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Original poster

To want a Friends inconsistency thread

211 replies

NameChangedNoImagination · 15/05/2019 12:19

I have watched this WAYYY too much. But there must be others like me out there.

To start...

  • Ben disappears.
  • Rachel's dad smokes but with her smoking episodes she says she doesn't because her dad's a doctor and told her horror stories about it.
OP posts:
GabsAlot · 16/05/2019 10:16

Yes rachel is a raging hypocrite-people hate me when i point this out as she was the most popular but not by me she always thought she was a bit better than the rest

FierceS221 · 16/05/2019 10:26

@Buffy81 I watched this episode last night and that was the 1st time I noticed!! Grin it drove me crazy!!!

x2boys · 16/05/2019 10:31

Regarding them watching die hard and than Bruce Willis appearing as Elizabeth's Dad, didn't Ross have Winona Ryder as a celebrity he could sleep with on his laminated list, and then she later appeared as Rachel's friend from college?

Buffy81 · 16/05/2019 10:32

FierceS221 which one? i mentioned two different ones

GabsAlot · 16/05/2019 10:51

Yes x2 he did-I think its not inconsistency as theyre playing a character theyre not turning up as themselves

Autumn101 · 16/05/2019 10:58

One I noticed was when Monica and Chandler go to the doctors about ‘trying for a baby for over a year’ - they only started trying when Emma was born and the episode for her 1st birthday was after that!!

FierceS221 · 16/05/2019 11:59

Buffy81 the one when Monica is unwrapping the wedding presents Grin

I tried to justify it (to myself) by thinking maybe she had put the wrapping paper back over the box, but it kept switching from wrapped to unwrapped lol it was driving me insane!

FierceS221 · 16/05/2019 12:04

Not so much of an inconsistancy, but something that always annoys me...

The episode when the adoption lady (laura) comes to inspect Monica and Chandlers appartment and they make a big deal about hiding the fact they know Joey (because he slept with her and never called her Hmm )

But that what happened in her personal life and has NOTHING to do with Monica and Chandlers adoption! Angry

GoodbyeRosie · 16/05/2019 12:19

I think the biggest one is the Rachel not knowing Chandler when they are first introduced, when subsequent episodes show they have even snogged at a party.

Even though it was filmed in the 90's , we are watching it now in our household and squirming at the homophobia displayed by Ross, Chandler and Joey..like there is nothing worse than a gay man, or being accused of being one. It's constant from the first series to the last, jokes, insults, revulsion..the lot. Entire plot lines are based round it ..Joey needing to kiss a man for an acting job, the napping together, the 'quality' that Chandler has. I could go on..

I also think it ridicules mental health issues, fat shaming and making fun of Monica's eating disorders and OCD.

It's a product of its time, but it wasn't made in the 50's , 60's or 70's..this is quite a modern programme in lot's of other areas.

sarahqueenofp · 16/05/2019 12:40

They were always incredibly tanned in the first episode of a new series as well

Messyisthenewtidy · 16/05/2019 13:14

I also think it ridicules mental health issues, fat shaming and making fun of Monica's eating disorders and OCD.

Yep, of course Joey ate like a horse too but was never shamed for it. He was in fact proud of it.

To whoever said that Paolo was Spanish Shock Do you not remember The one where Nana dies twice and Paolo calls her from Rome? And all the Ciao Bellas? And the shoes from Italy? Grin

Vilanelle · 16/05/2019 13:25

The episode when the adoption lady

THIS. As if a social worker on official business would divulge such personal information!!! Not an inconsistency, just stupid.

Joey's dumbness becomes very unrealistic.

Ben not attending Ross and Emily's wedding.

Also, monica isn't the only character they replace with a random person. Rachel is also replaced at one point - damn can't remember episode.

TinyMarie · 16/05/2019 13:26

The one where they get locked out during Thanksgiving and the dinner gets burnt but they constantly walk in and out of the apartment without a key.

x2boys · 16/05/2019 13:52

And on that note TinyMarie they all leave their keys on the table at the end of the final episode as they had all lived in Monica and Chandler ,s apartment at some point,yet Joey and Phoebe had to break the door (can't remember why) on the episode where Monica and Chandler were on their honeymoon so they presumably changed the locks?

SalemSpellman · 16/05/2019 13:55

I recently watched the one where phoebe and Rachel kiss after Rachel reveals she kissed her old college friend. To me it didn't look like that Phoebe and Rachel shared the whole scene, had anyone noticed that it seems a bit odd?

FaithInfinity · 16/05/2019 14:01

x2boys don’t they get all the keys back from them to stop them going in when they’re on honeymoon?

SpeedyBojangles · 16/05/2019 14:03

Not really an inconsistency but the thing that bothers me the most is Ross being far more concerned about his ex moving to Paris than his baby daughter.

Just seemed a bit out of character as he was always quite devoted to Ben (until he vanished)

QuimReaper · 16/05/2019 14:11

The one where Monica spends the whole episode scared to stand up to her work colleagues because she's 'not good at confrontation' so has to pretend to sack Joey, yet she has absolutely no problem whipping Janine with a rubbish bag a few seasons later.
You could argue that she got older and braver but it just seems like an unrealistic shift.

That's a deliberate character arc isn't it? She starts out too afraid to manage her staff but when we see her a while later she's found her backbone and they have a "yelling jar" for her, etc. Given how bossy and perfectionist her character is outside of the workplace I don't find it an inconsistency.

Fairypiggy · 16/05/2019 14:19

I think the stand ins were not seen when it was originally shown. Friends on Netflix is shown in widescreen but wasn’t shown in widescreen in the 90s.

Buffy81 · 16/05/2019 14:25

Another thing that bugged me was when Rachel had her baby shower. At the end Monica has a go at Rachels mum for not thanking her. When she goes to say sorry chasing her down the stairs, where she falls, you can see the crash mat

GoodbyeRosie · 16/05/2019 14:52

Watching it in order from start to finish, it's quite striking how David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston are streets ahead of the other actors.

I don't think it's just the way the characters are written, they just work so well with every other cast member.

I'm starting to think Courtney Cox is a bit shit, bless her.

FaithInfinity · 16/05/2019 16:17

Another character variation is Rachel - she’s both incredibly spoilt, demanding her own way but also a pushover!

GoodPlaceJanet · 16/05/2019 16:36

GoodbyeRosie totally agree.

No matter their character's flaws, they are both great actors.

QueenofmyPrinces · 16/05/2019 16:45

I’ve got a TV channel that is 24/7 Friends and obviously I watch it ALL the time. After reading this thread though I’m going to find myself obsessing over and searching for inconsistencies.

Currently watching the episode where Chandler’s colleague wants to set him up on a date and says “He will be perfect for you.....” so it leads to an episode about Chandler having the “quality”.

DannyWallace · 16/05/2019 16:54

It's not really an inconsistency but it's something else that annoys me.

The whole "we were on a break thing". In the later seasons Rachel actually says they weren't on a break.

HOWEVER...it was her that said "we need to take a break....a break from us" and then the next morning she tells Monica that they broke up.

So, as much as I'm not a fan of Ross, he was totally single at the time!