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The fifth season of Friends aired from September 24, 1998 to May 20, 1999 on NBC in the US.

Season summary[]

Following Ross saying Rachel's name during their wedding, a seething Emily allows the ceremony to continue but then punches Ross in the stomach and flees. Monica and Chandler spend the entire reception trying to find a place to sleep together, but Rachel's desire to tell Ross about her feelings, Ross' search for Emily, and Emily's drunken father prevent them from doing so.

Ross hopes Emily will turn up at the airport the next day to join him for their honeymoon to Greece. He runs into Rachel, who is waiting for a flight home, during the last boarding call and invites her along since it seems Emily won't be arriving. However, Emily does show up at exactly the wrong moment, just as Ross is boarding the plane with Rachel. She runs off, and Ross chases her, leaving Rachel alone on the flight. Once Rachel returns from Greece, she finally tells Ross of her continued feelings for him. They both find it crazy when they realize that Rachel is in love with a married man whose wife won't return his calls.

Ross continues calling everyone in Emily's family to try to find her and sends them packages of flowers and giant stuffed animals. Annoyed by Ross' repeated, failed attempts to win her over, Emily finally contacts Ross to tell him to stop harassing her and her family. She eventually agrees to giving their marriage a chance, but only if he moves to England. When he refuses on account of Ben, she agrees to move to the US but on the condition that he must move into a new apartment and cut Rachel out of his life. Ross reluctantly agrees and moves out of his apartment and into the one he'll be sharing with Emily which is sublet from her cousin. However Ross finds he can't stop being friends with Rachel and tells Emily this. Emily's inability to trust Ross results in her deciding to end their marriage. Emily's cousin then kicks him out of his new apartment, leaving him homeless although Chandler and Joey agree to let him stay while he finds somewhere else to live. Sometime later, Emily leaves a message on Ross' answering machine and wonders if the divorce was a mistake - even though she is set to marry another man. Rachel accidentally deletes the message, but still tells Ross about it. Ross decides against calling Emily, not wanting to reunite with his paranoid and controlling ex-wife.

Rachel begins dating a man who lives in the apartment building, Danny, but stops seeing him after she realizes he has an inappropriate sexual relationship with his sister. Ross begins to suffer anger management problems following his divorce and homelessness, and eventually is forced to take a hiatus at work after screaming at his boss for eating his "moistmaker" sandwich. Eventually, he moves into Ugly Naked Guy's now-vacant apartment across the street from Monica's.

After sleeping with each other while in London, Monica and Chandler decide to establish a secret relationship. Joey is the first to find out about Monica and Chandler's relationship early in the season after they take a secret vacation together. Rachel finds out mid-season, when she ends up eavesdropping on a phone call, and Phoebe is the second to last person to find out about the relationship when she sees them through the window of Ross' new apartment. Joey, Rachel and Phoebe confront Monica and Chandler about their deception by playing a trick on them, and Chandler and Monica finally admit that they have fallen in love with each other. Ross also finds out about Monica and Chandler's relationship after seeing them through the window of his new apartment. After realizing that Monica and Chandler are actually in love, he is happy for them.

Joey receives a role in a movie filming in Las Vegas. Chandler is going to drive to Nevada with him, but before they leave New York, Chandler accidentally reveals that he doesn't think the movie is Joey's big break and Joey kicks him out of the car. When he arrives in Las Vegas, he finds out the movie has run out of funding and been put on hold indefinitely. He gets a job as a gladiator character at a hotel and casino. The rest of the friends discover this when they plan a trip to Las Vegas to visit. During this trip, Chandler and Monica begin to wonder if they are seeing signs that are telling them that they should get married. However, when they get to the chapel, Ross and Rachel run out, having just drunkenly gotten married.

It received Emmy nominations in 1999 for Outstanding Comedy Series.

Cast[]

Main Cast[]

Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Greene
Courteney Cox as Monica Geller
Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay/Ursula Buffay ("The One With Joey's Bag")
Matt Le Blanc as Joey Tribbiani
Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing
David Schwimmer as Ross Geller

Recurring Cast[]

Helen Baxendale as Emily Waltham
George Newbern as Danny
Michael Rapaport as Gary

Trivia[]

  • The first lines of the season are "Friends, family..." spoken by the minister at Ross and Emily's wedding.
  • In all of her appearances in Season 5 Helen Baxendale was pregnant.
  • Many fans of the series consider this and the fourth season to be the best seasons of the show.

Images[]

Visual effects comparisons[]

See also[]

Episode List[]

# Total Image Title Writer Director Original Airdate
1 98 TOARossSaysRachel "The One After Ross Says Rachel" Seth Kurland Kevin S. Bright September 24, 1998
Ross's nuptials continue after his slip-of-the-tongue but wedded bliss doesn't follow. Monica and Chandler try continuing their affair but can't steal a moment alone.
2 99 TOWATKissing "The One With All The Kissing" Wil Calhoun Gary Halvorson October 1, 1998
Ross's attempts at reconciling with Emily go unheeded. Chandler and Monica's affair is challenged by their "Not-in-New York" rule.
3 100 TOWTTriplets "The One Hundredth" Marta Kauffman & David Crane Kevin S. Bright October 8, 1998
Phoebe is rushed to the hospital, where triplets are born. Joey gets hospitalized next - when his sympathy labor pains turn out to be kidney stones. An unsuspecting Rachel arranges a date for Monica with a male nurse.
4 101 TOWPhoebeHatesPBS "The One Where Phoebe Hates PBS" Michael Curtis Shelley Jensen October 15, 1998
Phoebe resents Joey's PBS telethon gig because of a long-running grudge she holds against the network. To cover up her affair with Chandler, Monica tells Rachel she's dating someone from work.
5 102 TOWTKips "The One With The Kips" Scott Silveri Dana De Vally Piazza October 29, 1998
Monica and Chandler go to Atlantic City for a weekend by themselves. Ross tries to tell Rachel they can't be friends once Emily arrives in New York.
6 103 TOWTYeti "The One With The Yeti" Alexa Junge Gary Halvorson November 5, 1998
While rummaging in the storage room, Monica and Rachel meet a hairy neighbor they first mistake for a yeti. To smooth things over with Emily, Ross agrees to de-Rachelize his apartment.
7 104 TOWRossMovesIn "The One Where Ross Moves In" Perry Rein & Gigi McCreery Gary Halvorson November 12, 1998
With his marriage on the rocks, Ross moves in with Chandler and Joey. Rachel is convinced that her neighbor Danny is trying to seduce her with mind games.
8 105 TOWATThanksgivings "The One With All The Thanksgivings" Greg Malins Kevin S. Bright November 19, 1998
The gang reminisces about their worst Thanksgivings. Phoebe's takes her back to 1862. Elaborate tales are spun to try and uncover Monica's worst memory.
9 106 TOWRoss'Sandwich "The One With Ross' Sandwich" Andrew Reich & Ted Cohen Gary Halvorson December 10, 1998
Ross is enraged when someone at work steals his Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich. Joey threatens to crack under the strain of knowing about Monica and Chandler's affair.
10 107 TOWTInappropriateSister "The One With The Inappropriate Sister" Shana Goldberg-Meehan Dana De Vally Piazza December 17, 1998
Monica maneuvers Rachel and Danny into dating but Rachel has second thoughts after observing Danny's unusually close relationship with his sister.
11 108 TOWATResolutions "The One With All The Resolutions" Teleplay by Suzie Villandry, Story by Brian Boyle Joe Regalbuto January 7, 1999
As the new year approaches, everyone makes resolutions, some more realistic than others. Ross's resolution causes him to wear hot leather pants on a date...perhaps too hot.
12 109 TOWChandler'sWorkLaugh "The One With Chandler's Work Laugh" Alicia Sky Varinaitis Kevin S. Bright January 21, 1999
Monica uncovers the fake laugh Chandler reserves for his boss's bad jokes. Rachel is upset that Monica hasn't 'fessed up about her affair. Word comes of Emily's remarriage plans.
13 110 TOWJoey'sBag "The One With Joey's Bag" Teleplay by Seth Kurland, Story by Michael Curtis Gail Mancuso February 4, 1999
When Rachel helps Joey change his image to help him land an acting gig, she includes a shoulder bag that's rather purselike. Phoebe is shocked when her dad attends her grandmother's funeral.
14 111 TOWEverybodyFindsOut "The One Where Everybody Finds Out" Alexa Junge Michael Lembeck February 11, 1999
When Phoebe finds out about the Monica/Chandler affair, she tests Chandler via flirtation. Ugly Naked Guy's apartment goes up for rent and Ross wants it.
15 112 TOWTGirlWhoHitsJoey "The One With The Girl Who Hits Joey" Adam Chase Kevin S. Bright February 18, 1999
When Joey starts dating Katie, he finds she packs a painful punch. Ross has trouble making friends with his new neighbors.
16 113 TOWTCop "The One With The Cop" Teleplay by Gigi McCreery & Perry Rein, Story by Alicia Sky Varinaitis Andrew Tsao February 25, 1999
Phoebe finds a police badge inside the Central Perk sofa. Rather than return it, she decides to embark on a "good-deeds" campaign. Joey is unnerved by his romantic dream about Monica.
17 114 TOWRachel'sInadvertentKiss "The One With Rachel's Inadvertent Kiss" Andrew Reich & Ted Cohen Shelley Jensen March 18, 1999
After a job interview, Rachel impulsively kisses her potential boss on the cheek. Joey tries to find the apartment of a hot girl who lives in Ross' building but instead ending up in Ross' apartment. Phoebe and Gary vie for "steamiest-affair" with Monica and Chandler.
18 115 TOWRachelSmokes "The One Where Rachel Smokes" Michael Curtis Todd Holland April 8, 1999
Rachel takes up smoking at her new job as a way of making inroads with the boss. Ross' son Ben joins Joey on an audition for a soup commerical.
19 116 TOWRossCan'tFlirt "The One Where Ross Can't Flirt" Doty Abrams Gail Mancuso April 22, 1999
Joey's Italian-speaking grandma joins the gang in watching his Law & Order debut. Ross decides to order lots and lots of pizza in order to flirt with the delivery girl.
20 117 TOWTRideAlong "The One With The Ride-Along" Shana Goldberg-Meehan & Seth Kurland Gary Halvorson April 29, 1999
As Emily's wedding nears, the group does its best to distract Ross. A gunshot and a meatball sandwich take center stage when the guys go out on the beat with Phoebe's cop boyfriend.
21 118 TOWTBall "The One With The Ball" Teleplay by Greg Malins, Story by Scott Silveri Gary Halvorson May 6, 1999
Phoebe asks Chandler to talk Gary out of asking her to move in with him. To fulfill a childhood dream, Rachel buys a sphinx cat which doesn't behave as planned.
22 119 TOWJoey'sBigBreak "The One With Joey's Big Break" Teleplay by Wil Calhoun, Story by Shana Goldberg-Meehan Gary Halvorson May 13, 1999
Joey is excited about landing a lead role in a movie shooting just outside Las Vegas - but furious with Chandler after he confesses his doubts that it will be his "big break." Rachel's right eye is itchy and Monica takes her to the doctor who tells her to take eye drops. But however, Rachel is terrified to take the eye-drops.
23 120 TOIVegas "The One In Vegas, Part 1" Andrew Reich & Ted Cohen Kevin S. Bright May 20, 1999
After his film gig falls through, Joey begs Chandler not to visit. But when Monica decides to celebrate her one-year anniversary with Chandler in Vegas, no one wants to be left behind.
24 121 TOIVegas2 "The One In Vegas, Part 2" Greg Malins & Scott Silveri Kevin S. Bright May 20, 1999
Joey tries to convince a blackjack dealter with identical hands to join him in a business venture. While playing craps with Monica, Chandler makes the bet of a lifetime.


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