Friends Episode 3
"The One with the Thumb"
Friends Episode 3
“The One with the Thumb” is the third episode of Friends‘ first season. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on October 6, 1994 with 19.5 million viewers. Directed by James Burrows. This episode sees Chandler (Matthew Perry) pick up his old smoking addiction, a habit that the rest of the group finds hard to get him to break. Only Alan (Geoffrey Lower), the new boyfriend of Monica (Courteney Cox), can convince Chandler to drop the habit. The gang falls in love with Alan but Monica does not see a future with him and the two break up, much to the disappointment of the friends. Meanwhile, Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) struggles to get rid of all the free money she is receiving, including $7,000 from a soda company when she finds a severed thumb in her drink. She uses the money to pay Chandler to stop smoking.
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Friends Set Items from Central Perk
“The one with the thumb” starts out in Central Perk with Phoebe talking about her date that she was on the night before. He walked her to the subway and said “we should do this again”. The group tells Phoebe that he was blowing her off and will not be calling her again.
Central Perk has some of the most iconic artwork throughout the series. The art is constantly changing. You can see a SALADA COFFEE advertisement in the background. It is a 12″ by 13″ porcelain die-cut sign from the 1940’s that weighs around 40lbs. We haven’t ever seen a reproduction of this sign although originals are listed on eBay all of the time and sell for $1,000-2,000. Click Here to view the current eBay auctions.
Friends Poster from Joey and Chandler's Apartment
In the next scene you get the first glimpse of Chandler and Joey’s apartment. They are reading lines for Joey’s audition. Joey’s character is expected to smoke a cigarette and he does not know how to smoke properly.
Chandler, who quit smoking, shows Joey how to properly smoke and gets hooked again. Their apartment has some of the greatest and hardest to find posters.
Behind Joey, partially hidden by a desk and plant, you can see the top the poster for “Reformatory” a movie from 1938 staring Jack Holt (1888-1951). Later in the series you can see this poster hung in Chandler’s room. We haven’t been able to find this poster for sale anywhere online but its just a super cool piece and wanted it to be known.
CLUE Friends edition
Could this game be any more awesome? Gather your friends around the table and solve the mystery in this collectible Clue game. In “The One with the Secrets” you must solve the mystery and determine WHICH secret is being kept, WHO reveals it, and WHERE it is revealed. A great gift for fans of Friends The TV Series and a perfect game that you won’t want to pass up.
FRIENDS super nerds
Christopher & Lacy have been together since 2011 and were married in LAS VEGAS in 2016.
When Lacy is not watching FRIENDS you can find her dedicating time to The Aneurysm and AVM Foundation or playing with their two rescue Pit Bulls, Roxy Girl and Crouton. Lacy has been a FRIENDS super nerd since day one and has won every FRIENDS TRIVIA contest entered.
Christopher was introduced to the greatest TV show of all time by his beautiful wife Lacy and enjoys quoting lines from the show, collecting FRIENDS Funko Pops and FRIENDS LEGO sets. When he is not watching friends you can find him either working on his websites or helping auto dealerships set up innovative tech platforms.
Christopher & Lacy Stearns
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Friends Poster from Joey and Chandler's Apartment
When Chandler shows Joey how to think of the cigarette as an extension of his hand he takes a drag. He is instantly hooked again. He spends the rest of the episode hiding it from the group.
Behind Chandler you can see the poster for “Grand Jury Secrets” a film from 1939 starring John Howard (1913-1995). You can purchase this poster on Amazon HERE.
Society6 has some of the coolest fan created artwork. You will be the envy of every die hard fan that visits your home with this unique shower curtain featuring the infamous couch in front of the fountain from the opening credits.
Our shower curtains are the perfect focal point for any bathroom with our artists’ array of eye-catching designs. Hookless and extra long, these curtains will surely fit in any bathroom setup. Plus, they’re machine washable to avoid any soap scum or buildup. Click Here to view this and many other custom FRIENDS inspired works.
Art from Monica's Apartment
In this scene you will notice two pieces that are much harder to find. The wooden picture next to the kitchen is a carving by Gil Elvgren titled “A Perfect Pair”. Gil Elvgren (1914-1980) was one of americas most famous Pin-Up artist. Click here to find original prints of “A Perfect Pair” on eBay.
The poster above the sewing machine is an enlarged playbill from the 1927 play “A Very Wise Virgin” at the historic Bijou Theatre. We haven’t ever been able to find a playbill or reproduction poster but it is such a cool piece we wanted it to be known.
Back in Monica’s apartment she makes the group promise to be good when they meet her date Alan for the first time. Phoebe enters with a letter from the bank thanking her for calling attention to their error. The bank credits the account $500 and gifts her a football phone.
Monica has returned from her date with Alan and asks the group to give their honest opinion. The group shocks her by loving him.
Yellow Frame and Posters from Monica's Apartment
The pieces in Monica’s apartment do not change much throughout the series and are some of the more well known works. “Aux Buttes Chaumont” Originally an 1896 Parisian advertisement for a department store selling children’s toys and clothes, this poster was prominently featured hanging above the tv in Monica’s apartment.
The Yellow Picture Frame that can be seen surrounding the peephole throughout the series was a mirror that one of the crew broke and set designer Greg Grande thought it would look great on the door. It is seen in almost every episode. Click here to read the story from set designer Greg Grande.
Another interesting vintage poster next to the door is “Maina La Voyante” (translation Maina the Seer) which is a french magic show advertisement from 1930 by artist Louis Galice (1864-1935).
Friends Trivia
For the first 13 episodes of Season 1 the apartment numbers are Chandler/Joey (4) and Monica/Rachel (5). In Season 1 Episode 14, “The One with the Candy Hearts” aired February 9th 1995, they changed the apartment numbers to Chandler/Joey (19) and Monica/Rachel (20) to show that the apartments are on a higher floor.
Friends Central Perk & the shirt that started it all
Back at Central Perk everyone minus Monica returns from a baseball game. They won against the hasidic jewlers because of Alan being able to carry them and play all of the positions.
The “Big Hitter” shirt that Ross is wearing is one of the greatest behind the scenes stories of the series. David Schwimmer was on the way to shoot this scene and noticed a camera guy wearing this shirt. With it being a scene about softball he asked the camera man to switch shirts with him. Little did everyone know that this would catapult the career of artist Burton Morris. Click Here to read the Today.com article about this life changing scene.
Burton Morris goes on to create some of the most iconic artworks throughout the entire series.
Friends Phoebe in the streets of New York
In the next scene Phoebe visits her homeless friend Lizzy, (Beth Grant), to bring her some alphabet soup. Phoebe gifts Lizzy her football phone and $1,000. Lizzy tries to give Phoebe her tinfoil hat in return but she Phoebe declines and just has her buy a soda.
When Phoebe opens the drink she finds something in the soda can….
Friends Set Items from Central Perk
Back at Central Perk Chandler is smoking a cigarette and the group is giving him grief. He says its his one annoying thing and then points out all of the annoying things everyone does that he tolerates. The group starts to argue and Chandler struts away with a smirk on his face.
One set piece that we have always noticed is the banner in the background of the coffee shop. It is the 16th century English Royal Coat of Arms originally designed by King Henry V and later restored by King Edward IV and Queen Elizabeth I. Click Here for the Wikipedia Royal Arms of England Article.
There are plenty of flags listed on Amazon and eBay but we haven’t been able to find an ornate one with golden tassels like the one displayed in Central Perk.
Homemade 1c Pickles
One of our favorite set pieces can be seen in Monica’s apartment throughout the entire series. The “Homemade 1c Pickles” crockery jar was made by Corona Stoneware. Vintage original jars can be found on eBay. CLICK HERE to view originals on eBay.
Click Here for amazing quality handmade reproductions on Amazon.
Friends Art from Monica's Apartment
Back at Monica’s apartment Chandler, Ross, Rachel and Phoebe are watching Lamb Chop’s Play-Along. Chandler is grumpy because Alan convinced him to quit smoking. Ross puts another nicotine patch on his arm. Phoebe reveals that the soda company gave her $7,000 because of the thumb in the soda can. Monica comes home and goes next door to get Joey from the shower to let the group know that she plans on breaking up with Alan. They try to convince her to stay with him and Monica reassures everyone that she will meet someone else….”There will be other Alans”
Monica meets Alan and breaks up with him where he lets here know that he had a great time with her but he couldn’t stand her friends.
In the final scene of “The one with the thumb” the group is sitting around Monica’s kitchen table reminiscing about memories with Alan. In this scene you can see the infamous disappearing wooden post. Chandler says he is going to get cigarettes because he is weak and hes gotta have the smoke. Phoebe offers to give him $7,000 if he never smokes again to which Chandler replies “Yeah, alright”. Click Here to read the Friends Reunion article about the infamous disappearing post.
Friends Episode 3 "The One with the Thumb" Cast & Crew
