Ross Geller
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| Dr. Ross Eustace Geller | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | Pilot |
| Last appearance | The Last One |
| Statistics | |
| Aliases | Vikram |
| Gender | Male |
| Age | 39 |
| Occupation | Palaeontologist |
| Title | Ph.D. |
| Family | Jack Geller (father) Judy Geller (mother) Monica Geller (sister) |
| Spouse | Carol Willick (divorced) Emily Waltham (divorced) Rachel Green (divorced) |
| Children | Ben Willick Emma Geller-Green |
| Portrayed by | David Schwimmer |
| Created by | David Crane Marta Kauffman |
Dr. Ross Eustace Geller, Ph.D. (born October 18, 1967) is a fictional character on the popular US television sitcom Friends (1994–2004), played by David Schwimmer.
Contents |
[edit] Background
[edit] Family
Ross is the older brother of Monica Geller, and was often favored by their parents (particularly their mother) over her. His birthday is on October 18 (although in another episode he claims it's in December). When he was born, he was described as a "medical marvel", since his mother was originally believed to be barren (though in one episode, his parents say that they had to get married because Judy had gotten pregnant with Ross). The two siblings are extremely competitive as was demonstrated in 'The One With The Football', where it emerged that every Thanksgiving during their childhood they had taken part in a football match called 'The Geller Bowl' (Chandler insisted that the two 'say that with pride'). This continued until one year Monica broke Ross' nose, and their parents forbade them from ever playing football again. Their father, Jack, threw the trophy, which turns out to be a troll doll nailed to a 2x4, into a lake, from which Monica later retrieved it while her parents were taking Ross from the hospital.
[edit] Career
Ross later went to college where he met Chandler Bing, with whom he formed a band, and Carol Willick, who became his first wife. At college, Ross trained for a career in paleontology (on a dare), completing his PhD, and later became employed at the New York Museum of Prehistoric History. In the episode where Rachel moves out of Monica's apartment, Ross claims to have "given up a career in basketball" to become a paleontologist. He also claims that he would have been good at advertising. In 'The One with the Mugging', Ross claims that he invented the phrase 'Got Milk?'. After Monica questions this claim, Ross turns to Joey and mentions that he "should have written it down". He also claims to have had the idea for Die Hard (ironically, Chandler and Joey's favorite movie) stolen from him, and when Rachel is doubtful, he replies "don't make me show you the napkin!" Ross' love of (and his friends' boredom with) dinosaurs became a running joke throughout the series. Monica ponders when Ross' dinosaur stories would become extinct and Joey once asked Ross "if homo sapiens really were HOMO-sapiens, is that why they're extinct?"
Ross was fired from the museum due to a (somewhat exaggerated)problem with rage and later found a job as a professor at New York University and was given tenure, although he caused a stir among his peers when he dated one of his students for a while.
Ross came into conflict with Phoebe Buffay most of all. Ross' scientific beliefs and Phoebe's self-devised beliefs led to conflict over the theories of evolution, gravity and whether or not Phoebe's dead mother had been reincarnated into a cat. Also,it is revealed that Phoebe once mugged Ross during her homeless years. She kept Ross' own childhood cartoon strip named "Science Boy" (who had a super-human thirst for knowledge) in a box labeled "crap from the street" (She claimed that it was the stuff she thought was too important to sell or smoke). Phoebe claims she learned a lot from Science Boy. Both Ross and Phoebe always remained firm friends and it later emerged that they had almost slept together when Ross' first divorce was developing.
[edit] Marcel
In response to his loneliness after his divorce from Carol, Ross adopted a capuchin monkey named Marcel. The relationship was troublesome at first, but the two grew quite close, until Marcel's sexual drive (causing him to hump inanimate objects and people's legs) forced Ross to donate him to the San Diego Zoo. An underlying joke was how comparable their relationship was to that of a live-in couple. Ross later felt the urge to see Marcel again, but was told by the zoo that he had since died. However, a zoo keeper informed Ross that Marcel had actually been stolen. It turned out that Marcel was now a famous mascot for a brand of beer and was starring in Outbreak 2: The Virus Takes Manhattan. (The monkey, Katie, who played Marcel, played the monkey in the real movie Outbreak).
[edit] Apartment
After being kicked out of the apartment he had been living in, which was owned by a relative of his second wife Emily, Ross spent a short time living in Chandler and Joey's apartment before settling in the apartment directly opposite Monica's, which had once been inhabited by Ugly Naked Guy (which he managed by pretending to share Ugly Naked Guy's common interest of 'being naked' by first applauding him, and then spending the afternoon naked with him, much to the dismay of the other friends who could see him across the street from Monica's apartment. This meant that 5 of the 6 Friends now lived in very close proximity.
[edit] Relationships
Ross is perhaps the unluckiest of all the Friends in love (once claiming to have been "dumped during sex").
[edit] Carol
He divorced his first wife of eight years (although in the beginning claimed to be four years), Carol Willick, when it emerged that she was a lesbian and was having an affair with another woman. However, in a flashback episode to when he and Carol were newly dating, he gushed about how "she's on the lacrosse team and the golf team" and he enthuses that "she plays for both teams!". They still got along fairly well, however, and shared custody of their son Ben, who was born in 'The One With The Birth', one of the final episodes of the first season. In an alternate reality storyline during the show ("The One That Could Have Been"), Ross was still married to Carol, but their sex life was stagnant. He doesn't seem to realize Carol is a lesbian. When Ross suggests to Carol that they have a threesome, she not only is all for it, but has the perfect woman: Susan. Ross is forced to accept that his wife is gay, and he ends up consoling Rachel after she discovers that her own husband (Barry Finkle, whom she left at the altar in the first episode) is having an affair as well.
[edit] Emily
Ross's second marriage, to his English girlfriend Emily Waltham, appeared more hopeful than his first. It was set in London (in a half-demolished building), where Joey and Chandler were both the best man and Monica was a bridesmaid. (Phoebe could not attend as she was too far into pregnancy, and Rachel only came at the last minute.) However, at the ceremony Ross said Rachel's name instead of Emily's which led to the complete breakdown of his relationship with Emily and the marriage's quick dissolution which ended when Ross chose his friendship with Rachel over his marriage with Emily.
[edit] Rachel
Ross is perhaps most famous for his turbulent relationship with Rachel Green. Ross had harbored a crush for Rachel since their high school days (when Rachel was Monica's best friend). When Rachel moved to the city, Ross affection returned, and after a rocky start the two finally got together in 'The One With The Prom Video'. The relationship ended when a row over Rachel's friendship with a male co-worker (Mark) leading Ross to be jealous. Believing them to be "on a break", to sleep with Chloe, the "girl from the copy place with a belly button ring". When Rachel found out, she broke up with Ross in a famous scene in Monica's apartment, which involved Ross and Rachel arguing in Monica's living room whilst the other four Friends are trapped in Monica's bedroom, afraid of interrupting the argument. (The scene was so emotional that both David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston actually cried after it was shot.) The two shared an 'almost on again-almost off again' relationship over the years. They even got married as a result of a drinking binge in Las Vegas. This wasn't resolved until weeks later when unable to get an annulment, they had to get a divorce, leading Ross to panic over being a triple divorcee. Later in the series, they slept together again one night, and Rachel became pregnant, later giving birth to Ross' second child Emma. In the final episode, Ross was encouraged by Phoebe to declare his love to Rachel before she left to pursue a career in Paris. His plea was successful (eventually) and the two once again entered into a relationship.
[edit] Other relationship trivia
- Ross had exceptionally bad pickup lines, and once even struck up a conversation about gas with a pizza delivery girl in an attempt to prove his skill at flirting to the rest of the gang. *Other pickup lines included talking about underground sewer system and asking girls how they would prefer to die. (It was decided at one point that his "thing" (his trademark habit, basically) was "not knowin' when to shut up.")
- There are frequent running jokes about his masculinity, which came to a head when he and Rachel hired a sensitive male nanny named Sandy who made his own lotion, played the recorder and baked madeleines (which were "lighter than air," according to Ross). Ross is very uncomfortable with him and eventually fires him, but not before breaking down in front of him and hysterically revealing his own insecurities stemming from issues with his father. ("But you are a real boy." "I know I am!...And if it's summer and it's hot, why can't you wear a tank top?!") Masculinity issues were revealed again after Ross and Joey accidentally fell asleep in each others arms while taking a nap and they both admitted it to be their best nap ever.
- Ross also had a brief relationship with Janice (who still believed Chandler was in Yemen) - Janice rejected him when she grew tired of his constant whining.
- Early in the series, after finally getting over his crush on Rachel, he dated the "perfect" Julie (who he had met in China), drawing jealousy from Rachel, who developed a crush on Ross in the same way he had had a crush on her earlier.
- Ross's other relationships are described at List of significant others of Friends.
[edit] Personality
[edit] Nerdiness
Although generally considered the most intelligent of the friends, he is also seen as a nerd, and is also known for occasionally telling lies about his life to make his life seem more exciting than it actually is.
- For example, during his school years, he sampled some marijuana in his room - when his parents came in and smelled it, he claimed Chandler had been smoking it, then jumped out the window to escape. This caused his parents to dislike Chandler (subsequently, Monica did not reveal her relationship with Chandler to them for about a year) until Thanksgiving in Season 6, when Monica told them the truth.
- Also, when discussing the time he was mugged by Phoebe as a teenager, Ross claimed to have been mugged by a "huge dude" rather than a 14-year-old girl.
- Ross only got a 1250 (out of 1600) on the SAT, however, he advertises himself as getting a 1450.
- He even had a pretend wake for himself when Chandler jokingly posted that he had died in a blimp accident on their college website and no one responded; a beautiful woman showed up and confessed she'd always had a crush on him and that she was sad that it was too late, at which point he came bounding out of the other room declaring "It's not too late! I'm still alive!"
- When Phoebe announces that she doesn't believe in evolution, Ross get so frustrated he spends days trying to convince her, even bringing in bone samples to demonstrate his point.
- Ross' friends are bored by his profession and do all they can do avoid hearing about it. In one episode, they all rush to come up with fake excuses not to attend one of his lectures, only to discover it's to be held in Barbados (and then they all agree to go).
- When the book Ross had published is put in the college library, he is furious to learn that students use that section of the library to make out (even Joey admits he's been there). Ross then takes up guarding the section to angrily chase away any amorous students, until he is delighted when he meets up with the "one person" who ever checked out his book, who was played by Sarah O'Hare.
- As Chandler was preparing to marry Monica, Ross vowed that should Chandler ever upset Monica he would "kick his ass". As another example of how Ross is mocked for being a nerd, all of the friends found this threat to be hysterically funny and even Chandler couldn't take it seriously.
[edit] Embarrassing Situations
Ross' nerdy personality combined with being somewhat unstylish has gotten him into awkward and embarrassing situations.
- Flashback episodes show a teenage Ross with a drastically unstylish tuxedo, a mustache and a frilly hairdo.
- He also once tried to look "cool" by buying a new pair of super-tight leather pants, only to find himself unable to get them back on after going to the bathroom.
- He also unwittingly agreed to massage an old man after flirting with his daughter.
- He once got an eight-fold spray-on tan on his front without any on his back and then completely overtanned his face to a dark orange.
- He "accidentally" spoke in an British accent in front of one of his classes (and then tried to 'phase it out' with bad results)
- One of his male students claimed to be in love with him to get a better grade (and then a second one tried it, since the first kid's attempt had worked, and clued Ross in)
- He had to run so fast to teach college classes in classrooms located far apart that he arrived for the later class sweating, out of breath and unable to speak.
- Convinced of his superior skills playing his portable mini-keyboard, he even held a concert in the coffee shop where he only played sound effects.
- Ross once wore a pink womans' top to "look cool" for a date, but is embarrassed when his partner arrives wearing the same top as him. The misunderstanding occurs when Rachel drops the wrong shopping bag off at Ross' apartment.
- Ross once left whiting strips on his teeth too long causing them to be far too white. He attempted to hide it from his date by covering his mouth; but when she turned off the lights, he took his hand away from his mouth and his teeth glowed bright white in the dark.
[edit] Rage
- Ross also had a rage problem which got so severe he was fired from his job at the museum (he got so angry after someone stole his turkey sandwich from the staffroom that the entire neighbourhood heard him scream and his boss became afraid of him). Chandler and Monica started dating during this period, and they were too afraid to tell Ross because of his rage. However, while Ross was speaking with his old boss from the museum about how his rage was over and he wanted his job back, he spotted Chandler and Monica kissing from his apartment window across the street, throwing him into a fresh rage all over again.
- A few seasons earlier, during a rugby game he was playing to try and impress Emily he mentioned "Red Ross", a state he got into when he loses control of his anger- but it proved not to last long, when he soon got injured in the game and limped back over to his friends.
[edit] Age and birthday
Two episodes fix Ross' birthday as October 18. In "The One Where Emma Cries" Ross names that date as his birthday. In "The One With Five Steaks and an Eggplant" he is taken on his birthday to a concert of Hootie and the Blowfish. That episode aired on October 19 and the birthday was on the penultimate day depicted in the episode.
There is, however, contradictory evidence. In "The One With George Stephanopoulos", when Joey and Chandler buy Rangers' tickets to celebrate Ross's birthday in October, Ross says that his birthday was "seven months ago". In "The One with Joey's New Girlfriend", when Gunther asks Rachel when her birthday is, claiming to be making a list of people's birthdays, Ross says, 'Mine's December...' before being cut off by Gunther.
As to year of birth, in "The Pilot", which aired in September, 1994, Ross exclaims, "I'm only 26 and I'm divorced." That would mean that Ross was born in 1967 (assuming that in using "26" he was not projecting forward to his upcoming October birthday). A person born on October 18, 1967 then would be expected to graduate from college around 1990, and we later learn that Ross and Chandler were Class of 1992. The discrepancy is not that great, and could be explained by Ross having taken some time off between high school and college.
Ross' age is not, however, always treated consistently. He describes himself as 29 in each of Seasons 3, 4 and 5. In Season 3, he tells Chandler "No thanks, I'm 29" when offered chocolate milk, in Season 4 when the guys try to party without Gandalf they all say they're 29, and in Season 5 when he's trying to reconcile with Emily he says either he does or he would get divorced for the second time before age 30.
Also to add to the confusion, in "The One With The Videotape", while Ross was telling the "western Europe" story to try (and fail miserably) to get a girl into bed, Ross claimed that he backpacked across Europe in 1983 then whispered to himself "I was thirteen?" Implying he was born in 1970 or 1969.
[edit] Children
Ross has two children. The eldest, Ben, is Ross and Carol's son. He was conceived right before their divorce. Born is The One With the Birth, Ben lives with Carol and her lesbian lover Susan. He was named after a janitor in the hospital he as born in. At first, Ben is a shy boy. However, an afternoon spent with Rachel transforms him into a mischievous prankster.
His youngest (to date) is Emma. She was born to Ross and Rachel. She was conceived in a one-night stand a month before Monica and Chandler's wedding. Emma lives with Rachel and Joey. The first time Emma laughed was in The One With Ross's Inappropriate Song, when Ross sings Baby Got Back to her.
[edit] Trivia
- Ross has kissed all the other five Friends members, although not all the kisses were seen on screen, and not all of them are the same canon. He kissed Rachel when they were dating. He kissed Phoebe in "The One With the Flashback" when he finds out Carol was a lesbian and Phoebe was there to console him. He reluctantly kissed Joey to help him rehearse for a part he was auditioning for in "The One With Barry and Mindy's Wedding". In "The One Where Chandler Can't Remember Which Sister", Chandler got drunk and kissed Ross but this was not seen on screen. He and Monica kiss, not seen on screen, in "The One Where the Stripper Cries" when Ross thought he was kissing Rachel during a flashback to his college years.
- Although it's not a widely known catchphrase, Ross uses the phrase "It really was" numerous times throughout the 10 seasons. In one episode, he says it 3 times. Whether this is due to David Schwimmer improvising lines or the writers intentionally included it in the scripts is unknown.
- Although the producers were coy about the Friends' religious backgrounds, it was revealed that Ross & Monica's father (played by Elliot Gould) was Jewish and their mother was not. That said, Ross is seen attempting to get his son Ben to celebrate Hanukkah and we also see him polishing a menorah.
- Apparently Ross believes he thought of Die Hard and when Rachel disagrees he says, "Don't make me show you the napkin!"
- In another episode Rachel mentioned that Ross thinks he created the phrase: "Got Milk?"
- Ross appeared on the the sitcom "Single Guy" as well.
| Friends |
|---|
| Characters: Rachel Green • Monica Geller • Phoebe Buffay • Joey Tribbiani • Chandler Bing • Ross Geller Cast: Jennifer Aniston • Courteney Cox • Lisa Kudrow • Matt LeBlanc • Matthew Perry • David Schwimmer Other characters: Recurring characters • Significant others • Gunther • Janice • Guest stars Places: Central Perk • Joey's apartment • Monica's apartment Music: "I'll Be There for You" • "Smelly Cat" • Friends soundtrack • Friends Again See also: Season synopses • DVD releases • Awards and nominations • Episode list • Running gags • Director list • Joey |
