Friends - General Discussion

[chitowngirl]

10 hours ago, helenamonster said:

I wonder if it was a case of confirmation bias. Presumably she was told before she first ate them that it was Phoebe's grandmother's secret recipe. Knowing--or assuming, in this case--that something is special like that can influence how we perceive it.

And Monica insisted she tasted nutmeg and mocked those that didn’t and said it was because she’s a professional. There’s no nutmeg in the Tollhouse recipe.

[Katy M]

4 hours ago, chitowngirl said:

And Monica insisted she tasted nutmeg and mocked those that didn’t and said it was because she’s a professional. There’s no nutmeg in the Tollhouse recipe.

Maybe Phoebe's grandmother added nutmeg.  I double the vanilla when I make them.  Lots of people will change up an ingredient when making something like that.  

[chitowngirl]

Nutmeg and extra vanilla makes everything better!

1 hour ago, Katy M said:

Maybe Phoebe's grandmother added nutmeg.  I double the vanilla when I make them.  Lots of people will change up an ingredient when making something like that.  

 

[Irlandesa]

2 hours ago, Katy M said:

Maybe Phoebe's grandmother added nutmeg.  I double the vanilla when I make them.  Lots of people will change up an ingredient when making something like that.  

Maybe.  It's also possible that Monica was wrong.  You'd think chefs would be great testers but that's not always the case as the blind taste test they do on Top Chef will show. 

Unlike vanilla, which is already present in most chocolate chip cookies, nutmeg is distinctive and would stand out to even non-expert tasters.  They'd recognize something was different about them.  I'll add cinnamon to mine and even if people can't automatically figure out what is different, when I mention cinnamon their brains make the connection and confirm.

[Magnumfangirl]

4 hours ago, Katy M said:

Maybe Phoebe's grandmother added nutmeg.  I double the vanilla when I make them.  Lots of people will change up an ingredient when making something like that.  

I change the ratio of brown (more) and white (less) sugar.  I've never added nutmeg, but I like it so it might be good.

Edited September 4, 2020 by Magnumfangirl

[scarynikki12]

8 hours ago, Katy M said:

I double the vanilla when I make them. 

I cut the vanilla in half and sub in orange or peppermint.

As for Monica she may love nutmeg in her cookies, considered Phoebe's Grandma's recipe to be the best she'd had, and convinced herself that nutmeg just HAD to be in cookies so yummy.

My question is what was in that one batch that kept sending Ross to the bathroom to vomit/poop? They never said but I assume she hadn't gone completely outside the box as far as ingredients so why was the one batch making him sick? Maybe he's allergic to nutmeg (plot twist!) and this was the batch that had it?

[supposebly]

I'm watching season 2.03 TOW Heckles dies and there is a joke where Joey tells them that he went out with someone, great kisser but the biggest Adam's apple. They explain and he thinks they're messing with him.

In my head, I hear Ross in a later season laughing at Chandler, "whatever, you kissed a guy" and another later scene where Chandler tells Joey that it's not called a Joeys  apple.

I definitely have watched this show too much.

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 9/4/2020 at 10:59 PM, scarynikki12 said:

My question is what was in that one batch that kept sending Ross to the bathroom to vomit/poop? They never said but I assume she hadn't gone completely outside the box as far as ingredients so why was the one batch making him sick? Maybe he's allergic to nutmeg (plot twist!) and this was the batch that had it?

LOL, on the one hand, I always thought that was very extreme.

On the OTHER hand, there are foods that make me really sick!  An egg yolk would do that.  I once had a tartar sauce that made me the sickest I've ever been in my life.  But there's no way Ross would be eating all those eggs if he had my egg intolerance.  I know he's allergic to kiwi.

Which leads me to another unrealistic thing. Monica not knowing her brother's allergic to kiwi.  Nope, not buying that one, ESPECIALLY because she's a chef and ESPECIALLY because she's neurotic.  And ESPECIALLY because they see each other daily, and eat together daily.  My brother knows every food I can't eat, and there's a huge list of them.

[MadyGirl1987]

3 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Which leads me to another unrealistic thing. Monica not knowing her brother's allergic to kiwi.  Nope, not buying that one, ESPECIALLY because she's a chef and ESPECIALLY because she's neurotic.  And ESPECIALLY because they see each other daily, and eat together daily.  My brother knows every food I can't eat, and there's a huge list of them.

Eh... I can kind of see it. How often would they be eating kiwi? Probably doesn’t come up too often, so it’s realistic it’s not something she’d think about too often.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Personally, I care about not endangering my siblings' lives.  If it was an allergy that takes someone to the hospital and leads them to not breathe, then it's serious enough to care about.  I even know what foods my brothers dislike, which does not cause them harm at all.

The show "Friends" loved this kind of joke though.  Of all of the people who should know about Ross's allergy, it should be Monica.  Who fucks it up?  Monica.  If anyone should know that Chandler hates the Lord of the Dance, it should be Joey.  Who suddenly doesn't know?  It's Joey.  ("The Irish Jig guy!?").  And yet somehow Monica and Rachel and Ross knew that, but Joey didn't.  All Chandler and Joey did was watch TV and shoot the shit together.

Edited September 7, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[Kiki777]

I share Chandler’s feeling about Lord of the Dance.  They’re like creepy marionettes unmoving from the waist up while the legs are flailing all about....

*shudder*

Like something out of a horror film.

[Nellise]

15 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

If anyone should know that Chandler hates the Lord of the Dance, it should be Joey.  Who suddenly doesn't know?  It's Joey.  ("The Irish Jig guy!?").  And yet somehow Monica and Rachel and Ross knew that, but Joey didn't.  All Chandler and Joey did was watch TV and shoot the shit together.

I don't know if it's something Chandler would tell Joey. Joey is kind of the bro-friend and would make fun of Chandler for it. Chandler also knew Ross and Monica (he lived across from Monica for a while before Joey moved in) longer and that seems like something college roommates would talk about and Ross apparently tells everything to Monica. And I'm not sure if Rachel knew, Monica is the one that answered the question.

Minor peeve: After Joey kicks Chandler out of the cab on the bridge on the way to Vegas, the transition after shows a picture of the Brooklyn Bridge and not the George Washington Bridge (the picture used wasn't one of the usual transitions so I think they purposely chose it).

[Ms Blue Jay]

37 minutes ago, Nellise said:

I don't know if it's something Chandler would tell Joey. Joey is kind of the bro-friend and would make fun of Chandler for it. Chandler also knew Ross and Monica (he lived across from Monica for a while before Joey moved in) longer and that seems like something college roommates would talk about and Ross apparently tells everything to Monica. And I'm not sure if Rachel knew, Monica is the one that answered the question.

Lord of the Dance premiered in 96.  It was specifically a 90s phenomenon.  While Friends was airing.  Not while the Friends were in college.  

[Nellise]

19 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Lord of the Dance premiered in 96.  It was specifically a 90s phenomenon.  While Friends was airing.  Not while the Friends were in college.  

Oops, sorry, thanks for the correction. I was thinking about the dance style being around for a while, not specifically Michael Flatley, but they referenced him directly.

[Madding crowd]

It still seems possible that Chandler might have mentioned it to Monica during a conversation when Joey wasn’t present. 

[Bort]

Monica and Chandler seemed to confide stuff like that to each other. He was the only one who knew that the underwear on the telephone pole belonged to her. And she was the only one who knew about his third nipple. Not even his current roommate (Joey) or his former roommate (Ross) knew about it. 

[MadyGirl1987]

1 hour ago, kariyaki said:

Monica and Chandler seemed to confide stuff like that to each other. He was the only one who knew that the underwear on the telephone pole belonged to her. And she was the only one who knew about his third nipple. Not even his current roommate (Joey) or his former roommate (Ross) knew about it. 

Joey knew, he just knew it as a “nubbin.”

 

[mojoween]

In the Barbados ep Monica said that when she goes places with high humidity her hair gets like that, and I’m sorry what?  They live in NEW YORK CITY.  Have they ever been on a subway platform in July?  When the humidity is 80%?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Jennifer, Courtney, and Lisa at the Emmys:

 

[WendyCR72]

So cool! They all look great! (Courteney, too. For a time, she was going HEAVY on the fillers or Botox and...no.) But IMO, she looks more like herself again...

[christie]

11 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

So cool! They all look great! (Courteney, too. For a time, she was going HEAVY on the fillers or Botox and...no.) But IMO, she looks more like herself again...

I read an interview with her a while back where she said that she had overdone the botox and the fillers and she decided go undo what she could and go more natural. 

[blondiec0332]

I always thought Courteney was the most naturally beautiful of the three. Jennifer looks really good when glammed up but Courteney was so pretty.

[princelina]

21 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

So cool! They all look great! (Courteney, too. For a time, she was going HEAVY on the fillers or Botox and...no.) But IMO, she looks more like herself again...

I think we are just used to seeing her look like that.  I thought Jennifer looked frightening in that video!  And she had been doing so well on not overdoing it until now.

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 9/21/2020 at 8:42 PM, princelina said:

I think we are just used to seeing her look like that.  I thought Jennifer looked frightening in that video!  And she had been doing so well on not overdoing it until now.

Jennifer uses fillers too much.  I worship her, but damn, it's so distracting to have to look at that.

This might be offtopic, but she, Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Julia Roberts, Sean Penn, John Legend, Shia LaBeouf and other very famous people all did a Zoom reading of "Fast Times at Ridgemont High".  For fans of Bradifer during the 2000s, it was VERY entertaining to see them greeting each other and reading raunchy scenes with each other.

https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2020/09/people-loving-shia-labeouf-take-on-spicoli-celeb-fast-times-reading?utm_campaign=complexmag&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social

Edited September 24, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[mojoween]

I’m not so much with the fondness for Sean Penn as a person, but “you’re Blursula” will always make me laugh.

Edited October 9, 2020 by mojoween

[Inquisitionist]

On 9/21/2020 at 7:42 PM, princelina said:

I think we are just used to seeing her look like that.  I thought Jennifer looked frightening in that video!  And she had been doing so well on not overdoing it until now.

Agree.  I thought Lisa was the only one who looked remotely good.

[Mr. Meatball Man]

Does anyone else think Rachel is annoying in season four, or is it just me?

It's weird because her character was decent in the first three seasons, and from season five onward, she ends up becoming the best character on the show. But this season, she was undeniably the worst character. It's like she became a parody of herself. 

[MadyGirl1987]

1 hour ago, Mr. Meatball Man said:

Does anyone else think Rachel is annoying in season four, or is it just me?

It's weird because her character was decent in the first three seasons, and from season five onward, she ends up becoming the best character on the show. But this season, she was undeniably the worst character. It's like she became a parody of herself. 

Nope, and I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks like that. I wouldn’t even say just season 4. Rachel is my least favorite of all the friends because I can’t stand how spoiled and entitled she is. She does so many awful/stupid things without getting called out on it. People hate on Ross, but at least when he does something wrong it’s portrayed as wrong. Stuff like hiring an assistant because she is hot for him, sabotaging Ross’ relationships(including going to his wedding to tell him she loved him!) and the catty way she treats Julie is horrible and makes me dislike her.

[mojoween]

Two completely random thoughts -

1.  The girl Chandler is trying to hit on running away because Chandler is wearing that heavy bracelet Joey bought him was really dumb.

2.  The little kids in the (Catholic school?) field trip who caught Ross and Rachel after snogging on the animal pelts in the museum have to be in their 30’s by now.

[Nellise]

8 hours ago, mojoween said:

1.  The girl Chandler is trying to hit on running away because Chandler is wearing that heavy bracelet Joey bought him was really dumb.

This is one I've never understood. Yeah it's not a cool thing to wear but it shouldn't send someone running in fear. I always wondered if it was meant to signify something that I just never got because her reaction is so over the top.

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 10/21/2020 at 3:04 PM, mojoween said:

Two completely random thoughts -

1.  The girl Chandler is trying to hit on running away because Chandler is wearing that heavy bracelet Joey bought him was really dumb.

2.  The little kids in the (Catholic school?) field trip who caught Ross and Rachel after snogging on the animal pelts in the museum have to be in their 30’s by now.

The episode was 24 years ago, and the kids would have already had to have been around 6-8 right?  (I don't remember).  So yeah, turning 30.

[mojoween]

Does anyone watch Friends using the Verizon app?  Every other show works fine, but Friends on TBS.  It will play a few minutes, then go silent with a message like “we’ll be right back” showing on the screen, then show one ad for a TBS show and then back to Friends.  It’s so annoying because it’s completely silent with the creepy error message (it’s a picture of a monkey and a picture of a shirtless hairy dude).  I know I could watch on HBO Max but I like using the Verizon app because the timing of the show helps me keep track of how much of my work day is left.

[mojoween]

Wouldn’t the adoption agency guy have introduced Monica and Chandler to Erica as Dr. and Reverend Bing?  I mean, I get that would ruin the joke, but that’s weird to me.

[Katy M]

21 hours ago, mojoween said:

Wouldn’t the adoption agency guy have introduced Monica and Chandler to Erica as Dr. and Reverend Bing?  I mean, I get that would ruin the joke, but that’s weird to me.

It depends on exactly what happened.  Clearly he had Monica and Chandler's correct contact information. So, I think he knew who they were and had the correct details.  I think the numbers got switched on the redacted file that Erica was seeing.  She probably didn't mention the reverend an doctor and just gave the incorrect number.

[mojoween]

On 11/14/2020 at 11:20 AM, Katy M said:

It depends on exactly what happened.  Clearly he had Monica and Chandler's correct contact information. So, I think he knew who they were and had the correct details.  I think the numbers got switched on the redacted file that Erica was seeing.  She probably didn't mention the reverend an doctor and just gave the incorrect number.

Well damn.  That is all very sensible.

Ok then I have another nit to pick that probably bothers only me, but Monica having the name Emma picked out since the third grade doesn’t make sense.  She would have been in the third grade in the seventies, and unless I missed a lifelong love for Jane Austen, Emma wasn’t a very popular name then.  Jennifer, sure.  Amy?  Absolutely.  Sarah or Tina?  Definitely.  At least, if I am going by the names of the girls I went to school with.

[Katy M]

18 hours ago, mojoween said:

Well damn.  That is all very sensible.

Ok then I have another nit to pick that probably bothers only me, but Monica having the name Emma picked out since the third grade doesn’t make sense.  She would have been in the third grade in the seventies, and unless I missed a lifelong love for Jane Austen, Emma wasn’t a very popular name then.  Jennifer, sure.  Amy?  Absolutely.  Sarah or Tina?  Definitely.  At least, if I am going by the names of the girls I went to school with.

I remember when I was a kid (around the same time or a little later), that I thought both Emily and Emma were old people names.  I don't remember why, but I must have had a reason.  So, using that reasoning, maybe Monica had an aunt or a teacher that she really liked named Emma.

[Snow Apple]

TBS is showing the first season again and I'm reminded how much I hate Susan. She calls Ross a sperm donor right to his face. And I hate how Carol doesn't stop her treatment of Ross. He wasn't the cheater in that relationship. 

Yeah, the marriage is ended anyway because Carol is a lesbian but he's not an interloper. Ben was conceived within the marriage.

Edited November 17, 2020 by Snow Apple

[Danny Franks]

10 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

TBS is showing the first season again and I'm reminded how much I hate Susan. She calls Ross a sperm donor right to his face. And I hate how Carol doesn't stop her treatment of Ross. He wasn't the cheater in that relationship. 

Yeah, the marriage is ended anyway because Carol is a lesbian but he's not an interloper. Ben was conceived within the marriage.

There are plenty of dumb, vapid articles about Friends that attack Ross for his dislike of Susan, and act as though she's some brave hero for facing down his supposed homophobia. In reality, she was a pretty unpleasant person. As you point out, she acted as though Ross had wronged her, and as though his presence was a burden she shouldn't have to deal with.

Maybe a different actress could have given the character more nuance, but Jessica Hecht just played her as smug and cold all the time.

[mojoween]

I actually love Jessica, but I hate the things that Susan says to Ross.  “We agreed on Minnie” has always irritated me.

[princelina]

9 hours ago, mojoween said:

I actually love Jessica, but I hate the things that Susan says to Ross.  “We agreed on Minnie” has always irritated me.

It irritates me when she wants her last name in there first 😄 

[mojoween]

When Phoebe yells at the TV “damn you refs you burn in hell!” the audience laughter intimates that she’s gone a touch too far with the yelling, but if you are at my house on any given Sunday, you’re most likely going to hear that.  And some other, more colorful phrases.

[Bort]

I still laugh my ass off at TOW The List where Ross has a radio station dedicate a song to Rachel and it looks like she’s caving and picks up the phone, only to have it turn out that she called the radio station. “Uh, we've just gotten a call from Rachel, and she told us what Ross did. It's pretty appalling, and Ross, if you're listening, I don't wanna play your song anymore. Why don't we devote our time to a couple that stands a chance? Avery, Michelle's sorry she hit you with her car and she hopes you two will work it out.”

It’s the fact that a couple with vehicular assault issues has more promise than Ross and Rachel that makes it art.

[Katy M]

I wonder if Ross made a pro/con list when he was choosing between Rachel and Bonnie and was just better about keeping it hidden.  

I can't stand Ross, but to be fair, even if he hadn't written it out, he had to base the choice on something.  That means a pro/con list in your head.  Or something.  But, he then ended up basically throwing the whole thing out with the "she's not Rachem" item.  I thought Rachel way overreacted to that list.

[Bort]

54 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I thought Rachel way overreacted to that list.

I kind of go back and forth on that. I think it boils down to what she said, that her flaws were being used as a reason to not be with her. If it’s someone you want to be with, that shouldn’t even be on the list. Flaws are a package deal. Look at the pro/con list Joey did on her several years later. Most of those cons were still true but the only thing on Joey’s list was that Rachel made him switch to light mayo.

I did love that Rachel essentially DID do a con list on Ross after he repeatedly pestered her to, because she was spot on: “You’re whiney, you're obsessive, you are insecure, you're gutless. You don't ever, you don't just sort of seize the day, you know. You liked me for what, a year, you didn't do anything about it. And uh... oh, you wear too much of that gel in your hair.”

[mojoween]

Friendsgiving is on TBS tomorrow starting at one EST and that is the same time as the first and second football games, and I cannot give up football on Thanksgiving.  I know I could just watch them on my DVD’s or HBO Max, but it’s not the same.

Edited November 26, 2020 by mojoween

[princelina]

A yearly annoyance to me is the episode with Brad Pitt where Joey pledges to eat the entire turkey, since Monica wasn't going to make one.  If Will is on a diet, why can't he eat turkey breast?  (Ditto Marie on Everybody Loves Raymond when they get the tofu turkey.). Why can't Monica just make a small turkey breast?  Why can't they have leftovers?  Why doesn't Ross want turkey?  How is he going to get his sandwich with the "moist maker"?  Too many questions - I can't with this 😄   (And yes - I know Joey feels obligated to live up to the good Tribbiani name, but that's all I understand here 😄 )

[Katy M]

8 hours ago, princelina said:

Why doesn't Ross want turkey? 

Ross did want turkey.  Monica said it seemed a bit much to make a whole turkey for 3 people (her, Joey and Ross).  So, Joey said he would eat what was left. But, yes, Ross would want his moist maker sandwich.  Joey would not have to eat everything that Monica and Ross were unable to eat at that meal. 

[readster]

1 hour ago, Katy M said:

Ross did want turkey.  Monica said it seemed a bit much to make a whole turkey for 3 people (her, Joey and Ross).  So, Joey said he would eat what was left. But, yes, Ross would want his moist maker sandwich.  Joey would not have to eat everything that Monica and Ross were unable to eat at that meal. 

I know, I never got that. I mean especially this year, we had our very small Thanksgiving this year and honestly we just used a small turkey. Some left overs, but nothing that can't be eaten in like 3 days or be used for lunches. It's episodes like that, which just don't make sense. 

[VCRTracking]

 

 

 

 

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 11/21/2020 at 3:42 PM, mojoween said:

When Phoebe yells at the TV “damn you refs you burn in hell!” the audience laughter intimates that she’s gone a touch too far with the yelling, but if you are at my house on any given Sunday, you’re most likely going to hear that.  And some other, more colorful phrases.

I think it's because it's so out of character for Phoebe to care about any sport at all that passionately?  Monica should have caught on.