Worst of Friends: Your Least Favorite Moments

[Kenny the copy guy]

7 hours ago, mojoween said:

I know it was to have Rachel fall briefly in love with whoever that doctor was, but Rachel saying “I thought you might like some ice chips” to Carol was not very in character.  I actually have no idea why Rachel, Joey, Phoebe or Chandler even stayed all night at the hospital for Ben’s birth. 

Them all being there for Phoebe, I get.  But then no one was there for Monica and Chandler?  Phoebe had to tell Ross his sister’s baby mama was going into labor?

Having a throng of people hanging around a maternity ward was one of those sitcom tropes, in real life labor lasts hours/days and new mothers aren't usually that keen to make small talk with a bunch of family members/in-laws/friends/neighbors/work colleagues the moment after they've given birth

[OtterMommy]

7 hours ago, Kenny the copy guy said:

Having a throng of people hanging around a maternity ward was one of those sitcom tropes, in real life labor lasts hours/days and new mothers aren't usually that keen to make small talk with a bunch of family members/in-laws/friends/neighbors/work colleagues the moment after they've given birth

Not necessarily.  When my niece had her first child, there were 40+ people in the waiting room, and then some of her friends found that they could go around the side of the hospital and watch through the window.  When her daughter (the one from that birth) had her child, it was pretty much the same deal.  Of course, both young women were/are let's just say "extremely social."  When I had my kids, we didn't even let anyone local know we were in the hospital until after the births.

[Bort]

On a complete subject change... How did Ross not get fired from the museum when he and Rachel fell asleep naked in one of the displays? On the bright side for Rachel, at least she got to have a “unusual place I did it” story besides the foot of her bed.

[Mr. Meatball Man]

The episode where Joey "proposes" to Rachel was pretty dumb. I think a major weakness of Friends is that it would constantly tell stories based off misunderstandings and confusion, even if the stories didn't make any sense. All it takes is Joey telling Rachel he just found the ring and he wasn't actually proposing to her. A conversation that takes less than two minutes is delayed and stretched to a half hour for no reason. 

[Kenny the copy guy]

On 2/24/2018 at 2:15 AM, kariyaki said:

On a complete subject change... How did Ross not get fired from the museum when he and Rachel fell asleep naked in one of the displays? On the bright side for Rachel, at least she got to have a “unusual place I did it” story besides the foot of her bed.

The whole setting  was too outlandish, for starters I seem to remember CCTV cameras being commonplace in public spaces in the mid nineties so by doing it in the planetarium or in a display would've entailed putting on an avant la lettre webcam show for the security guard that night.

However I do think Ross and Rachel had the worst work ethics out of all the friends, off the top of my head apart from the museum incident between them they; harassed colleagues for a sandwich, slept with a student, hired somebody for his looks and proceeded to have an affair with him while being his boss, lied to her boss about having an affair with Calvin Klein, falsely accused her boss about trying to buy her baby and used stolen museum property to bribe said boss to give Rachel her job  back.

[Nessie]

8 hours ago, Kenny the copy guy said:

The whole setting  was too outlandish, for starters I seem to remember CCTV cameras being commonplace in public spaces in the mid nineties so by doing it in the planetarium or in a display would've entailed putting on an avant la lettre webcam show for the security guard that night.

However I do think Ross and Rachel had the worst work ethics out of all the friends, off the top of my head apart from the museum incident between them they; harassed colleagues for a sandwich, slept with a student, hired somebody for his looks and proceeded to have an affair with him while being his boss, lied to her boss about having an affair with Calvin Klein, falsely accused her boss about trying to buy her baby and used stolen museum property to bribe said boss to give Rachel her job  back.

It was Ralph Lauren that Rachel said she was having an affair with, not Calvin Klein.

But yeah...agree with the rest.  None of the gang were stellar employees, but Ross and Rachel were probably the worst.

Edited March 1, 2018 by Nessie

[Nordly Beaumont]

Joey to the friends at Central Perk: "Maybe [your bosses hate you] because it's 2:00 on a Wednesday and you're all sitting here!"

[mojoween]

On 3/1/2018 at 7:31 PM, Nordly Beaumont said:

Joey to the friends at Central Perk: "Maybe [your bosses hate you] because it's 2:00 on a Wednesday and you're all sitting here!"

I love that so much.  

[Kenny the copy guy]

I'm re watching season 2 right now and must say I hate how Chandler and Joey are made to act like 5 year olds when Carol breastfeeds in  front of them in TOWT breast milk 

[VagueDisclaimer]

Watching S1 reruns today and two things popped out at me:

 

- Ross ruminating on his first time with Carol, losing his virginity, is understandable, especially regarding the recent divorce. But it was weird as hell when Ross realized it by date and Monica knew the date as well. Knowing your brother’s wedding anniversary date, i get, knowing his defloweing date makes no sense and further  cements that this show never knew how to write a brother/sister relationship. There were far too many incest jokes.

- The mocking of Ross for needing a beeper (“'Help, come quick, they're still extinct.”) and a season later, he actually does get an emergent beep from the museum. 

[Bort]

14 minutes ago, VagueDisclaimer said:

Ross ruminating on his first time with Carol, losing his virginity, is understandable, especially regarding the recent divorce. But it was weird as hell when Ross realized it by date and Monica knew the date as well. Knowing your brother’s wedding anniversary date, i get, knowing his defloweing date makes no sense and further  cements that this show never knew how to write a brother/sister relationship. There were far too many incest jokes.

I'm guessing that maybe Ross and Carol made a big deal out their sexiversary, like maybe a date night or something every year? They were together for seven years, so I can see Monica knowing. I don't think she knew it was his actual deflowering, because he was pretty reluctant to admit it to Chandler and Joey, plus she says in a later episode that same season that she didn't know.

[VagueDisclaimer]

10 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

I'm guessing that maybe Ross and Carol made a big deal out their sexiversary, like maybe a date night or something every year? They were together for seven years, so I can see Monica knowing. I don't think she knew it was his actual deflowering, because he was pretty reluctant to admit it to Chandler and Joey, plus she says in a later episode that same season that she didn't know.

We see no reference to Ross talking about them celebrating that day, just Ross obsessing over every detail, which, again, I give him that understanding because of how hurt he is by the cheating and divorce. Beyond that, i see no reason for Monica knowing this was their first sex anniversary date and there was no need for her to for the rest of the story to play out. It remains bizarre, IMO. 

[Kenny the copy guy]

On 3/14/2018 at 6:19 PM, VagueDisclaimer said:

 never knew how to write a brother/sister relationship. There were far too many incest jokes.

 

I completely agree on this, I believe the writers wanted to prove that Monica and Ross had a very close relationship and apart from siblings they were also friends but they were far too open about their sex lives in front of each other, much more than I would be in front of any of my female (or even male) friends never mind my sister.

I think they realized about this and it seemed to improve in later seasons, I think the penny dropped after having Monica get excited imagining her brother having sex in the TOWT free porn as early on in the next season they seemed to lampshade this with Danny and his sister, after that things seem to be more normal, with things like Ross freaking out when he sees Monica and Chandler kissing or being made unconformable when Monica bursts into the room asking Chandler to have sex with him when she's trying to conceive.

However, they still had incest jokes played for laughs, topping them with Ross mistakenly kissing fat Monica, which was come to think of it an act of genius on the writers part  considering that the people who like incest jokes would probably also find fat shaming funny.

[BTBAM310]

On 2/23/2018 at 5:15 PM, kariyaki said:

On a complete subject change... How did Ross not get fired from the museum when he and Rachel fell asleep naked in one of the displays? On the bright side for Rachel, at least she got to have a “unusual place I did it” story besides the foot of her bed.

I hated the Phoebe character, but her answer to that question (Milwaukee) was probably her best line of the series

[mojoween]

“And I missed it?!?  Because I was giving a makeover to that stupid hippie?” is one of the worst lines in the series and Jennifer should have refused to say it.

Also fake-English Phoebe crowing about puking in the coat closet is just rude.

This isn’t really a worst of, more curiosity, but they always show Rachel knowing what was important to rich folk (knowing that regular Phoebe can’t meet upper-East Side Living Mike’s parents, for instance), and I get that Rachel’s dad is a doctor, but didn't she grow up in the same neighborhood as Monica on Long Island?

[Nordly Beaumont]

1 hour ago, mojoween said:

Also fake-English Phoebe crowing about puking in the coat closet is just rude.

I always hated when Mike called the other couple at the dinner "mind numbingly boring" - that's just mean. And there was no reason for it, from what we saw they never did anything mean to Mike or Phoebe.

[Danny Franks]

2 hours ago, mojoween said:

This isn’t really a worst of, more curiosity, but they always show Rachel knowing what was important to rich folk (knowing that regular Phoebe can’t meet upper-East Side Living Mike’s parents, for instance), and I get that Rachel’s dad is a doctor, but didn't she grow up in the same neighborhood as Monica on Long Island?

Isn't growing up in a big house on Long Island a strong indicator that you are rich folk? I always assumed the Gellars were very well off, and the Greens clearly were, given what Rachel said about having a boat and a pony and a nose job at 18, or however old she was.

[mojoween]

Yeah I get that.  But, as I myself am a lower middle class folk, I always thought there was a distinction between well-off and Fifth Avenue rich.  And Monica and Ross act like they didn’t grow up with money.  Comfortable, yes.  Rich, not really.

It’s an interesting dichotomy to me.  Maybe because Monica and Rachel didn’t go the same high school, heh.

[Bort]

Rachel is herself a dichotomy. There was the one who was friends with Monica when they were younger. And the one who was friends with Mindy and those other shallow girls we saw.

[helenamonster]

4 hours ago, mojoween said:

Maybe because Monica and Rachel didn’t go the same high school, heh.

? Yes they did?

[Bort]

10 minutes ago, helenamonster said:

? Yes they did?

It’s a reference to something Monica said once:

Monica: Look, you and I went to different high schools.
Rachel: Okay, that doesn't help me, because we went to the same high school.
Monica: You went to one where you were popular, and you got to ride off on Chip's motorcycle and wear his letterman jacket. I went to one where I wore a band uniform they had to have specially made.

[helenamonster]

2 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

It’s a reference to something Monica said once:

Monica: Look, you and I went to different high schools.
Rachel: Okay, that doesn't help me, because we went to the same high school.
Monica: You went to one where you were popular, and you got to ride off on Chip's motorcycle and wear his letterman jacket. I went to one where I wore a band uniform they had to have specially made.

Ah ok, thanks! I'd totally forgotten about that line. Is that from the episode where Monica dates Chip but he still works at the movie theater and lives with his parents?

[msani19]

On 4/8/2018 at 6:08 PM, helenamonster said:

Is that from the episode where Monica dates Chip but he still works at the movie theater and lives with his parents?

That's the episode. Monica was pointing out that they ran in completely different circles in high school even though they stayed friendly throughout it. Well, I'm assuming they stayed friendly enough.  Those HS flashbacks scenes seemed to show that they still hung out together.  

I also think the Gellars were well-off. Maybe not as rich as the Greenes but doing very well. Mr. Gellar especially struck me as being careful with money, while Rachel's dad seemed to spend more freely. Long Island, like any part of a city, has areas that are more expensive than others. Not necessarily a sign of big money but it could be an indication of such.

[Crs97]

Just watched the karaoke episode.  How could Phoebe and Mike tell that Monica’s blouse was that see-through in the lights when they were behind her?  Also, what kind of friend doesn’t warn Monica?

[Kenny the copy guy]

On 08/04/2018 at 3:16 PM, mojoween said:

This isn’t really a worst of, more curiosity, but they always show Rachel knowing what was important to rich folk

She actually says she's good with parents in general, meaning she knows how to behave in the company of civilised people whatever their social status, I wouldn't say my parents  rich or stuffy but if the first time I turned up home with my wife she had talked about having sailor sex with me, punched my dad and puked in a cupboard they wouldn't of encouraged me to pursue the relationship.

I've said it before but something that bugs me is that a few episodes earlier they had Phoebe coaching Chandler for a job interview. Maybe the writers were trying to imply that Phoebe was an alcoholic who was generally OK in the mornings but you couldn't count on her being presentable after 6 pm

[Madding crowd]

And Phoebe never had a real job besides working for massage places and she was frequently fired from those for inappropriate behavior. That was a miss for the show. Ross or Monica would have been better at helping Chandler.

[Kenny the copy guy]

17 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

And Phoebe never had a real job besides working for massage places and she was frequently fired from those for inappropriate behavior. That was a miss for the show. Ross or Monica would have been better at helping Chandler.

It should've been Rachel who had successfully climbed the corporate ladder going from being a waitress in S2 to having her own office and a PA in S7 but she probably had some Ross related drama to attend to in that episode

[Nellise]

12 hours ago, Kenny the copy guy said:

It should've been Rachel who had successfully climbed the corporate ladder going from being a waitress in S2 to having her own office and a PA in S7 but she probably had some Ross related drama to attend to in that episode

Rachel wasn't exactly a pro at job interviews either. For the Ralph Lauren job she kissed the interviewer, then insulted him, then inappropriately touched him. And then she managed to get fired from that job while interviewing for her next job.

[Danny Franks]

I really hated that storyline that had Rachel get fired just because she was caught interviewing for another job. It's frankly absurd, and surely in breach of a dozen employment laws. Okay, so your employer might not be happy to see you leave, but they can't (and wouldn't) punish you just for contemplating it. The show treated it as though applying for other jobs is something that was somehow taboo.

[Dandesun]

I did think it was a bit suspect that Rachel got fired for interviewing for another job. However, the bit where she was told that she wasn't a team player, which she denied, and then said she got like a 45-minute presentation proving that it was, in fact, the case always makes me laugh. Especially as she's crying.

Which sounds callous but it was played for laughs.

I will say that the bit where she's all 'It looks like it's pronounced Gucki but it's actually Gucci' does make me roll my eyes, though. Girl, you having a business lunch in what appears to be a very nice Manhattan restaurant, I think they know how to spell Gucci.

[Madding crowd]

I hate that scene-she could have easily met the interviewer outside and told him the situation. She could have also asked the maitre ‘d to pass him a note or something as he was coming in. But I agree you shouldn’t be fired for interviewing for another job. Rachel was never the most professional person though and the whole incident where she wrote the sexy performance review for Tag could have put her in a bad light with Mr Zelnar. 

[Bort]

Maybe Rachel had a no compete clause and wasn't supposed to be interviewing with the competition? Doesn't make sense to fire her for that either way, since the point would be to KEEP her. It also doesn't make sense that she'd be fired and allowed to clean out her desk without security watching her like a hawk. Ross managed to steal an entire office chair.

[Kenny the copy guy]

15 hours ago, Nellise said:

For the Ralph Lauren job she kissed the interviewer, then insulted him, then inappropriately touched him.

and turning up at the second interview with her mouth full of ink, I'd forgotten about that one sorry, but in any case  she still seems to be the most suited of the group to give interview tips, which is not saying much considering what she was up against

[Madding crowd]

Ross and Monica both had good jobs, why wouldn’t they be suited for helping Chandler? Of course Chandler himself had worked in an office for many years so he should know what is required.

Edited April 12, 2018 by Madding crowd

[Nellise]

Ross and Monica would have been too nice. Chandler didn't need help with the job part really. It was his unprofessional personality traits possibly coming out. Phoebe never seemed to like Chandler that much so she'd be good to tell him he was being annoying.

In any case, it was mostly just to give something for Phoebe to do since they always wanted all 6 main characters to be part of a story every episode and Phoebe often got shoehorned in where she probably wouldn't have actually been. Her dreaming about Jack and being attracted to him was the worst example of this and they commented on the DVDs that they didn't really know what else to do with her that episode.

[Bort]

Honestly, Joey is the most experienced at it. He went on hundreds of auditions, which is essentially a job interview. And while the content of the job interviews is way different, the basics of making a good impression are the same: handshake, how-do-you-do, try not to make poop jokes -- unless he's auditioning for Judd Apatow.

I noticed that Phoebe often got left out of plots. Season 4 was a gimme because Kudrow was pregnant and the surrogacy storyline was created to deal with it, but it still happened a lot. I remember the early season scene of everyone hanging out at Ross's and Chandler brought the porno movie Joey was in. No Phoebe, she was off in her not-gay ice-dancer husband plotline.

[Crs97]

She lifted right out!

[Danny Franks]

On 12/04/2018 at 7:53 PM, Crs97 said:

She lifted right out!

Which was absolutely a meta comment from the writers. The more I think on Friends as an adult, the more I wonder at how Phoebe, in particular, would spend so much time at her friends' apartment, which was apparently "far away" from where she lived. I mean, I know she had a job that didn't have regular hours, but the last thing I'd want to do after working would be to take public transport across Manhattan, to hang out with friends for a few hours, before taking public transport back home. 

There's just something a little bleak about it, when you think about the logistics, and what it suggests about Phoebe's homelife. Even Ross's, before he moved into ugly, naked apartment. 

[mojoween]

The Hombre guy was a bit of a dick, but in his defense, “Bijon for Men” is a terrible name for men’s cologne.

[Miss Bones]

On ‎2‎/‎5‎/‎2018 at 6:08 PM, mojoween said:

I get irrationally irritated when Monica sits up and says “I can’t believe you did that” after they watched the prom video.  Ross wanting to take Rachel to prom should surprise NO ONE.  Her reaction was akin to them finding out that he donated part of his liver to a sick kid.

Totally agree-- I hate her delivery of this line!  I was watching this ep with my husband one time--he had never seen it--and he thought that Monica was actually saying it negatively/like Ross did something wrong.

[Dandesun]

32 minutes ago, Miss Bones said:

Totally agree-- I hate her delivery of this line!  I was watching this ep with my husband one time--he had never seen it--and he thought that Monica was actually saying it negatively/like Ross did something wrong.

As much as I wanted Ross/Rachel to get together at the time, that entire thing kind of mystified me. "Oh, Ross was going to step in and take the girl he's obsessed with to the prom when her date ditches her! What an amazing sacrifice for him!!" To this day, I really don't get why that changed everything for Rachel. At the time, I accepted it because I wanted them to get together and was tired of getting jerked around by the show.

Whenever I rewatch that episode it just seems to highlight all the reasons why they don't work as a couple.

Of course, I don't think they work as a romantic partner for anyone but that's just me.

[Crs97]

It was a sweet gesture, but I didn’t really understand Rachel’s reaction either, especially because she knew he had a crush on her in high school.  The cameo brooch was the bigger deal to me.

[Joana]

On 8.4.2018. at 3:16 PM, mojoween said:

“And I missed it?!?  Because I was giving a makeover to that stupid hippie?” is one of the worst lines in the series and Jennifer should have refused to say it.

I cringe every time I come across that episode. Definitely among the very worst line of the show. I know the humour got meaner in the later seasons and they acted like a dysfunctional family more than anything towards the end, but that just felt so out of place.

Another episode I absolutely loathed was the one with Freddie Prinze Jr. when ROSS of all people is bothered by someone's percieved lack of manliness. Give me a break. 

It's actually weird to look back to the show now as an adult. I mean, I'm ready to handwave all the unrealistic details about money, living arrangements and so on, but often the way they'd act and communicate with each other is just so... strange. All the weird incest stuff, lame sex jokes, gender roles hang-ups (how often would one of the guys not act "like a real man" in whatever way and then be berated by others for it?), all the oversharing, all the times when it made no sense that all/most of them would be together in some activity and yet they were... I don't know. I still remember the show fondly, but when I catch a rerun nowadays I'm often left wondering how the hell some particular scene ever got made in the first place. 

[Jax7917]

I know people always rooted for Ross and Rachel , but I thought the writers did a poor job with their relationship and getting people to still care about their outcome . They dated in what , season 3 ? And we're supposed to believe that 7 seasons after that of them never getting back together that they would still be in love with each other ? And oh wait , they were ! But no feelings were sparked by them having a baby together or the fact that they hung out every day , got married by accident or the fact that rosses best friend was  dating Rachel .. but just because there was 1 episode left of the show , they fell back in love .

an example - they slept together when they conceived Emma , yet neither of them had feelings for each other after that . It just sort of was glossed over .. but before Rachel was going to move to Paris , they slept together and Ross suddenly fell back in love with Rachel .. oooookay 

Edited April 23, 2018 by Jaclyn88

[VagueDisclaimer]

The one where the show decided to parallel Joey passing kidney stones to Phoebe giving birth to three babies. 

[mojoween]

Now I get that Monica’s friends brought a roll of quarters so that she would have to continually dance, and I know she was doing the job just because she needed a job, but her freaking sourpuss during YMCA was so uncalled for.

I’m pretty sure the manager would frown upon her behavior because you are supposed to look like you are having fun.

Also, who wants to eat at a counter the staff has danced upon?

[Mu Shu]

I never watched this show much.  I watched 5 episodes today since were under a flood watch.  Every episode included homophobia.  What the hell show?  

[Dr.OO7]

On 7/8/2014 at 7:20 PM, betweenthebanter said:

I really dislike the Ross and Paolo scene in the episode where Paolo is first introduced. I hate Ross trying to stake his non-existent claim over Rachel. I also hate that it seemed like we were supposed to side with Ross when he called Paolo a "crapweasel" because Paolo didn't back off pursing Rachel like Ross wanted. I know that it is reveled later in the season that Paolo is a jerk but at this point Paolo hadn't done anything wrong and Ross was just being extremely petty and unlikable to me here.

The scene that I just mentioned along with the following storylines: Ross not trusting Rachel with Mark

That was INFURIATING. I completely agree. At the time Paolo was introduced, he seemed to be a perfectly nice guy, so ridiculing him, knowing that he can't understand English was incredibly rude.

And his insane jealousy over Mark--refusing to believe that Rachel wasn't fooling around with him to the point where she starts crying because he's brought it up again and flat-out lying to Carol and claiming that Rachel fell in love with Mark and left him.

I also hate when Ross drunkenly lets it slip that Charlie doesn't like Rachel. Charlie tries to apologize to Rachel and Rachel just laughingly declares, "Oh, that's okay. Girls tend not to like me!"

Gee Rachel, ever wonder WHY? You're a complete bitch to and about any woman who dares to date a man you're interested in and go so far as to actively try to sabotage the relationship--and even worse, she does this under the guise of friendship--yet she just cheerfully shrugs her shoulders about the fact that other women dislike her?

Putting aside my misgivings about Ross and Elizabeth's relationship, I absolutely HATED the constant stream of child/infant/baby jokes the rest of the group made about her. You'd think that Monica at least would be nicer, considering that she dated an older man herself (and their age difference was TWICE as much as that between Ross and Elizabeth) and had to put up with snide comments from his friends, but instead, she's just as bad.

Though the way Ross kept saying "frowned upon" regarding the university policy about teacher/student relationships was incredibly annoying. Who the hell talks like that? 

And what was with the stupid way Rachel pronounced Joshua's name every time she said it?

Edited June 15, 2018 by Camille

[Jax7917]

I hate in the one where Ross gets married to Emily when their venue got knocked down and her and Monica were yelling at Ross because he didn't want to postpone the wedding . I get that it sucks , but everyone spent a lot of money and took time away from their lives to come to your wedding . It's not like it was a local affair . Everyone had to fly to London for their wedding which is no cheap purchase . But somehow the show wants us to think Ross was wrong for saying that they should still get married at that time .. that was very annoying to me . 

[Bort]

I always wondered how the hell the wedding venue got demolished early. I mean, Ross and Emily booked it, paid for it (at least a deposit) and... the owners went ahead and knocked it down early?

But yeah, I agreed with Ross on this (one of the few times) that they needed to do it now to accommodate all the people who flew to another country and weren't going to be able to do a Take Two. Also agreed with Ross that Monica should've butted right on out of that whole discussion.