The One with the Ball

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"The One With the Ball" is the 21st episode of season 5 of the sitcom Friends.

First aired: May 6, 1999

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The show opens in Central Perk. Gary, Phoebe's boyfriend, tells Monica that he's planning to ask Phoebe to move in with him. He swears Monica to secrecy; she agrees not to say - but also warns him not to buy her flowers, since Phoebe cries when they die, and gives them a funeral.

Of course, Monica can't keep the news to herself and tells Phoebe as soon as Gary leaves. Phoebe, worried that it's too soon for them to be living together, lines up someone to talk some "sense" into him - namely, "former" commitment-phobe Chandler. After swearing to Monica that he's not that much of a commitment-phobe anymore, he tells Phoebe he'll do it. Gary, however, will hear none of it and insists on asking her anyway. A reluctant Phoebe, afraid of hurting Gary's feelings, agrees to move in with him.

Meanwhile, Joey and Ross start playing catch with a small rubber ball. An hour goes by before they realize how long they've been tossing it back and forth - Joey, uncharacteristically, even misses lunch. They then decide to see how long they can throw the ball back and forth without dropping it.

While Joey and Ross are tossing the ball around, Rachel walks in after a day of shopping. She's just spent $1,000 on something Monica isn't going to like - a purebred, hairless Sphinx cat named Mrs. Whiskerson ("What am I gonna call her, Fluffy?"). Her grandmother had one when she was a little girl, Rachel explains, and she's always wanted one. So she bought one - ignoring the fact that Ross and Joey think it's hideous.

Soon, Monica joins in the guys' ball game. Her competitive nature gets the best of her, and she calls in sick to work just so she can be a part of the epic game. She gets upset when Chandler wants to join in (claiming he's a "dropper"). She's also not pleased to learn that Rachel spent so much money on a cat (especially since Rachel owes her money in the first place).

Even Rachel starts to regret her decision, as the cat is mean and scratches Rachel at any given chance. The shop she bought it from won't let her return it. Well, they will - but only for store credit. So now, she says, "I'm out a thousand dollars, I'm all scratched up, and I'm stuck with this stupid cat that looks like a hand!"

Gary asks Phoebe to look for apartments. Phoebe, still apprehensive about moving in with him, claims that there weren't any available. Gary, however, sees through her not-so-clever ruse and figures out that she thinks things are moving too fast. She finally admits to it - but then realizes what a great guy Gary is, and agrees to move in with him for real.

Rachel, after having little success selling Mrs. Whiskerson, finally finds a willing buyer - Gunther. He promises her she can come see the cat whenever she wants.

Although Phoebe and Gary agree to move in together and look for an apartment, the next morning at his apartment, he shoots a bird that's been chirping outside the window. Since Phoebe is an animal-lover, she ends the relationship.

Come morning, the ball game is STILL going on. Chandler (much to Monica's chagrin) and Rachel have now joined, and everyone's getting tired and hungry, except for Monica. Phoebe comes in and breaks the bad news of the demise of her and Gary's relationship. Joey tosses her the ball... but Phoebe's too sad to play, and sets the ball down, thus ending the game.

Over the closing credits, the gang talks about how long the ball game went on. Chandler can't understand how he got the reputation as a "dropper" - then a montage of clips showing Chandler dropping things plays.