Second Look: Friends Season 5, Episode 21 – “The One with the Ball”
One of the show’s most pointless plots turns out to be a comedic salve for the incredibly uneven “The One with the Ball”.
Category: Friends
Retrospective episodic reviews of the iconic 1990s sitcom Friends.
Second Look: Friends Season 5, Episode 20 – “The One with the Ride-Along”
A thoroughly mid episode of Friends is saved, for once, by the choices it doesn’t make.
Second Look: Friends Season 5, Episode 19 – “The One Where Ross Can’t Flirt”
A weightless bottle episode nonetheless provides a solid window to explore the fragile male egos of the Central Park Six.
Second Look: Friends Season 5, Episode 18 – “The One Where Rachel Smokes”
Friends bides its time with a forgettable episode salvaged by another hilarious Chandler subplot.
Second Look: Friends Season 5, Episode 17 – “The One with Rachel’s Inadvertent Kiss”
Friends twiddles its thumbs with a (mostly) listless mid-season entry.
Second Look: Friends Season 5, Episode 16 – “The One with the Cop”
The Pivot becomes a rather serviceable metaphor in a solid, if mostly weightless, midseason episode.
Second Look: Friends Season 5, Episode 15 – “The One With the Girl Who Hits Joey”
Season five’s strong midseason run continues with another stealthily good Chandler story.
Second Look: Friends Season 5, Episode 14 – “The One Where Everybody Finds Out”
Friends says goodbye to an era with a fantastical farcical episode.
Second Look: Friends Season 5, Episode 13 – “The One with Joey’s Bag”
Friends delivers another mid-season banger with an incredibly well-balanced episode.
Second Look: Friends Season 5, Episode 12 – “The One with Chandler’s Work Laugh”
Chandler brings Friends into the world of workplace comedy once again, in another strong mid-season entry.