The One With George Stephanopoulos

"The One With Susan Bunch"
Season	1x04
Episode no.	4
Written by	Alexa Junge
Directed by	James Burrows
Guest stars	Mary Pat Gleason as Nurse Sizemore Benjamin Caya as Bratty Boy Michele Maika as Kiki Leesa Bryte as Leslie Sean Whalen as Pizza Guy Marianne Hagan as Joanne
Original airdate	October 13, 1994
Episode List
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"The One With George Stephanopoulos" is the fourth episode of the first season of Friends, which aired on October 13, 1994. Joey and Chandler take Ross to a hockey game to keep his mind off of the anniversary of his first time with Carol. Monica, Phoebe and Rachel receive George Stephanopoulos' pizza by mistake, and spy on him from Monica and Rachel's balcony.

Plot

All but Joey are at Central Perk, having a discussion about what they would do if they were omnipotent for a day. Phoebe decides on world peace, ending starvation, helping the rainforests and giving herself bigger boobs. Chandler decides that he would make himself omnipotent forever. Joey enters the coffeehouse, and the group asks him the question. But he misunderstands, thinking that omnipotent means impotent, and says he would kill himself. When Ross tries to explain the word to him, he misunderstands again and thinks he is being told that Ross is impotent.

In the next scene, Ross and Monica notice that Phoebe has fallen asleep on the couch in Central Perk. The siblings comment on how they cannot sleep in public places. Phoebe wakes up suddenly, and explains how she didn't get any sleep last night because her grandmother's boyfriend was staying over, and apparently both are a combination of deaf and insecure in bed, so they kept Phoebe up by loudly reassuring each other. Monica offers her a bed for the night, and Phoebe accepts.

Chandler and Joey then enter Central Perk, and greet Ross with hockey tickets. They pretend that the tickets are a birthday present, but when Ross remarks on how his birthday was seven months ago, he realizes that it is because they had three tickets and could not decide on which one got to bring a date.

The girls look at George on The Terrace

Ross then realizes that it is the anniversary of when he and Carol "consummated their physical relationship". He becomes instantly depressed and tells the guys that he won't attend the game; he'll spend the night thinking about his ex-wife and her lesbian lover, which captures Joey's interest. Ross is about to leave, but Chandler stops him and tries to convince Ross to come to the game. When he fails, Joey is able to talk Ross round with the guarantee that they will buy him a big foam finger.

Rachel appears, excited after receiving her first-ever pay cheque. However, her excitement is short-lived when she discovers that she has earned very little due to FICA tax. Her friends try to cheer her up, saying that they are good earnings for a first job and that she will easily be able to live off of them. There is a pause, and they try to subtly give her more money by tipping her generously.

Ross, Joey and Chandler then leave for their hockey game, and pass Rachel's former college sorority sisters and friends from Long Island, Leslie, Joanne and Kiki. The four women reunite by hugging each other, screaming, and jumping up and down. 

Rachel's old friends are shocked to see her working; Joanne comments on how her waitress' apron makes her look like she is in a play. Rachel becomes wistful as she notices how heavily pregnant Leslie is, how thin and glamorous Kiki is, and when Joanne reveals that her father has made her a partner in his firm. They all scream excitedly again, and Kiki shows off her huge engagement ring. Phoebe and Monica are slightly startled by this side to Rachel, and they mock her and the Long Island women by saying sarcastically, "Look, I have elbows!" and screaming. 

The next scene is the guys heading down the street. Chandler and Joey kick a can as if it were a hockey puck, pretending to be hockey players. Joey goes to pass it to Ross, but Ross is too distracted to notice. He keeps noticing things that remind him of his and Carol's first time, and it begins to grate on Joey and Chandler. 

Back at Central Perk, Rachel wants to hear all of the gossip from back home. Kiki tells her that everyone is still talking about how she left Barry at the altar. This makes Rachel feel uncomfortable, so Joanne changes the subject by asking her when she is coming back home. Rachel laughs and tries to clarify that she is staying in the city for good. Her friends clearly disapprove, convinced that she would rather be an effortlessly rich Long Island girl back home.

The next scene is Monica and Phoebe preparing for their slumber party in their pajamas. Rachel enters, and starts drinking "Tiki Death Punch" straight from the blender. The phone rings, and it is the people from Rachel's Visa card. Apparently, they have noticed some unusual activity on her account. The unusual activity turns out to be Rachel not using her card for weeks, and this sets Rachel off on a rant about FICA taking her money, her Long Island friends' success and happiness, and how her life is falling apart in general.

Ross in his nose cast

Ross about to get hit by a Hockey Puck

At the hockey game, Ross continues to reminisce. Joey and Chandler are tired of his whining, so Joey tells him to sit down, despite the fact that they will not be sitting together.

Back at the girls' apartment, Monica and Phoebe are trying to cheer up a depressed Rachel. Monica insists that she should feel good about being independent, and Phoebe starts to make comparisons between Rachel and Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk. None of their efforts work, and instead, Rachel manages to depress her friends too.

At the game, all three guys are having a great time, until Ross is hit in the face with the hockey puck. 

At the hospital, the guys try to get the rude receptionist's attention, but all she does is give them some forms to fill out and tell Ross that he will have to wait his turn. 

Meanwhile, Monica is eating a bowl of cookie dough sadly, and Phoebe is drinking the "Tiki Death Punch" with her hair covering her face. Rachel apologizes for bringing them down with her, and goes to get the pizza that they ordered. She then learns that the teenage delivery boy has brought them the wrong pizza; the one that he has brought was meant for G. Stephanopoulos. Hearing this, Monica leaps up from the couch and runs to the door. The girls begin to swoon over President Clinton's gorgeous press secretary. They take the pizza, and head to the window with binoculars, hoping to see George Stephanopoulos, who they now know lives nearby.

In the hospital waiting area, Ross is still waiting to be seen. A tense Chandler approaches the receptionist to inform her they have been waiting for over an hour. However, the receptionist shuts the glass panel on him, so Chandler talks into the glass instead.

The girls are still on the balcony, still spying on George and his date. They assume that they have gone to have sex, and then get onto the subject of what Joey, Chandler and Ross would be like in bed. Rachel and Phoebe reveal that they think Ross is sexy, which sickens Monica.

Still in the hospital waiting room, Ross reveals that he actually lost his virginity to Carol, so he has only ever been with one woman. Understandably, this comes as a shock to his friends.

On the balcony, the girls have gotten drunk, and start telling secrets. Monica announces that a vegetable pâté that she had once made for Phoebe was actually made from goose. Phoebe is disgusted and upset and triumphantly tells Monica that she doesn't feel bad about sleeping with somebody called Jason Hurley a couple of hours after he and Monica had broken up. This upsets Monica, but Rachel takes it further by revealing that the valentine that she received from somebody called Tommy Rollerson was actually from her. She tells Phoebe that Monica was "a big girl" when they were younger, so no one would have sent her a valentine. Monica retaliates by announcing that Rachel once peed her pants in seventh grade while she was laughing. Rachel and Monica start squabbling, but Phoebe stops them by spotting George through the binoculars. The girls will him to drop his towel, and they are very happy when he does.

Back at the hospital, Ross has finally gone to see a doctor, while Joey and Chandler discuss the fact that Ross has only ever been with one woman. Chandler starts off by saying that he thinks it is sweet and romantic, but he then admits that he thinks Ross is a freak.  

Ross returns to the waiting room with a piece of steel bandaged to his nose. The receptionist looks at him and laughs at how unattractive he looks. Ross wants the hockey puck as a souvenir, but a child in the waiting area has it. Ross goes and asks to have it back but the kid refuses. Ross tries to snatch it but it flies out of his grasp and knocks the receptionist out, which finally puts a smile on his face.

In the closing credits, Joey and the girls are playing Twister. The Visa people call Rachel again, so Chandler takes her place in the game so that she can speak to them. When asked about her not using her card in a while, Rachel tells them that she is fine, and saying it aloud finally makes her believe it.

Cast and Crew

Main Cast

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

Supporting Cast

Mary Pat Gleason - Nurse Sizemore
Benjamin Caya - Bratty Boy
Michele Maika - Kiki
Leesa Bryte - Leslie
Sean Whalen - Pizza Guy
Marianne Hagan - Joanne

Crew

Directed By:
James Burrows

Written By:
Alexa Junge

Trivia

General

• Monica's relationship with Jason Hearley is later referenced in "The One Where Eddie Won't Go" (S2E19).
• In the uncut DVD version of the episode the girls also discuss what Chandler, Joey and Ross (much to Monica's protest) are like in bed.
• Joey and Chandler want to take Ross for the game on 20 October, which is 2 days after his birthday, but he says his birthday was 7 months ago.

Goofs

• The Rangers did not host the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 20th for a hockey game at Madison Square Garden - the NHL was in the middle of a labor dispute that canceled many games at the start of the season including all of October's games.
• In one scene, Ross's foam finger is there. Later on its gone.
• Monica's balcony is depicted as bigger than it usually appears in later episodes
• On their way to the Ranger game at Madison Square Garden, the boys pass an M15 bus stop. The M15 runs down 2nd Avenue and up 1st Avenue, much farther east than Ross (who lives near 6th Avenue), Chandler, and Joey (who live near 7th) should be if they're going to the Garden (which is on 7th).

Episode Navigation

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24

Preceded by "The One With The Thumb"

The One With George Stephanopoulos

Followed by "The One With The East German Laundry Detergent"

1. "The Pilot"
2. "The One With The Sonogram At The End"
3. "The One With The Thumb"
4. "The One With George Stephanopoulos"
5. "The One With The East German Laundry Detergent"
6. "The One With The Butt"
7. "The One With The Blackout"
8. "The One Where Nana Dies Twice"
9. "The One Where Underdog Gets Away"
10. "The One With The Monkey"
11. "The One With Mrs. Bing"
12. "The One With The Dozen Lasagnas"
13. "The One With The Boobies"
14. "The One With The Candy Hearts"
15. "The One With The Stoned Guy"
16. "The One With Two Parts, Part 1"
17. "The One With Two Parts, Part 2"
18. "The One With All The Poker"
19. "The One Where The Monkey Gets Away"
20. "The One With The Evil Orthodontist"
21. "The One With The Fake Monica"
22. "The One With The Ick Factor"
23. "The One With The Birth"
24. "The One Where Rachel Finds Out"