The One After the Superbowl

Infobox Television episode
Title = The One After the Superbowl
Series = Friends
Season = 2
Episode = 12/13
Airdate = January 28, 1996
Writer = Michael Borkow (part 1)
Mike Sikowitz & Jeffrey Astrof (part 2)
Director = Michael Lembeck
Prev = The One with the Lesbian Wedding
Next = The One with the Prom Video"The One After the Superbowl" is a double-length episode of the second season of the American television situation comedy "Friends", which aired on NBC on January 28, 1996, immediately after NBC's telecast of Super Bowl XXX.cite book |last= Sangster|first= Jim|coauthors= David Bailey|title= Friends Like Us: The Unofficial Guide to Friends|year= 2000|publisher= Virgin Publishing Ltd|location= London|edition= 2nd ed.|pages= pp.98–103|isbn= 0-7535-0439-1 ] The main plot of both episodes has Ross (David Schwimmer) searching for his former pet monkey, Marcel, and discovering him working on a film set in New York.

The first part was written by Michael Borkow and the second part by Mike Sikowitz and Jeffrey Astrof. Both parts were directed by Michael Lembeck. It is the most-watched episode of "Friends", drawing 52.9 million viewers.

Plot

Part 1

After seeing a monkey that looks similar to Marcel on a beer commercial, Ross decides to pay a visit to his former pet at the San Diego Zoo during his business trip to California. When Ross can't find his monkey the zoo administrator tells him that Marcel passed away, but a janitor informs Ross that Marcel was kidnapped and forced into show business and is currently filming a movie in New York. Meanwhile, Joey (Matt LeBlanc) has to contend with a stalker (Brooke Shields) who thinks that Joey is actually the character he plays on Days of Our Lives, Dr. Drake Ramoray. Despite this, Joey briefly dates her until he realizes that she's just too insane. Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) starts dating a man (Chris Isaak) who hired her to perform at a children's concert.

Part 2

Ross, hoping for a reunion with Marcel, looks for him on the movie set. Joey meanwhile, sucks up to the production assistant to land a part in the movie. While on set, Chandler (Matthew Perry) meets an old childhood friend Susie "Underpants" Moss (played by Julia Roberts) working on the production, with whom he has a colored history. Apparently, when they were in elementary school, Chandler pulled Susie's pants down when she was on stage. They arrange a date, Chandler unsuspecting that it is a plot to get revenge. After convincing him to wear her panties, Susie leaves him wearing nothing but the panties in a bathroom stall in the restaurant they were having dinner in.Meanwhile Monica (Courteney Cox) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) meet the movie's star Jean-Claude Van Damme, and compete for his attentions, creating tension between them. They both dump him when he tries to convince them to have a threesome with Drew Barrymore. Joey finally lands a small role in the movie, but loses his solitary line after overacting.

Production

Casting

*Erika Ford - Brooke Shields
*Rob Donnen - Chris Isaak
*Susie Moss - Julia Roberts
*Himself - Jean-Claude Van Damme
*Zookeeper - Fred Willard
*Zoo Janitor - Dan Castellaneta

Reception

"Entertainment Weekly" rates the episode "C", calling it "fragmented, poorly paced, and only sporadically funny. Cramming the already crowded ensemble with celebs may have been a ratings grabber [...] but the results are forced sitcomedy and stilted acting" specifically citing Van Damme.cite news|last= Staff writer|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,261351,00.html|title=Review: Season 2 (1995–1996)|work=Entertainment Weekly|date=2001-09-15|accessdate=2007-08-21] The authors of "Friends Like Us: The Unofficial Guide to Friends" write of the first part "There are some lovely moments of slapstick", mentioning "what Matthew Perry does with the washing-up liquid bottle when he first sees Erika", though call Isaak "positively wooden". Of the second part, they call Julia Roberts' "a fine guest-star", and Van Damme "embarrassing".

This episode was the highest rated episode of the series, recording 52.9 million viewers. Director Michael Lembeck won the 1996 Emmy Award for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Directing for a Comedy Series" for this episode, the only Emmy won by the series in that year. [cite web|last=Multiple authors|title=Awards for "Friends" (1994)|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108778/awards|work=Internet Movie Database|accessdate=2007-08-19]

Brooke Shields' performance in this episode impressed NBC so much that she was offered her own sitcom, "Suddenly Susan", for the network's 1996 fall lineup.

References

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0583439/ "The One After the Superbowl: Part 1"] at the Internet Movie Database
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0831047/ "The One After the Superbowl: Part 2"] at the Internet Movie Database