Friends - General Discussion

[WendyCR72]

Sorry, but I'm with Monica where moving is concerned. She and Chandler had new babies [and one new baby is a lot, never mind twins!], they are moving - which is a bitch - and Phoebe/Joey have spent countless hours in that apartment.

There is nothing wrong with asking friends to pitch in.

[Katy M]

3 hours ago, mojoween said:

“We’re moving in a couple of days and we’ve got a lot of packing to do.  It would be great if you guys could pitch in.”

Um, how exactly is that Phoebe and Joey’s problem?  That’s not how you ask for help, Monica.

It is from freeloaders.  Between Chandler and Monica, they have probably fed Joey 3/4 of the food he ate for the last 10 years. And he's not a light eater.  Plus, Chandler paid for his head shots, his acting lessons, his accent lessons, his rent, etc, etc.  I don't know about Phoebe, but the very least Joey could do is throw some things in a box.

And, I actually don't remember when/where she asked, but it wouldn't exactly be polite to hang out in someone's apartment while they're packing and just watch.

[Bort]

10 minutes ago, WendyCR72 said:

Sorry, but I'm with Monica where moving is concerned. She and Chandler had new babies [and one new baby is a lot, never mind twins!], they are moving - which is a bitch - and Phoebe/Joey have spent countless hours in that apartment.

There is nothing wrong with asking friends to pitch in.

But it didn’t seem like Monica asked, more like she demanded. Either way, they could’ve had the movers pack their stuff. That’s pretty much what I started telling people when they asked me to help them move. There’s only so much of that you can take in a lifetime, I think it’s a cliché: death, taxes and friends who want you to help them move.

[WendyCR72]

1 minute ago, kariyaki said:

But it didn’t seem like Monica asked, more like she demanded. Either way, they could’ve had the movers pack their stuff. That’s pretty much what I started telling people when they asked me to help them move. There’s only so much of that you can take in a lifetime, I think it’s a cliché: death, taxes and friends who want you to help them move.

Okay, I get that about demanding. But (been a while since I watched) weren't they in the apartment as the moving was going on? If I had friends sitting around as I busted my ass, I'd be cranky, too. I think I'd even be bitchier than Monica, actually. LOL! I'd probably say if you're just gonna sit on your ass and not even try to help, then leave. I have too much else to do.

[mojoween]

All four of them were sitting around being sad after Rachel’s good-bye party, there was no packing activity going on.  It was only when Phoebe got up to go home and go to bed that Monica leapt up and told them to pack.  

[Ms Blue Jay]

1 hour ago, kariyaki said:

But it didn’t seem like Monica asked, more like she demanded. Either way, they could’ve had the movers pack their stuff. That’s pretty much what I started telling people when they asked me to help them move. There’s only so much of that you can take in a lifetime, I think it’s a cliché: death, taxes and friends who want you to help them move.

I'm with you on this.  If people don't have money fine, but a lot of people with money are so stubborn about using money to solve problems, and go ahead and be that way, but don't let it affect me.  Chandler had more than enough money to pay movers.  

It is really not worth the stress of packing and moving if you have the means to hire people.

Edited March 5, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[RealHousewife]

4 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I'm with you on this.  If people don't have money fine, but a lot of people with money are so stubborn about using money to solve problems, and go ahead and be that way, but don't let it affect me.  Chandler had more than enough money to pay movers.  

It is really not worth the stress of packing and moving if you have the means to hire people.

I haven't gotten to this episode yet, but I agree. It's one thing if you're broke, another if you're a cheapskate. 

[Crs97]

I don’t remember the scene, but the line “It would be great if you could pitch in” doesn’t sound like a demand to me.   Was there more after that?

And would they have a lot of money?  They had to borrow from Joey during Chandler’s unpaid internship.  
 

Considering how much Monica loved packing, I am surprised she would want help.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Is it really borrowing if Chandler subsidized Joey's life for years previous to that?

[Katy M]

7 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Is it really borrowing if Chandler subsidized Joey's life for years previous to that?

Yeah, I know.  I thought that was pretty stupid.  As recently as late into Rachel's pregnancy, Joey couldn't afford (or didn't want to) pay Chandler back.  So, we know darn well, he owed him money and it shouldn't have been a loan, it should have been a partial repayment.

[Crs97]

IIRC, Monica asked to borrow the money. Did Chandler as well?  (In my defense, I was a new mother that season and don’t remember a lot of details from those episodes.)

[Bort]

Just airing now, the episode where Joey wanted Chandler to get someone he went to college with to let him audition for the movie she was directing, Chandler says Joey owes him $3400. Since Joey shelled out $4K to Chandler and Monica, I’d say they’re square. (Although I would’ve thought Joey owed way more than $3400.)

[Ms Blue Jay]

39 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

Just airing now, the episode where Joey wanted Chandler to get someone he went to college with to let him audition for the movie she was directing, Chandler says Joey owes him $3400. Since Joey shelled out $4K to Chandler and Monica, I’d say they’re square. (Although I would’ve thought Joey owed way more than $3400.)

Yeah, there's no way I believe that.  Sorry.

There were years that Joey didn't pay for rent, food, or entertainment and Chandler paid for everything.  They lived together for at least 6 years.

 

Edited March 6, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[mojoween]

On 3/6/2022 at 12:23 AM, kariyaki said:

Just airing now, the episode where Joey wanted Chandler to get someone he went to college with to let him audition for the movie she was directing, Chandler says Joey owes him $3400. Since Joey shelled out $4K to Chandler and Monica, I’d say they’re square. (Although I would’ve thought Joey owed way more than $3400.)

I think in one of the earlier episodes Chandler said that Joey owed him a jillion dollars, heh.

[Katy M]

3 hours ago, mojoween said:

I think in one of the earlier episodes Chandler said that Joey owed him a jillion dollars, heh.

Clearly, in a missing scene, Joey paid back a jillion minus 3400.  That's math I can't do for obvious reasons.

[Bort]

10 minutes ago, Katy M said:

Clearly, in a missing scene, Joey paid back a jillion minus 3400.  That's math I can't do for obvious reasons.

It’s rat baby math. 

[Kawaiiko]

On 3/9/2022 at 11:15 AM, kariyaki said:

It’s rat baby math. 

"RATBABIESRATBABIESRATBABIESRATBABIES!!!!!"

[mojoween]

Chandler opening Mrs. Braverman’s cheesecake, and then just attacking it with his fork, is very bothersome.  That is not how you properly eat a cheesecake, Chandler!

[Hiyo]

Aw, Joey wearing the same sweater...in 2 different episodes...in 2 different seasons! Guess someone really liked that sweater. I'm sure there are other examples, but this one stands out. Also, both scenes are funny.

 

 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Lisa Kudrow spoke about Friends a bit yesterday on Kelly Clarkson's show.

 

[mojoween]

It’s interesting that Nora kept the last name Bing the whole time.  Wonder if she was already an established novelist when they got divorced.

[Guest]

10 minutes ago, mojoween said:

It’s interesting that Nora kept the last name Bing the whole time.  Wonder if she was already an established novelist when they got divorced.

Of course, her full name is "Nora -- Mrs. Mom -- your Bing"

[Danny Franks]

Just watched a scene that I don't remember ever seeing before (probably because it's in one of my least favourite episodes - the one where Joey buys Chandler the ugly, gold bracelet and then that garbage scene where Rachel sees Ross was prepared to take her to the prom, which apparently makes her decide she has to be with him. What-the-fuck-ever).

But it's Rachel happily chatting to a guy she's been on a date with in the coffee shop, and Ross is watching, being pissy and bitter. So what does he do? He walks up and deliberately sabotages the date by pretending he's a guy meeting Rachel for a date too. 

Nice. He drives off a guy she seems to like by implying she's a tramp, then has the gall to say "you're welcome," to her and get offended when she's pissed.

Ross is an absolute dickbag when it comes to Rachel.

Edited April 2, 2022 by Danny Franks

[partofme]

Glad to know I’m not the only one who doesn’t like that episode. 

[FilmTVGeek80]

8 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

Just watched a scene that I don't remember ever seeing before (probably because it's in one of my least favourite episodes - the one where Joey buys Chandler the ugly, gold bracelet and then that garbage scene where Rachel sees Ross was prepared to take her to the prom, which apparently makes her decide she has to be with him. What-the-fuck-ever).

But it's Rachel happily chatting to a guy she's been on a date with in the coffee shop, and Ross is watching, being pissy and bitter. So what does he do? He walks up and deliberately sabotages the date by pretending he's a guy meeting Rachel for a date too.

One of my favorite episodes. Thought the scene was hilarious. Ross's actions didn't bother me since those two are often possessive of each other - not just Ross. There's also scenes of Rachel trying to trick Ross into not having sex with his girlfriend, convincing another girlfriend to shave her head, and you know, traveling to England to stop his wedding.

[Danny Franks]

2 hours ago, FilmTVGeek80 said:

One of my favorite episodes. Thought the scene was hilarious. Ross's actions didn't bother me since those two are often possessive of each other - not just Ross. There's also scenes of Rachel trying to trick Ross into not having sex with his girlfriend, convincing another girlfriend to shave her head, and you know, traveling to England to stop his wedding.

Yeah, they were shitty too. But they were also in the aftermath of their relationship, not before it ever started.

[Guest]

7 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

Yeah, they were shitty too. But they were also in the aftermath of their relationship, not before it ever started.

Rachel trying to keep Ross from having sex with Julie was before their relationship started. He didn't even know Rachel liked him yet.

And one could argue that Ross and Rachel were already in the early stages of their relationship by the time of the incident you're talking about. They had decided to get together but Rachel saw the pro/con list Ross had made when trying to decide between her and Julie and got mad. That's where they were at when Ross "saved" her from that guy.

But regardless, whether they did these things before or after their relationship is irrelevant imo. They're all shitty, petty things to do, and Rachel keeps getting let off the hook for some reason.

Edited April 3, 2022 by tracyscott76
left vs. let...maybe left was correct? idk

[WendyCR72]

Actually, I am glad Ross/Rachel got together at the end of the series. It isolated their toxicity against the unsuspecting public at large.

It had flaws of its own, but I'd take Monica/Chandler any day over the supposed "signature" couple. They were clearly not good for each other. Actually, despite the above, I hope Ross/Rachel did split again, for Emma's sake. Having parents co-parent without anger is better than whatever Ross/Rachel did together.

[Catfi9ht]

I agree with the posts above about Ross and Rachel. Since Ross and Rachel were so toxic to each other, that's why I liked Joey and Rachel. They made each other better people similarly to Chandler and Monica.

I understand that Rachel and Joey couldn't end up together because Joey was starting the next season. However, the better character narrative was Joey and Rachel end up together.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I feel like hating Ross and Rachel is actually so popular here that liking them has become the unpopular opinion.  I'm an R/R person over Monica and Chandler.

[FilmTVGeek80]

On 4/3/2022 at 1:18 AM, Danny Franks said:

Yeah, they were shitty too. But they were also in the aftermath of their relationship, not before it ever started.

As tracyscott76 pointed out, Rachel trying to trick Ross into not having sex with Julie was before their relationship began. Though I'm not really sure what's the difference if it's before or after.

On 4/3/2022 at 8:48 AM, tracyscott76 said:

 

But regardless, whether they did these things before or after their relationship is irrelevant imo. They're all shitty, petty things to do, and Rachel keeps getting let off the hook for some reason.

Exactly.

20 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

It had flaws of its own, but I'd take Monica/Chandler any day over the supposed "signature" couple. They were clearly not good for each other. Actually, despite the above, I hope Ross/Rachel did split again, for Emma's sake. Having parents co-parent without anger is better than whatever Ross/Rachel did together.

IMO there's nothing clear about it. And, despite their issues, Rachel and Ross were shown to mostly co-parent Emma in peace.

20 hours ago, Catfi9ht said:

 

I understand that Rachel and Joey couldn't end up together because Joey was starting the next season. However, the better character narrative was Joey and Rachel end up together.

I'm so, so, so glad that didn't happen - and I don't think <i>Joey</i> had anything to do with it. As much as I loved the show, when I heard they were actually putting Joey and Rachel together in the tenth season, I considered not even watching until I found out the relationship wouldn't last very long.

15 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I feel like hating Ross and Rachel is actually so popular here that liking them has become the unpopular opinion.  I'm an R/R person over Monica and Chandler.

Me, too. I'll admit I grew to resent the M/C relationship since they seemed to go out of their way to write them differently than R/R (which I recently found when listening to the TOW No One's Ready commentary was definitely a conscious choice.) It pissed me off because I swear one of the reasons they said they broke up Ross/Rachel was that stupid trope about happy couples being boring, but they had no problem keeping M/C together for five seasons with no break-ups. It's like they felt they had no choice but to write R/R like that even though they did have choices, but because they were determined to wait until the very last second to reunite R/R fully they came up with stupid reason after stupid reason to keep them apart. 

[Katy M]

21 hours ago, Catfi9ht said:

that's why I liked Joey and Rachel. They made each other better people

Did they? As a couple they were together for like 3 episodes.  As a non-couple they didn't make each other worse, but I don't know that they made each other better.  I do think they were more compatible than R/R.

[Bort]

On 4/3/2022 at 7:48 AM, tracyscott76 said:

Rachel keeps getting let off the hook for some reason.

I personally tend to let Rachel off the hook more than Ross because she’s only toxic when it’s about him. He’s toxic with a lot of people, whether it’s offhand slut-shaming comments about Monica to his obsessive fixation when he doesn’t approve of something. Like not accepting Phoebe’s evolution denial and Ben playing with a Barbie. It’s like, dude, let it go. And stop slut-shaming your sister, you dick.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

I personally tend to let Rachel off the hook more than Ross because she’s only toxic when it’s about him. He’s toxic with a lot of people, whether it’s offhand slut-shaming comments about Monica to his obsessive fixation when he doesn’t approve of something. Like not accepting Phoebe’s evolution denial and Ben playing with a Barbie. It’s like, dude, let it go. And stop slut-shaming your sister, you dick.

The charades and shenanigans Rachel went through with Joshua and Danny were, if not toxic, certainly not healthy or normal. And if we're going beyond romantic pairings and just talking about times Ross was a dick to people in general, then that's opening up a huge can of worms ("worms... everywhere..."). They ALL had plenty of moments where they were dicks to each other, Rachel included.

(And because it can't be said enough, Phoebe was the worst of them all in that regard.)

[Madding crowd]

Rachel was pretty inappropriate with Tag and she made a lot of “ slut shaming” comments to women she didn’t like. There is no reason why Ross who is a scientist should accept any of Phoebe’s crazy beliefs especially since she was not particularly nice to him.

[chitowngirl]

3 hours ago, kariyaki said:

I personally tend to let Rachel off the hook more than Ross because she’s only toxic when it’s about him. He’s toxic with a lot of people, whether it’s offhand slut-shaming comments about Monica to his obsessive fixation when he doesn’t approve of something. Like not accepting Phoebe’s evolution denial and Ben playing with a Barbie. It’s like, dude, let it go. And stop slut-shaming your sister, you dick.

He also was brow-beating Emily to get married NOW, because people took time out of their busy lives to fly to London, so it was NOW. Nevermind that she was upset that the wedding venue was just torn down the day before the ceremony…

[Katy M]

55 minutes ago, chitowngirl said:

He also was brow-beating Emily to get married NOW, because people took time out of their busy lives to fly to London, so it was NOW. Nevermind that she was upset that the wedding venue was just torn down the day before the ceremony…

Not so much with the browbeating part of it, but I do side more with Ross on this one, (and I don't even like Ross).  People had dropped everything to go to London. Even Emily's friends and family who hadn't so far to come cleared their schedules for this. The venue is not the most important part of a wedding.  Plus, it was a ridiculous contrivance.  They should have had a fire or something. That would have made more sense that nobody involved with, or invited to, the wedding noticed that the church was being torn down and given Emily a head's up.  That deconstruction looked like it was going on for more than just one day.

[Bort]

Yeah, I was on Ross’s side about rescheduling. Asking all the Americans to buy an expensive airline ticket to come back again wasn’t feasible. Even if they had decided to reschedule, I bet a good amount of them would’ve declined to attend the second attempt.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Remember that Spice Girls line?  If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends.

There's people like Ross where if you date them, you kind of have to be able to hang with and respect their friends and family.  Pheobe's Mike was like this.  He got it, he made it work, and he fit in.  It's kind of a package deal.  Emily seemed to not want to take into account what Ross's family was doing and I could understand his side.

Destination weddings already ask so much of people.  To do it twice for the same wedding?  Yeesh.  Then again, Monica kind of steps on my point for driving Emily to make this decision.  LOL!

Quote

Ross: Postpone it? Emily, do you think Monica realises how much our parents spent on this wedding? Do you my sister’s teeny-tiny little brain comprehends that people took time out of their lives to fly thousands of miles to be here, huh? (He puts his pants on backwards.) This isn’t right.

 

Edited April 5, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[paulvdb]

8 hours ago, Katy M said:

Plus, it was a ridiculous contrivance.  They should have had a fire or something. That would have made more sense that nobody involved with, or invited to, the wedding noticed that the church was being torn down and given Emily a head's up.  That deconstruction looked like it was going on for more than just one day.

Not only that, but wouldn't they have to reserve the venue for the wedding? How would they even have been able to do that if the venue was scheduled to be demolished? Which is not something that would have been decided at the last minute.

And even if it had been decided at the last minute (for example if they had found structural issues with the building that could not have been repaired) someone would have informed them that the venue would no longer be available. They would not just have shown up there to find the place demolished.

Like you said, a fire would have made more sense as a reason why the building would have become unavailable at the last minute. And they could still have found out by showing up there and seeing the building on fire.

[Hiyo]

Quote

Not only that, but wouldn't they have to reserve the venue for the wedding? How would they even have been able to do that if the venue was scheduled to be demolished? Which is not something that would have been decided at the last minute.

They knew it was going to be torn down, there was probably just a miscommunication/error on the exact date it was going to be torn down.

 

[mojoween]

Ross throwing Rachel’s shoes and belittling her was bad, and the way he acted at her office when he set the picnic on fire was a giant red flag, but IMO the most disrespectful thing Ross did that should have precluded them EVER staying together was how he acted when he badgered Rachel into letting him go to the lecture with her.

Not only did he fall asleep, but then he mocked the things she learned THAT SHE NEEDED FOR HER JOB.  All because he had absolutely no trust, regardless what Mark’s intentions may have been.

Edited April 6, 2022 by mojoween

[Danny Franks]

On 4/5/2022 at 2:35 AM, Ms Blue Jay said:

Remember that Spice Girls line?  If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends.

There's people like Ross where if you date them, you kind of have to be able to hang with and respect their friends and family.  Pheobe's Mike was like this.  He got it, he made it work, and he fit in.  It's kind of a package deal.  Emily seemed to not want to take into account what Ross's family was doing and I could understand his side.

 

That makes sense, but it's strange we saw so little of Carol being friendly with them. Because she and Ross were married for several years, and you'd think that she'd be spending a lot of time with them, if Ross spent all his time over at his sister's apartment as well.

Or maybe Ross was a little distant from his sister and his old college friend, while his marriage to Carol was going strong, and it was the dissolution of that marriage that caused him to grow a lot closer to the rest of them.

Okay, this is way too much thought to put into the characters' relationships prior to the show starting, but I do find it interesting that none of the rest of them really seemed to have any opinion about Carol other than, 'she was Ross's wife, now she's not.'

[Ms Blue Jay]

Well she did cheat on him.  I wouldn't be friends with her if I was Monica.

[Bort]

Didn’t Phoebe make a comment in the first episode about missing Carol? On the other hand, the flashback episode indicated that Ross hung out with Monica, Phoebe and Chandler but Carol not so much.

By the way, I’ve always wondered what happened to Ginger in that she lost her right leg.

[Hiyo]

Quote

Or maybe Ross was a little distant from his sister and his old college friend, while his marriage to Carol was going strong, and it was the dissolution of that marriage that caused him to grow a lot closer to the rest of them.

 

Quote

Didn’t Phoebe make a comment in the first episode about missing Carol? On the other hand, the flashback episode indicated that Ross hung out with Monica, Phoebe and Chandler but Carol not so much.

My impression was that she was a part of the group and hung out with then, but once she met Susan she started drifting from them (around the the time of the first flash back when Joey moved in with Chandler).

And while we didn't see her hanging out with the group much, she did seem to be on good terms with Monica and the others when they did interact.

[Hiyo]

I am shocked that I have never seen this scene before...

 

[mojoween]

Did Monica’s bedroom change size?  When she got the race car bed she had that pretty screen.  But then during the break-up and also when Joey found out about IN LONDON, there was no screen and not even space for it.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I'm reading this now, I can't get enough of it

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 4/11/2022 at 3:32 PM, mojoween said:

Did Monica’s bedroom change size?  When she got the race car bed she had that pretty screen.  But then during the break-up and also when Joey found out about IN LONDON, there was no screen and not even space for it.

Seems like the same room?