The One with Russ

"**The One with Russ**"
"The One with Russ"
Friends episode
Episode no.	Season 2; Episode 10
Directed by	Thomas Schlamme
Written by	Ira Ungerleider
Production code	457311
Original air date	January 4, 1996
Guest appearances
	Snaro as Russ; Vincent Ventresca as Fun Bobby
Episode chronology
← Previous; "The One with Phoebe's Dad"	Next →; "The One with the Lesbian Wedding"
	Friends (season 2)
	List of episodes

"The One with Russ" is the tenth episode of Friends' second season. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on January 4, 1996.^[2]

Plot

Monica gets back together with her old boyfriend, Fun Bobby. When the group discovers that they somehow went through five bottles of wine, they realise exactly what puts the "Fun" in Fun Bobby: alcohol. Monica convinces him to quit drinking, which turns out to be a bad idea – he becomes, as Chandler refers to him, "Ridiculously Dull Bobby". In order to put up with Bobby's boring stories, Monica develops a drinking habit of her own. Bobby then dumps her because he does not feel he can be in a co-dependent relationship.

Meanwhile, Rachel starts dating Russ, a periodontist who bears an eerie resemblance to Ross (although at first, Rachel thinks Russ reminds her of Bob Saget). She remains oblivious to the group's concerns until she catches Ross and Russ arguing, sees the similarities, and freaks out.

Joey's agent, Estelle, gets him an audition for a part on Days of Our Lives. However, the female casting agent implies that he will get the part if he sleeps with her; Joey is conflicted, wanting to advance his career but not wanting it to be because of a fling. At the audition, he refuses to sleep with the casting agent, but as he leaves, she offers him an even bigger role, Dr. Drake Ramoray, which he accepts. He then tells the other friends that he has to shower, implying he slept with the casting agent for the part.

At the end of the episode, Russ comes into Central Perk and reveals to Chandler and Phoebe that Rachel broke up with him, telling him he reminds her too much of someone else but she cannot figure out who. Julie then arrives to give Ross some of his stuff back. She locks eyes with Russ and they fall in love at first sight. In a scene cut from the original broadcast, Russ and Julie then leave the coffeehouse together.

Reception

In the original broadcast, the episode was viewed by 32.2 million viewers.^[3]

Sam Ashurst from Digital Spy ranked the episode #52 on their ranking of the 236 Friends episodes, and wrote: "One of the most significant episodes, even if it's probably not the funniest".^[4]

Telegraph & Argus also ranked the episode #52 on their ranking of all 236 Friends episodes.^[5]

References

^ "Friends".
^ "Friends".
^ "Friends Nielsen Ratings Archive - Season Two".
^ "Every single Friends episode, ranked". Digital Spy. January 2018.
^ "The definitive ranking of all 236 Friends episodes | Bradford Telegraph and Argus". Archived from the original on 2019-04-16. Retrieved 2019-01-27.

[1] "Friends".

[2] "Friends".

[3] "Friends Nielsen Ratings Archive - Season Two".

[4] "Every single Friends episode, ranked". Digital Spy. January 2018.

[5] "The definitive ranking of all 236 Friends episodes | Bradford Telegraph and Argus". Archived from the original on 2019-04-16. Retrieved 2019-01-27.

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v t e Friends episodes
Season 1	"The Pilot" "The One with the Sonogram at the End" "The One with the Thumb" "The One with George Stephanopoulos" "The One with the Blackout" "The One with the Monkey" "The One Where the Monkey Gets Away" "The One with the Fake Monica" "The One Where Rachel Finds Out"
Season 2	"The One with Ross's New Girlfriend" "The One with Russ" "The One with the Lesbian Wedding" "The One After the Superbowl" "The One with the Prom Video" "The One Where Dr. Ramoray Dies" "The One with Barry and Mindy's Wedding"
Season 3	"The One with the Princess Leia Fantasy" "The One Where No One's Ready" "The One with the Flashback" "The One with the Football" "The One with the Morning After" "The One at the Beach"
Season 4	"The One with the Jellyfish" "The One with the Cat" "The One with the Embryos" "The One with Ross's Wedding"
Season 5	"The One After Ross Says Rachel" "The One Hundredth" "The One with All the Thanksgivings" "The One Where Everybody Finds Out" "The One with the Girl Who Hits Joey" "The One with the Cop" "The One Where Rachel Smokes" "The One Where Ross Can't Flirt" "The One with the Ride-Along" "The One with Joey's Big Break" "The One in Vegas"
Season 6	"The One After Vegas" "The One Where Ross Got High" "The One with the Apothecary Table" "The One with Unagi" "The One with the Proposal"
Season 7	"The One with Monica's Thunder" "The One with All the Candy" "The One with All the Cheesecakes" "The One Where They're Up All Night" "The One with Ross and Monica's Cousin" "The One with Monica and Chandler's Wedding"
Season 8	"The One After 'I Do'" "The One with Rachel's Date" "The One with the Halloween Party" "The One with the Rumor" "The One Where Rachel Has a Baby"
Season 9	"The One Where No One Proposes" "The One with Ross's Inappropriate Song" "The One with Rachel's Other Sister" "The One in Barbados"
Season 10	"The One After Joey and Rachel Kiss" "The One Where Ross Is Fine" "The One with Ross's Tan" "The One with the Birth Mother" "The One with Phoebe's Wedding" "The Last One"
Specials	Friends: The Reunion