Friends (season 4)

Friends (season 4)

Friends season 4 DVD cover
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes 24
Release
Original network NBC
Original release September 25, 1997 (1997-09-25) – May 7, 1998 (1998-05-07)

The fourth season of Friends, an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, premiered on NBC on September 25, 1997. Friends was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television. The season contains 24 episodes and concluded airing on May 7, 1998. It was one of three seasons included on TV Guide's list of the Top 100 TV Seasons.

Season synopsis

In the Season 4 premiere, Ross decides to break up with Bonnie to get back together with Rachel, who writes him a letter. However, Ross falls asleep while reading the 18-page letter in the early hours of dawn, but his desire to get back with Rachel is such that the next morning he lies to her about reading it. Upon realizing the letter had stated that Rachel is willing to reconcile with Ross only on condition he accepts full responsibility for their previous break-up, Ross balks. They break up again due to Rachel's continuous mention of the letter and Ross not being able to continue having Rachel think he has taken responsibility for their first break up.

During this season, Phoebe becomes a surrogate mother for her brother and his new wife. Joey starts dating an actress named Kathy, whom Chandler has a crush on. Chandler and Kathy end up kissing while she was still with Joey. Joey finds out about the kiss from Chandler, whose guilt prompted him to buy new furniture for their empty apartment. Joey becomes so angry that he starts sending off the stuff Chandler bought, until Chandler resolves the issue by spending Thanksgiving in a box.

Ross and his new girlfriend, Emily, move on quite fast, and agree to get married in London. This sets off Rachel in a competition with Ross, so she proposes to her boyfriend Joshua, who is still in the process of getting his divorce final. She scares him off so much that he breaks up with her. Rachel decides not to go to the wedding because she is worried of being highly uncomfortable seeing Ross marry another woman, so she stays home with Phoebe, who at this point is too far in her pregnancy to travel by plane. The other friends all go to London for the wedding; Monica and Chandler end up sleeping together after a drunk man mistakes Monica for her mother. Phoebe tries to help Rachel get over her feelings for Ross, only for Rachel to discover that she still loves him. On the day of the wedding, Rachel rushes off to London to tell Ross she still loves him only to find him kissing his wife-to-be and realizes that he is happy. She decides to just congratulate him instead. At the ceremony, Emily says her vows, and as Ross starts saying his, he stops mid-stream after he calls Emily "Rachel", putting an end to the fourth season.

Cast and characters

(In particular, Introduced in season 4 or Only in season 4)

Episodes

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code		U.S. viewers
(millions)
741"The One with the Jellyfish"Shelley JensenWil CalhounSeptember 25, 1997 (1997-09-25)46660129.4[1]
During a trip to the beach, Monica, accompanied by Joey and Chandler, is stung by a jellyfish; the only remedy they can think of is for someone to pee on the sting. Chandler complies. Ross and Rachel get back together until Ross cannot stand Rachel thinking he has taken full responsibility for the flaws in their relationship. Phoebe gets to know her birth mother.
752"The One with the Cat"Shelley JensenJill Condon & Amy ToominOctober 2, 1997 (1997-10-02)46660225.5[1]
A cat enters the coffee house and sniffs around Phoebe's guitar case. When Phoebe picks the cat up, she believes that her dead mother's spirit is inside it. Joey tries to sell his entertainment unit and when showing a customer that it is big enough to fit a grown man, the customer puts a hockey stick through the handles, locking Joey in and steals everything in his and Chandler's apartment. Monica dates Chip Matthews (Rachel's ex-boyfriend), the most popular boy from her high school, but dumps him after she realizes he is an immature loser who still lives with his parents.
763"The One with the Cuffs"Peter BonerzSeth KurlandOctober 9, 1997 (1997-10-09)46660324.0[1]
Chandler dates Rachel's boss, Joanna, again and finally breaks up with her after she handcuffs him to her office chair. Rachel then comes to Chandler's rescue, with doubts as she realizes she could get fired for going into her boss's office. Monica caters a party for her mother, but while preparing the food she loses a fake finger nail in the quiche, ruining her plans to impress her critical mother. A salesman (Penn Jillette) comes to Chandler and Joey's apartment selling Encyclopedias and starts teaching Joey things from the books.
774"The One with the Ballroom Dancing"Gail MancusoTed Cohen & Andrew ReichOctober 16, 1997 (1997-10-16)46660424.3[1]
Joey helps the apartment supervisor Treegor with his ballroom dancing skills in order to help Monica and Rachel keep their illegal apartment. Chandler wants to quit the gym, but can't because of the attractive staff. Ross, originally to help Chandler quit, ends up with a gym membership when they leave. Their later plan is to cut the gym from their financial source, so they attempt to quit their bank but because of the attractive female staff there, they end up with a joint-checking account. Phoebe, on the other hand, has a crush on her client but is forbidden to do so because he is her client. This led to her being fired.
785"The One with Joey's New Girlfriend"Gail MancusoGregory S. Malins & Michael CurtisOctober 30, 1997 (1997-10-30)46660524.4[1]
Chandler starts to fall in love with Joey's new girlfriend, Kathy, after he flirted with her in the coffee house, unaware Joey was dating her. Rachel becomes jealous of Ross's relationship and ends up dating a college student, who turns out to be stealing from her. Phoebe's voice becomes stuffy after she catches a cold, which gives her a new sexy voice for singing and finds that she likes her "new" singing voice better.
796"The One with the Dirty Girl"Shelley JensenShana Goldberg-Meehan & Scott SilveriNovember 6, 1997 (1997-11-06)46660625.7[1]
Ross' new girlfriend (Rebecca Romijn) seems nearly perfect until he discovers that her apartment is incredibly dirty. Chandler buys Kathy a first edition of her favorite children's book for her birthday. He tries to help Joey (then dating Kathy) buy a present that is comparable to his own, but Joey only ends up purchasing something very meaningless and inexpensive. Phoebe and Monica decide to become partners in a catering business.
807"The One Where Chandler Crosses the Line"Kevin S. BrightAdam ChaseNovember 13, 1997 (1997-11-13)46660726.4[1]
Chandler must decide between the girl of his dreams, Kathy, and his best friend Joey when he and Kathy share a secret and secluded passionate kiss. Chandler, feeling guilty about his kiss with Kathy, buys new furniture and appliances for his and Joey's apartment to fill in the empty spaces left after the robbery. When Joey finds out about the kiss, he attempts to punish Chandler for five years. Ross starts playing the keyboard again for the first time since college and reinvents his musical art (or as Ross calls them, "wordless sound poems").
818"The One with Chandler in a Box"Peter BonerzMichael BorkowNovember 20, 1997 (1997-11-20)46660826.8[1]
Chandler agrees to spend Thanksgiving in a shipping crate as a punishment from Joey for kissing Kathy. After Monica accidentally gets ice in her eye, she visits her new eye doctor, who turns out to be out of town, and is seen by Richard's son (Michael Vartan). She then invites him over for Thanksgiving, which the others do not approve of. After Kathy visits and breaks up with Chandler due to not wanting to break up a friendship, Joey forgives Chandler and tells him to go after her before she leaves.
829"The One Where They're Going to Party!"Peter BonerzTed Cohen & Andrew ReichDecember 11, 1997 (1997-12-11)46660923.9[1]
Chandler and Ross's friend "Gandalf" is planning to come to town. They are very excited until he cancels. When they're forced to try to have a fun time on their own, they're forced to realize that they're becoming older and no longer enjoy the party scene. Monica has to choose between a head chef job and catering with Phoebe, and helps Phoebe with ideas for a business of her own. Rachel gets "hired" as the assistant buyer at Bloomingdale's but doesn't get the promotion because her supervisor dies before she turns in the HR paperwork.
8310"The One with the Girl from Poughkeepsie"Gary HalvorsonScott SilveriDecember 18, 1997 (1997-12-18)46661223.2[1]
Ross must decide whether to continue dating a girl he must travel two-and-a-half hours to see or a girl much closer to home but much less fun. He eventually decides to see the girl from Poughkeepsie, but he falls asleep on the train and ends up in Montreal. Chandler tries to set Rachel up with a guy from his office, but couldn't succeed. Phoebe tries to write the perfect Christmas song about her friends. Monica starts her new job as head chef at a restaurant, but since her unflattering newspaper review resulted in the previous head chef being fired, the kitchen staff hate her and torment her constantly. On Chandler's suggestion, she hires Joey as a waiter with the purpose of firing him to intimidate the other staff into obeying her; the plan falls through initially after Joey receives good tips from patrons, and he is reluctant to lose his job. However, after the constant bullying almost reduces Monica to tears, Joey steps up and allows her to fire him, frightening the staff.
8411"The One with Phoebe's Uterus"David SteinbergSeth KurlandJanuary 8, 1998 (1998-01-08)46661023.7[1]

Phoebe doesn't know what to do when Frank Jr. visits with his new wife and asks her to carry their child. She visits her birth mother who tells her it isn't a good idea. To support this, she gives Phoebe a puppy, but only for three days to prove it will be hard to give it up. Phoebe decides she will carry their baby because when it's over, they will be so happy, making Phoebe feel good. Meanwhile, Monica teaches Chandler the secrets of a woman's seven erogenous zones, for which Kathy is extremely grateful.

Note: In "The One Where Chandler Doesn't Like Dogs," Chandler doesn't like dogs. However, he is seen in this episode with a dog.
8512"The One with the Embryos"Kevin S. BrightJill Condon & Amy ToominJanuary 15, 1998 (1998-01-15)46661127.1[1]

Phoebe's uterus is examined for implantation of the embryos. A seemingly harmless game between the guys and the girls escalates into a full-blown contest to see which pair knows more personal data about the other. The guys end up betting the chick and the duck, and the girls end up betting their apartment. When the guys win, Rachel tells them that it was just a game but the guys continue to move in. At the end, Phoebe tells everyone she's pregnant.

In 2009, TV Guide ranked this episode #21 on its list of the 100 Greatest Episodes.[2]
8613"The One with Rachel's Crush"Dana DeVally PiazzaShana Goldberg-MeehanJanuary 29, 1998 (1998-01-29)46661325.3[1]
As the guys and the girls switched apartments, Monica told the guys they have to be the hosts only for her to want to become the hostess again. Chandler breaks up with Kathy after seeing her having simulated sex on stage with another man. Kathy tells Chandler that it is just her job, and tells Chandler to call her when he can grow up. It is later revealed that Kathy wasn't sleeping with him, but starts to after her and Chandler's dispute, causing Chandler to say, that their "second fight ... is going to be A BIG ONE!" Rachel has a crush on Joshua, a handsome customer and even ponders asking him out.
8714"The One with Joey's Dirty Day"Peter BonerzWil CalhounFebruary 5, 1998 (1998-02-05)46661425.1[1]
Joey has to go to Charlton Heston's new movie but smells awful because of a three-day fishing trip with his father previously and never had time to shower. He breaks into Heston's dressing room and uses his shower. Rachel sets Ross up with her boss's niece, Emily (Helen Baxendale) so that she can go to Joshua's invested nightclub. Chandler can't get over Kathy, and remains in his barcalounger, in his sweat pants.
8815"The One with All the Rugby"James BurrowsStory: Ted Cohen & Andrew Reich
Teleplay: Wil Calhoun		February 26, 1998 (1998-02-26)46661724.4[1]
Ross plays rugby with some of Emily's English friends and ends up in a lot of pain afterward. To impress Emily, Ross attempts to regain some of his honor by playing rugby with Chandler and Joey while Emily watches. Ross wins so many matches that Chandler and Joey begin to think he was replaced with a robot. Chandler runs into Janice and tells her that his company is transferring him to Yemen in an effort to escape reuniting with her. Monica obsesses over a light switch that doesn't seem to control anything, and even cuts the wall open herself to follow the wire after an electrician, the super and the electrical plans to the building prove unfruitful. It is revealed that it controls the television in Joey and Chandler's apartment.
8916"The One with the Fake Party"Michael LembeckStory: Alicia Sky Varinaitis
Teleplay: Scott Silveri & Shana Goldberg-Meehan		March 19, 1998 (1998-03-19)46661523.1[1]
Rachel throws a fake party for Emily, who's returning to London, just so she can see Joshua outside of work. The baby in Phoebe's womb is craving meat, which is putting a strain on Phoebe's vegetarianism. Just as Rachel is about to kiss Joshua, Phoebe's baby kicks.
9017"The One with the Free Porn"Michael LembeckStory: Mark Kunerth
Teleplay: Richard Goodman		March 26, 1998 (1998-03-26)46661623.2[1]
Chandler and Joey discover that they're getting a free porn channel on their TV. Ross tells Emily how he really feels about her. After she has left for England, he flies to London to see her, unaware that she's already on her way back to New York to see him. The doctor tells Phoebe that she is going to have triplets.
9118"The One with Rachel's New Dress"Gail MancusoStory: Andrew Reich & Ted Cohen
Teleplay: Jill Condon & Amy Toomin		April 2, 1998 (1998-04-02)46662021.7[1]
Joshua invites Rachel to his parents' house, who are said to be out of town. She changes into a more revealing dress and Joshua and his parents walk in, much to her embarrassment. Phoebe is offered the chance to name one of the triplets and chooses 'Chandler' over 'Joey'. Chandler realizes he has a horrible name and wants to change it, much to Phoebe's disapproval. When Phoebe leaves, it is revealed that it was just a plan by Chandler to get her to choose his name. Ross suspects Emily of having an affair with Carol's wife Susan.
9219"The One with All the Haste"Kevin S. BrightScott Silveri & Wil CalhounApril 9, 1998 (1998-04-09)46661821.8[1]
Monica and Rachel have Knicks season tickets and offer them to the guys if they give them their apartment back. Chandler doesn't trade but Joey wants to. They play a game with Phoebe as the judge on picking the highest card out of a deck of cards and the winner takes it all. The guys win, so they set off to watch the game. While Chandler and Joey are at the Knicks game, Monica and Rachel switch the apartments back, despite the guys winning the tickets and the right to keep the apartment fair and square.But Rachael has a backup offer that she and Monica will kiss for one minute which the boys accept.Ross proposes to Emily and she accepts. Ross and Emily announce their engagement in font of his friends, which Rachel hears about. She, teary-eyed, congratulates the couple saying she is so happy for them.
9320"The One with All the Wedding Dresses"Gail MancusoStory: Adam Chase
Teleplay: Gregory S. Malins & Michael Curtis		April 16, 1998 (1998-04-16)46662121.9[1]
Ross asks Monica to pick up Emily's wedding dress and instead Monica tries the dress on and keeps it. Phoebe then comes to Monica's in a wedding dress. Because of Ross's proposal to Emily, Rachel, feeling slightly jealous, tries to talk Joshua into marriage. He doesn't accept, and Rachel becomes dejected. Later when Rachel puts on a wedding dress at Monica's (with Phoebe), the three of them hear a knock on the door thinking it's Chandler. When Rachel opens it, she finds out it's actually Joshua, who gets freaked out and leaves, thereby ending the relationship. Chandler takes Joey to a sleep clinic because he starts snoring all the time and meets a girl named Marjorie (Christina Moore) who talks in her sleep. She later is in bed with Chandler and screams really loudly and wakes up Joey.
9421"The One with the Invitation"Peter BonerzSeth KurlandApril 23, 1998 (1998-04-23)46661921.5[1]
Ross and Emily are sending their wedding invitations; Emily doesn't think it's a good idea to invite Rachel, as she believes it would be too "awkward" for him, but Ross invites her anyway. After scenes shown from previous episodes of her and Ross' relationship, Rachel decides not to go, and instead keep Phoebe company in case she goes through labor.
9522"The One with the Worst Best Man Ever"Peter BonerzStory: Seth Kurland
Teleplay: Gregory S. Malins & Michael Curtis		April 30, 1998 (1998-04-30)46662223.2[1]
Ross chooses Chandler as his best man, but picks Joey instead when Chandler says Ross won't be his best man. Joey then loses Ross's ring after a bachelor party and is convinced the stripper stole it after she slept with Joey. They later find out that the duck swallowed the ring. The girls give Phoebe a baby shower during the height of her mood swings.
96
97		23
24		"The One with Ross's Wedding"Kevin S. BrightMichael Borkow
Teleplay: Shana Goldberg-Meehan & Scott Silveri
Story: Jill Condon & Amy Toomin		May 7, 1998 (1998-05-07)[lower-alpha 1]466623
466624		31.6[1]
All the friends go to London, except for Phoebe, who's pregnant and Rachel, who thinks it will be too painful to see Ross get married, and tells Ross she has to work. The building where Ross and Emily schedule to get married has been torn down a few days early, but they decide to marry there anyway. Richard Branson cameos as a souvenir stand salesman, and Sarah, Duchess of York, appears in a video with Joey. Rachel decides to go to Ross's wedding after all, to say she still loves him, but stops when sees how happy he is. Rachel tearfully congratulates Ross and they hug with her almost in tears. Emily's parents try to fool Ross's parents with the wedding bill, paying to remodel their house as well. Chandler and Monica sleep together after a drunk guy thinks she is Ross's mother. At the altar while Ross is saying his nuptials, he makes a big mistake and says Rachel's name instead of Emily's.

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.

Awards and Nominations

50th Primetime Emmy Awards

14th TCA Awards

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 "Friends Nielsen Ratings Archive – Season Four". Newmusicandmore.tripod.com. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
  2. ↑ "TV Guide's Top 100 Episodes". Rev/Views. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
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