Analytical Episode Guide-Friends (Season 7, Part 4)

Analytical Episode Guide:

Season 7, Part 4

Season 7, Episode 19

The One with Ross and Monica’s Cousin

 

Plot Summary-Ross is attracted to his cousin (I already lost you, haven’t I?), Joey auditions for a movie role which requires him to naked, Phoebe and Rachel throw Monica a spot bridal shower

Funniest Line-“Say something clever. Okay, doesn't have to be clever. Just has to be words. Say some words. Any words will do. Oh, my God, this is the longest that anyone has not talked ever! There is nothing you could say to make this worse so just say something!”…..Ross

Nitpick of the episode-Nice of Rachel and Phoebe to forget to throw Monica a bridal shower! I could complain Chandler never got a bachelor party, but the serieswill take care of that one next season

Standout Character-Ross, not easy to be funny and creepy at the same time!

Syndication Edit-Scene Extensions

Final Thoughts-It never bodes well when a show has to resort to a stunt to get people’s attention. That’s what Joey’s story is, it’s all setup for that last gag at the audition with the silly putty. It’s funny but when a story is all set up for a joke it leaves the rest kind of empty. The bridal shower story seemed silly, why go the extra step of making Phoebe and Rachel forget all about it? Thankfully by the time Phoebe has her bridal shower the writing would be a little more creative. Ross’s story….what can I say about Ross’s story? The scene where he thinks to himself while his cousin stares at him waiting for an explanation is kind of funny, but on the whole the concept is just creepy. I guess it does help that they established Ross has not been with anyone in awhile. And of course Chandler is once again all but absent.

Grade=B-,funny but lacks substance

Season 7, Episode 20

The One with Rachel’s Big Kiss

 

Plot Summary-Rachel meets up with an old friend, Chandler and Ross argue over a tuxedo, Joey drives Monica crazy with requests

Funniest Line-“Ross is Batman!”…..Chandler, and the response is great-“Well, he did manage to keep his identity a secret for a long time.”….Monica  (I usually don’t do two at once but this was one of my favorites ever!)

Nitpickof the episode-Why does it matter if Ross or Chandler wears a celebrity tuxedo? Who’s going to know, unless they wear a sign?

Standout Character-Rachel, who else could get it be in this one?

Syndication Edit-Chandler trying on the tuxedo, which is to small

Final Thoughts-Once again, when you have a story building up to one gag in the end,the gag better be funny. It is, but the journey to get there is boring. As soon as we hear about Rachel’s kiss in college we know it will end up with another kiss. Also more stunt casting, and why was Winona Ryder cast exactly? Just because Will & Grace loved doing the celebrity of the week doesn’t mean Friends had to also. However I am being hard on this one because it’s actuallya decent episode compared to the others. There are some genuine laughs in all the stories especially the whole tuxedo business not to mention Joey’s pestering of Monica.

Grade=B+,decent episode

Season 7, Episode 21

The One with the Vows

 

Plot Summary- Monica and Chandler need help making up their vows  (yep, that’s it)

Funnies tLine-“Do you realize that we're getting married in just four weeks? Four weeks,baby. Four weeks!”….Monica

Nitpickof the episode-You know, you don’t HAVE to recite vows! Just saying.....

Standout Character-ummmm……..

Syndication Edit-More clips

Final Thoughts-A clip show. Yawn. This starts out as a decent one because we see how Monica and Chandler started off. That is kind of fun. But the second half ofthe episode is basically Season 5, especially “The One Where Everyone Finds Out”, edited down to ten minutes! Boring.

Grade=C

Season 7, Episode 22

The One with Chandler’s Dad

 

Plot Summary-Ross and Rachel drive Monica’s Porsche, Monica convinces Chandler to see his dad, Joey discovers Phoebe’s guy is wearing ladies panties

Funniest Line-“You do not want him there. No one's going to be looking at the bride when the father of the groom is wearing a backless dress.”….Chandler

Nitpick of the episode-Ross is ridiculous in this episode, why is he always screaming and acting so nuts? And let’s not even get into what he does in the end of the episode. He has really changed since the start of the series from the sweet lovable guy to a screaming dufus, but maybe it will get better next season.

Standout Character-Chandler, it is about time he patched things up with his Dad

Syndication Edit-Chandler explaining why he didn’t invite his father

Final Thoughts-Well folks, here it is. The low point. Not for the season, the whole series! It just doesn’t get any worse than this one. Ross flirting with a male cop to get out of a speeding ticket? Stupid. Joey wearing women’s panties? Stupid. And even the Chandler story isn’t as good as it could have been.However, to be fair the scene between him and his father isn’t really bad.While they could have done more with it, as it is the scene works. That is why I am not giving this episode a flat out F as a grade. But Ross flirting with a cop is just lame, to be honest it's not the worst story the series will throw at (and yes we will get to that) but there is just something so off in this episode that the whole thing just stinks.  I am not sure what happened with season 7, but I guess it suffered from the same fate many shows do and got stale. If only something unexpected would happen to shake things upand get things good again…………

Grade=D+,awful

Season 7, Episode 23 & 24

The One with Chandler and Monica’s Wedding

 

Plot Summary-Monica and Chandler prepare to get married, Chandler freaks out and runs away, Joey is stuck making a movie

Funniest Line-“I've never walked down the aisle knowing it can't end in divorce”….Ross

Nitpick of the episode-Did we really need Joey delayed by filming his movie? It just comes off as unnecessary padding especially when the other guy is drunk for no reason. I find it hard to believe they would keep filming the way the actor was so drunk. Oh, and I would have laughed at Ross to in that opening scene, what was he thinking with that “big brother” speech?  And the stuff about the pregnancy test was a tad contrived, but I’ll let it go.

Standout Character-Chandler, it’s about time he freaked out and the episode handles it very well. The best part is the end when he realizes having a baby isn’t so scary. I am even on his side when he Phoebe and Ross are about to complain about his smoking and Chandler asks them to focus on the big picture.

Syndication Edit-Ross’s botched joke during his toast. A scene with Ross and Phoebe discussing where Chandler could have gone

Final Thoughts-Despite the drek of the last few episodes, this is a really great episode. Chandler and Monica’s wedding is a big deal and the episode treats it as such. It was about time Chandler acted like, well, Chandler and the whole thing is well done. In fact I was surprised at just how much weight they gave to Chandler’s running off. This was no normal dilemma, this was serious! The only other story really is Joey’s which is kind of pointless, and more stunt casting with Gary Oldman as the other actor. Why? But that doesn’t take awayfrom the episode. The ceremony does not disappoint, I would almost dare to call it a perfect scene. They even get a few laughs in there which isn’t always easy during a wedding scene. My favorite part of the episode is all the callbacks to previous episodes or jokes including the freebie list, Ross’s version of giving the finger, and Chandler’s smoking. This almost feels like a series finale rather than just a season finale. The guest stars also shine, and it’s nice to have Morgan Fairchild back. And the cliffhanger was very surprising, as we find out it’s actually Rachel who is pregnant. Who? How? When? Lots of questions for Season 8 to answer, and we will take a look at that next week. For now let’s be happy that Season 7 is over with!

Grade=A,very strong end to a very weak season

That’sit for now, next week we will dive into the Emmy award winning season 8. Will the series improve? Spoilers-YES!!!!!!!!!!