The One Where Rachel Smokes

"The One Where Rachel Smokes" is the eighteenth episode of the fifth season of Friends, which aired on April 8, 1999.
==Plot==
Phoebe and Monica organize a surprise party for Rachel one month ahead of her birthday, but organizing freak Monica takes responsibility over everything, leaving nothing for Phoebe, who points this out to her. To try and spare something for her to take care off, Monica gives Phoebe duties on cups and ice, and Phoebe vows to "make her rue the day she put [Phoebe] in charge of cups and ice", in which she turned the entire party's theme into cups and ice. 
Ross' son Ben has been offered the chance to become a star in a soup commercial, which an envious Joey finds hard to accept. When he learns that the soup commercial also calls for the role of a dad, he volunteers himself for the audition. Both he and Ben are chosen for the callback, but the lack of similarity in looks makes the director cast them opposite to each other, so only one of them can be chosen for the commercial. As things end up, Joey has to audition with a famous commercial child actor. He talks to Ross about the callback, but only to make Ben back out of the whole thing, which Ross finds crazy as it was Ben's audition and Joey merely invited himself along. The two end up fighting about it, but there's no time to hold grudges as the callback is held. Joey screws up the two-word line he has, which loses him the part.
On the first day at her work, Rachel tries to get along with her new colleague and boss Nancy and Kim. The latter two are smokers, and go out on a cigarette break every morning, which Rachel can't join as she doesn't smoke. However, to try and bond with them, she joins them and tries to smoke a cigarette with them. But Rachel's not very enthusiastic to fall into the bad habit, which is bad for her as Kim and Nancy bond during cigarette breaks and Nancy advises Kim on the executive decision. Rachel fears for her position, as Kim and Nancy have more time to spend together, and tries to talk Kim and Nancy into quitting, but fails when she catches them smoking behind her back. Kim warns Rachel that she'll fire her if she catches her with a cigarette, and Rachel has no choice but to do so - just as Kim invites Nancy on a trip to Paris with her.
Determined to make a good impression with cups and ice, Phoebe rises to the occasion spectacularly, and practically decorates the apartment with nothing but cups. As for the ice, she brings a whole variety for everyone to enjoy: crushed, cubed and dry ice, together with snow cones. Monica is almost nonexistent in the party, and she realizes that she has underestimated Phoebe. Rachel arrives home, and is very surprised to find the party, especially since Chandler's birthday is before hers. Everyone tries to pass the party off as a surprise for Chandler which, unsurprisingly, doesn't work. Meanwhile, Ross tries to talk to Joey, who is still sad at losing the part at the callback. He ends up telling Joey that the real reason he messed up the part is because, deep down, Joey wanted Ben to get it, which Joey finds as a good excuse. When he asks Ross how Ben did, Ross tells him that Ben didn't get the part, and Joey selfishly replies: "Eh, what are you gonna do?", showing how little he cares about Ben's acting career.
==Cast and Crew==
===Main Cast===
Jennifer Aniston - Rachel Greene
Courteney Cox - Monica Geller
Lisa Kudrow - Phoebe Buffay
Matt LeBlanc - Joey Tribbiani
Matthew Perry - Chandler Bing
David Schwimmer - Ross Geller
===Supporting Cast===
Allen Twins - Ben Geller
Joanna Gleason - Kim
Judy Kain - The Casting Director
Jane Sibbett - Carol Willick
Megan Ward - Nancy
Matt Weinberg - Raymond
Jim Wise - Kyle
James Michael Tyler - Gunther
===Crew===
Directed By: 
Todd Holland
Written By: 
Michael Curtis
==Trivia==
===General===
*One of the casting agents has the same blue coffee mug with a gold moon and stars as exists in Monica's apartment.
*This is the only appearance of Carol at Central Perk. Her wife Susan never appears in Central Perk.
* The magna doodle reads "Joey : Candis wants you to call her".
*This is the final appearance of Charlie and Jack Allen as Ben Geller. It's also Ben's final appearance in the fifth season.
*When this episode was filmed, Jennifer Aniston was a chain smoker who wanted to quit (She quit in 2011).
*During the party, the songs "Never There" by Cake and "Jammin" by Bob Marley can be heard in the background.
*The laughter when Joey replies "you've lost me" to Ross' comment "subconsciously" is because in a blooper Joey replied "you love me".
*In the uncut DVD version of the episode, when Ross sarcastically says goodbye to all the unsuccessful applicants from the audition, Carol says, "I'm not married to him anymore, he's my ex-husband, I'm totally gay!"
*The uncut DVD version shows Rachel, Kim and Nancy in Kim's office the day after quitting smoking: Nancy excuses herself to mail some proofs and shortly afterwards Kim leaves to get a snack. However as soon they leave, Rachel quickly realizes they are lying. It then cuts to her catching Kim and Nancy smoking.
*In the uncut DVD version, at Rachel's birthday party, Monica apologizes to Phoebe and decides to give her equal footing for planning their next party together. She wants to discuss planning Joey's birthday party; Phoebe wants to be in charge of beer, Monica protests "there's nothing left for me!"
**Also in the DVD version, Monica catches Chandler trying to steal a pack of cigarettes from Rachel's purse, depressed about everyone forgetting his birthday. Monica then threatens to break up with him if he smokes; he relents and hugs Monica sadly, before commenting that they were menthol anyway.
*This episode appears on the Friends - The One with All the Birthdays DVD.
*Kim invites Nancy to go on a Paris trip with her. Years later Rachel would have the chance to live and work in Paris but she ultimately decides to remain in New York with Ross.
* For unknown reasons this is one of the few episodes to not air on Nick @ Nite. Along with this were "The One Without The Ski Trip", "The One With Joey's Dirty Day" (although it only aired January 2023, September 2023, and November 2023), "The One Where Chandler Can't Cry" (which will air on November 4, 2023 to pay respects of Matthew Perry), "The One With The Stripper", "The One With The Sharks" (which will air on November 5, 2023 to pay respects of Matthew Perry), and "The One With Phoebe's Birthday Dinner".
===Continuity Error===
* Rachel's year of birth is inconsistent. Her 30th birthday in "The One Where They All Turn Thirty" (2001) implies that Rachel was born in 1971. However, her 29th birthday in The One Where Rachel Smokes (1999) implies that she was born in 1970. Also, Rachel says she is 28 in "The One With The Fake Party" (1998) implying she was born in 1970. But 15 months earlier in "The One Where Rachel Quits" (1996) Chandler says Rachel is 28, implying she was born in 1968. Also they celebrate her birthday a month early (making her birthday in May) but in a later episode she states her birthday is February 8.
===Goofs===
*When Joey is talking to Ross at the party, the flavoring on Joey's snow cone keeps changing between shots.
*In this episode Joey says that he had to teach Ross his bummed out bit, but Ross has been doing this bit since "The One With The Thumb".
*When Joey is watching Ben and he is stacking Lego, the colors change between shots. Also Ben takes the tower down but when the camera angle changes it is standing tall again. When the camera angle changes again the tower is on its side and when the camera angles changes yet again the tower is straight up.
*Rachel claims her dad told her horror stories about smoking yet he asked Ross to get his cigarettes in "The One With The Two Parties".
**This could easily be a case of "follow what I say, not what I do".
==Quotes==
:Rachel: Look at all these cups. This is so weird!
:Phoebe: I was in charge of cups!
:Rachel: Oh, okay, not so weird.
== External links ==
* Transcript of the episode including the deleted scenes
* "The One Where Rachel Smokes" at Wikipedia
* "The One Where Rachel Smokes" at the Internet Movie Database
==Episode Navigation==
Category:Friends Episodes
Category:Season 5
Category:Episodes with Rachel's name in the title
Category:Episodes
Category:Season 5 Episodes