Ross Geller

Ross Geller was a character in the popular television sitcom Friends which ran from 1994 to 2004. Ross was played by David Schwimmer.

Ross is the older brother of Monica Geller, and was often favoured by their parents (particularly their mother) over her. When he was born, he was described as a "medical marvel", since his mother was originally believed to be barren. The two are extremely competitive as was demonstrated in 'The One With The Football', where it emerged that every Thanksgiving during their childhood they, and other neighbouring children 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 2"/4", 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 and later became employed at the New York Museum of Prehistoric History. 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 really were 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. However, the two always remained firm friends and it later emerged that they had almost slept together during Ross' first divorce.

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.

Ross is perhaps the unluckiest of all the Friends in love. 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 cathedral), 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. 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 apparently harbored a crush for Rachel since their school days. 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 led Ross, believing them to be "on a break", to sleep with 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 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, oddly enough 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.

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 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 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.

Ross 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 marihuana in his room - when his parents came in and smelled it, he claimed Chander 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.