210 The One With Russ

Joey gets bad reviews for his latest play and decides to quit show business... until his agent gets him an audition for a soap opera. He finds out, however, that he'd have to sleep with the casting director to get the part. Monica starts dating Fun Bobby again; she notices he seems to have a drinking problem. She confronts him and he decides to quit, after which Monica notices he's no longer any fun. Rachel dates Russ, who bears a striking resemblence to Ross.

Original Airdate:
01/04/1996

Other Info:
• David Schwimmer really played Russ in this episode. However, he chose to be credited as "Snaro" as a tribute to a friend.
• Julie only appears in the closing credits, in which she meets Russ at the coffee house. It's possible that the syndicated version of this episode cuts this out in favor of showing the cast dancing around the fountain.
• This episode runs 24:05 on DVD (a typical sitcom runs about 22:00).

Credits:
Written by Ira Ungerleider
Directed by Thomas Schlamme
Lauren Tom as Julie
Vincent Ventresca as Fun Bobby
June Gable as Estelle Leonard
Snaro as Russ