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The One With All The Thanksgivings

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"The One With All The Thanksgivings" (also known as "The One With The Thanksgiving Flashbacks") is the eighth episode of the fifth season of Friends, which aired on November 19, 1998. In it, the gang reminisce about past Thanksgivings after Ross is miserable about his divorce and eviction. Chandler talks about his parent's divorce, Phoebe talks about nursing soldiers in a past life where she lost an arm, Joey talks about the time he got a turkey stuck on his head, Monica talks about a time Chandler betrayed her, and Rachel reveals a secret about Monica that could ruin their relationship with Chandler.

Plot[]

Ross's complaint that his divorce and eviction means he is having the worst Thanksgiving ever prompts the others to tell their stories of bad holidays that they had gone by before. Chandler reminds everyone of the Thanksgiving where his parents told him they were getting a divorce. Phoebe then tells of a worse one from a past life where she lost an arm, though Ross disqualifies her story, limiting the tales to true lives. Rachel says she knows Monica's worst Thanksgiving, but Phoebe interrupts with a story about the Thanksgiving when Joey got a turkey stuck on his head. Joey intended to freak Chandler out with the turkey, so Phoebe, and later Monica, after she comes home, attempt to pull the turkey out. This results in Chandler being scared when he returns. Monica then tells the group what she thinks is her worst Thanksgiving. In 1987, Rachel, who has a big nose, comes over, upset about Chip Matthews dumping her for Nancy Branson. Ross brings Chandler home from college for Thanksgiving (with Ross having his Afro and Mustache and Chandler with a "Flock Of Seagulls" Hair Style). Rachel tells Monica, who is overweight, that she is through dating high school boys and wants to date men. Ross overhears this and tells Chandler that he is thinking of asking Rachel out and tells Chandler his plan. But, hearing it might be all night and Ross offers to let him stay at his house, Chandler blurts out that he doesn't want to be around his 'fat' sister, which was overheard by Monica. Disgusted that he actually meant that, Monica stops overeating.

5x08 Knife

Monica accidentally drops the kitchen knife on Chandler's foot.

Joey turkey head

Monica's turkey head freaks Joey out!

Back in the present, Chandler apologies to Monica for insulting her. Rachel reveals that story is not the story she was referring to. The flashbacks continue to 1988; Ross and Chandler (this time dressed like members of Miami Vice) arrive for dinner to find Monica has slimmed down, and Chandler now finds her attractive. Monica tells Rachel that she wants to humiliate Chandler for calling her fat, so Rachel suggests tricking him into taking off his clothes. Based on Rachel's suggestion that she act like everything around her turns her on, Monica tries to seduce Chandler by rubbing various objects, including a knife, against herself. She accidentally drops the knife and severs his toe, due to the fact Chandler's shoes are very weak. He is rushed to hospital to have it reattached but, in the commotion, Monica unknowingly mixed up the digit with a small piece of carrot. In the present, Chandler becomes upset after learning that he had lost his toe because he called Monica fat, and angrily leaves. When Monica comes by his apartment seeking his forgiveness by putting a turkey on her head, puts a fez hat and large glasses on it, and dances for him, making him inadvertently tell her he loves her for the first time in their relationship. And the turkey on Monica's head freaks Joey out. A tag scene shows another of Phoebe's past life memories as she serves in a World War I field hospital in 1915, and again loses her arm.

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[]

Morgan Fairchild – Nora Tyler Bing
Elliott Gould – Jack Geller
Douglas Looper – Paramedic
Alec Mapa – The Housekeeper
Christina Pickles – Judy Geller
Joshua Preston – Young Chandler
Michael Winters – The Doctor

Crew[]

Directed By:
Kevin S. Bright

Written By:
Greg Malins

Quotes[]

Rachel: You know what we should all do? We should play that game where everybody says one thing that they're thankful for.
Joey: Oh, oh. I! I am thankful for this beautiful fall we've been having.
Monica: That's very nice.
Chandler: That's sweet, Joey.
Joey: Yeah, the other day I was at the bus stop and this lovely fall breeze came in out of nowhere and blew this chick's skirt right up. Oh. Which reminds me, I'm also thankful for thongs.

Rachel: Joey got a turkey stuck on his head?
Joey: Hey! It's not like it sounds!
Chandler: It's exactly like it sounds.

Ross: Uh, everyone, this is Chandler. My roommate, and lead singer of our band.
Monica: Ross...
Ross: Uh, this is Monica.
Monica: Hi, I'm Ross' little sister.
Chandler: Okay...

Rachel: I cannot believe Chip dumped me for that slut, Nancy Branson. I am never going out with him again. I don't care how much he begs.
Monica: I think his begging days are over now that he's going out with Nancy Branson.
Rachel: You know what? I've just had it with high school boys! They are just silly. [Ross is overhearing this] Silly, stupid boys! I'm going to start dating men!
Ross: Um, I'm sorry, Judy. I couldn't find that bowl that you and Jack were looking for.
Monica: Call them mom and dad, you loser!
Ross: [in a high-pitched voice] Monica!

Chandler: You should be a chef.
Monica: Okay.

[in Monica's flashback, after she heard Chandler calling her fat]
Judy Geller: Monica, why don't you finish off these pies? I don't have any more room left in the fridge.
Monica: No. No, thank you.
Jack Geller: Well, Judy, you did it. She's finally full.

[After they hear the story where Chandler's toe gets cut off]
Monica: Chandler, I said I was sorry.
Chandler: Yeah, well, sorry doesn't bring back the little piggy that cried all the way home.

[Monica has put a turkey on her head to seek for Chandler's forgiveness after cutting off his toe.]
Chandler: Nice try.
Monica: Wait, wait, wait!
[Monica puts a Shriner's hat on the turkey]
Chandler: Look, Monica...
Monica: Look!
[Monica puts a big, yellow pair of sunglasses on the turkey]
Chandler: This is not going to work.
Monica: I bet this will work!
[Monica starts dancing and Chandler cracks up.]
Chandler: You're so great! I love you!
[Monica stops suddenly and turns around slowly.]
Monica: What?
Chandler: Nothing! I said, I said "You're so great" and then I just, I just stopped talking!
Monica: You said you love me! I can't believe this!
Chandler: No, I didn't!
Monica: Yes, you did!
Chandler: No, I didn't!
Monica: You love me!
Chandler: No, I don't! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!
[Joey walks in and sees Monica. He freaks out and runs back into the hallway, screaming.]

Reception[]

Entertainment Weekly rates the episode "B+", calling the "pre-nose job" Rachel and "Fat Monica" great sight gags and citing Joey's line "It's not so much an underpant as it is a feat of engineering" (in reference to a thong) as the best of the episode. The authors of Friends Like Us: The Unofficial Guide to Friends write "This unusual episode is one of the series' best ever, with the non-stop comedy roller-coaster suddenly throwing a brilliant surprise ending at you".

Debra McGuire was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Costume Design for a Series, while the mixers were nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or a Special. The popularity of this episode saw it included on one of the first region 1 "best of" DVD releases.

Trivia[]

General[]

  • This episode was rated No. 3 in "UK's 6 Favourite Friends Episodes Countdown"
  • In the first Thanksgiving flashback showing Chandler learning that his parents are divorcing, an unidentified gray haired man plays his father. When his father appears later in the series he's played by Kathleen Turner.
  • In this episode we see that Chandler's toe was severed. This was a play on the fact that Matthew Perry was missing part of his right middle finger.
  • In the flashback where Joey gets the turkey stuck on his head, Joey complains that it smells bad and Phoebe replies "Of course it smells bad; you have your head in a dead animal." In "The One Where Chandler Gets Caught" this flashback is reused, but this time Phoebe's reply is "Of course it smells bad; you have your head up a turkey's ass." Apparently they used another take when selecting the scene.
  • In 1992, Monica says that the turkey which gets stuck on Joey's head is intended to feed 20 people at her parents' house. This maintains the continuity in "The One Where Underdog Gets Away" (S01E09), which establishes that that episode in 1994 was Monica's first Thanksgiving as the cook/host.
  • Matthew Perry actually grew a goatee for the scene when Joey scared him with the turkey.
  • In the 1987 flashback, Monica is seen wearing a sweater which looks visually similar to the scarf which the Fourth Doctor wore on Doctor Who in 1980-81. The events in this flashback show Chandler meeting Monica and Rachel for the first time. This obviously is before the events shown in the prom video as Rachel is still dating Chip at this time.
  • When Monica sits down on the sofa, Chandler bounces up in the air. This wasn't in the original script and was suggested by Matthew Perry.
  • Chandler says he rushed the stage at a Wham concert. He already mentioned that band in "The One With All The Haste".
  • The flashback to 1988 shows Rachel with her new nose, Monica drastically having lost weight and Ross telling his parents about his new girlfriend, Carol, who would be his first wife. The joke about Carol playing lacrosse and golf and "for both teams" is a reference to her lesbianism which would emerge during her marriage to Ross.
  • Chandler suggests to Monica she could become a chef. Years later she would achieve this goal and later marry Chandler. Rachel and Ross would also marry each other years later (twice: at the end of this season and again after the series finale).
  • Douglas Looper, who played the paramedic, reappears as various extras throughout the show, including "The One Where Chandler Can't Cry" as the vampire in Ursula's porno movie and the husband of the wheelchair-bound woman who has very mild contractions in "The One Where Rachel Has A Baby, Part 1".
  • After severing his toe, people called Chandler "Sir Limps-a-Lot" for a year. This is a reference to rapper Sir Mix-a-Lot, whose most famous song "Baby Got Back" will be at the center of a major storyline in "The One With Ross' Inappropriate Song" (S9E7).
  • The way in which Chandler talks to the duck "oh I'm a duck, quack quack, quack" is in the same tone as Tommy, Rachel's date who the gang saw yell at the duck in "The One With The Screamer". The actual line used is very similar too.
  • The flock of seagulls haircut worn by Chandler is seen again in "The One Where The Stripper Cries" in a flashback to when Rachel and Monica visit Ross and Chandler at college.
  • The Magna Doodle has a heart and wings emblem with the number 327 inside and the word bye underneath. This could refer to the theme of this episode. A heart with wings is often associated with love or freedom to love. At the end of this episode, Chandler tells Monica he loves her, and their relationship begins to grow more serious throughout the rest of the season.
  • Monica refers to Rachel's virginity as her flower. Monica refers to her own virginity this way in "The One That Could Have Been, Part 1".
  • Phoebe's flashbacks coincidentally coincide with two actual battles occurring during the Civil War and World War I respectively.
    • While there was no battle that occurred on the Thanksgiving of 1862 (November 27th), the Battle of Cane Hill took place the following day in Washington County, Arkansas.
    • On November 25th, the Thanksgiving of 1915, the Battle of Ctesiphon was fought in present-day Iraq.
  • Due to this episode containing Phoebe's Civil War Thanksgiving flashback, this is the only episode of the show to feature a brief scene set before the 20th century.
  • This is the first Thanksgiving episode of the show to feature Jack and Judy Geller celebrating Thanksgiving with their children, despite being shown in the flashbacks. The next season's Thanksgiving episode is the first and only one to feature the complete Geller family celebrating the traditional holiday together in the present timeline, this time with all members of their children's gang joining them.
  • The entire element of a turkey getting stuck on somebody's head appears to be a shoutout to the 1993 Mr. Bean Christmas story "Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean", where the title character falls victim to this plotline.
  • After Matthew Perry's death in October 2023, David Schwimmer posted the photo of the two of them with their late 1980s suits from this episode and said "This photo is from one of my favorite moments with you. Now it makes me smile and grieve at the same time. I imagine you up there somewhere, in the same white suit, hands in your pockets, looking around "Could there Be anymore clouds?"
  • When watching the entire run in strict chronology, this episode contains story arcs that both pre-date, and overlaps with "The One With The Flashback", before starting with the official starting episode ("The Pilot"). It includes the early days of Ross and Rachel, Ross knowing Chandler, and Monica and Chandler. It also seems to imply that Chandler triggered Monica's massive weight loss as well as her choice of career.
  • This episode marks the beginning of Monica's tendency early on to refer to her virginity as her flower. This is most likely a reference to the phrase "to deflower a woman," which was first used late in the 1400s to the early 1500s. The phrase is a reference to a woman losing her virginity. The phrase was used by poet Stephen Hawes in the early 1500s, with the same connotation.

Goofs[]

  • When Monica drops the knife that severs Chandler's toe, the camera angle changes to look up and someone's shadow moves across the ceiling.
  • In the opening scene when Phoebe is trying to turn on the TV, the TV remote is laying on the table at an angle. When the shot changes it is laying straight, and then it is at an angle again. Then it was straight again, then back at an angle.
  • There is a huge space next to Phoebe in front of Rachel's room visible in some shots, which is clearly to give space for the cameras when shots are needed from that angle.
  • When Monica accidentally throws the knife in the air, you can see as it is flying through the air it has no tip on it, but when we see it heading for Chandler's toe, it has a point.
  • When Monica first drops the knife, it is shown spinning. When the camera angle changes to show the knife from below, it has stopped spinning and is falling straight down.
  • At the end of the episode where Monica is dancing with the turkey on her head, she places the fez on the top of the turkey and the glasses over the turkey's arms. When the camera angle changes, the fez jumps to a pinned-on position tilted back and the glasses are under the arms.
  • The opening scene is immediately after Thanksgiving dinner is over. There is no explanation given for why Monica has another uncooked thawed turkey available to put on her head at the end of the episode. (Presumably it could be, like the huge turkey on Joey's head, intended for a later dinner with her parents.)
  • When Chandler is in the hospital, the doctor's gloves keep disappearing and reappearing.
  • Monica clearly hates the three-dimensional portrait of Gladys in "The One With Ross' Grant"; however, the portrait of Gladys can be seen in Monica's apartment. Also, Monica also asks who's Gladys in the Season 10 episode, when having it hung at her place somewhat implies that she should have known who she is. It could also be true that she did not know that the portrait was called 'Gladys'. Secondly it can be seen that Gladys is red but in the later episode she's blue. 
  • There is a bug flying around Chandler's head shortly after he says he loves Monica.
  • During the kitchen scene in 1988, the position of the glass bowl in front of Monica moves a few inches to the right between the first scene of Monica scraping carrots and Rachel leaving the kitchen even though she never touches it.
  • Even though several minutes pass, the clock remains at five past eight from the moment when Monica first enters the kitchen to when Chandler enters.
  • Around 17:45, right after Chandler asks Monica if she's alright, Monica drops the box she was holding in between her neck and shoulder. The box is clearly seen falling straight down but in the very next shot, the box is up in the air higher than it was before.
  • When Chandler says "Nothing, I said you're so great and then I just stopped talking" there is a feather that slowly drops behind him.
  • Actor Joshua Preston[young Chandler] has brown eyes but Matthew Perry had/has blue.
  • At the beginning of the episode, Chandler says that his dad "decided he was gay, ran away, and abandoned his entire family." It's known that Chandler was 11 when his parents got divorced, but later in the series, when Chandler is talking about how he hates his dad and mentions how he would come to his high school swim meets dressed as Carmen Miranda. This means that his dad could not have abandoned him when he was 11, since he was still around to come to his high school events.
  • In the flashback to 1992, the bathroom floor is black and white checkered and the closet door has the handle on the right. At that time, the floor would have been all white and the handle would have been on the left.
  • In Phoebe's flashbacks, the arm that gets "blown off" is clearly fake, and the outline of her real arm is seen tucked into her clothing.
  • It is impossible for Rachel to "give her flower to Chip" because Monica had told Rachel's father that she had sex on his bed during her freshman year.

Continuity Errors[]

The dates of the flashbacks in this episode create many continuity errors that do not correspond to the rest of the series.

  • The flashback in 1992 shows that Joey was already in the group; however, the Season 3 flashback episode "The One With The Flashback" takes place in 1996 and flashes back three years to 1993, and shows how Joey first met the group.
  • The flashback where Joey gets the turkey stuck on his head, you can see the white-and-black tiled bathroom floor. The floor should be all white since Joey didn't put in the new tiling until "The One With Frank Jr."
  • The Thanksgiving 1988 flashback sees Ross talking about his new girlfriend Carol, whom he later marries. However in "The Pilot," which took place in 1994, Ross and Carol divorce after a seven year marriage, which would mean they would have married in 1987.
    • Ross could have been thinking of their entire relationship when he mentioned the seven years and just referred to that as the length of their marriage, or like Rachel, they were friends before dating. In "The One With All The Haste", he told Emily they'd dated for 4 years before getting married.
  • This episode shows Chandler meeting Rachel in 1987, but in "The Pilot", which takes place in 1994, Monica introduced Chandler to Rachel as if they'd never met.
  • In this episode we see Chandler as a child finding out his parents are getting a divorce. On his plate is some turkey and vegetables and all the other thanksgiving food, but in "The One Where Underdog Gets Away", we learned that Chandler was eating dessert and had a bite of pumpkin pie in his mouth when his parents told him they were getting divorced. However, the flashback takes place just after he was told about the divorce, so he may not have still been eating the pie at this point; although this still doesn't explain why the house boy offered him more turkey if he had just finished dessert.
  • The closet door has the handle on the right but this didn't switch to this side until Season Three.
  • Monica has previously stated that when she first met Chandler, she thought he was gay, but during this flashback, it is revealed that she had a crush on him when she first met him at their family's dinner.

Photos[]

External links[]

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
Preceded by
"The One Where Ross Moves In" 		"The One With All The Thanksgivings Followed by
"The One With Ross' Sandwich"
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