SPOILER SPACE
SPOILER SPACE
Father revealed and discussed at length.
I warned you.
I've been reading through internet reaction to last night's episode, not only here, but on other boards, and I have to say news of the father has been met with very mixed reactions. It isn't just that some folks think Ross is an overly obvious or dull choice; he's been so badly damaged that a lot of people are viewing him with utter revulsion. There was a time when he was a beloved character, and the audience wanted good things to happen to him. Now, a number of people no longer understand why Rachel would even touch this pathetic sad sack, and are very disappointed that he must by necessity play a larger role than he has the past couple of years. I had a nasty feeling, years ago, that the writers were going to destroy Ross and make it much more difficult for him to be effective, and I actually argued with MNL about it until he was just exasperated with me. It looks like, for the longterm health of the show, it DID matter whether or not Ross was likeable, and I was right. Well, damn.
My own view to this latest development has actually been pretty positive - although anybody who has known me for long could have told you I was going to react that way. It isn't really so much that I am still so in love with the R&R combination, however. As it stands, the only way I can make any sense out of the disjointed mess that R&R became is to say that Rachel's malicious mind games, and her "revolving door", whereby she throws Ross in and out of her life repeatedly at the slightest whim, finally literally drove Ross to the edge of mental illness. It's the only way to reconcile the fact that the Ross character of the first three or four seasons bears almost no resemblance to the character of season five or most of season six. I can't comment on seven, as I missed most of it, but if there are so many people still saying that Ross is sick and weird and creepy and unworthy, then I don't know how much better he could have gotten last year.
My real reason for being glad Ross is the father is that, for the first time in a long time, the writing staff is actually going to have to give a rat's ass what the audience thinks of the character. They are actually going to have to pay attention to how their writing affects the way he's received. If they continue with the flippant attitude that "the easiest way to make him funny is to make him look bad" this storyline will flop, and David Crane is trying desperately to wish himself into a ninth season on the success of this new story arc. I am hoping that Mental Geller will sort of suddenly disappear as quickly as he came, and a character at least redeemable as the fourth season Ross will reemerge. I don't know why they couldn't write this character effectively and gently without deeply involving him with Rachel, but that appears to be the reality - and at this moment, whether we like it or not, it's the only engine that's driving the show, as the M&C engine is kind of out of comic gas. Yes, having Joey be the father might also have been very funny, but that isn't the decision they made. (By the way, having it be Chandler's father would not have worked. Chandler's dad wants to seduce Ross, not Rachel.) For those who don't understand why the R&R fans still exist, consider this; many folks don't see that couple as they have been written recently, but as they were written in the past. As Ross and Rachel are not real people, the possibility exists that they could magically suddenly be the two terrific characters we liked so much so many years ago, or at least, a matured product that bears some resemblance to them. We want to throw away the new rancid wine, truck down to the wine cellar, and bring up a nice 1996 vintage of the R&R special to end our show, and to drive the nasty taste of more recent bottles.