"i love you" . . . "thank you"

I was watching Friends last night. "The One With The Free Porn" - A pretty classic episode, as all of them in the 4th season really are - Emily goes back to London, Monica encourages Ross to fight for her, he shows up at the airport, gets discouraged, she tells him there's another guy, Monica keeps telling him to fight for her, he goes to London, she's not there, she comes to NY, there's an INCREDIBLY unbelievable scene where she leaves a message on her answering machine for him that he is SOMEHOW able to overhear from outside - blah blah blah.

But it hit me as I was watching it exactly how overdone the sitcom "thank you" reaction to an "I love you" is.

Ross: (stops her) Wait uh, listen. I-I, I have to tell you something. Umm, I’ve been thinking, I’m just gonna come out and say it. Okay? I-I-I ah, I-I think I love you.
Emily: Oh. (She’s shocked and hugs him.) Thank you. (She boards the plane.)
Ross: That’s no problem.

Then of course there's this scene from the first season New Year's Eve episode of The OC. Ignore the fact that Mischa Barton can't act. You almost feel bad for her as she stumbles through her "You're welcome?"



But the true pioneer in the "I love you" "Thank you" field - none other than Full House. This episode aired in 1993 or so and it truly paved the way for awkward television scenes to come.



Start at about 6:30 - starting with Steve's delivery of "Deej . . . I need an eraser", the next minute might be the only redeeming moment in the last three awful seasons of that show. It just goes to show that Full House was truly revolutionary. So DJ, Steve, Full House - that's why I love you.

You're welcome.