F.R.I.E.N.D.S - If you had to lose one character, who would it be?

[froggy1811]

Just for fun!

So, I'm re-watching Friends all over again and I'm loving it! I definitely appreciate it way more than I ever did during its original run; however, another thread that was posted here got me thinking - if you HAD to lose one character from Friends, who would it be, and why?

Phoebe but I did love Crap Bag.

But Ross is a horrible horrible man. Bully

@MissHavershamReturns

Interesting No one wants to ditch Rachel - I don’t either as she was a great character, but she was quite selfish, loved herself etc etc

I think in terms of who you could ‘lift out’ without really changing the show Rachel is tricky. She’s key to lots of the storylines - her arrival kicks off the whole thing, her relationship with Ross is a driving force throughout etc.

@Thefartingsofaofdenmarkstreet

Yes, Phoebe here too. She did have some very funny lines, but I think the whole 'ditzy' thing was overegged at times and got a bit annoying.

Why do people think she was an awful person though, can people give examples?

Ross was a dick but also had some of the best episodes in the entire show so you couldn't drop him!

Off the top of my head "Tell them who you REALLY wanted to hook up with". To Monica while Chandler was there

The thanksgiving toe story - that's not the real story, when she knew it was uncomfortable

Singing outside Monica's restaurant

Whinging about Singing at chandler and Monica's wedding

Mugging Ross

I think the general consensus here is Phoebe! This is my opinion also; but not because I don't like her - I really do! It's just that hers is the only character whose absence would have had no real consequence on the show!

Monica: Integral! It was her house and Rachel and Phoebe were her friends! Ross was her brother!

Ross: Integral to sooo many storylines! i.e Rachel/Ross 'will they, won't they'? 'We were on a break' etc. And without him, no lovely Chandler.This alone deems him necessary!

Rachel: See above!

Chandler: Pure comedy gold! And super adorable!

Joey: Part of the whole 'bromance' focused storylines as Chandler's flatmate!

Phoebe: A fleeting character who wasn't really integral. Although, I still split my sides whenever I see her do the mating dance when she's trying to get Chandler to 'fess up' about his and Monica's relationship! 😂

Pheobe tried her hardest to intercept Rachel telling Ross she loved him at him and Emily's wedding. I think she was a great character. She was supposed to be a bit damaged and have some kind of attachment disorder. And the episode where she can't switch off her fire alarm is really funny.

I get Phoebe would be easiest to extract without spoiling other storylines involving different characters but still I’d lose Joey. Granted he’s good for Chandler but as an individual character he’s the least interesting. He was ok in the first few seasons but grew increasingly dumb and most jokes are about how stupid he is and I just didn’t find funny.

I agree with what you're saying about Joey to a certain extent - but the whole 'flat share' bromance really was a massive part of the fun! If Chandler had shared with Ross, I really can't imagine it having been as funny!

One thing I have found interesting about Joey since re-watching, is his portrayal as a 'womaniser'. I mean, I think he's generally more promiscuous than womanising! When you consider the women he liked, (i.e Rachel, Elle MacPherson's character, Ursula and the one Chandler stole from him etc.) He was the one who fell hard and had his heart broken!

Admits-to-taking-friends-far-too-seriously! 😰

That was meant to be a laughing emoji! Please excuse previous reply with sad face! 😂

Also, the writers kind of made her the 'outsider' by having her live in a different building! She just did her own thing really; where as the others were more like an actual family.

Yeah. I do like Phoebe though! Ideally I wouldn’t want to lift anyone out 😂 just if I absolutely had to it would have to be Phoebe.

It was a shame what the did with Joey’s character. If you watch the (massively superior) first few series he’s like a different person to the later ones.

I agree on both accounts @kanaloa!

There seems to be this whole period of time in some parts of the mid/later seasons, where we're supposed to just forget that Ross and Rachel were a 'thing'. I really didn't like it much when they got into relationships with other people and their 'thing' was totally forgotten iyswim! There's no way Ross would have let that go, even for a second!

They did suffer with a bit of distraction/lack of consistency sometimes. With regards to characters (who changed as the series went on, often becoming caricatures of themselves) and things like the Ross and Rachel storyline being pushed aside in the middle. I was never a big fan of Rachel’s boyfriends either. I thought Monica got all the best/funniest ones.

Phoebe

That's so true about Monica. Pete the chef for example! He was so lovely! Then there was Richard, and the 'fun bobby's' in-between.

I absolutely loved the 'hero worship' storyline with Chandler, Joey and Richard. The episode where they were trying out beards! 🤣

Also, with regards to characters taking a complete U-turn - I found Rachel much more endearing before she became this huge success - and not because I prefer the underdog - but because Rachel went a bit 'Carry Bradshaw' around about this time!

Chandler

The thing about Phoebe is that she’s the offbeat one that they ‘use’ for storylines.

As in, she doesn’t have a social filter, so says the inappropriate thing that enables the story line. They use this mechanism a lot, I’ve realised recently.

An obvious example would be, ‘tell them who you really wanted to hook up with’, but there’s loads of other examples, such as when she spots the stripper from Monica’s ‘secret’ bachelorette party in Central Perk. These are just a couple of examples, but if you look out for it, you realise her lack of filter is integral in enabling many, many story lines.

Her mating dance with Chandler and ‘my eyes’ is brilliance.

@SirYawnsAlot

Monica, since watching it again, I notice the actress smirks after delivering her lines. As a character she was annoying and fat Monica was rubbish. Others would be Emily and Rachel's sister.

I agree about Monica. Also Victoria Wood does that in Dinner Ladies, when anyone delivers a funny line you can see her smiling with a yes I wrote that. I love the programme but that always irritated me.

That is an excellent point @LoveGrooveDanceParty I hadn't really thought of it this way, but I'm going to be keeping my eyes peeled for this!

Could watch the mating dance and that entire scene all day every day! 👌

Phoebe... She was a great in early series. I real flower child. When she got pregnant with the twins, she became really cranky and bitchy. The writers seemed to like this Phoebe and she never reverted. All of them became caricatures of their worst aspect over time. Compare early to late Monica. Unrecognisable.

@froggy1811

I agree with what you're saying about Joey to a certain extent - but the whole 'flat share' bromance really was a massive part of the fun! If Chandler had shared with Ross, I really can't imagine it having been as funny!

One thing I have found interesting about Joey since re-watching, is his portrayal as a 'womaniser'. I mean, I think he's generally more promiscuous than womanising! When you consider the women he liked, (i.e Rachel, Elle MacPherson's character, Ursula and the one Chandler stole from him etc.) He was the one who fell hard and had his heart broken!

Admits-to-taking-friends-far-too-seriously! 😰

I agree about the bromance aspect but after Chandler moves out the character Joey becomes a lot less relevant. So in the latter series I’d definitely still remove him.

It was a shame what the did with Joey’s character. If you watch the (massively superior) first few series he’s like a different person to the later ones

Yes I agree. He was always the less intelligent one but it was on a level you could relate to. Like the episode where he can only afford the letter V encyclopaedia and tries to impress the others on his knowledge of the Vietnam war but the conversation moves onto the Korean War and he’s stuck. Then in the latter series he’s so dumb you’d think he’d need a carer to dress him.

@dreamygirl25

To be with? Chandler I think. :)

FFS I was the first one to comment on this and only now realised I misread the question. Doh. I would NOT lose chandler!!! I love him, he's the best one! Maybe lose Ross because he is quite controlling.

I misread the op. I am sleep deprived. I would not lose chandler he def is the best one. I have no idea what I thought it said. Maybe'if you had to love /make love to one character?'

@dreamygirl25

I misread the op. I am sleep deprived. I would not lose chandler he def is the best one. I have no idea what I thought it said. Maybe'if you had to love /make love to one character?'

😂 still a very relevant answer to be honest. Who wouldn’t love Chandler over the rest?