Friends - General Discussion

[mojoween]

When they have dinner at someplace nice to celebrate Monica’s promotion, Monica, Ross and Chandler all had dessert (and Chandler barely touched his!).  That would be weird to me to do if out with other people.

Like, if I *had* to have it, I would get it to go.

[Crs97]

I almost always get dessert, but my friends know I sat with them for their before dinner drink so they need to get comfortable hanging around me afterwards. 🤷‍♀️

[Bort]

I rarely get dessert. I’m usually so stuffed when I go out to eat, I can’t possibly eat dessert. 

[chitowngirl]

I almost always get dessert to go…I’ll be ready for it in a few hours. And portions are usually so big that it lasts for 2 evenings!

[Crs97]

I plan for dessert so will happily skip the appetizers and/or take home part of the entree.

We are back to the first season, and I had forgotten how commitment-phobic Chandler was.   They did a good job on his character arc.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I think that Ross, Monica, Chandler ordering dessert was really just to shove the point home that they were so obliviously rich at that time, lol.  But it's really nice to hear that so many people order dessert.  I and my dinner companions rarely do but I think people should do it more.  

Edited September 6, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Kiki777]

I always get dessert- and make room for it by having half my entree wrapped ☺️Dessert is a must for me at restaurants because I don’t keep them at home - too tempting.

That restaurant episode annoys me because 2 of the 3 men are in the ‘financially comfortable’ group - yes that is realistic but ugggh.  And Joey does make decent money later on.

[Bort]

1 minute ago, Kiki777 said:

And Joey does make decent money later on.

By the end of the series, they all do.

[Kiki777]

Does Phoebe?  Well the guy she marries is rich so that counts 😉

[Bort]

12 minutes ago, Kiki777 said:

Does Phoebe?  Well the guy she marries is rich so that counts 😉

Yes, Phoebe had taken that job at a corporate massage parlor and made good money there. Mike wasn’t rich, his parents were rich.

[Kiki777]

Ahh I’d forgotten about her corporate job with the four-oh-wunk!

[mojoween]

It’s funny to think of some of the stuff you see on Friends that in less than 30 years have become obsolete.

Like the juice carton ad, where they made that spout you stuck in to it, since cartons now come with the circular spout.

Or Phoebe not having an immediate reference to look up to see what Demi Moore looked like.

And of course Joey touring London with the disposable camera.  

[Bort]

The pagers they had for the first half of the series. They transitioned to cell phones by the last half but of course, they were the size of bricks.

[Ms Blue Jay]

46 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Or Phoebe not having an immediate reference to look up to see what Demi Moore looked like.

I forget if I already said this, but that Demi Moore plot was so weird.

When Monica says "She is the ACT-RESS who was in Disclosure?  Indecent Proposal?  Ghost?"  

Those are 3 completely different hairstyles!  Uber long, a chin length bob, and uber short!

Maybe it was obvious what Monica meant because everyone knew what Demi's hairstyle looked like at the time......?  I don't know.

Even in the 90s when going to hairstylists I'd bring a damn magazine........ 

Edited September 6, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[mojoween]

Also if she wanted Ghost she should have let Phoebe keep cutting, because the Dudley Moore was longer than Ghost.

[ljenkins782]

6 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I forget if I already said this, but that Demi Moore plot was so weird.

When Monica says "She is the ACT-RESS who was in Disclosure?  Indecent Proposal?  Ghost?"  

Those are 3 completely different hairstyles!  Uber long, a chin length bob, and uber short!

Maybe it was obvious what Monica meant because everyone knew what Demi's hairstyle looked like at the time......?  I don't know.

Even in the 90s when going to hairstylists I'd bring a damn magazine........ 

LOL, that is a good point. There are certainly actresses out there known for a certain hairstyle at a given time (like "the Rachel", ironically, or the Farrah Fawcett), but Demi Moore wasn't one of them.

I feel like someone answered this for me previously, but why did they have Monica get a bad haircut that season? Was it related to Scream? 

[Ms Blue Jay]

I Googled, it, this is from Reddit:

sundrops14

·3 yr. ago·edited 3 yr. ago

Yes this episode is from season 2 episode 1, they did the haircut story line to cover Courtney Matt and Matthews hair changes from season 1 to 2 because in the show they are continuing from the same day season 1 left off on. Funny they cared about continuity in this instance while many others they rely on the audience to take it in swoop. Funny storyline though so why not run with it.

It makes sense, because Season 2 opens with Monica saying "Hey, you guys got haircuts" meaning Joey and Chandler and their hair is VERY different than Season 1.

edited to say Monica said the line.

Edited September 10, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Mr. Meatball Man]

Watching season six and Phoebe is a huge asshole. In almost every episode. It's like a countdown to see which character will snap first and smack the taste out of her mouth so she'll never get it back. And even before that, she's an asshole in season five (being mad at Ross for a stupid dream, her insistence on being included in the Vegas trip).

Phoebe could push kids and old women out of the way to escape a fire and nothing will happen to her. 

[Cattoy]

On 8/15/2022 at 7:12 PM, tracyscott76 said:

Phoebe's is exactly what you'd expect...

The best part of Phoebe's is you can't stop it!

Have to give Google credit with having fun with stuff. Still love their directions from anywhere in the US to Japan.

Edited September 10, 2022 by Cattoy

[mojoween]

While it’s ridiculous to think that Brian Dunkleman would just swap rings with Chandler because of Phoebe’s cough (I mean, what a coincidence they both spent eight grand!), I’m more angry with Tall British Man for not securing that ring somewhere OFF THE SELLING FLOOR.

[Bort]

Well, how about Phoebe, who was also supposed to be on Ring Watch, who instead tried on every ridiculous thing in the store all at one time and wasn’t paying attention? But still managed to hear where Dunkelman was going to pop the question?

[Ms Blue Jay]

Phoebe is almost always in the wrong.

[Katy M]

On 9/15/2022 at 3:55 PM, mojoween said:

I’m more angry with Tall British Man for not securing that ring somewhere OFF THE SELLING FLOOR.

Well, to be fair, Chandler didn't ask him to.  Didn't even give him any cash to hold it.  And was offering less than the asking price, so if the salesman could get the asking price, why not?  Not saying he got any more than Chandler offered, we don't know that.

[mojoween]

All very good points, but he DID leave Phoebe as collateral.

[Snow Apple]

The salesman didn't sell the ring for the asking price though. He was holding it but the other saleswoman sold it. In real life, he would (should) have put it away for at least 30 minutes. But I mostly blame Phoebe because it was her job to keep an eye on it but she kept messing with the salesman which kept him from doing his job.

[ZuluQueenOfDwarves]

We also have to remember that Chandler went ring shopping without a viable way to pay for said ring, something that was thrown in for wacky sitcom hijinks. I can’t imagine someone going out for the sole purpose of making a large purchase, but knowingly not bringing their money. 

[Bort]

Also, Chandler lent his credit card to Joey? Why would he do such a ridiculous thing?

[mojoween]

Monica must have been so focused on the jeans she thought the cleaning lady stole that she didn’t even notice that the cleaning lady stood on the counter in her outside boots.

[mojoween]

Where were you on this date 28 years ago?  I’m almost certain I was home, watching the series debut of Friends.

I knew Courtney from “Dancing in the Dark” and Family Ties, Matthew from Growing Pains and Beverly Hills 90210, Matt from some comedy on NBC where he was in school, maybe, with an older man who was also there? I don’t know, the details are fuzzy, Jennifer from Leprechaun and Lisa and David not at all.

I do know that I was excited for this new show because TV Guide said good things about it.

Edited September 22, 2022 by mojoween

[Hiyo]

Quote

I knew Courtney from “Dancing in the Dark” and Family Ties

How could you not know her from The Misfits of Science? ;)

[Ms Blue Jay]

18 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Where were you on this date 28 years ago?  I’m almost certain I was home, watching the series debut of Friends.

I knew Courtney from “Dancing in the Dark” and Family Ties, Matthew from Growing Pains and Beverly Hills 90210, Matt from some comedy on NBC where he was in school, maybe, with an older man who was also there? I don’t know, the details are fuzzy, Jennifer from Leprechaun and Lisa and David not at all.

I do know that I was excited for this new show because TV Guide said good things about it.

One of my favourite movies from childhood is "She's Out of Control".  Matthew Perry is  in that one :)  

I knew Matt LeBlanc from Married with Children, a show that I hated but that my parents loved.  Are you thinking of Vinny and Bobby?  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinnie_%26_Bobby

Lisa Kudrow was on Mad About You.  

Edited September 22, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Bort]

20 minutes ago, mojoween said:

I knew Courtney from “Dancing in the Dark” and Family Ties,

10 minutes ago, Hiyo said:

How could you not know her from The Misfits of Science? ;)

I weirdly knew Courteney from Mr. Destiny, with James Belushi and Linda Hamilton.

[mojoween]

5 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Lisa Kudrow was on Mad About You.  

Oh duh.  I forgot about Ursula.  To be fair, Mad About You wasn’t one of my favorites, heh.

Vinnie and Bobby isn’t ringing any bells.  I must be thinking of someone else.

[Ms Blue Jay]

7 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

I weirdly knew Courteney from Mr. Destiny, with James Belushi and Linda Hamilton.

I love that movie.  She was also in Ace Ventura, released in February 1994.

[Bort]

Top of the Heap was a failed spin off of Married with Children that Matt LeBlanc starred in. This what you were thinking @mojoween?

[Katy M]

3 hours ago, mojoween said:

Matt from some comedy on NBC where he was in school, maybe, with an older man who was also there?

I don't know what network it was on, ,but he played a hs football player on a couple of episodes of Just the Ten of Us.

[Crs97]

I had forgotten how well I thought they handled Monica and Chandler’s infertility.  Of course the doctor wouldn’t tell them the news over the phone, but her knowing it’s bad news, his having to tell her, their apologizing to each other, and his declaring they would figure things out while they held each other tightly - I always seem to be near freshly cut onions at that scene.

[mojoween]

The show I was thinking Matt was on wasn’t any of those you’ve all mentioned.  I trolled his IMDb and nothing popped out at me.

If I’m remembering correctly, it was a show where the main character was in college, and his roommate was an old guy.  Like Ed Asner or something like that.  It didn’t last very long. 

[Bort]

1 hour ago, Katy M said:

I don't know what network it was on, ,but he played a hs football player on a couple of episodes of Just the Ten of Us.

Matthew Perry was also on Just the Ten of Us playing the blonde daughter’s decoy date. For some reason, I still remember the dinner scene where the dad is trying to trap him into saying something inappropriate. Offers him chicken all, “Which would you prefer: breast or thigh?” And he says, “Uh… wing.” 

[Rose Quartz]

Here's a picture of TV Guide's first article about Friends as part of their review of the new season.  It doesn't seem like they were too impressed.  😀

[Irlandesa]

Remember, back in the day, reviewers only got pilots to watch and review.

I always laugh when people complain these days that reviewers are "jumping to conclusions" if they're reviewing only a few episodes provided by the network.  They get so much more than they used to.

[Hiyo]

Matt wasn't on just one Married...With Children spin-off, but two (playing the same character on all 3 shows).

[Crs97]

I love that they called Matt a Tony Danza clone.  I also chuckled that it took me a second to figure out which was the yuppie vs funny square vs cute geek.

[Guest]

47 minutes ago, Crs97 said:

I love that they called Matt a Tony Danza clone.  I also chuckled that it took me a second to figure out which was the yuppie vs funny square vs cute geek.

Yeah, as I was reading it I kept having to reassign Monica, Chandler, and Ross. Once I realized they were listing them in credits order (aka by the actors' last names), it fell into place.

[Bort]

It’s the yuppie description that gets me. None of them are yuppies. That’s an 80s baby boomer thing. I guess the reviewer had a hard time letting go of that.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Young urban professional?  They're definitely yuppies....

I still see people use the term once in a while:

https://www.thegoodinmovies.com/feature/the-a-to-z-of-yuppies-in-peril/

2 hours ago, Crs97 said:

I love that they called Matt a Tony Danza clone.  I also chuckled that it took me a second to figure out which was the yuppie vs funny square vs cute geek.

It's good that you have a better sense of humour about it than I do.  That comment annoyed me so much, LOL.  Like "how dare I have to see another Italian person on my screen!"  So dumb.

Edited September 23, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Crs97]

I didn’t catch the Tony Danza reference as a comment about Italians; I was thinking Bronx and now just discovered neither character is actually from the Bronx.  Sorry, I didn’t realize it was meant as a slur.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I didn't take it as a slur per se but I found the criticism very weird!

[Cattoy]

On 9/17/2022 at 7:31 AM, mojoween said:

All very good points, but he DID leave Phoebe as collateral.

Wouldn't Phoebe be considered anti-collateral? "Please, I'll pay you to take her away!"

[Mr. Meatball Man]

Since the ring thing came up, is anyone else just confused when Chandler all of a sudden wants to propose to Monica? I don't know, that scene was always weird to me. The whole episode, he's freaking out over the possibility of a wedding, then it's revealed he saw the place and wants to propose now? I get it was supposed to be a surprise, but Chandler, the guy who's been afraid of commitment for years, completely changed his attitude off-screen. Maybe that's what throws me off about the scene. It's like hearing a joke and someone just skips straight to the punchline.