Friends - General Discussion

[princelina]

On 11/28/2020 at 11:51 PM, Ms Blue Jay said:

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

The funny thing when you watch all of the Thanksgiving episodes in a row is how their interest in football waxes and wanes each year 😄 

[WendyCR72]

Discover Card is running a commercial with various clips from film and TV (answering Discover's question of if it has an annual fee, of which the answer is no...), and one of the clips used is Matthew Perry/Chandler. It's clearly from a first-season episode, as he had the longer, floppy hair. He was on the phone and kept saying, "No, no!" (Can't remember which first-season episode it was from, though!)

[mojoween]

I think it is from when he was trying to quit the job that was supposed to be an internship, and the boss called to offer more money.  “You’ve got the wrong guy! You’ve got the WRONG GUY!  See you Monday?”

[Ms Blue Jay]

I Googled a link:

https://superadsdb.com/ad/3851/discover-no-we-dont-charge-annual-fees

 

The part @mojoween is talking about starts here:

 

Edited December 8, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[WendyCR72]

19 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I Googled a link:

https://superadsdb.com/ad/3851/discover-no-we-dont-charge-annual-fees

 

The part @mojoween is talking about starts here:

 

Thanks for playing detective!  🙂

[Ms Blue Jay]

38 minutes ago, WendyCR72 said:

Thanks for playing detective!  🙂

I'm pretty available these days ;). 

[WendyCR72]

Just now, Ms Blue Jay said:

I'm pretty available these days ;). 

Yeah, I know how that goes!  🙂

[mojoween]

This is the most random question, but I know that Joey had “FDNY” on his board on the back of the door, but does anyone recall if Friends specifically mentioned 9/11?  

[Katy M]

10 minutes ago, mojoween said:

This is the most random question, but I know that Joey had “FDNY” on his board on the back of the door, but does anyone recall if Friends specifically mentioned 9/11?  

I don't think they did.  They changed the season premiere scenes that took place in the airport in order to not offend anyone, but I don't think anyone onscreen ever mentioned it.  I think that was wise. It was a sitcom.

[princelina]

11 hours ago, mojoween said:

This is the most random question, but I know that Joey had “FDNY” on his board on the back of the door, but does anyone recall if Friends specifically mentioned 9/11?  

No they didn't - they did end the one episode with a written acknowledgement during the final credits. 

Edited December 16, 2020 by princelina

[WendyCR72]

2 hours ago, princelina said:

No they didn't - they did end the one episode with a written acknowledgement during the final credits. 

Right. I think it was the end of the Season 8 premiere that just simply said something like, "Dedicated to the people of New York City." (Forget if D.C./Philadelphia were also mentioned or not...)

[Snow Apple]

I think Rachel also wore a "I ❤ NY" t-shirt as a subtle acknowledgement.

 

Edited December 16, 2020 by Snow Apple

[Mr. Meatball Man]

On 12/15/2020 at 2:28 PM, mojoween said:

This is the most random question, but I know that Joey had “FDNY” on his board on the back of the door, but does anyone recall if Friends specifically mentioned 9/11?  

There were 9/11 references in the background, but it was never explicitly mentioned by anyone on the show. There was also the dedication at the end of the season premiere, and that subplot in episode three that they changed out of respect for the victims. 

Also, fun fact: They pushed back the season premiere by a week because of 9/11. 

[Bort]

1 minute ago, Mr. Meatball Man said:

Also, fun fact: They pushed back the season premiere by a week because of 9/11. 

Pretty much everyone did. All the major networks were running 24/7 coverage for at least a week afterwards. I remember watching a lot of TBS and Nick at Nite because those were just about the only channels with regular programming.

[Nellise]

I was watching the episode with Parker yesterday (season 8, episode 18) and saw something I'd never seen before. Starting around the 5 minute mark something really strange happens that I'd never noticed before. Can someone else look and see if I'm losing my mind? This is on the HBO Max version, I can't find my dvd to see if it's there, too.

[Katy M]

2 minutes ago, Nellise said:

I was watching the episode with Parker yesterday (season 8, episode 18) and saw something I'd never seen before. Starting around the 5 minute mark something really strange happens that I'd never noticed before. Can someone else look and see if I'm losing my mind? This is on the HBO Max version, I can't find my dvd to see if it's there, too.

Do you want to give us a hint?

[Nellise]

41 minutes ago, Katy M said:

Do you want to give us a hint?

Jack does a magic trick.

[Snow Apple]

I'm watching the episode where they all make New Year's resolutions. I like the rest of the episode but can't stand Phoebe "teaching" Joey the guitar. Her ridiculous rules and silly names for the cords makes me mute the tv until those scenes are over.

[Ms Blue Jay]

21 minutes ago, Snow Apple said:

I'm watching the episode where they all make New Year's resolutions. I like the rest of the episode but can't stand Phoebe "teaching" Joey the guitar. Her ridiculous rules and silly names for the cords makes me mute the tv until those scenes are over.

My musician brother gets so angry at that scene too.  To be honest, Phoebe upsets us pretty regularly.  LOL.

Edited December 27, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[Katy M]

1 hour ago, Snow Apple said:

I'm watching the episode where they all make New Year's resolutions. I like the rest of the episode but can't stand Phoebe "teaching" Joey the guitar. Her ridiculous rules and silly names for the cords makes me mute the tv until those scenes are over.

Come on everybody knows that the most important part of learning how to play a guitar is not touching a guitar.

[Madding crowd]

Friends is my favorite show but I never liked Phoebe and thought she was mean and selfish. She did have the triplets for her brother but was usually uninterested or down right mean to  the friends at times. I always hated it when she would twist Joey’s ears or threaten to beat up the others. I always found it weird that they would want to hang out with her.

When she kept hinting at getting a baby shower and Monica and Rachel got her stuff she could use after she had the babies she was mad about that. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

1 minute ago, Madding crowd said:

Friends is my favorite show but I never liked Phoebe and thought she was mean and selfish. She did have the triplets for her brother but was usually uninterested or down right mean to  the friends at times. I always hated it when she would twist Joey’s ears or threaten to beat up the others. I always found it weird that they would want to hang out with her.

When she kept hinting at getting a baby shower and Monica and Rachel got her stuff she could use after she had the babies she was mad about that. 

EX. ACT. LY

[Kiki777]

Do they ever explain how Ross’ best friend and sister happen to live across the hall from each other?

[supposebly]

I don't think they did. I can imagine Monica living there and then mentioning availability to Ross who would then have mentioned it to Chandler. The more interesting question for me is how Chandler avoided having Ross as his room mate after he had hated living with Ross so much in college.😁

 

[chitowngirl]

Ross was with Carol and presumably married shortly after college, so needing a roommate wouldn’t have been a factor.

[supposebly]

3 minutes ago, chitowngirl said:

Ross was with Carol and presumably married shortly after college, so needing a roommate wouldn’t have been a factor.

Ah yes, I forgot that he was already with her in college.

[ifionlyknew]

They never mentioned how Phoebe came to be Monica's roommate did they?  

[Katy M]

19 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

When she kept hinting at getting a baby shower and Monica and Rachel got her stuff she could use after she had the babies she was mad about that. 

That's one of the few things I'll give her a pass on.  She had crazy pregnancy hormones going on, and knew that she was going to have to give up the babies.  Yes, she knew that going in, but it's one thing at the beginning of a pregnancy and another once you've had the babies inside you for 9 months.  

Otherwise, yes, she's ridiculously mean to her "friends."  She slammed the door on Chandler when he took too long saying goodbye when he left for Tulsa.  She didn't speak to Ross for days because of something he did in a dream.  She purposely let Monica and Chandler miss each other at the movies.  She constantly uses her mother's suicide to get her own way.  She constantly belittles Chandler.  

[WendyCR72]

Just saw a St. Jude's Children's Hospital commercial with Jennifer Aniston. I know Marlo Thomas also does the voice overs and sometimes also appears in commercials for it since she took over highlighting the hospital from her father, Danny Thomas.

I'd like to think the Friends connection played a part. Nice that Marlo Thomas/Jennifer Aniston are still in touch!

[Madding crowd]

15 hours ago, Katy M said:

That's one of the few things I'll give her a pass on.  She had crazy pregnancy hormones going on, and knew that she was going to have to give up the babies.  Yes, she knew that going in, but it's one thing at the beginning of a pregnancy and another once you've had the babies inside you for 9 months.  

Otherwise, yes, she's ridiculously mean to her "friends."  She slammed the door on Chandler when he took too long saying goodbye when he left for Tulsa.  She didn't speak to Ross for days because of something he did in a dream.  She purposely let Monica and Chandler miss each other at the movies.  She constantly uses her mother's suicide to get her own way.  She constantly belittles Chandler.  

She was mean and demanding her entire pregnancy and she could have been happy her friends were thinking of her. Hormones don’t make you yell at your friends when they were trying to do something nice.

[Katy M]

1 hour ago, Madding crowd said:

Hormones don’t make you yell at your friends when they were trying to do something nice.

Sure they do. Ever heard of "roid rage?"  And, not that I agree with it, because I think you should have some control, but the PMS defense?

Remember being a teenager?

Edited December 28, 2020 by Katy M

[Madding crowd]

Yes, I was a teenager, pregnant and then menopause. Was I crabby yes-my if I had talked to people like that at my baby shower we would no longer be friends. Roid rage usually refers to people who are abusing steroids. Hormones don’t usually cause rage although they can cause moodiness for sure. 

Edited December 28, 2020 by Madding crowd

[ifionlyknew]

When I watched the show originally I liked Phoebe but I also liked the other five as well.  Upon watching it in reruns and doing a complete rewatch a couple years ago I don't like Phoebe so much anymore.  As mentioned by posters above she wasn't always nice and  lot of times just downright mean.  And as Rachel said she always thought if they lost a friend it would be Phoebe because she lifts right out. She isn't related to anyone and she lives far away.  I think during the Friends years Lisa Kudrow was the best actress (not necessarily on the show but in her outside projects) but I think the writing for her was weaker than the other characters.  Maybe the writers thought they needed a crazy character (like Kramer on Seinfeld) and that is why they made her "different" than the rest.  

[Madding crowd]

6 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

 

Funny you mention Kramer cause he was my least favorite character on Seinfeld. I always thought he was annoying and constantly pestering people for free stuff and of course the actor that played him is not a good person. 

[Quof]

My nominee for dumbest plot line every - the Holiday Armadillo.  Ben was 5, not 5 months.   Leaving aside all of the other stupidity, how did he not recognize his own father's voice and barely covered face? 

[Katy M]

3 hours ago, Quof said:

My nominee for dumbest plot line every - the Holiday Armadillo.  Ben was 5, not 5 months.   Leaving aside all of the other stupidity, how did he not recognize his own father's voice and barely covered face? 

that bugs me with every show where dad dresses up as Santa.  But, I guess if Clark Kent can fool a full-grown woman who sees him every day, just by taking off his glasses and slicking back his hair, it makes perfect sense.

[Danny Franks]

On 12/27/2020 at 1:18 AM, Snow Apple said:

I'm watching the episode where they all make New Year's resolutions. I like the rest of the episode but can't stand Phoebe "teaching" Joey the guitar. Her ridiculous rules and silly names for the cords makes me mute the tv until those scenes are over.

Any story that's about Phoebe's insane "quirks" and how insensitive and wrong her friends are for not respecting them is automatically on my list of worst episodes ever.

At some point you  have to consider the possibility that your friend actually needs mental help.

On 12/29/2020 at 8:56 AM, Quof said:

Ben was 5, not 5 months. Leaving aside all of the other stupidity, how did he not recognize his own father's voice and barely covered face? 

"Have you talked to him lately?"

[Hiyo]

I liked Phoebe and still do. Despite her quirks, she was always there for her friends in the end when it mattered, and I never thought she was that bad overall, though I do think she was a bit more annoying in later seasons (but then, as with many TV shows, most characters do become exaggerated versions of themselves as the show goes on).

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 12/28/2020 at 5:58 PM, Madding crowd said:

Funny you mention Kramer cause he was my least favorite character on Seinfeld. I always thought he was annoying and constantly pestering people for free stuff and of course the actor that played him is not a good person. 

I'm with you.  I was listing a whole bunch of sitcoms and usually I love the "wacky one" who always says the most outrageous things: Sophia Petrillo on "Golden Girls", Jazz on "Fresh Prince", Fez on "That 70s Show".  etc. etc.  But guess what my two exceptions were?  Phoebe and Kramer!  😄  They are not for me.

Edited December 31, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[mojoween]

Not to pile on Phoebe (although she is also my sixth favorite Friend) but I loathe the plot lines where she is the Salvation Army bellringer and when she finds the police badge.  Shrill, judgmental and preposterous does not make for enjoyable television viewing.

[Katy M]

20 hours ago, Hiyo said:

I liked Phoebe and still do. Despite her quirks, she was always there for her friends in the end when it mattered,

Was she?  She tried to set Monica up with someone she thought was Monica's soul mate while Monica was married to Chandler.  

She did have her good points.  She went to stop George Costanza from killing himself, she tried to make Joey not feel stupid during his French audition (though I'm not sure that was actually helpful, at some point in time Joey needs to find out he's an idiot, but her heart was in the right place), she tried to stop Rachel from going to London and called around until she found Joey to intercept her.

But, by and large, I mostly found her manipulative and hypocritical.

 

Edited January 1, 2021 by Katy M

[perkie1968]

We're going through the all the seasons right now, since my dd is now old enough to watch them.  We're halfway through season 3.  The one episode that I don't get and truly hate is the one with Barry and Mindy's wedding.  I actually left the room and let my dd watch it on her own though came back at the end to complain about it.  

1- why is Rachel in the wedding party.  I get that she's supposed to be Mindy's best friend, but why would Barry, whom she dumped at the altar not that long ago, want her there.

2- Why is Ross one of the ushers when he's known Barry and Mindy for 5 minutes?  

3- Why were Monica and Richard invited?  

Maybe I missed or forgot the explanations but ugh with this one!

[Magnumfangirl]

25 minutes ago, perkie1968 said:

We're going through the all the seasons right now, since my dd is now old enough to watch them.  We're halfway through season 3.  The one episode that I don't get and truly hate is the one with Barry and Mindy's wedding.  I actually left the room and let my dd watch it on her own though came back at the end to complain about it.  

1- why is Rachel in the wedding party.  I get that she's supposed to be Mindy's best friend, but why would Barry, whom she dumped at the altar not that long ago, want her there.

2- Why is Ross one of the ushers when he's known Barry and Mindy for 5 minutes?  

3- Why were Monica and Richard invited?  

Maybe I missed or forgot the explanations but ugh with this one!

I assumed Monica, Ross, Rachel, Mindy, and Barry all grew up together.  It's kind of weird that they're all the wedding of Rachel's ex, but it's a funny episode.

Edited January 3, 2021 by Magnumfangirl

[Bort]

23 minutes ago, perkie1968 said:

1- why is Rachel in the wedding party.  I get that she's supposed to be Mindy's best friend, but why would Barry, whom she dumped at the altar not that long ago, want her there.

2- Why is Ross one of the ushers when he's known Barry and Mindy for 5 minutes?  

3- Why were Monica and Richard invited?  

1 - Well, you’d think Barry would, yes, object to that but apparently he didn’t, so...

2 - I don’t think Ross was an usher, he didn’t escort any bridesmaids in, he was sitting with the regular guests during the ceremony. He sat at the head table later because he was with Rachel.

3 - I think Richard knew Barry or Mindy? Or maybe their parents? I forget, but I think there was an explanation for that.

2 minutes ago, Magnumfangirl said:

I assumed Monica, Ross, Rachel, Mindy, and Barry all grew up together.  It's kind of weird that they're all the wedding of Rachel's ex, but it's a funny episode.

Monica didn’t know Mindy. There was an earlier episode where Monica saw a picture of her and remarked she was pretty and then had to backpedal when Rachel wasn’t liking it.

[perkie1968]

12 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

I don’t think Ross was an usher,

Ok, so why is he wearing a tux like the other ushers?!

[Katy M]

14 minutes ago, perkie1968 said:

Ok, so why is he wearing a tux like the other ushers?!

He's not. the ushers are wearing grey and Ross is wearing black. It actually looks to me like he and Richard are dressed exactly the same for some reason.

[perkie1968]

1 hour ago, Katy M said:

Ross is wearing black

But it's still a tux.  Where I come from the only men at a wedding who wear a tux are the members of the wedding party and the fathers (maybe grandfathers) of the bride/groom.  All other men wear suits.  Not sure why it bothers me so much but it does!

In the episode with the bullies (also just saw it this morning), I'm so annoyed with the guy who steals Chandler's cap and puts it on his head.  The mother in me was all, eewwww, that hat could have lice, why are you putting a stranger's hat on your head!

[Bort]

1 hour ago, perkie1968 said:

But it's still a tux.  Where I come from the only men at a wedding who wear a tux are the members of the wedding party and the fathers (maybe grandfathers) of the bride/groom.  All other men wear suits.  Not sure why it bothers me so much but it does!

Everybody at that wedding was wearing a tux. Even the guys in the band were wearing tuxes. Apparently, that was the dress code for that wedding. Either way, the answer to the question is: Ross wasn’t an usher.

[Hiyo]

Quote

Was she?

Yeah, overall, I would say Phoebe was there for her friends when it mattered. 

[Bort]

I liked Phoebe in the episode where she temped as Chandler’s secretary. I thought she did well at helping him realize that his co-workers were his subordinates and weren’t his friends anymore.