Friends (season 8)

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Friends (season 8)
Friends Season 8 DVD.jpg
Friends season 8 DVD cover
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes 24
Release
Original network NBC
Original release September 27, 2001 (2001-09-27) – May 16, 2002 (2002-05-16)
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 7
Next →
Season 9
List of Friends episodes

The eighth season of Friends, an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, premiered on NBC on September 27, 2001. Friends was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television. The season contains 24 episodes and concluded airing on May 16, 2002. This season had an average of 24.5 million viewers, and was the most watched TV show of the 2001–02 television season.[1]

Season synopsis

The overriding theme of this season is Rachel's pregnancy and the birth of her daughter in the season finale. The first three episodes of the season revolve around the identity of Rachel's baby's father, who is eventually revealed to be Ross. Rachel and Ross decide to have the baby, but do not resume their romantic relationship. In the middle of the season, Joey starts developing romantic feelings for Rachel, but she does not feel the same. In the season finale, Rachel gives birth to her daughter, Emma, and Ross's mother gives him a ring to propose to Rachel. Chandler and Monica decide to start trying to have a baby after they talked about being ready. During the last scene of the episode, Joey finds Ross's ring and bends down to pick it up but Rachel mistakenly thinks it was a proposal. Because of her being so emotional after just giving birth she says "yes", leaving Joey shocked.

Cast and characters

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See also: List of Friends characters
(In particular, Introduced in season 8 or Only in season 8)

Episodes

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See also: List of Friends episodes
No.
overall		 No. in
season		 Title Directed by Written by Original air date Prod.
code		 U.S. viewers
(millions)
171 1 "The One After 'I Do'" Kevin S. Bright David Crane & Marta Kauffman September 27, 2001 (2001-09-27) 227401 31.70[2]

Everybody thinks Monica's pregnant, but her denial quickly shifts the focus to Phoebe, who takes the heat off of Rachel, who is actually pregnant. Chandler's shoes are slippery, rendering his dance lessons useless. Joey tries to impress a Broadway director. Ross dances with children to impress a woman.

Note: This episode is dedicated to "The people of New York City" to remember the September 11 attacks.
172 2 "The One with the Red Sweater" David Schwimmer Dana Klein Borkow October 4, 2001 (2001-10-04) 227402 30.04[2]
Rachel won't tell anybody who the father of her baby is until she tells him. Joey tells Monica and Phoebe that a guy slept with Rachel a few weeks earlier, and left a red sweater behind. Phoebe thinks it's Tag Jones and arranges a meeting for Rachel with him. Ross and Chandler attempt to recreate the wedding pictures, after Chandler loses the disposable cameras. Monica opens all of her and Chandler's wedding presents. Monica, Joey and Phoebe find out that Tag is not the father of Rachel's baby, but that it is in fact Ross.
173 3 "The One Where Rachel Tells..." Sheldon Epps Sherry Bilsing & Ellen Plummer October 11, 2001 (2001-10-11) 227403 29.20[2]

Chandler and Monica prepare to leave for their honeymoon as Rachel prepares to tell the father of her baby. Phoebe and Joey try to get into Monica and Chandler's apartment by telling the owner of the apartment there was a gas leak. However, not all goes to plan when the owner, who could not find Monica and Chandler's apartment keys, orders firemen to break down the door.

Note: There was a subplot of Chandler and Monica's honeymoon that was completely shot and filmed but ultimately never aired. It involved Chandler playfully joking about bombs when preparing to board first-class. The airport security mistake Chandler's joke as a real threat then take him and Monica to interrogation. Towards the end of the episode they're determined not to be a threat to the aircraft, but shortly after their release Joey calls Monica and pretends that there is a gas leak in their apartment in an attempt to cover for the broken door. When Joey asked her whether they'll charge them for the damage of breaking down the door, she sarcastically replied, "No, I want you to stand there and wait for the entire place to blow up!", causing the authorities to re-interrogate the couple. Following 9/11, the writers felt the humor of this subplot was off color and quickly replaced it with a story about Chandler and Monica getting jealous over another newly married couple who got free perks by arriving just before they did. The cut scenes from this episode were later shown as a special feature on the 2004 UK version of the DVDs.
174 4 "The One with the Videotape" Kevin S. Bright Scott Silveri October 18, 2001 (2001-10-18) 227406 25.58[2]
Ross and Rachel disagree over who came onto whom when they hooked up. He wants to prove it and accidentally reveals that he has the encounter on videotape. Monica and Chandler meet another couple while on their honeymoon.
175 5 "The One with Rachel's Date" Gary Halvorson Brian Buckner & Sebastian Jones October 25, 2001 (2001-10-25) 227404 25.64[2]

Phoebe begins dating a guy who works for Monica, causing a problem when Phoebe wants to dump him on the same day Monica plans to fire him. A guy at Chandler's work thinks that Chandler's name is Toby. Rachel goes on a date with Joey's costar, despite being pregnant, much to Ross' annoyance.

Note: This episode is dedicated to the memory of Richard Cox, Sr., father of Courteney Cox.
176 6 "The One with the Halloween Party" Gary Halvorson Mark Kunerth November 1, 2001 (2001-11-01) 227405 26.96[2]
Monica and Chandler are throwing a Halloween Party. At the party Phoebe runs into her sister's fiance, Eric (Sean Penn), and finds herself attracted to him. Ross and Chandler arm wrestle. Rachel asks if she can be the person who hands out candy to the trick-or-treaters, as she says 'ever since I got pregnant, I have had the strongest maternal instincts', only to find out she isn't as maternal as she thought.
177 7 "The One with the Stain" Kevin S. Bright R. Lee Fleming Jr. November 8, 2001 (2001-11-08) 227407 24.24[2]
Chandler hires a maid to help Monica but she thinks the maid is stealing her clothes. Eric broke up with Ursula and wants to date Phoebe but she reminds him too much of her sister. Ross attempts to secure the apartment of a dying Dutch woman for Rachel, while Joey tries to convince Rachel to continue living with him.
178 8 "The One with the Stripper" David Schwimmer Andrew Reich & Ted Cohen November 15, 2001 (2001-11-15) 227408 26.54[2]
Rachel's having dinner with her dad to tell him that she's pregnant. Meanwhile Monica hires a stripper, who turns out to be a hooker, for Chandler.
179 9 "The One with the Rumor" Gary Halvorson Shana Goldberg-Meehan November 22, 2001 (2001-11-22) 227410 24.24[2]
Monica invites a high school friend, Will (Brad Pitt) to her Thanksgiving dinner. Rachel finds out that he and Ross started a rumor about Rachel having both male and female "reproductive parts" during their senior year of High School. Joey tries to eat an entire turkey because 'he's a Tribbiani'. Chandler and Phoebe avoid helping Monica by sitting on the couch, and watching a game.
180 10 "The One with Monica's Boots" Kevin S. Bright Story: Robert Carlock
Teleplay: Brian Buckner & Sebastian Jones		 December 6, 2001 (2001-12-06) 227409 22.44[2]

Monica buys very expensive boots and promises Chandler to wear them all the time. After a while they are killing Monica's feet but she doesn't dare to tell Chandler. Joey's youngest sister Dina (Marla Sokoloff) is pregnant and comes to Rachel for advice. Phoebe finds out that Sting's son is in Ben's class so she goes to see Sting's wife (real wife (Trudie Styler)) pretending to want to talk about Ben and Jack in order to get tickets to Sting's concert.

Note: In this episode, Ross tells Phoebe Ben is 7. However this episode is set in December 2001, and as Ben was born in May 1995, Ben would only be 6 at the time.
181 11 "The One with Ross's Step Forward"
"The One with The Creepy Holiday Card"		 Gary Halvorson Robert Carlock December 13, 2001 (2001-12-13) 227411 23.85[2]
Ross freaks out when Mona wants to send out joint Christmas cards and wants to have "the talk". Chandler tries to get out of spending time with his boss. Rachel has hormonal problems as a result of pregnancy and becomes "erotically charged".
182 12 "The One Where Joey Dates Rachel" David Schwimmer Sherry Bilsing-Graham & Ellen Plummer January 10, 2002 (2002-01-10) 227412 25.53[2]
Now that Rachel can't go on dates anymore due to her pregnancy, Joey decides to take her on a date. But instantly, he begins to have a crush on Rachel, something that even he is scared about. Monica and Chandler get a Ms. Pac-Man arcade game from Phoebe as a late wedding present. After Phoebe hogs the game, Chandler becomes a pro by repeatedly playing and putting swear words as his initials, however Monica wants them to be removed as Ben would be coming over to play on it. After Ross gets to teach an advanced class, he struggles to get to the class on time.
183 13 "The One Where Chandler Takes a Bath" Ben Weiss Vanessa McCarthy January 17, 2002 (2002-01-17) 227413 29.24[2]
Monica sways Chandler's dislike of baths but he soon becomes addicted to them. Phoebe, who thinks Joey has a crush on her, is shocked to discover that Joey actually likes Rachel; Ross and Rachel debate over potential names for their baby and find out the baby's sex.
184 14 "The One with the Secret Closet" Kevin S. Bright Brian Buckner & Sebastian Jones January 31, 2002 (2002-01-31) 227414 28.64[2]
Chandler becomes obsessed with finding out what is behind the door of Monica's secret closet. Phoebe feels betrayed when she discovers Monica has been using a different massage therapist. Ross feels left out after missing the baby's first kick especially when Joey is mistaken for the father. Joey, feeling bad about the situation, suggests that Rachel should move in with Ross even though he wanted Rachel to live with him.
185 15 "The One with the Birthing Video" Kevin S. Bright Dana Klein Borkow February 7, 2002 (2002-02-07) 227415 28.64[2]
Phoebe gives a birthing video to Rachel. Chandler, mistaking the tape for porn, watches it and is horrified after watching it with Monica, which kills the mood for Valentine's Day. Ross struggles to tell Mona that Rachel is now living with him. Joey is depressed and in an effort to lighten his mood, Phoebe lends him a dog to cheer him up. However Joey ends up subduing the dog with his depression, and in the end tells Ross about his feelings for Rachel.
186 16 "The One Where Joey Tells Rachel" Ben Weiss Andrew Reich & Ted Cohen February 28, 2002 (2002-02-28) 227416 27.52[2]

Ross, shocked at Joey's declaration, avoids him, but eventually convinces him to tell Rachel. Joey confesses his love for Rachel, but Rachel politely and lovingly turns him down. Phoebe is convinced that a British man called Don is Monica's soulmate.

Guest starring Sam Pancake as the waiter.
187 17 "The One with the Tea Leaves" Gary Halvorson Story: R. Lee Fleming Jr.
Teleplay: Steven Rosenhaus		 March 7, 2002 (2002-03-07) 227417 26.30[2]
Phoebe determines through tea leaves that she'll soon meet the man of her dreams. Rachel invents a crazy work problem to reduce the awkwardness of hanging out with Joey, since he confessed his feelings for her. Ross tries to retrieve his 'faded salmon' shirt from Mona's apartment.
188 18 "The One in Massapequa"
"The One with the Zesty Guy"		 Gary Halvorson Story: Peter Tibbals
Teleplay: Mark Kunerth		 March 28, 2002 (2002-03-28) 227418 22.05[2]
Monica writes a speech for her parents' 35th wedding anniversary. Phoebe dates Parker (Alec Baldwin), who's very enthusiastic about everything. Ross and Rachel have to pretend to be married.
189 19 "The One with Joey's Interview" Gary Halvorson Doty Abrams April 4, 2002 (2002-04-04) 227424 22.59[2]
Joey prepares for an interview with Soap Opera Digest, although he's afraid of saying something stupid that may jeopardize his career. (In a previous episode, in an interview, he said he writes a lot of his own lines, which led to his firing from Days of Our Lives.) Joey enlists his friends to make sure things go well. This is the fourth of Friends' six clip shows.
190 20 "The One with the Baby Shower" Kevin S. Bright Sherry Bilsing-Graham & Ellen Plummer April 25, 2002 (2002-04-25) 227421 22.24[2]
Phoebe and Monica prepare for Rachel's baby shower and forget to invite Rachel's mother. During the shower Monica tries desperately to seek forgiveness from Sandra, but to no avail. Rachel realizes she has no idea how to look after the baby after the birth, so her mother insists on staying with her for eight weeks, much to her and Ross's annoyance. Joey auditions for a job as a host for a new game show called "Bamboozled" and Chandler and Ross help him practice.
191 21 "The One with the Cooking Class" Gary Halvorson Story: Dana Klein Borkow
Teleplay: Brian Buckner & Sebastian Jones		 May 2, 2002 (2002-05-02) 227419 23.97[2]
Monica's cooking skills get a bad review in The Post. After confronting the critic who wrote it, she decides to join a cooking class, with Joey in tow. Rachel gets jealous when Ross meets a girl at the baby department store. Phoebe helps Chandler prepare for an interview by stopping his natural instinct to make immature jokes.
192 22 "The One Where Rachel is Late" Gary Halvorson Shana Goldberg-Meehan May 9, 2002 (2002-05-09) 227420 24.32[2]
Joey invites Chandler to his movie's premiere but Chandler falls asleep during it. Rachel is very frustrated with the fact that she's eight days late, and will try anything to induce labor, which leads to a bet between Monica and Phoebe.
193/194 23/24 "The One Where Rachel Has a Baby" Kevin S. Bright Part 1: Scott Silveri
Part 2: Marta Kauffman & David Crane		 May 16, 2002 (2002-05-16)[lower-alpha 1] 227422/
227423		 34.91[2]
Ross and Rachel arrive at the hospital. Judy Geller gives Ross her mother's engagement ring to propose to Rachel with. Monica and Chandler decide to have a baby. After forty-seven hours of labor, Rachel has her and Ross's baby, Emma. Joey finds Ross's engagement ring. Rachel thinks he's proposing and says "Okay". Monica and Chandler try for a baby in the hospital.

United States ratings

Episode Episode title Air date Rating Share Viewers (millions) Weekly rank
171 (8-01) "The One After 'I Do'" September 27, 2001 19.5 31 31.70 #1
172 (8-02) "The One with the Red Sweater" October 4, 2001 18.9 31 30.04 #1
173 (8-03) "The One Where Rachel Tells Ross" October 11, 2001 17.9 26 29.20 #1
174 (8-04) "The One with the Videotape" October 18, 2001 16.0 25 25.58 #2
175 (8-05) "The One with Rachel's Date" October 25, 2001 16.1 25 25.64 #2
176 (8-06) "The One with the Halloween Party" November 1, 2001 16.8 25 26.96 #2
177 (8-07) "The One with the Stain" November 8, 2001 15.2 23 24.24 #2
178 (8-08) "The One with the Stripper" November 15, 2001 16.1 25 26.54 #2
179 (8-09) "The One with the Rumor" November 22, 2001 12.7 25 24.24 #3
180 (8-10) "The One with Monica's Boots" December 6, 2001 14.0 23 22.44 #2
181 (8-11) "The One with Ross's Step Forward"
"The One with The Creepy Holiday Card"		 December 13, 2001 14.9 25 23.85 #2
182 (8-12) "The One Where Joey Dates Rachel" January 10, 2002 16.1 24 25.53 #2
183 (8-13) "The One Where Chandler Takes a Bath" January 17, 2002 17.5 27 29.24 #1
184 (8-14) "The One with the Secret Closet" January 31, 2002 17.8 28 28.64 #3
185 (8–15) "The One with the Birthing Video" February 7, 2002 17.8 28 28.64 #2
186 (8–16) "The One Where Joey Tells Rachel" February 28, 2002 17.4 27 27.52 #1
187 (8–17) "The One with the Tea Leaves" March 7, 2002 16.3 25 26.30 #2
188 (8–18) "The One in Massapequa" March 28, 2002 13.7 23 22.05 #4
189 (8–19) "The One with Joey's Interview" April 4, 2002 14.7 24 22.59 #4
190 (8–20) "The One with the Baby Shower" April 25, 2002 14.4 23 22.24 #3
191 (8–21) "The One with the Cooking Class" May 2, 2002 15.4 25 23.97 #3
192 (8–22) "The One Where Rachel is Late" May 9, 2002 15.4 26 24.32 #3
193 (8–23) / (8–24) "The One Where Rachel Has a Baby" May 16, 2002 21.1 34 34.91 #1
  • Season 8 averaged 24.5 million viewers and finished, for the first time, as the most watched show of the 2001–02 television season.[1]
  • All episodes aired at 8:00 pm Thursdays on NBC.
  • All episodes ranked within the weekly top 5 most watched TV shows.

Awards and Nominations

54th Primetime Emmy Awards

  • Award for Outstanding Comedy Series
  • Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (Jennifer Aniston) (Episode: "The One Where Rachel Has a Baby")
  • Nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (Matthew Perry) (Episode: "The One Where Chandler Takes a Bath")
  • Nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (Matt LeBlanc) (Episode: "The One Where Joey Tells Rachel")
  • Nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series (Brad Pitt) (Episode: "The One with the Rumor")

59th Golden Globe Awards

  • Nomination for Best Musical or Comedy Series
  • Nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries, or TV Movie (Jennifer Aniston)

8th Screen Actors Guild Awards

  • Nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series (Jennifer Aniston)
  • Nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (Regular Cast)

18th TCA Awards

  • Nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy
  • Nomination for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Comedy (Matt LeBlanc)

7th Golden Satellite Awards

  • Nomination for Best Musical or Comedy Series
  • Nomination for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy Series (Matt LeBlanc)
  • Nomination for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy Series (Jennifer Aniston)

Notes

  1. ↑ These episodes originally aired as a single double-length episode but are sometimes split into two episodes for syndication, reruns and DVD presentation.

References

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  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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