Friends, "The One with the Thumb": I just can't stand your friends

A review/recap of the October 6, 1994 episode of Friends after I leave in the Y's, you know "sometimes Y."

Now that was a nice and even episode. There were 3 subplots that all worked well together, and they didn't seem forced into working together.

The main subplot was the group meeting Monica's new boyfriend Alan (Geoffrey Lower). At first Monica is reluctant to have him meet her friends because she doesn't know how she feels about him.
Eventually she brings Alan to meet the group, and they immediately fall in love with him. He helps them win a softball game, and he gets Chandler to stop smoking. However, Monica decides to break up with Alan, which breaks the hearts of the rest of the group. It was like the entire group was going out with Alan. When Monica tells Alan, he says that he is relieved. He liked her, but couldn't stand her friends.

Chandler's smoking was probably the funniest, but weakest, of the three subplots. He starts smoking again after 3 years, after he shows Joey how to smoke while rehearsing dialogue with him. He has to secretly smoke at work, which leads to a funny moment when he uses air freshener for mouth spray. The group hates that he is smoking again, and Phoebe has to eventually bribe him for him not to smoke again.

The Phoebe subplot was a good plot, and was certainly the best Phoebe-anything in the first three episodes. Lisa Kudrow actually had something to do. She is horrified to find that her bank made an error and gave her an extra $500 into her account. After telling the bank, the bank gives her another $500 and a football phone. This causes Phoebe to give the $1,000 to Lizzy (Beth Grant), a homeless woman who calls Phoebe, "weird girl." Lizzy can't just accept the money, so Phoebe lets Lizzy buy her a can of soda to call it even. When Phoebe opens the can she is stunned to see a human thumb floating in it. The soda company gives her $7,000, which she then gives to Chandler if he agrees never to smoke again.

Funniest parts of the episode:

• In the opening, the group talks about "dating language" after Phoebe comes back from a bad date. "We should do this again, means you will never see me naked." "It's not you, means it is you." "I think we should see other people, means ha-ha I already am."
• When the group yells at Chandler for smoking again, he turns it on them by saying what he can't stand about everyone else (Joey cracking his knuckles, Ross over-pronouncing every word, Monica snorting when she laughs). Then they realize that they all hate each others little flaws (Phoebe chewing her hair, Rachel being a terrible waitress). When they all start arguing, Chandler is able to walk away smiling and still smoking.
• The over-arching thumb-forefinger joke. Monica tells the group that she saw a study that says the size of a man's penis is the same as the distance between the tip of a guy's thumb and forefinger. Rachel takes the the joke to the next level when the group is telling Monica how much they liked Alan, she says "And did you notice [his thumb-forefinger]."

-Sign of the Times:

• David Hasselhoff and Baywatch impersonations were relevant and funny
• Chandler smoking inside of public places 
• Chandler's computer at work

It took 3 episodes, but it seems like they finally figured out how to make a solid, clean episode of Friends.