Episode 1.21- The One with the Fake Monica

The TV.com Summary
This is the one where Monica's credit card is stolen and she, along with Phoebe and Rachel, decide to catch the thief, Joey enlists his friends to help him come up with a less ethnic-sounding stage name, and when Ross finds out that Marcel has reached sexual maturity and needs to be with other monkeys, he tries to get him accepted into the Harvard of zoos.

The Guest Stars
special guest star
Claudia Shear as Fake Monica
guest starring
Christina Pickles as Judy Geller
Karla Tamburrelli as the Teacher
and
Harry Shearer as Dr. Baldharar

The Ratings
Creativity- 8.8
Humor- 8.7
Emotion- 8.7
Fun- 8.8
Overall- 8.8

Chandler- 8.8 (As usual, provided many funny comments throughout)
Joey- 8.6 (Took his stupidity to a whole new level with the Joseph Stalin storyline)
Monica- 9.2 (Expertly weaved straight-laced Monica with the new free-spirited Monana)
Phoebe- 8.9 (Strikingly funny, she was dead-on hilarious in the whole episode)
Rachel- 8.7 (She was very Rachel, and I loved her dynamic with Monica in this episode)
Ross- 9.0 (His attachment to Marcel is so funny, and it got emotional at the end)

The Best Lines
Monica (looking over her credit card bill after she learns someone has been using it): Still, this is just such reckless spending.
Ross: I think when somebody steals your credit card, they've kind of already thrown caution to the wind.

Ross: You'd think you guys would be just a little more understanding, you know?
Phoebe: I know... but we're not.

Chandler: How about Joey Peponi?
Joey: No, still too ethnic! My agent thinks I should have a name that's more neutral.
Chandler: Joey... Switzerland?

Joey: Phoebe, what do you think a good stage name for me would be?
Phoebe: Flame boy!

Monica (while drunk, she drank water out of the sink): Water rules!

The Moments
Chandler convinces Joey to make his stage name Joseph Stalin.
Monica stalks the woman who stole her credit card.
Ross realizes he has to give up Marcel.
A guy tries to get Ross to give Marcel to him for an "Interactive Wildlife Experience", aka animal fighting.
Dance class.
The Friends say goodbye to Marcel.

The Romances

The Verdict
I may not have put down many things in the "Best Lines" section but that doesn't mean there was a dearth of hilarity in this episode. It was very funny, the funniest one in a while, but still it didn't quite crack the roof of being amazing. It was the one I can most call great in a long time, but still... something was missing from it. Not much, but enough to make it not be able to quite make it into the pinnacle of episodes. However, great job, writers, actors, and everyone associated with this episode! It was very entertaining and enjoyable and I laughed out loud many times.