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AIBU?

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Original poster

to think with hindsight they were all bastards except chandler

126 replies

finnbarrcar · 25/04/2015 16:24

Stuck in with a broken shoulder bloody friends on a loop on comedy central I can't help but notice their myriad character flaws that passed me by in the show's heyday.
Ross...whiney, needy, jealous,pompous, controlling asshat.
Monica...shrill, controlling, ocd over competitive harpy.
Phoebe...selfish, weird, domineering hippy.
Rachel....entitled, manipulative, materialistic, self absorbed princess.
Joey....thick, sexist, self deluded meathead who leeched off chandler for ten years
And to make matters worse poor chandler was always the one left out and considered the least attractive Grin boy I need to get back to work soon!!Confused

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KingJoffreyFanciesDarylDixon · 25/04/2015 17:53

I did hear a rumour that Phoebe only ended up with Mike because Hank What'shisname wasn't available for the last series.

Don't know how true that is but it does make sense.

itsnotmeitsyou1 · 25/04/2015 17:54

Brusselssprout, Matthew Perry lost the top of his finger in an accident, it's only the one that's short though. I think Uma Therman also is missing a finger tip fun facts Wink

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finnbarrcar · 25/04/2015 17:56

Lol I know but it's a laffGrin

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Doggygirl · 25/04/2015 17:57

King - that would make sense. The guy Phoebe married was a bore and the relationship was unconvincing.

The Hank guy was so funny and genuinely in love with the gruesome woman "Pheebs" became in the last series.

watchingthedetectives · 25/04/2015 17:58

Ross and Phoebe both annoying and awful. Others marginally less so - agree Chandler was the best

Yarp · 25/04/2015 17:59

have just watched all 10 series back to back with my son.

What struck me most is how often porn is mentioned. Every other episode, at least

Yarp · 25/04/2015 18:00

And I agree about Phoebe and David. They were a love match.

Reignbeau · 25/04/2015 18:01

Oh god yes Phoebe became a massive pain in the are. I liked her in the first series but hated her by the end.

NightsOfGethsemane · 25/04/2015 18:05

Yes Yarp porn is mentioned an awful lot in an 'all men watch porn - it's totally normal' sort of way. I was a teenager in the 1990s and I do think that Friends was one of the cultural reference points that led to my belief that porn was something all men were inevitably into.

I no longer think that BTW.

spookyskeleton · 25/04/2015 18:09

singlepringle I read that the producers originally planned for Chandler to be gay but because of the chemistry between him and Monica in the early series, they decided to put them together instead Smile

KingJoffreyFanciesDarylDixon · 25/04/2015 18:12

Regarding the porn thing (which to be honest went over my head) I also read that the were going to introduce Friends in China (I assume dubbed, not remade) but they turned down the idea because there was too much stuff about sex.

This was back in the day, though. When it was first aired.

Also need to bear in mind that it was originally shown after 9pm, whereas now it's on during the day.

Thurlow · 25/04/2015 18:23

Isn't there that episode where they are trying to make Chandler cry by showing him sad movies, but then him and Joey are watching porn instead for some reason, and someone asks if its another film that will have him reaching for the tissues?

I'm fairly sure that's been cut out of the day time showings!

Yarp · 25/04/2015 18:24

Nights

I agree

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finnbarrcar · 25/04/2015 18:25

The porn references are minging

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KingJoffreyFanciesDarylDixon · 25/04/2015 18:59

Yes, it was when they had Phoebe's estranged twin sister's porn DVD.

Or video. Possibly. Was a while ago now.

VoteForAlanBstard · 25/04/2015 19:10

I think it says a lot that the only truly 'normal' relationship in the series is the one between Carol and Susan. Susan is awesome, she doesnt take any of Ross's shit.

Chandler and Janice should have ended up together. They were made for each other.

TheRealAmandaClarke · 25/04/2015 19:26

Susan was awful!

MrsPeterQuill · 25/04/2015 19:27

I must be the only one who liked Monica and Chandler together. I thought they were much more believable as a couple than Ross and Rachel (I thought Rachel was a cow there as well, when Ross was with Julie but I only started to like Ross towards the end.)

Having said that, I really, really wanted Rachel to get with Joey. I love Paul Rudd but Phoebe should have married Hank Azaria too. Ross should've ended up with Marcel Wink.

(I am far, far too over-invested in these characters.)

BlueThursday · 25/04/2015 19:36

See I always thought the Chandler porn thing was to fit in with joey

In the episode where they flashback to joey moving in chandler hadn't seen Baywatch; Joey introduced him to it.

Without it what else really would they have in common?

Charlotte3333 · 25/04/2015 19:37

I loved Friends, loved it beyond all measure.

When we got our idiot rescue spaniel, I couldn't work out what to call her. Two days in, I realised she was an absolute turd of an animal and decided to name her Phoebe. Suited her down to the ground. She was always my least favourite of the females, Ross was the least favourite male.

VoteForAlanBstard · 25/04/2015 19:46

What exactly was awful about Susan amandaclarke? She knew how to push Ross's buttons and he was pretty awful to her and Carol because they were lesbians. She didn't take any shit from him or his homophobic views. I thought she was fab.

BlueThursday · 25/04/2015 19:51

Another thing about Pheobe: pretending to be Susan in order to gain access to Sting's family

ScathingContempt · 25/04/2015 19:53

I didn't like some of the Chandler gay jokes, I think that often went too far.

I think I've done a 180 on my favourite characters. As a teen inthe 90s I liked Ross, Phoebe and Joey. Now I prefer Monica, Rachel and Chandler.

OP I mostly agree with your assessment of the characters but not Monica. I think she was self aware too, her ocd tendencies were referred to a lot but her character didn't really behave in ways that were unpleasant to other characters, not that I can remember.

I do think it's nowhere near as funny now. Not due to time but due to my perspective on life. Things that were funny as a inexperienced teen are now irritating, clichéd or cringeworthy. Not all of the show, but a lot of it.

CremeEggThief · 25/04/2015 19:58

I always liked Monica, Phoebe and Joey. Rachel and her shallowness annoyed me!

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finnbarrcar · 25/04/2015 20:01

I think I have been a bit harsh on Monica

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