Friends

Season 3

The One with the Princess Leia Fantasy

1. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) creator George Lucas sent the production team a letter, congratulating them on Ross's Princess Leia fantasy, which opened series 3 and is mentioned in the title.
2. This is the only season premiere that doesn't pick up immediately after the events of the previous episode.
3. When Chandler talks to Ross about imagining his mother when having sex, he mentions he pictures Elle Macpherson. In Season 6, Macpherson briefly joined Friends, as Joey's roommate, Janine Lecroix.
4. Monica smokes a cigar towards the end of episode. Cox was a smoker at that time, and quit three years later.
5. In the coffee shop Ross and Chandler talk about the cute girl at the Xerox shop - this would be the one Ross would later hook up with when he and Rachel are on their "break".
6. Both Jack and Judy Geller appear in this episode. However, they do not share scenes with each other
7. Star Wars purists will note that Rachel's hair is not accurate when she dons the "Princess Leia Bikini." The iconic "hair buns" were only worn in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) (aka Episode IV - A New Hope) while Leia only wears the gold bikini in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) ; In Episode VI, Leia's hair was in a long braid at the time. (Though Rachel does ask Ross if she got the hair wrong.)

The One Where No One's Ready

1. This is a "bottle episode", an episode with limited cast and sets produced due to limited budget. The majority of the episode takes place in the girls' apartment, (save for a quick scene during the end credits) with only the main cast appearing for most of it (except for the scene during the credits and some voices heard on the phone and answering machine).
2. Other than the main cast, there are only three speaking roles in this episode: Peter Dennis, who appears as Dr. Sherman Whitfield in the credits scene, and Tom Selleck and an uncredited actress who voice Richard and Michelle Burke on Monica's answering machine.
3. This is the only episode of the series that takes place in real time.
4. In Monica's second message to Richard, she says that maybe she's getting her period. This is a nod to Courtney Cox's commercial work before Friends, when she was the first person to say "period" on national TV while appearing in a Tampax commercial.
5. This is the 50th episode of the series.
6. Matt LeBlanc admitted to Jimmy Kimmel in August 2017 that in the scene where Joey and Chandler both run for the chair at the same time, Matt separated his shoulder in the impact. That is why they wrote in the show of Joey hurting himself from jumping on the bed because Matt had to wear a sling.
7. At the end, Ross is telling a story and mentions Magnum, P.I. Tom Selleck, who played Magnum, leaves a message for Monica (as Richard) on her answering machine.

The One with the Jam

1. Joey's (Matt LeBlanc) arm is in a protective sling. In real life, LeBlanc had dislocated his shoulder on set attempting a sight gag. At the beginning of this episode, Chandler overhears Joey bouncing on his bed and falling off. This was written into the story line to explain why the character would be wearing a sling.
2. After Matt LeBlanc injured his shoulder taping the previous episode "The One Where No One's Ready" he was rushed backstage to receive some medical attention, and was surprised to see Anthony Edwards of ER (1994) -- which was filmed at a nearby soundstage -- dressed in character as Dr. Mark Greene. Though LeBlanc knew Edwards wasn't a real doctor, he was concerned about whether or not he also suffered a head injury as well.
3. David Arquette who plays Malcolm, the man following Phoebe, starred in the Scream franchise with and later married actress Courtney Cox, who plays Monica.

The One with the Metaphorical Tunnel

1. The doll Ben has is the 1995 Winter Sports Barbie.
2. At the end of the episode, Monica reminds Ross of a song that he made up and used to sing when he was a kid ("I am Bea, I drink tea. Won't you dance around with me?") It has the same tune as the "Barney Song." It's the tune of the old rhyme "Knick-Knack Paddywhack".

The One with Frank Jr.

1. The movie Frank Jr is watching in Phoebe's apartment is the Sci-fi classic The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953).
2. Winona Ryder is one of the five names on Ross' list; Ryder went on to play Melissa Warburton in 'The One with Rachel's Big Kiss'.
3. Chandler chose "Jessica Rabbit" for his list, who was voiced by Kathleen Turner - She played his 'Dad' in later seasons.
4. Ross adds Susan Sarandon to his "list." She'd appear 5 years later acting opposite Joey on his soap opera.
5. In Friends: The One with Frank Jr. (1996), when Chandler makes out his "celebrity list", the fifth and final spot on his list was Jessica Rabbit. Jessica Rabbit was the fictional love interest in the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) and was voiced by Kathleen Turner, who later played Chandler's drag queen father Charles in the series.

The One with the Flashback

1. Marissa Ribisi portrays Rachel's friend Betsy in this episode. She is the twin sister of actor Giovanni Ribisi who portrays Frank, Jr (Phoebe's half brother).
2. This episode was partly the idea of the cast to see how audience responded to certain couplings, the main one of these being Rachel and Chandler. The audience didn't like seeing these two together, so they never were.
3. There's a scene where Joey thinks that Monica is attracted to him. This is a partial nod to what the show's creators had planned before all of the casting of the roles had been completed. They had originally planned on Joey and Monica being the first couple to emerge from the group; but when Jennifer Anniston was cast to play Rachel the idea was changed to Ross and Rachel being the first couple..
4. When watching the entire series in strict story chronology, this episode is the one that can be watched before the pilot episode, also known as "The One Where It All Began", Friends: The One Where Monica Gets a Roommate (1994), and "The First One").
5. While Pheobe and Ross are making out on the pool table, Ross says ow and pulls an 8 ball and a blue ball from near his waist. A few seconds after Pheobe begins laughing, you can hear her say softly "I can't" through her laughter.
6. Thanks to Mr. Heckles, Joey ended up living with Chandler.
7. Its revealed that Monica's place was actually owned by her and Ross's, 87 year old grandmother. An apartment that Monica got to live in when their grandmother moved to Florida.

The One with the Race Car Bed

1. This is the first episode where we hear about Gunther's love for Rachel.
2. In this episode we can see Phoebe is left handed when she signs for Monica's bed, but throughout the series she plays her guitar right handed.
3. Spoilers for season 6*** When Joey tells his friends that he got a job teaching soap opera acting, Ross tells Joey that he can't sleep with his students. When Ross gets a job as a professor in season 6, forgetting his own advice, he starts dating and sleeping with Elizabeth, a student in one of his classes.

The One with the Giant Poking Device

1. This episode marks the first time Ugly Naked Guy appears onscreen, albeit only his torso with his face obscured. He would make only one other onscreen appearance, in Friends: The One Where Everybody Finds Out (1999), from behind without his face being shown.
2. Phoebe refers to her cowboy friend Albino Bob. This is a reference to Stacy Keach's character Bad Bob the Albino in The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972).
3. In one of the scene, where Chandler pops up the paper bag Janice was using, the air in bag was supposed to go out slowly. But during the take, Matthew Perry used a little force and the bag popped on Maggie's face and we can clearly see both Maggie and Matthew trying to hold their laughter.
4. Monica throws Ben in the air and he bangs his head. He then continues to say, "Monica bang". But it also sounds like, "Monica Bing". Which becomes true in later seasons.

The One with the Football

1. In this episode, Phoebe wears a "That Girl" t-shirt. The star of "That Girl" is Marlo Thomas, who plays Rachel's mom.
2. The two children on the swings in this episode are Marta Kauffman's children.
3. Suzanna Voltaire (credited as Susanna Voltaire) is the actress who plays "Margha". Beside all the confusions and arguments among the fans about her 'Dutch Accent', it was never cleared whether she was actually "Dutch" or from the Netherlands or not, due to the fact that the casting directors nor the members of the crew was aware of the fact that the actress was really from the United States, and does not have an accent. She added the fake accent to audition for the part of 'Margha'. Later when they found out she was American, the entire crew was shocked.
4. The uncut DVD version of the episode has a different ending. Monica and Ross decide toss the Geller Cup down the garbage chute. Phoebe is at the bottom, catching it for Monica, but as she's about to leave, Ross walks in to claim it for himself. Also, in the uncut DVD version, when Phoebe asks Margha to set the timer, she calls Phoebe 'Beefy', and when Monica trades Joey for Rachel, she says "That's great, there goes my last shred of self esteem."
5. The girl over whom Joey and Chandler are fighting says she is Dutch. Neither her name nor her accent are Dutch.
6. When Monica says they should pick captains, Chandler says "and then Tennilles." The Captain and Tennille were a seventies pop duo who sang "Love Will Keep Us Together" and many other hits.
7. The "Thankgiving Day NFL game" they're watching at the beginning of the episode is actually the Minnesota Vikings @ NY Giants game from September 29, 1996. While there's a touchdown score called for the Giants right before halftime on the episode, the only touchdown for the Giants that day was a 3rd qtr 1-yard rush.
8. Monica says she broke Ross's nose during Geller Bowl 6. When she shows Ross the Geller cup it shows 78 Ross, 79 Monica, 80 Ross, 81 Monica (no sticker here but there is an imprint), 82 Monica, 83 Ross. Since no winner was determined after Ross's nose was broken & also the last game then that would have been Geller Bowl 7, not 6.
9. The "Geller Cup" consists of the Danish toy of rubber, the Gjøl Troll, placed on a block of wood. The Gjøl Troll will be featured in the animation movie Trolls (2016).
10. Joey's maroon #22 jersey is for 1984 Heisman trophy winner Doug Flutie from Boston College. Both BC and Matt LeBlanc share a hometown of Newton, MA.
11. The scoring is incorrect. In touch football, a touchdown is worth 1 point. If they were choosing to do regular scoring, a touchdown is worth 6 points, not 7.

The One Where Rachel Quits

1. In the beginning of the episode Ross is telling Chandler how to play tennis. In reality, Matthew Perry was a top-ranked junior tennis player.
2. Chandler tells Joey to, "Run Joey, Run!". Referencing the song Run Joey, Run by David Geddes.
3. Unofficially, this is also known as "The One with the Christmas Trees" and/or "The One with the Cookies".

The One Where Chandler Can't Remember Which Sister

1. When Phoebe is upstairs talking to the loud man, the voice of the loud man is actually Joey's
2. Three of Joey's sisters had been later recast, in the eighth season the part of Dina is played by Marla Sokoloff, and in the spin-off Joey (2004), the parts of Gina and Mary Therese are played by Drea de Matteo and Christina Ricci, respectively.
3. This is the first episode that has Chandler's name in the title
4. When Rachel tells mark (a guy eating hamburger) that you go back to your hamburger. Monica says 'actually it's a Barbra Streisandwich... I named it'. Barbra streisand was actually the wife of Eliott Gould who plays Monica and Ross's father Jack Geller in Friends.
5. Joey's seven sisters arrive during the party.

The One with All the Jealousy

1. Carlos Gómez, who plays Julio in this episode, was in the film Fools Rush In (1997) with Matthew Perry from the same year.
2. Joey auditions for a role in a Broadway adaptation of "A Tale of Two Cities". An actual adaptation was produced on Broadway in 2008.
3. Carlos Gomez, who plays Julio in this episode, later starred as Sam (the director) in the spin-off series Joey.
4. Joey tries out for a musical adaptation of the Charles Dickens story "A Tale of Two Cities". His audition song is "You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two" from the musical "Oliver!". "Oliver!" is based on "Oliver Twist", another Charles Dickens story.

The One Where Monica and Richard Are Just Friends

1. The tye-dye shirt Pheobe wears in this episode is a Grateful Dead Lithuanian basketball shirt. In 1992, the Lithuanian basketball team did not have enough funds to go to the 1992 Olympics. The Grateful Dead heard about this and took it upon themselves to raise the money to get them to the Olympics. In thanks, the Lithuanian basketball team sported tye-dye jerseys. They went on to win the Bronze.
2. One of the video boxes seen in the video store is Beauty and the Beast (1991), in which the Beast is voiced by Robby Benson, who also directed this episode.
3. While the books Rachel and Joey are reading are a part of the storyline, Ross is seen reading a book in Central Perk. Rachel and Joey agree to read each other's favorite books. Rachel reads "The Shining" by Stephen King and Joey reads "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott. The book Ross is reading is "Race: How Blacks & Whites Think & Feel About the American Obsession" by Studs Terkel.
4. Rachel and Joey read Little Women. Little Women (1994) starred Susan Sarandon and Winona Ryder, each of whom later guest starred on Friends (1994). Ryder played Rachel's sorority sister Melissa Warburton in Friends: The One with Rachel's Big Kiss (2001). Sarandon played a soap star Jessica Lockhart replaced by Joey in Friends: The One with Joey's New Brain (2001).
5. When Joey is talking to Ross and Chandler in the coffee shop about The Shining he references the twins in the hallway, however they do not appear in the book.
6. In the opening scene in the video store, when Monica is talking to the clerk behind the counter, a movie poster for the 1977 film "One on One" starring Robby Benson can be seen hanging on the wall behind the counter. Benson directed this particular episode, along with several others during the show's run.
7. Unofficially, alternatively known as "The One with the Book Spoilers" and or "The One with Phoebe's Boyfriend's Shorts".
8. During the opening scene, Monica gives the video store clerk $3 and Richard comes into view for the first time. To the left, you can see the original box of Disney's Beauty and the Beast (1991) under the "Classics" section. This is a chronological error as the film was only six years old at the time of this episode and wasn't named as a Disney classic until well into the 2000s.

The One with Phoebe's Ex-Partner

1. The woman featured in the Smelly Cat television advertisement is Mayim Bialik.
2. The actress who played Leslie, Elizabeth Daily, is the voice of Tommy Pickles in the hit 90s cartoon series Rugrats (1990).
3. This is the only time the bathroom in Central Perk is seen.

The One Where Ross and Rachel Take a Break

1. When Ross takes the picnic to Rachel's office and sets fire to her desk she says to the person she is on the phone to 'I have Shemp in my office'. She is referring to Shemp Howard, best known for his role as the 3rd Stooge in The Three Stooges.
2. As the song, "With or Without You" by U2 plays at the bar, Ross tells Chloe he likes the song. It is the same song he dedicated to Rachel on the radio in "The One With The List" (#2.8).
3. Angela Featherstone, who plays Chloe, is in The Wedding Singer. She plays Linda who leaves Robbie at the altar. Christina Pickles, who plays Ross and Monica's mom, is also in The Wedding Singer.
4. This episode is exactly a season after Rachel and Ross' trip to the planetarium(their second date), signifying that their relationship literally lasted an "exact year".

The One the Morning After

1. This is the first time the classic "We were on a break" line is spoken. It is, however, Rachel, who first uses it - Ross doesn't say it until the following episode.
2. The background song played when Rachel and Ross broke up at Monica's apartment was the same song played when they were first together in Central Perk in Season 2.
3. Both Jennifer Aniston (Rachel) and Angela Featherstone (Chloe) would go on work with Adam Sandler in seperate movies: Aniston in Just Go With It (2011) and Featherstone in The Wedding Singer (1998). Christina Pickles who plays Ross and Monica's mother also appeared in The Wedding Singer (1998).
4. Despite the classic "We were on a break" line being used by Ross at various times throughout the remainder of the shows run, much to Rachel's chagrin. It was in fact Rachel who said it first in this episode, Ross didn't say it for the first time until the following episode.
5. In the last episode Pheobe and Monica had a fight over dinner with the translator and diplomatic, but in this episode they get along just find which is weird because it happened the night before.
6. When Rachel leaves a voice mail, Ross looks at his wrist to check the time. This is the first time Ross shows his wrist when wearing long sleeve top.
7. There is an ongoing debate as to whether or not Ross and Rachel were "on a break." However, when Rachel shows up at Ross' apartment she clearly asks, "Can I be your girlfriend again?" clearly implying that they were, in fact, NOT together at the time of Ross' night with the Copy Girl. This episode contains Rachel's own admittance that they were not a couple.
8. The end scene in which Rachel officially breaks up with Ross was so emotional that both Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer cried after it was shot.

The One Without the Ski Trip

1. In a previous episode, Phoebe offers Chandler $7,000 if he never smokes again. Since Chandler obviously smokes in this episode, he should have to give her the money back.
2. The first time when Ross said the classic phrase "We were on a break".
3. Chandler commented about having the "Crying Indian" coming to save them if he litters. That is a tip-of-the-hat to the "Keep America Beautiful" commercial that was marketed to reduce littering.

The One with the Hypnosis Tape

1. The Magna-Doodle board hanging beside the door of Joey's apartment was introduced in this episode.
2. Writer (creator), executive producer Marta Kauffman is the voice on the hypnosis tape that Rachel gives to Chandler to help him quit smoking.
3. First appearances of the characters of Alice Knight (played by Debra Jo Rupp) and Pete Becker (played by Jon Favreau).
4. In the time when Chandler was hypnotized, his face became more well-maintained than usual.
5. The first time Gunther smokes.

The One with the Tiny T-Shirt

1. The tiny t-shirt is a reference to the song "Relax" by the band Frankie Goes to Hollywood.
2. The MacWorld magazine that Chandler was reading announced the purchase of NeXT by Apple and the return of Steve Jobs to Apple in an interim capacity.
3. Matt Le Blanc and guest star Dina Meyer both had the same agent.
4. Pete is talking about voice recognition near the beginning, he is played by Jon Favreau, who later stars in Iron Man, which utilizes an A.I., J.A.R.V.I.S.
5. In this episode, Mark admits that he's had a crush on Rachel for some time. After briefly turning him down she goes out on a date with him which shows she also had an attraction to him as well. It shows that maybe some of Ross's jealousy and insecurity may have been justified.

The One with the Dollhouse

1. The giant ceramic dog that Phoebe brings to use in Monica's dollhouse had decorated the shelf by the kitchen counter in Joey and Chandler's apartment during seasons 1 and 2.
2. First appearance of Rachel's boss, Joanna.
3. When Phoebe sees the Foster Puppets didn't survive the dollhouse fire, Courtney Cox starts laughing and then hides her face in her hands.
4. Jennifer Aniston's middle name is Joanna. Which is Rachel's boss's name.

The One with the Chick and the Duck

1. The scene where Joey hugs the little chicken and Chandler remarks, "Easy Lenny", is a reference to the character 'Lenny' from the John Steinbeck classic novel, 'Of Mice and Men', who held small animals too tightly and killed them accidentally.
2. At the beginning of the episode Gunther brings Rachel a cocoa outside of Central Perk, even though it's against the rules. In "The One With Frank Jr." Gunther sends Rachel outside to get the cup Phoebe had outside, but of course he would break the rules for Rachel.
3. Monica realizes she's attracted to Pete at the end of this episode, but the question of whether she takes the head chef job at his restaurant is not fully resolved. (She said yes, then no, then there's the big kiss.) There is no mention of her work status again until the next season when Monica is catering a party for her mother (The One with the 'Cuffs).
4. In Friends: The One with the Chick and the Duck (1997), (at around 17 mins) Little Yasmine (the baby chick) poops on the Lazy Boy while Joey is speaking to Chandler about why he did not get rid of the chick.
5. The chick is a male as seen in later episodes when it grows into a rooster and the duck is female as indicated by her all white, bland appearance. Joey and Chandler often call the chick female and the duck male.

The One with the Screamer

1. The theater patron, who suffers verbal abuse by Rachel's date, Tommy, was played by actor/director Peter Bonerz, who directed this installment. Peter Bonerz was a cast member of The Bob Newhart Show.
2. David Schwimmer and Ben Stiller co-starred together in the Madagascar animated movies.
3. Jennifer Aniston and Ben Stiller starred in Along Came Polly together.
4. When the director says to Joey and Kate "a plague on both your houses!" This is obviously a reference to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet where the line originates.
5. David Schwimmer replaced Ben Stiller for the production of The Producers in Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004).
6. In the episode 'The One with the Inappropriate Song', the man that plays Mike's parent's friend can be seen in the background once the play is over and Joey introduces Kate to everyone.
7. At the end, when Joey's stage character says that he'll be back in 200 years to meet her great-great-great-granddaughter may have sounded like some kind of joke, but it wasn't. According to Einstein's Theory of Relativity, a spaceship traveling at near the speed of light could go on a trip of 200 years (to those on Earth), but to the space traveler only about 4 years would have passed for him.

The One with Ross's Thing

1. The poster on the Guru's door is the same acupuncture poster that Phoebe has in her massage parlor in other episodes.
2. Both of Phoebe's boyfriends in the episode would go on to be recurring characters in Queer as Folk.
3. When Phoebe goes to break up with Vince at the firehouse, the fireman she first talks to is the same guy that appears in the porno "Buffay, the Vampire Layer" with Phoebe's sister, Ursula.

The One with the Ultimate Fighting Champion

1. Due to the unplanned appearance of Billy Crystal and Robin Williams, their conversation in the coffee shop is completely improvised including Joey's interruption.
2. Billy Crystal and Robin Williams's appearance wasn't in the original script. They were, by coincidence, in the same building, or the one across the street from where "Friends" was being filmed, and the writers asked if they wanted to make a guest appearance. This was the day of shooting so it was just quickly thrown in.
3. Robin Williams and Billy Crystal's cameo in the opening scene coincided with the release of their film, Fathers' Day (1997), which opened the day after this episode aired.
4. Rachel walks into the coffee house and says she may have bought a pretzel from one of the kids from "Fame." Laura Dean, who plays her coworker Sophie, was actually one of the kids who starred in "Fame."
5. A previous episode of season 3 featured Ben Stiller. This episode features Christine Taylor who is married to Stiller.
6. Pete's first fight in the UFC ring is the only scene shot with a handheld camera in the entire series.
7. Ross gets reservations to a busy restaurant by saying the reservations are for Winona Rider. Winona Rider later guest stars in Season 7 in The One With Rachel's Big Kiss as Rachel's sorority sister who is in love with her.
8. Before the first UFC fight the skyline that is shown in the transition is Minneapolis, MN with the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome prominently featured.
9. When talking about Chandler's butt in this episode they use four different terms: butt, bottom, posterior, and buttocks. His boss, Doug, also says the phrase "kiss my ass", making it a total of five different ways they said the word.
10. Monica's billionaire boyfriend, Pete (Jon Favreau), wants to be an Ultimate Fighting Champion. Jon Favreau plays the world heavyweight champion in the biopic Rocky Marciano as the titular character.
11. Last appearance of Jon Favreau as Pete Becker.

The One at the Beach

1. In all of Bonnie's scenes in which she has her head shaved, she is always shown wearing a towel around her neck. The towel hides her real hair, which otherwise would be visible coming out of the back of the latex bald cap she's wearing.
2. This is the second time that the idea of Chandler as Monica's boyfriend is toyed with. The first one was in the episode with Ben's birth.
3. Lisa Kudrow and Christine Taylor share the same birthday, but not the same year.
4. The only season of friends where there are no episodes with two parts
5. At the end of the episode, when Chandler knocks on the front door the second time and Monica opens, he is on his knees and says his name is "Dorf". This is a reference to Dorf, a character by comedian Tim Conway.
6. Chandler makes a joke that he can't have kids while talking about Rachel's big hat. Much later in the series, we find out that neither he nor Monica can have children. Not because of Alien Abduction, though.
7. In the first scene that shows Phoebe Abbott, the subtle mannerism clues are there in plain sight for exactly who she is in relation to Phoebe.