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Let's have another F.R.I.E.N.D.S discussion

207 replies

ItsPrettyObvious · 15/04/2022 18:26

Because I'm bored :-)

Kathy cheating on Chandler was pretty unbelievable. They sacrificed a lot to be together and were very much in the honeymoon phase. Matthew Perry and Paget Brewster actually went to the producers to protest this and asked that instead she reluctantly leaves him to pursue a career elsewhere but they said no.

Joey was the only one who we never see get drunk throughout the whole show.

Ellen DeGeneres was apparently first choice for Phoebe but she turned it down.

Reese Witherspoon never got a cheer when she made her cameo as Rachel's sister... why? She was already pretty famous by that point.

I think we can all agree Brad Pitt's cameo cheer was the loudest! Closely followed by Christina Applegate.

Some of the scenarios were pretty unrealistic. Being divorced 3 times would be seriously upsetting in real life and not something your friends would regularly take the piss out of. Same with being bullied for being fat.

I think Rachel is the Friend who developed / changed the most. She started off as a whining, spoilt brat and ended up as an independent, considerate woman. Probably followed by either Ross from needy to cool or Chandler from being commitment phobic to a family man. I don't think Monica, Joey or Phoebe evolved very much at all. Thoughts?

Chandler and Monica in real life would be a very annoying couple. Both very full on. Janine had it sussed!

Phoebe and Joey would NEVER have been able to afford to live in Manhattan.

Ross and Rachel broke up and within a couple of months Rachel could hear him having sex with Bonnie in the next room at the beach house. In real life this would be absolutely traumatising.

Couldn't stand Emily or Susan and for some reason I feel pretty meh towards Mike. I much preferred David The Science Guy. He was so dryly funny.

Pete took Monica to Italy (or was it France?) for their first date. Even with millions of dollars how was this possible in a few hours?

Janice was perceived to be annoying. But actually other than the awful laugh and a complete inability to read the room... she was bloody lovely and a very good person to have as a friend. She gave good advice and I really liked her.

If Phoebe's brother Frank had been more mature and cut his hair he would have been really fit!

I'll probably think of others. For the record I LOVE the show I just like talking about it to other fans :-)

OP posts:
BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 15/04/2022 22:36

Ben not bean sorry

Flickflak · 15/04/2022 22:37

This reply has been withdrawn

Message from MNHQ: This post has been withdrawn

Flittingaboutagain · 15/04/2022 22:40

It will always be a go-to pick me up kind of show for me probably because of being a teen when it was first on and thinking their lives were so cool in the Big Apple!

I really wanted Phoebe to end up with David.

I enjoyed Chandler's development through the seasons. I didn't feel Monica changed much at all.

More recently re-watching have found the women to all be quite flakey and whilst I used to watch it (as each one aired) and wish they were my friends, now I think better off just watching them!

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

GoodJanetBadJanet · 15/04/2022 22:40

My thoughts:-
Ben wasn't at his wedding to Emily, nor did they meet, it seems.
To be fair, I always thought that would be more Carol and Susan's doing - would Carol really have wanted to take her toddler son thousands of miles to another country to see her ex get married to someone else?

He freaks at Bean wanting a doll and Rachel wanting a male nanny
Agree he was a total dick about both of those!

womaniswomaniswoman · 15/04/2022 22:41

I think Mike was very meh about Phoebe's friends!

And yes, in some episodes Joey was written as if he was severely delayed; like the stupid one where he tries to learn French. Hated when they dumbed him down to that extent. In the first season he's nice but a bit naive/uneducated, not written as if he barely functions.

Dontlickthetrolley · 15/04/2022 22:41

@Flickflak

I didn’t want Rachel to go to Oaris because it seemed really unrealistic that a father would be so agreeable to their child living in another country.

I love Paul Rudd but was very meh about Mike’s character.

Christina Applegate in the thanksgiving episode was the best cameo by far.

I like Chandler the best of the six but the nicest person was Janice.

Joey was dumbed down way too much. Also how could Chandler afford to bankroll him so much?

Of course he could @Flickflak he was a Transponster......
CandyLeBonBon · 15/04/2022 22:43

Ooh ooh TRANSPONSTER

THAT'S NOT EVEN A WORD!!!!!

LizBennet · 15/04/2022 22:46

"I love the way you look every night Chandler Bing!"
Ross has the best comic timing imho.
Bugs me how Gary shot the bird, as if he wouldn't know that would disturb Phoebe...

Dontlickthetrolley · 15/04/2022 22:46

@CandyLeBonBon

Ooh ooh TRANSPONSTER

THAT'S NOT EVEN A WORD!!!!!

It's threads like this that make me wish there was a 'like' or thumbs up option!!
Pistepersistence · 15/04/2022 22:52

I didn’t fancy Paul Rudd in friends, I definitely think he’s got far better looking with age (see attached). I actually thought Mike could do better than Phoebe, she was really spiteful at times, she mugged Ross!

The hand twin thing was a low, such a pointless storyline. Also the whole Joey trying to learn French was ridiculous. I LOVE Friends though, but it just occasionally went off the boil!

Pistepersistence · 15/04/2022 22:53

Attachment didn’t work! Here it is…

Let's have another F.R.I.E.N.D.S discussion
HeArInGhandsgirl11 · 15/04/2022 22:55

@tiredanddangerous

Rachel should have gone to Paris. Phoebe should have ended up with David. I didn't like Joeys ending; his story didn't feel finished.
Nooo-she got off the plane
TeamSpike · 15/04/2022 22:57

Yum 😍

One of my fav moments is when phoebe meets Brad Pitt
"Hi. Wow! looks up well done"

TheZenOne22 · 15/04/2022 23:00

Chandler was my favourite friend and I really liked how he became when he was with Monica.

“Paper, Snow, a ghost” - love that episode with Joey on the quiz show but didn’t like how utterly stupid he got as the show went on.

I really didn’t like Joey and Rachel together but I also didn’t think that Rachel and Ross were ‘lobsters’

Loved the episode when they all find out. Phoebe and Chandler crack me up in this episode.
“She wants to touch my bicep and more”
“Leaving so soon?” “Not without you, love..r”

Mookie81 · 15/04/2022 23:02

My fave episode and cameo by far is thanksgiving with Brad Pitt.
'Am I?! Am I?! I think you are!'

AnneShirleysNewDress · 15/04/2022 23:06

Bamboozle!

PollyPutTheKettleOnKettleOn · 15/04/2022 23:10

It's definitely dated but people watching it now often miss the point with some of those dated jokes.

At the time, they were knowing jokes - Friends made a point of poking fun at real issues. Like ross' homophobia about the male nanny and chandler's insecurity about his masculinity - the jokes were created to almost satirise those attitudes that were very much of the time. That's why they worked (albeit the male nanny one was when they were reaching for storyline towards the end).

The humour in Friends was used to encourage acceptance and reduce discomfort about something, that's part of the reason why the series was so successful at the time. By making genuine issues palatable to a wide audience, it stopped it from becoming preachy.

One of the big differences between now and then is that we don't accept issues being made 'palatable' in order for them to be normalised. But Friends was a step in the process of changing attitudes.

Loved Phoebe in the early series, she lost her sweetness and got bitchy towards the end. At the time I rooted for Paul Rudd but now I wish she'd stuck with David The Scientist Guy. Apparently that was the original plan and Paul Rudd was only supposed to be in for a couple of episodes or so but he was such a hit the writers changed the long standing plan of who Phoebe ended up with.

They all kind of became characiatures of themselves...Joey stayed lovely throughout. Monica got shrill, Chandler got too wet and lost his sharpness. Janice was amazing.

Sux2buthen · 15/04/2022 23:12

@womaniswomaniswoman

I think Mike was very meh about Phoebe's friends!

And yes, in some episodes Joey was written as if he was severely delayed; like the stupid one where he tries to learn French. Hated when they dumbed him down to that extent. In the first season he's nice but a bit naive/uneducated, not written as if he barely functions.

Mike and Ross bonding with beer and pizza was amazing
Snoozer11 · 15/04/2022 23:14

I hate how they were all dumbed down. Especially Phoebe and Joey.

In the early years they could have been real people in their mid-late 20s, especially with how they interacted with each other.

A few years later, Joey wears about a dozen layers to Central Perk to soften the blow of a woman who keeps punching him.

TeamSpike · 15/04/2022 23:22

I want to see if I can remember this.

Mom, dad, Ross smoked pot in college.
You are such a tattle tale!
And the postman you got fired. He didn't steal your playboys, Ross did.
Hurricane Gloria didn't break the porch swing, Monica did!
Ross hasn't worked at the museum for a year!
Monica and Chandler are living together!
Ross got married in Vegas and got divorced AGAIN!
I LOVE JAQUES COUSTEAU!
I wasn't supposed to beef in the trifle
I WANNA GOOOO!

That's alot of information to get in 30 seconds

PollyPutTheKettleOnKettleOn · 15/04/2022 23:26

No, you weren't supposed to put beef in the trifle. It did not taste good.

TeamSpike · 15/04/2022 23:31

OK. Joey if you wanna leave just leave. Rachel, no you weren't supposed to put beef in the trifle. It did not taste good. Phoebe, I'm sorry but I think Jaques Cousteau is dead.
Monica, why you feel you had to hide an important relationship is beyond me.

And we kinda figured about the porch swing.

Ross, drugs. Divorced.... Again!

What happened son?

I was tricked into all those things!

I'm gonna stop now. I may have seen it too many times 😂

runsmidgeOMG · 15/04/2022 23:34

She apologised and apologised, what more do you want ?

We want the last 6 years back !!

So do we, SO DO WE!!!

I'm sorry you had to see that....

My fave scene ever Grin

PollyPutTheKettleOnKettleOn · 15/04/2022 23:36

Yeah you crossed the line.

The line is a dot to you!

isitnormaltoforget · 15/04/2022 23:39

Ahhh love

LOVE love

L is for life, and what is life without love
O is for … oh wow
Very is for this veeeery surprising turn of events. Which I am still fine with .
EEEE is for how extremely normal I find it,.. that you two are together … and that one day you might get married . And have children of your own .

Dude are you OK?

Totally 😢

Ross you don’t seem OK .

I’m sorry, it must be the pressure of entertaining !!