Recap / Friends S1E4 "The One with George Stephanopoulos"

Chandler and Joey take Ross out to cheer him up. He is upset because it is the anniversary of his first time with Carol. They go to a hockey game, and Ross gets hit in the face with a hockey puck. They take him to the emergency room, where they have to wait for a long time and the nurse is rude to them. Ross is cheered up when, during a tug of war with a young boy, the hockey puck hits the nurse in the face.

Rachel is depressed because so much of her paycheck was withheld for taxes. The girls have a sleepover and get drunk. They order pizza and accidentally receive a pizza belonging to a G. Stephanopoulos. They learn that George Stephanopoulos himself lives across the street and they spy on him and his date.

Tropes

• Actually Pretty Funny: Chandler and Joey try to cheer Ross up, saying tonight was fun at points. Ross is in no mood to hear it, until he accidentally sends the hockey puck flying right into the nurse's face. That he considers funny.
• An Aesop: Don't freak out if others are making more progress with their life than you are, it'll take time, but there's always something to be happy about while you are figuring it out.
• Arrow Cam: Or rather, hockey puck cam.
• Armor-Piercing Question: Monica and Phoebe's attempt to console Rachel hits a snag when she asks a simple question. She ends up depressing the hell out of them.
  Rachel: But, Monica, what if it doesn't come together?
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: At the beginning of the episode, they're all discussing what they would do if they were omnipotent for a day. Phoebe goes on to use this trope:
  Phoebe: Ok, ok. If I were omnipotent for a day, I would want, hum, world peace, no more hunger, good things for the rain forest. And bigger boobs!
• Asshole Victim: The ER receptionist who gets hit in the face with a hockey puck.
• Brick Joke: Rachel accidentally drops a pillow off of Monica's balcony, which is swiftly forgotten. The very end of the episode has a man knock on her door and hand said pillow to a very confused Chandler.
• Buxom Beauty Standard: During the cold open Phoebe's goals if she were ever omnipotent include world peace, protecting the rainforest "and bigger boobs".
• Cheer Up Episode: Both plot lines.
  • Joey and Chandler invite Ross to a hockey game to help him get over his marital problems.
  • Monica and Phoebe try to cheer up Rachel when she starts regretting starting a new life. Ironically, they end up bumming themselves out when they realize that neither of them have any plans for the future.
• Cold Turkeys Are Everywhere: Everything Ross sees on the way to the hockey game reminds him of Carol –– the shoes at a store window, a peach pit on the sidewalk...
• Copycat Mockery: Monica and Phoebe make light of Rachel and her friends' Genki Girl behavior.
  Phoebe: Look, I have elbows.
  [Monica and Phoebe fake squeal]
• Drowning My Sorrows: The second she's told the punch has rum in it, a depressed Rachel grabs the pitcher and a straw.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: Despite what the episode's title might imply, George Stephanopoulos himself is The Ghost, and never appears at any point. Had the episode been produced when the show was more established, odds are they'd have been able to get hold of the real Stephanopoulos for at least a brief cameo.
• Eating the Eye Candy: After learning from the pizza guy that George Stephanopoulos lives across the street, the girls all camp out on the balcony to spy on him.
• Formerly Fat: Rachel notes Monica "was a big girl" back in high school.
• Genki Girl: Rachel and her three friends are constantly squealing and waving their arms, which Monica and Phoebe make fun of.
• Girl on Girl Is Hot:
  Ross: You know what? I’d better pass on the game. I’m just gonna go home and think about my ex-wife and her lesbian lover.
  Joey: The hell with hockey, let’s all do that!
• I Ate WHAT?!: During the slumber party, Monica confesses to Phoebe that that vegetarian pate they all had some time ago was actually goose. Vegetarian Phoebe is no pleased.
• Irony: Rachel laments how much better off her old friends are than she is, saying they're getting careers or families.
  Rachel: I'm getting coffee... and it's not even for me!
• Laser-Guided Karma: The mean receptionist at the emergency room gets hers when Ross tries to wrest the hockey puck from a kid and it ends up flying into her face.
• Malaproper:
  • Joey confuses "omnipotent" with "impotent".
    Monica: Hey, Joey! What would you do if you were omnipotent?
    Joey: Probably kill myself.
    Monica: Excuse me?
    Joey: Hey, if Little Joey's dead, I got no reason to live.
    Ross: Uhm, Joey... omnipotent.
    Joey: You are? I'm so sorry.
  • Rachel stumbles over how to pronounce George's last name.
    Rachel: Pheebs, who's George Snuffleupagus?
    Phoebe: That's Big Bird's friend.
• Modesty Towel: The audience doesn't get to see it but apparently George spends the episode wearing one of these. The girls eventually start chanting for him to drop the towel, and let out an awe-struck "Wow" when he does.
• Not Their Birthday: Chandler and Joey claim that they got Ross a hockey ticket as a birthday present. Ross points out that his birthday was seven months ago and surmises that they just had an extra ticket and needed an excuse to off-load it on someone.
• Oh, Crap!: Chandler and Joey's reaction to Ross being so depressed because he only ever had sex with Carol. They acknowledge they should've found something other than a hockey game for Ross to do tonight.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Rachel was such a shopaholic that her not using her credit card for a few weeks is enough for the credit card company to call the apartment and ask if she's okay.
• Potty Failure: Rachel suffered this once in seventh grade, which she insists was because she was laughing so hard over something Monica had said.
• Right Through the Wall: Phoebe stays with Monica and Rachel because she's being kept awake by her grandmother loudly talking to her new boyfriend during sex.
  Phoebe: My grandmother has this new boyfriend, and they're both kind of insecure in bed. Oh, and deaf. So they're constantly, like, having to reassure each other that they're having a good time. You have no idea how loud they are!
• Shout-Out:
  • When Rachel and her friends greet each other by shrieking and waving their arms, Monica snarks “I swear I’ve seen birds do this on Wild Kingdom.”
  • Chandler looks at Ross’s bandaged face and says, “I loved you on Silence of the Lambs.”
• Slumber Party: The girls decide to turn Phoebe staying over into a full sleepover complete with board games, trashy magazines and a lot of alcohol. Rachel, who's having a hard time adjusting to her new life, eagerly accepts the booze.
• Smoking Hot Sex: It's implied that George Stephanopoulos ordered the pizza to share with the woman in his apartment after they had sex.
• Suddenly Shouting: As the girls observe the woman with George approaching the pizza box.
  Phoebe: HEY, THAT'S NOT FOR YOU, BITCH! [gasps over what she just said]
• Their First Time: Ross confesses that his first time with Carol was his first time ever, meaning he’s only had sex with one woman.
• Triage Tyrant: The nurse who ends up with a face full of hockey puck.
• Truth-Telling Session: The girls have one while watching for George Stephanopoulos.
• Wishing for More Wishes: The episode starts with the gang discussing what they'd do if they were omnipotent for a day and Chandler says he'd make himself omnipotent forever. Rachel lampshades how there's always someone who tries this.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Monica and Phoebe try to reassure Rachel, saying she's embarking on a new path to be her own person and saying that's commendable.

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