The One Where Chandler Crosses The Line

"The One Where Chandler Crosses The Line" is the seventh episode of the fourth season of Friends, which aired on November 13, 1997. In it, Chandler does something that could jeopardize his and Joey's friendship while Phoebe is the only one impressed when Ross begins to play the electric keyboard.

Plot[]

Fighting his feelings for Kathy isn't working out too well for Chandler, especially when he sees her naked in the bathroom once. Nevertheless, Chandler keeps his distance from Kathy out of respect for Joey, until he sees Joey getting a date with another girl. Kathy comes over at Chandler's apartment, where she's supposed to meet Joey for their date. However, Joey is stuck out with Casey, and his early date is disrupted when his car breaks down, making him too late to have time for his date with Kathy. Despite this, Kathy stays at Chandler's apartment and offers to cut his hair. As she's about to leave, Chandler kisses her. The two come to their senses, and resolve not to tell Joey about the kiss. However, Kathy can't bring herself to leave the apartment, and she and Chandler keep on kissing.

Ross helps Phoebe write part of a song, which leads to him reminiscing of when he played the keyboard. Phoebe then encourages him to play in front of her friends. His playing is not really "music" to the other friends - not so much as helicopter sounds, dog barks, a cow mooing, lazer sounds, a doorbell ringtone, creaking doors and explosions crammed together over a jazz bass progression. Everyone (minus Joey, who is not present) finds Ross' music disastrous to say the least, except for Phoebe, who thinks he's really inspired. On an offhanded suggestion by Rachel, Ross begins playing at Central Perk in Phoebe's place, driving customers away. However, Ross soon realizes that him playing is preventing Phoebe from doing the same. Thus, he steps down from playing and asks Phoebe to finish the rest of the session. However, he later tells Monica and Rachel that he had been playing badly on purpose.

Joey comes back to his apartment, only to find it locked. Chandler opens the door, and reveals a whole new set of furniture, including a new remote-controlled entertainment unit, new barcaloungers and a Foosball table. Joey can't be happier with his roommate. Chandler confesses with everyone how he kissed Kathy. He doesn't feel better when they point out to him that if he had talked to Joey earlier about this, Joey would have stepped aside for him. Chandler ends up telling Joey about the kiss. Joey is furious, and boycotts using the new furniture. Even worse, he stops talking to Chandler, effectively jeopardizing their friendship.

Cast and Crew[]

Main Cast[]

Jennifer Aniston - Rachel Greene
Courteney Cox - Monica Geller
Lisa Kudrow - Phoebe Buffay
Matt LeBlanc - Joey Tribbiani
Matthew Perry - Chandler Bing
David Schwimmer - Ross Geller

Supporting Cast[]

Paget Brewster - Kathy
James Michael Tyler - Gunther

Crew[]

Directed By:
Kevin S. Bright

Written By:
Adam Chase

Quotes[]

Chandler: [entering in a bathrobe] I just walked into the bathroom and saw Kathy naked! It was like torture!
Ross: You know, if we ever go to war and you’re captured, you’re in for a big surprise.
Chandler: It just keeps getting worse and worse! You know? I mean, it’s bad enough that I’m in love with my roommate's girlfriend —which by the way, I think she knows. Because every time we’re in the room together, there’s this weird, like, energy between us. And call me crazy, but I think she likes me too. And now I have seen her naked. I mean, at least when I’ve seen her with clothes on, I could imagine her body was, like, covered in boles or something. But there are no boles, she’s smooth! Smooth! [leaves]
[Pause]
Phoebe: Wow! Could everyone totally see up his robe?
Everybody: Yeah! Oh my God!

Chandler: Look, I think it's time for you to settle down, you know? Make a choice, pick a lane!
Joey: Who's Elaine?

Chandler: [There is a canoe in the living room] Come on in, have a seat. Bow or stern?
Kathy: I, uh, don't really have a preference. You?
Chandler: I like it in the stern... of the boat.

[Chandler has bought new furniture for his and Joey's apartment.]
Joey: Man, how did you afford this stuff?
Chandler: Well, you know, I’m 29. I mean, who needs a savings account?

Ross: [as Chandler enters the coffee shop] Saw the new furniture, very nice.
Monica: Yeah, Joey has the best boyfriend ever!
Chandler: I kissed Kathy.
Ross: What?
Monica: Are you serious?
Phoebe: Does Joey know?
Chandler: No. Is there any way, any way you think he'll understand this?
Monica: You obviously haven't screwed over a lot of your friends. [Sees Chandler's face] Which we all appreciate.
Ross: No, the — the sad thing is if you had told him how you felt before you kissed her, knowing Joey, he probably just would've stepped aside.
Chandler: Oh, don't say that. Don't say that. That's not true, is it?
[Group mutters in agreement]
Chandler: Then why didn't you tell me to do that?!
Ross: Well, I said — I said something to Phoebe...
Phoebe: Yeah, no, that's right and I thought it was a really good idea.
[Rest of group agrees]
Chandler: [Sitting down] God! What am I gonna do?
Rachel: Well, Chandler, you're gonna have to tell him.
Chandler: Why? Why do I have to tell him?
Rachel: Because you do.
Chandler: Yeah, I know.
Ross: [Leans towards Chandler] Would it be okay if I wrote a song about this?

Chandler: Listen, uh, Joe, I — I need to, I need to talk to you about something.
Joey: What’s up?
Chandler: It’s — it’s about Kathy. Um, uh, I like her. I like her a lot, actually.
Joey: You do?
Chandler: Yeah.
Joey: Well, your timing couldn’t be better. She’s not my girlfriend anymore.
Chandler: What?
Joey: Yeah, she broke up with me.
Chandler: Oh, uh, when?
Joey: Just now, after acting class. At first, I thought she was doing some kind of scene, that’s why I let people watch.
Chandler: Oh, man, I am so sorry. Are, are you okay?
Joey: Well, I’ve been better. But, I’m all right. So you like her, huh?
Chandler: Yes, but I — I, uh, don’t have to.
Joey: No, no, no, no, it’s, uh, it’s okay.
Chandler: Yeah?
Joey: Yeah. You know why? ‘Cause you can to me first.
Chandler: Well, I thought that would be the best thing to do.
Joey: But hey, listen, just so you know, you might have your work cut out for you. ‘Cause when I talked to her, I kinda got the feeling that she’s into some other guy. So...
Chandler: See, uh, that’s — that’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about. I — I think I know who the other guy is.
Joey: Who?
Chandler: It’s me. I’m the other guy.
Joey: What?
Chandler: Yeah, I mean, when you were late last night, Kathy and I got to talking, and one thing led to another and...
Joey: And what? Did you sleep with her?
Chandler: No! No! No, I just kissed her.
Joey: What?! That's even worse!
Chandler: How is that worse?!
Joey: I don't know, but it's the same!
Chandler: Look, Joey, I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do. I think I'm in love with her.
Joey: Who cares?! You went behind my back! I would never do that to you!
Chandler: You’re right, I have no excuses! I was totally over the line.
Joey: Over the line? You — you’re — you’re so far past the line, that you — you can’t even see the line! The line is a dot to you!

Trivia[]

The DVD episode features an extra sub-plot in which Rachel starts eating out by herself. She starts to enjoy it so much that she blows off a date with a doctor. Monica later convinces Rachel to change her mind, however the doctor silently rebuffs her when he sees Rachel eating out by herself.
Most of the furniture Chandler buys will remain in this apartment until the end of the series: Chandler separates the barcaloungers in "The One With Ross' Denial"; Joey breaks the second barcalounger in "The One Where Rosita Dies", the first one having broken earlier in the same episode; and Monica busts open the foosball table in The Last One.
The Magna-Doodle in Joey and Chandler's apartment shows: "Clean up duck feathers in hallway! Treeger". This shows that Treeger knew of the chick and the duck and let the guys keep the pets at least until Season 6. This is the opposite of "The One With The Ballroom Dancing", when Joey accidentally tells Treeger that he has poultry and Treeger doesn't react positively. However, it could be possible that Treeger changed his opinion between these two episodes due to Joey's assistance with Treeger's shyness towards dancing with a female super.
After Chandler and Kathy have kissed the Magna-doodle reads "I'm so sorry, man" when Joey enters the apartment.
Phoebe references the song Play That Funky Music, when she says, "Play that funky music, white boy" to Ross.
It's around about this episode that Ross and Rachel start to re-establish their friendship which deepens later in the season, although they have been on speaking terms for a few episodes now.
This is the last time anyone other than Phoebe is seen performing in Central Perk.
As with the later episode when Ross plays the bagpipes in "The One With Joey's New Brain", Jennifer can't contain her laughter, covering her mouth with her hand, when Ross performs his "music" in the apartment.
In the tag scene, the way Phoebe says "after that" is a callback to how she initially said "in this play" in "The One With The Butt"".
The tune that Ross plays is the opening to Bichin Camaro by the Dead Milkmen. Chandler jokes the song is "bichin".
Joey's line, "The line is a dot to you!", was improvised.
This episode was used as "K is for Keyboard" in the Nick at Nite Friends A-Z Event (January 2023).

Goofs[]

When Chandler sits at the counter in the beginning of the episode, Phoebe asks the others if they too could see under his robe. They all agree, however, Monica was standing and could not in any way see under Chandler's robe from her position.
When Chandler comes in to talk with Joey about his feelings for Kathy, Joey switches off the TV. However, when Joey walks into this bedroom, he turns the TV off again. You can actually see the TV is still on in the background of several shots, but there is no sound; presumably, Joey was pressing the mute button on the remote.
Continuity - Before Ross begins playing the keyboard, he says that he has never played his stuff in front of other people before and Chandler seems shocked by how bad it is. Later in the series it is established that Ross and Chandler were band mates in college. Ross also states in "The One That Could have Been Part 1" that he played "Interplanetary Courtship Ritual" for Rachel in the past. Its possible Ross never played his "music" to Chandler as Ross describes it as deeply personal.
During the scene that Joey calls Chandler to say that he will be late, after Chandler hangs up, the Boom Mic can be seen at the top of the screen.
During the same scene and throughout the first of Joey's phone calls, Chandler's bedroom door can be seen open. However when Chandler goes to sit in the stern of the canoe, the door is fully closed.
Ross tells Chandler "If we go to war and you're captured, you're in for a surprise." In November 1997 when the episode was aired, the United States were simultaneously in 4 different wars in Iraq, Somalia, Bosnia and Haiti. Ross was presumably referring to the gang themselves when he said "we".
When Chandler switches off the TV, the remote is in his left hand but it disappears from view and then appears on the counter a few shots later even though there was nothing but the phone there and both of Chandler's hands had been in view the whole time.
It's impossible for the entire transmission to fall out of the car, let alone be able to drive several blocks without it.
When Ross is talking about how he "really found his sound" when he played the keyboard during college, Monica laughs and spills her drink. She then puts her drink on the coffee table and wipes her mouth and says some dialogue, the shot then cuts to Phoebe, but Monica is seen in the foreground putting down her drink a second time.
A message from Mr. Treeger about cleaning up duck feathers is shown on the whiteboard in Joey and Chandler's apartment, but his name is misspelled as "Treager."

Gallery[]

Screenshots[]

External links[]

Transcript of the episode including the deleted scenes
"The One Where Chandler Crosses the Line" at the Internet Movie Database

Episode Navigation[]

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Preceded by "The One With The Dirty Girl"	Series Four Episodes	Followed by "The One With Chandler In A Box"


<< Season 3		Season 4				Season 5 >>
#01	"The One With The Jellyfish"		#09	"The One Where They're Going To Party"	#17	"The One With The Free Porn"
#02	"The One With The Cat"		#10	"The One With The Girl From Poughkeepsie"	#18	"The One With Rachel's New Dress"
#03	"The One With The Cuffs"		#11	"The One With Phoebe's Uterus"	#19	"The One With All The Haste"
#04	"The One With The Ballroom Dancing"		#12	"The One With The Embryos"	#20	"The One With All The Wedding Dresses"
#05	"The One With Joey's New Girlfriend"		#13	"The One With Rachel's Crush"	#21	"The One With The Invitation"
#06	"The One With The Dirty Girl"		#14	"The One With Joey's Dirty Day"	#22	"The One With The Worst Best Man Ever"
#07	"The One Where Chandler Crosses The Line"		#15	"The One With All The Rugby"	#23	"The One With Ross' Wedding, Part 1"
#08	"The One With Chandler In A Box"		#16	"The One With The Fake Party"	#24	"The One With Ross' Wedding, Part 2"