"The One With Mrs. Bing" is the eleventh episode of the first season of Friends, which aired on January 5, 1995.
Plot
Phoebe instigates Monica to whistle to a hot hunk they see walking on the street, which causes him to be hit by an ambulance and fall into a coma. The two try to make it up to him by taking extreme care of him, often ending up fantasizing about him as the most charming of guys. The game of 'who cares of the coma guy the most' reaches obsessive levels, with the two girls unable to spend a minute away from him, until the guy convalesces from the coma. The girls explain how they've been taking care of him, but his less-than-grateful attitude turns them into ice and they ditch him.
Chandler's mother, Nora Tyler Bing, is the guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, which Chandler is uncomfortable watching due to his mother's more-than-embarrassing remarks. He does, however, learn that she's dropping by to visit him. Meanwhile, Rachel's Paolo arrives from abroad too, much to Ross' displeasure. At the Mexican restaurant, where the guys have dinner with Nora, Rachel turns up late as she takes advantage of Paolo being around, which doesn't help Ross lift his mood, so he turns to tequila shots. He talks of the Italian problem with Nora, who seems understanding enough, but her animal magnetism and the dozen shots in his head bring Ross and Nora close enough for their lips to touch. Unluckily for Ross, Joey witnesses the kiss.
Ross tries to explain everything to Joey, who is mad at Ross for "breaking the code (of never kissing a friend's mom)" and also for not thinking that his mom is as hot as Nora. Eventually, Ross tries to lie to Chandler that Paolo kissed his mum, but he can't pull the lie off and ends up confessing everything. Unsurprisingly, Chandler gets mad at Ross and remains mad at him for some time, until he gets the courage to face his mother, after which he makes his peace with Ross' incident.
Rachel, a big admirer of Nora's works, tries to imitate her idol by writing her own book, but, as it turns out, she's not very good at mixing human genitalia with euphemisms, and the guys pretty much make fun of her draft work.
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
Morgan Fairchild - Nora Tyler Bing
Cosimo Fusco - Paolo
David Sederholm - Coma Guy
Jay Leno - Himself
James Michael Tyler - Gunther (uncredited)
Crew
Directed By:
James Burrows
Written By:
Alexa Junge
Trivia
General
- This is the first appearance of Nora Tyler Bing in the series.
- At the beginning of the episode, as Monica and Phoebe are walking down the street, Joey's "VD" poster from "The One Where Underdog Gets Away" (S1E9) can be seen in the background.
- Rachel's middle name Karen is revealed in this episode.
- The song that plays when Monica and Phoebe are visiting the man in the coma is "My Guy" by Mary Wells.
- Joey explains the "never kiss a friend's mom" code to Ross by saying that kissing sisters is OK. However, Joey gets mad at Chandler for fooling around with his sister in "The One Where Chandler Can't Remember Which Sister" (S3E11), and also kisses Rachel's mother in "The One With Two Parties" (S2E22).
- This is the first time Ross is seen drunk in the series.
- As Joey reveals to Ross from pictures, his mother was pregnant when she got married.
- Rachel reveals her passion for erotic literature, which is later referenced in "The One With Rachel's Book" (S7E2).
Goofs
- In regards to his mother, Joey asks Ross "you think it's easy giving birth to seven kids?". However, it is stated numerous times that Joey has seven sisters, meaning that Joey's mother would have given birth to eight children, including Joey. It is possible however, that due to Joey's low intelligence, he made a mistake.
- When the gang are eating at the restaurant and Nora is telling Rachel how to write a book, the amount of food on Rachel's plate changes between shots without her touching it.
Memorable Quotes
- Monica: "Behind you there's a guy who can break our hearts and plunge us into a pit of depression."
- Monica: " I wish at least we know his name." Pheobe: "I know, I hate that they are calling him John Doe. It's so sad. It's like he's a deer, a female deer."
- Chandler: "Are there no concious man in the city for you two?"
- Ross: "When did 'Rigatoni' get back from Rome?"
- Pheobe: "What about Glen? He could be a Glen." Monica: "Not special enough." Pheobe: "Ouh how about Agamemnon?" Monica: "Way too special."
- Joey: "Okay no big deal...in bizzaro world!"
- Ross: "I was upset about Rachel and I had too much tequila, and Nora..erm, Mrs. Mom, your Bing, was being nice."
- Pheobe: "You know what, we've thought you were different, but I guess, it's just the coma."
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| Preceded by "The One With The Monkey" |
"The One With Mrs. Bing" | Followed by "The One With The Dozen Lasagnas" |
- "The Pilot"
- "The One With The Sonogram At The End"
- "The One With The Thumb"
- "The One With George Stephanopoulos"
- "The One With The East German Laundry Detergent"
- "The One With The Butt"
- "The One With The Blackout"
- "The One Where Nana Dies Twice"
- "The One Where Underdog Gets Away"
- "The One With The Monkey"
- "The One With Mrs. Bing"
- "The One With The Dozen Lasagnas"
- "The One With The Boobies"
- "The One With The Candy Hearts"
- "The One With The Stoned Guy"
- "The One With Two Parts, Part 1"
- "The One With Two Parts, Part 2"
- "The One With All The Poker"
- "The One Where The Monkey Gets Away"
- "The One With The Evil Orthodontist"
- "The One With The Fake Monica"
- "The One With The Ick Factor"
- "The One With The Birth"
- "The One Where Rachel Finds Out"