Episode 1 - TOW The Jellyfish
29 March 2012
Synopsis: Phoebe gets to know her birth mother. Rachel writes Ross a letter which leads to him agreeing to accept the blame for their break up when he really doesn’t. Monica gets stung by a jellyfish and someone needs to pee on her to take away the pain.
The Good: The Phoebe story is ok but pretty basic. Ross and Rachel play their roles very well but it is a silly storyline. Similarly the Joey, Monica and Chandler story is funny but it has flaws. The best thing about this is the foreshadowing of Chandler and Monica becoming a couple by the end of the series.
The Bad: There are too many jokes and wet performances in the Phoebe story for it to have any emotional impact. The jellyfish story is a parody by the writers (of something much more serious happening) and it is done well. However the characters act so over the top that there isn’t much believable about their performance. That would be ok if it was an isolated example but it isn’t. Finally the Ross and Rachel story is based on a stupid idea. Ross wakes up and pretends he has read the letter. Why? Why not just admit he fell asleep and go and read it. It means all their subsequent arguments look stupid attempts to tell jokes rather than real characters breaking up.
Best Line: (C) “Joey kept screaming at me – do it now, do it, do it, do it now! Sometimes late at night I can still hear the screaming.”
(J laughs) “That’s coz sometimes I just do it through my wall to freak you out.”
Best Friend: Ross
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