-Monica famously chose Chandler over Richard.Friends: The Reunion · 2021 — Chapter 12 of 25 · 3'04" · B2
The Cast on Sudden Fame, Explained: a completely different ballgame
After a quick trivia win over Chandler's old job, the cast turn to fame: by season two it was "a completely different ballgame." One recalls news helicopters hovering over his house. "No one really prepares you for what that's going to be like," they say, and only the other five understood.
What happens
The group first settle a bonus trivia question about what Chandler did for a living, landing on a made-up word and a disputed score for the women. Then the talk turns serious: the cast describe the moment the show exploded, from magazine covers to news helicopters filming their homes.
Listen for
a completely different ballgameprepares you forwhat it was likesure as shit
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Now
Phrase of the scene
a completely different ballgame
完全另一回事；情况截然不同
演员说拍第二季回来时，一切都和刚开播时完全不同了。
Working for yourself is a completely different ballgame.
Also in this scene
- prepares you for
让你为……做好准备
- what it was like
那是什么感觉；当时是什么样
- sure as shit
果然没错；千真万确（粗俗强调）
Everything marked in this scene
35 notes across 60 lines
What did Chandler do for a living?-Just think this through. Think it through.elision
-Just think this through. Think it through.-Oh, I thought we never found out, though.Nobody knows, really.-I think that should go to the girls, then.-Obviously, the show came out and immediately resonated with people.liaison
-Obviously, the show came out and immediately resonated with people.When did you start to feel like those changes that you'd been told about were starting --passive voice
When did you start to feel like those changes that you'd been told about were starting --When we came back for a second season, it was a completely different ballgame.flap
When we came back for a second season, it was a completely different ballgame.And "What do you want?" And at first, it's very jarring.No one really prepares you for what that's going to be like.liaison
No one really prepares you for what that's going to be like.-I remember one time I was -- It was middle of the week,I guess it was, I don't remember what day of the week.-Yeah, that part I know. But it was -- I was --I happened to have the news on, and on the TV,And it was an aerial shot, live, of each of our houses.-And I remember looking at it going "What the --" and I could hear the helicopter over my house.and sure as shit, I've got some leaks up there.I had to call the roofer and have them come over and fix it.causative
I had to call the roofer and have them come over and fix it.-The fact is, like, no one was going through what we were going through except the other five.-The fact is, like, no one was going through what we were going through except the other five.imprinted in our neural pathways this sort of, like, we are actually family.-Yeah. Because our family couldn't relate.They were there for us, I think. -Your family could-- My family was more starstruck about it than we were.-But the only other people who really knew what it was like were the other five.relative clause
-But the only other people who really knew what it was like were the other five.-We were doing a show, and we were working really hard.But it wasn't until I was walking through the airport --I don't remember where I was going -- but they were on every magazine.The Cast on Sudden Fame, explained
What's really going on
Under the jokes, this is the cast explaining why fame was a shared trauma. A trivia question turns into an argument about points, then the conversation shifts to the price of being recognised everywhere - one story about helicopters over the house, another about walking through an airport and seeing your friends on every magazine. The line that ties it together is "No one really prepares you for what that's going to be like." Their conclusion is that the experience only made sense to those inside it: "the only other people who really knew what it was like were the other five." It is a warm, unglamorous account of sudden stardom.
Theme
FriendshipFame isolates the cast, and they say the only people who understood it were the other five.
IdentitySudden recognition changes daily life, and the cast describe learning to live with being known everywhere.
Listen for
- think this through — elision
- resonated with people — liaison
- a completely different ballgame — flap
- prepares you for — liaison
No one really prepares you for what that's going to be like.Fame arrived without warning and without a manual, which is why the cast had to figure it out together.
-But the only other people who really knew what it was like were the other five.Their shared experience became a bond no outsider, not even family or closest friends, could share.
When we came back for a second season, it was a completely different ballgame.Between seasons the show's popularity changed everything about how they worked and lived.
Our friends, our closest friends couldn't relate.Even the people they loved most had no reference point for what the cast were living through.
Questions about this scene
Who wins the bonus question?
The women do. After the answer turns out to be that nobody really knows what Chandler did, the host awards the point to the women's team.
What does "transponster" mean?
It is a made-up, nonsense word a character blurted out on the show during a trivia game, and it has since become a fan in-joke. Here the cast repeat it as a callback.
Why was the second season so different?
The show had exploded between seasons, so returning to work felt like a completely different ballgame: sudden recognition, crowds, and media attention.
What happened with the helicopter?
One cast member saw live aerial footage of their house on the news, heard the helicopter overhead, then found leaks in the roof and had to call a roofer.
Why do they say only the other five understood?
Because not even family or closest friends could relate to that level of fame, so the cast leaned on each other and came to feel like family.
Friends: The Reunion · 25 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 13had a big hand inFans on What Friends Meant
Chapter 1get in the wayThe Cast Returns to the Set
Chapter 2in the bagThe Friends Cast Reunites On Stage
Chapter 3stay in touchThe Cast Reunites at the Fountain
Chapter 4that time in your lifeThe Friends Creators Explain the Premise
Chapter 5pet peeveThe Cast Plays a Friends Quiz
Chapter 6has this magicThe Cast Plays Trivia
Chapter 7at the top of their gameThe Cast Revisits the Jellyfish
Chapter 8down to the wireHow Friends Cast Its Six
Chapter 9to make a long story shortThe Cast Recalls Their Auditions
Chapter 10in the wrong handsCasting the Rest of the Cast
Chapter 11tail between my legsThe Producer Who Predicted Stardom
Watching · Chapter 12a completely different ballgameThe Cast on Sudden Fame
Chapter 13had a big hand inFans on What Friends Meant
Chapter 14got you hookedThe Cast Answers Fan Questions
Chapter 15down-to-earthThe Monkey Kept Ruining Takes
Chapter 16cost a fortuneThe Chair Scene Goes Wrong
Chapter 17put our heads togetherThe Sling Written Into the Show
Chapter 18beat you to itHow Monica and Chandler Became a Couple
Chapter 19take something for a spinThe Cast Reenacts Smelly Cat
Chapter 20buy a word of itThe Couch Pivot Scene
Chapter 21keep straight a faceThe Friends Blooper Reel
Chapter 22calls out to meJanice Returns to the Reunion
Chapter 23two ships passingDavid and Jen's Secret Crush
Chapter 24the long arm of the lawWere Ross and Rachel on a Break?
Chapter 25go to piecesSaying Goodbye to FriendsChapter 12 of 25 · about 52 min to go