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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. 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 forbid 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. 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. Only then did he discover 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 appeared more hopeful (although it was held in a half-demolished cathedral, and Phoebe could not attend as she was heavily pregnant). The wedding to his English girlfriend Emily Waltham was to be set in London, Joey and Chandler were both best man and Monica was a bridesmaid. 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 one night stand with Janice (who still believed Chandler was in Yemen).
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". 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 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 now 5 of the 6 Friends lived in very close proximity.
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