Did you know that Russ is played by the same actor as Ross (David Schwimmer)? ?
... Well one of your hosts did not realize until recording this episode **gasp!!*
In this episode we take a look at how alcoholism is depicted in media; discuss the #metoo movement in relation to Joey's storyline; and share some of Lauren Tom's perspective of being on FRIENDS.
Lauren Tom:
My First (and Nearly Last) Day on Friends
Friends Fans Booed Julie For Keeping Ross and Rachel Apart
Video: Lauren Tom discusses playing Julie and being the first Asian on the show
Video: Lauren Tom on Diversity
Follow What the Phalange?! on social media: @wtphalangepodcast
email: wtphlange@gmail.com
Emilie Brunet
www.emiliebyoga.com
insta: @emiliebyoga
quinn k brunet
@mindbodywithquinn
www.quinnkbrunet.com
PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW!
Donate on Patreon
Review us on Apple Podcasts
Share us w all of your FRIENDS on social media!
SOCIALIZE!
www.WhatThePhalangePodcast.com
WTPhalange@gmail.com
Twitter: @WTPhalangePod
IG: @WTPhalangePodcast
Emilie
Twitter: @ EmilieB__
Quinn
IG: @TheBasicNB or @FeministMassageTherapist
www.QuinnKBrunet.com
Did you know that Russ is played by the same actor as Ross (David Schwimmer)? ?
... Well one of your hosts did not realize until recording this episode **gasp!!*
In this episode we take a look at how alcoholism is depicted in media; discuss the #metoo movement in relation to Joey's storyline; and share some of Lauren Tom's perspective of being on FRIENDS.
Lauren Tom:
My First (and Nearly Last) Day on Friends
Friends Fans Booed Julie For Keeping Ross and Rachel Apart
Video: Lauren Tom discusses playing Julie and being the first Asian on the show
Video: Lauren Tom on Diversity
Follow What the Phalange?! on social media: @wtphalangepodcast
email: wtphlange@gmail.com
Emilie Brunet
www.emiliebyoga.com
insta: @emiliebyoga
quinn k brunet
@mindbodywithquinn
www.quinnkbrunet.com
PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW!
Donate on Patreon
Review us on Apple Podcasts
Share us w all of your FRIENDS on social media!
SOCIALIZE!
www.WhatThePhalangePodcast.com
WTPhalange@gmail.com
Twitter: @WTPhalangePod
IG: @WTPhalangePodcast
Emilie
Twitter: @ EmilieB__
Quinn
IG: @TheBasicNB or @FeministMassageTherapist
www.QuinnKBrunet.com
Hi, and welcome to What the Phalange?! The podcast, where we watch every episode of FRIENDS discuss it, deconstruct it and fan over it. One episode at a time.
Emilie (she/her):My name is Emilie pronouns she and her
Quinn (they/them):And my name is Quinn pronouns, zie/zir, or they/them. This week, we're talking about season two, episode 10, The One With Russ.
Emilie (she/her):This episode aired on January 4th, 1996, also known as Quinn's six birthday,
Quinn (they/them):He
Emilie (she/her):important information. Um, it was written by Ira Ungerleider and directed by Thomas Schlamme. I think I pronounced that
Quinn (they/them):have, we seen Thomas Schlamme before.
Emilie (she/her):I don't think so because I don't ever remember having to pronounce the name.
Quinn (they/them):Yeah. According to IMDB, this is the episode where Monica gets back together with fun Bobby and realizes why he was always so upbeat. And Rachel starts dating a guy called Russ who bears an uncanny resemblance to Ross.
Emilie (she/her):Spoiler alert. It is Ross.
Quinn (they/them):No Ross and David Schwimmer are two different people. Emilie, as in what is not real.
Emilie (she/her):Ross, Ross, Ross, Ross, Russ. This is also the one where we get to Ross's for the price of one and fun. Bobby turns into sober Bobby. Let's do it. Before we get into this episode, I'm going to go ahead and do this right here right now and give a trigger warning for sobriety and drinking as well as, sexual assault and consent. Yeah, I'm going to, I'm going to do that right here, right out of the gate. Cause it's just coming.
Quinn (they/them):Good, good idea.
Emilie (she/her):So Quinn, what are your feels for this episode?
Quinn (they/them):Yeah. I, um, my, my feelings for this episode is like me actually having to like write notes and try to keep up with it like, holy crap, so much happens in every scene and it's just like continuously moving really, really quickly. So on a more logistics and technical side, I was just like, holy crap. So that's one, thing there's just a lot in this episode. And then there's also like a lot of things in this episode, you know? We have so many
Emilie (she/her):it's a dense script.
Quinn (they/them):yeah, yeah. There, we have like a lot of jokes. We have a lot of things happening. Um, a lot of things happening that have a lot of deeper connotations that are going on. Um, and then we have the classic thing that friends likes to do, which is some like gender role stuff, but then sometimes reversing them. And so we have Joey, who is in a situation that, I feel like new light over the years has shed on this, particularly in the, film industry, around the me too movement. And, um, essentially like people only being able to like, get parts by sleeping with people and they sort of reversed it here where Joey is the one that has to sleep with someone.
Emilie (she/her):I do find it interesting that if they had this like plot line and a show now, like it would be treated so much more seriously than it's being treated in this episode. You know what I mean? Like 25 years ago, if this, they could still have this plot line in a show. No problem. But like, it would be just treated so differently. Like it wouldn't be the same kind of like humorous aspect about it. Like it would just, it would, yeah, I dunno. I just find it interesting.
Quinn (they/them):Yeah. It's uh, yeah, it's definitely different. I think that like, yeah, I think people would have to sort of like approach it differently now, um, with everything that's come out, um, and everything that is still continuing to happen. Um, all like the cases that are like legal cases that are kind of happening right now. And then we also have, the hilarious situation of like David Schwimmer playing two characters.
Emilie (she/her):yeah, that's great.
Quinn (they/them):Which again is like something that like F.R.I.E.N.D.S already does because Phoebe like, you know, Lisa Kudrow also plays her twin,
Emilie (she/her):Man. I didn't even think about that. You're right.
Quinn (they/them):Yeah. Um, and so, yeah, and then, and then we have like, you know, Monica is now suddenly in a, another, like a new, old relationship. It seems like they've heard Bobby have dated before, but like, yeah. And then, you know, we have plenty to talk about when it comes to sobriety, because, um, if any of you weren't aware both Emilie and I are sober. And actually from the time that we record this, Emilie, did you know that last week it was my five-years?
Emilie (she/her):No way. Wait, are you saying from the time that we record this or from oh, right. So, oh,
Quinn (they/them):That's today. So last week I was last week I was on Wednesday. I think it was, I was five years sober.
Emilie (she/her):Wow, amazing. Congratulations. I did not know that. I don't know your sobriety anniversary.
Quinn (they/them):I had to figure it out a little while ago. Like last year I was like, I want to figure this out. Um, yeah. Which is like, it's a little sad because remember us talking a couple of years ago, when we were like, what is our five year we're going to have a big party. We're going to like, do something to really mark our sobriety. And, um, I almost feel like there's like almost a sadder aspect to this than like my birthday, you know?
Emilie (she/her):Yeah. That's interesting. I didn't know? the date. Otherwise I would have probably forgotten. I wish I could be like "I would've a hundred percent remembered", but honestly I'm terrible with things like that. So I probably would have forgotten either way,
Quinn (they/them):I mean, If you had been reminded that week, you definitely would have made a point to say something. But yeah, I kind of, I don't know. I guess I ended up kind of keeping it on the down-low except for my roommate Mallory found out and then she bought me a Cameo. Um, have you ever heard, do you know what cameo is?
Emilie (she/her):Yeah I do. Who was it?
Quinn (they/them):It was, cause she like pulled me into season seven of big brother. We were really getting off here, way topic like off
Emilie (she/her):is way off topic. What is
Quinn (they/them):And so, and I was like a really big fan of Damien and he was just like this really awesome person on big brother. And um, and so she got me a cameo with him. Wow. That's amazing. That's a great gift. That's really funny. I know it was like such a great little thing to have like someone that I don't know, but I think is cool. Like validate my existence. I cried a little when I got It
Emilie (she/her):uh, that's so cute. I feel like I Will send you a cameo one day when you least expect it Um,
Quinn (they/them):it be of your face?
Emilie (she/her):no, I'll get like one of like, I'll get like James Marsters or someone from Buffy to like wish you a, a good day.
Quinn (they/them):Jesus,
Emilie (she/her):Yeah. I don't know how much it's going to cost. I don't know how much these things were.
Quinn (they/them):Really expensive. When you get like reality TV show folks it's more affordable.
Emilie (she/her):Right. That's fair. Okay. Can we talk about the topic at hand here?
Quinn (they/them):Actual episode at
Emilie (she/her):Um, okay. So I think you kind of named your three things, um, is that. did you, can I, can I go now? Is it
Quinn (they/them):Um, yeah, I guess so. Yeah, I guess those are sort of my three things. Emilie, do you have three things that you, oh, actually, I, I also want to talk about Julie, but that will be at the very end of the episode. So if you guys want to know like a bunch of little facts about Julie, um, slash Lauren Tom, to the end and
Emilie (she/her):Stay till the end.
Quinn (they/them):I don't think we've ever done that on our
Emilie (she/her):I don't think I've ever heard of that. No. Um, I feel like most people stay to the end of podcast. don't they? I don't know. Maybe not. Maybe you guys always like stop us, but when you like go on too long, like this, um, maybe our like number of downloads we have is really just people listening to our podcast for five minutes and be like, uh, no, thank you. We're good here. Um, anyways. Okay. Um, so Yeah. so obviously I, I basically want to talk about similar things. My overall feelings for this episode are very similar to yours. Um, I would say like, I do think that this episode is really, really well-scripted like, I think the jokes are on point. Um, they've got some really good, uh, dialogue happening, really good, like Ross acting both as Russ and as Ross.
Quinn (they/them):Yeah.
Emilie (she/her):There's just a lot going on. And I think it's overall really, really well done. There are some things that I think are really poorly done, um, including like, just like this whole thing around fun-Bobby getting sober, like, it just makes zero sense to me , but we'll get to that when we get to it. Um, and, yeah, so like what Quinn said, we're both coming from a place of being sober. I'm going to be a five-year sober on October 10th this year. And I think that you and I have a very particular journey, like two very different sobriety journeys while everyone has a different sobriety journey. Right. Um, but like, I think that it's like, that's not to say that, you know. anyone's individual sobriety journey is not valid, but I just do feel like. Often times the way that like sobriety is portrayed in shows, it's either it's like two ends of the spectrum. It's like super extreme drama, like over like really, really intense, which again, those are people's stories, but then there's also like what happens in this episode, which is like, oh, okay. I guess I'm going to stop drinking now. And then like, he gets sober, you know? And you're just like "mmm.. is that what happened? I know" I don't know about that. You know? Um, so I, I think that, uh, and again, maybe that is what happens to some people and that's totally valid, but like, it's just, uh, yeah. I just think it's, it's very interesting the way that they decided to portray sobriety and I'm stoked to talk about it, so let's get into it!
Quinn (they/them):Yes, let's get into it.
Emilie (she/her):This first scene is super cute. I think it's so nice. But they all like got out of bed at like sunrise to get the first newspapers of the morning for Joey to read his review.
Quinn (they/them):It's very cute.
Emilie (she/her):they don't say that, but they're obviously implying like it's middle of the night, which means it's like probably like 4:00 AM or 3:00 AM. And they're going to get like the newspapers. We can read it right away. Like, I just think this is so cute. Like they all get good friend rewards and just this moment
Quinn (they/them):I know eh?. That's yeah, it's so sweet. And you know what? That is like a very large part of the charm of this show, right? It's just like how much they all love each other, like the wholesomeness of their dynamics together as a whole. And like, at the end of the day, I think everyone watches the show and is like, wants this type of friendship, you know, with people, um, like that real sense of like community and family with people that you love, you know, it's pretty cute.
Emilie (she/her):it's super cute.
Quinn (they/them):I came across a little fun fact that I feel it's partly insignificant, but also kind of interesting that apparently, like they mentioned something about like some sort of sports game and something happening, and someone has calculated that actually that would have happened. So this is, this episode takes place after Christmas. Whereas that event that happened in the news happened in November at the very beginning of November. So it was probably recorded in November, even though it came out after Christmas,
Emilie (she/her):I don't, I don't even remember the sports event that they mentioned.
Quinn (they/them):Um, it might be like on the front of the paper or something like that.
Emilie (she/her):So friends does something in this scene, which has forever been one of my biggest pet peeves. Or, I don't know if it's a pet peeve because it's just happened on FRIENDS, but it's my biggest actually, no, it doesn't just happen on F.R.I.E.N.D.S. It's a, it's a pet peeve. It's a pet peeve. It is the fricking thing where people are like continued on next, whatever page. And it's in the middle of the f***ing sentence. Literally, no editor would ever in the history of the world approve of half a sentence to be on one page. And then the rest of the sentence to be on the following page. No, it would not happen in a newspaper like that. It's like you finish the sentence and then you say continued on whatever "A-4". And then you go to A-4, and you get a new paragraph and a new sentence. It's not mid sentence. And they do this. Sometimes in TV shows and it always bothers me. But anyways,
Quinn (they/them):Good. This is a very funny thing to be upsetting to you, but you, make a very excellent
Emilie (she/her):Yeah,
Quinn (they/them):agree with
Emilie (she/her):I get it. I'm into the joke. I'm super into the joke,
Quinn (they/them):never thought of that.
Emilie (she/her):It's unrealistic.
Quinn (they/them):It's also like the
Emilie (she/her):Almost as unrealistic of them living in those apartments that they're living in under the wage, they have
Quinn (they/them):I mean, it's almost, it's almost as though the editor though was trying to be mean, you know, like with the content and like where they cut it, like that could be a level of the, the, the joke.
Emilie (she/her):Oh, wow.
Quinn (they/them):Um, but poor Joey, he's really struggling hard.
Emilie (she/her):Yeah. It gets a major existential crisis here, like career
Quinn (they/them):And he almost, he almost quit acting, which would have changed the entire rest of the seasons if that had actually happened, you know, imagine Joey as else.
Emilie (she/her):And I like relate to this feelings so much, like this feeling of like, really caring about a specific work that you do and just like knowing that it actually doesn't make you very much money until like, you know, you quote unquote, get a big break. And like, you know, that looks a little bit different in our world nowadays than it did back then. But like, you know, just the way that social media works to market businesses, et cetera, et cetera, like there is something to be said about going viral, right. And the way that it can change the course of your career, um, completely. Right. And so I do think that like this feeling of like, f***, why am I still doing this? Like, why don't I just like, say, f*** it. And just like, go get a nine to five job and just like, do what I have to do. And like stop having to struggle to figure out when my next paycheck is coming and like have a job that gives me insurance and blah, blah, blah. And just like still going at it year after year after year, because it's actually truly what you want to be doing. Wow. I didn't expect that to turn into a rant, but that's real.
Quinn (they/them):um, he like, I'm just having like flashbacks of like every second day, last summer, where it was like, one of us would be having this exact existential crisis and the other one having to like talk the other one through it.
Emilie (she/her):Real. Yeah, we took turns
Quinn (they/them):So yeah, we did take turns. Um, so then in the next scene it sort of seems like it's probably later that day or something and, people are trying to comfort Joey.
Emilie (she/her):They're at Monica and Rachel's apartment.
Quinn (they/them):Yes, exactly. And then Ross comes in and he says, "hiiiiiii.".
Emilie (she/her):Oh my God. I tell you, we're going to forget. I wrote, we have to add it to the count..
Quinn (they/them):Yeah. Yeah, me too. So this is actually only what our third or fourth Ross-says-hi..
Emilie (she/her):Yeah. I don't know. I also realized that we should have been counting Janice's "Oh my god"s
Quinn (they/them):oh, I don't know. That would be too hard to keep track of there's too many,
Emilie (she/her):That's actually not true. Apparently I was reading a statistic and apparently Janice says, oh my God, like only a fourth of the time that the rest of the characters say,"Oh my God" to make fun of Janice.
Quinn (they/them):Oh, that's really funny. Huh. But, um, if anyone who has not like actually listened from the beginning and kept track, we are actually keeping track of how many, times and scenes that Ross says "hi", in his like, tone that he does, you know, that he's known for. Hi. Um, and so this is only the third or fourth. I totally would've thought that it would've been more by now, but anyway, we have to add that into you on our Instagram. So go follow us on Instagram WT Phalange podcast. That is our handle.
Emilie (she/her):Amazing. So yeah, so basically we find out, they're all trying to cover Joey. And then, um, Ross has this revelation where he's so stoked because fun Bobby is back. And so clearly he's like super into fun Bobby. Fun Bobby used to date Monica. Clearly he seems like this really nice, awesome dude. We've met fun Bobby before we were actually just talking about him last episode, if you've already listened to our last episode,
Quinn (they/them):Okay. I want to point out that last episode, we talked about this episode and referred to it. Yeah. So everything that we said about fun, Bobby, last episode is actually applies to this
Emilie (she/her):yeah, yeah, because.
Quinn (they/them):we did meet him in season one
Emilie (she/her):yeah, because. it's, I think it's like a hilarious joke that the fact that his name is fun, Bobby and the two episodes that we meet Fun-Bobby, he is incredibly not fun. He is ridiculously dull Bobby, because last time we meet him, it's like, he comes in it's because his grandfather died and he couldn't get a flight out. So we. decided to come to the new year's party anyways. And he's just like really, really sad and crying the whole time. the only the two times we meet Fun-Bobby, he's not so fun.
Quinn (they/them):I know, I feel like that's exactly why they did this. So fun Bobby leaves and
Emilie (she/her):Yeah.
Quinn (they/them):he seems great. Honestly, he seems like a lovely human
Emilie (she/her):Yeah. Monica looks super into him.
Quinn (they/them):I know she's so happy. Um, and then they figure out though they do wine math and the wine math shows that Fun-Bobby will be drank three bottles of wine on his own, um, and was still standing. Um, so everyone kind of
Emilie (she/her):That was impressive.
Quinn (they/them):had- did you say it's impressive?
Emilie (she/her):Yeah. Well like obviously relative, like, okay, whatever, we'll get into it.
Quinn (they/them):in a medical way. It's impressive.
Emilie (she/her):Well, like whatever different we'll get there.
Quinn (they/them):We will get there. Um, but, uh, so they basically all kind of put the math together and start to realize that maybe, you know, fun Bobby drinks a lot, and maybe he drinks a lot, a lot and maybe, you know, going to the zoo and drinking is not an appropriate thing to do, all the time.
Emilie (she/her):Yeah. I was going to say, I feel like if they serve alcohol at zoo, then it's fine, but okay. Maybe I'm not the best
Quinn (they/them):It's Emilie from five years ago speaking. Um, um, but also like, I really liked the line where Monica says we just so happened to go to a bunch of like places where people happen to drink. And I feel like that's like,
Emilie (she/her):very relatable.
Quinn (they/them):it's such a stereotypical line, but also it's such a real
Emilie (she/her):Yeah. Like, so it's very, very hard to go do a social outing that doesn't have like alcohol either centered around it, or it's just implied that alcohol will be a part of it. You know? Like even like, if you go bowling with friends, people get beer. When you go bowling, like bowling is like the most tame event you could do, you know? Like, it's you go to a bar with friends, you go to a
Quinn (they/them):That's why people drink bowling, Emilie to make it interesting.
Emilie (she/her):True. Um, yeah, so I think like we definitely have it. We have a drinking culture, right. We've completely normalized drinking in this way, in which like, you know, no one, like half the time people have a hella drinking problems and think they don't have a drinking problem because everyone else around them is just drinking equally as much, you know?
Quinn (they/them):no, exactly. And then to further that, creating bubbles of people who drink as much as you is very typical. Like it is generally a culture within our society. There is not a lot of spaces where drinking isn't implied or intended or, a part of a social event. Um, but then on top of that, you start getting very insular when you are drinking a lot and, and then it can be difficult to a see how much it is that you're drinking when everyone around you is drinking a lot with you. And then also it makes it difficult because your people do this at this level. And it doesn't feel like there's much opportunity to be with those friends or even have those friends, if you were to stop drinking. And so that's also a very real thing.
Emilie (she/her):Yeah, totally. That was one of the, Yeah. that was one of the hardest things for me getting sober was like, yeah. Like I literally moved away from the bar that I was working at. Like I used to live right across the street from the bar that I was working at slash the bar that I spent six nights a week. Minimum going to, um, and I literally moved to not be close to it. Because all my friends were there. All my people were there. It was my community. And even when I moved, I still obviously still ended up going back there. But it's just so interesting. Like yeah, the way that we, we create our bubbles around our vices almost, you know?
Quinn (they/them):Yeah, totally.
Emilie (she/her):So let's go to the next scene. We're back in central perk.
Quinn (they/them):Fun Bobby decides to make their coffee 'irish,
Emilie (she/her):I wrote some, I wrote Rachel is great and I can't remember why I wrote Rachel is
Quinn (they/them):Oh, it's because she brings over a coffee to Monica and Monica is like, it's what she asks. Is it like fat, free milk and low fat milk? And Rachel's like, well, why don't you take a sip and find out? And then Monica Simpson is like, no, it's not in, Rachel's like too late.
Emilie (she/her):So funny, like really
Quinn (they/them):good.
Emilie (she/her):but also so funny.
Quinn (they/them):So funny. So then Monica confronts Bobby for the amount of alcohol there is. And I love how like Phoebe and Rachel are like, "we're gonna leave for this conversation". And it's something that I feel like I don't have the social finesse of recognizing when I should be the one to step out so that people can have a, an important conversation. That's something I've realized about myself.
Emilie (she/her):I also just feel like, in TV, people have like really serious conversations at like very inappropriate times. Like, I don't actually feel like this scenario happens very often in which like you confront someone on their drinking in like a public location with all your friends and not any of his friends. Like, it's kind of weird, like, but you know, whatever it's friends and it's funny. But, um, I do think that he has a really funny line where he was like, well, I would make everything Belgium, but I can't get them off as a fit into the flask. And I'm just like, that is such a me kind of joke. Like that is my humor a hundred percent. Like it's like kind of like dad joke, humor, you know, like, ah, it's so good. Um,
Quinn (they/them):That's a great
Emilie (she/her):So then obviously he starts to make up some excuses here. He's like, oh, well I always say I'm just a social drinker and uh, you know, Hey it's flag day or whatever. And then we get the beginning of the unreal ism, unreal ism of the episode.
Quinn (they/them):Yeah. This is the part where it's like, but it, I like the fact that you worry about me and so I'm going to quit.
Emilie (she/her):It's just like, you don't get sober after like one conversation with someone about how they're slightly worried about you drinking.
Quinn (they/them):Like where's all the denial.
Emilie (she/her):There's just so many steps before you get to this. Quinn (they/them): Yeah. Like there there's so many things you know, you didn't really spend a lot of time making anyone uncomfortable. You didn't try to quit and then actually not actually quit and then have the ultimatum with someone where like, okay, I'm just not going to drink for a week and that's going to show you that I don't actually have a drinking problem. And yeah. Uh, there's just so many steps before this Fun-Bobby,
Quinn (they/them):yeah. And you know, not to say that anyone who has gone through
Emilie (she/her):Yeah.
Quinn (they/them):literally had one conversation and then went sober and like is now sober. Like not to say that you don't exist or those stories don't exist because I'm sure they do. And let's not take that away from anyone, but it's just an interesting choice of depiction in the show. And of course, it's obviously for the sake of making. Yeah, fitting into 22 minutes, but it's just the most like non intense, very light, like very quick little conversation of being like, okay, I'll just go sober and, you know, completely changed my entire life and how I relate to people, um, off of like the cuff of just one conversation, you know, but mind you, like, sometimes that's it takes, you know, like,
Emilie (she/her):Cause he does, he does say like, other people have pointed it out to him before and he's always made excuses. Um,
Quinn (they/them):yeah. And you know, like, This five years that I've had, that was like the second time that I went sober. Um, so, you know, like maybe, I don't know, maybe there was like a time where he did try to go sober for a period of time and like, you know, it was like, this was just like the thing that he needed, you know, to like get back on the horse. Is that the expression? that a weird expression. Um,
Emilie (she/her):not, yeah. It's not obvious. We said this like 60 times now we are validating everyone's sobriety experience newsflash, but it's just, it's not a very common story. And like, it does feel a little bit, um, it kind of just plays in to a little bit of the idea of like how drinking and or not drinking is like a choice and you just need to make the choice to quit drinking. And I think that that approach to sobriety is really harmful, um, and only ever depicting sobriety as either this like. You know, or like only depicting alcoholism as like this, these two ends of the spectrum where either it's like, someone's completely f***ed up their life and like totally hit rock bottom and in jail and, you know, sober versus, you know, someone who, uh, you know, has one conversation and suddenly is sober. I think that those two ends of the spectrum can it just really, um, really what's the term waters down. Yeah. Waters down, like a lot of people's experiences of sobriety and yeah, for sure. So, but anyways, that being said, so from this moment, Joey and Chandler walk in, Joey is super stoked because he's got an audition for Days Of Our Lives. So fun.
Quinn (they/them):God. Which is a real soap opera,
Emilie (she/her):It is, it is.
Quinn (they/them):which is. like, I think I used to actually watch it when I was in high school.
Emilie (she/her):Well, no, I watched Passions. was into
Quinn (they/them):Oh, maybe it was Passions. I also watched some General Hospital. There was a time that I was trying on soap operas to see if they fit.
Emilie (she/her):I find them really confusing. I find watching soap operas is kind of like starting to get into comic books. Like if you don't start at the beginning, you're kind of lost. But starting at the beginning, it means like having to go back like literal decades, um, and literal. like, so it's just like, but it's true. Like, there are Days Of Our Lives, I think is like one of the longest running soap operas out there. There's just so many episodes, like just so many. And like, I get that you could probably just pop in and pick up on whatever the plot is that day, but like, there's just a lot going on, man.
Quinn (they/them):I also remember like getting into soap operas, and then like watching very regularly for a period of time. Um, which is a big thing for me, because I've never really been regular about absolutely anything. But then, I guess I just stopped watching for a period of time and, you know, I went to watch it again and I was sort of like, oh no, like I haven't seen it for so long, so much would have happened, yada yada, and then watching it and realizing that like nothing had actually happened. Does that make sense? Like, like so much happens in each episode, but it's mostly like climactic. Like what's going to happen things in soap operas, and it happens over and over again to make the illusion of a plot moving forward. Anyway, whatever. I'm not trying to hate on soap operas if people are really into them. But
Emilie (she/her):for sure. Not. Yeah. Yeah.
Quinn (they/them):my experience with soap operas. Let's move forward.
Emilie (she/her):No totally. Um, but I did look it up and it is one of the longest running scripted television programs in the world, Days Of Our Lives. It started airing in , 1965,
Quinn (they/them):Holy crap.
Emilie (she/her):and it's still running to this day. It's
Quinn (they/them):Wow.
Emilie (she/her):That's what is that? We're 21 this year. So 35 plus 20, 55 years. Did I do that math, right? Someone's going to correct me and tell me I did the math
Quinn (they/them):that was the right man.
Emilie (she/her):Okay, great. a lot of seasons of a show.
Quinn (they/them):Oh, my God. That's wild.
Emilie (she/her):Wow. See, how the heck are you going to start watching that? You gonna have to like go back in time to 1965 to figure out what the heck happened? Probably
Quinn (they/them):who's really embedded in, in, um, soap opera culture and want to explain us how, how it works, and if anyone wants to get on board, let us know.
Emilie (she/her):Yeah, for sure. Um, okay. So that being said, he's got an audition for days of our lives. Um, everyone's really stoked for him. Uh, and then they decide they're gonna have a party to celebrate and they invite Rachel. And Rachel says that she can't because she's got plans. And then we get one of my favorite lines, a line that I actually use probably on a weekly basis. Whenever someone tells me that they have plans, um, except probably pre pandemic, because I don't talk to anyone now, but I think it's the best line in the world. We're Monica, it gets all fake shocked and she goes, "you have other friends!", and I think it's a great line. Yeah.
Quinn (they/them):It is a great line.
Emilie (she/her):I use it all the time. Like literally all the time. I think it's wonderful.
Quinn (they/them):I also really liked the line. I don't know why. I think it's so funny when Joey's like "With a man?!",
Emilie (she/her):Yeah, that's
Quinn (they/them):like as though, like that's the part to be surprised about, you know, but it's also just like very relatable. Cause sometimes when you're shocked about something, like, you need to say something, even though it's like not the thing that should be focused on, you know,
Emilie (she/her):Yeah, totally. She says she's dating someone new. Um, and she says, you guys just have to face it. I will not be dating Ross. And then David Schwimmer walks in, but alas, he is not Ross. He is Russ. And music choice is excellent in this moment.
Quinn (they/them):I did not notice it.
Emilie (she/her):what? It's like, don't, don't don't but not quite that, like it's got that like ominous, like detective music going on. I think it's great.
Quinn (they/them):That's that is great. So we're in a Estelle's office and Joey, you know, it still is having some weird conversation on the phone. Joey walks in. And, um, and I mean, I can't even, I want to try to describe the aesthetic of a office to like set the scene, but I just assume that everyone knows what I'm talking about, because there's no way to really set the aesthetic of this scene, with just words.
Emilie (she/her):Yeah, she's a special lady that Estelle.
Quinn (they/them):Really special lady. Um, but so Joey comes in and he's like, I got a call back, his audition went well. And, he expresses to Estelle that he feels like he did well, but he thinks that he would have definitely gotten the part if he had slept with person who was casting.
Emilie (she/her):Oh, my God Quinn. I just realized something.
Quinn (they/them):what?
Emilie (she/her):Is the first time that people are meeting Estelle. If they didn't have the DVDs.
Quinn (they/them):no, no,
Emilie (she/her):Yes,
Quinn (they/them):no. It's earlier in the season, there was another episode with a still,
Emilie (she/her):it's the one. with the butt.
Quinn (they/them):Hmm.
Emilie (she/her):The One With The Butt.
Quinn (they/them):I'm confused.
Emilie (she/her):What do you mean? You're confused. I'm literally I'm on the page right now. First appearance is the one with. the, but in the DVD version the first appearance in like non DVD version is the one with Russ.
Quinn (they/them):Oh,
Emilie (she/her):Yeah,
Quinn (they/them):you are right. Uh,
Emilie (she/her):Trust me. She should have trusted my FRIENDS knowledge.
Quinn (they/them):I guess I should, but sometimes you're wrong and I'm
Emilie (she/her):Quinn. It's rare.
Quinn (they/them):That is true. Um, so, okay everyone, this is Estelle.
Emilie (she/her):dun duh. Yeah.
Quinn (they/them):Um, so again, like just so many big things happen in this episode. So we meet Estelle for the first time, which is really exciting. Um, and you really get a look into Estelle's world.
Emilie (she/her):I love her.
Quinn (they/them):But as I was saying, Joey's expressing that he feels that he would have definitely gotten the part. If he had slept with the person who was casting and Estelle makes the call and confirmed that his gut feeling was, in fact, correct. Um, and, um, and he, I guess the scene ends with that just looming in the air.
Emilie (she/her):Should we get into that a little bit later or you want to get into it right away?
Quinn (they/them):Yeah. I think we should
Emilie (she/her):Okay. Yeah. Okay. Going into the next scene back in Central Perk turns out Fun bobby was fun for a reason. He's sober now. I don't understand how, um, I also just think that like supporting someone who's getting sober two weeks into your relationship is so intense. Like what the heck? Like that's really intense.
Quinn (they/them):Oh, my God. Yeah. Like there's just
Emilie (she/her):and she, like, even she says that she can't break up with him because she's the one that like asked him to get sober and like, that's not true like that, like, that's not how that works. She shouldn't have to hold that responsibility on her, you know? like, he obviously realized he had a problem too. It's not her that made him get sober. That's not how sobriety works. So it's just, yeah, it's, it's intense.
Quinn (they/them):yeah, yeah. It's all very. It's a very strange depiction of this process that does not do anything justice in a lot of ways. Um, but it is like, I guess for the sake of it being funny where she's like, I can't leave him now because I'm the one that did this. I definitely understand the sentiment of that. Sometimes it can feel that way, but at the end of the day, it is not on her. And also most of the time when people go sober, trying to do it for other people or for the sake of other people or because it's what other people want is really not as successful way to attempt sobriety. Not that it's not a valid way to attempt it, but it's just, um,
Emilie (she/her):it was successful for me. That's how I got sober. Well, obviously it wasn't how I got sober, but it was, uh, the nail in the coffin. You would say.
Quinn (they/them):Hmm.
Emilie (she/her):But anyways. Um, so we hear about the fact that fun facts, fun fact, there are no hardware stores open past midnight in the village. So in case you were wondering in case you were not sure there are no hardware stores open past midnight in the village.
Quinn (they/them):that was hilarious. Emilie, you should, um, tell that one at the next party
Emilie (she/her):Thanks. Thanks. Uh, if you call it a fun fact, then it's not nearly as boring as saying wanna hear something funny, calling anything a fun fact makes anything that was originally boring. More fun. Think about it.
Quinn (they/them):Hmm. I feel like a lot of people would dispute that with you, but let's just, I'm not going to be the one to do that because I agree with you.
Emilie (she/her):Thank you.
Quinn (they/them):Um, and then we have Chandler's joke that we referred to in our last episode where it's like, how does he do that? Emilie You say it.
Emilie (she/her):dull, Bobby.
Quinn (they/them):Then we have Russ that comes in again
Emilie (she/her):Good ol'Russ
Quinn (they/them):and good, old, good old Russ. And I really love how Phoebe like goes and tries to talk to Rachel about the matter at hand.
Emilie (she/her):Yeah.
Quinn (they/them):And, um, and then when Ross comes in, like kind of like freaks out in a sense, like
Emilie (she/her):Yeah.
Quinn (they/them):you can almost see like steam of coming out of her ears where she's just like, ah,
Emilie (she/her):So great. Yeah. Ross, Ross, Ross,
Quinn (they/them):yes. And then of course, and then it gets even better. Yeah. When they get the two of them to meet. And I love how, like, Chandler's like off to the side on the other side of the coffee table there and he's like, "Ross, Russ. Russ, Ross". And it's almost as though he's like ready to like sprint off as like the world is like clearly going to implode as though like the time shift continuum is going to like completely fall apart because
Emilie (she/her):Yeah,
Quinn (they/them):the Ross in the two parallel universes have now actually met and everything is going to be over. Um,
Emilie (she/her):and accurate. Yeah. We get some really good lines here. Like one line from Russ actually is he's like, all, well, he tells Rachel like, she'll, uh, he'll wait for her. And he goes, I'll just sit here and chat with your friend type people. Um, which I've never called a friend, a friend type person before, but I will now, uh,
Quinn (they/them):And then he is more of a date type thing of Rachel.
Emilie (she/her):Yeah. And then we get a good line of if we ever lose Ross, we have a spare, which is excellent.
Quinn (they/them):So good.
Emilie (she/her):So clearly Rachel has a type
Quinn (they/them):yes. Okay. Because also, as we were saying before we started recording, is that like Russ is also a doctor, but is kind of like a orthodontist type doctor type thing. Um, and He's a periodontist. which if everyone here remembers that Berry, the person that Rachel was supposed to marry, is an orthodontist. Like, so there's, she's definitely within her types of people that she likes to date, you know? Um,
Emilie (she/her):It's funny though, because like what Ross, Ross kind of makes fun of him later saying like you're a dentist of the most like ridiculous thing. And it is kind of weird. Like, obviously it's not like specialist's exists for a reason. Um, but like a periodontist, like I'm just reading an article here. it's like, what's the difference between a dentist and a periodontist. And it says in the simplest terms, a dentist treats the teeth, gums and other areas of the mouth. While, a periodontist is only true to the gums. So it's like, it's like, oh, I was. So you really are just the doctor of no. Then the bone supporting the teeth. So I'm assuming the right. yet, it's just a, it's, it's pretty funny how Ross kind of like throws it in his face, but definitely Russ had to go to more medical schools. So if it's like a matter of showing us over, who's more academically educated. Actually, maybe not PhDs are
Quinn (they/them):like. Yeah. I mean like Ross didn't have to go to medical school period. Right. He's like an academic doctor, um, a doc like a doctor of academia, whereas yeah, he would be, um, Russ would be a MD doctor type. Okay.
Emilie (she/her):You speak a little bit like Ross. I just realized that.
Quinn (they/them):I emphasize it there, but I realized that I'm like, whoa, I definitely make some Ross type statements. Um,
Emilie (she/her):on yourself.
Quinn (they/them):type it's. I'm getting very self-conscious about the
Emilie (she/her):And you're also taking like, I don't know, uh, forever to get out a sentence. Okay.
Quinn (they/them):very much a Ross. I can't get away from that. I think I'm a rock.
Emilie (she/her):like a realization in season one. And you were like, I think you're a Ross I like,
Quinn (they/them):and you're, you're the Monica.
Emilie (she/her):no, but you also, like, we had a moment where you told me that I had to like reflect on the fact that I was a Ro-. Oh no. I told you, you had to reflect on the fact that you're
Quinn (they/them):Yeah.
Emilie (she/her):True, true, true.
Quinn (they/them):Yeah.
Emilie (she/her):oh man, that's so funny. Um,
Quinn (they/them):is an ongoing theme. I'm very uncomfortable with this theme, but I must face it.
Emilie (she/her):it's great.
Quinn (they/them):Uh, okay. So any who, uh, so Ross tries to talk to Rachel about this and is very upset. Obviously tries to like threaten her with dating a woman in that works with wing-ed type creatures or things or whatever. He basically just speaks in the way that he speaks.
Emilie (she/her):But did you notice what he does with his hands?
Quinn (they/them):yeah.
Emilie (she/her):He like, he like flips his hands. Like he's trying to do little wings, but he keeps his elbows like really close to him and he just like moves his wrists. So he's got like these little tiny wings, if you haven't, if you didn't notice it, you have to go back and watch it because I've watched this episode, uh, probably 80 billion times in my life. And I just noticed it this time that I watched it. Um, so I thought it was hilarious. and then he makes like a moth to a flame joke, which is
Quinn (they/them):Yeah, but it doesn't quite finish it. It's just like implied.
Emilie (she/her):it's so good. This
Quinn (they/them):Yeah. The script is yeah. Yeah. This is Ira Ungerleider that, that did this, this script. Sorry, I just butchered that last name. Um, I apologize. Um, yeah, I feel like she reads some scripts like this. Um, so then we are back, we are back at the apartments, but we're at Chandler and Joey's apartment and Chandler walks in and Joey is frantically cooking tomato sauce everywhere, um,
Emilie (she/her):I love this
Quinn (they/them):jar. Um, and
Emilie (she/her):who put the tomato sauce in the tomato, in the cookie jar.
Quinn (they/them):You put between tomato sauce and, then whatever.
Emilie (she/her):Do you
Quinn (they/them):Um,
Emilie (she/her):Move that little thing. We had a little tape. It was called like Grandpa's Magical Toys.
Quinn (they/them):yeah, let's not get into it here. This is a good, it's good. Okay. So,
Emilie (she/her):God. I'm Googling it now. I have to remember to watch it anyways. Go.
Quinn (they/them):oh my God. Emilie focus,
Emilie (she/her):I can't now I'm so excited to watch it. okay. Continue.
Quinn (they/them):Anywho, so we have Joey he's frantically cooking and Chandler comes in and is confused by what is happening. Um, and Joey starts to kind of explain where he's at emotionally on the situation. Essentially, he is again in the spot where he has to choose to sleep with this person and get the part or not sleep with this person and not get the part. And so. And this is like where we have again, the conversation about like, when it comes to like men and sex needs to be discussed and like the assumed aspects of men in the gender role, when it comes to sex and here is the one that sort of saying, like, I don't see the problem, you know, you can just,
Emilie (she/her):yeah. Sorry.
Quinn (they/them):well, yeah, cause Chandler's saying that like, I don't see a problem. What I see is that you get a good job and you get to have sex. And I think that, like, this is a very, can be a very typical thought process within the realm of toxic masculinity. And again, I feel like I've said this a million times in the show, how, there are people out there that believe that like men specifically who believes that men can't be raped because it was just surprised sex as though all men are always wanting sex at any cost at any time and which is false and not real. Um, but it's also very interesting because they flip this and they have like a guy like Joey, and it's interesting that they chose Joey of everyone who is like the sex man of all of the characters and put them in this position because he feels uncomfortable with it. And, you know, he kind of talks through his feelings on the situation, you know, um, like saying that he doesn't want to feel like when he looks into his past that the reason that he was able to make it in the industry was because he slept with someone.
Emilie (she/her):Yeah.
Quinn (they/them):and.
Emilie (she/her):think it's layered though? Like, I don't think that there's just a lot of layers going on here because there's something to be said about the way that they're presenting this as if Joey has like a choice in it. in, in, the sense of like, I think that if this was a woman, this plot line wouldn't exist at all in the sense that like, if a woman. Decided that this was the choice she was going to make and sleep with someone to get the job. Like one, I don't think they would ever put that in TV, in the 90s. Um, and two, she would be a hundred percent shamed in every which way for making that decision.
Quinn (they/them):Yeah, totally. Isn't there a situation in the future on this show that there's something similar. Anyway. Yeah, yeah, for sure. 100% like that's that that would happen. Like they would shame her for even thinking about it, you know?
Emilie (she/her):And the fact that like he's his whole plot line is the fact that he's thinking about it and whether or not he should make this decision. And like, does this make sense? Is this a good career move, et cetera, et cetera. it's just such an interesting way to present this. Um, cause there is something to be said about like, look like. There is like, I don't know how much, like, I think that her advancing on him and her like making him uncomfortable clearly. Cause she is, um, I think like that's the f***ed up part, but I think that like then we start to get into the realm of like exchanging sex for something, which I'm not actually against, you know? And I know you're not either, right? Like that's, that's a lot of the essence of sex work is like, you know, you're exchanging sex for money. In this case, he's exchanging sex for a job. The issue with it is that he is being presented. It's his only choice. It's not like, you know, here's another option. If you don't want to pay with sex, you can do this instead. You know, like this is his only option and which is where the like lack of consent and the sexual assault you vibes come through., Quinn (they/them): But also in general, should not have to pay get the job. No. Of course, of course, of course. Yeah, for sure.
Quinn (they/them):yeah. And so like, so essentially like requiring something of you. In that in any way, really it's the outs, especially like outside of like showing your ability to perform the job, you know, it's like one thing, if you're going through like this annoyingly long, like you have to take some, I mean, I would argue in some ways that like certain ways that people hire and like filter out candidates is like, like much too time consuming for, but anyway, but you know, that's a thing, but like in general, it's like if you have to do a job interview and do a few things to prove what you can do, and in order to prove that you are actually qualified for this job and can fulfill it in a certain way and maybe like work with the people that you're going to be working with well, but required to like pay something, um, in any which way or form is like, is that, that is that it's not, it's no longer. But doesn't apply. Like, that's not like a valid way to get a job. And like, in the sense of like that it's not a valid thing to require from people
Emilie (she/her):yeah. In, in the case of a job you're right. You're right. I guess I was thinking more in the, in the case of like, not a job in which it's like a tit for tat situation, you know? but like that's not the case. You're right. Yeah.
Quinn (they/them):Yeah. And it's also like another thing, if I don't know, maybe Joey wanted to approach this person and, you know, make that offer themselves, you know, like him himself, and then I'm like, whatever. Yeah, go, you can do what you want to do,
Emilie (she/her):But yes and no, because that would be also uncomfortable for her. If she hadn't been showing any form of like, like if you're trying to hire a man and then he says, if I sleep with you, is that going to help me get the job? That's really f***ed. Yeah.
Quinn (they/them):Yeah. I don't disagree with you on that. Um, but I guess, yeah, it just comes back to like, like people being in positions of power and then using that position of power to get things out of people basically being a gatekeeper and taking advantage of that position to basically like milk people for things that is not required should not be required to like enter through the gate, if that makes sense. Um, and,
Emilie (she/her):Yeah. and that's
Quinn (they/them):and having Joey in that position is like interesting because this is something that is a very, very, very, very common. For women, um, and.
Emilie (she/her):and. and, like, I think they show this in a very blatant way and. like, uh, like clearly I think that if I sleep, if I sleep with her, I'll get the job. Whereas like often I think it's like more or less. If I'm the right amount of flirty with him, I'll keep my job. If I'm like, you know, like there's a certain amount of like, oh, if I, if I'm okay with him, always like putting his hand on me in meetings, then like, I'll keep my job. Like, it's a lot more of like these more, um, these more, like not obvious boundaries. Um, that should be obvious, you know, like these kinds of like, oh, like he's just really nice. He's just really friendly, you know, as opposed to like, No actually, like, I don't want him to constantly be putting his hand on me. I don't like the way that he hugs me. I don't like this. I don't like this, you know, but like not being able to say that or have the space to say that one, probably because you're working in a job in which the majority of the people who are in positions of power above you are also men. Um, because that's the way life works. Um, or to just because you don't want to risk potentially losing your job for those kinds of situations. And like, as someone who's been in that situation, it's just a terrible, terrible feeling where you don't really feel like you have the space to like, say anything because you don't want to lose your job. Um, but so you just like kind of end up like playing into this role that they've created for you. Um, and it's just like, I think that that is more often what happens then, like the very blatant, like exchange situation, like do this and get this, you know,
Quinn (they/them):Yeah, exactly.
Emilie (she/her):That's not to say that it doesn't still happen.
Quinn (they/them):And
Emilie (she/her):there's just so many different levels to it. Yeah.
Quinn (they/them):And then to even get even more vague than that, just the fact that we live in a world where in general men sort of have this subconscious and sometimes very conscious belief. Like the women that they want around them have to be women who they are, they can be interested in, in a non platonic way. And then adding into that, the factor of having so many men in higher positions of power, in different organizations and different like government structures, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, um, then making it so that the only people that they will hire and promote are the women who
Emilie (she/her):Are okay with that.
Quinn (they/them):yeah. In some level are like people that they are attracted to, or want around in specific ways, which makes it for like a dynamic that women, I mean, and this is not for all men, but then it just makes it a dynamic for. Women to continuously feel like they have to kind of be playing this part of like, like how do you know, like, you know, like your job could be at stake simply because some dude subconsciously doesn't think that he could picture himself sleeping with you anymore because of one opinion you gave or one snyde mark you had for him, you know? And, then this person is like, uh, like maybe I don't want this person at meetings with me because he is subconsciously learn to socialize with women through this very, very narrow lens. And that's just the reality that like we're working in, like, it's, it's a thing. It still exists. It's still like, it's not
Emilie (she/her):Yeah. And, and there's just so much to it because then it also becomes so normalized that if you try, sometimes if you try to have these conversations with other women in the office, it's become so normalized that. Like some, like women won't even think twice about it. It's just, it's just the normal, it's just what it is. And that's just what it is, you know? And so like, there's not really even always space to talk about it with other women either. You know? So it's like, or other people who are in like more marginalized identities too, you know? Cause this is
Quinn (they/them):Yeah.
Emilie (she/her):that. Right? Like it's it's it across the
Quinn (they/them):Yeah. Like it gets even, yeah, it gets even more so when you start talking about like race, you know, this exists with people who are racialized, trying to be like, you know, the pers perfect, you know, black person or the perfect person of color, um, or
Emilie (she/her):I
Quinn (they/them):like ends up being like the perfect marginalized person, you know, the perfect person with disabilities.
Emilie (she/her):won't call you out on your racist jokes. Won't call you out on this. Oh, they're so chill. They don't care about this, you know, like, oh, they let me use this term because they're so chill. Um, And that's just like the ways in which people have had to like. Like deal with microaggressions without saying anything in order to like, just get by To survive yeah.
Quinn (they/them):To survive and it's,
Emilie (she/her):And I think that's a total reminder of the fact that like, just because someone says they're okay with some sort of micro-aggression, doesn't actually necessarily a hundred percent maybe reflect what they actually feel. And that's to say, like, you know, everyone has different experiences of various microaggressions, but also like, sometimes we've just like internalized so much of this shit, you know? Like there's just, oh man, we got there Quinn.
Quinn (they/them):Yep.
Emilie (she/her):Yeah.
Quinn (they/them):So
Emilie (she/her):bringing it back to Joey for a second, because I do think that it is interesting that they decide to make this decision with men. And we had been talking a little bit, um, more about non men. Uh, scenario, but like going back to the fact that this is a woman, who's in a position of power who is holding this over Joey. Um, and I think that, that isn't talked about enough and I do find it interesting that they've decided to bring it up. It has a very specific outcome in a way that I, you know, that I, like I said earlier, I don't think it. would happen on TV nowadays.
Quinn (they/them):I feel like I don't even have words to, to continue to deconstruct this part. Um, so can we move on to the next scene?
Emilie (she/her):So, uh, Monica, yeah. Is that the restaurant? Um, she's.
Quinn (they/them):fun, Bobby, who was no longer fun.
Emilie (she/her):It was not drinking. Um, and then the waiter comes by and asks if she wants to drink anything, she says, no, well, first she says, yes. And then she says, no. And then the moment he says, like one sentence into his story, she is like, actually, yes, I will have a scotch on the rocks with a twist and put that into your little book of future items, because we're going to hear that- Quinn (they/them): Oh, you're right.-drink in the future.
Quinn (they/them):That is a constant I, yeah, I didn't even realize it until you said it.
Emilie (she/her):That's Monica's drink,
Quinn (they/them):yes. So that is actually a constant you guys throughout all 10 seasons. This is, this is Monica.
Emilie (she/her):which is a very weird drink. It's like, it's not a very common drink. And it's also not really like a common way of saying it. Like, if you said that to a waiter, I don't know how much a waiter would be like, oh yeah, I know exactly what that is like saying with a twist in what
Quinn (they/them):Yeah. You used to be a bartender. What does with a twist mean?
Emilie (she/her):it just means with like citrus. So like with the lime or lemon. Um, but like it, it's just not very common to do that. Um, and I, or at least that I know of, you know, I was working on a f***ing like sports pub dive bar situation. Not very many people were ordering scotch in general. Our top shelf scotch was like, you know, a nice places, bottom shelf scotch. So,
Quinn (they/them):Right. That's fair.
Emilie (she/her):but yeah, I think like, uh, um, yeah, it's like usually poured with a bit of lime or sometimes orange too. Just a citrus of sorts.
Quinn (they/them):you mean like just the peel, like, and that's why the twist comes in. Cause it's like a twist of peel.
Emilie (she/her):yes, I think,
Quinn (they/them):Okay. Because I'm having like
Emilie (she/her):maybe a little.
Quinn (they/them):in the future of someone making that drink
Emilie (she/her):Like, I think like, it's like mostly like the zest of it, but like, um, perhaps not, I don't know. Like, there's a way of like, when you bartend you can like take off the peel and then you, you literally twist the peel so that the like rind juices and that goes into your drink. And then often, sometimes we'll like, take that and then, uh, rub it around the rim of the glass and then put it into the drink. So it's got like a taste of whatever the citrus is, you know, that usually happens more with orange if I'm correct, but you know, probably any bartender who's listening. This is like rolling their eyes being like, ah, Emilie, you're wrong. You have a bartended in five
Quinn (they/them):Emilie You've been sober for five years.
Emilie (she/her):been sober for five years and haven't bartended in six years. Sit down, girl. Um, but yeah, so feel free to correct me if you'd like, um,
Quinn (they/them):Uh, okay. So then in the next scene, we're back at Central Perk
Emilie (she/her):Yes,
Quinn (they/them):have Chandler who is doing the crossword with Ross on his right. And Russ on his left.
Emilie (she/her):that's great.
Quinn (they/them):That's a very, very dangerous place to be. Um, and meanwhile, you have Phoebe, who's trying to get Rachel, like she's trying to talk to Rachel again and be like, don't you see what is happening here? And rachel of course is in denial.
Emilie (she/her):sleeves, Steve sleeve, Ross, Ross, Ross, Ross. No, one's named sleep
Quinn (they/them):And when, Ross and Russ start to have an argument, Chandler quickly runs away, but then Rachel gets a nice view of them arguing and realizes that they in fact are the same person and freaks out and runs away.
Emilie (she/her):She goes, you, you, you, um, yeah. I just, I think that they, like, I was going to say they do such a good job, but it's just Ross. It's just David Schwimmer. Who's doing this. Um, I think he does a really good job at Chandler obviously does a really good job too. Cause he's like, he's acting clearly against like a blue screen at some points when he looks to one actor and then the other one, you know what I mean? Like or so like, he's look, he looks back and forth a few times and Ross is sitting on the couch in one of those sides. You know what I mean? Like,
Quinn (they/them):Yeah.
Emilie (she/her):Like I wonder, I'm curious to see the behind the scenes of how that was filmed.
Quinn (they/them):Yeah. Totally meet you. I always love that. Yeah. I feel like in general, the behind the scenes of cinematography is always like, like kind of camera work is always so interesting. But especially with these things where on the outside, it's very obvious to us that there was something happening. Then we're back in the apartment and Chandler is asking Rachel if, uh, she would like to sleep with someone.
Emilie (she/her):uh, if she was sleep with someone to get a job, um, which again, we're seeing this flip of the script, um, and she goes, it depends who would I have to sleep with? Um, and I think that that's actually really quote unquote progressive of F.R.E.I.N.D.S to actually have her say that, um, like in the sense of like, she wasn't immediately like, oh my God, no, I would never do that. You know, like, which I think is often the way that they portray, like women, like, in order for them to still be like good women, they would refuse to sleep with
Quinn (they/them):Yeah. I mean, considering that the year before this was filmed and put out, like when they were making the pilot, the production company, like didn't particularly like the pilot, because they thought that, um, Monica wouldn't be received very well because she sleeps with someone on the first date. Um, and so anyway, it's yeah, it is interesting. I, in some ways, you know, friends is kind of pushing, pushing the margin, for the time.
Emilie (she/her):Yeah. but then also it's like, she, that shouldn't even have to be a thing. It shouldn't even be like progressive the fact that she was. Sleep with someone to get a job because someone shouldn't be asking her to sleep with someone to get a job.
Quinn (they/them):You make an excellent point, Emilie.
Emilie (she/her):Really it's just weird in all levels. Um, but then I think that Chandler's line here is really funny. It's like, oh, well, what'd you say with me? And then she kind of laughed and she's like, she's like, well, I'm going to have to sleep with you. And he's like," it's my game, you want the job or not". I just think the way he says it is like really funny. Um, and like, maybe, it's like kind of creepy if you didn't know their dynamic, but like, I feel like they have like that kind of rapport, you know what I mean? Like the,
Quinn (they/them):Yeah,
Emilie (she/her):the episode, the one with the boobies, you know, like they've got like that kind of like hilarious vibe going. So I think it's pretty, pretty funny. I just want to point out yeah. That Rachel is wearing what looks like probably the most comfortable outfit in the world
Quinn (they/them):yeah. She does.
Emilie (she/her):and like just a really good t-shirt Rachel's like home lounge clothes are my favorite
Quinn (they/them):Yeah, definitely. She, she has them on point and I also kind of like this flip of a scene where it's sort of like, like, I feel like it almost like drives home. The fact that her and Russ have broken up, like it's the evening. It's not that late. And she's like already in her pajamas. She's like, I'm not going anywhere.
Emilie (she/her):Yeah.
Quinn (they/them):I have nowhere to be.
Emilie (she/her):Yeah, that's great. Uh, yeah. So then, Monica is packing. She's got a bunch of little tiny mini bottles. Um, I also don't, I also think that's like the least practical way to drink alcohol and the most expensive way to drink alcohol in tiny little bottles. Those tiny little bottles are so f***ing expensive.
Quinn (they/them):mean, unless you've like saved them up from samples.
Emilie (she/her):Do they give out alcohol samples like that?
Quinn (they/them):I don't know where, which I just, I just feel like Monica would be the type of person that would have like accumulated these from like years of something. You know what I mean?
Emilie (she/her):It feels like more like, uh, uh, Ross. Ross is
Quinn (they/them):Well, yeah. Cause yeah, but I don't know, Monica, Ross, we have some things in common. Um, but yeah, my perception of the situation is that it's like she didn't buy these all individually that she, it was like in a stash somewhere with her like fancy guests towels in the back of a closet, you know? Um, Bobby shows up and before she's like, I'm ready to go. He's like, we need to talk. And he ends up, this is something that makes me happy every time I see it, even though it's like this whole plot line is kind of. You know, strange, but I'm like, it makes me happy that he is like, you know, it was a situation where it was kind of unrealistic that he would quit, but then he ends up like even breaking up with her so that he can like stick with his sobriety. And like, for some reason, it just like gets me every time where I'm like, good for you, Bobby, like, look at you, like what you need and prioritizing it, you know, it makes me so happy.
Emilie (she/her):Yeah. I agree. I agree. I think it's like, yeah, I think it's great. I think that, like, I, I feel as though I'm like more believing that maybe this isn't the first time he's tried to get sober.
Quinn (they/them):yeah, yeah. It, yeah, I agree.
Emilie (she/her):But anyways, um,
Quinn (they/them):But even if that isn't the case,
Emilie (she/her):in a codependent relationship right now.
Quinn (they/them):Yeah, it just makes me feel like he's probably getting all the right supports. Like he's not doing this alone, you know? And like the way, like the language that he uses makes me feel like, you know, he, wasn't just relying on Monica clearly, you know, to be sober, he, you know, went out, maybe has started going to AA. Maybe is in therapy, has a sponsor, you know, like, and is doing all the things that he needs to do. And it sort of, in my opinion, kind of like, like I sort of see it as him having like, come to this decision with his support group that is not Monica. And then coming to Monica and being like, I, you know, I can't, I can't support this right now. And it makes me really happy. You know, it's like a little like fairy tale that's playing out in the back of my head every time.
Emilie (she/her):right now. Um, except excepted you read what the actor says that he thinks happens to Fun-Bobby.
Quinn (they/them):Oh, no.
Emilie (she/her):Okay. The actor who plays fun, Bobby was interviewed in like 2019 or something, he says that he thinks fun. Bobby started drinking again, following the breakup to the point where by 2019, he on the brink of death. Really, really rough. I know,
Quinn (they/them):so dark.
Emilie (she/her):know it's pretty rough. So Yeah, but I just thought it was, I thought I wanted to ruin your happy story.
Quinn (they/them):exactly what you thought.
Emilie (she/her):Sorry. Um, anyways, so she comes back, she says, we kind of broke up. And then you see that Chandler and Ross exchange money with Phoebe and Phoebe and Rachel. So clearly they made a bet that they thought that they were going to break out. So I think that's interesting. I think the way that they do it is really funny and subtle I just think it's well done.
Quinn (they/them):I feel like we should be keeping track of how often this group of friends is making bets on each other on like very big, important, non funny things in each other's lives.
Emilie (she/her):right.
Quinn (they/them):Like it's. So I feel like it's so often that there's something like serious happening and people are like betting on it behind the scenes
Emilie (she/her):The betting thing, uh, happens again, because then we find out that, uh, Joey comes in and he first says, no, he doesn't want to sleep with her. And then she offers him an even bigger part. Um, and he's like, all right. Yeah, I'm going to do that. Um, and then he gets the job, uh, of Dr. Drake Ramoray, recurring in at least four episodes. And the moment he said that I was like, oh my God, I want to see Joey's IMDB page.
Quinn (they/them):I wonder if there's a joke one out there. And then he immediately is like, okay, I need to go shower. Which again, I feel like it's encapsulating. Like, like it's just like, not anyway. I just like, sometimes it's probably like, I have mixed feelings when people like reverse gender things in order to like, try to portray something. But sometimes it can like help communicate things better just by seeing the contrast. And it's just interesting because it's like, it does feel like it makes this topic an easier one to broach and kind of have in an episode and it not be so serious. And also like, unfortunately, realistically, if they had decided to broach this topic where Joey was a woman in the situation.
Emilie (she/her):Hm.
Quinn (they/them):Unfortunately, it would've just been played out very differently, you know, like, you know, if it was Rachel, she would have been like completely villainized for what she was doing. That kind of thing, you know?
Emilie (she/her):Yeah. Or, or maybe her character would just be like the slutty character of the show. Cause like sometimes shows things. You're trying to be progressive by like putting a character who's like more desexed, but then her entire character just becomes about the fact that she's into sex. And she has like, no
Quinn (they/them):Like Samantha in Sex in the City.
Emilie (she/her):I can't speak to that because I actually didn't watch enough of that show.
Quinn (they/them):What are you talking about? We watched plenty of that show.
Emilie (she/her):we watched like the first season, but like I don't.
Quinn (they/them):Oh, nevermind. Savannah and I watched a lot more of it without you.
Emilie (she/her):well, thanks. Um, that's fine.
Quinn (they/them):Yeah. You were very upset about it at the time.
Emilie (she/her):Was I, oh, I don't remember I just remember we used to have wine nights. Sex in the city. Ah, how times have changed in our very slanted apartment, um, that we used to pay like So little, for rent. Uh,
Quinn (they/them):So little,
Emilie (she/her):and our rent was only $300 each good times, good time.
Quinn (they/them):we knew nothing about life,
Emilie (she/her):We knew nothing of our future. Uh, anyways, and on that note, future, I don't know if this is a good transition, um, that we're back at central perk and we get a wonderful moment in which
Quinn (they/them):heaven.
Emilie (she/her):made in heaven. with an excellent soundtrack happening, a love soundtrack Julia and Russ lock eyes. And they realized that is it. their luck.
Quinn (they/them):I really love how they. Like kind of circled back to Julie for this. Cause it wasn't, it wasn't actually planned. I don't know if you know this, like Julie. Yeah. Julie was originally just, or Lauren, Tom was only signed up for like six episodes, which was like the storyline of up until they break up and they actually brought her back for this episode. And I really like how they like ended up finishing off on like a nicer note for Julie's character where it's sort of like, she, like let her find true love,
Emilie (she/her):Cause the last thing we heard about her characters that like, she was so mad at Ross, she threw shit at him, which like is pretty intense and like a turn from what we know of, of of Julie
Quinn (they/them):Speaking of Lauren, Tom, so I had done some, I wanted to know more about her and also, um, side note, Emilie and I both on separate occasions, wrote to Lauren Tom, trying to get her to be a guest on our podcast. To be fair, we, you can only like right to her agent we got no response. So Lauren, Tom, love you very much, but your agent was definitely.
Emilie (she/her):Ghosting us
Quinn (they/them):Yeah, your, your agent ghosted us.
Emilie (she/her):is it ghosting if they never answered to begin with?
Quinn (they/them):Um, but anyway, so it was like reading a bunch of stuff. And actually Lauren, Tom has written herself, on a few different occasions on, her experience being on FRIENDS. Um, and it's, it's, it's very interesting to read because, um, there's like a lot of different levels to it. Um, like her being a, the first, um, you know, person of color who is going to actually have a storyline on the show is like kind of a big deal. And then. Also from what I understand, she was in new Yorker at that time. And so like essentially her getting onto the show, her actually being a fan of the show, thinking that, um, David Schwimmer is actually kind of cute. And then actually getting like her agent calling her very soon after and was like, Hey, you know, someone basically on the crew, um, had seen her in something else and wanted her on the show for this arc essentially. Um, and her experience was like very mixed. Like she explained, like she describes like really enjoying getting to know the six cast and, um, kind of her explaining like right when she was getting on it, it was when they were starting to get really. We're actually talking about how like insular, they were in a lot of ways, but like kind of seen it as like, um, actually the, the quote that she has, which I think is really good is, um, sometimes something really good can be also really bad. Like something like in the sense of like, yeah. And like, in the sense of like, um, being really intense, kind of like they were starting to explode and none of them like all, if, if we hadn't actually, I don't know if we've talked much about this on the show before, but like all the six cast members were like, most of them were like pretty nobody's, you know, like for example, uh, Matthew, um,
Emilie (she/her):about this, but when we talk about the
Quinn (they/them):yeah, Matt loved LA. He apparently had like $7 in his bank. When he got cast for this, and essentially like the week before had used like a nail file to like file down his teeth instead of, cause he couldn't afford to go to the dentist and like, which, by the way, don't do that. Just, just FYI. There's some weird shit on Tik Tok about dental health these days. And some people are actually doing that. Don't do that. Anyway, so it sort of just being like this very big, all of a sudden type of thing, and because there were six of them, they all really like clung on to each other. And so really became quite insular, but it was like a very difficult experience. I I'm using the word difficult it because in my perception it would be, um, because at the same time as her being like this really awesome character that was coming onto the show, um, it was filmed in front of a live audience and the live audience was. Essentially rooting for Ross and Rachel to get together. And so she was actively booed by the live audience regularly when she went on stage. Um, yeah. Um, and so,
Emilie (she/her):That sucks!
Quinn (they/them):Yeah, super sucks. And then to like top it all off, like her experience with the cast was like really positive, but then at the end, and she had originally, like she had signed a contract at the beginning that, you know, it was a six episode arc. Um, like she was never supposed to stay on longer, but then when the six episode arc ended some tabloid, like, but bigger than a tabloid is a bit bigger. Like basically put out an article claiming that, they had insider knowledge that, Lauren Tom was actually fired off the set because of a disagreement that she had with Jennifer Anniston, um, and Jennifer Anniston not liking her. And, um, and so, and her being like, very upset about it and like, considering like suing the tabloid, asking them to like retract it and it didn't, but it like made big news kind of thing. And like just unfortunately having like a generally like not positive, I guess, end experience to it. I want to link her personal article on the subject in our show notes.
Emilie (she/her):And so she wasn't expected to come back in this Russ episode and then she does come back after this tabloid thing came out.
Quinn (they/them):yeah. I guess, so I'm not entirely sure, um, about that timeline specifically. Um, but I also want to point out do you guys remember, the joke at the very beginning, when they first introduced her, when Rachel was being like a bit of an idiot and speaks to Julie, like really slow and loud, you know, like welcome to New York, you know? Apparently Julie wrote that joke or Lauren Tom wrote that joke. I think when we talked about that joke, we were a little bit like, ah, does this, like, it all depends on like the intention of the joke, like what that joke actually means, but she wrote it herself. And it was from the perspective of like, this is her personal life experience living in the united states that she gets that all the time. Um, so I think that was very clever. Um, And I think that that's like the main, the main, points that I wanted to bring up about Lauren, Tom, she just she's in a lot of work as well within like the realm of racism within the film industry. and, um, I just have a lot of respect for Lauren, Tom. Um, so I suggested you'll check her out.
Emilie (she/her):That's awesome. I, yeah, I really hope one day we can get her on the show. That'd be sick.
Quinn (they/them):be so cool.
Emilie (she/her):Yeah. One day when our people who, Uh, give us money on Patreon, just decide that so many people are going to start supporting us on Patreon. And then we've just become like the super big podcasts because of everyone's financial support. and then we are so well-known and she approaches us.
Quinn (they/them):Yeah. Yeah, totally.
Emilie (she/her):that being said, please be sure to support us on Patreon. You can do so by going to our website, WhatThePhalangePodcast.com and click the buttons support us. Um, it is super wonderful and we really could use your help. Um, it, it really, uh, makes this podcast continue and go on. Um, this podcast takes us a lot of time and energy, um, and your
Quinn (they/them):And
Emilie (she/her):uh, is, is very much
Quinn (they/them):And then also on top of that sheriffs with people like, um, we made a post a little while ago, we're getting close to being, uh, download wise in the top 25% of podcasts, like in that bracket. And the more like the more listenership we have the wider of an audience, the more likely we can get people to come onto our show and basically be, be a guest. Like the more likely we could've gotten Lauren Tom to be our guest for this episode.
Emilie (she/her):That being said, um, Quinn, who do you think was the best friend of the episode?
Quinn (they/them):uh, oh my God, I forgot that we would do this. Um, who do you think?
Emilie (she/her):Um,
Quinn (they/them):We can figure it.
Emilie (she/her):I don't know if anyone is
Quinn (they/them):Yeah, like Phoebe wasn't maybe Phoebe, because she was like the one that spearheaded the,
Emilie (she/her):to give Rachel A. Little tough love.
Quinn (they/them):say tough love, but more just being to bring something to your attention. Um, uh, so like Phoebe comes to mind for that. Um, I feel like she's like the only one that really gives some real support, you know, like Jo, like Chandler gives some support, but it's not, it's not the best of support. I say Phoebe
Emilie (she/her):Yeah. Agreed Phoebe. I agree. I concur. Amazing. Um, so that being said, you can find me on, uh, instragram at Emilie B yoga or on my website, which is not actually currently live it's under construction, but maybe by the time this episode airs, it will no longer be under construction. Um, and that website is Emilie B yoga.com. Um,
Quinn (they/them):and then you can find me at quinn k brunet dot com. Uh, and you can find us this podcast at whatthephalangespodcast.com or head over to our Instagram page and follow us there. Um, and you'll find us at, with the handle W T Phalange podcast. And from there, you can find links to our most current personal Instagrams. If you want to follow us there.
Emilie (she/her):Hmm. and lastly, as always, we appreciate any feedback of any sorts, um, from the way that we coughed during the episode too. More intense things. Actually, if you email us to tell us that you did not like the fact that we coughed during them, so that would be a little bit rude, but we'll take it because no one emails us So send us an email. Um, you can do so WTphalange@gmail.com. Um, that's phalangeal with a P H if you didn't already know, because you clicked that this podcast listen to it, but anyways, Kay thinks going to be in the show notes, show notes, So, um, that being said, how many times did I say that being said in this episode, uh, that being said,
Quinn (they/them):deconstructing,
Emilie (she/her):deconstructing,
Quinn (they/them):the media. You can see.
Emilie (she/her):the media you consume. That was a really disjointed, but it was perfect. I enjoyed it.