Ross Geller

Dr. Ross Eustace Geller is a fictional character on the popular US television sitcom Friends (1994–2004), played by David Schwimmer.

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Ross Geller talking with Rachel Green

History

Ross is the older brother of Monica Geller, and was often favored by their parents (particularly their mother) over her. His birthday is on October 18 (although in another episode he claims it's in December). When he was born, he was described as a "medical marvel", since his mother was originally believed to be barren. The two siblings are extremely competitive as was demonstrated in 'The One With The Football', where it emerged that every Thanksgiving during their childhood they had taken part in a football match called 'Geller-Bowl' (Chandler insisted that the two 'say that with pride'). This continued until one year Monica broke Ross' nose, and their parents forbade them from ever playing football again. Their father, Jack, threw the trophy, which turns out to be a troll doll nailed to a 2x4, into a lake, from which Monica later retrieved the trophy.

Ross later went to college where he met Chandler Bing, with whom he formed a band, and Carol Willick, who became his first wife. At college, Ross trained for a career in palaeontology, completing his PhD, and later became employed at the New York Museum of Prehistoric History. In the episode where Rachel moves out of Monica's apartment, Ross claims to have "given up a career in basketball" to become a paleontologist. Ross' love of (and his friends' boredom with) dinosaurs became a running joke throughout the series. Monica ponders when Ross' dinosaur stories would become extinct and Joey once asked Ross "if homo sapiens were in fact HOMO-sapiens, is that why they're extinct?"

Ross came into conflict with Phoebe Buffay most of all. Ross' scientific beliefs and Phoebe's self-devised beliefs led to conflict over the theories of evolution, gravity and whether or not Phoebe's dead mother had been reincarnated as a cat. Also, Phoebe mugged Ross during her homeless years. She kept Ross' own childhood cartoon strip named "Science Boy" (who had a super-human thirst for knowledge) in a box labelled "crap from the street". Phoebe claims she learned a lot from Science Boy. Both Ross and Phoebe always remained firm friends and it later emerged that they had almost slept together during Ross' first divorce.

In response to his loneliness after his divorce from Carol, Ross adopted a capuchin monkey named Marcel. The relationship was troublesome at first, but the two grew quite close, until Marcel's sexual drive (causing him to hump inanimate objects and people's legs) forced Ross to donate him to the San Diego Zoo. Ross later felt the urge to see Marcel again, but was told by the zoo that he had since died. However, a zookeeper informed Ross that Marcel had actually been stolen. It turned out that Marcel was now a famous mascot for a brand of beer.

After being kicked out of the apartment he had been living in, which was owned by a relative of his second wife Emily, Ross spent a short time living in Chandler and Joey's apartment before settling in the apartment directly opposite Monica's, which had once been inhabited by Ugly Naked Guy. This meant that 5 of the 6 Friends now lived in very close proximity.

Ross was fired from the museum due to a problem with rage, following the breakdown of his second marriage, the loss of his apartment, and his boss eating his Thanksgiving-leftovers sandwich. He later found a job as a professor at New York University and was given tenure.

Relationships

Ross is perhaps the unluckiest of all the Friends in love (once claiming to have been "dumped during sex"). He divorced his first wife of four years, Carol Willick, when it emerged that she was having an affair with another woman. Shortly afterward, he found that she was pregnant, and his first child, Ben, was born in 'The One With The Birth', one of the final episodes of the first season. His second marriage, to his English girlfriend Emily Waltham, appeared more hopeful. It was set in London (in a half-demolished building), Joey and Chandler were both best man and Monica was a bridesmaid. (Phoebe could not attend as she was too pregnant, and Rachel only came at the last minute.) However, at the ceremony Ross said Rachel's name instead of Emily's which led to the complete breakdown of his relationship with Emily and the marriage's quick dissolution which ended when Ross chose his friendship with Rachel over his marriage with Emily. Ross' third marriage was to Rachel as a result of a drinking binge in Las Vegas and it was later dissolved. However, perhaps worst of all, Ross also had a brief relationship with Janice (who still believed Chandler was in Yemen) - Janice rejected him when she grew tired of his constant whining.

Ross is perhaps most famous for his turbulent relationship with Rachel Green. Ross had harbored a crush for Rachel since their high school days. (At that time, Rachel was Monica's best friend.) When Rachel moved to the city, Ross tried to re-kindle his affection, after a rocky start the two finally got together in 'The One With The Prom Video'. The relationship ended when a row over Rachel's friendship with a male co-worker (Mark) led Ross, believing them to be "on a break", to sleep with Chloe, the "cute girl from the copy place with a belly button ring". When Rachel found out, she broke up with Ross in a famous scene in Monica's apartment, which involved Ross and Rachel arguing in Monica's living room whilst the other four Friends are trapped in Monica's bedroom, afraid of interrupting the argument. (The scene was so emotional that both David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston actually cried after it was shot.) The two shared an 'almost on again-almost off again' relationship until one night they slept together, after which Rachel became pregnant, and later gave birth to Ross' second child Emma. In the final episode, Ross was encouraged by Phoebe to declare his love to Rachel before she left to pursue a career in Paris. His plea was successful (eventually) and the two once again entered into a relationship.

Ross had exceptionally bad pickup lines, and once even struck up a conversation about gas with a pizza delivery girl in an attempt to prove his skill at flirting to the rest of the gang. Others included talking about underground sewer system and asking girls how they would prefer to die. (It was decided at one point that his "thing" (his trademark habit, basically) was "not knowin' when to shut up.") He also manages to get himself into hilariously awkward situations, such as getting stuck in his own leather pants, having to massage an old man, 'accidentally' speaking in a British accent in front of one of his classes or getting an eight-fold spray-on tan on his front without any on his back. There are frequent running jokes about his masculinity, which came to a head when he and Rachel hired a sensitive male nanny named Sandy who made his own lotion, played the recorder and baked madeleines (which were "lighter than air," according to Ross). Ross is very uncomfortable with him and eventually fires him, but not before breaking down in front of him and hysterically revealing his own insecurities stemming from issues with his father. ("But you are a real boy." "I know I am!...And if it's summer and it's hot, why can't you wear a tank top?!")

Personality

Ross, generally considered the most intelligent of the friends, is also known for occasionally telling lies about his life to make himself appear better than he actually is. During his school years, he sampled some marijuana in his room - when his parents came in and smelled it, he claimed Chandler had been smoking it, then jumped out the window to escape. This caused his parents to dislike Chandler (subsequently, Monica did not reveal her relationship with Chandler to them for about a year) until Thanksgiving in Season 6, when Monica told them the truth. Also, when discussing the time he was mugged by Phoebe as a teenager, Ross claimed to have been mugged by a "huge dude" rather than a 14-year-old girl. Moreover, Ross only got a 1250 (out of 1600) on the SAT, however, he advertises himself as getting a 1450. He even had a pretend wake for himself when Chandler jokingly posted that he had died in a blimp accident on their college website and no one responded; a beautiful woman showed up and confessed she'd always had a crush on him and that she was sad that it was too late, at which point he came bounding out of the other room declaring "It's not too late! I'm still alive!"

There is contradictory information about Ross Geller's birthdate. In The One Where Emma Cries, he stated his birthday is October 18. Another episode, he said his birthday is in December. In The One With George Stephanopoulos, he said his birthday was seven months ago on an episode that took place October 20. Another contradiction is in The One with Joey's New Girlfriend when Gunther asks Rachel when her birthday is, claiming to be making a list of people's birthdays. Ross says, 'Mine's December...' before being cut off by Gunther. Nonetheless, this suggests that his birthday takes place in December sometime, at complete odds with the other two possible dates.

In an alternate reality storyline during the show ("The One That Could Have Been"), Ross was still married to Carol, but their sex life was stagnant. He doesn't seem to realise Carol is a lesbian (though his friends think it is obvious but feign ignorance to spare his feelings). When Ross suggests to Carol that they have a threesome, she not only is all for it, but has the perfect woman: Susan. Ross is forced to accept that his wife is gay, and he ends up consoling Rachel after she discovers that her own husband is having an affair as well.

Trivia

• Ross has kissed all the other five Friends members, although not all the kisses were seen on screen. He kissed Rachel where they were dating. He kissed Phoebe in "The One With the Flashback" when he finds out Carol was a lesbian and Phoebe was there to console him. He reluctantly kissed Joey to help him rehearse for a part he was auditioning for in "The One With Barry and Mindy's Wedding". In "The One Where Chandler Can't Remember Which Sister", Chandler got drunk and kissed Ross but this was not seen on screen. He and Monica kiss, not seen on screen, in "The One Where the Stripper Cries" when Ross thought he was kissing Rachel during a flashback to his college years.