Best of Friends: Your Favorite Moments

[cherrypj]

8 hours ago, RainbowBrite said:

The One with Phoebe's Birthday Dinner 

And Joey saying, "That's a great story. Can I eat it?!"

[RainbowBrite]

14 hours ago, cherrypj said:

And Joey saying, "That's a great story. Can I eat it?!"

And Ross's dramatic story about Emma and the eagle when they're locked out of the apartment: "Baby and bird still ablaze are locked in a death grip, swirling around in the whirlpool that fills the apartment"

[Maharincess]

I just watched the  episodes with Chandler and Monica's engagement. The first part was a season finale and the second part was the next season's premier.  The difference in Matthew Perry's appearance in those two episodes is astounding.  He looks like a sickly skeleton in the first part and nice and healthy in the second part.  It was pretty obvious how went to rehab between seasons. 

I put this here because it is one of my favorite episodes. 

[mojoween]

I am so impressed how they worked with and around Matthew's illness.  Not only his appearance was awful at times, but you could even hear it in his voice.  He was still funny, but you could tell, especially in retrospect, that something wasn't right.  It's so great that it ended in a positive way and not a tragic one.

[mojoween]

While Joey not understanding the concept of a freaking auction was beyond stupid, I love that he kept the name of the boat as "The Mr. Beaumont."

[Prairie]

"But it hurts my Joey's Apple."

[kiddo82]

I've been rewatching lately and I've been keeping a running list of some sneaky good episodes, ones that probably won't make anyone's top twenty list but are still really funny.  I've always considered the One Where Rachel's Late one of the best non-consensus great episodes of the series.  Cranky, irritable Rachel cracks me up every time.  Aniston was in classic form.  I also have The One With the Giant Poking Device (Monica freaking out over 'Monica bang', Chandler's 'You can't leave! I have your shoe!" and singing endless love while clutching said shoe, plus, the titular poking device), The One Where Monica and Richard are Just Friends, ("Beth dies.", Monica's plans at Richard's apartment going astray), and The One Where Eddie Won't Go even if only for the girls reading the self help book.  

[kiddo82]

The One with Ross' Wedding,  Rachel congratulating Ross on his impending wedding still gets me in the feels and is probably one of my top ten moments.  They were both ready to move on and it really is a bitter sweet moment.   (maybe him more than her but at least she was accepting of that).  I've said this before but that would have been the perfect way to close the book and Ross and Rachel as the OTP.  And fundamentally, it would not have changed anything in regards to what followed.  Ross still could have said Rachel's name (he had just seen her and he had been in love with the idea of her for 15 years), still could have gotten married in Vegas (drunk), and still could have conceived Emma (drunk and horny.  "Did I ever tell you about the time I went backpacking through Europe?" is another all time great moment).  You don't have to be in love with your partner in order for any of those things to occur.  The only difference is no more will they/wont they and no more last minute "I got off the plane" and ultimately ending up together.  

And on the other end of the spectrum, I think my favorite line from that same ep is from the airline worker when Rachel says "If I don't get to London he's going to marry that other girl!" to which she deadpans "Can't imagine why."  I still use that when appropriate.  English accent and all.

[Maharincess]

@kiddo82, what does OTP mean? 

Damn, I really miss whole words. It seems like I'm always asking what stuff means. 

[kiddo82]

Sorry.  It's the "one true pair."

[kiddo82]

Season 8.  The One Where Rachel Tells...  Rachel is at the OBGYN and she starts crying because she can't see the baby on the sonogram is golden.  It's literally one of my favorite moments of television ever.  She's funny and touching and sweet and vulnerable all rolled into one.  I'm sure Aniston probably submitted The One Where Rachel Has a Baby to the Emmy voters but that moment right there, for me, was as sublime as anything she did all series.  (And I'm a fan so that's saying something.)  And as a 1-2 punch, that episode is followed by the One with the Videotape which, in my opinion, is one of the best written episodes of the series.  The way the answer to the "who came onto whom" question reveals itself at the end is awesome and bonus points for the callback to Joey's fake name which was revealed in the B story.  Those two episodes are ones I can watch over and over again and I genuinely get excited when they are on.

Edited November 7, 2017 by kiddo82

[Crs97]

The sonagram is a great one. I love when she lies that she can see the baby and Ross realizes and calls her on it.  I also love when she tries to show someone else and loses the baby again.  I think we have all experienced having someone try to get us to see something we can't quite make out, and having it be the baby on a sonagram made for funny but very heartfelt and vulnerable.  Well done by all of them.

[kiddo82]

And the line "I didn't want her to think I was terrible mother!" is great.  You laugh because it's absurd but at the same time you totally relate to Rachel's desperation.  

[Bort]

Another episode I love is TOW Rachel Is Late. Rachel is SO irritable and bitching at everybody for the entire episode, especially Ross, and Jennifer Aniston is just hilarious in it.

[Jax7917]

I have to say , Back in the day I never found Rachel funny , but watching all the episodes now , I think she was one of the funniest characters . Jen Aniston was a good Rachel. 

[Jsage]

I love the one where Chandler goes to Joey's tailor. Ross's delivery of "IN PRISON!" is spot on.

[mojoween]

On 11/8/2017 at 1:04 AM, kariyaki said:

Another episode I love is TOW Rachel Is Late. Rachel is SO irritable and bitching at everybody for the entire episode, especially Ross, and Jennifer Aniston is just hilarious in it.

I love when Ross wants to be a sea horse and says something like “because I would be far away...in the sea.”

[hellmuch]

One line that always has me laughing out loud is in TOW all the rugby when Ross says "I made a man twice my size cry. I haven't done that since I was four and washed my dad's porsche with rocks!" Simply love David Schwimmer's delivery!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

In honor of Thanksgiving, one of my favorite Friends moments! Sorry it’s in three parts. I couldn’t find a video with the whole thing in one shot  

 

 

[OtterMommy]

@ElectricBoogaloo that is my #1 favorite Friends episode, hands down!

I actually started a new (pre)Thanksgiving tradition for myself.  On Wednesday, while I'm doing all the prep, I watch all the Friends Thanksgiving episodes.  I had actually forgotten a few of them (and is there one in the 2nd season?  I couldn't find it based on the episode descriptions in Netflix) and found that it really got me in the mood for the holiday.  I've already informed warned my husband that this will be a yearly thing from now on....

[Bort]

47 minutes ago, OtterMommy said:

I watch all the Friends Thanksgiving episodes.  I had actually forgotten a few of them (and is there one in the 2nd season?  I couldn't find it based on the episode descriptions in Netflix)

I do that too. The 2nd season thanksgiving episode is TOW The List. It’s only tangentially related to Thanksgiving. The B-plot has Monica being hired to make holiday-themed recipes with Mocklate. The A-plot was Ross making that Julie/Rachel pro/con list. 

[OtterMommy]

12 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

I do that too. The 2nd season thanksgiving episode is TOW The List. It’s only tangentially related to Thanksgiving. The B-plot has Monica being hired to make holiday-themed recipes with Mocklate. The A-plot was Ross making that Julie/Rachel pro/con list. 

Okay...that one wasn't great if I remember correctly...glad I skipped it!

[JessDVD]

I'm watching Friends *cough*forthefirsttime*cough* all the way through and I lamented to Mr. DVD the day before Thanksgiving that I was nearing a season end so wasn't anywhere near a Thanksgiving episode because I felt that would be a very appropriate thing to do for Thanksgiving. He suggested that I watch straight from from where I was to the next Thanksgiving one (this was the end of S5, so it would have been S6's ep), which I thought was quite a good choice, but instead we caught up on our currently running shows.

I've been watching A LOT of eps each day so it was like last week that I was watching TOW all the Thanksgivings and the turkey head so we'll take that then.

I've mentioned to a few IRL friends that I've been watching this, since while I was old enough to be watching it when most of it was airing, it never made it on my TV screen, and I've found it amusing how I can say where I am and most of them automatically say "Oh, that moment with (whatever in or near that ep) is hilarious". Last Sunday, it was the turkey head. She then asked if I'd gotten to the one where they move the couch: "Pivot! Pivot!". (I got to that one a day or two later)

I still have the remaining 4 seasons, which I should finish by the end of December, and then I do anticipate watching all the Thanksgiving episodes at future Thanksgivings.

[Bort]

One of my favorite scenes was Phoebe and Mr. Edelman when she asked him if his wife (whose spirit was trapped in her body) had any unfinished business. 

Mr. Edelman: She also said she wanted to sleep with me one last time.

I laugh my ass off every single time at that scene.

[Danny Franks]

One of my favourite scenes actually spins out of one of my least favourite Friends tropes (namely: Ross being insanely jealous of anyone else 'interfering' with his claim on Rachel). In TOW Where Emma Cries, when he confronts Joey in Central Perk over the accidental proposal, and Joey demands Ross punch him, only to then duck instinctively, so Ross punches the steel column and breaks his hand.

Just... the entire thing. Joey's apologetic reaction, Ross howling in pain, then pausing when he sees Gunther's delighted grin, and then Joey demonstrating that ducking is instinctive... and punching Ross in the face. And Joey misusing air quotes when saying "oops" after opening the door in Ross's face. It has me in stitches every time.

On this rewatch, some of the humour has felt very dated, but I've been pleasantly surprised by just how much of it is still laugh out loud funny.

[LeslieYep]

While it isn't an actual scene, the blooper with Ross playing Celebration on bagpipes and Phoebe trying to sing along gets me every time. 

[helenamonster]

22 hours ago, LeslieYep said:

While it isn't an actual scene, the blooper with Ross playing Celebration on bagpipes and Phoebe trying to sing along gets me every time. 

Agreed. It never gets old. I still cry laughing every single time I watch it. Lisa Kudrow has the most delightful laugh.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

On 11/24/2017 at 11:42 AM, OtterMommy said:

@ElectricBoogaloo that is my #1 favorite Friends episode, hands down!

I actually started a new (pre)Thanksgiving tradition for myself.  On Wednesday, while I'm doing all the prep, I watch all the Friends Thanksgiving episodes.  I had actually forgotten a few of them (and is there one in the 2nd season?  I couldn't find it based on the episode descriptions in Netflix) and found that it really got me in the mood for the holiday.  I've already informed warned my husband that this will be a yearly thing from now on....

What kills me is that logically I know there's no way that Ross' explanation works (unless Monica's cookbook had a really weird recipe for shepherd's pie that is topped with custard, bananas, and whipped cream) but I DON'T CARE because this episode makes me laugh every time.

[Danny Franks]

14 hours ago, helenamonster said:

Agreed. It never gets old. I still cry laughing every single time I watch it. Lisa Kudrow has the most delightful laugh.

And as well as her laugh, I love the way Jennifer Aniston is already giggling at the bagpipes, and doesn't even try holding it together when Lisa joins in. Then all the rest of them crack up too.

The bloopers of some shows end up being quite dry and repetitive, but most of the ones for Friends are pure gold, thanks to the cast relationships and the live audience reacting.

[BBHN]

Quote

but I DON'T CARE because this episode makes me laugh every time.

"It tastes like feet!" is one of my favorite Ross moments.

Quote

What kills me is that logically I know there's no way that Ross' explanation works (unless Monica's cookbook had a really weird recipe for shepherd's pie that is topped with custard, bananas, and whipped cream)

Didn't Rachel get that recipe from a magazine, not Monica's cookbook?

Edited November 30, 2017 by BBHN

[OtterMommy]

1 hour ago, BBHN said:

"It tastes like feet!" is one of my favorite Ross moments.

Didn't Rachel get that recipe from a magazine, not Monica's cookbook?

I'm pretty sure that it did come from a magazine.  Still, I'm with @ElectricBoogaloo in choosing not to wonder how, logistically, Rachel mashed up those two recipes.  Even if it was in a magazine, the "layer" issue in trifle makes in unrealistic that she could think it was all one recipe.  Now, if she had tried to make some other kind of pie, I could see it.  

But, again, I don't care...it's still hilarious.

[JessDVD]

2 hours ago, OtterMommy said:

I'm pretty sure that it did come from a magazine.  Still, I'm with @ElectricBoogaloo in choosing not to wonder how, logistically, Rachel mashed up those two recipes.  Even if it was in a magazine, the "layer" issue in trifle makes in unrealistic that she could think it was all one recipe.  Now, if she had tried to make some other kind of pie, I could see it.  

But, again, I don't care...it's still hilarious.

Hey, I just got to that one today in my Great Friends Watch of 2017. It was a magazine. I never try to insert too much realism into this or any show, but I assume it was intended to show just how bad of a cook Rachel is. "How do you know when the butter's done?" "Well, it's done about two minutes before it looks like that"

Was the use of "Mondler" by Joey in one of the eps before that one (I watched about 4 in a row so I'm not sure which one it was, but it was early-mid season 6), one of the first uses of the portmanteau to describe a couple? I know s6 was 1999-00, but I can't remember if that was a thing then. And I don't recall hearing "Mondler" before that point in the series.

[OtterMommy]

17 minutes ago, JessDVD said:

Was the use of "Mondler" by Joey in one of the eps before that one (I watched about 4 in a row so I'm not sure which one it was, but it was early-mid season 6), one of the first uses of the portmanteau to describe a couple? I know s6 was 1999-00, but I can't remember if that was a thing then. And I don't recall hearing "Mondler" before that point in the series.

I don't think that was a thing back then.  I don't recall any couple names before Brangelina.

ETA: As soon as I pressed submit, "Ken and Em" popped into my mind, which was definitely contemporary to "Mondler".  However, it's not exactly the same thing (it's two names instead of a mash up) and it was considered a "Britishism" at the time, so I'm sticking to my guns that we can thank Brangelina for all these annoying couple names.

[chitowngirl]

There was Benifer-Ben Afflack and Jennifer Lopez.

[Bort]

Soap opera message boards used couple names way before Brangelina, though that was still not very mainstream. 

[helenamonster]

9 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

And as well as her laugh, I love the way Jennifer Aniston is already giggling at the bagpipes, and doesn't even try holding it together when Lisa joins in. Then all the rest of them crack up too.

The bloopers of some shows end up being quite dry and repetitive, but most of the ones for Friends are pure gold, thanks to the cast relationships and the live audience reacting.

And then the take they ended up using for the episode, Jen is very obviously laughing and looking right at the camera and they left it in. Which I don't hate. If they had waited for a perfect take where no one corpsed, they would still be trying to film the scene today.

Agreed about the bloopers. I can't think of another show or movie that's had such solid reels. I think cuz it's not just the usual [stumbles over line, giggles, tries to say line again and giggles cuz they remember messing it up the last time] that most shows have. They played jokes on each other, had really weird slip ups, etc. Like you said, it was the cast relationships and the fact that they had a live studio audience egging them on.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

On 11/28/2017 at 8:21 PM, LeslieYep said:

While it isn't an actual scene, the blooper with Ross playing Celebration on bagpipes and Phoebe trying to sing along gets me every time. 

[mojoween]

For the first time in the nine million times I’ve seen the “Ross tell Chandler that’s how they do pants!” “Yes, IN PRISON” exchange I noticed David’s expression.

Matthew as Chandler is perfect, as always, with his incredulous head tilt.

But David has no expression on his face at all.  He’s listening to Joey speak, and it’s like he’s hearing words, but they have no meaning and he’s puzzling through working it out.  I wish I could express better how someone with a completely blank look on his face cracks me up.

[mojoween]

In TOW Monica and Richard are Just Friends I think it’s so cute how Joey was puzzling over “Little Women” and Chandler and Ross help him out, which would indicate they read it.

Not to be too stereotypical about it, especially because I’ve never read it, but I didn’t think it was a boy-type book.

[Dandesun]

Eh, you never know. My brother read a bunch of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books because we were on a family road trip and he was bored. And I honestly don't know if Little Women was ever required reading in school. I don't think it was for me but I know I read it. I was an avid reader but when I was at an age when I would have been reading that I was into stories about horses so... you know.

[Danny Franks]

On 15/04/2018 at 2:31 PM, mojoween said:

For the first time in the nine million times I’ve seen the “Ross tell Chandler that’s how they do pants!” “Yes, IN PRISON” exchange I noticed David’s expression.

Matthew as Chandler is perfect, as always, with his incredulous head tilt.

But David has no expression on his face at all.  He’s listening to Joey speak, and it’s like he’s hearing words, but they have no meaning and he’s puzzling through working it out.  I wish I could express better how someone with a completely blank look on his face cracks me up.

David Schwimmer was really good at the non-reaction reactions. That blank, 'just let this sink in for a moment' look. I always like that more than the exaggerated reactions that Matt Perry usually provided. You could see Ross thinking.

2 hours ago, mojoween said:

In TOW Monica and Richard are Just Friends I think it’s so cute how Joey was puzzling over “Little Women” and Chandler and Ross help him out, which would indicate they read it.

Not to be too stereotypical about it, especially because I’ve never read it, but I didn’t think it was a boy-type book.

I never really thought about that, but you're right. On consideration, I'd say they probably read it in college, either for a course or as part of some hare-brained scheme to I press girls.

[OtterMommy]

3 hours ago, Dandesun said:

And I honestly don't know if Little Women was ever required reading in school. I don't think it was for me but I know I read it. 

Actually, Little Women was required reading in my school...for girls.  The boys all read Call of the Wild or something like that.  I'm still shocked that this was even remotely okay...but considering the Friends were a few years older than me, it doesn't seem unrealistic (albeit still sexist) that the guys hadn't read it.

[VCRTracking]

This is more the media thread but since it's about one of the funniest moments I decided to put it here:

[Nellise]

Thanks for posting that. I'd always wondered about it when watching the bloopers of that scene. You see David clearly spit it out and then Matt casually puts it on his plate and eats it like it was totally normal.

Edited April 21, 2018 by Nellise

[JessDVD]

I think the most important part of that video clip is how well and beautifully Matt Leblanc has aged. His voice and expressions are still so Joey though.

[Ms Blue Jay]

The One with the Videotape is really funny because my brother pointed out to me the part where Rachel's about to destroy the videotape and the "other four" - Monica, Chandler, Phoebe, and Joey - just start wildly flailing and screaming nonsense so that she stops.

I kind of feel like there was a blooper too?  But I wasn't able to find it online.

[AriAu]

Some network had the episode The One at the Beach and it made me appreciate the perfect casting of Teri Garr as Phoebe's (and Ursulas") mother. She IS, in every possible way, Phoebe's mother-every line is perfectly Phoebe as is every mannerism. She goes from calm ("It is a unique house....3 bedrooms, with no bathroom, but the ocean is close....call me back") to frantic ("or I could make sangria...I"LL MAKE sangria") in the bat of an eye. And the tenderness and regret from telling Phoebe (and Lisa Kudrow's reactions) was the work of 2 fine actresses. The rest of the episode makes me laugh, but I really noticed that this time.

Bottom line is that the writers did a great job, but the casting director did an exceptional job!

Edited to add that the Imdb page lists the character as Phoebe Abbott Sr..

Edited May 30, 2018 by AriAu

[Nellise]

On 5/30/2018 at 3:11 PM, AriAu said:

Bottom line is that the writers did a great job, but the casting director did an exceptional job!

I think they did a really great job of casting people in the non-romantic or stunt-casted roles outside of the main 6: the director from Joey's play, Isaac from the copy place, Eddie, all of the parents, Chandler's boss Doug, the waiters at the restaurants they'd go to, and all of the various work people they ran into.

[Bort]

All these years later, I still laugh my ass off at Joanna and Sophie at Rachel’s Bloomingdales job whenever the reruns show up. Those actresses were great.

[JNM5505]

When Joey put two and two together, realizing Monica and Chandler had gone away together.

"They don't know we know they know we know."