The One With A Chick And A Duck

"The One With A Chick And A Duck" is the twenty-first episode of the third season of Friends, which aired on April 17, 1997.

Plot[]

After watching the news, Joey decides to adopt a baby chick for Chandler. Chandler is not too crazy about the chick until he spends an entire day taking care of it. He then lashes out with Joey, much like a married couple does, about how Joey's not spending enough time with the chick and that its arrival is only the cause of a lot of fighting between the two. Chandler resolves to take the chick back, but not only does he fail to return her (because he finds out that they would kill her if nobody else is willing to adopt her), but he apparently also comes back home with a fully-grown duck.

At the Moondance diner, Monica has to start working on rollerskates, so she practices with Phoebe and Rachel outside the coffee house. Monica slips and falls on Rachel, who hurts her ribs. Pete, returning from Japan, brings Monica some hotel toiletries and some huge news for her - he wants her to be the head-chef at his new restaurant. Monica literally falls over at the news. However, she is reluctant to work at his restaurant because she fears he's doing this out of love for her, but he blows her off by telling her he met someone else. Phoebe hears the whole conversation between Monica and Pete, and deducts that Pete made up the woman because he's still in love with Monica. Pete makes her promise not to tell Monica, which promise she keeps. After inspecting the kitchens, Monica accepts the job but as she hugs Pete, he tries to catch the scent of her hair. Monica works out that he still loves her (which he soon reveals to her) and rejects the job. Pete doesn't let her go without a kiss. However, Monica soon discovers that a kiss is all it takes to start looking at Pete in a totally different light. The two share a passionate kiss, beginning their romantic relationship.

Ross obtains a part in a panel for the Discovery Channel, and he's really excited about it. He keeps asking the guys for advice on what he should wear, with mixed criticism. When he sees Rachel in pain due to the fall from Monica, he helps her get ready for the dinner she has with her work colleagues. When it turns out that Rachel is in too much pain to go anywhere, he takes her to the hospital, cancelling his appearance on the Discovery Channel in the process. He doesn't tell Rachel of this until after their hospital visit, but when he does, Rachel tells him that it's the sweetest thing he's done. Ross tells her to get some sleep.

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[]

Jon Favreau - Pete Becker
James Michael Tyler - Gunther

Crew[]

Directed By:
Michael Lembeck

Written By:
Chris Brown

Quotes[]

Monica: Can you believe he just offered me a restaurant?
Rachel: What a jerk. You want me to kick his ass?
Monica: This has been my dream since I got my first Easy-Bake oven and opened Easy Monica's Bakery.

Trivia[]

At the beginning of the episode Gunther brings Rachel a cocoa outside of Central Perk, even though it's against the rules. In "The One With Frank Jr." Gunther sends Rachel outside to get the cup Phoebe had outside. Of course, since Gunther is in love with Rachel, it can be assumed that if he would break the rules for anybody, it would be for Rachel.
In this episode, Chandler has facial hair (in which Joey states he looks like Satan), and has it for 4 episodes until "The One At The Beach". His goatee is similar to the one he had in "The One With The Flashback".
When Joey exclaims "Oh my!" when he sees Monica and Rachel on the pavement, this is a callback to "The One With The Evil Orthodontist" when he said the same thing first when he saw Rachel and Mindy and later Rachel and Monica hugging.
The Magna Doodle in this episode shows a cartoon face.
When Joey brings Chandler the chick and cuddles it in his arms, Chandler exclaims "easy Lennie". This is a reference to the Nobel-Prize winning novel Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, where Lennie has an obsession over soft objects and unintentionally kills small animals by stroking them too hard.
This is the last appearance of the diner in the show; Monica quits her job there to work at Pete's restaurant.
Rachel playfully nudging Ross with her foot is recalled in "The One Where Chandler Can't Cry" when they nudge each other with their foot after he breaks up with Jill.
The radiator in the hallway has moved to under the little window at the top of the stairs. It was previously by the step.
This episode was used as "X is for X-ray" in the Nick at Nite Friends A-Z Event (January 2023).

Goofs[]

At the beginning of the episode, Phoebe and Rachel push Monica on rollerskates back and forth. Phoebe, having suggested rollerskating at the restaurant earlier, shouldn't be surprised when Monica says that it was a suggestion from a customer.
At the beginning of the episode, Phoebe gives Monica a push on her roller skates and then the scene was cut to Gunther giving Rachel a mug of cocoa. At this point, Monica is about to crash into Rachel, but as the angle changes, it was shown that Phoebe was giving Monica a push for a second time.
When Ross came to ask Joey and Chandler which suit was the better he was holding the brown one with his right and the blue one in his left hand. But in the next scene, the brown one was in the left and the blue one in the right.
Rachel asks Ross to do her eye makeup for her but in a later episode, Ross tells the gang that she doesn't like anything near her eye.
When Monica is coming toward Pete in the first scene in the restaurant, a mat is visible for Monica to fall on later.
After Ross tells her "you can't look fat in a x-ray", Rachel is seen to say something but there's no audio.

External links[]

Transcript of the episode including the deleted scenes
"The One with the Chick and the Duck" at the Internet Movie Database

Episode Navigation[]

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Preceded by "The One With The Dollhouse"	Series Three Episodes	Followed by "The One With The Screamer"


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