Worst of Friends: Your Least Favorite Moments

[ErinW]

And why were Monica and Richard even at the wedding? Monica wasn't in Mindy & Barry's circle of friends.

I always assumed Richard was.

 

Speaking of weddings, I've just started rewatching season 8, and last night I watched the episode at Monica and Chandler's wedding reception. Chandler's entire plotline in this episode is that his shoes are slippery so he can't dance. It bothered me that so much of the episode is him fussing over his shoes (the better for Monica to be absent, dealing with Rachel's pregnancy drama), but it especially annoyed me at the end, when Monica insists they dance. She should insist, it's their wedding, and little things like the shoes should not ruin the day. But the culmination of the plot is just Chandler/Matthew Perry dancing like a spaz and eventually pulling Judy Geller's skirt off. (Humiliating for everyone involved, but especially Christina Pickles.) Why, I ask, would Chandler have not just taken the shoes off and danced in his socks? Monica could have kicked her shoes off too in a show of solidarity. It would have been a great ending for the two, kicking away the more contrived elements of the day to just have fun on this important day for them. But it seemed like Friends in its later years was less about showing the group having fun together (which is always fun if not funny) and instead reverting to slapstick.

[ridethemaverick]

For the same reason they didn't have Monica wash her hair in the shower and then slick it back into a bun in Barbados. It's more "fun" when the characters act like complete morons.

[Crs97]

I thought Monica and Chandler's wedding was botched from the beginning. It became all about Rachel, and the reception just made it worse.

[sev]

For me the worse was Joey's feet being unnaturally small all of sudden. WTF?

[ShellSeeker]

Last night I saw the episode where Monica sings karaoke at Mike's bar, and Phoebe doesn't say anything when she realizes that everyone can see through Monica's top. So mean! I would never let a friend embarrass herself that way, even if she was being kind of an overbearing shrew (which I realize was pretty much all Monica was in later seasons).

[Crs97]

I always disliked how everyone thought Ross should be okay with his wife leaving him for another woman, and it all crystallized into hatred when Joey and Ross were hitting on the same girl and Hoey said Ross looked like someone who could turn his wife gay. Horrible friend!

[cherrypj]

There are quite a few, especially in seasons 6-10, but my least favorite moment of all time is Phoebe's cobra shirt. 

 

[mojoween]

I cannot stand Rachel's "Save the Drama For Your Mama" shirt with the lips on it. Especially because it looked awful with the camo green skirt she paired it with.

[Ringthane]

I cannot stand Rachel's "Save the Drama For Your Mama" shirt with the lips on it. Especially because it looked awful with the camo green skirt she paired it with.

 

I couldn't even figure out what it said until I saw somebody talking about it on the internet.  I spent the entire episode trying to figure it out. 

[Guest]

I hate the storyline with Ross, Phoebe, and evolution. I thought it was one of those times when they made Phoebe unnecessarily mean. She berated Ross into respecting her opinion, which was very hard for him to do and then she judged him for "caving." 

[Crs97]

Totally agree, deaja! Right up there with the one when Phoebe decides a cat is her mother, and Ross is trying to explain they need to return the cat to the girl who is missing her. I also don't like the one where Phoebe is mad at him and won't tell him why and it turns out it was from a dream. He was a better friend to her than she deserved many times.

[Snow Apple]

I hate any scene with Rachael's father. There are characters you love to hate. This guy, I just hate. He's so distasteful that I have to turn the channel.

[ErinW]

I hate any scene with Rachael's father. There are characters you love to hate. This guy, I just hate. He's so distasteful that I have to turn the channel.

 

I loved Rachel's dad. "His name is *Bobby* *Bobby*?"

[Featherhat]

Phoebe in later seasons turned into her alternate Merrill lynch self minus the corporateness and smoking. She was the least tolerant of the group and that is saying something. I rarely felt sympathetic to Ross in a Ross/Rachel arc (wasn't a fan of Rachel either) but I was always on his side when he disagreed with Phoebe, he had evidence and missing posters on his side, she had .....grief and there's a definite limit for how much people should play along with it because it becomes much worse to let the situation continue. She and Ursula almost became the same person in some storylines. I thought she was terrible during the "Monica and Chandler won't let me sing at her/restuarant their Wedding!" horribleness. Oh really? Your "folksy" meandering might have the regulars who like you applauding in Central Perk but surely most people exposed to Monica for more than 2 seconds can realise she doesn't want "Smelly Cat" at her wedding. And then to harass them at night until they gave in though exhaustion. Lamest "funny" ending ever.

[Snow Apple]

I hated how Phoebe acted with Mike's parents. Yeah, they're snobs but they were at least distantly polite at first. But the things she said! It would gross out anyone, not just the rich. 

 

I agree she put Monica's job (her livelihood, her dream restaurant) in jeopardy by her stubbornness and continued "singing" in front of the fancy restaurant.

[mojoween]

Ugh. "Nineteen bathrooms and I puked in the coat closet". HA HA HA.

Not. And then they just left!

Also, Lisa's vocal fry in the one where everyone turns thirty drives me bonkers.

[Guest]

Phoebe in later seasons turned into her alternate Merrill lynch self minus the corporateness and smoking. She was the least tolerant of the group and that is saying something. I rarely felt sympathetic to Ross in a Ross/Rachel arc (wasn't a fan of Rachel either) but I was always on his side when he disagreed with Phoebe, he had evidence and missing posters on his side, she had .....grief and there's a definite limit for how much people should play along with it because it becomes much worse to let the situation continue. She and Ursula almost became the same person in some storylines. I thought she was terrible during the "Monica and Chandler won't let me sing at her/restuarant their Wedding!" horribleness. Oh really? Your "folksy" meandering might have the regulars who like you applauding in Central Perk but surely most people exposed to Monica for more than 2 seconds can realise she doesn't want "Smelly Cat" at her wedding. And then to harass them at night until they gave in though exhaustion. Lamest "funny" ending ever.

 

With regards to the bolded, that is an excellent point. I never saw it that way before.  

[Flowers]

Monica was a bitch in later seasons and I couldn't get behind her pairing with Chandler. He was too good for her and she didn't deserve him.

[JayInChicago]

season 6 the one with Ross's teeth

 

Chandler, previously thought to be gay due to i dunno, mannerisms has decided none of his friends are men.   

hilarious?  not really.

[bennyblue]

I hated the way Monica and Chandler finally having a child was barely acknowledged, dragging that mess out until the final episode and then for a couple just dying to have a baby...Chandler leaves to help Joey tear apart the foos ball table, then Monica goes over and is actually the one to do it, then says I gotta get back to the babies! !? Monica fawned over all the previous babies born on the show more than her own...Ben, the triplets, Emma...

Edited July 30, 2015 by bennyblue

[Quof]

Many things were wrong with the Rachel moves to Paris storyline, already discussed.  However - why in the Hell was she going on a trans-Atlantic, overnight flight, in a mini skirt??? Not so comfy for sleeping in a reclining seat, Ray Ray.

[Madding crowd]

I hate the one when Monica and Rachel switch the apartments back by themselves (with pregnant Phoebe). While Joey and Chandler were at a Knicks game, the women moved every piece of furniture in both apartments, unpacked every box, put together and made beds, put up curtains etc. when the guys came back, Monica was in process of hanging two remaining paintings. How could they possibly do this in a few hours?

[Quof]

See, I'm prepared to suspend disbelief for that one, because it was one of those awesome "holy shit" moments you didn't see coming that Friends did so well.

[chitowngirl]

Speaking of "holy shit" moments-how did they hide from the audience that Rachel got off the plane? You can see her shadow when Ross is yelling into the phone. But it was a great moment! Did they film that without the audience and insert it later? You would have thought the audience would have given it away otherwise.

[Quof]

Yes, it was filmed without the audience.

[chitowngirl]

Many things were wrong with the Rachel moves to Paris storyline, already discussed.  However - why in the Hell was she going on a trans-Atlantic, overnight flight, in a mini skirt??? Not so comfy for sleeping in a reclining seat, Ray Ray.

I think the award for most WTF outfit for going on a transatlantic flight goes to Carrie Bradshaw in Sex in the City when she went to Paris. There must be something about Paris.

Edited August 4, 2015 by chitowngirl

[cam3150]

My evening routine when I get home is to turn on Friends reruns on TNT and just let that play in the background. They don't air every episode for whatever reason and I wish they would.  Anyway, I have come to realize that I don't care for season 1 much at all. I love most all of everything from season 2 all the way up to Emma being born, and then I just don't care as much about the show after that.   I think the story line I probably hate the most is the "Joey has feelings for Rachel" story line. There a lot of things not to like about the later seasons but this story line is just...terrible for so many reasons not the least of which being that Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc had zero chemistry.  My least favorite character has always been Phoebe.  She has just always gotten on my nerves and she never seemed to fit. The rest of the group had history for the most part but Phoebe always "lifted right out" to quote Rachel, I believe.   

 

I actually do like the early Ross / Rachel stuff but the writers destroyed anything that was good about them somewhere around "But we were on a break!" and they just never got that magic back.  

 

I just saw the last few episodes and Courtney Cox's Botox or plastic surgery is really obvious in that last season. I just never realized it until the re-watch.   

[Madding crowd]

Yes, Courtney's plastic face is very distracting to me during season 10. Part of it was that she didn't seem old enough to need that stuff and it aged her. Jennifer and Lisa remained beautiful women who naturally aged a bit since season one. I agree that Phoebe never fit in and a lot of things about het didn't seem real especially going from living in a car with a pimp to living in a beautiful apartment on a part time masseuse salary.

[Maharincess]

I can usually suspend belief when I watch these shows because I know they are fictional sitcoms.

That said, the episode with Ross's spray tan is the stupidest thing I've ever seen. The man has a PhD but he doesn't think to turn around when the spray starts again? He just stands there and yells while his front is being sprayed again.

Every time I see that one I yell "turn around you idiot".

The episode where he bleached his teeth annoys me too. When he's speaking normally to Monica you can't even really see his teeth anyway, and when the black light is on at the chicks apartment, her teeth are as white as his. That's what black lights do to any teeth.

They try to darken her teeth in the black light when they show her from the front but you can see them from the side and they're as white as his.

[Featherhat]

I've just watched "TOW Dr Ramoray Dies" and the condom plot still annoys me. I was too young to see it when it first aired but saw it a few years later at 13, well before I had sex, so to a certain extent I could go with "obviously NYC women in their 20s do that" but even then I could see that it was breaking the moment when you need a condom to run across your apartment to get one, wasn't conducive to sexy times. Seriously, it's so stupid.  Especially as at the time both were in steady relationships and were (presumably) having regular sex. So why was the contraception in another room?

 

 Neither Richard or Ross are living with the girls, they each have their own apartment. One of you go there and have all the wild sex you want away from a best friend-brother/sister weirdness, even without the "who gets to have sex tonight?" insanity. Yes that was the B plot for the episode so it "had" to be there but seriously? Everything about this storyline now comes out as creepy to me. Forget "the last condom" contest, most roomates at least try and make sure they can have some privacy beforehand. I know it was supposed to be funny but it just now comes across as gross.

[Janet Snakehole]

Also, if you rely on a shared condom box with your roommate as your primary form of contraception, wouldn't you keep an eye on it to make sure there was enough?

Plus in my experience, guys tend to prefer to purchase their chosen brand to keep around.

Friends was just kind of weird when it came to sex.

[WhitneyWhit]

I hated how Monica acted when she learned that Chandler had a sizable savings account, but didn't want to spend it all on their wedding. I get that a wedding was important to her, but she acted like such a brat when she basically demanded that Chandler spend every dime he had worked and saved on their wedding. It also annoyed me that Rachel got involved in the argument.

 

I also didn't like how Emily was painted as the bad guy because she was bothered by Rachel. Rachel acted like a lunatic around them, then she shows up at their wedding (with plans to stop it) Ross says her name at  the altar, then Emily sees Ross leaving with her on their honeymoon. How did they expect her to react to all that? 

 

It's been covered, but I hated the dumbing down of Joey. Joey seems like a different character in season 1, especially when you compare him with season 10 Joey, who acted as though he shouldn't be allowed to live outside of a facility.

 

And it's also been covered, but Carol and Susan treating Ross like he was an anonymous sperm donor was some bullshit. They both needed to take a seat. Carol was a cheater and Susan was a homewrecker. Why Susan thought she should have any say in Ben's names is beyond me. I remember the scene where Susan said something like "I told you he would act like this", I wanted to reach through the screen and slap her. Yeah, he was going to act like that, especially when the woman his wife cheated on him with acts as though she has more say over his child than he does.

[Guest]

Whitney Whit, if you are going to invade my brain, a little warning would be nice.  I think the things you listed are some of my bigger annoyances throughout the series. Especially about the Carol and Susan part - they acted like since they were co-parenting Ben, they should have 2 votes for Ross' 1.  But in reality, Susan was a step-parent, nothing more.  (Nothing against step-parents; I just think it's generally best for the parents to work out issues like that with minimal involvement from their partners.)  If Carol had cheated with a man, no one would think it was unreasonable when Ross didn't like the guy or want him around. But Ross was portrayed as slightly unreasonable for not wanting to be around the woman his wife cheated with.

[Bort]

Not to mention that Susan was often a total asshole to Ross. Like maybe he also doesn't like hanging around her for that reason as well?

Apropos of nothing, I always thought Ross and Susan had great chemistry, especially during the rare scenes when they were being nice to each other.

[Quof]

I always thought Ross and Susan had great chemistry

Well, they did share the same taste.

[cherrypj]

In The One Where Monica And Richard Are Friends (includes Sporty Guy!), the B (C?) plot is where Joey and Rachel exchange books to read. Rachel gives Joey Little Women, and Joey can't tell that Jo is a girl and Laurie is a guy. It's not even funny.

[chitowngirl]

I do like how Joey got caught up in the story and was horrified when Rachel reveals that Beth dies.

Edited August 24, 2015 by chitowngirl

[mojoween]

This isn't a worst so much as a question but I don't understand why Isabella Rossellini was deemed too international but Elizabeth Hurley made the list.

[supposebly]

Not that I think they really cared but maybe because Isabella Rosselini is half Swedish and half Italian originally. Mother is Ingrid Bergman and father is Roberto Rosselini. While Elizabeth Hurley is....just British.

[The Crazed Spruce]

What bugged me about that one was that Ross couldn't have Isabella Rosselini on his list, because they'd theoretically never meet, but Chandler could have Jessica frikkin' Rabbit on his.

[Bort]

At that point, I think that was about Chandler messing with Ross, because the list was supposed to be a larf but Ross was taking it SO SERIOUSLY by printing his list and laminating it.

[helenamonster]

Not to mention that he swapped Isabella Rosselini out for Winona Ryder...who later showed up as a different character.

 

It's like the guys being obsessed with Die Hard but not saying anything when Bruce Willis strolls into Central Perk. I didn't hate them making cultural references, and I can get the producers not wanting to turn down big-name guest stars, but that makes for a very bizarre fictional universe.

[MSquared03]

Phoebe also wears a "That Girl" shirt when Marlo Thomas plays Rachel's mom.  Chris Isaak played his guitar for kids, and his song played at the museum when Rachel and Ross had sex for the first time.  Sean Penn is not the capital of Cambodia, but he dated Phoebe and Ursula...

[chitowngirl]

Susan Sarandon was on Chandler's list and she was also a guest star (who slept with Joey!).

[Danceislove]

Hi, everyone! I'm a new poster to this forum and am looking forward to reading all of your ideas on the highs and lows (mostly the lows

[Maharincess]

I hated the Sandy epusode but for a different reason. Rachel meets a man and then 3 minutes later basically says "sure strange man, go take my daughter into the next room and change her diaper".

She also let Emma with Gavin and she barely knew him either.

[Danceislove]

Yeah, I don't think either Ross or Rachel was winning any parenting awards. But that's just my personal opinion.

Once the novelty of Rachel's pregnancy/birth wore off, how much did we even SEE Emma? Hell, she was always off at Grandma Green's.

[Cherpumple]

I haven't seen this mentioned, but I haaaaaaaaate Chandler's roommate Eddie. That dude is so creepy! He is portrayed as having some serious mental health issues, and yet it's played for laughs. Sorry, but no. Hell no. And I'm really not a fan of the actor either, which makes it even more cringeworthy. Those episodes were on the other day, and I couldn't even watch his scenes because they made my skin crawl; I had to press mute and avert my eyes until the scene changed, it was that off-putting to me.

[twoods]

I hate the Eddie episodes too, and don't get me started on the Joey/Rachel shit.

Phoebe was terrible to Mike's parents, and I still hate how crazy Monica was about the wedding (or crazy in general). I never understood how Chandler could stand her.

I also didn't like Ross's girlfriend that was his student. She didn't fit in well to the storylines.

[Ringthane]

I haven't seen this mentioned, but I haaaaaaaaate Chandler's roommate Eddie. That dude is so creepy! He is portrayed as having some serious mental health issues, and yet it's played for laughs. Sorry, but no. Hell no. And I'm really not a fan of the actor either, which makes it even more cringeworthy. Those episodes were on the other day, and I couldn't even watch his scenes because they made my skin crawl; I had to press mute and avert my eyes until the scene changed, it was that off-putting to me.

 

Every time Friends dealt with mental issues, they played it for laughs.  Ross's rage issues and Rachel obsession could have really been some interesting character development, if he would have actually admitted he had a problem and went and got counseling for it.  Just think of how much better Phoebe could have been as a character if someone had said to her "OK, your mom killed herself.  It's time to deal with it and move on, instead of using it for every little issue" (and it couldn't have bothered her too much since she used it for things like getting the last muffin and stuff).