The One After Vegas
| "The One After Vegas" | |
|---|---|
| Friends episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 6 Episode 1 |
| Directed by | Kevin S. Bright |
| Written by | Adam Chase |
| Production code | 225551 |
| Original air date | September 23, 1999 |
| Guest appearance | |
| |
"The One After Vegas" is the sixth-season premiere of the
Plot
Ross and Rachel wake up in bed together, immensely hungover and unaware that they got married the night before. Joey joins Phoebe for breakfast, telling her
Joey asks Phoebe to go with him on the long drive back to New York, to stop him from being lonely. She agrees but she is annoyed when Joey spends several hours asleep while she drives, and they switch over. As Phoebe sleeps, Joey picks up a hitchhiker. Initially outraged, Phoebe soon strikes up a friendship with the man, and gives him her number when he leaves. Joey asks for her forgiveness and they play car games.
Still unsure of where their relationship is going, Monica and Chandler look for signs that they should get married. They grow increasingly alarmed when all the signs are positive, and eventually Chandler suggests he just move into Monica's apartment with her, which she agrees to. Ross tells Rachel that he does not want three failed marriages and attempts to convince her to change her mind about the annulment, but she refuses and pressures him to get the annulment. He concedes and later tells her he took care of it, but reveals to Phoebe that he lied: They are still married.[1]
Production
During editing, three minutes and 40 seconds were trimmed from the episode to bring it down to the appropriate running time of 22 minutes. Additional time was created for this and future episodes by shortening the theme tune from 45 seconds to 35. Production required 52 takes, 14 scenes and seven rewrites.[2]
Between seasons, Cox married David Arquette, becoming Courteney Cox Arquette. An in-joke reference to this is made in the opening credits, where the rest of the cast have "Arquette" appended to their names. The dedication "For Courteney and David, who did get married" appears during the fade out to the tag scene.[1]
Behind-the-scenes footage, along with
Reception
Entertainment Weekly rated the episode B+, praising Schwimmer and Aniston for spinning "new variations on Ross' and Rachel's twisted romantic fates" and citing the line "This is not a marriage—this is the world's worst hangover!" as the best line of the episode.[4] The authors of Friends Like Us: The Unofficial Guide to Friends also mention this line, and praise the moments when Monica and Chandler act like newlyweds, however hard they try not to. They describe Ross's actions as "predictable" but wonder "just how far the writers will go before we all tire of Ross's self-centred, clinical logic trampling over the feelings of the very people he claims to love the most."[1]
The episode was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Mixing in a Comedy Series or Special at the 52nd Primetime Emmy Awards, but lost to an episode of Ally McBeal.[5]
References
- ^ ISBN 0-7535-0439-1.
- ^ a b c d McMahon, Tom (producer) (1999). On the Inside (The One that Goes Behind the Scenes) (Documentary). Los Angeles, California: Present Tense Productions and Discovery Channel.
- ^ Lacey, Gord (2003-12-27). "Friends – The Complete 5th Season". TV Shows on DVD.com. Archived from the original on 2007-03-08. Retrieved 2007-06-21.
- ^ "Review: Season 6 (1999–2000)". Entertainment Weekly. 2001-09-15. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
- ^ "1999-2000 52nd Emmy Awards". The Envelope (LA Times). Archived from the original on 2007-01-06. Retrieved 2007-06-30.
External links
- "The One After Vegas" at IMDb
