The One With The Giant Poking Device

The One With The Giant Poking Device
Episode Information
Air date	November 14, 1996
Written by	Adam Chase
Directed by	Gail Mancuso
Episode Guide
Previous	The One With The Race Car Bed
Next	The One With The Football

  "The One With The Giant Poking Device" is the eighth episode of the third season of Friends, which aired on November 14, 1996.

Plot

Still in shock by what he saw in the previous episode, Joey and Monica reveal to the group that he just witnessed Janice kissing her ex-husband. Joey tries not to tell Chandler about it, but when he sees him considering buying pearls for Janice's birthday, he can't hold it any longer. Chandler confronts Janice, who admits to having kissed her ex-husband at least twice. She also claims to be in love with both men, but can't bring herself to choose one. After talking to Joey, Chandler tells Janice he doesn't want to be the reason for splitting up a family. He soon changes his mind; nonetheless, she leaves to be with her ex-husband.

Ross leaves Ben with Monica and Rachel. Monica plays airplane with Ben, but she bumps his head. They attempt to cover the lump with a teddy bears hat. When Rachel finds out that he's not angry at her for this, she reveals how it was Monica who bumped his head and not her. Ross tries to make Monica feel guilty, but ends up bumping his own head.

Phoebe is reluctant to go to the dentist as she thinks it's a fatal mistake - to others, because every time she visits, someone dies. Her tooth is in too much pain for her to bear it anymore, so she goes to the dentist. When she comes back, she starts to call everyone she knows to check if they're still alive. When Joey points out how Ugly Naked Guy is unusually still, she thinks the curse killed him. After Joey constructs a giant poking device with chopsticks, the guys poke all the way from Monica's apartment to Ugly Naked Guy's. Phoebe is overjoyed to see that he's still alive.

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

Charles Thomas Allen - Ben Geller
John Christopher Allen - Ben Geller
James Michael Tyler - Gunther
Maggie Wheeler - Janice Litman

Crew

Directed By:
Gail Mancuso

Written By:
Adam Chase

Trivia

• Rachel bakes brownies in this episode. In The One With Phoebe's Birthday Dinner, Ross remarks to Rachel: "You haven't cooked since 1996!". However, Rachel has cooked the disgusting English beef-trifle in The One Where Ross Got High, three years after this episode.
• The book that Chandler is holding as he waits for Janice in the apartment is On The Road by Jack Kerouac, the cover's distinctive photograph of the author and Neal Cassady can just be seen as he anxiously turns the pages.
• (Spoiler alert): Ross' baby, Ben, is saying words in this episode, particularly Monica's name. However, the baby is saying "Monica Bing". This might be a foreshadow on what will happen to Monica's relationship with Chandler.
• (Spoiler alert): When Chandler asks Joey what he would do if he were in Chandler's same situation, Joey says: "if it was me [...] I would bow out. [...] They have a kid together, y'know. They’re like [...] a family, and if, I don’t know, there’s chance they could make that work, I know I wouldn’t want to be the guy who stood in the way of that". Curiously enough, Joey actually comes into this exact same situation in Season 8 when he falls in love with Rachel, who by then is pregnant of Ross, and follows his own advice by trying to hide his feelings in order to not stand between them despite they being separated for six years. However, after several plot twists they start a brief relationship anyway in Season 10, with Ross' [reluctant] pass.

Goofs

• The column on which Ben hits his head appears just on this episode
• In the first two scenes Phoebe isn't wearing any of her rings on her fingers but then in her next scene she is wearing them.
• When Phoebe is leaving to go to the dentist her bag turns around when she's talking to others.
• In the scene where Joey comments on how Ugly Naked Guy looks awfully still, you can see that the speed of the clip has been increased from when Phoebe starts running up to the window and ends right before she gasps.
• When Monica tell Ross and Phoebe that Joey saw Janice kissing her ex-husband, Ross is holding a red mug which disappears from his hand in the next shot.
• When Monica says "That's what I'd sound like if I exploded," she is holding ice cream with her right hand and fixing her hair with her left hand. In the next scene, the ice cream is now on her left hand and she is fixing her hair with her right hand.
• In the credits scene when Chandler is singing "Endless Love," both his arms are wrapped over the Lionel Richie record jacket, but after Phoebe joins him, Chandler's left hand is covered by the record jacket.

Episode Navigation

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Preceded by "The One With The Race Car Bed"

Series Three Episodes

Followed by "The One With The Football"

<< Season 2		Season 3					Season 4 >>
#01	"The One With The Princess Leia Fantasy"		#10	"The One Where Rachel Quits"		#19	"The One With The Tiny T-Shirt"
#02	"The One Where No One's Ready"		#11	"The One Where Chandler Can't Remember Which Sister"		#20	"The One With The Dollhouse"
#03	"The One With The Jam"		#12	"The One With All The Jealousy"		#21	"The One With A Chick And A Duck"
#04	"The One With The Metaphorical Tunnel"		#13	"The One Where Monica And Richard Are Friends"		#22	"The One With The Screamer"
#05	"The One With Frank Jr."		#14	"The One With Phoebe's Ex-Partner"		#23	"The One With Ross' Thing"
#06	"The One With The Flashback"		#15	"The One Where Ross And Rachel Take A Break"		#24	"The One With The Ultimate Fighting Champion"
#07	"The One With The Race Car Bed"		#16	"The One With The Morning After"		#25	"The One At The Beach"
#08	"The One With The Giant Poking Device"		#17	"The One Without The Ski Trip"
#09	"The One With The Football"		#18	"The One With The Hypnosis Tape"