"The One With Joey's New Brain" is the fifteenth episode of the seventh season of Friends, which aired on NBC on February 15, 2001.
Plot
Joey's character on Day of Our Lives will finally come out of the coma after they transplant a woman's brain. When Joey consults the woman (Susan Sarandon) about how to best play her character once he is supposed to "become" her, she did not know she was being killed off and flips out. She then agrees to help him because she owes it to her character, leading the two to eventually hook up. Ross says that he has a surprise for Monica and Chandler's wedding, and when they hear someone playing the bagpipes extremely badly across the street they realize that Ross intends to play them at the wedding. Chandler and Monica convince Ross that he cannot do this, but he insists on performing the song "Celebration" to convince them. Rachel and Phoebe notice a cute guy has left his cell phone at the coffee house, and compete over who will get to return it to him. When the owner of the phone shows up, it turns out the cute guy was an older man's assistant and the 60-something year-old is the real owner of the phone. Rachel thinks it's funny but Phoebe still wants to go out with him, so Rachel pretends she is doing Phoebe a huge favor by letting her have him.
Cast and Crew
Main Cast
Jennifer Aniston - Rachel Green
Courteney Cox Arquette - Monica Geller
Lisa Kudrow - Phoebe Buffay
Matt LeBlanc - Joey Tribbiani
Matthew Perry - Chandler Bing
David Schwimmer - Ross Geller
Supporting Cast
Susan Sarandon - Cecilia Monroe
Eva Amurri - Dina
Jack Betts - Tom
George Stults - Fredrick
Jeffrey Asch - Writer
James Michael Tyler - Gunther
Crew
Directed By:
Kevin S. Bright
Written By:
Sherry Bilsing, Ellen Plummer, Andrew Reich & Ted Cohen
Trivia
- In the DVD Version of the episode Rachel didn't say to Jessica You seem really, really nice, followed by Joey saying Ok, Bye-bye and Rachel finishing and you aren't fake at all, like some famous people. Instead, after Monica was trying to get slapped by Jessica, Joey takes the girls out of the apartment, while Rachel screams You're So Beautiful! and Monica says It was so nice meeting you.
- This was one of the episodes that was longer than usual as a promotional stunt for the network in order to compete against Survivor.
- Matt LeBlanc was nervous at performing with Susan Sarandon. Similarly, Kevin Bright was cautious about directing, as Tim Robbins attended the studio recording.
- If you look closely right when Rachel enters her apartment where Joey is talking to Susan Sarandon's character the door clearly closes, but in the next shot the door is semi-open.
- During Ross' performance with the bagpipe near the end of the episode it's clear that Jennifer Aniston cannot contain her laughter over the bagpipe and Lisa Kudrow's imitation of it. However, it isn't entirely unreasonable that Rachel would find this amusing and laugh as well, and she looks straight at the camera while laughing.
- Eva Amurri, who portrays Jessica's daughter in the Friends version of Days of our Lives is the real life daughter of Susan Sarandon, who plays the actress that portrays Jessica.
- There is no final scene in this episode, footage of the fountain dancing is played over the theme music instead.
- When Joey is talking to Cecilia Monroe, as the shot changes she is holding a glass, then a cigarette then a glass again, with no time to change objects, let alone anywhere to put the other.
- Phoebe's address is given as 5 Morton Street, apartment 14. However, this puts her on Morton Street between 7th Avenue South and Bleeker Street, which is about five blocks from the apartment on Grove and Bedford. In previous episodes, Rachel has said that Phoebe doesn't live close to them, and in "The One on the Last Night", Monica said that Phoebe's apartment is twenty blocks away.
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| Preceded by "The One Where They All Turn Thirty" |
Season Seven Episodes | Followed by "The One With The Truth About London" |
| << Season 6 | Season 7 | Season 8 >> | |||||||
| #01 | "The One With Monica's Thunder" | #09 | "The One With All The Candy" | #17 | "The One With The Cheap Wedding Dress" | ||||
| #02 | "The One With Rachel's Book" | #10 | "The One With The Holiday Armadillo" | #18 | "The One With Joey's Award" | ||||
| #03 | "The One With Phoebe's Cookies" | #11 | "The One With All The Cheesecakes" | #19 | "The One With Ross And Monica's Cousin" | ||||
| #04 | "The One With Rachel's Assistant" | #12 | "The One Where They're Up All Night" | #20 | "The One With Rachel's Big Kiss" | ||||
| #05 | "The One With The Engagement Picture" | #13 | "The One Where Rosita Dies" | #21 | "The One With The Vows" | ||||
| #06 | "The One With The Nap Partners" | #14 | "The One Where They All Turn Thirty" | #22 | "The One With Chandler's Dad" | ||||
| #07 | "The One With Ross' Library Book" | #15 | "The One With Joey's New Brain" | #23 | "The One With Monica And Chandler's Wedding, Part 1" | ||||
| #08 | "The One Where Chandler Doesn't Like Dogs" | #16 | "The One With The Truth About London" | #24 | "The One With Monica And Chandler's Wedding, Part 2" | ||||