Rhetorical Questions for TOW Paul Is The Man

May 5, 200043 posts by 9 posters
43 posts
J. Robinson

Spoiler space

Why is it harder to do this when I enjoy the episode?

Why is it when Joey has a somewhat realistic storyline, it's kind of dull, but when he has a terrible storyline, it seems funnier?

Why is it that everyone laughed more at Rachel's comeback to Ross's fossil joke even though his was twice as funny?

Elizabeth is HOT!! (I know that's not a question, but seriously....)

Wasn't it good to see Monica apologizing to Chandler for once?

How good were Bruce Willis and David in this ep?

Wasn't it great that Ross one-upped Paul?

And who's David's personal trainer?

Jay

ActiviaJ. Robinson

S P O I L E R

S P A C E

because you cant' be as critical :o)

because, its Joey, and they are better at making terrible storylines that are funny than relastic ones that are for him.

depends on which take they took.

I dont know...I never look at girls/women like that..so I have NO idea..

More than good! She was sooo sweet and caring in this episode!

EXTREMELY!

I think they both got more comfortable with each other, as actors that is.

YES!! that was awsome!

I have NO idea.

~Act

Activia wrote:

Exactly.

I meant the group of friends themselves.

I do.....and she is.

A vast improvement.

ActiviaJ. Robinson

I dont know. They don't laugh at as many jokes as they should to start out with.

I'll take your word for it.

Double that and you get it.

~Act

I don't know. But he's doing a DAMN good job!!!! David is EXTREMELY muscular. DAMN!!!!! Now, if he would only get a little tan.....

ActiviaSHNOCODY

He's living in LA how hard could it be to do that?

~Act

James SquireJ. Robinson

Because you have a natural appreciation for good quality TV, that's why.

or not... Actually, I'm having trouble remembering the Joey storyline in this particular episode.

Excellent question!!!

Cynical answer: Because intellect is frowned upon among these 6 Friends.

A friend of mine wondered why Ross didn't make this remark - to Paul instead of Rachel - in the previous episode when he walked in on the two of them necking. I suggested that he was so caught off guard that he couldn't manage it then. It's too bad that when he finally collected his wits about him in this episode, he chose to zing Rachel instead. The joke was very good though, Rachel's lame response notwithstanding.

She's done it before, hasn't she?

They were both great, just as they were in the previous episode.

Honestly, I was expecting something else to come out of Ross' mouth at that point, but just what that might have been I haven't the foggiest notion at the moment.

"We just want to.... PUMP.... YOU UP!"

Jim Squire: members.aol.com/jamess1889/friends.html "Chandler & Monica": www.acusd.edu/~dannys/chanmon.html "atf Off-Beat Posting Guide": members.aol.com/jamess1889/net_guide.html "Discuss the Gospel": www.crossings.org

Joey's tried to get his picture back on the wall of a dry cleaners place that has pictures of celebrities who supposedly have used their services.

I think most people can agree with me that the whole SOB thing was the dry cleaner's wife's fault, not Joey's..

I think it's more in the way of *how* Ross said it. He seemed like he was trying to hard to sell his "joke." It probably would have had a better effect if he had stated it in a more casual manner, when people didn't expect him to say it.

Agreed.

Glenn Wang , http://www.CapCorpHQ.com/ Proud member of #SAS# and Co-Founder of #WASHU# "Once there was true love in front of me, but I didn't know to treasure it, now all I have is remorse; such a thing is one of the greatest
ActiviaJames Squire

Maybe they thought that fossils is a stupid thing to be interested in because they are so old. Like most people don't like history.

They could enjoy other inellectual things as we have seen before.

Actually she did in TOW the unagi.

But she was so much sweeter this episode.

yep

I think he came up with a good come back.

I want that trainer, not because I want the muscles, I just want a slimmer body in some parts. (starting to go to the gym everyday :o))

~Act

TinaActivia

Hellooooo!!! After getting drunk in Vegas, Activia doodled cat whiskers on his/her face and miaowed this little lot at a statue...

I could use the muscles. Then when I'm famous, maybe I won't get so many of the "OMG! She's *so* anorexic!" cries that are so common. A girl *can* be *just* skinny, you know... :(

Le gr�, go deo! Tina: The upholder of Angelicism - or something like that... ermintrude at loveable dot com (remove **boyakasha** to reply) -----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
ActiviaTina

I do have some good arm muscles and decent leg, but my abs are horrible!

I'm like Chandler I do like 2 sit ups and I'm dead!

~Act

TinaActivia

Hellooooo!!! After getting drunk in Vegas, Activia doodled cat whiskers on his/her face and miaowed this little lot at a statue...

Well, in my case, my arms are alright, my stomach's alright, but that's mainly because *all* the extra weight goes straight to my bum. (How I wish I could get back into playing tennis regularly again...)

Le gr�, go deo! Tina: The upholder of Angelicism - or something like that... ermintrude at loveable dot com (remove **boyakasha** to reply) -----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
ActiviaTina

Oh yea I have the problem, and my thighs, and I have a tiny stomach that I want to vanish, FOREVER. Until I have kids that is.

Plus I want to build up my muscular endorance in my legs and arms for lifeguarding this summer.

~Act

TinaActivia

Hellooooo!!! After getting drunk in Vegas, Activia doodled cat whiskers on his/her face and miaowed this little lot at a statue...

I just want to look a bit healthier. :) I'd start playing tennis again right away, if it weren't for the fact I've got an exam in a month and I *really* can't afford to risk my arm going out on me (in spite of the fact I'm considering only taking an AS level in the subject and going for a History AS next year anyway).

Le gr�, go deo! Tina: The upholder of Angelicism - or something like that... ermintrude at loveable dot com (remove **boyakasha** to reply) -----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
ActiviaTina

Well that too..

I'd start playing tennis

~Act(who yes is procrastinating on her project even more!)

James SquireActivia

Of course they think that way. That's my whole point. Fossils are *not* stupid things to be interested in.

Except when Ross is the source of the "intellectual things".

Honestly, making fun of Ross' interest in paleontology is getting to be quite sickening for me.

I didn't say he didn't. But I actually thought he was about to rise to a higher level than that. It would have been a major course-correction for the character, but there was something in Schwimmer's facial expression at the time that made me think that way.

Jim Squire: members.aol.com/jamess1889/friends.html "Chandler & Monica": www.acusd.edu/~dannys/chanmon.html "atf Off-Beat Posting Guide": members.aol.com/jamess1889/net_guide.html "Discuss the Gospel": www.crossings.org
abrahammyJames Squire

Speak for yourself. I think history is fascinating.

And making fun of his profession over and over and over again would be inappropriate no matter what he was doing, unless perhaps he was in the porn industry or drug dealing.

It says volumes about the intellectual level of TPTB on the show. It makes five of their six characters come across as really shallow dimwits who can't concentrate on anything more complicated than comic strips.

You know what bothers me most? One of the whips people pull out to flagellate Ross with over The Breakup is that he didn't respect Rachel's profession. Now, why is it that Rachel's profession deserves respect and Ross' does not?

Activiaabrahammy

I didn't say that I dont like history. I just know lots that don't and find it boring.

I can't answer that.

~Act

Randy Hindsabrahammy

claire abraham wrote:

Well, I think there's a difference between the way Ross didn't respect Rachel's career and the way Rachel is not respecting Ross's career. Rachel is just making jokes about it. Snide, demeaning, ridiculing ones, but only jokes. Ross showed up at her work with a picnick basket, candles, pepper grinder, etc, like her whole emergency was just a sham.

It might also be *because* Ross disrespected Rachel's career earlier that she is like this now. Sort of an on-going sore spot between the 2 of them. I hate to point out character flaws in Ross, but I think he started it. Before that incident, there were no career issues between them, I believe.

I speak only for myself --Randy
abrahammyRandy Hinds
Well, no, I don't think her emergency was a sham.  I think he was trying
to compromise with her.  I think he thought she might be able to take a
coffee break; most jobs do allow that.   My husband did, on occasion,
bring food to me when I had to work late.    He would have been fine if
he hadn't set fire to her office like an idiot.  I smell a fish anyway;
Mark caused the emergency by authorizing the mistaken order.

Actually, this is a really good theory. I would buy it pretty well if Rachel were the only person doing it. But then, of course, I'd suggest two things;

I would say that after she barged in on his class screaming at him in front of his students, she pretty much got exactly even and has lost the right to badger Ross about a three-year-old mistake;

Uh, it's a three year old mistake, and Ross paid for it extremely dearly already. If she's *still* punishing him for *that*, then she's a pretty loathesome and small human being.

Before

How about TOW Nobody's Ready? How many times did he ask her to please put her clothes on before he finally blew his top? (I thought four of his friends behaved really poorly there; Phoebe, who was originally ready on time, can be foregiven.) Are you *sure* Ross started it?

Quite frankly, *I* think it's just because these writers see little merit in difficult intellectual endeavor, and use the same five jokes over and over again.

Randy Hindsabrahammy

claire abraham wrote:

Well, I meant that Ross might have thought Rachel's emergency was a sham. I personally didn't. She looked pretty busy and upset during the whole scenario.

I too think Ross could have pulled off a short break with Rachel if he hadn't have been so, well, disrespectful. He should have sat back and waited until she was off the phone. And fer cryin-out-loud, couldn't he have served the salads or couscous (or whatever) without the freshly ground pepper? (I *love* pepper, even on some types of ice cream, but I could have done without it under the circumstances). And what good are candles in an office with overhead flourescent lights?

Ooooh. Do you think Mark intentionally planned the mistaken order to coincide with their anniversary? It seems a little like a crap shoot, in that they might have caught the mistake earlier or later (thereby allowing R&R their anniversary together).

I forgot about that. I would be pretty upset that she couldn't have handled something like that "offline". I agree that that incident should have put them on the level.

I meant that it may be an on-going sore spot, where they trade barbs every now and then because they disagree so much about it, and that we as viewers only see the occasional barb, not every one.

Well, ok. I think they all behaved poorly during that episode. But I don't think it was out of spite, like the other referenced episodes. I think they were all wrapped up in their own personal crises, and unfortunately ended up putting Ross's important date as a last priority. They were ALL just being childish.

I can relate, being the father of 2 kids who, (somewhat like their mother) seem to wait until the last minute to do everything, especially the non-relative stuff. I don't know how many times I stand around waiting and waiting and waiting, jingling my keys and pacing, trying to get everyone out the door to get there even the slightest bit early. It just doesn't happen. . .

No wonder that episode is one of my favorites. . . Although I would never agree to "drink the fat". I think I would spew the instant I tried to swallow it. Bleeechhhhhhh !!!

I speak only for myself --Randy
ActiviaRandy Hinds

It is the opposite with me. I am sitting there waiting for my mom. Pacing with my keys or her keys in my hand, looking at my watch saying COME ON. She is ALWAYS late. It drives me crazy.

I loved that episode too. I think it was neat how they had a whole episode in one room, where they were just getting ready to go. I think they were all wrapped up in their personal delmas and really had nothing against going to Ross's thing.

~Act

Being all wrapped up in their personal dilemmas is a really funny way of having "nothing against going to Ross' thing." I'm sure there was no malice intended, but there was extreme lack of respect at least on the part of Rachel, Joey, and Chandler. It's not that they hated Ross that day or anything, it's just that they couldn't be bothered to be considerate.

There's really not a whole heck of a lot of difference between those two things in my opinion.

Jim Squire: members.aol.com/jamess1889/friends.html "Chandler & Monica": www.acusd.edu/~dannys/chanmon.html "atf Off-Beat Posting Guide": members.aol.com/jamess1889/net_guide.html "Discuss the Gospel": www.crossings.org
ActiviaJames Squire

They were all ready on time. Ross was just pestering them, because he was nervous.

~Act

Who was on time???? Phoebe, that's it, and Ross wasn't on her case.

Did we see the same episode, Activia?

Jim Squire: members.aol.com/jamess1889/friends.html "Chandler & Monica": www.acusd.edu/~dannys/chanmon.html "atf Off-Beat Posting Guide": members.aol.com/jamess1889/net_guide.html "Discuss the Gospel": www.crossings.org
ActiviaJames Squire

because she was on time, so why would he be worried about her?

yes

~Act

ChrisActivia

Activia wrote:

????????? So what exactly is your point?

Chris

ActiviaChris

ok I meant she was ready EARLY..the rest were ready just in the nick of time..

~Act

I don't even know what question you are trying to answer here, but it certainly isn't mine quoted above.

Phoebe was the only one who was one time, that's my whole point. Chandler and Joey were too busy embroiled in the most idiotic, childish argument over a stupid piece of furniture, and Rachel *obviously* was fooling around, trying on every single outfit in her entire wardrobe and trying to solve everyone else's "problems". Just look at how fast she found the perfect outfit once she finally "came to her senses" at the end.

I also excluded Monica, as did Claire, because at least Monica has a *real* problem distracting her. And Ross gently chided her just once, knowing how delicate the situation was. But for Rachel, Joey, and Chandler, there really is no excuse whatsoever for their behavior, and Rachel especially had no call to act like a victim in this episode. If I had been Ross, I would have gone to the benefit without her.

I'm still having my doubts.

Jim Squire: members.aol.com/jamess1889/friends.html "Chandler & Monica": www.acusd.edu/~dannys/chanmon.html "atf Off-Beat Posting Guide": members.aol.com/jamess1889/net_guide.html "Discuss the Gospel": www.crossings.org
ActiviaJames Squire

ok, let me try this all over again, because I worded it wrong.

Pheobe was ready early, the others were all ready just barely on time, but were rapped up in personal problems, that had nothing to do with the fact that they didn't want to go.

Ross was of course just worried about them getting ready on time.

~Act

James SquireActivia

I seem to recall Rachel getting so wrapped up in her own personal problems that she decided she didn't want to go.

Otherwise, the above may be technically true, but I would still have to respond with: So what? The fact remains that if they wanted to go, they had a very funny way of showing it. It was insensitive and childish, and Ross had every right to be angry. They could have very easily made him late. It just so happened that they all just barely were ready on time (it's called a plot contrivance).

Jim Squire: members.aol.com/jamess1889/friends.html "Chandler & Monica": www.acusd.edu/~dannys/chanmon.html "atf Off-Beat Posting Guide": members.aol.com/jamess1889/net_guide.html "Discuss the Gospel": www.crossings.org
ActiviaJames Squire

Ok, I am guessing this has never happened to you when you were trying to get ready for something. But hey you don't live in my house where this happens...EVERYDAY! And there is only 2 of us!

~Act

Which "this" are you talking about? Rachel being obsessed with everyone else's problems while failing to notice the perfect green dress staring her right in the face in the middle of her wardrobe? Joey and Chandler waging the all important chair-turf battle?

Actually, Activia, I do know about this - from Joey and Chandler's point of view. Of course I was an immature teenager at the time. Ask my Mom. She lost track of how many times she had so much trouble getting my sister and I to get our butts in gear.

Jim Squire: members.aol.com/jamess1889/friends.html "Chandler & Monica": www.acusd.edu/~dannys/chanmon.html "atf Off-Beat Posting Guide": members.aol.com/jamess1889/net_guide.html "Discuss the Gospel": www.crossings.org
abrahammyActivia

No. No adult has ever ignored my pleas to get ready while he argued over who got to sit in the armchair, or changed clothes six times.

Activiaabrahammy

not the arm chair one, but they have tried to create projects to do out of no where. Talked on the phone, slept, watched TV, changed outfits billions of times. Sha'll I go on?

~Act and this being my mom and her x BF

abrahammyJames Squire

I suspect she has focused on this: at the end, all six Friends *eventually* made it out the door quickly enough to squeak into the dinner just before they actually embarrassed Ross. That can qualify as being on time in some people's book. I personally would prefer to arrive at this kind of thing with a few minutes to spare; it's much easier on the nerves, especially if you are the center of attention and have to give a speech.

Uh, Jim, is your sig getting a little bit long?

claire abraham wrote:

Ack! Every once in a while, my Netscape outbox hiccups. What you saw was a personal email that somehow got attached to my posting - not sure how, but it was one I tried to send twice. It could be that my ISP's news server is screwing me over.

Jim Squire: members.aol.com/jamess1889/friends.html "Chandler & Monica": www.acusd.edu/~dannys/chanmon.html "atf Off-Beat Posting Guide": members.aol.com/jamess1889/net_guide.html "Discuss the Gospel": www.crossings.org
abrahammyActivia

Activia, I watched Rachel dither about what to wear while Chandler and Joey argued about who got to sit in a particular chair. Two adult men argued about who had dibs on a particular recliner.

Any woman with any brains at all is going to have chosen her outfit for a blacktop banquet at least a week in advance. Especially one as vain as Rachel. It will have been dry-cleaned, checked for loose threads, and she will have looked over her jewelry to see what worked best with it. Of the several outfits Rachel picked out to show the others, only the last one was appropriate for a black tie function, and there is no way in the world a woman as fashion conscious as Rachel didn't know that. She dithered because she wanted attention to be on herself and her clothes, not Ross and his accomplishments. I know people like her.

Making Ross that nervous about the time over something as childish as who gets to sit in the chair is beneath defending. Absolutely inexcusable behavior. (Only in a sitcom!) The only person who was running late that I feel for was heartbroken Monica. She actually had a very painful personal crisis going on. If Ross had screamed at *her*, I might have suggested that he apologize and have a little heart. Their behavior was entirely, completely unacceptable and they showed extreme lack of respect for his big night and what it meant to him by treating him like that.

It really does seem to me that a number of people think "Well, if Ross is inconsiderate of somebody else's feelings, he's a bad guy, but if others are inconsiderate of his feelings, and he complains, he's being a baby." The corollary of this, of course, is "If Ross stands up for himself, he's whiny and unreasonable, but if he doesn't, he's spineless and weak."

Now, how would everybody have reacted if

1. it was a fashion award show 2. Rachel was the honoree 3. Ross sat around in his underwear looking up some obscure dinosaur fact ten minutes before he was supposed to leave so he could prove he was right about something and win a bet? 4. How long would it take before Rachel screamed at him, and how would his proposal that SHE drink the fat go over?

We'd all be adding that to the Mental Geller collection and talking about what a jerk he'd become again.

abrahammyRandy Hinds

I left some words out by mistake. I meant that I didn't think Ross thought her crisis was a sham.

I think you may be confusing "disrespectful" with "well-intentioned, but geeky and dumb." Kind idea, badly executed. I think "pulling off a short break with Rachel" is probably what he really had in mind. He thought he was doing a big romantic gesture by showing his love for her even while she was working. After all, if things had gone off as Ross actually intended, I don't think he'd have set the office on fire! The fact that he *did* set the office on fire does indeed make him a doofus who got in Rachel's way by accident. And, since his misadventures cost her time and she didn't want him there, he was wrong to stay. But he did not go in there with the intention of disrupting her work. He's a doofus, not bastard.

(I *love* pepper, even on some

More dumb ideas that must have seemed sweet and romantic when they first came to his head.

I don't think there's any definitive answer. The writers had Mark place a bad order to coincide with the anniversary so that they could use the plot device to break this couple up. However, there's a number of events which, when viewed together, open themselves for some interesting possible conclusions:

Rachel had to work late constantly while Mark was at the firm, and she never had any free time at all. This made Ross angry and jealous. What little free time Rachel had, she frequently spent with Mark. (Lunch breaks; she wanted to spend a free afternoon with him at a lecture; Ross insisted on going instead.) Mark left the firm. Immediately thereafter, a crisis that *he* caused made Rachel work late again. After Ross and Rachel fought, Mark called up to find out how her anniversary was going and then insisted on coming over against Rachel's wishes. That sent Ross into a tailspin. Drunken stupidity causes last straw.

Randy Hindsabrahammy

claire abraham wrote:

Interesting. I thought Mark didn't leave the firm, but got promoted to a different area. So that he was "still there" just in a different job position. Maybe not even in the same building, but still working for the same company. I could be wrong here. . .

It's interesting that Rachel was so concerned about her career up to this point, but doesn't seem to be offended by the fact that someone in the same company (if that's true), and at a higher rank than her (since he left the job with Rachel for something better), wants to sleep with her.

I wonder what happened to all the concern for her career?

Yup. I agree. Ross was right all along to suspect Mark, although the way he voiced his suspicions to Rachel was wrong.

I think he did have his own personal crisis going on, although his crisis at hand was that the two of them were drifting apart. It was a crisis for the benefit of them both. However, Rachel's crisis during TOW No One's Ready was purely self-involved.

I speak only for myself --Randy
ActiviaRandy Hinds

Yes but the fact is that he didnt trust Rachel, and he should have. Of course he can't trust Mark, someone who he doesnt know. But he knows and loves Rachel and knows that she loves him back. He should have trusted her, thats the problem. If it wasn't Mark it would have been some other guy. He has to learn to trust.

~Act

abrahammyActivia

Trust is earned. Most of what Ross knew of Rachel's romantic past indicated that she was really fickle. It still does.

And I'm going to choke on the rest of what I have to say because we are in very serious danger of rehashing the We Were On a Break thread AGAIN!!!!

Tinaabrahammy

Hellooooo!!! After getting drunk in Vegas, claire abraham doodled cat whiskers on his/her face and miaowed this little lot at a statue...

Ummmhmmmmhmhmmmm, umhmmhmumHMMMMM!!!

(parts that are prone to start up ongoing debates censored by Um-Hmmmm Inc. :))

Le gr�, go deo! Tina: The upholder of Angelicism - or something like that... ermintrude at loveable dot com (remove **boyakasha** to reply) -----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----