Friends (season 2)

The second season of Friends, an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, premiered on NBC on September 21, 1995. 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, 1996.

Friends
Season 2
Friends season 2 DVD cover
Starring	Jennifer Aniston Courteney Cox Lisa Kudrow Matt LeBlanc Matthew Perry David Schwimmer
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	24
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	September 21, 1995 (1995-09-21) – May 16, 1996 (1996-05-16)
Season chronology

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes season 2 has 3 reviews listed, all positive.[1]

Collider ranked the season #7 on their ranking of the ten Friends seasons. According to them, "The One with the Prom Video" was its standout episode.[2]

Cast and characters

(In particular, Introduced in season 2 or Only in season 2)

Main cast Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green Courteney Cox as Monica Geller Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing David Schwimmer as Ross Geller Recurring cast Lauren Tom as Julie Mike Hagerty as Mr. Treeger Tom Selleck as Richard Burke Adam Goldberg as Eddie Menuek Jane Sibbett as Carol Willick Jessica Hecht as Susan Bunch June Gable as Estelle Leonard James Michael Tyler as Gunther

Guest stars Maggie Wheeler as Janice Litman Cosimo Fusco as Paolo Marlo Thomas as Sandra Green Ron Leibman as Leonard Green Elliott Gould as Jack Geller Christina Pickles as Judy Geller Emily Procter as Annabel Joel Beeson as The Hombre Man (Todd) Steve Zahn as Duncan Brittney Powell as Jade Chris Young as Steven Fishman Max Wright as Terry Chrissie Hynde as Stephanie Schiffer Lea Thompson as the baby sniffer Giovanni Ribisi as Frank Buffay, Jr. Arye Gross as Michael Michael McKean as Mr. Rastatter Vincent Ventresca as Fun Bobby Phil Leeds as Mr. Adelman Brooke Shields as Erika Chris Isaak as Rob Donnen Fred Willard as the zookeeper Dan Castellaneta as the zoo janitor Jean-Claude Van Damme as himself Julia Roberts as Susie Charlie Sheen as Ryan

Episodes

See also: List of Friends episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	US viewers (millions)
25	1	"The One with Ross's New Girlfriend"	Michael Lembeck	Jeffrey Astrof & Mike Sikowitz	September 21, 1995 (1995-09-21)	457301	32.1[3]
At Rachel's birthday celebration, Chandler has accidentally revealed that Ross loves her. Rachel goes to the airport to meet Ross and tell him she cares for him, unaware he is returning with Julie (Lauren Tom), who he reconnected with in China and is now dating. Chandler then feels guilty for advising Ross to get over Rachel. When Phoebe gives Joey and Chandler haircuts, Monica wants one. Phoebe initially refuses, knowing Monica's obsessive perfectionism, but finally relents. She misunderstands Monica's wishes and gives her a haircut like Dudley Moore instead of Demi Moore. Joey takes Chandler to his tailor for a new suit, but while measuring his inseam, the man touches Chandler inappropriately. He tells Joey who naively believes that is the normal procedure. Ross' constant talk about Julie upsets Rachel, who spends the night with her old lover, Paolo.
26	2	"The One with the Breast Milk"	Michael Lembeck	Adam Chase & Ira Ungerleider	September 28, 1995 (1995-09-28)	457302	29.8[3]
The guys are uncomfortable by seeing Carol breastfeeding Ben. The situation is made worse by Joey and Phoebe tasting the milk. Rachel resents Monica's growing friendship with Julie, though Monica feels obligated to spend time with her brother's girlfriend. At his department store job, Joey competes with a fellow cologne spritzer for a beautiful colleague's (Emily Procter) affection.
27	3	"The One Where Heckles Dies"	Kevin S. Bright	Michael Curtis & Gregory S. Malins	October 5, 1995 (1995-10-05)	457303	30.2[3]
When Chandler refuses to date a woman from work, claiming her nostrils are too big, the gang claim this is always his way to avoid serious relationships. Rachel and Monica's downstairs neighbour, Mr. Heckles, suddenly dies, leaving them all his belongings, which is nothing but junk that they have to dispose of. Ross and Phoebe argue over the theory of evolution. Chandler, noticing similarities between his life and Mr. Heckles', believes he will also die alone. Panicked, he calls Janice and arranges to meet her, only to be shocked when she shows up married and pregnant.
28	4	"The One with Phoebe's Husband"	Gail Mancuso	Alexa Junge	October 12, 1995 (1995-10-12)	457305	28.1[3]
The gang is amazed that Phoebe has been secretly married to a gay Canadian ice dancer named Duncan (Steve Zahn). She married him so he could obtain a green card. Phoebe is excited when he wants to see her, then is crushed that he wants a divorce. Duncan says he realized he is not gay and wants to marry someone else. Interesting facts are revealed about the others: Joey starred in a porn film and Chandler has a third nipple. Ross seeks relationship advice from Rachel after revealing that he and Julie have not slept together yet. Rachel, wanting to keep them apart, advises they abstain, while Joey gives Ross the opposite advice.
29	5	"The One with Five Steaks and an Eggplant"	Ellen Gittelsohn	Chris Brown	October 19, 1995 (1995-10-19)	457304	28.3[3]
When a sexy-sounding woman calls the wrong number, Chandler seeks to exploit the situation, with ultimately embarrassing results. Income disparity issues divide the friends: the more affluent Ross, Chandler, and Monica versus the less-well-off Phoebe, Rachel, and Joey. Newly-promoted Monica is fired after accepting "gifts" from her restaurant's meat supplier, it being against restaurant policy regarding kickbacks.
30	6	"The One with the Baby on the Bus"	Gail Mancuso	Betsy Borns	November 2, 1995 (1995-11-02)	457306	30.2[3]
When Monica rushes Ross to the emergency room after he suffers an allergic reaction, Chandler and Joey babysit Ross' baby son, Ben. They use him as bait to attract girls, but women think they are a gay couple. After accidentally leaving Ben on a bus, they are unable to identify which of two babies is Ben at the city's lost & found. Phoebe loses her Central Perk gig to a professional performer (Chrissie Hynde), so she defiantly sings outside the café. Also, a stranger Giovanni Ribisi, who accidentally dropped a condom in Phoebe's guitar case, rushes back to reclaim it for an "emergency." Catherine Bell appears as Robin, one of the girls in the bus.
31	7	"The One Where Ross Finds Out"	Peter Bonerz	Michael Borkow	November 9, 1995 (1995-11-09)	457307	30.5[3]
Rachel goes on a date but after drinking too much wine, obsesses about Ross. Her date suggests she needs closure, so Rachel leaves a message on Ross' answering machine claiming she is "over" him. After hearing it the next morning, a stunned Ross wrestles with choosing her or Julie. Chandler gains a few pounds, so a depressed, out-of-work Monica volunteers to be his personal trainer, going overboard in the process. Phoebe takes Joey's advice when her new boyfriend is reluctant to sleep with her, only to have it backfire. Ross, upset and citing numerous reasons, tells Rachel it is too late for them to be together and he is staying with Julie. At the end of the episode, Ross goes to see Rachel at the coffee shop as she is closing up, and they passionately kiss.
32	8	"The One with the List"	Mary Kay Place	David Crane & Marta Kauffman	November 16, 1995 (1995-11-16)	457308	32.9[3]
Ross struggles choosing between his childhood crush, Rachel, and his current girlfriend, Julie. Joey and Chandler suggest making a list of each girl's pros and cons. Ross chooses Rachel, ending it with Julie, though Rachel later finds the list, reading the negative comments. Hurt and angry, she breaks up with Ross. Monica is hired to create recipes using a vile-tasting synthetic chocolate called, Mockolate.
33	9	"The One with Phoebe's Dad"	Kevin S. Bright	Jeffrey Astrof & Mike Sikowitz	December 14, 1995 (1995-12-14)	457309	27.8[3]
At Christmastime, Monica, strapped for cash, tips people using home-baked cookies, receiving mixed reactions. Phoebe discovers that the framed picture of her father that her grandmother keeps in her apartment is actually the photo model. She tries locating her real father, then decides she is unready to meet him. Chandler and Joey delayed Christmas shopping and scrounge gifts from a gas station. To win back Rachel, Ross asks her to make a list about him, then is offended when she calls him obsessive, among other things.
34	10	"The One with Russ"	Thomas Schlamme	Ira Ungerleider	January 4, 1996 (1996-01-04)	457311	32.2[3]
Monica gets back together with Fun Bobby, who the other friends realize has a drinking problem. Monica persuades him to quit drinking, only to discover he is no longer fun. Joey lands the role of Dr. Drake Ramoray, a neurosurgeon on Days of Our Lives after refusing to sleep with the casting lady, who admired his integrity. Rachel dates Russ, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Ross (both roles played by David Schwimmer). After finally realizing Russ is Ross's double, Rachel dumps him. At the end, Russ and Julie (Lauren Tom) meet and fall in love at first sight.
35	11	"The One with the Lesbian Wedding"	Thomas Schlamme	Doty Abrams	January 18, 1996 (1996-01-18)	457312	31.6[3]
Carol and Susan hire Monica to cater their lesbian wedding, though the upcoming nuptials soon runs into a snag that Ross helps untangle. Phoebe believes she is possessed by an eighty-two-year-old client's spirit who died during a massage session. The woman's widower tells Phoebe that his late wife did not want to die until she saw "everything." Rachel is shocked when her visiting mother (Marlo Thomas) announces she is leaving Rachel's father.
36 37	12 13	"The One After the Superbowl"	Michael Lembeck	Jeffrey Astrof & Mike Sikowitz Michael Borkow	January 28, 1996 (1996-01-28)[lower-alpha 1]	457313 457314	52.9[3]
Ross goes to visit Marcel while in California but the zoo says the monkey died. Ross soon learns Marcel is alive and working in commercials. Joey receives his first fan letter from a beautiful but crazed woman (Brooke Shields) who believes Days of Our Lives is real, a fact that does not prevent Joey from dating her. A man (Chris Isaak) invites Phoebe to sing for children at the library, but her morbid lyrics horrify parents. However, the kids like the songs for telling the truth and come to the café to listen to her. Rachel and Monica compete for Jean-Claude Van Damme after meeting him on a movie set that Marcel is in. Chandler runs into Suzy, a former schoolmate (Julia Roberts), working on the film. She seems attracted to him, but actually wants revenge for Chandler once humiliating her in school. Joey is hired as an extra in the movie but overacts. Ross and Marcel spend time together.
38	14	"The One with the Prom Video"	James Burrows	Alexa Junge	February 1, 1996 (1996-02-01)	457310	33.6[3]
After getting his big break with Days of Our Lives, Joey pays Chandler back with $812 and gives him an engraved gold bracelet that Chandler thinks makes him look gay. Joey's feelings are hurt when he overhears Chandler complaining about it. Also, an unemployed Monica is hard up for money. A home video from Monica and Rachel's prom night reveals that Monica was previously overweight and Rachel had a large nose. Rachel's date, Chip, seemed to have stood her up, so Ross donned his father's tuxedo to take her to the prom, though Chip showed up at the last minute without Rachel knowing what Ross did. Rachel, overwhelmed by Ross' gesture, kisses him. In 1997, TV Guide ranked this episode at #100 of its list of TV's 100 Greatest Episodes.[4]
39	15	"The One Where Ross and Rachel...You Know"	Michael Lembeck	Michael Curtis & Gregory S. Malins	February 8, 1996 (1996-02-08)	457315	32.9[3]
Joey buys a big screen TV and two leather recliners with his soap opera salary, turning him and Chandler into "coach potatoes" who spend days watching TV and never getting out of the chairs. Monica has a catering job for handsome Dr. Richard Burke (Tom Selleck), an ophthalmologist, who is an old family friend. He and Monica are mutually smitten and later go on a date. Ross and Rachel attempt to have their first real date, though Rachel has difficulty adapting to their new romantic relationship, breaking into giggles at inappropriate times. Just before their next date, Ross has a museum emergency, so Rachel goes along. They spend the night in a museum exhibit, waking up nude and under an animal skin, to visitors gawking at them. The episode introduces Tom Selleck in a recurring guest role that led to an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series in 2000.
40	16	"The One Where Joey Moves Out"	Michael Lembeck	Betsy Borns	February 15, 1996 (1996-02-15)	457316	31.1[3]
Now that he has a steady income, Joey thinks he should have his own apartment and moves out. Monica struggles to tell her parents that she is seeing Richard. Rachel and Phoebe want to get tattoos. Phoebe chickens out at the last minute, resulting in nothing more than a tiny blue dot, while Rachel gets hers despite Ross' claim he dislikes them.
41	17	"The One Where Eddie Moves In"	Michael Lembeck	Adam Chase	February 22, 1996 (1996-02-22)	457317	30.2[3]
A record producer discovers Phoebe and wants to make her song "Smelly Cat" as a music video. The producer secretly dubs a more talented (but less attractive) woman's voice over Phoebe's, though Phoebe initially believes she is the one singing. Ross' new relationship with Rachel causes friction with Monica who resents her brother being around all the time. Joey finds he does not like living alone and wants to move back in with Chandler. However Chandler already has a new roommate, Eddie. Chandler soon realizes he does not really click with Eddie (who refuses to play foosball and dislikes Baywatch) like he did with Joey.
42	18	"The One Where Dr. Ramoray Dies"	Michael Lembeck	Story by : Alexa Junge Teleplay by : Michael Borkow	March 21, 1996 (1996-03-21)	457318	30.1[3]
Joey's good fortune comes crashing down when he foolishly claims in an interview for Soap Opera Digest that he writes all his own lines on the show, angering the script writer who kills off Joey's character. Phoebe's attempt to help Chandler bond with his new roommate ends up revealing Eddy's quirky behavior. Sexual history dominates a discussion between two couples—Monica and Richard, and Ross and Rachel.
43	19	"The One Where Eddie Won't Go"	Michael Lembeck	Michael Curtis & Gregory S. Malins	March 28, 1996 (1996-03-28)	457319	31.2[3]
Creeped out by his bizarre new roommate, Eddie, Chandler demands he move out. Eddie agrees, then does not even remember the conversation. Obviously deranged, he imagines that he and Chandler took a trip to Las Vegas that never occurred. Joey struggles dealing with losing his job on Days of Our Lives and the accompanying change in his lifestyle. A new book on female empowerment inspires the girls to have a "goddess meeting", unleashing buried truths. Joey moves back in with Chandler after them tricking Eddie by convincing him he never lived there.
44	20	"The One Where Old Yeller Dies"	Michael Lembeck	Story by : Michael Curtis & Gregory S. Malins Teleplay by : Adam Chase	April 4, 1996 (1996-04-04)	457320	27.4[3]
Phoebe's world view is shattered when she learns how the movie, Old Yeller, really ends. She watches all the films her mother never allowed her to watch and becomes depressed. Monica is jealous when Richard begins hanging out with Joey and Chandler. However, Joey and Chandler confess they consider Richard a fatherly figure, while Richard believed they were buddies. Rachel panics when she learns that Ross has already planned their whole life together.
45	21	"The One with the Bullies"	Michael Lembeck	Brian Buckner & Sebastian Jones	April 25, 1996 (1996-04-25)	457321	24.7[3]
Chandler and Ross clash with two bullies at the coffee shop, one of whom steals Chandler's hat. Monica, down to her last few dollars, plays the stock market based solely on the ticker symbols to avoid taking a job at a tacky 1950s themed diner. Phoebe makes multiple attempts to visit her birth father, but instead meets her half-brother, Frank Buffay Jr.; she learns that her father left his second family four years earlier. Monica loses her savings due to her unwise investments, and is forced to take the job at the Moondance Diner, wearing a silly uniform and dancing on the counter to old songs.
46	22	"The One with the Two Parties"	Michael Lembeck	Alexa Junge	May 2, 1996 (1996-05-02)	457322	25.5[3]
Monica only invites Rachel's mother, who is going through a contentious divorce from Rachel's father, to Rachel's birthday party. When Dr. Green unexpectedly arrives, an impromptu second party is set up at Chandler and Joey's apartment to keep the hostile couple apart. Things quickly go awry, but despite a few close calls, both Greens are kept apart.
47	23	"The One with the Chicken Pox"	Michael Lembeck	Brown Mandell	May 9, 1996 (1996-05-09)	457324	26.1[3]
Phoebe catches chicken pox just as her old flame, Ryan (Charlie Sheen) arrives in town on leave from the Navy. Even though he has never had chicken pox, he wants to see her and they spend the rest of the time being sick and trying not to scratch themselves. Joey gets a temp job at Chandler's office and decides to play it as a role. He creates "Joseph", who has a wife and kids and ultimately blames Chandler for his own screw-ups. Monica is upset that Richard does not have a "thing" – an unexplainable quirk – like she does. He eventually thinks of one to please her.
48	24	"The One with Barry and Mindy's Wedding"	Michael Lembeck	Story by : Ira Ungerleider Teleplay by : Brown Mandell	May 16, 1996 (1996-05-16)	457323	29.0[3]
Rachel agrees to be maid of honor at her ex-fiancé's wedding, but a fashion faux pas focuses attention on her than the bride. To get a role in Warren Beatty's new movie, Joey must practice kissing guys. Monica ponders her future with Richard. Chandler falls for a mystery Internet woman who turns out to be ex-girlfriend, Janice. Monica breaks up with Richard, who is a grandfather, because he does not want more children.

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

1. "Friends: Season 2". Rotten Tomatoes.
2. Chitwood, Adam (December 26, 2019). "'Friends' Seasons Ranked from Worst to Best".
3. "Friends Nielsen Ratings Archive - Season Two". Newmusicandmore.tripod.com. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
4. "Special Collector's Issue: 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time". TV Guide (June 28–July 4). 1997.

External links

• Friends – list of episodes on IMDb
• Friends: Season 2 at Rotten Tomatoes