"The One With Ross' Step Forward" (also known as "The One With The Creepy Holiday Card") is the eleventh episode of the eighth season, which aired on December 13, 2001. In it, Mona sends out christmas cards to the family with Ross and Mona in them which puts Ross in a panic, Chandler's boss invites him and Monica to a dinner and learns that Monica dislikes him, and Rachel deals with hormones due to pregnancy.
Plot[]
Ross and Mona took pictures of themselves at Rockefeller Center and now Mona wants to send the picture as a holiday card to friends. Ross panics at the thought of them sending out holiday cards together because they've only been dating a couple of months. He tries to avoid having "the conversation" about where the relationship is going, so he wants to make a gesture instead, resulting in him giving Mona a key to his apartment even though he doesn't want to and it is the only key. Ross then has the locks changed and Mona is confused. He then tells Mona he loves her (he doesn't mean it though) and she replies that she loves spending time with him too, letting Ross know that she isn't in love with him either.
Chandler's boss, Doug, has divorced his wife and invites Chandler and Monica to dinner, but Monica strongly dislikes him for drunkenly urinating on their ice sculpture at their engagement party, so Chandler decides to tell Doug that Monica and him split up so that she won't have to come. Doug, who is clearly depressed after divorcing his wife, takes Chandler to a series of bars and strip clubs to help him forget Monica, and Chandler has a miserable time with his drunk, crude boss, but later tells Monica that the worst thing of all about that night was seeing a glimpse of how he would end up if he ever lost her, and asks her to promise him she will never leave and grow old with him, and she does.
Rachel's pregnancy hormones cause her to lust after any and every guy she sees, and she finds herself wanting to sleep with Joey and Ross. To satisfy her craving, Phoebe brings a random guy called Roger to the apartment who says he'll have sex with her, but Rachel refuses the offer.
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[]
Shawn Christian - Dr. Schiff
Ashley Clark - Roger
Sam McMurray - Doug
Evie Peck - The nurse
Bonnie Somerville - Mona
Wesley Thompson - Locksmith
James Michael Tyler - Gunther (uncredited)
Crew[]
Directed By:
Gary Halvorson
Written By:
Robert Carlock
Quotes[]
Rachel: What is wrong with me lately? I mean, it’s like every guy I see... I mean, look here. [Points behind them] Look at that guy for example. I mean, normally that’s not someone I would - would be attracted to, but right now, with the way I’m feeling, all I want to do is rip off his sweatpants and fanny pack.
Phoebe: Wait a second! This is about the fourth month of your pregnancy, right?
Rachel: Yeah.
Phoebe: This is completely normal. Around the fourth month your hormones start going crazy.
Rachel: Really? So this has happened to you?
Phoebe: Oh, absolutely yeah! Oh, and keep in mind, now, I was carrying triplets, so in, you know, medical terms I was - I was thrice as randy.
Rachel: Wow! This explains so much. Last weekend, I went from store to store sitting on Santa’s lap.
Phoebe: Yeah. Yeah, I remember trying to steal a cardboard cutout of Evander Holyfield from a "Foot Locker".
Rachel: Ah.
Phoebe: Yeah.
Rachel: Well, you know what? I go see my doctor tomorrow, I’ll ask her about this. Maybe she can give me a pill or something.
Phoebe: Yeah. Yeah, that’s what you need a good... pill.
Monica: [about Chandler's boss] I cannot spend another evening with that man. Do you remember how he behaved at our wedding?
Chandler: No.
Monica: That’s because he wasn’t invited because of the way he behaved at our engagement party.
Chandler: Oh, yeah. Boy, urine cuts right through an ice sculpture, doesn't it?
Phoebe: So, how did your doctor’s appointment go?
Rachel: Well, let’s see. Uh, they gave me cute doctor today and in the middle of the exam I put my pinky in his chin dimple.
Phoebe: Oh my God.
Monica: Why did you do that?
Phoebe: Okay, remember that little problem I was having during my fourth month of pregnancy?
Monica: Oh, yeah, the Evander Holyfield phase. Oh, man ,you were so hard up you practically came on to me.
Phoebe: You wish.
Monica: Hey, I could’ve had you if I wanted you.
Phoebe: Oh, yeah? Come and get it.
Rachel: Okay, even this is turning me on!
Rachel: How’s it going with you and Mona? Are you guys still together?
Ross: Oh, yeah, yeah, we’re moving forward. You’ll be getting our card!
Monica: You and Mona are doing a holiday card together?
Ross: Yeah, we’re not just doing a card! You know, she - she also wants to have the conversation about where the relationship is going.
Phoebe: Ugh! Women!
Ross: I know! I know! Why do you guys need to have this conversation, huh? I mean, no self-respecting man would ask a woman, "So, where is this going?"
Rachel: Uh, Ross? You asked me that.
Ross: Hey! You were a closed book, okay? I’m not a mind reader! Besides, I hate those conversations. I’m horrible at them. Really! Maybe - maybe I need kind of a gesture. You know, something that says we’re moving forward without having to talk about it.
Monica: Like asking her to move in with you?
Ross: Smaller than that.
Monica: Making her a mixed tape?
Ross: Uh, bigger than that.
Phoebe: Give her a key to your apartment.
Ross: Whoa! Hello! We were closer with the mixed tape.
Monica: All right. Have you said, "I love you?" You could say, I love you.
Ross: Yeah, I - I don’t - I don’t think I’m quite there yet, but I could say I love spending time with you.
Phoebe: No, we hate that.
Monica: That is a slap in the face.
Ross: Forget it. I - I... You know what? I’ll just have the conversation. I’ll just say I like things the way they are, and hope for the best. What do you think, Rach?
Rachel: I think, if it was a little colder in here, I could see your nipples through that sweater.
Phoebe: Ross, how'd the conversation go?
Ross: Oh, great. I live on the street.
Phoebe: Where?
Mona: I thought we were moving forward and now you’re - you’re sending me all these mixed signals. What are you trying to tell me?
Ross: I’m trying to tell you I made you a mix tape.
Mona: What?
Ross: I love you.
Mona: Awwh! And I love spending time with you!
Chandler: I got to see what my life would be like without you. It was like "It's a Wonderful Life" with lap dances. Please promise me that you'll never leave me, that we'll grow old together, and be with each other the rest of our lives.
Monica: I promise.
Rachel: I’m just having a... having a rough day.
Joey: Oh, what’s wrong?
Rachel: Oh, you really - you really just don’t want to hear about it.
Joey: Then why did I ask?
Rachel: Okay, it’s just... and this is really embarrassing, but lately with this whole pregnancy thing, I’m just finding myself... how do I put this, um, erotically charged.
Joey: Is that college talk for horny?
Rachel: Yeah. So, you know, I have all of these feelings and I don’t know what to do about them, because I can’t date like a normal person, which is fine because I don’t need a relationship. I mean, all I really want is one great night. Just sex, you know? No strings attached, no relationship, just with someone that I feel comfortable with and who knows what he’s doing. For just one great night. I mean, is that really so... hard... to find? [Looks at Joey] So how was your day?
Joey: Good. I, uh, I saw a pretty big pigeon.
Rachel: Well, I gotta get up early and it’s almost seven o’clock.
Joey: Yeah, I gotta - I gotta go to my room too.
Rachel: Okay, good night!
Joey: Good night.
[Rachel and Joey both enter their rooms. After a pause, they both come out of their rooms]
Joey: I can’t do it!
Rachel: I didn’t ask you to do it!
Joey: You’re Rachel!
Rachel: You’re Joey!
Joey: You’re my friend!
Rachel: Right back at ya!
Joey: But plus, it would be wrong and weird and - and - and bad.
Rachel: And so bad. I don’t even know what you’re talking about because I didn’t ask you to do anything!
Joey: I know! [Pause] Do you wanna do it?
Rachel: No!
Joey: All right, me neither! I was just testing you!
Rachel: That’s the end of this conversation!
Joey: This conversation never happened!
Rachel: Never happened! Good night!
Joey: Good night! [Joey and Rachel both go into their rooms and after a little while Rachel pokes her head into the living room] Get back in there!
[Rachel re-enters her room and closes the door]
Trivia[]
- The alternate title for this episode is "The One with the Creepy Holiday Card", This can be found on both Netflix and the DVD menu of Season 8, Disc 2, though it goes by it's original title on the DVD cover and in syndicated reruns.
- At the end of the episode Rachel is wearing an FDNY shirt, as a tribute to the Fire Department of New York and their efforts during the September 11 attacks.
- The picture Mona shows Ross saying it's a good one is of Ross and Mona in front of a tree holding hands.
- This episode makes the final appearance of Doug. It's also revealed he and his wife, Karen, have divorced.
- It's revealed that Ross and Mona haven't said "I love you" after two months of dating. (In fact, only Ross says it, but he doesn't mean it.) By contrast when Ross and Rachel were dating, they said "I love you" after six weeks. Further Mona says "I love spending time with you" revealing she's not in love with him either.
- Ross gives Mona his apartment key, so that Mona will move in with him (and then changes the locks). Rachel will actually move in with Ross on Valentine's Day (which Ross does not tell Mona which results in them breaking up when she finds out from Rachel).
- Rachel and Joey toy with the idea of sleeping together, but say it's too weird. When they do try to have sex in "The One With Ross' Tan", they find it impossible and break up instead.
- In this episode, Chandler's hair is longer, and remains this way until "The One With The Baby Shower", where it is shorter.
- In previous episodes, the plate on the Chandler's office door said "Chandler M. Bing", which indicates his middle name (Muriel). In this episode, it can be seen that the plate is changed to simple "Chandler Bing". It's likely that Chandler took his middle name off, so people don't make fun of him.
Continuity/Goofs[]
- Ross insists to Monica and Phoebe that he gave Mona "the only key" to his apartment. However, in previous episodes Monica and Rachel would routinely go over to Ross' place in his absence to borrow cooking ingredients (that is also how they accidentally deleted a phone message from his ex-wife Emily). Phoebe also massaged her clients at Ross' place while he was at work during the brief time she lived there (although Ross did take his key back) and Chandler once let himself in to try to bring back Clunkers the dog. Also Rachel made a copy of Ross' key when she moved in with him briefly after their Vegas wedding.
- Rachel is said to be 1 month pregnant at Monica and Chandler's wedding, which was stated to be in May. In this episode however, Phoebe mentions that Rachel is in her fourth month of pregnancy (which would set the date sometime in August), yet Rachel states she went from store to store sitting on Santa Claus' laps.
- Phoebe's friend Roger is played by the same actor as the man who Chandler mocks when he calls Monica "Candy Lady" in "The One With All The Candy", but it's probably not the same character because Monica doesn't recognize him.
- At the beginning, when Ross and Mona are looking at their pictures from ice skating, Mona hands Ross the picture she thinks they should use for their holiday card. When the shot cuts back and forth from Mona to Ross, the number of pictures he is holding switches between one and two.
- After Ross gives away his key to Mona, he claims that was the only one and was "homeless." In every apartment building there is a super or maintenance person who has spare sets of keys.
- In "The One With Phoebe's Cookies", Chandler had announced that they wouldn't be having an engagement party. However, when talking to Chandler after talking to Doug, Monica says that Doug wasn't invited to their wedding due to his behavior at their supposed engagement party.
Screenshots[]
External links[]
- Transcript of the episode including the deleted scenes
- "The One with Ross' Step Forward" at the Internet Movie Database
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| 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 With Monica's Boots" |
Series Eight Episodes | Followed by "The One Where Joey Dates Rachel" |