Friends - General Discussion

[Nordly Beaumont]

I love everything about those scenes. And when my timer goes off, I usually look confused and say (to no one) "I don't even know what that's for..."

[Chas411]

Ross alone saved that storyline for me just because he was so funny. The downplaying of Ross and Rachel annoyed me though. They hadn’t dated in six years but they had had a baby and seriously considered getting back together since then. Just one of them always messed up at the last hurdle. Rachel’s lack of consideration for Ross was unreal and as already said upthread, this was just a crush for her, One that was greatly enhanced by the presence of Charlie. She didn’t have any deep feelings. Ugh it was just so annoying. I just hated her during that time. 

[mojoween]

19 hours ago, Nordly Beaumont said:

I love everything about those scenes. And when my timer goes off, I usually look confused and say (to no one) "I don't even know what that's for..."

I do this all. the. time.  

If someone is in the kitchen with me I get “aren’t you the one who set it?” and that makes me sad.

[VCRTracking]

It's strange, Ross isn't my favorite character because he can be such an asshole, yet he's by far the funniest one of the group IMO. No matter how many times I rewatch the reruns his moments still make me laugh. That's how good Schwimmer was.

Edited November 20, 2019 by VCRTracking

[Danny Franks]

On ‎11‎/‎19‎/‎2019 at 2:41 AM, Mr. Meatball Man said:

The whole Joey/Rachel thing was a mess after season eight. I really liked Joey falling in love with her because it showed a new side of him and allowed him to be more than just the idiot. Plus, it made sense that Joey would have those deep feelings for her because they were already close friends.

I wasn't even opposed to Rachel falling for Joey, or the idea of it. By season nine, Ross and Rachel was played out and they didn't even trust each other. But the way Rachel fell for him was ridiculous. She was never really into him, it was just a crush.

Then they have an entire episode about how Ross handles it. Nevermind giving us an episode about what brings Joey and Rachel together, but it's about how Ross is dealing with the whole thing. The only good thing that came out of this was the final scene where Ross finally accepts it, and even states that he hasn't been with Rachel for years. It's about as honest, realistic, and self-aware as Friends can be. 

Then one episode later, Joey and Rachel break up because they're no longer attracted to each other, and it's never brought up again other than a joke in one episode. Then they turn Joey into someone who needs a helmet to eat soup, and Rachel magically falls in love with Ross again, who magically falls in love with her again. 

 That scene at the end of TOW Ross is Fine is such a good one. Ross and Joey have a really mature discussion and we see that Joey is genuinely crazy about Rachel, and Ross respects that, and understands that he has no proprietary hold over her or the relationships she pursues. Then... it's all wiped away with some dumb, slapstick goofiness just one episode later. Even if the writers wanted to do away with it, the characters deserved more than that.

The writers' (and a lot of fans') obsession with Ross and Rachel being the epitome of swoony romance was just so annoying. I didn't mind Rachel being callous about how her and Joey might affect Ross because I felt she was the voice of narrative reason - "we haven't dated in six years". Exactly! And a drunken, one-night stand that resulted in a baby does not give them a controlling stake in one another. The idea of Ross/Rachel as some special, unimpeachable and grand romance was such bullshit. They were together for about a year, and were hardly a dream couple for most of it, then they broke up because Ross was insecure, controlling and resented Rachel getting a job 'above her station'.

Edited November 21, 2019 by Danny Franks

[FilmTVGeek80]

On 11/19/2019 at 8:05 AM, Chas411 said:

Ross alone saved that storyline for me just because he was so funny. The downplaying of Ross and Rachel annoyed me though. They hadn’t dated in six years but they had had a baby and seriously considered getting back together since then. Just one of them always messed up at the last hurdle. Rachel’s lack of consideration for Ross was unreal and as already said upthread, this was just a crush for her, One that was greatly enhanced by the presence of Charlie. She didn’t have any deep feelings. Ugh it was just so annoying. I just hated her during that time. 

I agree! I hated, hated, hated that storyline. This idea that Ross/Rachel were only together briefly and either one never displayed real feelings for the other again, is wrong. There were several storylines after they broke up in which one or the other had feelings for the other and they were thinking of getting together again. It was only because the writers' had this dumbass idea that they couldn't get them together again until the very, very end that we had all of these stop gap storylines like Joey/Rachel in the first place.

6 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

Then... it's all wiped away with some dumb, slapstick goofiness just one episode later. Even if the writers wanted to do away with it, the characters deserved more than that.

The writers' (and a lot of fans') obsession with Ross and Rachel being the epitome of swoony romance was just so annoying. I didn't mind Rachel being callous about how her and Joey might affect Ross because I felt she was the voice of narrative reason - "we haven't dated in six years". Exactly! And a drunken, one-night stand that resulted in a baby does not give them a controlling stake in one another. The idea of Ross/Rachel as some special, unimpeachable and grand romance was such bullshit. 

I'm so glad they scuttled that Joey/Rachel story as quickly as possible in the 10th season because I couldn't have watched that couple being taken seriously. it's clear the writers didn't really take them seriously and they were just thrown together again in the 9th season because they realized they were getting more seasons and had to do more to delay the Ross/Rachel reunion.

You might be annoyed that Ross/Rachel fans loved their romance but I was equally annoyed at the Rachel/Joey storyline in the first place. It's not some obsession or an idea that Ross and Rachel had an unimpeachable romance, it's simply liking a pairing better and liking a pairing that, yes, someone might consider special. Just because you don't think it was special means that's bullshit. 

[Danny Franks]

3 hours ago, FilmTVGeek80 said:

Just because you don't think it was special means that's bullshit. 

Fortunately, unlike the old TWoP days, we don't need to preface every single statement with "I think" or "in my opinion" to make sure people know that we are, in fact, stating our opinions.

[JessDVD]

A short, related to the TV show anecdote that hopefully you will enjoy:

I've been cross-stitching a lot the last couple years and this is my current project. My kids (ages 10, 9, 6, 4) are always interested in whatever cross-stitching I'm doing so they've been asking about each segment of this and what moment of Friends that it refers to. The first one I did was "pivot", so I showed them youtube clips of that bit (at least THAT one was appropriate for elementary age kids). A week or two later, my 9 year old and I were moving a bookcase from one bedroom to another and as we went around the doorways, she did it... said "PIVOT! PIVOT!". I think my husband died a little inside but it was a high point of my parenting career.

[Chas411]

Just watched Phoebe’s wedding day episode and I hate hate that not only was Monika an annoying asshole but later Phoebe had to apologise/beg to her and act as though the wedding couldn’t happen without her. I know it was played for laughs but it was so annoying.

[mojoween]

Monica’s audible groaning during Phoebe’s speech about her mother during the rehearsal dinner was beyond the pale.  Was that supposed to be funny?  Because it truly, TRULY was not.

[Chas411]

I know.. I could have handled it if Monica had jumped in with an apology while Phoebe was struggling to organise everything but she just sat there snuggly until Phoebe more or less begged her to come back. Eugh.

[voiceover]

Just rewatched "TOW the Boobies", and was reminded that Brenda Vaccaro (Gloria Tribbiani, Joey's mom) was one of the best guest stars the series ever had.

She's only there for one scene, but she wastes no time in establishing the bond between mother & son.  She's angry, vulnerable, tough, hilarious (asking Joey about her husband's mistress: "Could I take her?").

And she made Matt up his game.  That was the best he was in Season One.

Always irritated me that they didn't bring her back.

[Chas411]

God Joey was like a different character back then.

completed our rewatch and have to say the final episode is so rushed. They wrapped up everyone’s story nicely with the exception of Ross and Rachel. It’s like they suddenly realised with two episodes to go “shit we better get moving with these two”. There was no lead up or anything to it. Suddenly they’re just in love again and all previous obstacles no longer matter. I’m glad they ended up together but I think every other season where there was a Ross and Rachel cliffhanger there was a better build up.

[chitowngirl]

4 hours ago, voiceover said:

Just rewatched "TOW the Boobies", and was reminded that Brenda Vaccaro (Gloria Tribbiani, Joey's mom) was one of the best guest stars the series ever had.

She's only there for one scene, but she wastes no time in establishing the bond between mother & son.  She's angry, vulnerable, tough, hilarious (asking Joey about her husband's mistress: "Could I take her?").

And she made Matt up his game.  That was the best he was in Season One.

Always irritated me that they didn't bring her back.

My favorite part of the scene with Joey’s mother: we see before she’s there that Joey is having trouble putting the sofa bed back. Mom just walks by and pushes down with one hand, without even glancing at it, breaking her stride, or stopping her rant.

[VCRTracking]

I honestly don't watch the first two seasons because everyone seems weird to me.  The characters aren't fully formed and they didn't become what I think of their characters until the third season. Maybe the fourth.

If they had paired Joey and Monica in the early seasons as they originally intended it would have been like Sam and Diane on CHEERS(narcissistic ladies man and uptight woman) and thankfully they never went there. Having Joey later be in love with one of the girls when he evolved into the sweet, dim and goodhearted made it a different dynamic. Like people say Rachel was too good for Ross but by then I think the problem with Joey/Rachel was he was too good for her.

Edited November 27, 2019 by VCRTracking

[Jax7917]

12 hours ago, Chas411 said:

God Joey was like a different character back then.

completed our rewatch and have to say the final episode is so rushed. They wrapped up everyone’s story nicely with the exception of Ross and Rachel. It’s like they suddenly realised with two episodes to go “shit we better get moving with these two”. There was no lead up or anything to it. Suddenly they’re just in love again and all previous obstacles no longer matter. I’m glad they ended up together but I think every other season where there was a Ross and Rachel cliffhanger there was a better build up.

I agree and that’s why I think people weren’t really excited that they ended up back together . There was no build up . They were just thrown together like you said in an “ oh shit . Forgot that those 2 have to end up back together “ type of way by the writers . They should have made all of season 10 a slow build up . Would have been more exciting 

[geauxaway]

Watched all the Thanksgiving episodes last night, as that is our Thanksgiving Eve tradition.  I forget how great each of those episodes were.  My 11 year old son can never get over how I “know all the words.”  How do you do that, mom?  

[Mr. Meatball Man]

On 11/27/2019 at 1:31 PM, VCRTracking said:

I honestly don't watch the first two seasons because everyone seems weird to me.  The characters aren't fully formed and they didn't become what I think of their characters until the third season. Maybe the fourth.

If they had paired Joey and Monica in the early seasons as they originally intended it would have been like Sam and Diane on CHEERS(narcissistic ladies man and uptight woman) and thankfully they never went there. Having Joey later be in love with one of the girls when he evolved into the sweet, dim and goodhearted made it a different dynamic. Like people say Rachel was too good for Ross but by then I think the problem with Joey/Rachel was he was too good for her.

Really? I feel like all of the characters are fully formed by the end of the first season. In fact, I don't even think it takes them more than a few episodes to get all of the characters down. Joey changes over the next few seasons, but that's because they started dumbing him down more. 

[VCRTracking]

43 minutes ago, Mr. Meatball Man said:

Really? I feel like all of the characters are fully formed by the end of the first season. In fact, I don't even think it takes them more than a few episodes to get all of the characters down. Joey changes over the next few seasons, but that's because they started dumbing him down more. I guess

I guess I mean they aren't as funny to me as they were later. The consistent laugh getters that first season were Phoebe and Chandler. Monica's not funny at all. Season 4 though everything came together.  Monica, Joey and Chandler's telling of the Jellyfish story is just comic gold.

[Duke2801]

On 11/27/2019 at 1:31 PM, VCRTracking said:

I honestly don't watch the first two seasons because everyone seems weird to me.  The characters aren't fully formed and they didn't become what I think of their characters until the third season. Maybe the fourth.

If they had paired Joey and Monica in the early seasons as they originally intended it would have been like Sam and Diane on CHEERS(narcissistic ladies man and uptight woman) and thankfully they never went there. Having Joey later be in love with one of the girls when he evolved into the sweet, dim and goodhearted made it a different dynamic. Like people say Rachel was too good for Ross but by then I think the problem with Joey/Rachel was he was too good for her.

Interesting. I, on the other hand, have no desire to watch seasons 8-10 because everybody had become such unlikeable caricatures of their former selves. 

I personally adore the earlier seasons because the characters, situations and interactions seem so much more genuine to me. 
 

But different strokes! 

[Chas411]

Season ten especially is such a phone in. The only two who I felt continued giving it their all were Schwimmer and Cox.

Aniston looks bored, Perry was barely there after season nine except to react to either monika, Ross or Joey.

Kudrow and LeBlanc has some good moments but I felt like they didn’t know what to do with Phoebe and Joey for the last season. 

[Jax7917]

17 hours ago, Duke2801 said:

Interesting. I, on the other hand, have no desire to watch seasons 8-10 because everybody had become such unlikeable caricatures of their former selves. 

I personally adore the earlier seasons because the characters, situations and interactions seem so much more genuine to me. 
 

But different strokes! 

I agree . I thought the first seasons were very natural with the interactions And the characters were very naturally funny but the last couple of seasons , I kind of had second hand embarrassment for how unfunny some of the lines were . I know matthew perry was dealing with drug addiction but I found his reaction time and portrayal of his character to not be nearly as funny as he was early on .. Ross and Monica went from cute and quirky to overly loud and annoying . Rachel was ok but the Joey / Rachel situation was just awkward for me .  Phoebe I never found funny from the beginning but that’s just me lol 

[VCRTracking]

We all agree the later seasons aren't great but I'm talking about the middle years. Looking at early seasons they just seemed like "types" to me. What 40 year olds in the 90s thought Gen Xers were like. With the exception of Chandler, when a character said a funny line, it was obvious a writer wrote them. Later it felt more natural and coming from the character. Anyway, Seasons 4-8 are the best to me. Why do I include 8? For the "Europe story" of course!

Edited December 3, 2019 by VCRTracking

[VCRTracking]

22 hours ago, Chas411 said:

Season ten especially is such a phone in. The only two who I felt continued giving it their all were Schwimmer and Cox.

Aniston looks bored, Perry was barely there after season nine except to react to either monika, Ross or Joey.

Kudrow and LeBlanc has some good moments but I felt like they didn’t know what to do with Phoebe and Joey for the last season. 

I heard a story recently where someone working at the studio lot during the last years of the show saw Matthew Perry after one of the tapings, leaning against an expensive car, smoking a cigarette. He threw it on the ground, sighed "That's another million dollars." and drove off.

Edited December 3, 2019 by VCRTracking

[helenamonster]

One thing I really liked about the earlier seasons, that I wish they hadn't dropped, was the non-sequitur humor. Like where one character would be on the phone but the others would be commenting on the TV show they were watching. Or the cold open where they spontaneously started humming the Odd Couple theme song. Or just random asides that had nothing to do with anything. "Why isn't it Spiderman?" "What?" "You know like Goldman, Silverman..." "Because he's a Spider Man. He's not, like, Phil Spiderman."

I loved these interactions because they felt like the sort of random shit that real friends say to or do with each other. It gave the actual plots some room to breathe while also strengthening the relationships between all the characters.

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 10/23/2019 at 9:39 PM, Madding crowd said:

He was Aniston’s boyfriend at the time so that is likely why he was cast. I thought he was good looking but had kind of a lame personality. 

Tate Donovan said they had broken up by then.

https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/tate-donovan-dying-inside-working-with-ex-jennifer-aniston-on-friends/

On 11/28/2019 at 12:19 PM, geauxaway said:

Watched all the Thanksgiving episodes last night, as that is our Thanksgiving Eve tradition.  I forget how great each of those episodes were.  My 11 year old son can never get over how I “know all the words.”  How do you do that, mom?  

That's adorable.

Edited December 4, 2019 by Ms Blue Jay

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 11/20/2019 at 6:18 PM, VCRTracking said:

It's strange, Ross isn't my favorite character because he can be such an asshole, yet he's by far the funniest one of the group IMO. No matter how many times I rewatch the reruns his moments still make me laugh. That's how good Schwimmer was.

Season 5 was the apex of David Schwimmer.  Ross had the mental breakdown because of his marriage breaking up and his acting was just so hysterical.  He's so talented.

[Chas411]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again Ross/Rachel break up was the best thing to happen to both characters. Especially Ross. Rachel I found unlikeable from season 9-10 moreso because I never thought it was really called out how self serving she was. Ross though always cracked me up and I felt the other characters called him out a lot too.

[Rockstar99435]

I'm rewatching and just saw The One with the Cat. It's been forever since I've seen this episode and I have to admit: I don't think Phoebe is the bad guy in this episode. From the knowledge she has, she found a stray cat and thinks it's the reincarnated spirit of her mother (which is ridiculous, sure, but it's a belief that is not hurting anyone and brings Phoebe comfort). Before they know anything about the cat not being a stray and having a real owner, Ross is upset with Phoebe thinking the cat is her mom, like it affects his life at all. It's not that he's not right, but more why does he need so badly to take this away from her? At this point in the story, it's a belief that brings Phoebe peace and gives a stray cat a new home. Why does Ross need Phoebe to not have this? That's what Phoebe is angry about at the end, that her friend cares more about being right than about her happiness. And once Phoebe finds out about the little girl, she immediately says good bye to the cat and contacts the real owner. Phoebe never wanted to take a little girl's pet away, she thought she found a stray and then gave herself a story about her mom's spirit to make herself feel better. Ross is the bad guy, not because he was wrong about the cat not being Phoebe's mom, but because he couldn't let her have this nice lie even when it wasn't hurting anyone.

Also, that canoe is beautiful. I refuse to believe that the guy who made it or his roommate would give it away for free.

[scarynikki12]

https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/06/entertainment/actor-ron-leibman-dies-trnd/index.html

RIP Rachel's dad.

[Duke2801]

2 hours ago, scarynikki12 said:

https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/06/entertainment/actor-ron-leibman-dies-trnd/index.html

RIP Rachel's dad.

Oh wow and he was married to Lucille Bluth! I had no idea. RIP sir.
 

On 12/3/2019 at 12:38 PM, VCRTracking said:

We all agree the later seasons aren't great but I'm talking about the middle years. Looking at early seasons they just seemed like "types" to me. What 40 year olds in the 90s thought Gen Xers were like. With the exception of Chandler, when a character said a funny line, it was obvious a writer wrote them. Later it felt more natural and coming from the character. Anyway, Seasons 4-8 are the best to me. Why do I include 8? For the "Europe story" of course!

I guess I never saw the earlier dialogue that way. I am Gen X and was in college when Friends premiered. My friends and I all adored it because the characters and the dialogue did seem so “authentic” to us back then. 

And personally, I simply preferred the characters in seasons 1-4. Back then, Monica was a perfectionist but still kind and sweet. In later seasons, she just became shrill, brittle, and almost OCD in her ways. 

[VCRTracking]

10 hours ago, Duke2801 said:

Oh wow and he was married to Lucille Bluth! I had no idea. RIP sir.
 

I guess I never saw the earlier dialogue that way. I am Gen X and was in college when Friends premiered. My friends and I all adored it because the characters and the dialogue did seem so “authentic” to us back then. 

And personally, I simply preferred the characters in seasons 1-4. Back then, Monica was a perfectionist but still kind and sweet. In later seasons, she just became shrill, brittle, and almost OCD in her ways. 

Well I had already seen Courtney Cox in a number of things before Friends, going back all the way to Misfits of Science. I remembered her from Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" video, Alex' girlfriend Lauren on Family Ties, Masters of the Universe movie, Cocoon 2, Ace Ventura, her guest appearance on Seinfeld. So those early seasons of Friends, she was still "Courtney Cox" to me. It wasn't until season 3 that I started to see her as Monica. I'm going to die alone on the "Middle seasons were the best" hill.

[blondiec0332]

2 hours ago, VCRTracking said:

Well I had already seen Courtney Cox in a number of things before Friends, going back all the way to Misfits of Science. I remembered her from Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" video, Alex' girlfriend Lauren on Family Ties, Masters of the Universe movie, Cocoon 2, Ace Ventura, her guest appearance on Seinfeld. So those early seasons of Friends, she was still "Courtney Cox" to me. It wasn't until season 3 that I started to see her as Monica. I'm going to die alone on the "Middle seasons were the best" hill.

Save room for me. I thought the middle seasons were the best as well. There was the classic The one with the embryos.  The fallout from what happened in London.  I frequently watch the scene of Phoebe finding out about Monica and Chandler on YouTube and laugh every single time. Once Monica and Chandler got married and Rachel got pregnant it changed the show. It was still funny but it wasn't the same.

[Jax7917]

On 12/7/2019 at 3:26 PM, blondiec0332 said:

Save room for me. I thought the middle seasons were the best as well. There was the classic The one with the embryos.  The fallout from what happened in London.  I frequently watch the scene of Phoebe finding out about Monica and Chandler on YouTube and laugh every single time. Once Monica and Chandler got married and Rachel got pregnant it changed the show. It was still funny but it wasn't the same.

I agree . The show was at its best when they were all single , navigating relationships . I loved chandler and Monica together but pairing off 2 main characters For as many years as they did took a little something away from the premise  . My guess is that if the show runners would have known how long the show would last , they might have pushed their relationship off by a season or 2. They were great together though . I really didn’t like Ross and Rachel having a baby . I think around that time was when the show went a little downhill . I get that characters have to grow up and move on , but I was just bored by the baby storyline . 

[WendyCR72]

Honestly, I never got why the show gave Ross and Rachel a baby. It's not like that helped them reconcile or even planted the seeds. (It all seemed so half assed.)

[Irlandesa]

9 minutes ago, WendyCR72 said:

Honestly, I never got why the show gave Ross and Rachel a baby. It's not like that helped them reconcile or even planted the seeds. (It all seemed so half assed.)

I think the initial plan was to end the show around S8 and the baby was going to be one way to bring the story around to them as a couple.  And I do think seeds for them were definitely planted. 

But then S8 wasn't going to be the final season any longer and they pulled back from their natural progression.

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 12/7/2019 at 3:26 PM, blondiec0332 said:

Save room for me. I thought the middle seasons were the best as well. There was the classic The one with the embryos.  The fallout from what happened in London.  I frequently watch the scene of Phoebe finding out about Monica and Chandler on YouTube and laugh every single time. Once Monica and Chandler got married and Rachel got pregnant it changed the show. It was still funny but it wasn't the same.

I agree that the middle seasons are the best.  However, I still think S1/S2 have a lot of value to them.  I prefer them over S3.  There is a lot of intelligence to S1.  Joey was allowed to be more intelligent.  The characters are allowed to be subtle and intelligent in a way they weren't allowed to be in later seasons.  Rachel kind of goes reverse - not intelligent to more intelligent.  S2 was when the stardom of the show went supersonic.  Rachel had "the Rachel".  When I was young I thought S2 was the best/coolest thing I had ever seen.  I've watched it so much I can't even evaluate it normally, but I still think it's fantastic.

S4/S5 is the absolute peak to me.  Though, to be honest I prefer S7 over S6.

After that, it's a mixed bag.  S9/S10 has some surprisingly good episodes, and S8 has The One with the Videotape.  Other than that in Season 8, Meh.  

[Jax7917]

16 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

Honestly, I never got why the show gave Ross and Rachel a baby. It's not like that helped them reconcile or even planted the seeds. (It all seemed so half assed.)

Personally , I think it was to give them both a big storyline , as nothing big was really happening with either of them . Monica and chandler had their big wedding storyline , but Rachel and Ross individually and together had nothing really going on .. so they prob figured .. why not add a baby . It was also another stop on the will they won’t they train that led to nowhere as usual . So I get why they did it but I just wasn’t personally into it 

[blondiec0332]

On 12/8/2019 at 10:23 PM, Irlandesa said:

I think the initial plan was to end the show around S8 and the baby was going to be one way to bring the story around to them as a couple.  And I do think seeds for them were definitely planted. 

But then S8 wasn't going to be the final season any longer and they pulled back from their natural progression.

From what I read in one of the recent Friends books the cast and most of the producers wanted to end the show after season eight. But NBC and one of the producers wanted to keep it going and a lot of money was offered and so we got season 9.  And then they were offered even more money and a shorter season if they did a tenth season.

If there had only been eight seasons ending the show with Ross and Rachel reuniting with the birth of Emma would have nice.  Monica and Chandler were happy.  They could have brought in Mike for Phoebe that season. And Joey.......I'm not sure they ever really had a conclusion planned for his character. Even in the final episode nothing was mentioned about him moving to LA. I can only conclude when they filmed it they didn't know if the spin off was going to be picked up.

[mojoween]

I thought I had read somewhere that they wanted to give Monica a baby, but then Courtney and David were having fertility problems, so they didn’t want her to act out something upsetting, but they still wanted a baby, so Rachel got one?

Or is that urban legend?  

And then she did end up with Coco anyways, which if my math is correct she has to be at least 16 now, and pardon me while I go grab my Metamucil and my walker.

[Chas411]

Above doesn’t make sense to me just mostly because they needed a cliffhanger for season 7 and the “OMG Rachel’s pregnant but who’s the daddy” storyline gave them it... well not that we didn’t believe for a minute it would be Ross. It was also a good way to tie them together. The biggest mistake they made was not reuniting them after Emma was born because after the Gavin fiasco and then Joey I just stopped liking Rachel. At that point the writers had forgotten her good/funny traits and just emphasised how selfish she could be.

chandler and Monica being pregnant wouldn’t have added anything in terms of storylines or cliffhangers.

[Danny Franks]

I can't really think of any good storylines that came out of them having that baby.

The overly-sensitive, 'effeminate' nanny? That awful episode where Rachel whines about Emma's first birthday being ruined? Maybe the Hugsy thing, but that was one of the lowest moments for Joey's intellect.

[Chas411]

From a cliffhanger point of view I think it was a good stunt. And I did think it gave Ross and Rachel some good storylines in the lead up to the birth and I loved the episode where she gave birth as would have been a great ending for them.

Agreed though that after the baby was born outside of Rachel’s sister with the baby and the nanny episode which I did enjoy nothing much came of it proving babies in these types of comedies are rarely a good idea.

[Mr. Meatball Man]

On 12/10/2019 at 9:25 AM, blondiec0332 said:

From what I read in one of the recent Friends books the cast and most of the producers wanted to end the show after season eight. But NBC and one of the producers wanted to keep it going and a lot of money was offered and so we got season 9.  And then they were offered even more money and a shorter season if they did a tenth season.

If there had only been eight seasons ending the show with Ross and Rachel reuniting with the birth of Emma would have nice.  Monica and Chandler were happy.  They could have brought in Mike for Phoebe that season. And Joey.......I'm not sure they ever really had a conclusion planned for his character. Even in the final episode nothing was mentioned about him moving to LA. I can only conclude when they filmed it they didn't know if the spin off was going to be picked up.

Yeah, I also think season eight was supposed to be the last one. I watched a special about Friends a couple months ago and one of the reasons they gave for continuing the show was 9/11. They felt like they needed to keep going at that point for the fans. Plus, season eight was the only time the show won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, so I guess a ninth season was a no-brainer.

Then season nine was definitely supposed to be the last season but then a deal was cut near the end of 2002 to come back for a tenth season. Honestly, they should have ended it after season eight. The last two seasons weren't unwatchable, just unnecessary, and you can tell everybody was beginning to run on fumes. 

[Bort]

I didn’t realize the day was almost nigh.

The day has finally come, again. Friends has its official removal date listed on Netflix in the United States and is scheduled to have every season removed from Netflix on January 1st, 2020.

[mojoween]

Monica was always my fifth favorite friend, but when they were picking on her about her supposed OCD I was totally on her side.

- When the phone bill comes, if you can pay it then or at your next paycheck, why would you wait for the second notice?  All that does is play games with your credit.

- Anyone who picks on someone for buying the detergent with the easy-pour spout has never done laundry without a spout.

- All water rings are going to do is ruin your furniture.

And anyone who uses a metal tool in my Teflon pan is going to buy me two in replacement for being dumb.

[scarynikki12]

What drove me nuts was when they were inconsistent about Monica's OCD or didn't address it in a way that made sense. Take the fire in Rachel's and Phoebe's apartment. Monica brings Rachel breakfast in bed but then won't let Phoebe eat cookies unless it's over the sink? Rachel was shown to be a fairly neat person but so was Phoebe so why was Monica fine with Rachel eating in bed but not Phoebe? Yes, cookies leave crumbs but Rachel could have spilled something on the bedding. We saw her spill spaghetti at Joey's in the same episode so we know that it could have happened at Monica's. And Chandler was also shown to be worrying about "crummies" so I have no idea what we were supposed to think. Maybe Rachel was really good about cleaning up her spills and hiding them from Monica? Lulling Monica into a belief that Rachel could be trusted with breakfast in bed while making everyone else eat the cookies over the sink? But then Rachel knew about eating cookies over the sink AND we saw Phoebe and Ross eating the experiment cookies at the table in a different episode so I don't know.

I would have liked to see someone address Monica's obsessiveness about cleaning, being in control, and her competitiveness with regard to kids. I don't have much memory of the last season so maybe there is a scene I've forgotten but, if I knew her in real life, I'd ask how she can be confident in her abilities to parent a child when she HAS to win all the time, or if she had any plans to address her obsession with cleaning, or her need to always be in control. Because kids are messy, they break things, they make mistakes, and they can be stubborn. If I knew someone as anal as Monica in real life I'd advise her to talk to someone and make sure she had the tools so that she wouldn't get excessively upset when her kids are being kids. Monica could easily become one of those moms who gets into fights at the soccer games because the outcome matters more than if the kids are having fun. Her obsessive cleaning could put unnecessary stress on the kids and then they start freaking out about something like spilling apple juice. And Chandler's tendency to let Monica be in charge would only add to the stress because he'd be freaking out too. Phoebe moved out because "I need to live in a place where people can spill!" and that was in season 3 when Monica was presented far more reasonably about wanting things clean. The woman she became by series end is not one I would entrust with a child unless she had lots of therapy (this is true for all of them of course but I'm focusing on Monica).

[WendyCR72]

2 hours ago, scarynikki12 said:

What drove me nuts was when they were inconsistent about Monica's OCD or didn't address it in a way that made sense. Take the fire in Rachel's and Phoebe's apartment. Monica brings Rachel breakfast in bed but then won't let Phoebe eat cookies unless it's over the sink? Rachel was shown to be a fairly neat person but so was Phoebe so why was Monica fine with Rachel eating in bed but not Phoebe? Yes, cookies leave crumbs but Rachel could have spilled something on the bedding. We saw her spill spaghetti at Joey's in the same episode so we know that it could have happened at Monica's. And Chandler was also shown to be worrying about "crummies" so I have no idea what we were supposed to think. Maybe Rachel was really good about cleaning up her spills and hiding them from Monica? Lulling Monica into a belief that Rachel could be trusted with breakfast in bed while making everyone else eat the cookies over the sink? But then Rachel knew about eating cookies over the sink AND we saw Phoebe and Ross eating the experiment cookies at the table in a different episode so I don't know.

I would have liked to see someone address Monica's obsessiveness about cleaning, being in control, and her competitiveness with regard to kids. I don't have much memory of the last season so maybe there is a scene I've forgotten but, if I knew her in real life, I'd ask how she can be confident in her abilities to parent a child when she HAS to win all the time, or if she had any plans to address her obsession with cleaning, or her need to always be in control. Because kids are messy, they break things, they make mistakes, and they can be stubborn. If I knew someone as anal as Monica in real life I'd advise her to talk to someone and make sure she had the tools so that she wouldn't get excessively upset when her kids are being kids. Monica could easily become one of those moms who gets into fights at the soccer games because the outcome matters more than if the kids are having fun. Her obsessive cleaning could put unnecessary stress on the kids and then they start freaking out about something like spilling apple juice. And Chandler's tendency to let Monica be in charge would only add to the stress because he'd be freaking out too. Phoebe moved out because "I need to live in a place where people can spill!" and that was in season 3 when Monica was presented far more reasonably about wanting things clean. The woman she became by series end is not one I would entrust with a child unless she had lots of therapy (this is true for all of them of course but I'm focusing on Monica).

Right, but just to have a counterpoint here, when Monica got the phone call on Thanksgiving about a possible baby, the gang had broken something and it was all over the floor, etc. And she was uber calm there and outright said, "I don't care!" Which, naturally, caused the gang to just stare at her - after blaming each other for said mess. Chandler was often able to calm Monica even at the height of her OCD, so I'd think/hope Monica would relax over time.

And one could say - if one were to be serious about sitcom characters - that Monica's behavior could be tied directly to Monica's own hypercritical mother (less so her father) who also played favorites with Ross. I mean, Monica's mother even picked on Monica in S1 for wearing her hair over her ears! And put down her choice of spaghetti for dinner in that same season - "Oh, that's...easy." - even as Monica cooked for them. Jack treated Monica better (see the breakup with Richard aftermath), but even he sometimes favored Ross over her, etc. And maybe that is why she turned to food as an outlet and became so rigid about control, to have something she could control.

[mojoween]

But what if the baby gets into the ribbon drawer?!?

[Was-MArsenault]

On 12/15/2019 at 10:39 AM, kariyaki said:

I didn’t realize the day was almost nigh.

The day has finally come, again. Friends has its official removal date listed on Netflix in the United States and is scheduled to have every season removed from Netflix on January 1st, 2020.

Why is it being removed?