Worst of Friends: Your Least Favorite Moments

[Jax7917]

I'm watching friends now and noticing that phoebe and Ross had quite a few friendship moments together . I think as far as opposite sex goes , Joey was closest to phoebe in the beginning but ended up being closest to rachel for the last few seasons .. but Chandler never seemed too close to phoebe or Rachel at all throughout the series . Even during Rachel's goodbyes to them all in the last episode , I think the reason rachel only said to chandler " let's just not ruin the moment by saying anything . " and they hugged , was because there were really no memories to talk about . Maybe just the cheesecake episode ? 

As much as I loved Monica and chandler together , I really missed Joey and chandler living together . Their friendship was really never the same after he moved out . I think their relationship was my favorite on the show . 

[Bort]

33 minutes ago, Jaclyn88 said:

I'm watching friends now and noticing that phoebe and Ross had quite a few friendship moments together .

Me too, are you referring to the episode that was playing where Phoebe and Ross were dating the divorcing couple? Because the scene where they get in a huge fight on the divorcing couple's behalf is really hilarious.

Quote

Phoebe: So, how are things going with crazy? Has she cooked your rabbit yet?

Ross: Listen, you are hearing one side of the story, okay—and F.Y.I she must’ve shown Kyle over 30 paint samples before she painted that room! And his response to each one was, "I don’t give a tiny rat’s ass."

Phoebe: Yeah well, maybe she should’ve spent a little less time decorating and a little more time in the bedroom.

Ross: Well, I don’t think we are gonna have that problem, but maybe that’s just because I am not emotionally unavailable!

Phoebe: You think he’s emotionally unavailable?

Ross: I think he can be.

Phoebe: Well, maybe he wouldn’t be she didn’t bring the office home every night!

Ross: Well, excuse her for knowing what she wants to do with her life!

Phoebe: Yeah well, she certainly knew what she was doing New Year’s Eve 1997.

Ross: I knew you were gonna throw that in my face!! That was three years ago! She apologized and she apologized! What more do you want?!!

Phoebe: We want the last six years back!!

Ross: So do we!! So do we!!

[Jax7917]

Yes !! That was hilarious . 

[slf]

On 8/14/2018 at 6:50 PM, kariyaki said:

Which Rachel pointed out, but Monica was also stressing that they were kissing in the “super secret hallway where nobody goes,” in that anybody could’ve just walked right up on them. I agree that Monica was overreacting, but I also see her point that Rachel and Ross weren’t really making much of an effort to conceal themselves. 

I just don't get this aspect of the show and the way it's treated as totally normal. Some of these characters were way too controlling of other people's lives. If two of my friends are making out in the hallway pretty much no one's going to care because we aren't 14. "Conceal themselves." They weren't having sex, it was a kiss, and it happened just outside of Rachel's apartment. I mean, Rachel and Ross were involved with the kiss, Chandler didn't care since he had more important things to think about having just gotten engaged, and Joey barely reacted. Only Phoebe got excited and that didn't even last a whole scene. The second someone asked Monica if she wanted everyone to stop talking about the kiss and she said yes, they stopped. But then Joey started talking about something other than Monica (whether or not he could pass as 19) and that's when Monica stomped off to her bedroom like a brat. Frankly, Monica needed to grow up and mind her own business.

Edited August 16, 2018 by slf

[Joana]

10 hours ago, Jaclyn88 said:

I'm watching friends now and noticing that phoebe and Ross had quite a few friendship moments together . I think as far as opposite sex goes , Joey was closest to phoebe in the beginning but ended up being closest to rachel for the last few seasons .. but Chandler never seemed too close to phoebe or Rachel at all throughout the series . Even during Rachel's goodbyes to them all in the last episode , I think the reason rachel only said to chandler " let's just not ruin the moment by saying anything . " and they hugged , was because there were really no memories to talk about . Maybe just the cheesecake episode ? 

As much as I loved Monica and chandler together , I really missed Joey and chandler living together . Their friendship was really never the same after he moved out . I think their relationship was my favorite on the show . 

I think Rachel and Chandler got along really well in earlier seasons, talking about a general "vibe" between them rather than some specific moments. But then at some point (when Chandler and Monica moved in together?) they simply stopped interacting, which the writers must have noticed themselves after a while, hence the cheesecake episode, which was a classic "let's have two characters randomly bond because they haven't spoken to each other all season long" TV moment. Grey's Anatomy does that a lot, for example.

IMO putting Chandler and Monica together was both one of the best and one of the worst things to happen to the show. On one hand, they were a rare example of a loving, stable and drama-free TV couple and a perfect counter to all the Rachel/Ross madness. But on the other, pairing them off really affected their group dynamics and I don't think they were ever as tightly-knit as before.

[Danny Franks]

21 hours ago, Joana said:

IMO putting Chandler and Monica together was both one of the best and one of the worst things to happen to the show. On one hand, they were a rare example of a loving, stable and drama-free TV couple and a perfect counter to all the Rachel/Ross madness. But on the other, pairing them off really affected their group dynamics and I don't think they were ever as tightly-knit as before.

I think that a forced change in group dynamics like that can be really good for a TV show. If you look at Joey and Chandler, they could easily have become the Troy and Abed of Friends (and look, I liked Troy and Abed, but I got tired of them being joined at the hip for 99% of the show), and become very irksome. But making Chandler grow, in the relationship with Monica, opened up new storylines, and new pairings.

We got a lot more of Joey and Rachel as friends, which was great, we got more Joey and Ross as a pairing, and I thought they played really well off each other too. There was still that close friendship between Joey and Chandler, but it played in the background more, instead of as a driving force of either character. 

Monica suffered more, I think, because the gags about her being a controlling girlfriend,soon turned into guidelines for her as a character. For me, she became very difficult to like, after about season six. One moment that always springs to mind as defining 'Late Season Monica' was when she opened all their wedding presents, without Chandler, just because she couldn't wait. And this was in spite of agreeing they'd open them together.

[Jax7917]

All I kept thinking when she had the room full of presents was , don't most people give money as a gift for a wedding ? Maybe a few bring a gift but not that many . 

[Crs97]

As much as I disliked Monica’s opening the wedding gifts, I loved how she and Chandler resolved it with the high-five.  That was a marriage that would last.

[Inquisitionist]

I rewatched the final episodes of S7 and opening of S8 recently.  I had to Ffwd through Rachael's birthing scene.  First, there's no way Rachael would have been allowed to go that far past her due date, and second, the doctor would have known the baby was in breach position before active pushing even began.  Yet they wanted to portray this in such a "realistic" way with Jennifer Aniston all sweaty and scrunched up with her knees almost to her face.  I just couldn't take it.

Edited August 17, 2018 by Inquisitionist
Fixed typo.

[Bort]

1 hour ago, Crs97 said:

As much as I disliked Monica’s opening the wedding gifts, I loved how she and Chandler resolved it with the high-five.  That was a marriage that would last.

Yes, the resolution for what could've been a big fight was awesome. I remember thinking, "Now THAT'S a good couple."

 

Quote

Chandler: You opened all the presents without me? I thought we were supposed to do that together!

Monica: You kissed another woman?!

Chandler: Call it even?!

Monica: Okay!

::high-five::

[Jax7917]

I'm watching the one where mike asks phoebe to move in with him but then he finds out she eventually wants to get married so he moves out . They were pretty serious at this point to where they were moving in together , yet he never once mentioned he never wants to get married again ? A little far fetched . Not that everyone in relationships want to get married , but usually you go into a serious relationship keeping in mind that itll eventually lead to that and if that's not the case , then you'd more than likely say something at some point to make sure you're on the same page . 

[slf]

While there are moments that I like in the episode where Monica's identity get stolen I think the final scene with her and the thief was weird. I mean, the whole episode was that way - financially unstable control freak Monica bonding with the woman who stole her identity and spent all of her money - but Monica being sad she isn't going to have anyone to do fun but dumb stuff with and then the thief chastising Monica? 

[Madding crowd]

I also feel angry that the thief had the nerve to act like Monica did something wrong. I do like the end when Monica goes back to the dance class. 

[Meushell]

I like Phoebe and Mike, but too many plots points were taken from Monica and Chandler. She overhears him saying he loves her. He doesn’t want to get married (or acts like he doesn’t), so that an old boyfriend becomes competition. 

[JNM5505]

Watched a few episodes in the past several days. It was the London episodes and the three or four following that. There is one that is coming up I am extremely wary about, and since that thing (IDEFK) was brought up in the last two pages, I'll start with that.

The show seemed to go way over board with the incest, the jokes, the references. All of that. Monica and Ross seemed like the sort of brother and sister who hated, absolutely hated, each other's guts growing up. I understand sibling dynamics change as people grow older (hell, my sister and I couldn't stand each other when we were teenagers now we tolerate each other at best) but holy. fucking. jesus. christ. I don't know in what world a brother and sister would be okay with sharing incest related jokes, jokes about eachother's looks or sex lives. Or sharing stories about their sex lives or any other intimate details.

Still on that topic, someone in the previous page mentioned Ross raped Monica? l o l  l o l. Rape is sexual assault, when one forcibly penetrates another without their consent. All Ross penetrated was her mouth, he didn't go anywhere near Monica's privates. Or something like that, don't ask me to elaborate or think twice please. Ugh. /eyeroll But yeah, that wasn't cool what Ross did, I don't care he thought it was Rachel. The girl, whoever she was, was unconscious on a bed. You don't kiss an unconscious girl on the bed, whether she's your crush, your sister, or a complete stranger. No bueno, Ross. And Chandler should have punched Ross.

Or gone over to kiss Rachel. The only time I would be willing to condone 'Randler' post-London.

I, too, see a lot of parallels between Mike/Phoebe and Chandler/Monica. I think that's why they work so well. But at the same time, I do wish Mike/Phoebe had their original storylines, rather than plots ripped from various Chandler/Monica romantic or platonic scenes over the years.
 

Edited August 19, 2018 by kinnej5

[Jax7917]

Phoebe and mike seemed like an " oh shit . I forgot that phoebe needs to end up with someone at the end of this " from the writers . I was indifferent to them as a couple but that's probably just because I was indifferent to phoebe as a character . And Mike's character was boring as hell . 

Soeakung of phoebes love interests .. didn't phoebe and David only hang out for one episode ? Why do they make it seem like he was in phoebes life for a while in the later seasons when they hardly knew each other ? 

[JNM5505]

Yeah, and by then I think they had Joey crushing on Rachel so it would be weird for Phoebe/Joey to suddenly hook up. I'm glad they didn't go down that route though. All six friends being paired off as three groups would have been far too cliche.

I thought David was as dull as a rock. But he was supposed to be some uber science geek like Tesla or someone. Whatever. I actually liked Mike, but I did not like how they presented him or the whole premise of his and Phoebe's relationship. But again, I hated Phoebe in season 9 and 10, beginning around that time they made her breasts big (for plot contrivances with that pedophile) and just so ditzy. Mike seemed like an intelligent man until they dumbed him down, probably to make him more compatible with dumb, ditzy blonde Phoebe. Whatever.

I actually thought Joey was a wee bit (minus TOW Stripper Cries) smarter than Phoebe a couple times. And Joey is the stupidest of the stupidest, so that is saying something. /irony

[Meushell]

22 hours ago, kinnej5 said:

Still on that topic, someone in the previous page mentioned Ross raped Monica? l o l  l o l. Rape is sexual assault, when one forcibly penetrates another without their consent. All Ross penetrated was her mouth, he didn't go anywhere near Monica's privates. Or something like that, don't ask me to elaborate or think twice please. Ugh. /eyeroll But yeah, that wasn't cool what Ross did, I don't care he thought it was Rachel. The girl, whoever she was, was unconscious on a bed. You don't kiss an unconscious girl on the bed, whether she's your crush, your sister, or a complete stranger. No bueno, Ross. And Chandler should have punched Ross.

I believe you are combining my two topics I had in one post.

Topic 1: Ross kissing who he thought was Rachel being extremely creepy.

Topic 2: Chandler and Joey’s sister. I had always thought it went a lot farther than making out, and given how completely plastered Chandler was before she even arrived at the party, he wasn’t in the right mind to consent to sex.

[Dr.OO7]

I hated Rachel's idiotic behavior regarding her assistant Tag. She's lusting after him, so she hires him even though it means that she can't date him, but then does everything she can think of to keep him from getting involved with anyone else, like telling everyone that he's gay.

And then when he confronts her, she acts as if this is perfectly normal behavior. "Oh, did you not want me to tell people that?" First of all, it's not true, and secondly, even if it was, it's not her business to tell. She's damn lucky he didn't file a complaint against her--something the gang repeatedly warned her about.

[Jax7917]

4 minutes ago, Camille said:

I hated Rachel's idiotic behavior regarding her assistant Tag. She's lusting after him, so she hires him even though it means that she can't date him, but then does everything she can think of to keep him from getting involved with anyone else, like telling everyone that he's gay.

And then when he confronts her, she acts as if this is perfectly normal behavior. "Oh, did you not want me to tell people that?" First of all, it's not true, and secondly, even if it was, it's not her business to tell. She's damn lucky he didn't file a complaint against her--something the gang repeatedly warned her about.

Also , wasn't rachel once supposed to be the " it" girl ? The one every guy wants ? Why is she shown to be so pathetic obsessing over both him and joshuAAA ? I don't know who she was worse with 

[Dr.OO7]

1 hour ago, Jaclyn88 said:

Also , wasn't rachel once supposed to be the " it" girl ? The one every guy wants ? Why is she shown to be so pathetic obsessing over both him and joshuAAA ? I don't know who she was worse with 

They actually made Rachel quite pathetic over EVERY guy that she wanted. Look at the stupid way she acted over Ross.

[Meushell]

The audience cheering can be annoying. I know they are just cheering when told to cheer, so I blame whoever is in charge of telling them to cheer. It just feels inappropriate at times, like Ross saying the wrong name, or when he tells Rachel he’s not going to divorce her. 

[Dr.OO7]

Ack, yes. It reminds me of the final season of "Roseanne", when the audience was laughing at EVERYTHING.

"Good morning"

"HAHAHA!"

[Nellise]

4 hours ago, Meushell said:

The audience cheering can be annoying. I know they are just cheering when told to cheer, so I blame whoever is in charge of telling them to cheer. It just feels inappropriate at times, like Ross saying the wrong name, or when he tells Rachel he’s not going to divorce her. 

I think mostly that happened when it was something unexpected that happened that the audience liked. The audience was generally for any Ross+Rachel so that always got a positive response. I think in Friends most of the audience reactions were pretty genuine, like there's the blooper where the audience hates a joke and Matthew Perry even comments on it. It's not like Married...With Children where the audience is practically another cast member.

[JNM5505]

I hated how Chandler behaved in that two-part episode where he's wanting to propose to Monica. He's acting incredibly out of character, and don't even get me started on how badly Matthew Perry looks. I know I shouldn't knock real people, but jfc. What was going on with him? What's with the long hair and bloated face? Was it the drugs and booze?

(Actually, I can corroborate. It is drugs and booze.)

[Bort]

22 minutes ago, kinnej5 said:

(Actually, I can corroborate. It is drugs and booze.)

Doesn't explain the bad hair. 

[Jax7917]

I know Mathew perry was on and off drugs throughout the series , but he looked like a completely different person from the start to the middle of the series . And Its always so weird with the flashback episodes because everyone else could pull off the trying to look like they used to , but he couldn't .  I know it was obviously the weight gain , but his face just looked like a different person depending on which season it was . I liked his look best when he first started dating Monica . 

Edited August 27, 2018 by Jaclyn88

[Meushell]

2 hours ago, kinnej5 said:

I hated how Chandler behaved in that two-part episode where he's wanting to propose to Monica. He's acting incredibly out of character, 

I just saw that episode, and I had forgotten how bad he acts to throw Monica off. Richard or no, he should have known to back down when she was questioning the entire relationship.

Richard didn’t act as bad as I remembered. What he did was certainly wrong, but it’s not nearly as bad as what Ross and Rachel do throughout the show. 

[JNM5505]

What it all boils down to: Matthew Perry never should have been in that episode. He should have been conveniently absent, like in those episodes when Chandler got sent to "Tulsa" but Matthew was actually in rehab. I would have much liked to see the proposal take place off-screen.

Also, don't get me going on Courteney's hair and newly  botoxed face.

Edited August 27, 2018 by kinnej5

[Jax7917]

I guess if they didn't have chandler involved in that episode saying he didn't want to get married, it would have looked bad on Monica to debate getting back with Richard . They had to give her a logical reason to consider giving Richard another chance because otherwise it would have looked like she would drop chandler in a heartbeat for him . 

[Bort]

2 hours ago, Jaclyn88 said:

I liked his look best when he first started dating Monica . 

I liked Perry’s season 1 look, he looked healthy then. And in the last season, he was back to looking healthy — and downright hot, actually. 

[Jax7917]

4 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

I liked Perry’s season 1 look, he looked healthy then. And in the last season, he was back to looking healthy — and downright hot, actually. 

Yes , he looked good in season 10 again . 

[Madding crowd]

Ever time I see the episode after they engaged (Rachel stealing Monica's thunder), I think Matthew Perry's teeth look so strange. It almost looks like he got fake teeth over night. Then a few episodes later they look more natural again. It may have been weight loss in his face from drug use-I don't know.

Talking about Rachel and Tag: I always hated how she behaved around him. I especially hated when the woman from her office asked if it was Tag's backback she was putting on and she said "I don't want to be the office bitch, but I will report you to your supervisor." Report her for what? Asking a question? I also thought it was incredibly stupid for her to write the sex performance review instead of real one. Then again, I never felt Rachel was all that serious about her job and was kind of an airhead in general. I give credit to Jennifer Aniston for making Rachel kind of lovable despite it. 

[Nellise]

11 minutes ago, Madding crowd said:

Ever time I see the episode after they engaged (Rachel stealing Monica's thunder), I think Matthew Perry's teeth look so strange. It almost looks like he got fake teeth over night. Then a few episodes later they look more natural again. It may have been weight loss in his face from drug use-I don't know.

He did get his teeth fixed between seasons 4 and 5, but season 7 (the season after they're engaged) is when it's really obvious he's not right. He lost a ton of weight between 6 and 7 and his mannerisms in especially the early season 7 episodes are really weird. He can't smile properly, he moves his head around a lot every time he talks, and even his speech is a bit off.

11 minutes ago, Madding crowd said:

Talking about Rachel and Tag: I always hated how she behaved around him. I especially hated when the woman from her office asked if it was Tag's backpack she was putting on and she said "I don't want to be the office bitch, but I will report you to your supervisor." Report her for what? Asking a question?

I think we must be watching the same episodes at the same time :). There's actually a really funny small moment right after Rachel says that and after the girl leaves. As she turns to go into her office, she makes a wtf face knowing what she said made no sense.

Edited August 27, 2018 by Nellise

[Dr.OO7]

1 hour ago, Madding crowd said:

Talking about Rachel and Tag: I always hated how she behaved around him. I especially hated when the woman from her office asked if it was Tag's backback she was putting on and she said "I don't want to be the office bitch, but I will report you to your supervisor." Report her for what? Asking a question?

Rachel had a bad habit of being incredibly possessive of guys she liked--when she WASN'T involved with them. Note her bitchiness to and about nearly every one of the girlfriends or potential girlfriends of these guys, and her attempts at interfering in the relationships. And even worse, she did this under the pretense of friendship!

"Don't sleep with Julie! Girls love it when a guy won't have sex with them!"

"Shave your head, Bonnie! It'll be cool!"

I really hated the gang's constantly ridiculing Ross' relationship with Elizabeth. You would that Monica at least, would be okay, given that she dated someone 21 years her senior and had to deal with his friends giving her a hard time. Instead, she's as bad as the rest of them.

Edited August 28, 2018 by Camille

[Madding crowd]

Monica also slept with a guy still in high school although she thought he was in college. 

[Bort]

And they made fun of her for it. I think it’s less about the age difference and more about the extreme youth. It’s a bit of social hinderance to be a full blown adult dating someone who can’t drink yet.

[Dr.OO7]

I get that. And if Elizabeth had been some bratty dimwit, I would have gotten it. But she wasn't. She was a very nice, intelligent girl, so it just made the "Friends" attitude look even worse.

[Bort]

Elizabeth was nice, yes. And one of the few girlfriends of Ross’s that Rachel was pleasant to.

[Meushell]

2 hours ago, Camille said:

I really hated the gang's constantly ridiculing Ross' relationship with Elizabeth. You would that Monica at least, would be okay, given that she dated someone 21 years her senior and had to deal with his friends giving her a hard time. Instead, she's as bad as the rest of them.

Then Rachel started dating Elizabeth’s Dad, but that was okay for some reason. Rachel doesn’t care how weird that would be for Ross. She brought up him dating her sister, but she (and apparently Ross) conveniently forgot that Ross only did so because he thought Rachel was okay with it, and he ended the relationship after learning she wasn’t.

I liked the Ross/Elizabeth relationship when he wasn’t being weird about it (he got a little possessive when she was going to go on spring break).

[Bort]

41 minutes ago, Meushell said:

I liked the Ross/Elizabeth relationship when he wasn’t being weird about it (he got a little possessive when she was going to go on spring break).

Yeah, that was classic controlling Ross. Trying to hide her swimsuit a couple of times because he thought it was too revealing? Crashing her vacation plans by inviting himself along? Elizabeth was probably a great girlfriend for someone else down the road, as she was able to take Ross’s possessiveness and controlling tendencies in stride.

[JNM5505]

I hate what they did to Bruce Willis' and Elizabeth's characters. They turned Bruce Willis into a whiny little man-baby, and for what? To pave way for more Rachel/Joey foreshadowing? Which never actually went somwhere–oh, but the next episode has more Rachel/Joey–for Ross/Rachel rendezvous in the hallway? I liked Elizabeth until they made her a bitch by dealing with the break-up badly and the way she behaved in her final episode. I don't think Daddy Bruce would like that so much!

What I don't understand is why they keep shoving Rachel/Joey down our throats. How about exploring Rachel and Chandler's friendship a bit more? Rachel's been paired off with Ross, Phoebe, Monica, and Joey (in order of frequency) and never with Chandler! Did Jen and Matthew hate each other or something? Actually, I just remembered... people were probably bitching about that round this time eighteen years ago so the writers said "Oh, yeah, we need to get them together for a plot. Let's do cheesecakes!" (because cheesecakes when your lovers are away on family business)

A few episode from now is when Tag makes an appearance. It's hard to believe it's actually Eddie Cahill! He looks so young! I did not like that relationship because Rachel handled it all wrong. She was so clingy and possessive when it came to him and other women. It's like her and Ross' roles were reversed in the clinginess and possessiveness.

Edited August 28, 2018 by kinnej5

[Guest]

I hated Rachel’s work relationship with Tag. She was so unprofessional throughout and it really undermined her as a professional. I never really bought her as someone good at her job to get promotions and transfers because practically every time we saw her at work, she was completely unprofessional and incompetent. I know that was likely because they only showed her work when they needed it for a plot, but still.

[Joana]

I realize this is probably a wildly unpopular opinion, but I absolutely detested the way the show treated Emily after the wedding fiasco and made her look like some kind of a deranged shrew. Yes, demanding that Ross should never see Rachel again was unreasonable given that she was living with her sister at the time, but IMO, Emily was entitled to act a bit unreasonably after the public humiliation she had to endure, at least for a little while. And instead of explaning the impracticalities of her condition to get back with him and work on finding a compromise solution, Ross acts like not being able to hang out with Rachel anymore is a huge tragedy in itself, which should be more than enough of a red flag for Emily. Also, the rest of the gang would obviously take Rachel's side as she was their friend, but it's awful how none of them could show the tiniest bit of sympathy for Emily or at least try to see her point of view.

I realize they had to write Emily out as the actress got pregnant (and wasn't feeling comfortable on set in general), but they could have done it more tactfully. 

Edited August 28, 2018 by Joana

[Jax7917]

I agree with the Emily post and I posted something similar recently . Yes , it was a little unreasonable for Emily to request Ross not see rachel given Rachel's living situation with Monica , but it was A LOT unreasonable for Ross to say his ex girlfriends name at their wedding and expect Emily not to believe that he still had feelings for Rachel . If my new husband did that , I probably wouldn't have married him to begin with .. but if I did , I would think the least he could do for me is be willing to not hang out with that person ( especially daily .) 

Although I have to say, from the moment Ross started dating Emily , he did seem pretty over Rachel and he never really went back to pining over her . The name thing at the wedding was pretty random considering he was never shown to be romantically into her after that , even when they both were very single years later . 

[Joana]

Not to mention that Rachel wasn't aware that she had feelings for Ross until Phoebe basically convinced her she still loved him. 

I remember how HUGE a deal it was at the time, but looking back to it, the whole thing was awfully contrived. 

[JNM5505]

I hated the way the writers wrote Emily off after Ross said Rachel's name. I know Helen Baxendale was pregnant, and as someone else said, she didn't want to be on set. But that was no way to give Emily the treatment that she was given, and I agree that the others could have been a little bit more open and understanding as to where Emily was coming from. Sure, she was being unreasonable; but it's understandable why she felt that way.

On the other hand, it was completely out of the blue for Ross to say Rachel's name and Rachel had no interest in Ross until as someone else just said, Phoebe pointed it out to her. I'm noticing Ross and Rachel never have feelings or any interest in it unless the plot calls for it. How contrived.

[Vision]

The strength of Friends was in the acting and the chemistry between the characters. The writing was always hit-or-miss. Even at its zenith, there were lots of jokes that fell flat or plot points that seemed ridiculous (and that was before you added the cynicism that comes with hindsight). A classic example of this is the scene in the "Ross's Sandwich" episode where Joey finds Monica's nude selfie that was meant for Chandler. Rachel freaks out after she catches Joey looking at the picture, the gang all gathers to find out what's going on, and Joey is forced to make up a lie about sleeping with Monica in order to save face. Back when I saw it the first time, I don't think I ever laughed so hard at a television scene. To this day, I still get a kick out of watching Joey stammer for an explanation, Rachel almost break into tears when Monica confirms Joey's story, and Ross's disgust at the notion of Monica keeping Joey's underwear. But at the same time, I'm rolling my eyes at the idea that Monica and Chandler wouldn't just confess their relationship at that point. You're telling me that you have two choices--admit that you fell in love with one of your friends and are now in a caring, committed relationship, or else lie about having a one-night stand with a different friend and then borderline stalking him afterward--and you choose the second option? It was a totally contrived situation, but it still worked because the actors sold it so well.

The show was always at its best when it felt realistic and believable, and at its worst when they got into the contrived or the absurd. Ross failing at flirting with the pizza delivery girl ("You know the smell gas has? They put that in.") was hilarious to me because who couldn't picture themselves trying to talk to someone they like, failing, and desperately trying to come up with anything to save the conversation? On the other hand, Ross not getting the annulment because he can't take the idea of having three divorces...are you kidding me? I think that also might be why Phoebe is so many people's least favorite character. Everyone else has moments where they get to be funny while acting normal. Even Joey, who is as ostensibly as dumb as Phoebe, has plenty of moments where he's just a normal guy shooting the breeze with his friends. With Phoebe, every line has to be some zany, absurd statement ("How about you get her an engagement bracelet? Or an engagement Revolutionary War musket!")

Overall, though, Friends is still one of my favorite shows of all-time, and the really annoying things only become in-your-face-apparent when you watch them for the 10th time.

Edited August 28, 2018 by Vision

[JNM5505]

I just watched TOW All the Cheesecakes and there are so many things wrong with it. Nothing even happens in this episodes, it feels like a filler episode; much like the one after it, which I'm about to watch.

David the Scientist Guy is one of my least favorite character. Phoebe says something to Joey "Well if you could..." and it sounds to me like she is referring to the Large Hadron Collider? Hasn't that been developed over the years as different equipment to attempt to recreate or get more information on the Big Bang? I remember reading about the previous Hadron Collider in 2002 and freaking the hell out. This was only a year after the episode aired.

Also, what's the obsession with Russia? I'm not trying to tread hot waters here, but it seems like there are numerous references to Russia in this show. What about other countries, like Norway or Venezuela? Do David Crane or Marta Kaufmann have affiliation with the country?

Also, Minsk is in Belarus, not Russia.

Edited August 29, 2018 by kinnej5

[Nellise]

2 hours ago, kinnej5 said:

David the Scientist Guy is one of my least favorite character. Phoebe says something to Joey "Well if you could..." and it sounds to me like she is referring to the Large Hadron Collider? Hasn't that been developed over the years as different equipment to attempt to recreate or get more information on the Big Bang? I remember reading about the previous Hadron Collider in 2002 and freaking the hell out. This was only a year after the episode aired.

David wasn't supposed to be working at the LHC, he was just in some lab doing other research. You can still do subatomic research on equipment much less powerful than the LHC.  The LHC is just for super high end cutting edge stuff that needs a ton of energy. It's also near Geneva, Switzerland which might be a place Phoebe would like to go so that wouldn't work for keeping them apart. Phoebe's joke was just that David would be free to come back if Joey managed to finish David's research for him.

 

2 hours ago, kinnej5 said:

Also, what's the obsession with Russia? I'm not trying to tread hot waters here, but it seems like there are numerous references to Russia in this show. What about other countries, like Norway or Venezuela? Do David Crane or Marta Kaufmann have affiliation with the country?

Also, Minsk is in Belarus, not Russia.

Other than David, what was Russian related? One reason David was sent there is that it's an old USSR city and can be thought of as a place they'd be doing atomic research (unlike say Venezuela), and Minsk is far enough away and not as easily accessible as maybe Moscow or St. Petersburg (or some other European city) where Phoebe might actually want to visit .