Friends - General Discussion

[Kiki777]

My sandwich!  MY SANDWICH!!!!!

[chitowngirl]

Fajitas!!

I have to side with Ross on the sandwich. It was his AND it was labeled!!

[Katy M]

50 minutes ago, chitowngirl said:

Fajitas!!

I have to side with Ross on the sandwich. It was his AND it was labeled!!

He was definitely in the right.  I just question him bringing such a valuable sandwich to work in the first place.  Twice, IIRC.  Eat it at home, Ross!!

[Crs97]

I wouldn’t want to have to let the sandwich sit in my fridge at home just because someone in the office has sticky fingers.  Not victim blaming Ross here.

[partofme]

1 hour ago, chitowngirl said:

Fajitas!!

I have to side with Ross on the sandwich. It was his AND it was labeled!!

Ross was in the right, but his breakdown over it is my favorite Ross moment ever.

[chitowngirl]

17 minutes ago, partofme said:

Ross was in the right, but his breakdown over it is my favorite Ross moment ever.

When he’s sitting eating cotton candy in Central Perk after he took the recommended tranquilizer…!

[Crs97]

“On account of my rage” never fails to make me laugh

[Bort]

1 hour ago, partofme said:

Ross was in the right, but his breakdown over it is my favorite Ross moment ever.

It's very "straw that broke the camel's back." All the stuff that had gone wrong in his life had piled on and the sandwich incident pushed him over the edge.

[mojoween]

I don’t know if TBS has changed the editing on their eps, but I heard two jokes yesterday and today I SWEAR I have never heard before.

The first was when Joey was upset when he slept with the girl who owned the cactus plant and thought they forgot each other.  Rachel says something like “so you slept with all the girls in New York, and now you’re circling back around.”

Then Monica and Chandler were lamenting their lack of finances (which Monica said she hadn’t seen her savings take a hit like that since she was little, but she didn’t even HAVE savings a few years before) and Chandler says something like “I’m not sure why, but I blame Enron.”

Both jokes made me laugh, even if we are quickly coming up on a generation who will have no idea what Enron is or what they did.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I know that the DVD set inserted all of the deleted jokes back into the shows, which I love.  The jokes aren't perfect, but more "Friends" is always better.  I think people here said that those jokes are not on the Blu Ray sets because they were not shot in High-Def?  which sucks!

[WendyCR72]

8 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I know that the DVD set inserted all of the deleted jokes back into the shows, which I love.  The jokes aren't perfect, but more "Friends" is always better.  I think people here said that those jokes are not on the Blu Ray sets because they were not shot in High-Def?  which sucks!

Yeah, the DVDs have material excised from the episodes. The Blu-Rays are the episodes as seen on NBC.

[cherrypj]

5 hours ago, Crs97 said:

“On account of my rage” never fails to make me laugh

It’s the bottle shake that makes me laugh. 

[Mr. Meatball Man]

On 6/9/2022 at 9:07 PM, Shermie said:

Moo point is a great quotable line; we use it all the time.

And I don’t think it makes Joey sound irredeemably stupid; I can actually see how people who aren’t well-read might not know the word “moot”. Plus, I could see Phoebe saying moo point just as easily as Joey. 

Yeah, I love the "moo point" joke for the exact reason you stated. When it came to Joey, I feel like the writers used to give him a certain logic for things he said and did. It made him feel like an actual person and not a cartoon. Like with "moo point." On the surface, it sounds stupid. But when you break it down, it makes a lot of sense. Why would a cow's opinion matter? It can't talk, it just moos. And you can tell Joey spent a lot of time thinking about it before he said it, to the point where Rachel actually considers it as good advice. 

Or "Thursday - the third day." Once again, it sounds stupid on paper, but it has this rhyming thing going so you can remember it, and it has this twisted logic that makes sense for Joey. You can tell it's something he put a lot of thought into, and that's what makes it funny. You even start wondering if Thursday really is the third day.

Or the theory he created about actors' sexual chemistry. When there's no heat on stage, or it seems forced, you know it's happening in real life. But if there's a lot of heat on stage, the energy and chemistry off-stage is nonexistent. It's something to think about, and Chandler looks like a paranoid idiot for clinging onto it so much. 

But then you have stuff like him not being able to write an adoption letter, or forgetting that he's an actor, or him not understanding Rachel's coin flip game and it's like there's no logic behind any of that. It's just him being a moron so you write him any way you want to. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

6 minutes ago, Mr. Meatball Man said:

Or the theory he created about actors' sexual chemistry. When there's no heat on stage, or it seems forced, you know it's happening in real life. But if there's a lot of heat on stage, the energy and chemistry off-stage is nonexistent. It's something to think about, and Chandler looks like a paranoid idiot for clinging onto it so much. 

I totally agree with you about everything.  Though, I thought that this was a cliche about acting that everyone kind of believes.  I wonder.  Or maybe I just watch too much "Friends".

[Kiki777]

If you grew up watching soap operas like I did, Smell the Fart acting makes A LOT of sense 😂 

[princelina]

On 6/10/2022 at 2:07 PM, Crs97 said:

“On account of my rage” never fails to make me laugh

This is another quote I use about myself at times 😄

[Bort]

I don’t understand why Ross and Julie come back from China, 20 hours of travel and drag their bags up four flights of stairs (with Ross’s passive aggressive “thanks Rachel, we’ve got the bags,” like why would she carry your bags anyway, Ross?) to visit Monica’s apartment for five minutes and then leave. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Right, it does seem pretty convoluted.  The only thing though is that Rachel specifically went to the airport to meet Ross, and Monica was all primed for this big romantic reunion, and Chandler, Joey, and Phoebe probably wanted to know what happened too, especially since Chandler spilled the beans about Carol's crystal duck.  Everyone was at Monica's was waiting with bated breath to see what would happen I guess.

Rachel meets Ross and Julie at the airport, and directs them to baggage claim.  She doesn't want to run home embarrassed, because she doesn't want Ross to have any idea how she feels.  So I assume she convinced them to go to Monica's so Ross could say hi to his sister and everyone and drop Rachel off, or else Ross was just being gallant and wanted to drop Rachel off first.  

Edited June 12, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Katy M]

18 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

She doesn't want to run home embarrassed, because she doesn't want Ross to have any idea how she feels.  So I assume she convinced them to go to Monica's so Ross could say hi to his sister and everyone and drop Rachel off, or else Ross was just being gallant and wanted to drop Rachel off first.  

But, wouldn't it have been easier to make sure Ross didn't find out if she didn't drag him to Monica's where everybody was. 

I'm going to assume for the sake of not thinking about this too much, that Rachel and Monica's apartment is between the airport and Ross's place and Julie's place.  So, since they were already there they decided to run up.  Not a choice I would have made after being on a long long long flight and knowing there is no elevator in that building.  And, I'm already in a cab. is this plan going to make me wait for another one?  I've been to China. I assure you I was extremely tired when I got there and extremely tired when I got back.

But, no, I also don't know why Rachel would be expected to carry their bags.

[Bort]

Not to mention that Ross and Julie’s next stop after Monica’s was to go to Carol and Susan’s to see Ben. Doesn’t anybody want a shower? 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Yeah, I've done those flights too, and it's right to bed and or/shower I go if I can possibly help it.  The writers made it seem like it was 'quirky' but that kind of travel is rough.  

[Bort]

“Do the words 'Billy don't be a hero' mean anything to you?”

Actually, they don’t. I think this one of those pop culture jokes that went over like a lead balloon.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Someone in this thread pointed out that a lot of the references on the show are actually references that the writers understand - not even the cast.  Marta Kauffman is a Boomer while obviously Friends is one of the biggest Gen X shows of all time, starring an all Gen X cast (although, fun fact, Lisa Kudrow is a Boomer) and yeah, it's been pointed out that the Millennials growing up as kids watching the show would not really know references like that or "Personal Best".  LOL.

Edited June 13, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Bort]

19 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

yeah, it's been pointed out that the Millennials growing up as kids watching the show would not really know references like that or "Personal Best".  LOL.

I am a Gen Xer and I don't know either of those references. I figured they were Boomer things. That's who wrote the show. Although I think they got better at making it more realistic to Gen X references as it went along. It's mostly the first one or two seasons where it's off.

[Crs97]

I’m the youngest child so I got all the references, though I’m Gen X.

Maybe Ross was excited to introduce Julie and really missed Ben.  Also, maybe he started to ask her to grab a bag when she bolted out of the taxi to get upstairs first.  I can fanwave this one.

[WendyCR72]

6 minutes ago, Crs97 said:

I’m the youngest child so I got all the references, though I’m Gen X.

Me, too. (Born in 1972.) Recognized "Billy, Don't Be A Hero" because of those old K-Tel Record ads that would pop up, but I did recognize it. Maybe it depends on what end of the Gen X spectrum some are on, older versus later?

[Bort]

It also might matter if one is an older or younger sibling. @Crs97 is the youngest sibling. But I’m the oldest. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Maybe I actually read about the references made in that book "Generation Friends" I just finished.  It was pretty fascinating.  The one drawback about that book is that the author would outline full plots that all of us already know by heart.  I had to skip over those paragraphs.  But the rest of it was perfect.  I recommend.

58 minutes ago, Crs97 said:

Maybe Ross was excited to introduce Julie and really missed Ben.  Also, maybe he started to ask her to grab a bag when she bolted out of the taxi to get upstairs first.  I can fanwave this one.

I think he wanted to show off/introduce Julie to everyone too.

1 hour ago, kariyaki said:

I am a Gen Xer and I don't know either of those references. I figured they were Boomer things. That's who wrote the show. Although I think they got better at making it more realistic to Gen X references as it went along. It's mostly the first one or two seasons where it's off.

They did get better at it, I agree.  For example, going to a Hootie and the Blowfish concert.  I had their first two albums.  The first was great, the second was atrocious.

Edited June 13, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[WendyCR72]

33 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

It also might matter if one is an older or younger sibling. @Crs97 is the youngest sibling. But I’m the oldest. 

That could be, too, because I am the youngest sibling of three...

[Ms Blue Jay]

One of my favourites things Joey does is lie when he totally doesn't have to, which only draws more suspicion.

The example I have off the top of my head is when he has a dream about Rachel having the Ross baby and I think Rachel says that Joey was sleeping and Joey says "A DREAMLESS sleep."  

There's many more but I can't remember them right now.  It always makes me laugh.

[Madding crowd]

I liked it when he was trying to think of lies to get out of being in the Thanksgiving parade and Phoebe had to tell him “nothing with raccoons “.

[Katy M]

11 minutes ago, Madding crowd said:

I liked it when he was trying to think of lies to get out of being in the Thanksgiving parade and Phoebe had to tell him “nothing with raccoons “.

Yet, I got bit by a raccoon and have to go get rabies shots isn't that bad of an excuse.  Of course, Joey's raccoon stories were nowhere near that.

[Ms Blue Jay]

36 minutes ago, Madding crowd said:

I liked it when he was trying to think of lies to get out of being in the Thanksgiving parade and Phoebe had to tell him “nothing with raccoons “.

HAHAHA

[mojoween]

When Helen Hunt and the brown-haired lady went to Central Perk, why would they assume that Ursula was also a waitress there just because she was a waitress at Rifts?  I get they did it for the joke and the crossover (which that was two eps in a row for crossovers if TBS isn’t skipping any; that is very lazy, NBC) but it doesn’t make sense.

[Ms Blue Jay]

2 minutes ago, mojoween said:

When Helen Hunt and the brown-haired lady went to Central Perk, why would they assume that Ursula was also a waitress there just because she was a waitress at Rifts?  I get they did it for the joke and the crossover (which that was two eps in a row for crossovers if TBS isn’t skipping any; that is very lazy, NBC) but it doesn’t make sense.

Totally agree.  It was a very nonsensical scene.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Joey also says that the duck did NOT eat Rachel's face cream, and then did NOT get sick because of it, and it was all cleaned up anyway - but that's more of a gentle admission of guilt than anything.

[Bort]

6 hours ago, mojoween said:

When Helen Hunt and the brown-haired lady went to Central Perk, why would they assume that Ursula was also a waitress there just because she was a waitress at Rifts?  I get they did it for the joke and the crossover (which that was two eps in a row for crossovers if TBS isn’t skipping any; that is very lazy, NBC) but it doesn’t make sense.

I think the joke is that on Mad About You, Ursula often just “hung out” at Riff’s like she was a customer and getting her to wait on them was like pulling teeth, often with uncomprehending responses like Phoebe gave them. 

I do think it’s dumb that they thought Ursula worked at Central Perk because why would Ursula have another job if she’s barely interested in the one she already has?

[Ms Blue Jay]

At Central Perk, they all wore cute little aprons.  At Riff's they always wore black, right?  My point is no matter what there's always some kind of identifiable uniform.  That's how you pick the servers - not "who you recognize from other cafes".  The joke is obvious, but Jamie and Fran were pretty arrogant about the whole thing.  

Edited June 16, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[mojoween]

I can hear the TV inside while I am reading on my porch, and just *hearing* Ross make that little “pff pff” sound when he tried to blow out the fire in the dollhouse made me laugh.  David was so good with the physical comedy.

[Hiyo]

Speaking of jokes that I kind of missed the first time:

Monica: "My motto is get out before they go down"

Joey: "That is so not my motto"

[chitowngirl]

They got away with a lot of entendres 

[LADreamr]

I was studying sitcom writing while Friends and Will & Grace were on the air, and we would have visiting writers and producers from current shows come in, sometimes.  And one of the producers of Friends who ended up working on W&G said they would call each other on Thursday nights after their shows had aired, and the conversation was always:

"How did you get away with that?"

"How did YOU get away with THAT?!"

🤣

[ljenkins782]

On 6/15/2022 at 2:48 PM, mojoween said:

When Helen Hunt and the brown-haired lady went to Central Perk, why would they assume that Ursula was also a waitress there just because she was a waitress at Rifts?  I get they did it for the joke and the crossover (which that was two eps in a row for crossovers if TBS isn’t skipping any; that is very lazy, NBC) but it doesn’t make sense.

Never mind, just realized that the gripe was with thinking she was the waitress, not the twin confusion, lol.

Edited June 27, 2022 by ljenkins782

[mojoween]

“Inspecther Gadget” is a funny porno name.  “Sex Toy Story 2” is definitely not. I’m on the fence about “Lawrence of Alabia”.

But “oh my god what am I doing?!?” will make me laugh every time.

[Ms Blue Jay]

"Buffay the Vampire Layer" is hilarious.

[ZuluQueenOfDwarves]

On 6/15/2022 at 2:48 PM, mojoween said:

When Helen Hunt and the brown-haired lady went to Central Perk, why would they assume that Ursula was also a waitress there just because she was a waitress at Rifts?  I get they did it for the joke and the crossover (which that was two eps in a row for crossovers if TBS isn’t skipping any; that is very lazy, NBC) but it doesn’t make sense.

Thank you! That has bugged me so much! Just because someone’s a waitress, doesn’t mean they don’t also go to restaurants and coffee shops when they aren’t working!

[LexieLily]

I showed TOW Ross Got High to a friend and the thirty-second truth telling at the end is one of my favorite scenes of the series. Christina Pickles' line reading of "No, Rachel, you weren't supposed to put beef in the trifle. It did not taste good" is so GREAT.

[Katy M]

7 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

I showed TOW Ross Got High to a friend and the thirty-second truth telling at the end is one of my favorite scenes of the series. Christina Pickles' line reading of "No, Rachel, you weren't supposed to put beef in the trifle. It did not taste good" is so GREAT.

I think Christina Pickles' whole line is great.  From "That's a lot of information to get in 30 seconds" to "I'm sorry, Phoebe, but I think Jacques Cousteau is dead."

That's my favorite scene of any sitcom ever.

[mojoween]

6 minutes ago, Katy M said:

"I'm sorry, Phoebe, but I think Jacques Cousteau is dead."

1000% I read this in the tone of voice in which she said it.

[LexieLily]

15 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I think Christina Pickles' whole line is great.  From "That's a lot of information to get in 30 seconds" to "I'm sorry, Phoebe, but I think Jacques Cousteau is dead."

That's my favorite scene of any sitcom ever.

Elliot Gould said that was his favorite episode to film and I totally understand why. The scene is awesome by itself even with no context but the episode really pulls everything together in that segment.