The One with the Giant Poking Device (14 Nov. 1996)

Phoebe doesn't want to go to the dentist because every time she does, someone dies. Monica plays the airplane game with Ben and bumps his head really hard and Rachel and Monica try to cover... See full summary »

Director:

Gail Mancuso

Writers:

David Crane (creator), Marta Kauffman (creator),

Stars:

Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Jennifer Aniston	...	Rachel Green
Courteney Cox	...	Monica Geller
Lisa Kudrow	...	Phoebe Buffay
Matt LeBlanc	...	Joey Tribbiani
Matthew Perry	...	Chandler Bing
David Schwimmer	...	Dr. Ross Geller
James Michael Tyler	...	Gunther
Maggie Wheeler	...	Janice Litman
Charles Thomas Allen	...	Ben Geller
John Christopher Allen	...	Ben Geller

Storyline

Phoebe doesn't want to go to the dentist because every time she does, someone dies. Monica plays the airplane game with Ben and bumps his head really hard and Rachel and Monica try to cover the bump on his head. Joey sees Janice kissing her ex-husband and tells Chandler. Phoebe is checking if she killed someone by going to the dentist and finds that Ugly Naked Guy hasn't moved since the morning. They build a massive poking device out of chopsticks to poke him and see if his alive or just taking a nap. Chandler leaves Janice so she can go back to her husband and child. Ugly Naked Guy is alive!

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Plot Keywords:

break up

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 November 1996 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Dijon Street, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 22 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Ross is lying to Monica about Ben acting strange, there are clearly two crew members visible through the big window.

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Quotes

Dr. Ross Geller: I have to go to work for a few hours. Some kids messed up the Homo Sapien display.
Joey Tribbiani: What did they do?
Dr. Ross Geller: Well, they painted over the word 'Sapien' for one thing, then they rearranged the figures. Let's just leave it at that.

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Connections

References Poltergeist (1982)

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Soundtracks

"Endless Love"
(uncredited)
Performed by Matthew Perry & Lisa Kudrow

User Reviews

The One with the Giant Poking Device

I kind of found the story of Phoebe not wanting to go to the dentist because people die more silly than funny, but I liked how it lead to the story of Ugly Naked guy not moving and them building a giant pocking device and poking him

We also get a bit of dramatic touch in this episode as well when Chandler finds out that Janice isn't sure if she loves him or her husband more. Matthew Perry did a great job. And the final scene of him and Phoebe singing together was pretty funny

I did like watching Monica and Rachel trying to cover up that Ben got a bump on his head and Ross than fooling Monica