The One with All the Thanksgivings
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"The One With All the Thanksgivings" is the 8th episode of season 5 of the sitcom Friends.
First aired: November 19, 1998
Note: This episode consists of a series of flashbacks to Thanksgivings from the past. Flashback Thanksgivings are indicated by the year (e.g. Thanksgiving 1978) and are contained within one paragraph. Any non-identified paragraph occurs in the present day.
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[edit] Plot
When Ross says that he is having one of his worst Thanksgivings because of his divorce from Emily and eviction. Chandler jumps in to remind everyone that he is "the king of bad Thanksgivings" and proceeds to tell the first of a series of Thanksgiving flashbacks.
Thanksgiving 1978: A young Chandler is told that his parents still love him, but his father would rather sleep with the house-boy than with his mother.
Phoebe claims she has an even worse Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving 1862: Phoebe is a medic for the Union Army during the American Civil War. She is tending to a wounded soldier when her arm gets blown off, prompting her to say, "Oh no."
Ross says that the Thanksgivings have to be limited to this life (as Phoebe was referring to a Thanksgiving that occurred in a 'past life'). Rachel says she knows Monica's worst Thanksgiving, but Phoebe interrupts with a story about the Thanksgiving when Joey got a turkey stuck on his head.
Thanksgiving 1992: Phoebe (who was living with Monica at the time) walks in to their apartment and is shocked to see Joey with a turkey on his head; Joey put it on to scare Chandler. Monica enters and freaks out, but she and Phoebe can't get the turkey off his head. Chandler enters and screams, and Joey tries to point and laugh at him, but keeps pointing in the wrong direction because he can't see.
Monica then proceeds to tell her worst Thanksgiving, even after warning Chandler that he won't want to hear this story.
Thanksgiving 1987 (Ross, Rachel, and Monica look like they did in "The One With the Prom Video"): High school senior Rachel (with her big nose) comes over to the Gellers' for Thanksgiving, as does Ross (with very curly hair and a moustache) and his college roommate Chandler (with a Flock of Seagulls haircut that sort of looks like two horns). Fat Monica likes Chandler so much that, when he tells her that her macaroni and cheese is so good that she should become a chef, she says, "Okay." When Ross says that he is going to try to go on a date with Rachel, Chandler says that Ross can't leave him alone with his "fat sister." Monica overhears and runs away, even turning down food.
Chandler (who is having an affair with Monica) says he doesn't even remember calling her fat. However, that still isn't the Thanksgiving that Monica had been talking about.
Thanksgiving 1988: Rachel (with her new, normal nose) is back at the Gellers' for Thanksgiving and opens the door to see Ross and Chandler, who are dressed like Tubbs and Crockett from Miami Vice. Ross and Chandler (in particular) are shocked to see that Monica has slimmed down. Monica tells Rachel that she wants to humiliate Chandler for calling her fat, so Rachel suggests tricking Chandler into taking all his clothes off (by making him think they are going to have sex) and then locking him outside. Monica, under Rachel's instruction, tries to act sexy in front of Chandler by rubbing carrots, a box of macaroni and cheese, and a knife against her skin. In the process, the knife flies out of her hand and lands in Chandler's foot. They are now in a hospital, where a paramedic says that one of Chandler's toes has been severed. Monica triumphantly reveals the toe in a bag of ice, but she had unfortunately grabbed a carrot instead of the toe.
Chandler is upset after learning that he had lost his toe because he called Monica fat and storms off into his apartment. Monica tries to make it up to him by putting a turkey on her head, complete with oversized sunglasses, a Shriner's hat and a little dance. Chandler starts to laugh and says, "You are so great. I love you." Both he and Monica are stunned that he said "I love you," and Chandler (who has a substantial fear of commitment) vainly tries to deny that he ever said it. Joey runs away in fright when he sees Monica with the turkey on her head.
As the closing credits rolled, Phoebe has another flashback.
Thanksgiving 1915: Phoebe is a French doctor during World War I. A bomb goes off but she stills has her arm, but it falls off a few seconds later and starts squirting blood.
[edit] Additional cast
- Nora Bing - Morgan Fairchild
- The Doctor - Michael Winters
- Judy Geller - Christina Pickles
- Jack Geller - Elliott Gould
[edit] Writer/Director
- Writer: Gregory S. Malins
- Director: Kevin S. Bright
[edit] Goofs
- When Joey is doing a victory dance after scaring Chandler in Monica's apartment, the camera pans too far to the left, revealing part of Phoebe's apartment.
- When the doctor takes the bag with the ice and the carrotpiece he doesn't have gloves on. When he is going to take up the "toe", he has. The gloves magically disappears again.
[edit] Trivia
- In the tenth season episode entitled "The One Where Chandler Gets Caught", the same 1992 Thanksgiving flashback of this episode is used, yet Phoebe replies to Joey's complaining about the turkey smelling really bad with "Yeah, of course it smells bad. You've got your head inside a turkey's ass." instead of the "Well, of course it smells really bad. You have your head up a dead animal." used in this episode.
- The Magna Doodle has a drawing of a heart that says "327" flying away and under it says "BYE"
| Preceded by "The One Where Ross Moves In" |
List of Friends episodes | Followed by "The One With Ross's Sandwich" |
