The One with the Ballroom Dancing

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"The One With The Ballroom Dancing" is the fourth episode of Season Four of the television situation comedy Friends.

First aired: October 16, 1997

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

[edit] Plot

Rachel takes out the garbage, and while out in the hall runs into their super, Mr. Treeger. Mr. Treeger, who's not in a very good mood, insults Rachel and makes her cry because a pizza box she threw down the chute clogged it up - after he spent a half-hour unclogging it. Joey, upset that the landlord has made his friend cry, goes to give Treeger a piece of his mind.

Meanwhile, Monica is going through the contents of Chandler's wallet - and finds a gym membership card. Chandler confesses that he's missed a few days - "I try to go four times a week, but I've missed the last 1,200 times" - but every time he tries to quit, they bring out Maria, a "Lycra spandex-covered gym treat." He somehow convinces Ross to accompany him to the gym when he finally goes to quit.

Joey confronts Mr. Treeger and demands he apologize to Rachel. Treeger says he's not going to do any such thing - instead, he's going to have Monica and Rachel evicted. He explains that they've illegally subletted the apartment from Monica's grandmother and was just looking for an excuse to evict them - which Joey has just given him. Monica, angry that Joey has seemingly gotten her evicted, demands he suck up to Treeger in order to get him to let them stay.

Phoebe laments that she doesn't want to go to work, because of a gorgeous new client named Rick. She wants to give him more than a massage, but can't because it's against the rules. So instead, she gives herself a pedicure and gets a toe ring and an anklet. Her feet are the only part of her that Rick can see while he's on the table, and she's going to do some "feet-flirting" (which she denies). While at work, she can't resist herself and bites Rick on the butt.

Chandler and Ross go to the gym, so Chandler can quit. When they bring out Maria, not only does Chandler not quit, but Ross ends up joining the gym as well. Since they don't want to go to the gym, they decide instead to go to the bank and close their accounts (since the gym takes out the money automatically every month). That doesn't go well, either - they bring out a gorgeous teller named Karen, and somehow the guys wind up with a joint checking account.

Joey goes down to Mr. Treeger to beg him to let the girls stay. Treeger agrees, under one condition - that Joey become his ballroom dancing partner. There's a Super's Ball coming up, and Treeger wants to impress a lady super named Marge - but he's not a good dancer. Willing to do anything for his friends, Joey agrees. They get off to a disastrous start, and Treeger starts getting down on himself. Joey convinces him to give it another try. They start to get better, and Joey even begins enjoying it himself. Their lessons end with an elaborate dance sequence on the roof. Joey is disappointed that Treeger doesn't want to dance anymore, but is also glad that he's learned to dance himself, even though he seems to have learnt only the female moves.

Phoebe finally reveals to Rick that she has a crush on him, and they start kissing - only to be interrupted by Phoebe's boss, Mrs. Potter. When Phoebe tries to pass Rick off as her husband, Mrs. Potter says that Rick's wife has called three times looking for him. Since Phoebe has broken the "no fraternizing with the clients" rule, she gets fired.

The episode ends with Phoebe interviewing at another massage place - but the interview doesn't go well after she's asked why she left her last job. She answers, "They thought I was a whore."