The One With The Ick Factor

"The One With The Ick Factor" is the twenty-second episode of the first season of Friends, which aired on NBC on May 4, 1995. In it, Monica dates someone younger than her that has a secret, while Phoebe pretends to be Chandler's secretary and reveals that no one likes him at his job.

Plot[]

Monica is dating Ethan and the relationship seems to be going pretty well. When she tells the gang he's a senior in college, they also find out that she's told Ethan that she's 22—a bit more than a white lie considering that Monica is 26 at the time. On "the night", Ethan admits that he's a virgin and has been saving himself for the right person. That doesn't deter Monica, though, and the two have sex that night. Afterwards, Monica feels compelled to admit that she's not really 22. She's relieved when Ethan takes the news well, but her relief soon turns to disgust when Ethan reveals a secret of his own. He's a senior... in high school. Ethan contends that the two can continue their relationship even though he's 17, but Monica is having none of it, disgusted by their relationship. When Ethan asks her why she's breaking it off she tells him "...it's icky", but she wishes he could be a little older or she could be younger enough for them to be in love.

Phoebe temps as Chandler's secretary, which brings out the fact that his former work colleagues don't like him anymore due to his promotion. Chandler does all he can to fix the situation, but Phoebe makes him see that they will never look at him as a friends because he's their boss now. Phoebe mentions how his former work friends now imitate his odd speaking patterns. Chandler uses this to his advantage to cut some work off his shoulders and tighten project deadlines on his old friends, while also accenting his speaking in order to get a laugh out of them.

Rachel has erotic dreams about the guys, starting off with sex on the coffee house table with Chandler. This makes Ross jealous. Some time later, Rachel fantasizes about Joey and Chandler (pointing out that "there were times where it wasn't even me", implying homosexual tendencies between the two men). Ross can't be more jealous of the guys for "sleeping" with Rachel. Meanwhile, Ross gets a pager at the number "55JIMBO" to receive notice when Carol goes into labor. People keep paging him with requests for man named "Andre", who is seemingly a gigolo at the number "55JUMBO".

Things are starting to calm down in the lives of the friends, when Ross eavesdrops on Rachel fantasizing about him in her dreams. His euphoria is such that he starts jumping on the table, but slips and lands on Rachel, waking her up. Just as things may finally get started between the two, Ross' pager beeps, this time with the real thing - Carol's in labor, she's about to give birth - Ross is about to become a father.

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[]

Stan Kirsch - Young Ethan
Brian Buckner - Office Worker #2
Darryl Sivad - Office Worker #3
Anthony Backman - Coffee Shop Patron (uncredited)
James Michael Tyler - Gunther (uncredited)

Crew[]

Directed By:
Robby Benson

Written By:
Alexa Junge

Quotes[]

Phoebe (reading the job offers in the newspaper): Can you see me operating a drill press?
Joey: I don't know, what are you wearing?

Trivia[]

In reality, Stan Kirsch, who played Ethan, was only 4 years younger than Courteney Cox. He was actually 1 year older than Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry.
- When the episode was aired, Stan Kirsch was almost 27, that is 8–10 years older than an actual high school senior student.
- Courteney Cox was 31 years old in 1995 when she portrayed Monica, who was 26.
In the uncut episode, Chandler mentions Shelly, a colleague that appeared in "The One Where Nana Dies Twice" (S1E8).
Ross and Monica's cousin Nathan was previously mentioned in "The One With All The Poker" (S1E18).
Ross later becomes the target of the gang's jokes in season 6 when he starts dating Elizabeth, who is much younger than him. Rachel also dates Josh in season 4 who's also much younger than her until she discovers he's stealing from her (and Monica).
This is the first time Chandler is picked upon for his specific accentuation of sentences ("Could that report be any later?"), a running gag in the series.
Rachel's erotic dreaming about the guys is featured again in "The One With Rachel's Dream" (S9E19).
- Contrary to this episode, in the "The One With Rachel's Dream", Rachel uses the dream to act upon her feelings and tell Joey of her crush. In this one, she neither has the time (as with Ross) nor the will (as with Chandler and Joey) to act upon her feelings.
- Rachel has a daydream of Ross in "The One Where Rachel Finds Out", and eventually acts on it.
- Some broadcasts omit Rachel's fantasy involving the threesome with Joey and Chandler.
In "The One With The Flashback", it is revealed that Rachel previously had another erotic dream with Chandler (in that case, a daydream) one year before the events of "The Pilot".
When Ross is ushering Monica, Rachel, Chandler, and Joey out of their apartments, Rachel puts on lipstick, explaining "there might be doctors there!" Indeed in the next episode, Rachel flirts with Carol's doctor.
Rachel's comment about doctors is pretty poignant as, while not yet acknowledged, she's actually talking to Ross who holds a doctorate in Paleontology. Rachel was referring to medical doctors (MD) which is the common meaning of "doctor" as opposed to "PhD" in other fields.
After Ethan tells Monica his true age, she briefly states she feels like "one of those ladies who has a guy named Chad" alluding to her being a cougar. Courteney Cox would later on star in the television comedy "Cougar Town".
Monica says she's like Joan Collins. Dame Joan Collins is currently married to Percy Gibson 31 years her junior.
The comforter Ross puts on Rachel is the same one Rachel covers herself with when Chandler sees her topless in "The One With The Boobies".
Chandler is seen to have a Magic Eight ball on his desk, which was previously seen in his cubicle. Later in the series Ross uses one to help choose between his marriage to Emily and friendship with Rachel.

Goofs/Continuity[]

Chandler's grip on his coffee cup changes between shots when Phoebe says she needs some short-term work.
Just as Ross mentions cousin Nathan, Rachel comes to stand behind him with a coffee and Ross is holding a magazine with both hands but in the next shot (showing Ethan arriving) he's putting it down on the coffee table.
When Ethan shows up at the coffee house, and Ross puts his black mug down to go to the bathroom and give them privacy, he puts it down on the corner of the table. When Ethan and Monica sit down, it is in the middle of the table.
When Rachel and Monica are discussing whether "tonight could be the night", stage lights can be seen reflected in the pans behind Monica.
In the opening scene Rachel pours a cup of coffee and then sits on the couch holding the mostly full pot in the palm of her hand.
When Monica takes off her belt, she throws it onto the couch and when it lands, it overhangs the back but in the next shot it's lying on the cushion next to Rachel.
When Monica and Ethan discuss sleeping over, the amount of wine in her glass increases when she puts her right arm around him and then back to the original level when she puts the glass down.
When the guys are making fun of Ethan's age, the camera cuts to Chandler who says Tyrannosaurus, Rachel can be seen holding her magazine, but in the next broader shot, the magazine is on her lap and her arms are folded.
In Chandler's office after the party, when Pheobe says, "you're the guy in big office,", she sits down but when camera cuts to Chandler, nd she says, "fires them", you can see her sitting down again.