The One With The Blind Dates

"The One With The Blind Dates" is the fourteenth episode of season nine of Friends. It aired on February 6, 2003.

Plot

Joey and Phoebe want Ross and Rachel to get back together, so when they ask them to set them up on blind dates, they take advantage of this and decide to set them up on terrible dates so they'll see how perfect they are for each other. Phoebe sets Rachel up with drug addict, Steve (who previously appeared in The One With The Stoned Guy as a restaurant owner offering Monica a spot) and Joey sets Ross up with a history teacher. Realizing it's his perfect match, he tells the woman that the date is off, leaving Ross to be stood up. Rachel's date with Steve is a disaster when he starts insulting himself and starts to cry. Meanwhile, the waiters at the restaurant where Ross got stood up at have a pool going to see how long it takes for Ross to give up and leave, Ross finds out when a waiter offers him free crabcakes in a bid to get him to stay longer. Ross and Rachel meet up at the coffeehouse and realize Joey and Phoebe's plan and chase after them.

Friends episode208 — Rachel doesn't enjoy her blind date.

Chandler and Monica babysit Emma and Monica is ovulating but they can't have sex because of Emma. When Emma finally falls asleep they go in the bedroom to have sex. Joey stops by and realizing this takes Emma away. Joey then tells them he won't tell Rachel if they name their first born child Joey, to continue 'his family name'.

The ending shows Ross and Joey at the restaurant trying to get free crabcakes pretending to be stood up. However, the waiter informs them that they're instead betting on to see how long it will take Steve to cry which he quickly does.

Cast and Crew

Main Cast

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

Supporting Cast

John Eric Bentley - Waiter #2
Alexandra Conley - Emma Geller-Green
Athina Conley - Emma Geller-Green
Jon Lovitz - Steve
Sam Pancake - The Waiter

Crew

Directed By:
Gary Halvorson

Written By:
Sherry Bilsing-Graham & Ellen Plummer

Quotes

[Cut to outside. Phoebe and Joey are walking down the street to Central Perk.]
Phoebe: Now, wait a minute. So, they're gonna name their first child Joey?
Joey: Uh-huh.
Phoebe: How - how do I get them to name the next one after me?
Joey: It's easy, you just walk in on them having sex.
Phoebe: Oh, so they owe me like, three Phoebes.
(Phoebe sees Rachel and Ross through the window.)
Phoebe: Oh my god! Look, it's Ross and Rachel. Oh, the plan is working.
(Joey does the "plan-laugh.")
Phoebe: Don't, don't do the plan-laugh.
[Cut to inside Central Perk.]
Ross: The first date we've had in months, and they were both such disasters.
Rachel: Oh. Huh. You know, it is weird that Phoebe would set me up on a date that was awful on the same night that Joey set you up on a date that didn't even show.
Ross: Wait a minute; you don't think it was intentional? I mean, that's just stupid.
[Cut to outside Central Perk.]
Joey: We're geniuses! Yeah, look at them, look at them, they're really bonding.
Phoebe: Oh, yeah, they're falling in love all over again.
(Rachel and Ross turn around and look at Phoebe and Joey with puzzled expressions on their faces.)
Phoebe: Oh, they see us! Oh, they, they look mad. Oh, they figured it out. They're coming this way. Run!
Joey: Where?
Phoebe: Mexico!
(They run down the street with Ross and Rachel following right behind them.)

Trivia

General

Steve, played by Jon Lovitz, first appeared in "The One With The Stoned Guy" (S1E15). He does not reappear for a span of 193 episodes, the longest of any character on the show. Rachel does not seem to remember him, despite waitressing for him at Monica's apartment. However, Rachel only met him once for less than an hour, so it would be understandable that she wouldn't remember him after almost nine years.
Despite him having them plucked by Chandler in the previous episode, Joey's eyebrows seem to have strangely grown back to their usual shape since then. However, at the beginning of this episode, Joey says Rachel has been staying at his apartment for five nights, giving his eyebrows time to grow back.
This is the second appearance of Sam Pancake as a waiter. He previously appeared in "The One Where Joey Tells Rachel" (S8E16), where he waits on Joey and Rachel but can't get rid of them. When a colleague asks him what's with them, he replies he thinks one of them is about to die, hoping it's Rachel. He also comments how he finds Joey to be "really cute".
The t-shirt that Steve gives to Rachel is called "Female Body Inspector". Similarily, in the 2010 action comedy movie The Other Guys, Will Ferrell's character, Det. Allen Gamble, gives his partner, Det. Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg) a coffee mug that also says "Female Body Inspector", but he throws it out of the window.

Goofs

When Rachel hears Monica saying "Thank God! Emma, there you are!" her hand is on her purse strap, but in the next take, is not anymore.
Ross is offered crab cakes at the restaurant on his blind date, but he's allergic to shellfish.
When Rachel is saying "What do you think you want to order," she actually says "What do you think you're/your want to order?"
Joey's eyebrows are completely grown back at the beginning of this episode. When Rachel is surprised that he is dressed in the morning, he comments "Fifth day's a charm." Assuming Rachel moved in immediately following the end of the previous episode, it would be impossible for Joey's eyebrows to look the way they do. Even if Rachel did not move in immediately after the fight with Ross, it still takes 5-6 weeks for a person's eyebrows to grow back in.

Screenshots

Episode Navigation

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Preceded by "The One Where Monica Sings"	Season Nine Episodes	Followed by "The One With The Mugging"


<< Season 8		Season 9				Season 10 >>
#01	"The One Where No One Proposes"		#09	"The One With Rachel's Phone Number"	#17	"The One With The Memorial Service"
#02	"The One Where Emma Cries"		#10	"The One With Christmas In Tulsa"	#18	"The One With The Lottery"
#03	"The One With The Pediatrician"		#11	"The One Where Rachel Goes Back To Work"	#19	"The One With Rachel's Dream"
#04	"The One With The Sharks"		#12	"The One With Phoebe's Rats"	#20	"The One With The Soap Opera Party"
#05	"The One With Phoebe's Birthday Dinner"		#13	"The One Where Monica Sings"	#21	"The One With The Fertility Test"
#06	"The One With The Male Nanny"		#14	"The One With The Blind Dates"	#22	"The One With The Donor"
#07	"The One With Ross' Inappropriate Song"		#15	"The One With The Mugging"	#23	"The One In Barbados, Part 1"
#08	"The One With Rachel's Other Sister"		#16	"The One With The Boob Job"	#24	"The One In Barbados, Part 2"