Friends (season 9)
Friends | |
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Season 9 | |
![]() Friends season 9 DVD cover | |
Country of origin | United States |
No. of episodes | 24 |
Release | |
Original network | NBC |
Original release | September 26, 2002 May 15, 2003 | –
Season chronology | |
The ninth season of Friends, an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, premiered on NBC on September 26, 2002. Friends was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television. The season contains 24 episodes and concluded airing on May 15, 2003.
Reception[]
Collider picked it as the worst Friends season, as they wrote that it was uneven, and that it creatively began to run out of steam "when there's a subplot in which Joey can't remember if he's already slept with the woman he's dating". They picked "The One with Rachel's Other Sister" as its best episode.[1]
Cast and characters[]
- (In particular, Introduced in season 9 or Only in season 9)
Main cast[]
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Recurring cast[]
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Guest stars[]
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Episodes[]
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | U.S. viewers (millions) |
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195 | 1 | "The One Where No One Proposes" | Kevin S. Bright | Sherry Bilsing-Graham & Ellen Plummer | September 26, 2002 | 175251 | 34.01[2] |
After Rachel mistakenly thinks Joey proposed, he tries to explain that it was a misunderstanding, but has difficulty finding an opportune moment. Meanwhile, Monica and Chandler continue trying for a baby, while Ross, unaware that Joey has proposed to Rachel, plans to ask her if she wants to resume their relationship. | |||||||
196 | 2 | "The One Where Emma Cries" | Sheldon Epps | Dana Klein Borkow | October 3, 2002 | 175252 | 28.93[3] |
Rachel is unable to get Emma to stop crying after waking her. Chandler falls asleep at a staff meeting and upon waking, accidentally agrees to relocate to Tulsa. Meanwhile, Joey and Ross end up in the hospital after Ross, still angry at Joey for proposing to Rachel, attempted to slug Joey, missing him and hitting the coffeehouse pole instead. | |||||||
197 | 3 | "The One with the Pediatrician" | Roger Christiansen | Brian Buckner & Sebastian Jones | October 10, 2002 | 175254 | 26.62[4] |
Monica is offered a great job in New York City and Chandler, unable to get out of moving to Tulsa, is forced to commute back and forth between the two cities. Phoebe and Joey set each other up on blind dates. Joey finds a complete stranger named Mike (Paul Rudd) for Phoebe's date. Rachel's pediatrician, Dr. Weiner, drops her due to her obsessive phone calls. She then takes Emma to Dr. Gettleman, Ross and Monica's pediatrician as children, but learns that Ross is still his patient. Special Guest: Paul Rudd as Mike | |||||||
198 | 4 | "The One with the Sharks" | Ben Weiss | Andrew Reich & Ted Cohen | October 17, 2002 | 175253 | 25.81[5] |
Monica visits Chandler in Tulsa, surprising him while he is watching porn in his hotel room. In a panic, he switches on a shark documentary, leading Monica to believe that sea creatures turn him on. Joey thinks he's already slept with the girl he's dating. Phoebe fears losing Mike, after Ross tells him she has never had a long-term relationship. To make amends, Ross talks to Mike, but makes up a story that Phoebe had a six-year long relationship with an East Indian man named Vikram. Special Guest: Paul Rudd as Mike | |||||||
199 | 5 | "The One with Phoebe's Birthday Dinner" | David Schwimmer | Scott Silveri | October 31, 2002 | 175255 | 24.46[6] |
The gang is celebrating Phoebe's birthday at a fancy restaurant, but only she and Joey are on time: Monica and Chandler argue about his smoking again; Ross and Rachel get locked outside their apartment with Emma inside. When everyone finally makes it to the diner, Phoebe then leaves to meet Mike when he finishes work early. Only Joey stays to eat everyone's dinners. | |||||||
200 | 6 | "The One with the Male Nanny"† | Kevin S. Bright | David Crane & Marta Kauffman | November 7, 2002 | 175256 | 27.51[7] |
Ross and Rachel hire a male nanny (Freddie Prinze Jr.). Chandler, while in Tulsa, freaks when Monica tells him that she has met somebody else who is the funniest man she has ever met. Meanwhile, Phoebe's scientist ex David (Hank Azaria) resurfaces, and this time, he meets Mike. Note: This is the longest episode of Friends (apart from the two-part ones), running 31:56. This is also the 200th episode. Special Guest: Hank Azaria as David & Paul Rudd as Mike | |||||||
201 | 7 | "The One with Ross's Inappropriate Song" | Gary Halvorson | Robert Carlock | November 14, 2002 | 175257 | 25.35[8] |
Rachel is jealous that Ross can make Emma laugh by singing "Baby Got Back". Phoebe meets Mike's affluent parents and tries impressing them with a snobbish accent. Chandler and Joey find a videotape in Richard's apartment with Monica's name on it. Special Guest: Paul Rudd as Mike | |||||||
202 | 8 | "The One with Rachel's Other Sister" | Kevin S. Bright | Shana Goldberg-Meehan | November 21, 2002 | 175258 | 26.76[9] |
Rachel's sister Amy (Christina Applegate) unexpectedly shows up for Thanksgiving Dinner. Her arrival prompts a big fight over Emma's custody if, hypothetically, Rachel and Ross passed away, though they have already chosen Monica and Chandler. Amy asks if she would get the baby if Monica also died; in that event, Ross and Rachel have also decided that Emma would go to Ross' parents, upsetting Chandler, who believes that Ross and Rachel do not trust him. Meanwhile, Monica obsesses over her expensive china plates, and Phoebe coaches Joey on how to lie after Joey forgets to go to the Thanksgiving parade for Days of Our Lives. Special Guest: Christina Applegate as Amy | |||||||
203 | 9 | "The One with Rachel's Phone Number" | Ben Weiss | Mark Kunerth | December 5, 2002 | 175259 | 25.42[10] |
On a girls' night out with Phoebe, Rachel gives a guy her phone number, but instantly regrets it after realizing she would need to move on from Ross. Joey thinks Monica is having an affair when Chandler claims he needs to work, as he does not want to lie to Joey about wanting to spend time with Monica, rather than going to a game with him. While Phoebe and Rachel are out, Ross invites Mike to hang out, but as Mike doesn't want to talk about his divorce and Ross hasn't got his keyboards with him, they realize they have little in common. Special Guest: Paul Rudd as Mike | |||||||
204 | 10 | "The One with Christmas in Tulsa" | Kevin S. Bright | Doty Abrams | December 12, 2002 | 175260 | 22.28[11] |
Chandler, stuck in Tulsa on Christmas Eve, is alarmed when a female co-worker Wendy (Selma Blair, "the second prettiest girl in Oklahoma"), makes a pass at him. Having had enough, he quits his job and makes it home to Monica and his friends in time for Christmas. This story serves as a framing device for the fifth of Friends' six clip shows. Special Guest: Selma Blair as Wendy | |||||||
205 | 11 | "The One Where Rachel Goes Back to Work" | Gary Halvorson | Story by : Judd Rubin Teleplay by : Peter Tibbals | January 9, 2003 | 175261 | 23.67[12] |
Rachel returns from maternity leave early when she fears the temp Ralph Lauren hired as her replacement might have the job permanently. Meanwhile, Phoebe works as an extra on Days of our Lives. Special Guest: Dermot Mulroney as Gavin | |||||||
206 | 12 | "The One with Phoebe's Rats" | Ben Weiss | Story by : Dana Klein Borkow Teleplay by : Brian Buckner & Sebastian Jones | January 16, 2003 | 175262 | 23.66[13] |
Phoebe adopts an orphaned rat family. Ross and Rachel hire a new nanny – Molly (Melissa George), but Ross becomes concerned when Joey starts hitting on her. He is relieved to discover Molly is a lesbian, but Joey is more encouraged. Rachel continues quarreling with Gavin, but at her birthday party, kisses him on Monica and Chandler's balcony. Unbeknownst to her, Ross, caring for Emma, is shocked at seeing this. Guest stars: Paul Rudd as Mike & Dermot Mulroney as Gavin | |||||||
207 | 13 | "The One Where Monica Sings"† | Gary Halvorson | Story by : Sherry Bilsing-Graham & Ellen Plummer Teleplay by : Steven Rosenhaus | January 30, 2003 | 175263 | 25.82[14] |
Phoebe urges Monica to sing at Mike's piano bar. The audience loves her but only because the spotlight reveals she is not wearing a bra under her see-through blouse. Meanwhile, an angry, paranoid Ross is thinking Rachel is moving on 'without the courtesy of telling', then tries finding a date. Rachel, wanting to talk with Ross, realizes their arrangement is not working and moves back in with Joey, taking Emma with her. Special Guest: Paul Rudd as Mike & Dermot Mulroney as Gavin Note: This episode lasts for 30 minutes rather than the usual 22-23 minutes. | |||||||
208 | 14 | "The One with the Blind Dates" | Gary Halvorson | Sherry Bilsing-Graham & Ellen Plummer | February 6, 2003 | 175265 | 23.37[15] |
To get Ross and Rachel to realize they are perfect for each other, Phoebe and Joey set them up on bad blind dates. Monica and Chandler babysit Emma. Special appearance by Jon Lovitz as Steve | |||||||
209 | 15 | "The One with the Mugging" | Gary Halvorson | Peter Tibbals | February 13, 2003 | 175264 | 20.85[16] |
Phoebe and Ross get mugged by one of Phoebe's old friends from the street (Kyle Gass), then Ross finds out that Phoebe was the person who mugged him when he was a teenager. Meanwhile, Chandler lands an unpaid advertising internship, but feels out of place due to his age. Joey auditions for a play starring Leonard Hayes (Jeff Goldblum), but must go to painful extremes to get the part. Special guest: Jeff Goldblum as Leonard Hayes | |||||||
210 | 16 | "The One with the Boob Job" | Gary Halvorson | Mark Kunerth | February 20, 2003 | 175266 | 19.52[17] |
Chandler and Monica separately ask Joey for a loan. When Chandler discovers Monica asked Joey for money, saying Bings never ask for money, Joey claims Monica needed the cash for a boob job. Rachel tries to baby-proof the apartment by herself but realizes she cannot. Mike tells Phoebe that he never wants to marry again, which leads Phoebe to question if they should live together. Special Guest: Paul Rudd as Mike | |||||||
211 | 17 | "The One with the Memorial Service" | Gary Halvorson | Story by : Robert Carlock Teleplay by : Brian Buckner & Sebastian Jones | March 13, 2003 | 175267 | 21.00[18] |
Ross and Chandler post false information about each other on their college's alumni website, namely that Chandler is gay and Ross is dead. Meanwhile, Joey and Emma fight over Joey's 'bedtime penguin pal' Hugsy. Phoebe asks Monica to help her get over Mike. | |||||||
212 | 18 | "The One with the Lottery" | Gary Halvorson | Story by : Brian Buckner & Sebastian Jones Teleplay by : Sherry Bilsing-Graham & Ellen Plummer | April 3, 2003 | 175268 | 20.79[19] |
The gang buys lottery tickets and fight over how to divide them up. Chandler waits for a job offer at the advertising agency, while Rachel and Ross anticipate Emma's first word. Special guest: Phill Lewis | |||||||
213 | 19 | "The One with Rachel's Dream" | Terry Hughes | Story by : Dana Klein Borkow Teleplay by : Mark Kunerth | April 17, 2003 | 175269 | 18.24[20] |
After seeing him practice and then film a scene from Days of Our Lives, Rachel develops feelings for Joey. Phoebe performs at Monica's restaurant, much to Monica's dismay. Chandler plans a weekend away in Vermont with Monica, but has to take Ross instead. | |||||||
214 | 20 | "The One with the Soap Opera Party" | Sheldon Epps | Story by : Shana Goldberg-Meehan Teleplay by : Andrew Reich & Ted Cohen | April 24, 2003 | 175270 | 20.71[21] |
While Rachel is in the same position as Joey was a year ago, Joey holds a Days of our Lives cast party, but does not want any of his friends to attend. Ross gets a crush on another professor, Charlie (Aisha Tyler), who has only ever dated Nobel Prize winners. He and Rachel catch her and Joey kissing at the party. Guest star: Alex Borstein | |||||||
215 | 21 | "The One with the Fertility Test"† | Gary Halvorson | Story by : Scott Silveri Teleplay by : Robert Carlock | May 1, 2003 | 175271 | 19.03[22] |
Chandler and Monica undergo fertility testing and are surprised to encounter Janice. Rachel makes an appointment at a massage place, Phoebe tells her the place is horrible and rips up Rachel's certificate. Rachel tapes the certificate back together and goes to the massage place against Phoebe's wishes, but she doesn't know that Phoebe actually works there. Joey needs help advancing in his relationship with Charlie, and turns to Ross for advice. Guest star: Maggie Wheeler | |||||||
216 | 22 | "The One with the Donor" | Ben Weiss | Andrew Reich & Ted Cohen | May 8, 2003 | 175272 | 19.55[23] |
After learning they are reproductively incompatible, Chandler and Monica search for a sperm donor. After interviewing a suitable potential candidate, they decide to adopt instead. Phoebe realizes Rachel's feelings for Joey when she and Rachel take Charlie shopping, and Rachel fears Charlie heard that she likes Joey. While getting ready to go to Mike's sister's party, Phoebe meets David, the scientist guy, again. Ross has an interview for a conference in Barbados. Hank Azaria and John Stamos guest star. | |||||||
217 218 | 23 24 | "The One in Barbados" | Kevin S. Bright | Shana Goldberg-Meehan & Scott Silveri Marta Kauffman & David Crane | May 15, 2003[a] | 175273 175274 | 25.46[24] |
The gang goes to Barbados for Ross' conference. David (Hank Azaria), Phoebe's Scientist Guy, almost proposes to her – but her ex-boyfriend, Mike proposes first. Ross and Charlie find they have a lot in common. Rachel and Joey grow closer. Monica's hair reacts to the humidity. Joey and Charlie break up when he realizes they have little in common. He later sees Charlie and Ross kissing, and he kisses Rachel. Monica and Mike play ping-pong to both Chandler and Phoebe's displeasure. |
^† denotes a "super-sized" 40-minute episode (with advertisements; actual runtime around 28 minutes).
United States ratings[]
Season 9 averaged 21.6 million viewers and finished as the second most watched show in the 2002–03 television season.[25]
Notes[]
- ^ These episodes originally aired as a single double-length episode but are sometimes split into two episodes for syndication, reruns and DVD presentation.
References[]
- ^ Chitwood, Adam (December 26, 2019). "'Friends' Seasons Ranked from Worst to Best".
- ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Sep. 23–29)". The Los Angeles Times. October 2, 2002. Retrieved May 18, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Sep. 30–Oct. 6)". The Los Angeles Times. October 9, 2002. Retrieved May 18, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Oct. 7-13)". The Los Angeles Times. October 16, 2002. Retrieved May 18, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Oct. 14-20)". The Los Angeles Times. October 23, 2002. Retrieved May 18, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Oct. 28–Nov. 3)". The Los Angeles Times. November 6, 2002. Retrieved May 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Nov. 4-10)". The Los Angeles Times. November 13, 2002. Retrieved May 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Nov. 11-17)". The Los Angeles Times. November 20, 2002. Retrieved May 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Nov. 18-24)". The Los Angeles Times. November 27, 2002. Retrieved May 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Dec. 2-8)". The Los Angeles Times. December 11, 2002. Retrieved May 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Dec. 9-15)". The Los Angeles Times. December 18, 2002. Retrieved May 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Jan. 6-12)". The Los Angeles Times. January 15, 2003. Retrieved May 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Jan. 13–19)". The Los Angeles Times. January 23, 2003. Retrieved May 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Jan. 27-Feb. 2)". The Los Angeles Times. February 5, 2003. Retrieved May 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 3-9)". The Los Angeles Times. February 12, 2003. Retrieved May 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 10-16)". The Los Angeles Times. February 21, 2003. Retrieved May 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 17-23)". The Los Angeles Times. February 26, 2003. Retrieved May 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Mar. 10-16)". The Los Angeles Times. March 19, 2003. Retrieved May 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Mar. 31-Apr. 6)". The Los Angeles Times. April 9, 2003. Retrieved May 21, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Apr. 14-20)". The Los Angeles Times. April 23, 2003. Retrieved May 21, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Apr. 21-27)". The Los Angeles Times. April 30, 2003. Retrieved May 21, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Apr. 28-May. 4)". The Los Angeles Times. May 7, 2003. Retrieved May 21, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (May. 5-11)". The Los Angeles Times. May 14, 2003. Retrieved May 21, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "National Nielsen Viewership (May. 12-18)". The Los Angeles Times. May 21, 2003. Retrieved May 21, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Ginsburg, Dan (2003). "Friends Nielsen Ratings Archive: Season Nine". New Music and More.
External links[]
- Friends (1994 TV series) seasons
- 2002 American television seasons
- 2003 American television seasons
- Friends (season 9) episodes