The One With Mac And C.H.E.E.S.E.

"The One With Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E." is the twentieth episode of the sixth season of Friends, which aired on April 13, 2000. It is a clip show.
==Plot==
Joey gets his hopes up over his first significant acting job since Dr. Drake Ramoray. He is up for the part of science fiction hero Mac Machiavelli, the crime-fighting partner of a cool robot, C.H.E.E.S.E., which stands for Computerized Humanoid Electronically Enhanced Secret Enforcer, on an aptly named television show called Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E. Joey reads through his audition script with Phoebe, yet is left frustrated when she overacts her part and boasts about her own acting talents. Later, as he begins to go to his audition, he tells Chandler, Phoebe and Rachel that he may not get the job, as he is not sure he is good enough for the lead role, though they manage to convince him otherwise as he looks back on his acting career. After being approved for the final callback scheduled for the next day, Joey also expresses his own concerns about dealing with the pressure during the callback, to which Chandler and Ross remind him of the pressure and pain they and their friends face at their everyday jobs.
Chandler gets a phone call from the producers that Joey's callback is being moved to two and a half hours earlier. He begins to write the message for Joey on the Magna-Doodle, but Monica bursts into the apartment reminding him of their lunch plans with her parents, making him forget to finish the message. Later on in the day, while playing foosball with Chandler, Joey receives a call informing him that another actor has been cast in the lead role for the show, making Chandler remember the message he tried to write him. Joey is furious at Chandler for costing him the part, especially as Chandler does not live with him anymore and did not need to answer the phone as he has an answering machine, and notes that Chandler has messed up on two other occasions. Chandler tries to remind Joey that he also made three mistakes with him, but this only gets Joey madder at him.
While Rachel and Monica console Chandler for forgetting to leave the message, they also reminisce about other instances when they and their friends have messed up, though instead of making up, their flashbacks end up being limited to huge fights between them, culminating in the fight Joey and Chandler shared over their chair, and finally finishing on their sadness as they lived apart for the first time. The next day, Chandler personally delivers two pizzas to Joey's apartment as an apology gift. However, he finds that Joey is not home again and is left to answer another phone call from the show's producers. By miracle Joey gets another chance, which Chandler writes down correctly: the lead actor was attacked by his dog so the producers want to see Joey at another callback. After trying to look for Joey all over the city, he settles on waiting for him to come home to his apartment.
When Joey comes home and Chandler informs him of the missed audition, Joey again acts angry at Chandler for messing up his chances... ...until he reveals that he had seen the message, gone to the audition and got the part. Chandler acts mad at Joey for not telling him, until he reveals how happy he is for him getting the part. The two hug, resulting in another set of flashbacks on the numerous times they have hugged over the series. They concur that they hug too much, and quickly pull away to settle on a brief, awkward handshake.
In the tag scene, Joey, now confirmed as the lead actor of Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E., reads through the pilot episode's script with Phoebe and Ross. However, he soon becomes fed up with their overacting and storms into his room, upon which they talk about how he is holding them back as actors.
===Flashbacks===
*"The One With The Lesbian Wedding"
*"The One With The Butt"
*"The One With The Stoned Guy"
*"The One With The Prom Video"
*"The One With Rachel's Crush"
*"The One With The Dozen Lasagnas"
*"The One With Ross' Sandwich"
*"The One Where Chandler Crosses The Line"
*"The One With The Cat"
*"The One With The Candy Hearts"
*"The One With Ross' New Girlfriend"
*"The One With The Jellyfish"
*"The One After The Superbowl, Part 2"
*"The One Where No One's Ready"
*"The One Where Eddie Moves In"
==Cast and Crew==
===Main Cast===
Jennifer Aniston - Rachel Greene
Courteney Cox Arquette - Monica Geller
Lisa Kudrow - Phoebe Buffay
Matt LeBlanc - Joey Tribbiani
Matthew Perry - Chandler Bing
David Schwimmer - Ross Geller
===Supporting Cast===
Maggie Wheeler - Janice (uncredited)
James Michael Tyler - Gunther (uncredited) 
Cosimo Fusco - Paolo (uncredited)
Jillian Fontaine - Freud! Theatre Actress (uncredited) 
Patrick Kerr - Restaurant Manager (uncredited) 
Nancy Valen - Lorraine (uncredited) 
Michael Ensign - Dr. Donald Ledbetter (uncredited) 
===Crew===
Directed By: 
Kevin S. Bright
Written By: 
Doty Abrams
==Trivia==
*Chandler gets Joey the 'Joey Special' (two pizzas). Phoebe and Rachel ordered this in "The One With Ross' Wedding, Part 1". (S4E23)
*This is the last episode to feature the (original) chick and the duck on screen together, the duck is mentioned in "The One With Rachel's Book" (S7E2) but not seen on screen.
* This may be the first episode to explicitly mention the Magna Doodle, and it is certainly one of those that influences the plot the most.
* Apart from the flashback clips, Ross and Rachel are the only ones not to share any scenes together in the episode. 
* The music playing during the montage of Chandler and Joey hugging is "You've Really Got A Hold On Me" performed by The Miracles. 
** That montage features some hugs shown in bloopers. In other words, some bloopers were used in the 'hug' montage.
* This is the last episode in season 6 according to production order since the number is 225575, and the episode The One With the Proposal's production numbers are 225573 and 225574 respectively.
*This episode was used as "M is for Mac N Cheese" in the Nick at Nite Friends A-Z Event (January 2023).
===Goofs===
*When Chandler writes the message, the eraser is on the left. When Joey is on the phone finding out he missed the audition, the eraser is on the right.
*When Chandler is on the telephone, the robot image is on the magna-doodle but it has vanished when Chandler goes to write the message on the magna-doodle. 
*Rachel's hair is a few inches longer in this episode than in the episode right before it.
*When Phoebe sings her "good luck" song to Joey, Joey is seen standing in front of Phoebe from where she is sitting, but on the next shot he is by the door.
*In the flashback when Joey and Chandler are hugging, one of the scenes was from "The One That Could Have Been, Part 1". This would have been impossible for Joey or Chandler to remember this hug as it did not happen in the world of present Friends but happened in the alternate universe.
== External links ==
* Transcript of the episode including the deleted scenes
* "The One with Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E." at the Internet Movie Database
==Episode Navigation==
Category:Friends Episodes
Category:Season 6
Category:Clip Shows
Category:Episodes
Category:Season 6 Episodes