The One Where Rachel Quits

"The One Where Rachel Quits" is the tenth episode of the third season of Friends, which aired on December 12, 1996.
==Plot==
When Gunther tells Rachel that Terry wants her to take training again, Rachel realizes how much she hates her job. Chandler and Joey talk her into quitting, which she does. She regrets this soon after, when she's still without a lead on her career a day before her last one as a waitress at the coffee shop Central Perk.
Ross accidentally breaks the leg of a girl called Sarah Tuttle, a Brown Bird who is unable to sell Christmas cookies because of this. Out of guilt, Ross sells the cookies in her place in the hope of winning her the first prize trip to Space Camp. He is ousted, however, by girls who have sold hundreds of boxes of cookies. When, as a last desperate attempt, Ross buys enough boxes to top the sales, he is yet again ousted by another girl, but he does make Sarah feel better when, instead of giving her a trip to Space Camp, he takes her to Joey and Chandler's, who have decorated their apartment in a space kind of theme and make her spin in one of the barcaloungers while the guys fool around like aliens. 
Phoebe can't stand to see Christmas trees being cut down and sold to "serve their Christmas destiny", but she also puts Joey's job as a tree-seller in jeopardy when she goes to see him at work and witnesses the mutilation of an old tree been destroyed in the chipper. As a friendly gesture, Monica and Joey take the trees to be chipped to Monica's apartment and set them up there. To top it all, Rachel receives a call from Fortunata Fashions, where Joey had managed to appoint her for an interview. She gets the job in fashion, and works her last day at Central Perk with a more lifted spirit (although she does mistake Chandler's order and brings him coffee instead of tea). Finally relieved that she never has to make coffee again, Rachel is appalled to find out her new job at Fortunata Fashions consists of nothing but making coffee for Mr. Kaplan Jr., her new boss.
==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===
Shelley Berman - Mr. Kaplan Jr.
Gene Crane - Christmas tree customer
Gerald Drake - Background
Sandra Gould - Old Woman
Kyla Pratt - Charla Nichols
Romy Rosemont - Brown Bird Troop Leader
James Michael Tyler - Gunther
Mae Whitman - Sarah Tuttle
Julie Grady Thomas - Girl Scout
===Crew===
Directed By: 
Terry Hughes
Written By: 
Greg Malins & Michael Curtis
==Trivia==
*It's revealed that as a girl, Monica gained weight when she joined the Brown Birds. Apparently she ate so many cookies that her father had to buy all the boxes.
**Monica doesn't lose her weight to her present figure until 1988, as can be seen in "The One With All The Thanksgivings".
*Being a naturalist, Phoebe cares for trees. In this episode, she can't stand the trees being cut down and dressed for Christmas. In "The One With The Cop", while sporting her newfound police badge, she "arrests" a woman for putting a cigarette out on a tree trunk. She also dumps her boyfriend Gary when he shoots a bird.
*Innuendo: When Ross is selling Brown Bird cookies to the woman across the hall he states that he is not invited to sleepovers to which the woman calls the police indicating that Ross could likely be mistaken for a sex offender and/or child predator.
*Gene Crane is the father of David Crane, co-creator of Friends.
*Chandler mentions when Rachel sent out resumes in "The One With All The Poker", that being the last time she tried to get a job in fashion.
*Within this episode, Joey displays a knack for lying to Phoebe, however in future episodes he is unable to lie in a believable manner, often bringing in stories about raccoons.
**Joey unable to 'lie' properly ("The One With Rachel's Other Sister") could probably be more of unable to make a believable excuse rather than the act of lying itself.
*Chandler states that Rachel is 28, however she has her 30th birthday in season 7, which is 4 years away from this episode. Since the trio are discussing "The Fear" it is more likely that Chandler is stating that he is 28 and working at a job he hates, suggesting that Rachel should not end up like him. Chandler finally quits 6 years later in "The One With Christmas In Tulsa".
*Rachel quitting sets off a series of events which eventually lead to Ross and Rachel's break up in "The One Where Ross And Rachel Take A Break".
*Terry is mentioned but doesn't appear in this episode. In fact this is the last time Terry is mentioned.
*After Rachel has learned she's got the job, Phoebe says "God bless us everyone". This is a line from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens said by Tiny Tim.
*Rachel's stay at Fortunata Fashions is short-lived as she gets offered an interview for a job at Bloomingdale's in the next episode.
*The USS Nimitz is a nuclear powered aircraft carrier which entered service in 1975 and is one of the largest ships in the world. The USS Nimitz is also the oldest aircraft carrier still in service. It's likely she will be replaced by the Gerald R. Ford class aircraft carriers currently under construction. She is named after the late Admiral Chester Nimitz who was the fleet commander of the US Pacific Fleet in World War 2. 
*When Ross visits Sarah and hears about her misfortunes, David Schwimmer breaks the fourth wall twice as part of his sad reaction.
*This episode was used as "Q is for Quitting" in the Nick at Nite Friends A-Z Event (January 2023).
===Goofs===
*When troop leader is going to see Ross' cookies sales, her arm is on her waist. In the next shot, her arm is up and holding a pen.
*When Gunther is telling Rachel about not trapping spiders under saucers, her arms are crossed but in the next shot her arms are at her side.
*When Rachel is going to call Gunther, a stage light can be seen reflected in the TV.
*When it is revealed that everyone had saved the trees for Phoebe, Phoebe yells "You saved them!" but her mouth is not moving. 
*When Rachel receives a call to inform her that she got the job, everyone has already entered the apartment and the door is closed behind Ross. However, while she is speaking and excitedly moves around the door can be seen open without anyone actually leaving the place.
*When Monica is asking Ross for more boxes of cookies, she picks up two other boxes and then shortly afterwards, runs to the bathroom still holding the boxes.
== External links ==
* Transcript of the episode including the deleted scenes
* "The One Where Rachel Quits" at the Internet Movie Database
==Episode Navigation==
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