Friends - General Discussion

[Ms Blue Jay]

Personally I do love Ross, even though I think he was a horrible boyfriend to Rachel and yeah, I'd say his cheating is worse than what Rachel did, but that's just my personal opinion.  Ross is my third favourite character and David Schwimmer gets so much funnier in Season 5 and on.  His breakdown at losing his wife just gave the writers and David so much more opportunity for David to show what a good comic actor he can be.

I love Chandler, but he did go after Kathy when Joey and Kathy were together.  He didn't know how to deal with feelings and honesty.  He could have just approached Joey and admitted things but he couldn't.  I don't think he was perfect.

Edited May 17, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[geauxaway]

7 hours ago, MadyGirl1987 said:

Unpopular opinion time; I’ve been watching a lot of reruns on TV and one thing I don’t get is why Ross gets all the hate. Yeah, he has his rotten moments, but he just doesn’t strike me as any worse then things the other friends did. I mean, yeah he was jealous and insecure in his relationship with Rachel, and sleeping with another woman(even though I contend they were on a break) and trying to hide it was awful, is that any worse then Rachel’s irrational hatred of Julie, getting Bonnie to shave her head so Ross would break up with her or going to London to tell Ross she loves him when marrying Julie? In fact, the reason I hate Ross and Rachel is that they both bring out the worst in each other. I just don’t see why Ross gets so much hate when all of the Friends have their bad moments.

I honestly don’t hate any of the Friends.  I don’t even think I hate any of the tertiary characters. I don’t hate anyone on this show because there was never an evil or villain.  They all have faults, but it was all comedic.  And they ALL make me laugh.  Always.

[Kiki777]

6 minutes ago, geauxaway said:

 I don’t even think I hate any of the tertiary characters. 

I hated Janice, aka cheap Fran Drescher knockoff.  There is only one Fran! 😝 

[geauxaway]

15 minutes ago, Kiki777 said:

I hated Janice, aka cheap Fran Drescher knockoff.  There is only one Fran! 😝 

Yah, but if you go out and do a OH. MY.  GAWD.  It’s a Janice.  
 

And don’t get me wrong. My grandma claims there was only 2 shows worth watching on TV.  Wheel and The Nanny.  🤷🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤣

[Hiyo]

I didn't hate any of the Friends either, there were just some I might like more than the others.

Now, as for the tertiary characters, there were some I didn't like...but Janice wasn't one of them.

[readster]

7 hours ago, Hiyo said:

I didn't hate any of the Friends either, there were just some I might like more than the others.

Now, as for the tertiary characters, there were some I didn't like...but Janice wasn't one of them.

I have to agree, if any of the tertiary characters that I was happy when we didn't see them anymore was Ross's ex wife and her partner. By the end of the series I was like: "Why keep them on, you don't even show Ben anymore?"

[Hiyo]

I didn't mind Ross' ex-wife, though I wasn't crazy about her partner...

But someone I did not care for at all was Phoebe's half-brother.

[readster]

36 minutes ago, Hiyo said:

I didn't mind Ross' ex-wife, though I wasn't crazy about her partner...

But someone I did not care for at all was Phoebe's half-brother.

Luckily we really only got a couple of seasons of him. Then didn't see them until the final season. I know it had to do more with the actors doing other work with That 70s Show and CBS. I just felt when they brought in Frank Sr it add NOTHING for Phoebe. Basically you got a guy who somehow got himself through pharmacy school. Could just disappear when he wanted to. Keep his job and then magically get information from people and show up out of the blue. His excuse: "You kids hated me." Considering his twins were barely 1 and his son was 9 later on. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

I hate Emily, but I loved Frank Jr.  Giovanni Ribisi is so talented.

[blondiec0332]

25 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I hate Emily, but I loved Frank Jr.  Giovanni Ribisi is so talented.

I also hated Emily. She was not a likable character.  Which I'm sure was the point.  

 

[Hiyo]

I think she was likeable before the wedding...

[Bort]

I found Emily a little bit frightening in the rugby episode when she was telling Ross the best way to hurt other players. 

[VagueDisclaimer]

TOW Mrs. Bing has one of the most (unintentionally, likely) creepy storylines. No, not Ross making out with Chandler’s mom, but Monica and Phoebe fawning over a stranger in a coma, even going as far as changing his pajamas. 

Edited May 19, 2020 by VagueDisclaimer

[Hiyo]

I always thought that story was maybe inspired by the movie While You Were Sleeping, but it actually was aired months before the movie came out...

[Ms Blue Jay]

7 hours ago, blondiec0332 said:

I also hated Emily. She was not a likable character.  Which I'm sure was the point.  

Right.  I liked Julie, and Bonnie never did anything offensive.  I think that the writers just went too overboard making Emily unlikeable.  

I know that Paget Brewster has a lot of fans, but I'm not really a fan of Kathy's either.  And Elle MacPherson as Janine was just such a bad actor.  And that student Ross dated just looked way too young.  

6 hours ago, VagueDisclaimer said:

TOW Mrs. Bing has one of the most (unintentionally, likely) creepy storylines. No, not Ross making out with Chandler’s mom, but Monica and Phoebe fawning over a stranger in a coma, even going as far as changing his pajamas. 

The One with Mrs. Bing - air date, January 5 1995

While You Were Sleeping - Release date, April 21 1995

Isn't that weird??

Edited May 20, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[voiceover]

Rewatching one of my faves, "TOW Rachel is Late".  Jennifer & David were so good together in this!  Loved Ross's snarky wondering if the OB could deliver a baby that was "half-human, half pure evil!"  And after her Dr suggests sex as a way to hasten delivery, the *look Rachel gives him..."Whaddaya think?" always cracks me up.

One of Jen's strongest performances.  I liked it even better than the delivery eps.

[readster]

9 hours ago, voiceover said:

Rewatching one of my faves, "TOW Rachel is Late".  Jennifer & David were so good together in this!  Loved Ross's snarky wondering if the OB could deliver a baby that was "half-human, half pure evil!"  And after her Dr suggests sex as a way to hasten delivery, the *look Rachel gives him..."Whaddaya think?" always cracks me up.

One of Jen's strongest performances.  I liked it even better than the delivery eps.

The writing on having Rachel being in a join room with 3 other women who have a baby "magically" before her was not only too much, but then the fact she listen to Janice of all people are about Ross "wouldn't be there for her." This coming from the woman who kept going back to her ex-husband then finally dropped him after she got together with another man and just magically had his baby in less than 2 years. 

 I get the writers were trying to play on Rachel just tired and exhausted, I mean she had a baby. However at the same time, they painted Joey as a moron, because he had no idea to pull out that box and open it and seeing a ring, turns to Rachel? I mean come on!

[wendyg]

mojoween: for "best lines" really I'd credit the writers. Perry said them very well, granted, but an actor can't do much without lines to say.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Sure, but Matthew Perry's comedic timing and line delivery is just impeccable.  Of course credit goes to the writers, but Matt Perry is definitely one of the best comedic actors I've seen.

[readster]

7 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Sure, but Matthew Perry's comedic timing and line delivery is just impeccable.  Of course credit goes to the writers, but Matt Perry is definitely one of the best comedic actors I've seen.

It was kind of how John Ritter on Three's Company worked. The writers put in the lines, but it was his delivery, timing and how he would at times come up with things on the spot that made Jack Ripper so beloved. 

[chitowngirl]

TOW the Videotape was just perfect all around. Joey being “Ken Adams”, the backpacking story...

[blondiec0332]

1 hour ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Sure, but Matthew Perry's comedic timing and line delivery is just impeccable.  Of course credit goes to the writers, but Matt Perry is definitely one of the best comedic actors I've seen.

It was also his reactions.  If you watch him when the other actors are saying their lines he has some great facial expressions.  

I always remember in TOW George Stephanopolous the girls had dropped a pillow off the balcony and later in the episode Chandler opens the door and someone hands him the pillow. Matthew Perry has this great look on his face like WTF but Ok whatever.

[Hiyo]

I think they all had great moments, and were all perfect casting.

Lisa Kudrow in that same episode also had some great moments she nailed perfectly, where they are watching George Stephanopoulos. The first is when she shouts "Hey that's not for you, bitch!" and then later "There he is!" "Where?!?!" "Right...where we've looking all night..."

 

[Hiyo]

I think one of my favorite Mathew Perry reactions was in the episode where Chandler, Joey, and Monica are explaining to others about what happened with the jelly fish stinging Monica (Ewwwww!). At one point Chandler is standing behind Monica while she is explaining, he is about to put his hands on her shoulders to comfort her, stops before he does, and just has this hilarious expression on his face.

 

[Ms Blue Jay]

1 hour ago, blondiec0332 said:

It was also his reactions.  If you watch him when the other actors are saying their lines he has some great facial expressions.  

I always remember in TOW George Stephanopolous the girls had dropped a pillow off the balcony and later in the episode Chandler opens the door and someone hands him the pillow. Matthew Perry has this great look on his face like WTF but Ok whatever.

I think when Emily finally calls Ross back after he says the wrong name at their wedding, he freaks out and picks up a lamp and hands it to Chandler also.  LOL

In the Brad Pitt episode, Phoebe is so hilarious over how hot he is, and I think Brad's character asks anyone for a high five.  Phoebe finally gives in and gives him a big, lingering hug instead.  Chandler's face in the background is so good.

There's also a hilarious background moment when Joey is wearing a towel or a robe and somebody says "Please cover up Joey."  As he's trying to cover up, Phoebe's eyes kind of linger between his legs.  HAHAHHAHAHA

Edited May 20, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[Hiyo]

Speaking of Emily, how do you like Chandler's English accent?

 

Edited May 20, 2020 by Hiyo

[helenamonster]

On 5/20/2020 at 1:53 PM, Hiyo said:

I think they all had great moments, and were all perfect casting.

Lisa Kudrow in that same episode also had some great moments she nailed perfectly, where they are watching George Stephanopoulos. The first is when she shouts "Hey that's not for you, bitch!" and then later "There he is!" "Where?!?!" "Right...where we've looking all night..."

 

I've also always loved:

"Phoebe, do you have a plan?"
"I don't even have a pla."

[Rockstar99435]

On 5/17/2020 at 9:28 AM, MadyGirl1987 said:

Unpopular opinion time; I’ve been watching a lot of reruns on TV and one thing I don’t get is why Ross gets all the hate. Yeah, he has his rotten moments, but he just doesn’t strike me as any worse then things the other friends did. I mean, yeah he was jealous and insecure in his relationship with Rachel, and sleeping with another woman(even though I contend they were on a break) and trying to hide it was awful, is that any worse then Rachel’s irrational hatred of Julie, getting Bonnie to shave her head so Ross would break up with her or going to London to tell Ross she loves him when marrying Julie? In fact, the reason I hate Ross and Rachel is that they both bring out the worst in each other. I just don’t see why Ross gets so much hate when all of the Friends have their bad moments.

For me, it's because Friends is ultimately a wishfulment show. I just started high school when the show originally started and it was everything I hoped my life would be like in my 20's. I'd leave my stupid podunk town and get to live in a giant New York apartment and have a cool group of friends who were closer than family while having fun adventures. And each character had at least one aspect that I admired or wished I could have. Chandler was smart and could always think of something funny and clever to say. Monica was fun and everyone wanted to hang out at her house. Joey and Rachel had glamorous careers. Phoebe was the fun, free spirit. But Ross didn't really fit into any part of my wishfulment. The show didn't really give him any wins. His career was DINOSAURS but the show presented it as boring and lame. So his faults always seemed worse to me because I didn't think he brought anything that balanced out the bad. 

[Hiyo]

I'd say Ross was the occasional (and needed) voice of reason, even if his delivery sucked. And even then, he always had your back.

[geauxaway]

Ross was also the only one for a long time to have a kid.  So, I think that was kind of his “thing,” even though Ben wasn’t a huge part of the show, when it started he was the only one who was married and had been married (minus Phoebe and her ice dancer).  He was the stable and reliable one.  Until he wasn’t 🤣.  

[mojoween]

Last night I had a dream, that I cannot remember the specifics of, that featured Chandler and Robin Sparkles (and I have never watched “How I Met Your Mother”) and I guess this is a result of falling asleep to Nick at Nite.

The early season episode that had the bullies in it was one of my least favorites, but last night was a close second when Rachel’s dad had the heart attack.

Ross’s behavior in Dr. Greene’s hospital room was such a clusterfuck of inanity it makes me angry with the writer for coming up with that dreck.  David did what he could with it but still.

And I cannot even get started on the trope of a man who is “unconscious and heavily sedated” waking up and carrying on a conversation.

[readster]

3 minutes ago, mojoween said:

 

The early season episode that had the bullies in it was one of my least favorites, but last night was a close second when Rachel’s dad had the heart attack.

Ross’s behavior in Dr. Greene’s hospital room was such a clusterfuck of inanity it makes me angry with the writer for coming up with that dreck.  David did what he could with it but still.

And I cannot even get started on the trope of a man who is “unconscious and heavily sedated” waking up and carrying on a conversation.

Even Dr. Green's dialogue is horrible and the situation he was in made the lines even more painful. Just all around it was an extremely bad episode, I remember even NBC hyping it up back in the day. I think they knew too just how BAD it was going to be. 

[Irlandesa]

22 hours ago, Rockstar99435 said:

But Ross didn't really fit into any part of my wishfulment. The show didn't really give him any wins. His career was DINOSAURS but the show presented it as boring and lame.

Ross presented the academic wish fulfillment of being able to get a PhD is something "obscure" that he just loved and was able to work with it in educational settings (museums and universities). So while not everyone's cup of tea, there were definitely people it spoke to in ways that the more artistic/creative pursuits of fashion, acting, singing and cooking (I'd argue that it's an art) did not.  And one thing I liked in the later seasons was when they went to the academic conference in Barbados because he was the keynote speaker, he treated as the cool rock star by conference attendees much to the surprise of his friends.  Rachel, Joey and Chandler (oh my goodness, especially Chandler who not only made jokes throughout his best friend and brother-in-law's speech but mocked an attendee for enjoying it*) came off as the assholes.

On 5/17/2020 at 5:42 PM, Ms Blue Jay said:

I love Chandler, but he did go after Kathy when Joey and Kathy were together.  He didn't know how to deal with feelings and honesty.  He could have just approached Joey and admitted things but he couldn't.  I don't think he was perfect.

Nope.  He was also probably the most homophobic of the friends.  And while Perry perfected the Could you BE any more... delivery, there were many times where it just made him an asshole.  Sometimes I'd laugh but I realize I was laughing with an asshole instead of at one.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I think the show started with Chandler being unable to not mock his friends at every opportunity, but I think there was a shift around Season 6/Mondler where that person became Phoebe.  Phoebe just got so mean, and Chandler was more tamed and made out to be Monica's wimp, I think.

[Mr. Meatball Man]

I meant to post this last week, but does anyone feel like Ross in season eight was a little pathetic? He didn't even feel like himself half the time. Everything he was doing to help Rachel out, having to take her crap because she was pregnant and cranky, agreeing not to see anyone but not wanting to rush into anything with Rachel but maybe wanting to start things up again with her.......it was ridiculous. Even the way David Schwimmer plays him is different. He barely even yells, he's more soft-spoken and mild-mannered.

I think it was the pregnancy because in season nine, Ross felt a lot more like his old self. 

[readster]

2 hours ago, Mr. Meatball Man said:

I meant to post this last week, but does anyone feel like Ross in season eight was a little pathetic? He didn't even feel like himself half the time. Everything he was doing to help Rachel out, having to take her crap because she was pregnant and cranky, agreeing not to see anyone but not wanting to rush into anything with Rachel but maybe wanting to start things up again with her.......it was ridiculous. Even the way David Schwimmer plays him is different. He barely even yells, he's more soft-spoken and mild-mannered.

I think it was the pregnancy because in season nine, Ross felt a lot more like his old self. 

I think they were also trying to write Ross more like Season 1 with his ex's pregnancy and him trying to be careful not to cause something that made him an "outsider" to his own child's life. I mean if you look at it, by season 8, Ross not only has been divorced three times, but ended up having a baby with two of them. The third being someone who he still loved and cared for. Plus, if you look at Rachel how she was handling things even after revealing things too Ross. Why wouldn't he be just take the hits and just smile and not deal with it. By season 9 and all the crap with the first few episodes, Ross saw Emma A LOT MORE than he did with Ben the first few years. It was like things clicked and Ross went pretty much back to normal... until Charlie happened. 

[Mr. Meatball Man]

3 hours ago, readster said:

I think they were also trying to write Ross more like Season 1 with his ex's pregnancy and him trying to be careful not to cause something that made him an "outsider" to his own child's life. I mean if you look at it, by season 8, Ross not only has been divorced three times, but ended up having a baby with two of them. The third being someone who he still loved and cared for. Plus, if you look at Rachel how she was handling things even after revealing things too Ross. Why wouldn't he be just take the hits and just smile and not deal with it. By season 9 and all the crap with the first few episodes, Ross saw Emma A LOT MORE than he did with Ben the first few years. It was like things clicked and Ross went pretty much back to normal... until Charlie happened. 

Yeah, that makes sense. I think the writers were trying to turn Ross into a more sympathetic figure, similar to who he was in the earlier seasons. After breaking up with Rachel the first time and divorcing Emily, he had become more cartoonish and gained rough edges. He was crazier than before and this might have been the writers' way of bringing him back down to Earth. You couldn't have insane, "I'm on sabbatical, I didn't get the annulment, am I giving off a sexy professor vibe" Ross trying to help Rachel through her pregnancy. 

After season eight and the start of season nine, it's like the writers flipped a switch and brought insane Ross back as soon as they could. I didn't have a problem with it because insane Ross was funnier, but it's just interesting to see him refuse to date anyone for Rachel's sake, and about ten episodes later, he's hiding messages that Rachel gets from guys she meets at the bar. 😂

[Bort]

34 minutes ago, Mr. Meatball Man said:

it's just interesting to see him refuse to date anyone for Rachel's sake, and about ten episodes later, he's hiding messages that Rachel gets from guys she meets at the bar.

That wasn’t even a new thing for him, he was hiding her messages before he was even dating her, ie taking the message from Casey/KC (“at the bat or and the sunshine gang”) and putting it in the cabinet over the fridge.

[Nellise]

I'm weird. I'm excited I get to watch Friends again this week. Not really sure why I think that though. I own all the dvds and they're sitting right next to my tv and I can watch it any time I want.

I hope they use the right versions of the episodes since I think there are at least 3 main versions: broadcast, syndicated, dvd. I think the dvd versions are the full uncut ones, right? I think that's what was on Netflix but I never really checked. They didn't seem to be missing anything to me.

 

 

[Ms Blue Jay]

The DVD versions insert the deleted scenes back into the episodes which makes them longer, which is amazing.  I have the Blu Ray set and I've always been curious whether those do, too.  I haven't watched enough to know.

Edited May 25, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[WendyCR72]

5 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

The DVD versions insert the deleted scenes back into the episodes which makes them longer, which is amazing.  I have the Blu Ray set and I've always been curious whether those do, too.  I haven't watched enough to know.

The Blu-Rays are the broadcast versions as shown on NBC. The explanation was that the deleted material put on DVDs could not be upgraded in quality for the Blu-Rays.

[Ms Blue Jay]

1 hour ago, WendyCR72 said:

The Blu-Rays are the broadcast versions as shown on NBC. The explanation was that the deleted material put on DVDs could not be upgraded in quality for the Blu-Rays.

That's awful.  Especially for the money we spent on them.

[BetterButter]

 

[mojoween]

This probably will only bother me, but when everyone was sitting on the bed eating wax when Ross and Rachel were arguing, it’s super gross that Monica’s feet are up against the wall directly between Chandler and Joey’s heads. 

[Hiyo]

Super gross indeed, for Monica. You know her feet are probably cleaner than either Chandler or Joey's heads.

[WendyCR72]

So today is the heralded debut of HBO Max, the new streaming home for this show. Unless you are one of the MANY unlucky souls to watch on Roku or Amazon Fire. (As I am.) Apparently, the suits on both sides have yet to come to an agreement.  😞

That said, you can still get a free 7-day trial provided you don't mind watching via computer on the HBO Max website.

[Nellise]

2 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

So today is the heralded debut of HBO Max, the new streaming home for this show. Unless you are one of the MANY unlucky souls to watch on Roku or Amazon Fire. (As I am.) Apparently, the suits on both sides have yet to come to an agreement.  😞

That said, you can still get a free 7-day trial provided you don't mind watching via computer on the HBO Max website.

I lucked out. I use a Roku stick, but I had just bought a new Samsung tv about 3 weeks ago that does have it.

I read more about the different episode versions. Only DVDs had the extended scenes added in, Netflix had the blue-ray versions and I'm guessing Max does too.

[RealHousewife]

Coworkers and friends are telling me this show would be a good lighthearted program to watch during this crazy time. I'm thinking of giving it another chance. 

What's the best place to watch it? I know it's no longer on Netflix. 

[WendyCR72]

53 minutes ago, RealHousewife said:

Coworkers and friends are telling me this show would be a good lighthearted program to watch during this crazy time. I'm thinking of giving it another chance. 

What's the best place to watch it? I know it's no longer on Netflix. 

HBO Max is the new home for all 10 seasons. If you sign up, you get a 7-day free trial. However, if you watch via Roku or Amazon Fire, you will have to watch on your tablet or computer for now as neither streaming platform has a deal in place to put the HBO Max app on their platforms.

[RealHousewife]

10 minutes ago, WendyCR72 said:

HBO Max is the new home for all 10 seasons. If you sign up, you get a 7-day free trial. However, if you watch via Roku or Amazon Fire, you will have to watch on your tablet or computer for now as neither streaming platform has a deal in place to put the HBO Max app on their platforms.

Thank you. :)