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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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

OP posts:
Mumoftwoyoungkids · 26/04/2015 11:31

Why can't I find it on Netfix???

TedAndLola · 26/04/2015 12:02

I like them all except Phoebe who seemed to have no empathy by the mid-seasons.

If you watch seasons 1 and 2 it's amazing how much more well-rounded they all were - all of them became caricatures of themselves in the later seasons.

My favourite episodes are all Ross ones.

ScathingContempt · 26/04/2015 12:06

It appears to be on the US Netflix, you'll need a proxy.

dustarr73 · 26/04/2015 12:07

Ross is my favourite character.I think Rachel was as bad as Ross thats why they got together.She went to meet to wedding to tell him she loved him.Who would do that.Thats just mean.

I think also With what happened with Carol shaped him an awful lot.He became much more untrusting.

And Phoebe is my least favourite for someone who is veggie and and supposed to be a hippy she just comes across as very mean.

Headdesk · 26/04/2015 12:54

I think by the end of it they all became ridiculous parodies of their original characters. i liked them in the beginning but their characters were just stupid by the end.
That being said, it's constantly on in my house haha. I hated Ross, and Monica. Chandler was my favourite and I still have a crush on Matthew Perry now. I thought when phoebe tried to fit in with Mikes parents was quite sweet. My favourite episode is the one where Monica and chandler get engaged, because chandler is adorable in that one.

JacquesHammer · 26/04/2015 13:22

Actually I totally get why Ross freaked out over his relationship with Rachel after what had happened with Carol and Susan.

I loved Monica and Chandler together - the way they got together was so believable (says the poster who's sleeping with her best friend post marraige break up)

Phoebe was lovely in the earlier series.

Rachel was awesome - spoiled princess to business women working her way up.

LIZS · 26/04/2015 16:18

Think they all had peaks and troughs in their characters over the years. The problem was that the peripheral characters didn't ever get integrated into the clique unlike those in TBBT. Wasn't part of the attraction the character flaws? I don't think it has dated as much as Seinfeld.

drigon · 26/04/2015 16:40

Loved all the characters and the series is still very funny. I too liked David better than Mike-really enjoy Hank Azaria's stuff in the Simpsons and David seemed a more interesting character. Some of the Ross EPs are very good indeed . I like the Fake Accent University one-"Allo Raychell!" etc. I also love the Shark Porn one! The bit that always makes me cry is when Chandler says something like Monica is a mother waiting for a baby etc. Superb writing throughout.

Amummyatlast · 26/04/2015 16:44

I though that Chandler and Monika were perfect together, as were Mike and Phoebe. I didn't get Ross and Rachel and thought she should have ended up with Joey instead. (DH likes to say that, if compared to friends, we would be Chandler and Monika. I allow him that because we were best friends to start, and he contends that Monika is hot (don't see it myself)).

TedAndLola · 26/04/2015 16:45

The bit that always makes me cry is when Chandler says something like Monica is a mother waiting for a baby etc. Superb writing throughout.

Oh yes, fantastic line. His engagement speech makes me cry as well.

Jackieharris · 26/04/2015 16:58

This thread reminds me of this thread

SomewhereIBelong · 26/04/2015 17:22

The tanning booth one was one of the highest comedy moments ever! I went purple and really unattractive guffawing and crying and scrunching up my face to try to stop etc etc... was sooooo funny!

drigon · 26/04/2015 18:10

I really wanted to share a YouTube link of Matthew Perry's outstanding speech to Erica about them adopting the baby. Miss Brainbox here can't figure it out, though! Worth a Google if you want a little weep...

Koalafications · 26/04/2015 18:26

I haven't watched Friends for years.

Ross was always my favourite, maybe if I watched it again I would see he is EA but I didn't see that as a teen when I watched it.

Always liked Rachel, too

TedAndLola · 26/04/2015 18:28

I don't think Ross was emotionally abusive. I think the Season 10 Rachel could hold her own against him much better than Season 2 Rachel, and hopefully he would have learned from Emily about the need to trust your partner, so I'm sure they ended up happily ever after Grin

Lweji · 26/04/2015 18:32

I think the Season 10 Rachel could hold her own against him much better than Season 2 Rachel

Why would she need to hold her own against a good partner?

Koalafications · 26/04/2015 18:37

Does anyone have any examples of Ross' EA behaviour?

It's been so long since I watched it I can't remember anything.

TedAndLola · 26/04/2015 18:43

Why would she need to hold her own against a good partner?

He wasn't a good partner when it came to Mark, although I also don't think he was emotionally abusive. I don't think Season 10 Rachel would put up with jealousy in the way she did in 2 - if Ross hadn't learned his lesson from Emily.

Thurlow · 26/04/2015 18:43

If we're going down the serious character interpretation route, I think that having had his wife cheat on him Ross was entitled to be a little OTT sometimes. I mean, she cheated on him, got pregnant, left him for another woman and they raised his child. It's not the happiest of scenarios.

minkGrundy · 27/04/2015 21:29

Ross was stalkerish, controlling and jealous. Also dulky and manipulative and a bit of a blamer. He didn't do the belittling or financial controlling but there were plenty of red flags.

Original poster
finnbarrcar · 27/04/2015 21:31

Ross was a miserable tightwad as well. There were numerous nods to his parsimony

OP posts:
DoJo · 27/04/2015 22:42

The article linked to above by NightsOfGethsemane, whilst bordering on the worryingly over-analytical, does portray Ross as quite a worrying character and there's not much to argue about in the evidence she cites.

CrapBag · 27/04/2015 22:58

You called OP. Grin

This makes me want to dig my dvds out.

I loved Chandler and I liked him and Monica together. Joey was annoying, he was such a leech and Chandler basically paid for him unless he was actually earning on Days of Our Lives. I feel sorry for Ross. Like others said Susan was a cow to him. He was insecure with the Rachel/Mark thing because of what happened to his marriage. Phoebe can be of but can also be annoying. It varies. I love Monica, mainly because I am quite similar. Blush.

My favourites are the flash back episodes. I love the one where Ross and Chandler were at college and Rachel and Monica wend to visit them.

So many good ones. The shark porn was utterly shit.

I liked all the cameos too. The Brad Pitt one where he hated Rachel was so funny.

CrapBag · 27/04/2015 22:59

Oh and I loved Mike! He was hilarious. When Phoebe asked him to play the piano and he didn't have one here so he mimed it. Grin

LegsOfSteel · 27/04/2015 23:15

I thought Ross and Rachel were the best characters. The others were one-dimensional.
Found it odd how Ross seemed to get promoted (he was a Dr then I'm sure they refer to him as professor at one point) when he appeared to do no work.