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"The One Where Ross Meets Elizabeth's Dad" is the twenty-first episode of the sixth season of Friends, which aired on April 27, 2000.

Plot[]

Elizabeth's father, Paul, comes to Central Perk to see Ross and he instantly voices his disapproval of the two dating. Ross attempts to change his mind, but fails to do so. Eventually, the rest of the Friends come to the coffee house to talk Ross up, including Rachel, who comes in last. Paul comes back for his keys when Rachel is the only one in the coffeehouse and they both hit it off, to the point where they return to Joey's apartment and make out on the couch. Ross walks in on the two but Rachel convinces him that they should all go to dinner together since she can tell Paul good things about Ross so he can be in Paul's good graces.

Monica and Chandler are having problems of their own in their relationship, and Phoebe has been writing about them in a new book of hers, under the pseudonyms of "Marsha" and "Chester". Monica lets it slip that she has been sleeping with Joey on the side as she finds him charming, astounding Chandler. This Phoebe immediately notes down in her book, writing their dialogues word for word. To get back at her, Monica starts writing about "Phyllis" and every word that she speaks, making Phoebe realize "the bitter taste of her own medicine". When Monica and Chandler have an argument over what time they want to visit the movies, Phoebe claims to know what time they had said, and she gets Chandler to thank her for writing her book. As it stands, she knew that Monica and Chandler were going to miss their movie but did not tell them, angering them, which she immediately writes down.

Meanwhile at dinner, Paul tells Ross that even though Rachel said a lot of good things about him, the main reason he still gives him a hard time is because he still sees Elizabeth as a 12-year old girl. Ross tells him that he does too, but quickly corrects his mistake, telling Paul that he sort of understands because he too has a son, which is surprising to Paul, as he didn't know. Ross goes on to tell Paul that he was married before he became a father, adding that he's still on lovely terms with his ex-wife (Carol), but Rachel, who returns from the bathroom, hears the topic of Ross' marriage and believes Ross told Paul about how she and Ross were married. Rachel goes on to say it was a drunken mistake, again a surprise for Paul, which causes Rachel to apologize as she now thinks he was talking about Emily (his second ex-wife), with Paul now knowing that his daughter's older boyfriend had 3 failed marriages.

Joey starts his filming on Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E. but immediately voices his discontent on the robot figure after looking at it which upsets Wayne who built and operates it. He starts making things difficult for Joey, who decides to have Wayne fired in response since he's the star of the show. However it turns out what Wayne not only built the robot but is also the only person who can operate it, meaning he has the power to get Joey fired rather than vice-versa. Joey goes there to apologize to Wayne but ends up ripping off the robot's arm. Certain he will now be fired, Joey goes to the dressing room to pack some stuff, but not before seeing an attractive woman on set and hitting on her. Wayne sees this and proposes a deal to Joey - he will make sure Joey retains his job so long as Joey teaches him how to attract women. At the end, Wayne successfully starts to make out with the attractive woman during filming, causing the robot to go out of control, astonishing Joey.

Cast and Crew[]

Main Cast[]

Jennifer Aniston - Rachel Greene
Courteney Cox - Monica Geller
Lisa Kudrow - Phoebe Buffay
Matt LeBlanc - Joey Tribbiani
Matthew Perry - Chandler Bing
David Schwimmer - Ross Geller

Supporting Cast[]

Bruce Willis - Paul Stevens
Alexandra Holden - Elizabeth Stevens
June Gable - Estelle Leonard
Andrew Bilgore - Wayne
Brad Koepenick - The Producer
James Michael Tyler - Gunther (uncredited)
Chad Wingerd - Patron (uncredited)

Crew[]

Directed By:
Michael Lembeck

Written By:
David J. Lagana & Scott Silveri

Trivia[]

  • Bruce Willis starred in this episode for no fee, due to the fact that he lost a bet with Matthew Perry.
  • This is the first time that Phoebe was somewhat subtly disguised under the alias of "Phyllis". The second time this happened was when Ross told Chandler that Monica was in her room crying with her friend "Phyllis" in "The One Where Chandler Doesn't Like Dogs".
  • Huggsy, Joey's bedtime penguin pal, is on the back cover of the horoscope Rachel reads to Chandler and Monica.
  • The horoscopes that Rachel reads foreshadows events evident in the next few episodes:
    • The special gift refers to the wedding ring Chandler buys in "The One With The Ring" (S6E23).
    • Lovers' Spat refers to when Monica and Chandler fall out because Chandler pretends he doesn't want to get married to keep his proposal a surprise. But they gets reunited later in "The One With The Proposal, Part 2" (S6E25).
    • "A secret crush announces itself" refers to when Richard says he loves Monica at the end of "The One With The Proposal, Part 1" (S6E24).
  • The first scene after the intro shows two women holding babies walking past Central Perk, this is old footage. It was used before in an earlier episode.
  • This is the first time Ross walks into Joey's apartment and finds Rachel unexpectedly kissing someone. The next time is when Ross walks in on Joey and Rachel kissing in "The One Where Ross Is Fine".
  • This episode marks the start of Rachel's brief relationship with Paul Stevens. She dumps him in "The One With The Ring" after he can't stop crying despite them just having had sex. Elizabeth and Ross break up two episodes later in "The One With The Proposal, Part 2".

Goofs[]

  • Ross says that Ben is 6 years old, but he turns 5 in Season 6, having been born at the end of Season 1.
  • Elizabeth's dad tells Ross when Elizabeth introduces him that he prefers to be called Mr. Stevens but doesn't correct him when Ross gives him his coffee and calls him Paul.
  • During the double date when Paul begins apologizing to Ross, the camera switches to focus on Ross and Elizabeth. At this time Paul says "But I have to admit," and it can clearly be seen that his mouth is not moving during the line.
  • When Rachel is reading Chandler's horoscope, his arms change position every time the camera angle changes.
  • The toilet paper pack is flipped when Chandler puts it on the table without anyone touching it.
  • When Rachel gets up from the couch to help Paul find his keys, she puts the magazine on the table but in the next shot it's on the couch.
  • The DVD version lacks the 'Story' credit.

External links[]

Episode Navigation[]

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Preceded by
"The One With Mac And C.H.E.E.S.E."
Series Six Episodes Followed by
"The One Where Paul's The Man"
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