Ross is eager for everyone to be ready well in advance of his 8 PM speech at the museum’s benefit. However, they all have other priorities. Joey childishly steals Chandler’s armchair while Chandler is in the bathroom and stubbornly refuses to move, resulting in a stain on Phoebe’s dress. When Joey is finally chased out of the chair, he takes the pillows with him. In retaliation, Chandler steals all of Joey’s underwear, prompting Joey to take revenge in a sordid manner.
Monica becomes anxious when she hears an answering machine message from Richard. Despite it likely being old, she continues to make the situation worse by abusing his code. The most problematic, however, is Rachel, who takes an excessive amount of time to choose an outfit. When Ross insists she should hurry and that it doesn’t matter what she wears, she refuses to go altogether until Joey’s flippant suggestion is taken seriously.
Did you know?!
• Matt LeBlanc revealed in an interview that this episode’s studio audience was comprised of contest winners of a tie-in advertisement campaign with Diet Coke, flown in from all over the US. He dislocated his shoulder during the scene where Joey and Chandler physically jump towards the lounge chair they fight for through the duration of the episode, and due to his injury production was shut down for the day. Subsequently the winning audience members were sent home and then once again flown in as the studio audience for another episode.
• This is the only episode of the series that takes place in real time.
• This is a “bottle episode”, an episode with limited cast and sets produced due to limited budget. The majority of the episode takes place in the girls’ apartment, (save for a quick scene during the end credits) with only the main cast appearing for most of it (except for the scene during the credits and some voices heard on the phone and answering machine).
• Other than the main cast, there are only three speaking roles in this episode: Peter Dennis, who appears as Dr. Sherman Whitfield in the credits scene, and Tom Selleck and an uncredited actress who voice Richard and Michelle Burke on Monica’s answering machine.
• In Monica’s second message to Richard, she says that maybe she’s getting her period. This is a nod to Courteney Cox’s commercial work before Friends (1994), when she was the first person to say “period” on national TV while appearing in a Tampax commercial.
• This is the 50th episode of the series.
• At the end, Ross is telling a story and mentions Magnum, P.I. (1980). Tom Selleck, who played Magnum, leaves a message for Monica (as Richard) on her answering machine.
• This episode is included on the 2000 DVD release The Best of Friends Volume 2.
• Phoebe says to Monica when Michelle calls “she must have caller ID – you should get that!” This is a nod to Courteney Cox’s movie Scream (1996) filmed the same year. The premise of the movie is a killer calling his victims on the phone before he murders them. Sales of Caller ID shot up three fold following the release of the movie.
