S06E12 · EP 133
season 6 · 2000-01-13
The One With the Joke
written by Andrew Reich & Ted Cohen (teleplay) · Shana Goldberg-Meehan (story) · directed by Gary Halvorson · 22.33M viewers · image Friends Wiki (CC BY-SA)

Episode DNA

14 scenes · 3 threads
awkward 16%absurd 8%cheerful 8%social rule violation 7%humiliation 6%humiliating 5%negotiation 5%confession 5%rivalry 4%comeuppance 4%

Story threads over runtime

click a block to open the scene
0:005:0010:0015:0020:00
A · Joke authorship dispute
B · Joey's secret waiter job
C · Phoebe insults Monica and Rachel
01

Every scene

14 scenes · our breakdown
1 ▸ 00:02
1 · Monica and Rachel's apartment · cold_openRoss shows Playboy joke

Ross reveals his joke is published in Playboy, but Chandler claims he originated it.

00:02–02:12misunderstanding · rivalry
2 · Joey and Chandler's apartment · act1Joey hides his money troubles

Joey avoids watching TV at his place because he can't pay bills, but refuses Chandler's loan.

02:12–03:31avoidance · humiliation
3 ▸ 03:31
3 · Monica and Rachel's apartment · act1Girls browse Playboy magazine

Phoebe, Monica, and Rachel look at Playboy, and Phoebe says she'd pick Rachel to date.

03:31–04:50social_rule_violation · betrayal
4 · Monica and Rachel's apartment · act1Chandler and Ross escalate joke fight

Chandler and Ross continue arguing over the joke, with Ross revealing he got paid $100.

04:50–06:02rivalry · petty_grievance
5 · Central Perk · act1Gunther offers Joey a waiter job

Joey can't pay his bill, so Gunther offers him a job as a waiter at Central Perk.

06:02–06:57negotiation · humiliation
6 · Monica and Rachel's apartment · act1Monica vents about Phoebe's choice

Monica complains to Chandler about Phoebe picking Rachel, while Chandler logs his jokes.

06:57–07:54petty_grievance · obsession
7 ▸ 07:54
7 · Monica and Rachel's apartment · act1Phoebe calls Monica high maintenance

Phoebe explains she picked Rachel because Monica is high maintenance, then calls Rachel a pushover.

07:54–09:50social_rule_violation
8 · Central Perk · act2Joey's secret job is exposed

Joey tries to hide his waiter job from the friends, but they discover him working.

09:50–10:57secret_exposed · humiliation
9 · Central Perk · act2Friends reassure Joey about job

The friends comfort Joey about his waiter job and give him tips, but he struggles to serve them.

10:57–13:10humiliation · social_rule_violation
10 · Central Perk · act2Phoebe admits she is flaky

Monica and Rachel confront Phoebe, who admits she is flaky and accepts their flaws.

13:10–13:44confession · double_standard
11 · Central Perk · act2Joey asks for time off for audition

Joey asks Gunther for time off to audition, but Gunther refuses and Joey closes the coffeehouse anyway.

13:44–15:05scheme
12 ▸ 15:05
12 · Monica and Rachel's apartment · act2Monica judges the joke dispute

Monica decides the joke is offensive and refuses to pick a winner, blaming both Chandler and Ross.

15:05–17:29comeuppance · humiliation
13 · Monica and Rachel's apartment · act3Chandler defends Monica's character

Chandler gives a heartfelt speech defending Monica, proving she is not high maintenance.

17:29–21:51confession
14 · Central Perk · tagRachel gets Joey's job back

Rachel confronts Gunther and gets Joey rehired after he was fired for missing work.

21:51–21:55negotiation · comeuppance
03

Same DNA

nearest episodes by gene profile

Episode facts

Wikipedia · Wikidata
Aired
2000-01-13
Overall
#133
Writers
Andrew Reich & Ted Cohen (teleplay) · Shana Goldberg-Meehan (story)
Director
Gary Halvorson
Viewers
22.33M (US)
Pace
120 words/min · 98 questions

Where to watch

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In this episode

RG
Ross Geller232 episodes · drives 707 scenes
CB
Chandler Bing232 episodes · drives 527 scenes
MG
Monica Geller232 episodes · drives 572 scenes
JT
Joey Tribbiani232 episodes · drives 536 scenes
RG
Rachel Greene232 episodes · drives 552 scenes
PB
Phoebe Buffay232 episodes · drives 425 scenes
G
GuntherJames Michael Tyler139 episodes · drives 2 scenes