Friends S8-20 - a quintet of mothers

Hey, does this game sound like fun or what?

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820 "TOW the Baby Shower"

Joey needs to prepare for an audition as host of the new game show "Bamboozle", so Ross willingly offers to help him sort out all the complex rules, while Chandler has to be dragged in backwards, given his obvious disdain for Joey & his career.

While Ross throws himself into the game with gusto, Chandler makes objections at every turn, culminating in telling his friends they're losers. However, Joey counters by telling him that he's a jackass, so rocking Chandler back on his heels that he starts to join in.

Becoming dragged into the game, Chandler starts to compete with Ross at last, and soon he's enjoying it just as much as the pair deftly cut their way through the jungle of rules. Yet even though Ross forgets to switch legs in his Hopping Bonus, he still wins, and Chandler declares that Bamboozle is the best game ever.

But when Joey arrives for his audition, he learns the producers have simplified the show because of negative audience research, even though thanks to Ross & Chandler's efforts, Joey is now so expert he can make the game seem simple - but when he learns there will be bikini-clad score-girls instead, he hops on board!

                             ---o0o---

Just three weeks before the birth is due, Monica & Phoebe are busily preparing Rachel's baby shower when the mom-to-be discovers that they haven't invited her mother Sandra. Although the error was Phoebe's fault (since she doesn't have a mother) it's Monica who feels guilty (since she gets on so badly with her mother).

Monica telephones Mrs.Green, and tries to lie her way out, but the woman knows about the shower from Rachel's sisters, who aren't coming. Once Sandra turns up, she is bitter about being forgotten, but while Phoebe shrugs this off, Monica's bad-daughter guilt strikes, making her feel so guilty that her arse sweats!

Meanwhile, Rachel admits to her mother that she can't afford a nanny, so Sandra decides to move in for 8 weeks to help with the baby. Rachel insists that she can do it on her own, but while opening her gifts it becomes apparent that she hasn't got a clue about babies, and she begs her mommy to never leave her.

Rachel confesses that when she read the books about pregnancy & birth, she skipped the parts about looking after the baby - and as her mother comforts her, assuring her that everything will be okay, poor deprived Monica tries to join in with their hug.

But when Rachel gives Ross the good news, he's totally against having his ex-ma-in-law move in with him, so he reminds Sandra that he helped look after baby Ben, then makes Rachel realise that her progress (from spoiled helpless little girl with daddy's credit card to big executive in the city) shows she's more capable than she thinks.

At this, Mrs.Green decides to leave, pointedly failing to thank her hosts, so Phoebe makes Monica stand up to the old bat, by demanding an apology - but instead she ends up chasing after her, falling down the first few stairs, and biting her tongue.

In the end, Ross coaches Rachel in babycraft by playing his own version of Bamboozle with her, but when she plays the wrong Wicked Wango card, he tells her that she's going to be a terrible mother...

                             ---o0o---

I like contest episodes: and although this one could not compete with touch-football, the apartment bet, "they don't know that we know they know we know", or the maid-of-honour auditions; it was at least better than catching a ball or naming the 50 states; and the cause of most of my laughter. I just wish that Matthew Perry's performance had not been tainted by Chandler being a poor friend compared with a splendid Ross.

Meanwhile, what at first promised to be an intriguing story about how the three women get on so badly with their (four) mothers, especially since one of them is about to become a mother herself, rather lost its way. The three actresses played it well, ignorant Rachel had some cute lines, and Monica was endearingly insecure - but sadly Marlo Thomas as Sandra Green was a bit disappointing, given her previous outings.

                             ---o0o---

Did you like Joey Tribbiani's new game-show-host voice?

When Chandler tells Joey that he'll be perfect for hosting the show, since his name already is Joey Tribbiani, how come that's meant to be clever; after he criticised Joey for saying the same thing about the stripper Crystal Chandelier, in 312 "TOW All the Jealousy"?

What the hell is up with Chandler these days? Okay, so Monica is his best friend now, but doesn't he care for Joey but at all? Surely, the way he constantly sniped at the guy, whilst Ross was an enthusiastic good friend, means we can forget about the Best Buds from now on.

I don't know how Americans pronounce the name "Bogota", but it was unfair for Joey to be laughed at for how he said it, when to my ears Chandler was also incorrect.

I already knew that triskaidekaphobia is a fear of the number 13, but pray tell, what on Earth is a trisket?

For the second episode running, Chandler has declared his friends to be losers. In 819 "TOW Joey's Interview", his victim was Rachel, and here his barbs were aimed at Ross & Joey. What's wrong with him?

Ross should have recognised the music for "I Dream of Jeannie", since the whole gang sang it at the start of 112 "TOW the Dozen Lasagnes".

Was that scrapping of complex rules, in favour of tabloid titillation, symptomatic of what is happening with American game shows these days?

And did Joey sell out by going along with it? Or is that just what a professional does? In fact, did he get the job?

Wow, how great was Ross with Joey in this episode?

Why is a baby shower called a baby shower?

Why didn't Rachel's sisters appear? Okay, so Reese Witherspoon (Jill Green) has done her stint, but with the Sweeps starting, couldn't the producers have cast somebody good as the oldest daughter?

And even if not, did we have to have lines like "both of your sisters called" and "my daughters told me"? Why not say "Jill and Xxxxxxx"?

Although Monica & Phoebe forgot to invite Mrs.Green, it's clear that she already knew her daughter was pregnant, so this at least clears up the plot point wherein Rachel had only informed her father. We can now say with confidence that where significant events seem to be missing, they took place while we were not watching. But is it not too much to ask for the occasional throwaway line of explanation?

How come Phoebe says that she doesn't have a mother, when in fact she still has her real mother, Phoebe Abbot?

Has Sandra lost a lot of her charm for some reason? She used to be such a fun person, whether she was exploring her gay options in 211 "TOW the Lesbian Wedding", or being snogged by Joey in 222 "TOW the Two Parties".

But did you notice that Sandra ended up standing in the same corner of the hallway that she did the last time that we saw her?

Or that Sandra only appears when there is a party in the offing?

Am I right in thinking that "tu madre es loca" means "your mother is crazy"? And if so, why couldn't Rachel & Sandra guess that?

Since Rachel did not unwrap most of her presents, is she secretly planning to exchange them for store credit?

Rachel said that she just read the chapters about pregnancy & birth, but in fact we saw her leaving most of the book-reading to Joey. Do you remember 509 "TOW Ross's Sandwich", where she left it to Phoebe to read her books for her, while she read the latest Vogue instead?

So, Ross thinks that the greatest gift of all is a Play-Dough Barber Shop. Is that as good as Chandler's choice, a Sony Playstation; or Phoebe's choice, a Ms.Pacman video machine?

Is it my imagination, or was Phoebe actually supportive of Monica just for once, in teaching her to stand up to Mrs.Green?

Since Ross knows all about babies since he used to look after Ben, and Ben aged from a few months to over a year while his father was Rachel's boyfriend, and Rachel knows nothing about babies, does that mean that she never used to help Ross look after Ben?

Will Season 9 stories be all "na�ve parent Rachel, wise parent Ross"?

Wasn't that nice continuity, to hear about Rachel's beginnings on the show, as a spoiled girl who still used daddy's credit card?

Wow, how great was Ross with Rachel in this episode?

                             ---o0o---

According to a filming report by Aurora Zelner, there were quite a few funny lines which were cut out, (hopefully they'll be on the DVD). For example, after Joey said he can't shoot some hoops, we heard about how bad Chandler is at basketball. His excuse was he had problems blocking the tall one, but Ross revealed that "the tall one" was a girl.

Then when Joey announced that he's got an audition to be the host of a new game show, he continued it'd be great if it lasted 75 years, like "The Price is Right"; so Chandler quipped that for the first 25 years, the ratings were no good, since there was no TV back then. However, it could be that Joey has heard about Britain & Germany having television systems in the 1930s, many years before the United States did.

After Joey confessed that he didn't understand the game's rules, Ross comforted his friend by reminding him how he beat Ben at Hungry Hippo the previous week, but Joey admitted that the boy let him win. Later, as they worked through the game, there were even more peculiar cards, for example the Angel Pass, which takes you to the Golden Monkey.

Meanwhile at the baby shower, after Sandra remarked Rachel was like a cave person who does not have a housekeeper, she tried to be nice by conceding that not everybody gets alimony. Then after Ross arrived, and she advised him about baby-proofing his apartment, she suggested he employs an interior decorator, since Rachel prefers 'jewel tones'.

Finally, when Ross insisted that he was perfectly capable of looking after a baby, Sandra did not believe him at first, since her husband would say the same thing, until it was his turn for a 3am feeding. He claimed that he was too tired, so later on Sandra used the same excuse to avoid having sex with him. However, Ross reminded her that he's not her husband, and (no offence) Dr.Green is an ass. It was at that point that Sandra broke into a smile, and told Ross how much she likes him.

                             ---o0o---

This episode was set 3 weeks before Rachel's baby is due, making the date about May 9th. Episode 816, when Rachel turned Joey down, was set the day after St.Valentine's Day, or February 15th. That means Joey has been coping with his tragic loss for nearly three months now. Has he adjusted? Is the story over? Or is there more excitement to come?

The NBC suits will have noticed how the ratings are 7 million down...

No spoilers PLEASE from anyone who has already seen episode 821.

Tennant Stuart

"Tennant Stuart" wrote in message news:[email]...

It was perfect. Spot-on right. I hope he gets the job; it could be good comic material.

Chandler is no longer a newlywed. That's the same guy who began the show eight years ago, the one who said you have to stop the q-tip when there is resistance. He was actually funny for the first time in awhile. This is how Chandler has generally always treated Joey.

Surely, the

Until next week. Continuity ain't what you'd call seamless. >

Snack cracker.

Old age has sapped his memory. :-)

No, it's symptomatic of it being a badly-conceived concept in need of a rewrite. Common in American TV.

That's what a professional does, unless there's something intrinsically valuable about the rules which were removed. The point of the show was that the game was cumbersome and silly.

A little over fanatical, actually, though quite funny and it worked.

They shower you with stuff.

Maybe she feels like she's one of the guys, out of place with that masculine energy of hers.

To drive us nuts. Especially you, I fear, my dear.

Apparently.

How enthusiastic does Phoebe have to be about somebody who abandoned her to two people even less capable and stable than she was?

Menopause. She'll get over it. And Monica DID lie about it, which didn't help.

Yes.

I think Rachel did.

Credit to a baby store? She won't know what to do with stuff there no matter what she does.

Yeah, that sounds like Rachel.

It depends on how old you are. For a child aged three, yeah.

Yes! Good Phoebe episode!

Held him like a football.

If it's the other way around I'm going to be very annoyed.

In article , "abrahammy" wrote:

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Yay, I'm pleased you enjoyed it.

Okay then, well the difference is that Ross has moved in.

Eep.

You mean as in post-dessert biscuits for cheese?

Yeah, it's not easy passing thirty, is it?

Oh, okay.

Game shows here are going heavily into contestant antagonism, making "The Weakest Link" (also a British game show) look like a Vicarage tea party.

Yep.

Absolutely, he was such fun to watch.

Is that all? No bathroom implications?

Lol, maybe she'll come to wet the baby's head.

I'm afraid so...

Sigh.

I think a bit. After all, Phoebe was searching for family, and she was it. And Phoebe likes her a lot more than she does her twin sister.

Ooh! I never thought of that. Thanks.

Exactly.

Ta.

You reckon? Hang on, I'll have a decko. <clicketty-click> Oh yes, it could that Rachel has a knowing look in her eyes.

Good point, but most gifts will have come from department stores, yes?

Thanks.

ROTFL - what would you say is the greatest gift of all?

At last!

She did, didn't she? And was that it?

Maybe the baby will fade into the background, like the farm birds...

No spoilers PLEASE from anyone who has already seen episode 821.

Tennant

On Wed, 8 May 2002, Tennant Stuart stated this considered view. Waking from my doze, I hastily scrawled -

I can't remember that far back!

That is exactly why I detest them!

I wouldn't allow myself to be humiliated on TV, even for �1m.

In article , Paul Hyett wrote:

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Yes, I know the feeling.

I dunno about being humiliated, but I'd face Anne Robinson for �1m.

Tennant

On Fri, 17 May 2002, Tennant Stuart stated this considered view. Waking from my doze, I hastily scrawled -

I need an eye test - I thought for a second you said 'fuck'! :)

In article , Paul Hyett wrote:

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Where?

If you mean "�1m", it looks more like "film" or "him" to me.

Tennant

On Mon, 20 May 2002, Tennant Stuart stated this considered view. Waking from my doze, I hastily scrawled -

Instead of 'face' - well, it was supposed to be a joke, but it seems to have fallen flat!

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Oh! Sorry.

Tennant

On Wed, 8 May 2002, abrahammy stated this considered view. Waking from my doze, I hastily scrawled -

We agree here then, Claire.

Common to all gameshows IMO.

Ross could help.

Tennant Stuart wrote in message news:...

Ross willingly offers to help him because Ross is kinda dorky, and enjoys playing games like that. "Obvious disdain"? This is a comedy show. I think Chandler just thought the game was stupid. Which it was. But he still helped, didn't he?

And if he's so disdainful toward Joey's career, why did he pay for his acting lessons, photo shoots, etc. etc. etc., all those years?

The losers line was the funniest part of the whole game. I love sarcastic Chandler. And I sincerely hope Ross and Joey have learned not to take offense at his zingers by now -- just as they've learned to ignore Mental Geller, and Joey's stupidity, and Phoebe's flakiness, etc. It's just who they are.

Joey's "jackass" line was pretty funny too.

Typical Joey. :) Is he over Rachel? I think so.

I didn't like her lines about her ass sweating. It was funny the first time, but it got old. And what happened to Mrs. Green? She was so different here than in the old episodes.

I liked that. Very sweet moment between Ross and Rachel, and Ross was actually acting very mature in this episode. R and R are both at their best when he discards his doofiness. :)

Oh-kay...

The writers need to go back and watch the show?

Doubtful. Chandler and Joey have a rapport that none of the others have. They'll always be best buds to me. :)

What's wrong with *you*?? LOL. They *all* make fun of each other. Actually it's been a refreshing change, since Chandler was getting a lot of insults this season. Haven't you ever, in jest, called one of your friends a loser? It's supposed to be funny, not insulting. (And Rachel *was* being kind of pathetic in TOW Joey's Interview! "Gal pal Rachel Green"?)

They must be in love.

It's a running joke. Phoebe likes to milk the "my mother killed herself and I was all alone" sob story for all it's worth.

Because they don't speak Spanish. Comprende?

I'd go with Chandler's or Phoebe's, myself. Play-Dough is lame.

It's been nice seeing Phoebe supportive of anyone this season.

If she did, she obviously didn't make much of an impression. She seemed terrified of baby-sitting Ben last season, and he didn't even know who she was! "Thanks, Phoebe!" "It's Rachel, but... whatever." :)

I hope they manage to integrate the others into season nine as more than background scenery, otherwise I'll be tuning out.

I loved that.

Are you saying girls can't play basketball?

LOL. Yeah, I'll bet Joey has heard about that. He's extremely knowledgable.

In article , [email] (Jess) wrote:

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Only after Joey insulted him into it.

Ah, that was then, this is now.

Those are all attributes which I don't like, but never mind. :)

Yeah.

You don't think he can hold an unrequited love for several months?

Ross did it for a decade, and once Rachel came back into his life, he still didn't ask her out, even though she was receptive to the idea.

It was a bit weird. I've since heard that CCA would agree with us.

Claire Abraham blames the menopause, and I reckon she has a point.

Yes, he doesn't need it to be funny.

Grin.

Well, it does seem like that sometimes! :)

That rapport was missing here, while Ross was quite simpatico.

That's true, but two wrongs don't make a right.

Nope, never.

It sounded like an insult to me.

That was enthusiasm! Okay, some of it was misplaced, but still...

ROTFL

Okay yes, so why doesn't Monica pick her up on it? <checks with the episode> Ah. She does...

But we've all seen movies with the odd bit of Spanish in them, with exclamations of "madre de dios", and "loco" for crazy.

Especially when it's stuck to your chin?

Absolutely.

That was because he was much older, and she thought that he had to be entertained (with my nieces & nephews, I let them entertain me).

Really?

Yep.

Are you a girl?

He might have seen a documentary on the Discovery Channel.

No spoilers PLEASE from anyone who has already seen episode 821.

Tennant

On Wed, 8 May 2002, Jess stated this considered view. Waking from my doze, I hastily scrawled -

That's my feeling too.

He must have taken the shower he needs to get over a relationship!

I agree.

I'm glad that someone finally called her on it.

Tennant Stuart wrote in message news:...

Yeah, he was kind of mean. It made no sense to me.

It certainly fit the stereotype.

Anecdotal evidence only, but in my experience Americans emphasize the first syllable, and pronounce the second "o" like a short "a." Sort of like BO'gahtah.

A Trisket is a brand name for a small wheat cracker. You might eat it with a piece of cheese or a small bit of smoked salmon. You might see it at a party as snack food on a tray with sliced cheese and sausages, or something like that.

That would be a matter of opinion. Many American game shows have attractive women who stand around pointing at the merchandise to be won. Generally, the more "serious" quiz show-type game shows tend not to engage in that sort of theatrics. For what it is worth, I was in Spain for a while last year, and and the opportunity to watch Spanish television. From what I saw Spanish games shows also had women of similar ilk who dressed and behaved in a much more provocative manner than I have seen on American game shows.

That seems like a fair translation, and seems easy enough to unravel.

Again, a matter of opinion. With any of the Play-Dough machines you get to use your imagination more. With electronic games, maybe not so much. Which do you think is better?

It was not your imagination.

Perhaps Ross was tentative about having Rachel sit for Ben after the Marcel debacle.

Rachel will be all right. Everyone needs a little help at first, but she will be fine.

It was great to see. A little more of this and I might add my name to the list of those who say she is not good enough for him. (I have to bite my tongue!)

That doesn't strike me as something Joey would know.

Scott

In article , [email] (Scott Letteney) wrote:

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Absolutely. If it had just been Chandler, then maybe we might have blamed the game, but Ross dived right in and was having fun.

Hehe.

Oh, we say BOgahTAH.

Gosh, I was thinking it was a type of basket, or something. Thanks.

Gosh, those disappeared from Britain *years* ago.

I quite like watching German game shows, as they're easier to understand than dramas, and *much* easier than comedies, to keep my German up.

Yep.

Of the three, a Sony Playstation, though I don't play games as much as I used to (once the kids started beating me).

Yay! :)

Ooh, interesting. He certainly linked his own parental doubts with the monkey, in 116/7 "TOW Two Parts".

You don't think she'll turn Ross into her baby-minding slave?

Grin, I'm just glad to see Ross be the guy I admired in the early years.

He might have seen a documentary on the Discovery Channel.

No spoilers PLEASE from anyone who has already seen episode 821.

Tennant

Grin. Everybody wanted to play it in the end, and that's saying something. One can only imagine Monica playing this game.

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I loved this one; I just have to say it right off the bat. I'm biased, though. :)

Yeah, it was nice to see how eager Ross was to help Joey. Even though we've seen that Ross loves games in earlier episodes (118 TOW All the Poker is a good example), his main purpose was to help Joey. And I wouldn't go as far as to call Chandler's unwillingness to play the game "disdain." He was basically rolling his eyes at Joey, and even that changed after a little while. But yes, Ross was a better friend than Chandler in this scene.

Being in the audience, I'd say that this was probably the funniest scene in the entire episode. Matthew Perry never got his lines right, and it got even worse when Matt made the other guys mess up. The Rasputin line caused so much trouble, that in the end they had to take a break. Meanwhile, we had a "competition" in the audience to see if any of us could manage to say the line correctly. A couple of people tried, but they didn't have a chance. Poor Matthew.

As for the "losers"-line, that word was only used in one take IIRC. I'm pretty sure Matthew improvised a bit in the other takes, because he used the traditional "Chandler-sound" in one take (kind of like the "Cha-la-lap" in 602 TOW Ross Hugs Rachel).

When they were about to shoot this scene, Matthew came over to the audience and asked if we were ready to laugh. And we were. Personally, I thought this scene was nothing short of hilarious. With Ross jumping around on one leg, and Joey screaming like a monkey, it was as far from some of the mediocre storylines we've had lately as it can get. Yeah, it was silly, but sometimes that works.

BTW, it was a bit odd that Ross didn't remember the theme song for "I Dream of Jeannie" right away. After all, he was the one who was singing it in 112 TOW the Dozen Lasagnas.

The guys seemed to have a blast doing these scenes. They cracked each other up in almost every take, and MLB even screamed like a monkey directly into David's ears to make him laugh even harder. And this was very popular among the fans in the audience. We probably laughed more when they weren't shooting any scenes...

An easy joke. Too bad it was too obvious. However, considering the new (and boring) concept of the show, I have a feeling it will be this year's "Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E." It's not original enough to be successful.

They cut a few lines in this scene. Joey was supposed to forget Erin's name when he started the game.

I was surprised to see how Monica immediately stopped Phoebe from going on any further about her dead mom. We have already seen Rachel not accepting Phoebe's reasons (e.g. 715), but have we actually seen Monica do this?

Also, you'd think that Monica the perfectionist would remember to invite Rachel's mother, or at least remember to remind Phoebe about it. Come to think of it, Monica probably should have had a special folder with everything planned for the baby shower at least a few weeks in advance...

BTW, this is the scene that I was talking about in another post. Weren't you annoyed that we didn't get to hear Rachel's sister's name? I started laughing when they didn't reveal it, because I knew you would pick up on that. :)

This was just plain weird IMO. The members of the audience were pretty surprised by it too. The line came out of nowhere, and even though Monica has had her fair share of "ass"-jokes in the past (621 TOW Ross Meets Elizabeth's Dad and 808 TOW the Stripper come to mind), it didn't make sense. Having said that, it didn't seem like Courteney thought it was fitting for the scene either.

As for Sandra, she certainly was a different person than the slightly ditzy woman she was in season 2. She seemed to genuinely like Monica back then, but now she acted like a mean old hag. On a side note, she was lovely to her daughter, and she even helped her get up.

It was a little bizarre that Rachel was so totally clueless when it comes to babies. Granted, there haven't been many babies that she could have taken care of, but she took care of Ben in season 2 and 3, and you'd think that she had read at least some of the chapters on childcare in the books she has bought.

Also, we now have the name of another pet that Rachel had when she was a kid. (I'm starting to believe the Green-home was a zoo.) She had e.g. a cat, a tarantula, a dog, a pony and a hamster, not to mention two crazy sisters. Sounds .. nice.

BTW after this scene, Rachel said that Sandra could sleep in her bed. Unfortunately, it was cut.

I hope Judy will come around before Monica has her own baby shower. The insecure side of Monica was on display throughout this episode, and even though we may think she went a little too far, it still was very typical for her.

I can only imagine what this would have been like if they had actually gone through with it. Ross would have gone mad. But instead they turned this into a lovely scene for Ross, that truly showed that he has come a long way.

Unfortunately, many of the best lines were cut in this scene. The lines about Dr.Green being an "ass," and Sandra's jewel tones were hilarious. Also, Monica told Sandra that she had a car so she would drive her little niece to her grandma as often as possible.

This looked and sounded so incredibly real that we thought Courteney fell for real. The comedian in the audience, Jim Bentley, even asked her if she was okay when she came on stage again.

Pretty cruel, IMO, but then again, it was more thoughtless than cruel.

This scene was initially supposed to end with Rachel just leaving while wondering if she could move in with her mother.

I thought the competition was the funniest part of the episode as well, but I enjoyed Chandler's slightly rude sarcasm. In fact, I thought it was spot on.

I thought they had quite a few good lines. Phoebe's suggestion about a stripper dressed as a baby was just weird, but who knows? Since he didn't show up, it might have been something she said to make Monica freak out. I thought Monica's character was hurt by the incredibly stupid line about her ass sweating, but Rachel was funny when she started realising what motherhood is really all about. I think most fans were a bit disappointed by Marlo Thomas and the fact that she was so mean to Monica, so they could have dropped that.

Absolutely. He was great! :)

Hehe, good point.

Um, I think you're a little hard on Chandler. Personally, I just think he's getting his sarcasm back, and that is a welcome change in his character. Joey should be used to this Chandler. After all, he used to live with him for many years. Sure, he hasn't been around in a while, but I think he's back for good this time.

We should have had some Latin Americans who could have said it correctly.

I didn't know either, but I do now that I've read other people's answers. :)

Well, he said that they were all losers, so he put himself down as well.

Hehe, that's what I said..

I wouldn't say so. "Weakest Link" is still rather popular, but WWTBAM seems to be over. Game shows aren't very popular any more. Not unless they involve people eating cockroaches on "Fear Factor."

Good question. I'm sure it would give the writers some good material if he did in fact get the job. They could make fun of game shows as well as soap operas!

I know! Ross was easily the funniest character in this episode.

Showering people with gifts... I wish we had those in Europe.

Grin. She should have been there! Instead of Miss X, they had the girl who saw Rachel stealing money from Ross in 722 at the baby shower.

ITA.

I think most people want such lines. Not only for baby announcements but for other significant events as well. *cough* Joey's feelings *cough*

I think that's the same thing as Ross and Rachel's marriage. It happened, but very few people seem to remember it.

Well, Marlo Thomas certainly seemed to be in a very good mood when David Schwimmer kissed her over and over again.. Perhaps that was all she needed.

Hehe, yeah.

Too bad really. I'd like to see what she does in her everyday life.

Yes, you're right, and if she had heard a song by Ricky Martin, Sandra should have known...

She unwrapped most of them... And David sat down on one of the toys. Also, most of the toys came from the Discovery Channel store. ;)

Yep, but we've also seen Rachel read a lot of books and pregnancy magazines this season.

Hehe, I'd prefer a Sony playstation myself, but that would have to be the newest one with the DVD-player.

Strange, isn't it? In fact, Phoebe was both slightly rude ("boring baby shower") and a great friend in this episode. Maybe she will improve from now on.

It's really odd if that's true since we saw Rachel taking care of Ben in 220 and 308.

It should be, but it will get boring after a while.

It was great, and Ross used it in a wonderful way to show that he has at least realised now that she has come a long way. It showed nice improvement in his character since season 3.

I know! Once again, he was the best character.

Yeah, they changed this line many, many times. Due to many errors (e.g. David dropping the basketball), they had to shoot the guys' scenes many times, so there were several different lines that were tried out.

While this sequence was good, it wasn't among the best uncut scenes. I guess it would be funnier for Americans who have seen "The Price is Right" and know who Bob Barker is.

The rules were really funny, and it's nice to hear that Ben is spending time with his "godfather." ;)

Judging by the audience's reaction, I think it's really weird they cut these lines.

People really laughed out loud at this one, so I hope it shows up on the DVD.

All signs point to this story being over, but seeing that there are only two episodes left before the big season finale, the writers might have something in store for this love-triangle in the upcoming episodes.

This episode didn't deserve that kind of ratings IMO. This episode gave us a story with Chandler and Joey, which we have wanted ever since 808 TOW the Stripper. However, Ross was the surprise bonus that made the Bamboozled story hilarious. Sure, it didn't offer us any milestones, but it was funny and a refreshing change of pace. I also enjoyed the girls' story since a Monica and Rachel story about the pregnancy was definitely overdue. Then again, it wasn't just about them, so the writers missed their chance. But all in all, I thought this episode was hilarious. :)

In article , [email] (Marita Bakken) wrote:

Ooh yes, maybe she would finally win one, for a change!

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Awwww... :)

Exactly.

Well, I didn't like the way he rolled his eyes.

Yes, after he got called a jackass for his behaviour.

Absolutely.

Lol. Marta Kauffman says in her commentary on the S1 DVD that there's nothing they can write which will make the audience laugh so much as when the cast mess their lines up, especially if they swear.

Gosh.

Yeah.

That's the take that made the final cut, though.

Or even like he was in S1, which became Joey's impression in 806.

Oh, isn't that a bit weird? Are they that insecure?

It was certainly making me laugh.

Indeedy, I've mentioned this point later on.

Are you audible at any point in the aired version?

Could be.

Oh, thanks. Aurora must have missed this bit in her filming report.

I don't think so. It's her own mother that she worries about.

Sandra wasn't invited for the same reason that there was beef in the Thanksgiving trifle 2� years ago - frozen lasagnas. (403)

Oh.

Can you say something in there, even though it must be in rot13?

Otherwise the hint is still left dangling.

More exasperated than annoyed. Twice.

Sherry & Ellen have been reading my reviews again. :(

Isn't that where an uptight person like Monica would sweat?

109 "TOW Underdog Gets Away"...

MONICA: Oh, really? So why was I busting my ass to make this delicious Thanksgiving dinner?

206 "TOW the Baby on the Bus"...

MONICA: Yeah. I hope she can kick his ass.

406 "TOW the Dirty Girl"...

MONICA: Probably the only time I'll ever say this, but did you see the ass on her?

410 "TOW the Girl from Poughkeepsie"...

MONICA: You bet your ass, I'm gonna fire you! Thankyou.

505 "TOW the Kips"...

MONICA: Hey, Joey's ass! What are you doing?

509 "TOW Ross's Sandwich"...

MONICA: Phoebe, you are a bad ass!

615 "TOT Could Have Been (part 1)"...

MONICA: Y'know maybe you should consider writing for 'Talking Out of Your Ass' magazine!

701 "TOW Monica's Thunder"...

MONICA: (Still on the balcony) I'm getting married!!!! I'm gonna be a
        bride!!!! (Somewhere a man yells at her.) No, I will not shut
        up because I'm engaged! (He yells again.) Ohh, big talk! Huh,
        why don't you come over here and say that to me?! Huh, buddy?!
        Yeah, my fianc� will kick your ass! Come on, apartment 20!

711 "TOW All the Cheesecakes"...

MONICA: Limited seating my ass. Let's see who made the cut.

803 "TOW Rachel Tells"...

MONICA: Grab my ass!

Really?

Claire says that Sandra has the menopause, but she'll get over it.

Yeah well, she should be, that hardly rates as a plus.

I was thinking that Rachel had avoided doing that, but Priya reminded be about the scene in 220 where she heard Ben's first word.

Ben was a toddler in S3, and Rachel didn't do much anyway.

She read just the chapters on pregnancy & the birth, since those are what she can't get someone else to do for her.

Yes, Twinkles the hamster, went up the vacuum cleaner.

He went much the same way as her other pets - the tarantula was eaten by a cat, the cat was poisoned by a tarantula, the dog was dragged 19 blocks, and the pony fell sick but Rachel got a boat out of it.

Ah. Why would she say that?

She's gotta get pregnant first, and there's only 10� hours of show left.

It was typical for her, but compare this episode with 807 "TOW the Stain" where Monica was even more insecure, but she was a joy to watch.

It might have been fun for us, though.

Yes, he's been very good for quite a few episodes now.

Yes, I wondered about that, if it was "dual tones".

She's going to put Ruth/Sandrine into the death seat?

I didn't think that Courteney fell for real, (though she played it well), but it did seem like it was a more serious accident, and that this could be the start of a whole new story arc, like they did in "Dharma & Greg".

Or prophetic...

So what happened? (In RL, not the story.)

Well, I'm getting increasingly narked by Chandler's attitude to Joey.

Oh, I thought she meant it.

I liked that. :)

Yes, once you recall how undomesticated she is.

Absolutely.

Yay!

Thanks. It's this double standard which annoys me.

Well, the old sarky Chandler was just annoying, but the new one is mean.

Are any of them reading this?

Grin.

Not really, if you insult yourself, that's okay because you're the only one who's allowed to do it. Here Chandler insulted Ross & Joey.

Actually sweetie, you said that only Ross sang it; so I looked it up, and found that you were right whilst I was wrong. The whole gang sang the music for "The Odd Couple".

BTW, the end of the extended 106 is *so* amazing. It's always fun when a scene that you think of as the tag begins, yet the end credits have not arrived, so you know something special is about to happen.

But when Phoebe suddenly started singing in that deep voice... ;)

Ewww. Our best new show has one of the contestants being given all the answers in advance, so then the other four have to deduce who that is.

Isn't that what they were doing here?

He was, but that isn't what I meant. Ross was very good to Joey.

It all sounds very bathroomy to me.

Exactly. Played by Gina Gershon or Gillian Anderson.

When Rachel lied it was alimony? Which guest was she?

Sigh.

Yeah.

*cough* Season Nine *cough*

I know!

Tell them Rachel has already had 2 weddings, and you get funny looks.

Sadly her story needed something too.

Grin.

She's like a Rachel who'd married Barry.

BOC

Most? She opened two, a breast pump and a diaper genie.

What?!?

Oh yes?

The books were more Joey. Rachel concentrated on magazines, and she might just have been looking at the pictures.

JOEY: Hey Rach listen, did you know that during pregnancy your fingers swell up to twice their size and never go back.

RACHEL: Oh my- God! Let me see that! (Grabs the book from him.)

JOEY: (laughing) You fall for it every time!

Yes, and not the X-Box, which can scratch your DVDs.

Well, the acid test for that will be Phoebe actually being nice to Chandler. I can't see that happening too soon though, can you?

You're right about 220, which I'd forgotten, but 308 hardly counts.

Yeah, halfway through 901.

Indeedy, plus reminding us about what's so good about Rachel.

He was, but that isn't what I meant. Ross was very good to Rachel.

So David's the Dropper, not Matthew?

It's just as well they cut that out, then.

Well, let's face it, Ross & Joey are the only ones with much experience.

Was this what you were referring to a few weeks ago?

Yes indeed. They should have aired all this Sandra/Ross material, and dumped the lamentable Monica story.

NO signs point to this story being over, since it didn't finish. They reached a certain point, and then they *seemed* to forget about it.

A lot depends on the promos, which from the ratings drop I deduce presented this as a Ross & Rachel loving parents episode. It would be unfair to describe this as ratings poison, but to begin the sweeps by shedding viewers from a *clip*show* is a wake-up call for BKC.

That was another big mistake.

Awww, I truly wish I could have enjoyed it as much as you Marita, but be comforted that I do rate this episode as a success, even if not a great one. To be quite honest, I wonder how you would have felt if you had seen it only on television - but don't fret, since your studio visit was evidently a remarkable experience for you, and I shall not take that away. I envy you. :)

Tennant

Tennant Stuart wrote:

Or they would have ended up playing the game for hours on end.

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Yeah, I'm allowed to be biased. I saw the stars for crying out loud. ;)

Ross has improved a lot in the last half of season 8. It seems bizarre that this was the guy who spent one episode running back and forth -- on rollerblades -- in 812 TOW Joey Dates Rachel. Ugh.

Odd. I thought Chandler was perfectly likeable. :)

And especially after he got all of Ross's points.

I know. I watched that episode with the commentary last weekend, and that was the truest comment I've ever heard. The guys had us in stitches in the end.

Yeah, somehow we always ended up messing up the third world nations.

Yeah, and that's what makes me wonder why they used it. I thought the "no winners" version was better, while MP's Chandler sound wasn't as effective. Of course it got a great reaction from the audience, but it wasn't as sarcastic and funny.

When did he say it? I need to look out for it when I finally get back to my regionfree DVD-player.

No, it had nothing to do with insecurity. Matthew was just more willing to interact with the audience, that's all. And we weren't about to say no to that, now, were we? :) In fact, he was the only one who really acknowledged us by talking to the audience. That gives him great scores in my book.

I know! I loved this scene. We sat on the right, so we couldn't really see everything that happened in Joey's apartment (since it's on the left on the stage), but just watching David Schwimmer jumping around like crazy was enough to make me laugh out loud.

 :)

Well, I've seen this episode over and over again, but I don't think so, no. We were sitting in the audience together with a large group of soldiers and firemen, so I think it's more likely that you hear them. :)

Besides, game shows are not very popular anymore. Weakest Link will probably only return for a few special shows next year, while WWTBAM has been axed.

Oh, well. :)

Yeah, she's difficult enough!

Monica wants little contact with her own mother and thus forgets the other moms?

I just meant that this scene had Rachel and Monica talking about Rachel's sisters, but we didn't get to hear her name.

Hehe. Maybe.. Some day..

I saw them walking around right in front of me, so I should have yelled out to them. :)

I just thought it was a ridiculous line that made no sense. Not only was the joke stupid, it became cheap because of the whole "ass"-thing. I didn't like it at all.

These are logical.

While this sounds a little weird, I thought it was really funny as well.

Quite logical.

Well, what was she going to say..? :)

An expression, so it makes sense.

Expression.

I don't really pick up on it when she says "kick your ass" or something to that effect. It's so common.

True, but once again an expression.

Rachel's was perhaps even better? :)

No, she seemed a bit uncomfortable saying it. Well, both uncomfortable and exasperated. Not only did she have to repeat it over and over again because Marlo Thomas messed up her lines so many times, but I got the feeling that she heard and saw the audience's reaction to it. What really made me certain, though, was her tone of voice and her comment on the line.

Hehe, good suggestion.

Yeah. On a side note, this scene was part of the acting I was talking about in another thread (I cannot remember which). Rachel did act like a pregnant woman here, what with having problems getting up and getting help from other people. In other episodes she has been running around in high-heeled shoes like nothing's bothering her at all.

Exactly. She did manage to change his diaper..

Still, she took care of him just as well as Monica did.

Could be.

Yeah, good thing the PETA never found out about this situation.

It's a continuation of this line/joke:

Rachel: You�re right. You�re right. I mean I�m about to have a baby, I can tell my mother that I don�t want her to just be sleeping on my couch! Oh my God! She�s gonna want to sleep in my bed with me. This cannot happen!

That should give Monica and Chandler lots of time to start thinking about having a family of their own, and you said yourself that we might have some time lapses in the last season.

She had Chandler helping her, and she got to do a lot of physical comedy in 807 TOW the Stain. In this episode she was stuck playing a supporting part that not only was tiny, it also had a really bad continuing joke.

For a few episodes, maybe, but they've had many annoying mothers on the show now, so it should be about for something else.

Absolutely. Hopefully, he'll stay that way for Rachel's sake. I don't think a Mental Geller will be good in the delivery room.

No, she was talking about "jewel tones."

Hehe, she'll have to make sure that Ross won't be around for that part.

No, she was fine when she came back, so she didn't fall for real. I think this only proves that she's good at physical comedy. :)

Oh, no. I think Rachel is going to be a great mom. :)

Well, this was the first version of the story, so I guess they wanted to test it in front of the audience. Ross started telling Rachel about some "coconut" rule, which made him sound like a big "Bamboozled" geek, so Rachel just rolled her eyes and left while muttering that maybe she could live with her mother after all.

I think it's pretty harmless myself, but perhaps he just needs some time to get used to hanging out with Joey again.

I'm just wondering why he never actually showed up.

Oh well..

I think that's pretty common, and I'm pretty sure it will change once she has given birth.

I see. :)

Perhaps you think he's going the same way as Na�ve Phoebe?

Haven't seen any.

I guess we'll just disagree here.

Yeah, exactly.

Lol! I'm so looking forward to see all the episodes.

Oh! Is she really an alto?

Well, that's definitely a new twist. However, the best competition program on American TV is The Amazing Race IMO. It's an excellent reality show which has the contestants racing around the world, and the contestants are hilarious.

Well, yeah, but I think they could have some great material if they could make fun of contestants as well as stupid bikini girls.

Yeah, absolutely.

Grin.

I keep picturing Ren�e Zellweger in this role, but I guess that's just me.

She's right behind Rachel when Sandra is talking about Twinkles. Miss 722 is wearing a light green blazer.

Let's hope so.

Hopefully, she'll have both a wedding dress and a man that doesn't look like Mr. Potato Head when she gets married the next time.

Yeah, but according to NBC, it was her appearance that seemed to be the main issue in this episode.

Guess so.

Look at the apartment after the guests had gone. There are toys and clothes *everywhere*.

Yep. It was one of the many bloopers that happened at the taping. He was sitting on the table in front of Jennifer, waiting for her to say her line. Jennifer just looked at him strangely, and asked him where the music came from. Apparently, he had started a toy when he accidentally sat down on it. David looked rather embarrassed, quickly got up and put the toy somewhere else while the audience was roaring with laughter.

Yep, I recognized most of them from that store.

She was also reading a pregnancy book in 807 TOW the Stain, as well as "Fit Pregnancy" in 812 TOW Joey Dates Rachel.

Oh, have they had lots of complaints?

Not really, especially not after 816.

I think it does since she was perhaps even more responsible than Monica.

Yeah, which is why I don't think the baby will be in every episode next season.

Yep.

I know, which is why I said he was the best character.

It certainly was in this scene.

Yep, I don't think many international fans would have understood that joke.

Yeah, Chandler is in for a shock when he becomes a father.

Pardon?

I totally agree. I hoped they would cut the "ass"-lines, but I never expected that they would cut this sequence.

I just cannot imagine Joey getting over his feelings for Rachel that quickly. It doesn't make any sense.

Well, to be honest, the promo for this episode had very little to do with Ross and Rachel. It was about Rachel and her mom.

Yes, I cannot believe that Rachel has been pregnant this whole season, and we have yet to see her and Monica together in a storyline.

Yes, the thing is that I don't see this episode as an episode per se. It's a part of an experience I had dreamed about for years. It was so unreal and amazing that I cannot think of it as a bad episode. Even while I was watching it on NBC, I couldn't help getting excited over the fact that I was there, sitting only a few yards away from the stars. There, on Monica's table, were the strawberries they handed out, and on the table in front of her coffeetable, they had the tiny gift baskets they gave to the audience when they were done shooting.

But if I were to be absolutely objective, I would say that this episode was good. Definitely not a classic, but it had its moments. A 6 or 7 out of 10 perhaps?

In article , [email] (Marita Bakken) wrote:

Unless the monkey seized the Spatula of Misfortune.

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And they were even more beautiful than they are on the screen...

I know, not to mention the keys to his apartment. :(

Well, I'm thinking that Joey & Ross are the best buds now.

Absolutely.

They ought to show an uncut special.

That's because your mouth is pursed up tight for "rogue" and "world", but spread out wide for "third" and "nations".

Try saying "rogue world third nations", it's much easier.

Also note that the full names of all six main characters are designed to be just that way, so that as you say "Ray-chel Green" for example, your mouth shape begins a bit like a kiss and ends up with a smile.

Well, as was mentioned above, it's very strange how as this season draws to a close, they seem to be trying to make Ross & Monica more sympathetic, and Rachel & Chandler less sympathetic.

Dunno, sorry. I need to watch the episodes again, and so far I haven't even had time to watch most of them once.

Haven't you tried it on your Region 2 player? I've heard that the new S1 discs are Region 0, so they should play on any machine.

Grin.

Ah-hah! That's why you're liking Chandler at the mo... ;)

Absolutely, though my favourite bit was when he told Joey that the Wheel of Mayhem had not been his friend that night - for this held a poignant resonance with his life over the last eight years.

BTW, the BBC comedy "Alistair McGowan's Big Impression" was doing Ross & Phoebe again on Sunday night (he & Ronni Ancona impersonate famous couples) and she was moaning about the fact that they are so good on "Friends", but usually quite bad in films. As he comforted Phoebe, he narrated what he's doing, like "puts on Ross's puppy-dog face", or "swings his arms like a puppet".

Soldiers & firemen?

I heard the Americans spoilt both shows with too many celebrity specials.

Yes, never mind. I'll add that bit to my review.

Exactly!

Nope, Judy contracted Monica to do a job, and then provided her own back-up in the expectation that her daughter would fail. When Monica let Rachel help with Thanksgiving dinner, that is exactly what she did not do, much to the surprise of Phoebe & Rachel...

RACHEL: Pheebs, check it out. For my dessert, I have chosen to make a traditional English trifle!

  PHOEBE: Wow, that sounds great! And what are you making Monica, in
          case Rachel's dessert is- (about to say "bad") so good that
          I eat all of it, and there's none left for anybody else?

MONICA: Nothing.

RACHEL: Nothing?

MONICA: No, sweetie, I trust you.

RACHEL: So, if I mess this up, there's nothing else for dessert?

MONICA: You're not gonna mess it up.

RACHEL: Wow, Monica, I love that, you really have faith in me.

Yeah, but that hint is still dingle-dangling.

Yes!

Ooh, what are they like?

Oh well, I found it endearing, but never mind.

Yep.

Lesbian hints are always funny.

Yep.

What was Joey's ass going to reply???

Yep, but she's the only one who has said it on the show.

Maybe, but it was still a strange way to put it.

That's fair, but apart from Phoebe, she does say "ass" a lot...

   31  Phoebe
   16  Monica
   13  Joey
   11  Chandler
    9  Ross
    7  Rachel

An unnecessary expression.

Lol, it definitely is!

Gosh.

Yep.

You'd think they'd just make the bulge a proper weight.

Yep, but she never flew solo.

Slightly better!

Yep.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals?

Yes sweetie, I realised that. What happened in between "Oh my God! This cannot happen!" and saying that Sandra could sleep in her bed?

Oh. If you think that you are going to win debating points by quoting my own arguments back at me, then you are quite correct! :-)

Yes okay, fair enough.

Well, she could move in during 902 (the day Rachel comes home from hospital), and move out during 903 (eight weeks later).

Phoebe would shut him in a closet again.

Ah, this is where my ignorance shows...

Or he'll fling himself across the bonnet?

Indeedy, and it seems that you can just see a blue crash mat.

We'll see...

Oh, that's interesting. So during the filming process, the game show story acquired a certain amount of respectability?

Well, if I were Joey, I'd rather hang out with Ross these days.

The shower finished early, so maybe he arrived too late.

It might be something that often happened when she was a big girl.

Undomestication in the sense of being unprepared for a baby may be pretty common, but that's not what I meant. Rachel was so undomesticated that she couldn't even brew coffee when she first arrived.

Thanks.

Oh dear, I hope not. I was struck by S1 Phoebe cleansing people's negative auras, while the S8 Phoebe often seems so insensitive.

Ah.

Okay.

Yep - I should have checked.

Where are your transcripts available? Who's doing the others?

Dunno, but she was lower than her bluesy voice in 405.

Oh, we have that, and a rival show which is just like it, but I've never watched them. I liked the Hide-and-Seek championships on MPFC though.

Well, to a guy, bikini girls aren't that stupid... ;)

Good. :)

It's funny you should say that (since Bridget Jones was British) but when you see Gillian Anderson on British TV, she drops the act that she is an American, and reverts to her natural English voice (she was born in the USA, but moved here as a baby). She sounds so lovely, it makes you wish that Helen Baxendale had sounded like that when playing Emily Waltham.

All I can see is a redhead in a spotty dress.

Logic dictates that they must do.

Well, he came to the last wedding all in white...

Well, it should have been her oldest daughter.

Yep.

Oh, yes you're right, I missed that!

LOL!!

Sure, but I wanted you to tell me what the Discovery Channel store is.

Well, what's the total count of all the instances this season, of both magazines & books for both Joey & Rachel?

Yep, and MS offered to refund the cost of the discs, which is no good if they're no longer available.

Sigh.

Maybe, but I'm talking about her feelings that she was unprepared to look after a new-born baby, which is a *lot* harder to do than looking after a toddler. Okay, so toddlers aren't that easy, but I've done that myself, and not new-borns. And I'm talking about going solo for several hours at least, not changing one nappy whilst a parent is nearby.

Okay, I agree with you.

Okay. :)

Absolutely - and don't forget that Aurora told me that when she saw 814 "TOW the Secret Closet" being filmed, she watched MP flipping the hammer up and catching it by the handle in between takes, and he never missed once. He even tossed the punch bowl in the air a few times and caught it. In fact, he flipped up every prop he held, and only dropped one thing - the floppy leather briefcase (because it wouldn't flip over for him to grab the handle)

4sure.

I guess, though he had a good attitude with the triple team.

It's what you said after you first saw the episode on TV.

Yep.

Me too. He hasn't. BKC just don't have the time for any down moments in the show, since so much has been lost to advertising - this is a reference to Marta's commentary on 101 "TOW Monica Gets a Roommate".

Ah. Well, in any case, the fast affiliate (inaccurate) ratings suggest that the finale scored about 35 million viewers, we'll know tomorrow.

Absolutely. The nearest they've come is a couple of minutes when Rachel told Monica what bra she was wearing. :(

Absolutely, I can totally see that. :)

That's exactly how I rated it, 3 out of 5.

Tennant

Tennant Stuart wrote:

Hehe. I see that you've been playing the game yourself...?

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Yep. :)

Yeah, those were some rough times for Ross.

I wonder what Rachel will say to that?

Absolutely. Almost eight hours of Friends -- uncut, and no commercials. :)

I think the biggest problem for Matthew was the combination of this bizarre sentence and the fact that he had to look at Matt who was about to crack up at any moment.

Oh.

At least Rachel can blame some of it on pregnancy hormones. However, I still believe that Chandler wasn't trying to be mean or rude, he was just sarcastic IMO.

Okay. Tell me if you find out. :)

Really? <checks> Gosh! It works! :)

First of all; Matthew Perry is not people. And mental note: If Matthew Perry asks you to laugh, you laugh. If he asks you to cry while looking at animal carcass, you cry. You see, laughter would be perfection...

What did you expect? I'm sure you would have given Courteney kudos as well if you'd seen her in real life. ;)

Hehe, I hadn't thought of that.

Grin. No Joey or Rachel then? I recently got to see the entire SNL-skit about Friends when Matthew Perry was the host, and Cheri Oteri was really good as Rachel. Chris Kattan was also a hoot as Ross. :)

Yep. There were two huge groups of them there.

Yeah, that's probably true. Personally, I can only take so many Weakest Links with forgotten TV-stars before it gets annoying. Of course, FOX has decided to put a brand new twist on this concept by having "Celebrity Boxing" during sweeps.

<snip>

Oh! I see what you mean now. Yes, that was very nice of Monica.

Sorry, that was it. :)

They looked very normal. Around 30ish. It was easy to spot them since they were hanging out with David Crane and discussing scenes and improvements.

:)

Not always.

"I'm looking for my AZ."

True, but I also remember Phoebe's "Hard Ass," so I don't think she's particularly potty-mouthed.

Still, it's Phoebe that is the real queen in this category.

Weird. I've heard this expression many times in the USA.

Yeah. It's not like they don't have the "real," fake stomachs either. There's a funny scene in "10 Things I Hate About You" where an anxious father forces his two teenage daughters to wear a real mom-to-be suit that weighs the same as a real belly to scare them from getting pregnant. It's weird that they didn't make her wear one of those.

No, but you cannot "fly solo" the first time you do it. I'm sure Rachel will know how to do it once she gets to try.

Yep.

Exactly.

I'm not quite sure what you're thinking about, but Rachel only got terrified and decided that by having Sandra in her bed, she would make sure that the baby would be fine.

Yes! Finally a technique that works! ;)

True, but her appearance in this episode was a slight disappointment, so I don't think that many people actually want her back.

Perhaps he'll find another name for his child in the closet.

Probably.

You can. There is a tiny blue corner visible.

Yes, it looks that way. Perhaps they did it because they saw how much the audience loved the "Bamboozled" scenes.

The problem is that Ross will probably spend a lot of time together with Rachel from now on, which will make it hard for Joey to drop by at any time. If he hasn't been able to move on yet, I think he'll want to stay away from the woman he loves.

Perhaps he helped Monica get up..

I just thought it was too weird, sorry.

She isn't that bad nowadays,though. Even though the trifle went down the drain (or rather, Joey ate it) in 609, she made pancakes for Erin in 707 TOW Ross's Library Book and spent a long time organizing everything on her desk at work in 709 TOW All the Candy.

S8 Phoebe is more likely to mess up their auras.

uncutfriendsepisodes.tripod.com

I thought her voice in the uncut version of 701 was rather deep. It's when she sings about young Monica, addicted to pork.

Pardon? MPFC? The worst game show ever is "The Bachelor" on ABC. I only watched the last half of the finale, but that was more than enough. Apparently, money and cars aren't enough anymore. Now the contestants want to win spouses.

Duh..

Oh, I haven't heard Gillian Anderson speak British.

DVD...

Absolutely.

What do you mean?

It should have been the both of them.

Yeah, well, it was easier to see when you were there. The prop people were working hard unpacking all the stuff and placing it all over the apartment.

See? We need more bloopers shows! :)

It's a store filled with "healthy" and "clever" stuff, such as toys. It's all very educational and good for your kid.

Let's see... Joey: 809 TOW the Rumour - What To Expect When You're Expecting Rachel: 807 TOW the Stain - What To Expect When You're Expecting 812 TOW Joey Dates Rachel - Fit Pregnancy

Very true.

I think you learn as you go, and most importantly, you learn from your mistakes. After all, nobody knows everything about babies the second he/she becomes a parent. Also, I think Rachel's maternal instincts kicked in the moment she finally saw her baby on the sonogram screen.

Good. :)

The basketball was the only prop Matthew held at the taping of 820 IIRC, but he did throw it around a lot. He did seem to have a "thing" with the wedding ring he was wearing, though. He kept taking it off and putting it on again, so it was pretty obvious that he wasn't very used to wearing a wedding band.

And he'll have a very good mother by his side to help him out.

I don't think I've ever referred to this in another thread.

Yeah, and while we're on that subject, I'm so glad that they decided to cut all those "watching old TV-shows" moments that they used to have in season 1. I never really got those jokes since I hadn't seen any of the shows they were talking about.

Yep. 34.9 million. Truly amazing.

Perhaps they'll make it up to us if or when Monica gets pregnant.

Yep, it truly is something else..

Sounds reasonable, yes.

[email] (Marita Bakken) wrote in message news:...

Hey Marita,

On Angels, there was some talk about an EW article where they talk about how they'll handle Ross and Rachel's baby on the show. They said that she would only be seen as often as Ben or the triplets. Now, I remember reading that they won't be "a hipper version of Full House". I'm confused where the term 'hipper version of Full House' was used in the article or someone on Angels said that while discussing the article. I think it was you. Well?

Priya

On 28 May 2002 05:23:32 -0700, [email] (p r i y a) wrote:

Actually, they said the part about "Full House" in the article. Here it is:

"Six Friends and a Baby" Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) may be days from giving birth, but don't go looking for "Friends" to become a hipper version of "Full House." Much like Ross' (David Schwimmer) son and Phoebe's (Lisa Kudrow) triplets, the baby Geller won't get much airtime when the cast returns for season 9. But this isn't the case of a kid-hating Grinch running the writers' room; says a network insider: "We're not going to pretend there's no baby." Rather, it's about catering to the show's young-adult fan base. Explains a Friends source, "The audience this show appeals to is more interested in learning about the lives of the six single people in New York City, not the lives of young kids." Well, Marcel the monkey is probably available to babysit."

Hope this helps. :)

In article , [email] (Marita Bakken) wrote:

Grin, but that's what got Marcel into trouble with Monica.

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And those of us who like him, to be accused of hating him.

That she was closer to Joey than a Best Bud, until he made her leave.

Where does "eight hours" come from?

They have such fun earning a million bucks.

Yep, saying "Chan", "Joe", "Mon", "Phuh", "Ray", or "Ross" requires a kiss-shaped mouth; while "arr", "bee", "Buf", "cah", "chel", "dluh", "eee", "Gel", "Grr", and "Trib" have somewhat immediate mouth-shapes, then "Bing", "een", "fay", "ler" and "nie" leave you with a smile. :)

Well, maybe not trying to be mean or rude, he was just bored with Joey.

Yo betcha!

Stort smil - it was Ane Jegstad who told me.

Lol, Marita & Matthew, sitting in a tree... ;)

Lol, so true!

Tell me again about how beautiful she really is...

This show has depths...

Nope, they only do Emily, Ross and Phoebe.

Their recreation of Monica's apartment is astonishing.

Ooh gosh!

That must have been nice for you. More post-911 freebies?

Hunff.

It was nice of her, but also important to her. That's why she let Phoebe organise the guest-list, and then took the blame herself.

Yes, but here isn't as good as there.

Could you hear anything?

Okay, except to guys.

RPGOL!

Oh, okay. Which of the six is the most potty-mouthed then?

Okay.

Ah-hah! :)

Ah, well I've since heard from fans who have been pregnant that those "real mom-to-be suits" are a big con, since only a portion of the extra bulk hangs in the belly, (hence supported by the spine & back muscles); most of the weight is directly slung off the hip bones.

Well, that's what I'm saying. As of this episode she doesn't know.

Ta fish. It's gone in the new acronyms list, which you should now have.

Well, I'm thinking that even so, it was an abrupt reversal.

:)

True.

Hehe, I've been trying to read the name tag of the janitor who freed Susan & Ross in 123, as that have been Ben's name instead, but no luck. :(

Yep.

Which shows that BKC respond to their viewership, rather than sticking to their prepared stories out of some monolithic artistic attitude.

Well, that's why Monica should be hanging out with Rachel instead.

Lol!

No worries.

Oh, good point.

Really? <checks> Ooooh, that's not quite what happened!!! :)

Fraid so.

Ooh, ta!

I must get around to getting that DVD.

Monty Python's Flying Circus.

Well, spouses are more valuable than money & cars.

:)

When we Brits complain that a British character on American TV sounds wrong, her natural voice is exactly what the accent should sound like.

You hope.

Good.

His tennis outfit.

O4sure, but I'd understand if Reese Witherspoon was unavailable.

BOC

Yes! BTW, thanks to a very kind friend, I've now seen the blooper show on NBC, but there wasn't much of "Friends" on it.

And it's named after a TV channel?

Is that all?

Yes okay, but I'm talking about her in this episode, all afeared.

Do you think that the uncut start of 801 was an in-joke, then?

Yes, I'm sure that Rachel will be up to speed by then.

Oh well, no worries.

Their inclusion makes more sense when you know that Kauffman & Crane's previous big hit (though not as big as "Friends") was "Dream On", which was packed full of clips from old movies & TV shows.

Yep.

Perhaps, but Monica might have a child without being pregnant on the show.

Tennant

On Tue, 04 Jun 2002 18:02:33 BST, Tennant Stuart wrote:

Hehe, I think the coffeetable incident was slightly worse.

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Ugh, well, seems like that's the price we have to pay for trying to be fair.

Yeah, even though it was good for the baby that they moved in together, we were deprived of excellent roommates-stories.

In article , [email] (Marita Bakken) wrote:

AJ, but think how bad it would be if Marcel had been at David's lab, and done the same thing to his laptop & microscope.

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Sadly, this is so.

Exactly. And this should be a warning to RnR fans who emphasise how much simpler it'd be if the couple just got married and brought their baby up together - that provides no engine for interesting stories.

Oh! Absolutely. And pizza.

Lol yes.

Yay, we are as one. :)

Grin.

� ja? <checks thread> lol yes, look who replied on 5/11/02 at 10:23:41pm.

I think you were concentrating on making players region-free (which is not the same as multi-region) and missed the point of Ane's discovery.

Really? What?

Sigh..... :)

Yeah, they keep breaking into the conversation to jump into Grove Street, rapidly pan up the side of the building, and leap inside again. It makes Phoebe dizzy, but poor Ross is too struck with weltschmerz to notice.

Ooh, I'd like to see those.

Hah! We might laugh, but it's also fairly true. We've had Chandler/Joey, Chandler/Monica, Chandler/Rachel, Joey/Monica, Joey/Phoebe, Joey/Rachel, Joey/Ross, Monica/Rachel, Phoebe/Rachel, Phoebe/Ross and Rachel/Ross to a greater or lesser extent; but not really seen much of Chandler/Phoebe, Chandler/Ross, Monica/Phoebe, or Monica/Ross.

Ooh, I'd like to see those too!

The X-Files was on last night, and one character looked a bit familiar, so I looked him up in the IMDb, and saw he was Jay Acovone, who played Fireman Charlie in 114. The thing is, we do not know which fireman is which, so they're numbered 1, 2, and 3 instead. I immediately set a VCR to start recording, but sadly he didn't appear after that. :(

Yeah.

What did Courteney & Lisa say?

If you give me a list of all the swear words you that you can remember hearing on the show, I will count them for you.

Gosh! Do they live in fear of the church elders?

Okay.

I think so too, but it's not impossible that something else will happen - she likes to get people to do things for her.

VSG

In that case, maybe it will make sense on the DVD.

I knowww... :(

TT

Please please please!

Hmmmm... :)

Oh, that's so sad.

Awww... at the moment, a Swedish man is the big hero here.

Yes, but bear in mind that the extended DVD has the director's cut, not the uncut version. However, they ought to try harder to put as much as possible onto DVDs, since some missing material is really quite good.

Oh no, she's married him once already.

Fgvyy, vg'f fgenatr gung jr unir abj tbar guebhtu gur Znl Fjrrcf, naq gurer jrer ab cebcre thrfg fgnef. Gur arnerfg jr unq jnf Zneyb Gubznf naq Znttvr Jurryre - ohg va cerivbhf lrnef jr unir orra grzcgrq jvgu fgnef yvxr Gbz Pbagv 1998, Ovyyl Pelfgny 1997, Zbetna Snvepuvyq 2001, Wba Sniernh 1997, Fnenu Srethfba 1998, Uhtu Ynhevr 1998, Qvan Zrlre 1997, Tnel Byqzna 2001, Wraavsre Fnhaqref 1998, Gbz Fryyrpx 2000, Puneyvr Furra 1996, Ora Fgvyyre 1997, Xnguyrra Gheare 2001, Whar Juvgsvryq 1998, Ebova Jvyyvnzf 1997 naq svanyyl Oehpr Jvyyvf 2000.

(That was rot13 about 820-825, despite all those past years).

Absolutely, and the "Frasier" stuff was shown in their 200 thing.

Weird...

ISTR Joey reading several books and Rachel reading hardly any.

Lol yes, well it's all part of the sane thing.

We'll see.

Indeedy.

Awww....

Tennant

Tennant Stuart wrote:

Is that by any chance Sven-G�ran Eriksson or whatever he's called? :-)

Andr�

In article , "Cookie Dude" wrote:

I guess so.

Tennant

Tennant Stuart wrote:

Why are you so negative about the World Cup? It's fun! Think about it, no inadvertent proposals, no hideously inappropriate crushes or broken hearts, no babies born out of wedlock... Makes for a nice change. And if Germany were to play England during the course of the tournament, "The Sun" will declare war on us again, which is always a good laugh :-)

Andr�

In article , "Cookie Dude" wrote:

I'm not negative, I'm just not all that interested. I'm not bothered about the football, but the cultural aspect of it can be amusing.

Maybe, but the whole country enjoyed seeing what happened to France and Argentina, while people here are sympathetic about Denmark.

Well, what was the score when England played Germany in the qualifiers?

Tennant

Tennant Stuart wrote:

Ok then :-)

Yeah, but who wouldn't enjoy seeing what happened to France and Argentina?

I don't see that what that has to do with The Sun declaring war on Hans who always puts his towel on the chair at 5 o'clock in the morning (on Mallorca), but you beat us 5-1. That was only the second game England won against us since 1966 :-) Funny anecdote on the side (well at least for me): When I was in England, the last thing the head of 6th form at my high school said to me was: "And it was a goal" :-D

Andr�

[Sun, 16 Jun 2002 01:47:16 GMT] "Cookie Dude" wrote:

I actually felt bad for Argentina, considering the economic situation there now =P. I lived in Buenos Aires for about a year and a half, and one of the coolest experiences I had was, on Sunday while driving about the city, hearing this rolling thunder-like roar coming from the apartment buildings all around. There was a soccer game that day. You could see little bunches of people around store windows, and on the streets crisscrossing this particular main drag, people living on the first floors had put up their TVs and radios near the windows so groups were forming around their places too. Some of them were passing out drinks through their windows. It wasn't a huge World Cup match, either...

In article , "Cookie Dude" wrote:

Have you seen this thing that Brazil last won in 1994, and before that in 1970, and if you add those two numbers together, you get 3964?

And Argentina last won in 1986, and before that in 1978, and if you add those two numbers together, you get 3964?

And Germany last won in 1990, and before that in 1974, and if you add those two numbers together, you get 3964?

So, to find out who will win this year, you must subtract 2002 from the magic number 3964. What you get is 1962, which was when Brazil won...

Well, quite.

Lol, when I came back from my time in Germany, people here talked like the entire country was covered in people's towels. When I said that was silly, they realised that was because you guys weren't on holiday.

Wow!

So that means you're now as bad as you were 36 years ago?

What was?

These days, nobody cares about Germany, it's Argentina they go on about, as the world's biggest cheats. Like the sending-off incident where they tried to fool the referee by having some other guy leave the pitch.

Tennant

Tennant Stuart wrote:

How the hell do people find out stuff like that?

hehe. I'm still trying to convince a lot of folks that Fish&Chips is not the only meal they serve in England, or that every Englishmen has really bad teeth....

Before that we won the last game to ever be played in the old Wembley Stadium 1-0, which was why Kevin Keegan resigned. Which is a shame 'cause I liked him, he's a hero here (Hamburg)

I wouldn't mind if England won the World Cup and Germany came in 2nd. I'm rooting for them to win in 2006.

The Wembley goal! Geez...

Andr�

I must warn you, Tennant isn't a big sports fan...I'm footy mad myself, feel free to gloat/weep/argue with me about the World Cup!

Owen

Owen Shiers wrote:

Even so, *everybody* knows about the Wembley Goal... :-)

Andr�

I suppose he should...my sister probably doesn't though...what about that Korean who's been sacked by Perugia because he scored against Italy!?

Owen

Owen Shiers wrote:

*lol* really? That's patriotism man. This World Cup is starting to scare me. If it goes on like that, the finale will be Korea vs. Turkey. Or Germany makes it and hasn't had one serious opponent during the course of the tournament... I mean USA for the quarter finals and either Korea or Spain for the semi final? mwahahaha, our team is not good, especially since there are three players missing who were supposed to play a very important role in the team, but this World Cup is making it all too easy. I'm rooting for England tho...

Andr�

I must say, i think England would destroy Germany again, I saw Wales beat them and they could not handle pace at the back at all...Spain would give them a run for their money aswell. I just can't wait til Friday, everyone is going nuts here!

Owen

Owen Shiers wrote:

Nah, Spain has never had a good national team. The league is very good, but it seems like that's due to all the Brasilians and French playing there

Andr�

Cookie Dude wrote:

We'll see, they'll give the germans a game...

Owen

In article , "Cookie Dude" wrote:

It was on a World Cup chat show (all the fun of the FIFA championship without having to sit through any actual football).

Actually, it's a bit disingenuous, since all it means is that those three countries won the cup in 1970-8, then they did it again in 1986-94 but in reverse order. The line of symmetry is 1982, which is half 3964. One could have done the same exercise 4 years ago, when subtracting 1998 from 3964 gives you 1966, predicting that England would win. In 8 years time, the exercise subtracts 2010 from 3964 to give 1954, predicting Germany.

Thanks. What about the verb Englischekaufen? ;)

Lol, and our hero is a Swede. :)

Why is that, exactly?

Lol, if it helps I know all about The Hand Of God thing since it's always being shown on the telly, only now the commentators call out afterwards REVENGE! (pronounced "rev-en-gay" with a hard G).

Tennant

Tennant Stuart wrote:

You really do have too much time on your hands, don't you? :)

What is that? Never heard of it

Because the 2006 World Cup will be played in Germany

Andr�

In article , "Cookie Dude" wrote:

Not really, I can do simple stuff like this at the drop of a hat. :)

A Bavarian slang term for shoplifting, IIRC.

IC

Tennant

Tennant Stuart wrote:

Yeah, but when you hear a name of someone supposably famous, like Joey Heatherton, for some reason it doesn't occur to you to 'google' it :P

Andr�

In article , "Cookie Dude" wrote:

I'd never heard of the name, so I thought it was *not* famous.

Tennant

Tennant Stuart wrote:

According to what I read on that website I posted (which was like the first two lines), she was famous, but not really a big star or anything. If she hadn't been famous in some way, the remark of Chandler would've made no sense

Andr�

In article , "Cookie Dude" wrote:

Well, she wasn't really famous, so Chandler's remark was cut out.

Tennant

<<<Actually, it's a bit disingenuous, since all it means is that those three countries won the cup in 1970-8, then they did it again in 1986-94 but in reverse order. The line of symmetry is 1982, which is half 3964. One could have done the same exercise 4 years ago, when subtracting 1998 from 3964 gives you 1966, predicting that England would win. In 8 years time, the exercise subtracts 2010 from 3964 to give 1954, predicting Germany.

what about in 20 years? the world cup wasn't around in 1922, was it? (the "pattern" has to end somewhere)

In article , "George B. Eldredge, Jr." wrote:

The World Cup began in 1930, but two competitions were lost due to WW2.

The winners were as follows, together with their 'predicted' years...

     1930   Uruguay    2034
     1934   Italy      2030
     1938   Italy      2026
     1950   Uruguay    2014
     1954   Germany    2010
     1958   Brazil     2006
     1962   Brazil     2002
     1966   England    1998
     1970   Brazil     1994
     1974   Germany    1990
     1978   Argentina  1986
     1982   Italy
     1986   Argentina
     1990   Germany
     1994   Brazil
     1998   France

..note that 1930-4 was repeated in reverse order in 1938-50, and also 1954-8 was repeated in reverse order in 1970-4.

Tennant

On Mon, 10 Jun 2002 22:40:24 BST, Tennant Stuart wrote:

David would have swept him off the table.

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Yep.

We cannot be sure of that, but judging by their stories this season, I'm inclined to agree with that statement. They have much better chemistry when they're fighting or bickering. In fact, one of their best and funniest storylines ever happened in 716 TOW the Truth About London, and one of my all-time favourite RnR-scenes is the conversation they had in the hallway in 416 TOW the Fake Party. I guess this just proves that I'm not the RnR-fan I once was.

Yep, and strawberries.

I had to point that out. :)

I probably did. I never thought it would work on my laptop and didn't dare to try it in case it messed with the system. But when I finally tried, it worked.

C'mon, you remember the Tag-version, right? ;)

Lol! Good call. How often are they at the coffeehouse? Every five minutes?

Yeah, I know. It's too bad they don't show SNL here in Europe.

Yeah, the last four couples will be in focus in season 9...

Yeah, Lisa had an air hostess skit that was really good, and Jennifer had a hilarious opening monologue which involved "Fight Club" -- for women.

Firemen have become national heroes after 9/11, so I wonder whether they would have gone through with that storyline now.

They had just finished doing one of their scenes when they were standing next to the kitchen table, and they had to do another take. Courteney looked like she was about to start laughing throughout the scene, so they had to do it over again. While the camera crew was going back to their positions, Courteney started laughing and told Lisa that she wasn't aware of the fact that they had been shooting because Lisa looked so "real." Lisa laughed at that and said something that I can't remember.

Do I have to? :)

I think so, yeah. Some of them are afraid of saying the word "fuck," so they merely say "the f-word" instead. I'm just stunned by how strict they are on swearing.

Perhaps she'd like to have a C-section.

I think so.

ITA.

Tag messed *everything* up.

Tell that to the producers who keep coming up with this kind of garbage.

Hehe, yeah, I heard they're thinking about making him a "Sir." Becks better do his job against Denmark, though.

Absolutely. We should also have the opportunity to pick our own ending like you can do on some DVDs. :)

And that was more than enough?

Rot13 about 824: Naq jr qvqa'g rira trg Oenq Cvgg nf gur qbpgbe! :) Frevbhfyl, gubhtu, V thrff gurl nffhzrq gung gur grafvba orgjrra Ebff naq Enpury nf jryy nf gur ovegu vgfrys jbhyq or orggre guna nal snapl thrfg fgne. Gur ovegu rcvfbqr jnf tbbq rabhtu nf vg jnf, naq nabgure thrfg fgne jbhyq bayl unir fgbyra Wraavsre Navfgba'f guhaqre, ohg creuncf 821 jbhyq unir orra orggre vs Xngvr unq orra cynlrq ol fbzrbar zber snzbhf? Rira gubhtu Eran Fbsre unf na Rzzl, fur'f uneqyl xabja bhgfvqr gur fbnc bcren jbeyq va gur Fgngrf.

Oh, I didn't see that, so the Frasier-bloopers were all new to me.

Weird. We'll probably have to watch all the episodes all over again in order to come up with the correct overview.

Yep.

And they'll have an excellent chance to have stories together.

In article , [email] (Marita Bakken) wrote:

Lol, he'd be safer with the humper where he can see him!

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Yep. They were also great entertainment in the divorce court scene in 605 "TOW Joey's Porsche" (when Rachel treated him very badly).

Wow, how lovely. :)

BOC

I'm not as brave as you, I *still* haven't tried it.

OMG no, I'd so forgotten it!

*�Marita & Tag, sitting in a tree... *�Marita kicks him down, and he hurts his knee...

*�Tag cries out in pain, and sobs a little bit, *�until Rachel & Tennant arrive to help the little git.

*�While Tag chases Marita, despite his knee ache, *�Tennant asks Rachel, if she'd like some cheesecake.

*�They take out their forks and eat the cream & cheese, *�while Marita gets her bat, as she expects no peace.

*�Marita turns to Rachel, to insult her hairdo, *�Tennant sees it's over, since this left just two.

*�"Revenge is mine!" Marita cries, and chases after Tag, *�while Rachel persuades poor Tennant to use a "woman's" bag.

*�"It's the ultimate in fashion", says she as Tennant looks uncertain, *�but he takes Rachel at her word, and he wins the opening curtain.

*�Marita throws a Chinese star, which smashes through Tag's head, *�and she pulls up short in horror, to discover that he's dead.

*�Joanna pops out of nowhere to mourn her beloved son, *�and while Marita looks away, she pulls an automatic gun.

*�She aims, she shoots, the culprit dies, and Rachel cries with joy *�"February is here, and sweeps-TV means another cute boytoy!"

Never. They're always in Monica's apartment.

Yeah, there are enough channels with enough hours to fill.

Hopefully, which leaves two other friends kicking their heels...

Lol, what did she say?

Do they also observe the sixth rule?

I think they could, but omitting the coda about cheating on their wives.

Gosh, what would they think of the way we fans go on...

Lol no, not if you don't want to, sweetie. :)

Don't they realise that since "the f-word" has one-to-one correspondence with "fuck", then they are saying the same thing? They might as well go around saying the dreaded word in Navaho, or even "70 85 67 75".

Could be, it's becoming rather fashionable I hear.

However, my sister had one, and it left her in a bad way. She says it feels like part of you is still pregnant, since you don't give birth.

Yeah.

Indeed. Sigh.

OMG, is that how long your post has waited from me to reply? I'm so sorry, sweetheart. Anyway, IIRC Beckham didn't score himself, but he did set up at least one of the three winning goals. As of now, the good news is that it's cold & rainy in Japan, and the weather forecast is promising us more of the same for the big one against Brazil tomorrow.

Also, the support from the Japanese has been fantastic. It's just been on the news that you can get a free haircut in Tokyo, just as long as you have it styled like a certain England player.

Lol, we can imagine how that would go, without resorting to rot13...

Quite so. I still say they lost an opportunity like that for this episode.

Don't worry, it was nowhere near as good as the Friends-bloopers.

Yep.

Or I could just take your word for it, you're better at this anyway. :)

Fingers crossed!

Tennant

On Thu, 20 Jun 2002 13:08:10 BST, Tennant Stuart wrote:

Hehe. :)

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Yeah, and who can forget their fight in front of the others in 401 TOW the Jellyfish? "It's not that common, it doesn't happen to every guy, and it IS a big deal!!"

The temptation was too big to resist when I realised that I could watch them on the plane on my laptop.

<snip>

LOL! I love that song.

IC. Do they drink coffee all the time as well?

Definitely, and they show so many stupid shows in the summer anyway.

Interesting... :) If only they get many stories in spite of all the couples.

She didn't really say much; she just beat Molly Shannon and Cheri Oteri.

Okay, you'll have to remind me what that is. I haven't seen "Fight Club" in a long time.

Yeah, they could just delete the entire tag-scene, just like they do in many of the syndicated episodes.

Hopefully, they have no idea..

LOL! Exactly! And if I feel the need to swear, I can just do it in Norwegian, and nobody will have clue what I'm saying.

Yes, especially among superstars and models.

Yes, I've heard similar stories.

Yes, I'm sorry about that. I was rooting for England, though, but I guess Brazil has a better chance of winning the Cup. But I have to say South Korea has impressed me, partial referees aside.

Yes, I saw that on the news.

Yep! :) And all fans would be happy if the endings involved Rachel ending up with Ross, Joey or on her own.

Yes, the other sister.

Yeah, I noticed that in the bloopers-special.

Hehe, thanks. I'll let you know if I see any more incidents than what I have already mentioned here.

Absolutely!

In article , [email] (Marita Bakken) wrote:

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Lol yes, and 316 "TOT Morning After", when Ross was being dumb in the lounge, whilst in the bedroom both Joey & Chandler were being wise...

  RACHEL: Alright! How was she? ������ CHANDLER: Uh-oh.

  ROSS: What? ������������������������ (The others listen).

  RACHEL: Was she good? �������������� JOEY: Don't answer that.

  RACHEL: Come on Ross! �������������� JOEY: Awful! Horrible!

  RACHEL: How was she? ��������������� CHANDLER: Not good.

  ROSS: She was... ������������������� JOEY: Nothing compared to you.

  ROSS: She, she was different. ������ JOEY: Ewwwww!

  RACHEL: Good different? ������������ (The others listen).

  ROSS: Nobody likes change. ��������� CHANDLER: Uh-oh.

(Rachel picks up a newspaper and starts beating Ross over the head with it, whilst in Monica's bedroom...)

PHOEBE: Should we do something?

CHANDLER: Yeah, never cheat on Rachel.

O4sure, that was a valid reason for doing so, with a potential benefit.

For me, I wasn't going to risk it just for idle curiosity.

Hehe.

Nope, bottled water.

Ugh, at the moment four separate BBC channels are showing four different tennis matches from Wimbledon.

Fingers crossed.

Ooh.

No shirts. ;)

Yep.

Absolutely.

Ruller p� gulvet og ler!!

BTW, the significance of Navaho was that its use for communications in WW2 was more effective than most codes, which were soon broken.

Who have already had their lower ribs removed, no doubt.

Okay.

Thanks sweetie, for the weather forecast was wrong. :(

Do you subscribe to the conspiracy theory or the cock-up theory?

Yep.

Exactly.

VSG

TT

Tennant

Tennant Stuart wrote:

and no shoes :P

However, people with breasts seem to be excluded from that rule, as Bob can be seen wearing a shirt during his fights

Andr�

In article , "Cookie Dude" wrote:

Yeah I know, but unlike Rachel I'm not into feet.

D'oh! Good point. BTW, yay for the final, Germany vs Brazil.

Are you feeling more enthusiastic than you were earlier on?

IIRC you guys have never played before in the World Cup.

Tennant

Tennant Stuart wrote:

Aren't you usually the pedantic one? I was just adding the part of the sixth rule you left out

hehe, you may be the man when it comes to 'Friends' but I know Fight Club inside out (and upside down as well :) )

Nope. I wanted England to win. And now Germany has to win, 'cause I can't stand the Brasilians and that means Germany is gonna be shockingly bad in four years (because they always are after they've won the World Cup) when the World Cup will be played for in Germany :( And also I was rooting for Turkey, but that's probably a German thing...

You mean Brazil - Germany? Dunno...

Andr�

In article , "Cookie Dude" wrote:

Grin, I'm not as pedantic as people think I am. :)

Okay - without looking anything up, but you can watch the movie again...

• What is the name of Norton's character, who narrates the movie?

• Name at least 2 cast members who also appeared in "Friends".

• Giving 3 pieces of evidence, in which city is the movie mainly set?

• Why were those computers destroyed at 84 minutes into the movie?

• List 5 times that Tyler appears *before* we meet him on the plane.

• What was unusual about the fake names used in the self-help groups?

• What is the somewhat abusive nickname for air stewardesses?

• The eighth rule was the final rule. What was the ninth rule?

• Who would win if Abraham Lincoln fought Mahatma Ghandi, and why?

• At the end of the movie, why does Tyler ask "What's that smell"?

Ah, the stakes are high.

Really? AFAIR, most Germans aren't too fond of Gastarbeiter.

So I hear. The final will be the first time the teams have met.

Tennant

Tennant Stuart wrote:

I last watched the movie about one or two months ago, so I'm doing this of the top of my head - also I might get some things confused with the book

His name is never mentioned nor can it be seen. However names he uses were Rupert and Cornelius. And then there are the Readers Digest articles ('I am Jack's complete lack of suprise') - mostly people refer to him as Jack

Brad Pitt - and someone else. You really expect me to go through this huge list of guest appearances on 'Friends'?

I know the movie is set in the Delaware area, only evidence I have is because all the credit card companies are located there. IIRC they couldn't show the city as clearly as they would have liked for legal reasons

Damnit, they elaborate on that in the book, but I can't remember right now. It's to do with the Mayhem commitee though

- At the copy machine, more or less right after we see that Starbucks cup - At the support group, after that guy told the others about his ex-wife having her first kid - The video in the hotel room, he is one of the waiters - In the airport on this moving thingy - At the doctor's - Isn't there one more? Outside after one of the support group meetings?

Don't talk about me to her or anybody else

Following Tyler's logic, Ghandi would win, because he is the smaller one. I know the scene I just can't quote it right now

I'll answer you these later on.

But that's the fun part :) It would've been like Germany I - Germany II

Andr�

I wrote:

I just got out of bed and for some reason I realized that the news woman, that reports from the buliding that Projected Mayhem had painted a smiley on, looks a lot like the girl with the wooden leg - am I right?

You're not talking about Hindu cows are you? - Gotta check the movie again over the weekend

Andr�

In article , "Cookie Dude" wrote:

Sorry, not unless the news woman looks exactly like Sherilyn Fenn (she was most famous for "Twin Peaks", but she's also made about 30 movies).

Nope.

Yep. :)

Tennant

In article , "Cookie Dude" wrote:

There's a book?

Ah, I wondered about this, since for a long while he was simply referred to as The Narrator - yet recently I've seen him called Jack. So what are these Readers Digest articles of which you speak?

Not if you don't want to. It's a phenomenally bastard question to ask. :)

Yep, that's the correct state.

Even so, my sources tell that me the city *can* be explicitly named.

Okay, I might have put that question more clearly. I'm not asking you about the computers, I'm asking you about the 84 minutes.

Yep.

Yep.

Yep, on the closed-circuit TV.

Oh yes, on the travelator. I forgot that, since that is where Jack first met Tyler, not once they were on the plane.

Yep, as Jack learns about the testicular cancer support group.

That's right, Jack sees Marla leaving but he doesn't follow her.

Very well done, you got them all. Apart from the last two (on the TV and on the travelator) the first four in the movie are while Jack has insomnia.

Really? Lol, in that case, what was the tenth rule? :)

Well, it was a bit of a tricky question, since the scene doesn't exactly go like that. What happens is Tyler & Jack discuss their ideal opponents...

TYLER: Okay, any historic figure.

JACK: I'd fight Gandhi.

TYLER: Good answer.

JACK: How about you?

TYLER: Lincoln.

JACK: Lincoln?

TYLER: Big guy, big reach. Skinny guys fight 'til they're burger.

Okay. You're doing tremendously well, I'm quite impressed. :)

Lol, good point.

Tennant

Tennant Stuart wrote:

What did you think they meant in the opening credits when it said "Based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk"??

Remember the scene when Jack tells Tyler about this ..umm... diary he's found (while Tyler is riding a bike inside the house). All this "I am Jack's ..." stuff is (or can) somehow (be) related to Reader's Digest. Also, in another scene we see Jack laying on his bed reading a magazine. That was supposed to be an actual copy of RD, but they had to change it for legal reasons. Oh, and also, for some reason, they ended up using a lot of Robert De Niro character names for Nortons character - Isn't it weird how much you can remember from Audio commentary, when you really start to think hard?

And it's not even important for the plot of the movie. Here's one for you: Why was there a New Beetle amongst the cars Tyler and Jack destroyed?

IIRC, you can see like a "welcome" sign of the city at one point, with some slogan on it. I could tell you the slogan, but I would have to google search to which city it belongs :)

Hmm, wild guess, something to do with Apple and 1984?

No, he doesn't meet him there. First of all, Jack stands with his back to Tyler, and second of all, would you call seeing someone you don't know on a travelator "meeting"?

Strictly speaking, there wasn't a ninth or tenth rule. Fight Club had eight rules, "Don't talk about me to her or anybody else" was a rule Tyler only enforced on Jack and "There are no questions in Project Mayhem" were the first two rules of Project Mayhem

While on the subject of rules: Which rules of Fight Club were broken during the movie?

Probably the De Niro thing I mentioned above?

When I say that I know something really well, I mean it. Fight Club is my "I'm drunk, it's Saturday night and I don't want to go to bed" movie, so I've seen it a lot ;) Strangely enough, I tend to be more perceptive when I'm in that state, the first time I noticed the Tyler glitches I was really hammered

Andr�

In article , "Cookie Dude" wrote:

I was probably just getting a tinny out of the fridge. ;)

No...

So are you saying that written in Jack's diary, and also on his copies of Readers Digest, is the warning "I am Jack's"; so that's how we know?

Oh sure, audio commentaries are great, but I haven't got this DVD.

Oh, for sure. Anyway, it was Mark Fite, who played a man at the auto shop.

In 516 "TOW the Cop", he was the guy who sold Ross the "pivot" couch.

Oh, I actually know this one - it's because neither Brad Pitt nor Edward Norton like Beetles.

Well done. The city is Wilmington, Delaware, given by the ZIP code 19808 on Tyler's card. Also, the motto on Jack's apartment block Pierson Towers, which is "A place to be somebody", is also the motto for Wilmington; the city has a Paper Street, although its numbers don't go as high as #1537; its neighbouring cities are New Castle, Delaware City, and Penns Grove; and Wilmington is the largest city in Delaware, where most credit card companies, and 60% of the Fortune 500 companies, are located.

Yep, it's an ironic reference to Apple's famous tribute to "1984" by George Orwell, when they launched the Macintosh at the 1984 Superbowl.

Okay, poor choice of words.

Apparently they invented a new rule, which was no more than 50 people to a fight club.

No idea. All of them?

That was partly so, he also used names from "Planet of the Apes".

Ah.

Lol. So how are you doing on #7 and #10?

Tennant

Tennant Stuart wrote:

I don't know how this works out exactly but I've seen many people sum up all the "I am Jack's xy" as "The Reader's Digest articles" - maybe there was a series in it, written from organs in the the third person

I googled for "9th rule + fight club" - one of the first things that showed up was this DVD review that concluded: "And the ninth rule of Fight Club is: Go and get this DVD"

I wondered whether you'd know the reason behind their dislike too ;) Anyway, it was because they think the 'New Beetle' is one of those instants in which an older generation tries to market and enforce its own beliefs, ideals and values on to a younger generation

Chandler: "nice shooting" :) (Since I had only taken a wild guess)

That scene is a give-away for what will happen later too. Tyler wears totally different clothes than he does on the plane

It isn't mentioned in the film nor is it in the book... But I'll trust you

Oh, come on, now you're being lazy. Four rules were broken and one of them I already told ya, Bob fighting with his shirt on.

Rewatched the film, only thing I can came up with is 'throwers' for the nickname, but that's for baggage handlers and not stewardesses - and I have no idea about the smell. But I can live with getting 7/10 right :)

Don't feel like excessive substance abuse, I give up :)

Andr�

In article , "Cookie Dude" wrote:

Yeah, but is it Reader's Digest articles talking about the film, or Reader's Digest articles talking *in* the film?

Hehe.

I think that's why I bought a VW Golf GTI instead.

Grin.

And all the "Continuity Error Spotters" tear their hair out! :)

Oh, I don't know shit, it's just what I'm informed. :)

Still no idea, so let's guess. #1 and #2 are the same rule, and if that had been broken, you wouldn't be sure what the total was, so not them.

That leaves #3, #4, #5, #7, #8. The last two are kinda boring to break, dramatic-tension-wise, but the first three have story possibilities, so it's them - a fight didn't stop, a third guy joined in, & two fights.

Okay, although I let you off lightly with some of them. :)

Right. The nickname for stewardesses is "Air Mattresses". You didn't think to check with the deleted scenes section of your DVD. :)

Chuck Palahniuk reports that Tyler's question "What's that smell?" at the end of the movie was David Fincher's reference to the lyricist Ira Gershwin who, while dying of an undiagnosed brain tumour, insisted that he could smell burning chicken feathers, and so he kept asking "What is that smell?" until he fell down dead.

Tennant

Tennant Stuart wrote:

dunno

Hehe... You obviously don't think like I do - remember one scene in the basement?

TYLER: Shut up! This means that a lot of you have broken the first two rules of Fight Club

so that's three rules broken (including Bob) and I have to say, I'm kind of surprised that you seem to not remember the other instance. It's #3, when Jack beats the crap out of Angel Face

JACK: I just felt like destroying something beautiful

duh.... :)

ah, ok...

Andr�

In article , "Cookie Dude" wrote:

Oh. :(

Oh well.

Grin.

Good game! :)

Tennant

Tennant Stuart wrote:

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TOW

guy,

<snip>

Yes, this was definitely one of the best parts of this episode.

benefit.

Better safe than sorry etc.

Oh, just like in 804 TOW the videotape.

MP would be so pleased. :)

Yep.

Oh, that rule. :) I don't think they would risk it anyway, seeing that their faces would be totally ruined, a la Jared Leto's face in the movie.

correspondence

well go

It's true. But then again, I've realised that if there is one thing foreigners want to learn, it's all the bad words, so you can't be too sure they don't know it.

Oh, IC.

Oh, yeah, and what's a C-section compared to that?

the

Hehe. Well, at least Becks got to go home to his pregnant wife.

impressed

Well, I don't think I've heard any of the theories, but I do think the referees were partial in the match against Spain.

In article , [email] (Marita Bakken) wrote:

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Yep. Did you like my parallel presentation?

Exactly.

Indeedy.

He should be helping John McEnroe with the commentary.

Grin.

Oh, I hadn't thought it through as far as that...

Of course.

Exactly.

Yeah.

Exactly, and if them, probably some of the others.

Tennant

Tennant Stuart wrote:

Yes, it was very useful. :)

Yeah, perhaps that would have been better than some of the movies he has made.

I can't forget his face in that movie. It was truly horrible.

True. The referees are to blame for some of the shockwaves.

In article , [email] (Marita Bakken) wrote:

Awww, thanks.

Huh, yeah.

Ilg.

I reckon that the last Korean match (in which they lost) was fixed to 'prove' that the others (in which they won) were not.

Tennant

On Fri, 05 Jul 2002 01:18:30 BST, Tennant Stuart wrote:

VSG.

Could be. They didn't even show it here, so I didn't get to see it.

In article , [email] (Marita Bakken) wrote:

I've just been reading a book in which a Swede was portrayed as saying "Vah-soh-god" without explanation. I felt very Norwegian...

<checks last two letters of Milady's addy> gosh, why didn't they?

Tennant

On Tue, 09 Jul 2002 23:21:57 BST, Tennant Stuart wrote:

RPGOL!! A bit bizarre that you could use an acronym from a newsgroup while reading a book about a Swede... :)

The satellite channel aired it. I didn't even feel like there was a World Cup going on since I hardly ever saw a match.

In article , [email] (Marita Bakken) wrote:

I knoww! Ain't it splendid?

Gosh, it was on *everywhere* here. Two of my neighbours still haven't taken down the Crosses of St.George from their houses & cars.

Tennant

On Sun, 14 Jul 2002 23:50:27 BST, Tennant Stuart wrote:

Grin.

Lol!! We had one Brazilian flag in my neighbourhood, and that was it.

In article , [email] (Marita Bakken) wrote:

Gosh, no-one would dare fly that here.

Any road up, there is just the one flag left now.

Tennant

Marita Bakken wrote:

How safe do you feel messing with your computer? Because you "only" need an uptodate software DVD player, a small tool called 'DVD Region Killer' and a Firmware "patch" that will disable the builtin region protection - and you have a multi region DVD player :)

Andr�

"Cookie Dude" wrote:

need an

and a

and you

I've tried different DVD-software, and I've also tried DVD-Genie, but when I checked my DVD-ROM Drive, it read that the regions are locked in the hardware. Therefore, it's still region 2 (which is really annoying since I live in the States).

Marita Bakken wrote:

Have you tried a tool called 'DVD Region Killer'? (available here: http://elby.ch/english/fun/software/index.html)

I used it to remove the lock from my drive. However you need to know what model your DVD ROM drive is and most likely you'll have to upgrade the firmware of your drive as well. IIRC the help file that comes with DVD Region Killer will tell you what to do. If not I'm sure you know some geek who can set it up for you :)

Andr�

"Cookie Dude" wrote:

Thanks! I'll try that. :)

"Tennant Stuart" wrote: news:[email]...

Probably because the average viewer won't remember the name of a guest star from 2 or 3 years ago and therefore they might be confused when "Jill and XY" are mentioned, but if they say "your sisters" /everybody/ knows what they are on about

Andr�

"Tennant Stuart" wrote in message news:[email]...

Wasn't a bad storyline actually, and finally, nice to see a bit of J&C. I also liked the way they took the piss out of the crap that's on TV now!

Yeah, she was off key. All four of them were really, it was crap storyline which just dragged on with no direction.

Wasn't as good as when he phoned Frank's Mum when Phoebe ran over the dog.

Joey Tribbiani isn't that funny...it is rather catchy though, it's easy to say aswell.

I just can't believe how bad this season has gotten. It was a reasonably good start until 805, and from there it's just gone downhill. Chandler has been pretty much appalling, where has the witty, sharp and downright funny Chandler gone? Mo

I can't really comment, having a Welsh accent!

Some sort of basket? A gun?!!

Only he can answer that, more like what's wrong with the writers?

Terrible Inconsistency.

Could be, they have got the American version of the weakest link though ;)

Why did he want it in the first place? He has a job!

Err...showered with gifts?

I know, it's weird, she could have had a masculine name, like Nigella (no offense to Miss/Mrs Lawson)

Same mistakes again...

She keeps playing that one, it's not nice.

And wanting to smoke pot...

Joincidence?

Lol, damn those party people.

I can't confirm that, though why did the audience laugh when she said it?

oooh, good point, I don't think Ross would let her...

Shudding the responsability....tuh.

More stories from Ross's gay childhood...

Yeah, she did help, why is she so inconsistent?

Yeah, I wondered that, I mean I would have thought so, though it was a while back...

Hope not, I hope the writers know better.

Yeah, that was a breath of fresh air.

Pretty good, though he let Rachel walk all over him.

Lol, yeah, we should have an ep with a basketball game or something. Do you think the ball was the one Monica threw out the window?

Yeah, but not everyone, not many people could afford them.

Hungry Hungry Hippo's rocks! So does Ker-plunk!

What's alimony?

Awwwww.

Well were back to "dumb old Joey" so I guess he's over her.

A reflection on the quality of the show, more than the storylines. People aren't fooled for long.

Owen

In article , "Owen Shiers" wrote:

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Lol, but some game shows are quite good, such as "The Enemy Within".

What I wasn't sure about when I wrote this review was that the episode was shown during the May sweeps, even though it aired on April 25th, which means that it should have had a better guest star, ISTM.

Lol, that wouldn't be good for the ratings, though but!

Yeah, but what about Chandler's behaviour here?

Well, S8 has tailed off a bit, but for me it peaked again in the middle, which makes it fairly similar to S3. Here are my average star ratings for each quartet out of episodes 1-20 of each season...

S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8

    1-4     2.0   3.5   3.5   3.0   3.3   3.0   2.3   4.0
    5-8     2.8   4.3   4.0   3.5   2.8   3.0   3.3   3.5
    9-12    3.5   3.5   3.8   2.3   3.0   2.5   3.0   3.8
   13-16    3.5   4.5   3.0   3.0   3.0   3.0   4.5   3.5
   17-20    3.5   1.8   2.8   2.8   2.8   2.0   3.0   2.8

..note that S2 did better early on, but tailed off disastrously with the Eddie episodes, S4 and S6 had poor middles, S5 had a good middle, while S1 and S7 both had poor starts then built up strength. Of course, this says nothing about the last 4 or 5 episodes of each season...

Okay.

Yes, it sounds like basket or musket, doesn't it?

However, Scott Letteney tells me it's a brand name for a small wheat cracker often eaten with a piece of cheese or smoked salmon.

I guess that means it sounds like biscuit.

Okay, so how do you interpret that?

I think that "Terrible" is a little harsh - a Terrible Inconsistency would be suddenly finding that Monica was married to Joey.

Oh, "The Weakest Link" is tame compared with some.

Acting is an extremely insecure profession.

So it seems.

Lol

It's Miss Lawson, she's Nigel's daughter.

Well, who knows what will be in a deleted scene on DVD.

It used to be very curious that Joey was signed by the Estelle Leonard Talent Agency in S1-06, but we didn't actually meet Estelle herself until S2-10, by which time we had already seen the actress June Gable playing a nurse in S1-23. However, Estelle appears in a deleted scene in S1-06.

Yeah.

Ah, no wonder she gets on well with Ross.

Jaybe.

I still think it's bad that Gunther wasn't invited to the wedding.

Because they all guessed it?

Let her? Since when has he has any control over what she does?

Hmmm...

What's gay about a barber shop? Or Play-Dough?

My theory is that she's nice to him when they're alone together.

So?

Me2

Yeah.

Indeedy.

I doubt it.

The Nazis televised the 1936 Olympics.

Ker-plunk is more fun if you play with edible pieces.

Ah, the innocence of one so young! It's the money you pay every month to your ex-wife after she got everything but the mortgage in the divorce.

The charmer...

I'm hoping that's not so.

Well, it's remarkable how they dip for a RnR story, but rise for a JnR story or a Ross-has-a-new-girlfriend story.

No spoilers PLEASE from anyone who has already seen episode 821.

Tennant

On Sun, 12 May 2002, Tennant Stuart stated this considered view. Waking from my doze, I hastily scrawled -

I'd say that S2:17-24 was the worst 1/3rd of any season. I wasn't keen on the Eddie episodes either, and TOW the Bullies & TOW the Two Parties are 2 of my 3 least fav episodes. The other episodes in that sequence were somewhat lightweight too.

In fact, come to think of it, it resembled S5 somewhat - great romantic tension up until Feb sweeps, then a late season slump.

In article , Paul Hyett wrote:

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Oh, I rate the season thirds as follows...

  101-108  2.4    209-216  4.0
  109-116  3.5    201-208  3.9
  117-124  3.1    301-308  3.7
  201-208  3.9    709-716  3.7
  209-216  4.0    801-808  3.7
  217-224  2.4    809-816  3.6
  301-308  3.7    109-116  3.5
  309-317  3.2    401-408  3.2
  318-325  2.1    618-625  3.2
  401-408  3.2    717-724  3.2
  409-416  2.6    309-317  3.2
  417-424  2.9    117-124  3.1
  501-508  3.0    501-508  3.0
  509-516  3.0    509-516  3.0
  517-524  2.4    601-608  3.0
  601-608  3.0    417-424  2.9
  609-617  2.7    701-708  2.7
  618-625  3.2    609-617  2.7
  701-708  2.7    409-416  2.6
  709-716  3.7    101-108  2.4
  717-724  3.2    217-224  2.4
  801-808  3.7    517-524  2.4
  809-816  3.6    318-325  2.1

..for me, S3 was the season that really dropped off.

Yeah, I kinda agree, apart from TOW the Two Parties.

Tennant

"Tennant Stuart" wrote in message news:[email]...

I

Aint heard of that one...

True, though no guest star will improve the storyline.

dog.

Still would have been funny!

to

I don't think it was that harsh, it's got a ring to it. I don't think he was being that nasty.

has

funny

Yes, but I think that the overall standard of S7 and S8 has been far below that of previous seasons. Disasters such as Eddie, weren't so obvious, because they were covered up by good comedy, the good storylines brought out even better humour. Bad storylines in the latter series are simply glaringly obvious. I just don't rate S6-8 at all.

My next door neighbour has seen every episode from S1 to S5, but as soon as Season six started, she stopped watching, and only watches the odd episode now and then. I know everyone has different opninions, but a majority of my friends and family think the shows quality has dipped.

Yeah, but that's just because of the "-kit" at the end.

Yeah, I wish they'd keep down on American jokes...

Well they're trying to bring back old sarcastic Chandler, but failing. They'd made him over the top and overly nasty. The only decent line I've heard in an age from him was when he was listing all different types of ribbon and said "and in here somewhere may be my testicles"...I can't recall which episode it was though.

Ok then...eerr...bad inconsitency?

;)

Exactly...

That is true, though he must have a conract.

(no

Well you know, celebs are marrying left, right and centre these days.

Ahhh, why did they bother getting her in then? It's a waste if they're not going to include her.

ha, lol!

Lol

Yeah, he's a party dude!

it?

Hmmm, not sure

Well after the thanksgiving incident, and besides, the gifts are really for both of them to use.

It's just a bit effeminate...

Could be, people change when they're in groups.

Well she should have had a fair amount of practise. What annoys me is that the writers go OTT to show things, such as Rachel's inability to "cope" whilst forgetting past things, such as looking after Ben.

But did they subsidise manufacture, so that they could manipulate the minds of the people through the media?

Like spaghetti?

Ohhh, thanks, I now get the alimony pony joke from Janice. Ah well, you live and learn.

We need a few hints.

People

Yeah, we've had a lot of those...

Owen

In article , "Owen Shiers" wrote:

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All the best stuff is on at lunchtime, now that peak-time viewing is all cookery programmes and DIY makeover shows.

Yeah, the producers have to do that as well.

Hehe.

Compare him with how Ross behaved.

Average 3.1 3.5 3.4 2.9 3.0 2.7 3.2 3.5