Joey gives the gang tickets for a play, but claims he won't be going with them because he has work in the morning. However, Rachel finds out he's actually hosting a party in the roof with the cast of Days of Our Lives. The gang, minus Chandler who's gone to the play, browbeats him into letting them attend. Ross brings his date Charlie Wheeler, a fellow paleontology professor. Rachel debates whether she should make a move on Joey or not.
Tropes:
- Bait-and-Switch: Chandler gets stuck watching the one-woman show Joey tried to send the others to. When he comes back he tells everyone it was actually really good and very moving. During the end credits we see he's convinced Monica and Phoebe to come see the show and just before it begins he admits he was lying and makes a hasty exit, trapping his wife and his friend as payback for leaving him alone the first time.
- The Bore: The other paleontology professor besides Charlie exhaustively enumerates his allergies by way of conversation. Ross and Charlie are so bored by him that they ditch him while he's in the bathroom.
- Church of Happyology: After Rachel gets a bunch of phone numbers, Joey discourages her from calling one of his co-stars by saying he's in a cult.Joey: It'll cost you $5,000 to get to Level 3, and I don't feel any different.
- Fangirl: Monica can't stop fawning over the stars at the party and even gets one actor to sign her bra while she's still wearing it.
- The Gadfly: Phoebe makes seemingly intelligent conversation about paleontology when she meets Charlie. Ross cannot believe his ears and Phoebe admits she simply memorized the title of a paper of his to freak him out.
- Insecure Love Interest: Ross becomes unsure about his chances with Charlie after hearing she has only dated Nobel Prize winners and a guy with a MacArthur genius grant, while he has no comparable accomplishments. He seems a little reassured when he catches her making out with Joey, though.
- Irony: After all his worry about not being as smart as Charlie's previous love interests, Ross sees her making out with Joey and exclaims that he's certainly smarter than him.
- Naked First Impression: Joey opening his robe and revealing he's naked underneath also happens to be the first time he and Charlie meet. He shoots her a "Nice to meet you" as he reties his robe and leaves. By the end of the night they're making out at his party.
- Only One Finds It Fun: Ross, Monica, Phoebe, and Charlie find out from Rachel, who found out sooner but ended up blabbing about it, that Joey has been attending, and even hosting, the Days of Our Lives cast parties ever since he became a regular. To keep the rest of the gang from embarrassing him by being starstruck with the celebrities in attendance, Joey made it a point to send them on on some boring excursions on the day of the party, with the previous year's trip being to a medieval times restaurant and the year before that a to night-time tour of a button factory. Phoebe thinks Joey also sent them on a horrible museum tour; Ross then sheepishly admits that he was the one that arranged that tour.
- Overshadowed by Awesome: While Ross is accomplished in his own right, Charlie's exes' accomplishments make him look average by comparison.
- Sexy Coat Flashing: The gang demand that Joey take off his robe assuming that he, like Rachel, is wearing his party clothes underneath. Turns out Joey's actually naked underneath causing everyone to yell for him to cover up. The blooper reel revealed that Matt Le Blanc was actually wearing boxers with a photo of David Schwimmer taped over his crotch to get the rest of the cast to
laugh. - Something We Forgot: At the rooftop party, Phoebe asks Monica where Chandler is. Turns out no one told him about the party and he ended up going to the play alone.
- Stylistic Suck: "Why Don't You Like Me?!", a one-woman monologue by a Straw Feminist yelling about her life experiences. Chandler is stuck watching it all alone when the others fail to tell him about Joey's party.
- Wham Shot: At the end, Rachel decides to kiss Joey, but then she and Ross catch him making out with Charlie.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: Well-into her show, the Straw Feminist suggests an intermission is coming up. Chandler is relieved at the prospect of finally leaving, only for the woman to say that life doesn't have intermissions so neither does her show. He's stuck watching the rest of it.
