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The One With Phoebe's Ex-Partner

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"The One With Phoebe's Ex-Partner" is the fourteenth episode of the third season of Friends, which aired on February 6, 1997. In it, Phoebe's ex singing partner wants a reunion, Chandler dates an ex of Joey's with a secret, and Ross tries to insert himself in Rachel's work life.

Plot[]

Phoebe's ex-singing partner Leslie plays at Central Perk. Everyone likes her except Phoebe, who reveals that the two used to sing together but broke up when Leslie went to sing for commercials. Although still mad at her, deep down, Phoebe wants to get back together with Leslie and does so halfway through the episode. Things go well now until Leslie hears Smelly Cat, which she sings to her old commercial colleagues, who love it. Phoebe is angry that Leslie wants to sell Smelly Cat, and tells her to choose between their partnership and the song... and Leslie chooses the song, leaving Phoebe in the lurch while Smelly Cat is used on a commercial for cat litter.

Although Ross is sad that Rachel is working late again, his spirits are lifted when he learns that Mark is quitting his job to take up a better position. However his good mood doesn't last long when he learns that Rachel is still planning to see Mark when they attend an upcoming fashion seminar. When Rachel explains she wants someone with her who won't be bored, Ross feigns an interest in fashion and Rachel agrees to let him come with her. However Ross finds the lecture tedious and boring and falls asleep, causing an argument when he and Rachel return home. Rachel realizes that Ross only went with her so she couldn't go with Mark, and assures him that he's got nothing to worry about but insists her work life is entirely separate from him and asks him to be ok with that. Although Ross pretends to agree, he clearly still has a massive problem with it.

At the coffeehouse, Chandler meets Ginger, an ex-girlfriend of Joey's. Joey freaks out when he sees her, and later explains to Phoebe and Monica how he threw her wooden leg in the fire by mistake. Chandler is interested in Ginger, but she freaks out when she finds out he has a third nipple on him.

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[]

Sherilyn Fenn - Ginger
Steven Eckholdt - Mark Robinson
Elizabeth Daily - Leslie
James Michael Tyler - Gunther

Crew[]

Directed By:
Robby Benson

Written By:
Wil Calhoun

Trivia[]

  • In this episode, Chandler goes out with Ginger, one of Joey's ex-girlfriends. This is the first of two ex-girlfriends of Joey's whom Chandler goes out with: the other one is Kathy in Season 4.
  • In "The One With Joey's New Girlfriend" (S4E5), the song "Sticky Shoes" that Leslie and Phoebe sang in this episode reappears, albeit named 'My Sticky Shoes'.
  • This is the last episode that Ross and Rachel are a couple as they break up in the next episode. It's also the last time we see them in bed together at Ross' first apartment. They briefly reconcile at the beginning of next season in "The One With The Jellyfish" (S4E1) and for a short period after the birth of their daughter in "The One Where Rachel Has A Baby" (S8E24) but are not a proper couple again until the series finale, although they still love each other during their time apart. They also remain best friends for most of their time apart.
  • At the end of the episode, Chandler announces he's had his nubbin removed. Later in the season, Ross goes to the same doctor to have his growth removed in "The One With Ross' Thing".
  • In this episode, we hear about when Joey threw Ginger's leg in the fire. Monica recalls this next season when she invites Richard's son Timothy to Thanksgiving in "The One With Chandler In A Box".
  • Rachel mentions Ross' snoring during the lecture. She mentions this again when they are roommates in "The One Where Rachel Has A Baby, Part 1".
  • Monica sings "The millionaire and his wife, the movie star", which is the theme song of the sitcom Gilligan's Island where "the movie star" refers to a character also named Ginger.
  • This is the third time Phoebe sings Smelly Cat to a professional singer. Previously she sang it to Rob Dolan (Chris Isaak) and Stephanie Schiffer (Chrissie Hynde).
  • The scene when Ross hurriedly takes his coat off is recalled when Ross hurriedly takes his gloves off in "The One With The Secret Closet".
  • The music playing during the commercial is a sped up version of the backing singers from Phoebe's music video singing Smelly Cat.
  • The sweater Joey wears when he tells Monica and Phoebe that he threw Ginger's leg in the fire is the same one he wears when he finds out about Monica and Chandler's relationship in "The One With The Kips".
  • This episode was used as "S is for Smelly Cat" in the Nick at Nite Friends A-Z Event (January 2023).

Goofs[]

  • When Monica enters Chandler's and Joey's apartment, Chandler folds the newspaper over. The shot cuts to Monica then straight back to Chandler and the newspaper is flat.
  • When Pheobe is talking about being the ice woman, her lips don't move correctly while saying "you know," indicating a voiceover.


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 25
Preceded by
"The One Where Monica And Richard Are Just Friends" 		Series Three Episodes Followed by
"The One Where Ross and Rachel Take A Break"
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