrow's older sister, Helena, who looks almost exactly like her, was often used as her twin body double, mostly filmed from the back or the side and in scenes where one stood or walked in front of the other.
The One with the Boobies - S1-E13
Question: After Joey says to his father "Now go to my room," it transitions to a new scene, and the music that plays sounds very similar to the song "Found Out About You" by Gin Blossoms, which was a popular song around the same time this show began airing. Is this meant to be an homage to that song, or is it just coincidental?
Chosen answer: The music definitely sounds like it's from that song, though very little is played. Its use would not be coincidental. 'Friends' frequently incorporated popular songs into episodes to reflect the storyline. In one episode, when Joey got brushed off by an attractive woman after she saw his "VD" poster in the subway, the song, "Don't Stand So Close to Me," by the Police, started playing. In another, after Joey moved into his own apartment and was feeling lonely, the episode ended with Eric Carmen's "All By Myself." The Gin Blossoms' song certainly fits with Joey discovering his father's affair.
The One With Joey's Porsche - S6-E5
Answer: Since Denise is never seen or heard by any of the other characters; since Phoebe abruptly stops mentioning her immediately after this episode; and since Phoebe is, to put it gently, a little weird, I think we can safely assume that yes, Denise was made up.
Question: Is it true the cast hated Marcel the monkey that much? Would he have had more of a storyline if they didn't? Same goes for the character of Julie?
Answer: It was mostly David Schwimmer (Ross) who had issues with Marcel the monkey. He became frustrated working with an animal that often missed its mark, didn't behave properly in scenes, etc. resulting in constant retakes. As Ross was Marcel's owner, Schwimmer had the most interactions with the animal. Regarding Julie, there's no indication that any cast member had issues with Lauren Tom, the actress who played her. She was an extended guest star only intended to appear for a few episodes. Her character was simply a "complication" to Ross and Rachel finally getting together. There was no reason for Julie to remain on the show any longer.
Question: Is it just me or is it a little out of character for Monica to not ask people to take off their shoes before coming into her apartment?
Answer: Sure. However, with the script calling for people to be constantly entering and leaving the apartment, that would slow down the pacing way too much.
Answer: I agree with Brian Katcher's answer. Also, despite Monica, maybe she is not in the practice of asking guests to remove their shoes. I am in my mid-thirties, and I've only been to one home where I was asked to remove mine.
The One Where Rosita Dies - S7-E13
Question: When Phoebe meets Earl she says that her mothers name was "Pearl", but every other time Phoebe's mothers name is mentioned her name is "Lilly". Is Phoebe trying to relate her life more to Earl's? Or is this just a mistake?
Answer: Phoebe rushed to Earl's office to talk him out of killing himself. She told him about her own mother's suicide and deliberately lied that Lily's name was "Pearl" (rhyming with Earl) hoping to establish a personal connection with him. She stumbles a bit on the name, saying P-earl, as she makes it up "on the fly."
Question: I read that Ross was originally supposed to stay married to Emily, but the actress did not want to live in the USA at that time. Why not re-cast the role, since she isn't one of the main six?
Answer: Emily was slated to appear in more episodes, but it wasn't intended that she and Ross would remain married. Emily was written out sooner than originally planned because actress Helen Baxendale (Emily) was pregnant. In her last appearances, to hide her pregnancy, she is shown in a close-up from the shoulders up or is sitting in bed and covered by a blanket while talking to Ross on the phone. As she was not supposed to have a long run on the show, it would have been impractical to cast a new actress for such a short period.
The One With Monica and Chandler's Wedding, Part 1 - S7-E23
Question: Who was the woman that Rachel thought was Chandler's dad, and what was she doing at Monica and Chandler's rehearsal dinner?
Answer: The woman was just a random family friend or Geller relative invited to the rehearsal dinner. Because the woman was in a black outfit, Rachel mistook her for Chandler's dad (played by Kathleen Turner), who Monica had described as wearing a black dress. The character, named Amanda, is merely a plot device to set up a humorous bit where Rachel messes up and embarrasses herself.
The One Where The Stripper Cries - S10-E11
Question: Is that Pyramid game show that Joey went on real, or just made up for the show?
Answer: Not only is it a real game show, Danny Osmond was the host of the show at the time. And that was the real actor Leslie Charleson from "General Hospital."
Question: What does it mean when Joey says "Hey, Julie, I didn't know you wore lenses"?
Answer: Earlier Ross was telling the gang Julie left her saline solution on his nightstand. Saline solution is what's used to clean contact lenses. Now Joey knows Julie wears contact lenses. (Ross then shushes Joey because he doesn't want Julie to know he told his friends about her leaving the saline solution on the nightstand or anything else about their relationship).
Answer: Chandler deliberately told Ross the wrong name for the red light, knowing that Ross would try and look "cool" to Gary by using the correct slang, but instead end up making himself look stupid.