Friends - General Discussion

[princelina]

Or he asked a question that he already knew the answer to!

[Stiggs]

On 8/13/2021 at 1:24 PM, kariyaki said:

I’ve often wondered what the hell was wrong with Chip’s parents in that they allowed their son to stay in high school mode, working minimum wage at the movie theater and still living at home. Why didn’t they kick his ass out, he was 30!

I had a weird Chip moment IRL. One of my high school’s biggest BMOC (he was dreamy) got a much envied job at the mall movie theater back in the day. We used to go see any movie (Including Weekend at Bernie’s) just to see him and have what was always a dull conversation with him because he wasn’t exactly a genius. FFWD literally (LITERALLY!) 30 years later… I run into him while back home visiting my family. He was still handsome, and I was like, oh, hello. Then we chatted and after a few moments I joked, “So, are you still working at the movie theater?” And much to my shock he proudly said yes, and that he was now a supervisor. My conversation with him was soooooo much like Monica’s that part of me thought maybe he was actually a genius and punking me. 
 

A friend was visiting recently and we binged a LOT of Friends and noticed a few things we never noticed before - Joey wears a lot of turtlenecks and Monica’s hair changed every other episode, it seemed. Also, now that we know the story of The One Where No One’s Ready, we were both weirdly focused on how Phoebe’s hair was different. And PIVOT will always be funny… 

[Irlandesa]

I mean.  A job's a job but it can be jarring for someone to not change from a high school job. 

I was rewatching a few episodes last week while on vacation and I noticed a continuity error.  In Season 1, Ep. 4, Ross was bummed because it was the anniversary of the first time he slept with Carol.  Monica mentioned that she hoped he wouldn't remember.

But in the very next episode, she's on a double date with a duo she thinks are siblings because that's what Joey told her.  While talking to the woman in the bathroom about how great Bob is, the woman also says he's great in bed.  Monica is a little shocked by the fact that his "sister" (not his sister) said that to her and she replied that her brother didn't even tell her when he lost his virginity.

Yet Ross lost his virginity to Carol which the week earlier he was bummed about.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I noticed the exact same thing these past few weeks because I was rewatching S1.  Did Ross tell Monica that it was when Carol and he first slept together?  Or did Ross actually explain to her that he lost his virginity at the same time?  Maybe he didn't tell her that second part.

Ross first tells everyone it's that first anniversary with Carol and then later after coaxing from the guys he says it's also the first time he ever had sex.  I forget, was Monica there for that conversation?  

Edited September 6, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[LexieLily]

1 minute ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I noticed the exact same thing these past few weeks because I was rewatching S1.  Did Ross tell Monica that it was when Carol and he first slept together?  Or did Ross actually explain to her that he lost his virginity at the same time?  Maybe he didn't tell her that second part.

Ross first tells everyone it's that anniversary with Carol and then later from coaxing from the guys he says it's also the first time he ever had sex.  I forget, was Monica there for that conversation?  

When did Ross meet Carol? In college? Because apparently Ross also got drunk and slept with the cleaning lady in their dorm, according to Chandler in later seasons in one of their secret-telling games. 

[Bort]

Quote

Ross first tells everyone it's that anniversary with Carol and then later from coaxing from the guys he says it's also the first time he ever had sex.  I forget, was Monica there for that conversation?  

Monica wasn’t there. I had noticed that continuity “error,” but I fanwank that Monica knew that Ross and Carol celebrated that date as an anniversary but not the specifics of what it was — because I really doubt any brother would tell his sister about his virginiversary. Even Ross and Monica with their boundary issues.

2 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

When did Ross meet Carol? In college? Because apparently Ross also got drunk and slept with the cleaning lady in their dorm, according to Chandler in later seasons in one of their secret-telling games. 

Yes, but apparently Ross was too drunk or something to remember because he thought it was chandler. 

[Kawaiiko]

4 hours ago, kariyaki said:

I had noticed that continuity “error,”

I still think it's annoying that there were continuity errors as soon as the fifth episode.

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, Kawaiiko said:

I still think it's annoying that there were continuity errors as soon as the fifth episode.

A show is still figuring itself out in the first season and so I could see something being said in the pilot being changed later on in that season.  It's the back-to-back episodes that got to me.

[Katy M]

19 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I mean.  A job's a job but it can be jarring for someone to not change from a high school job. 

I think it was more concerning that he was still living at home.  My dad worked at the same place from high school to retirement.  But, it was a factory so it paid enough for him to live on and support a family, so why not?  

[FilmTVGeek80]

20 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I noticed the exact same thing these past few weeks because I was rewatching S1.  Did Ross tell Monica that it was when Carol and he first slept together?  Or did Ross actually explain to her that he lost his virginity at the same time?  Maybe he didn't tell her that second part.

Ross first tells everyone it's that first anniversary with Carol and then later after coaxing from the guys he says it's also the first time he ever had sex.  I forget, was Monica there for that conversation?  

That’s so weird. I noticed the same thing last week. I did a rewatch last year when I bought the Blu-ray collection, but I’m doing a rewatch now with my DVDs. I didn’t notice the “error” last year, but I did this time and wondered how I didn’t pick up on that before. But, like kariyaki said, it’s likely Ross just told her it was a significant anniversary and not that it was when he lost his virginity.

14 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

A show is still figuring itself out in the first season and so I could see something being said in the pilot being changed later on in that season.  It's the back-to-back episodes that got to me.

Yeah, that’s what struck me about it - that it was in back-to-back episodes.

[mojoween]

While Ross needing to be perfectly a-ok with everything Carol and Susan was annoying, I have to say that their wedding dresses were very lovely.  They complemented each other beautifully.

[princelina]

1 hour ago, mojoween said:

While Ross needing to be perfectly a-ok with everything Carol and Susan was annoying, I have to say that their wedding dresses were very lovely.  They complemented each other beautifully.

I kind of agreed with him in that episode though - he was right that if she were marrying a man he wouldn't be invited/expected to attend.  I did think their dresses were cool, but I hated Susan's hat.  Also when she removes her jacket and asks Ross to dance her boobs are pointing in two completely separate directions - that bugs me 😄

[mojoween]

Phoebe’s family tree has one hole for me -

Lily Buffay- died in oven

Grandma (paternal or maternal, I do not know) - died in grocery store, burning in hell

Ursula Buffay - evil twin

Frank Buffay Sr. - ran away when Phoebe and Ursula were babies, sings songs

Frank Buffay Jr. - half brother, fathered Phoebe’s children who are his children

Phoebe from Montauk - birth mom, owns a pug

Phoebe’s dad in prison - ? this is where I’m lost.  Is he a stepdad?  Who was he married to, Lily?

[chitowngirl]

3 hours ago, mojoween said:

Phoebe’s dad in prison - ? this is where I’m lost.  Is he a stepdad?  Who was he married to, Lily?

2 minutes ago, chitowngirl said:

3 hours ago, mojoween said:

Phoebe’s dad in prison - ? this is where I’m lost.  Is he a stepdad?  Who was he married to, Lily?

He was Phoebe’s stepdad, married to Lily.

I’ve always wondered where Grandma and Ursula were when Phoebe was on the streets. Did she run away?

Edited September 12, 2021 by chitowngirl

[Bort]

Grandma Roper was Lily’s mother, not Frank’s. And yeah, the prison dad was a stepdad Lily married after Frank took off. He was supposed to get a furlough to give Phoebe away when she married Mike but “apparently stabbing Iceman in the exercise yard couldn't wait till Monday.”

And they never said, but I always assumed Phoebe ran away while Ursula stayed put (whether in foster care or at Grandma Roper’s) because Ursula ended up getting all of Lily’s belongings: suicide note, birth certificates, etc…

[chitowngirl]

And how could Phoebe never have a birth certificate?? Presumably (I know) she has a driver’s license and would have needed it for her jobs and massage therapy training… The enigma that is Phoebe!

[Bort]

You can fill stuff out for lost birth certificate, although if Phoebe did that, presumably she’d have a copy, in which she’d know what her middle name was. I wonder more about how she got to Barbados if she wasn’t “allowed” to have a passport.

[chitowngirl]

And even without her birth certificate, you think she would have known her proper birth year. Her grandmother surely knew. And her mother. Were they celebrating the wrong year all throughout her childhood?

[Kawaiiko]

On 9/12/2021 at 10:48 AM, mojoween said:

Phoebe from Montauk - birth mom, owns a pug

"I really shouldn't have given you the puppy first."

[LexieLily]

On 9/12/2021 at 9:48 AM, mojoween said:

Frank Buffay Jr. - half brother, fathered Phoebe’s children who are his children

Phoebe was just the oven, wasn't she? (I hope.) Frank Jr's sperm, Alice's eggs?

[WendyCR72]

2 hours ago, LexieLily said:

Phoebe was just the oven, wasn't she? (I hope.) Frank Jr's sperm, Alice's eggs?

You're correct. (Thank God.)

[mojoween]

That peach couch (which wasn’t really all that nice, TBH) would have definitely fit up those stairs.

[Bort]

Heh, did anyone ever watch Futurama? I always love the Friends joke, from aliens watching old earth broadcasts.

[Ms Blue Jay]

8 minutes ago, kariyaki said:

Heh, did anyone ever watch Futurama? I always love the Friends joke, from aliens watching old earth broadcasts.

That's interesting thank you.  I've seen this meme repeated about so many other things but never saw or knew of the original.

Jennifer on shutting down the rumours about dating David

https://www.instagram.com/p/CT9ZP4wjIjk/

Edited September 18, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[Crs97]

I just realized that when Ross finds out Carol is a lesbian and is leaving him for Susan, he never even considered they were having an affair till after Phoebe specifically asked.  Fast forward to his irrational panic over Rachel and Mark - that divorce really broke him in a lot of ways.  Someone should have suggested therapy.

[Bort]

22 minutes ago, Crs97 said:

I just realized that when Ross finds out Carol is a lesbian and is leaving him for Susan, he never even considered they were having an affair till after Phoebe specifically asked.  Fast forward to his irrational panic over Rachel and Mark - that divorce really broke him in a lot of ways.  Someone should have suggested therapy.

Not to mention that Ross and Carol still slept together at least one more time after that and conceived Ben. No doubt, Ross had been hoping that Carol had changed her mind. Yeah, he really should’ve had therapy. It’s not like he hadn’t before, his parents had sent him when he was having that recurring nightmare about being eaten by Monica.

[mojoween]

The back and forth between Mona, Ross and Dr. Green culminating in “I need to lie down” is such stellar work by David.  It would not have been as funny without his facial expressions and excellent timing.

[rubaco]

Love, love that scene, @mojoween. I keep Friends on in the background while I work from home, and each time this episode plays, I have to stop what I'm doing to take in that scene.

I have to echo Ross's astonishment when he says "What was wrong with Mona?" (This happens in the Alec Baldwin episode where Phoebe lists the disastrous relationships of the others.) She is so nice, and she certainly liked Ross a lot, despite the fact that he was preoccupied with Rachel's pregnancy. Phoebe should have picked on the woman with the filthy apartment instead.

[Bort]

4 minutes ago, rubaco said:

I have to echo Ross's astonishment when he says "What was wrong with Mona?"

What was wrong with Mona is that she didn’t run like the wind after that scene with Dr. Green. Ross had way too much baggage to be in a relationship at that time and she should’ve realized that and cut him loose then. When she finally does dump him, even Ross judges her for not doing so sooner.

[Ms Blue Jay]

3 hours ago, rubaco said:

I have to echo Ross's astonishment when he says "What was wrong with Mona?" (This happens in the Alec Baldwin episode where Phoebe lists the disastrous relationships of the others.) She is so nice, and she certainly liked Ross a lot, despite the fact that he was preoccupied with Rachel's pregnancy. Phoebe should have picked on the woman with the filthy apartment instead.

Too boring

[mojoween]

Somehow I have always missed Phoebe asking Joey to walk her down the aisle because her stepfather (right?) couldn’t wait until Monday to shank someone.

Now Joey going the rest of the episode pretending to be her dad makes more sense.  It’s still dumb, but at least now I get it.

[Kawaiiko]

21 hours ago, mojoween said:

Somehow I have always missed Phoebe asking Joey to walk her down the aisle because her stepfather (right?)

Yes, you are right.

[ljenkins782]

On 9/18/2021 at 12:10 PM, Crs97 said:

I just realized that when Ross finds out Carol is a lesbian and is leaving him for Susan, he never even considered they were having an affair till after Phoebe specifically asked.  Fast forward to his irrational panic over Rachel and Mark - that divorce really broke him in a lot of ways.  Someone should have suggested therapy.

In fairness, it makes sense that he wasn't as aware of the "affair potential" between Carol and Susan, given that he was married to Carol and made the reasonable assumption that she was straight. 

And TBH, I don't blame him for being suspicious of Mark, given that he butted into the convo of a total stranger to "help" her. Had Rachel's character been ugly or unappealing in some way, Mark probably just eats his sandwich and goes on his merry way and Rachel's big fashion career never happens. 

Edited October 6, 2021 by ljenkins782

[Ms Blue Jay]

Haha, I remember saying the same thing about Mark earlier.  It was not well received.  One of the points was that Mark already had a girlfriend.  Well that didn't stop Mark from dropping his girlfriend and hitting on Rachel right after Ross broke her heart :)   

Edited October 6, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[Bort]

Nah, I’m on Team Mark here. Would he have helped Rachel get a job if she’d been unattractive? Maybe, maybe not. But from what we saw of him, he seemed like a genuinely nice guy so I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he would’ve. He never hit on her while she was with Ross, he waited a respectable amount of time to ask her out after they broke up and he even took it well when she ultimately shot him down. I thought he was a class act.

[Ms Blue Jay]

This could all be true, but I still get Ross being suspicious of him.  And Ross just watched a third party break up his own coupling with Carol.  Though obviously Carol and Ross had deeper issues, that's still what happened.  

Ross can trust Rachel and understand that Rachel is trustworthy but also not like Mark and question his intentions.  He obviously went too far with how he handled things, but I understand the sentiment.  

Edited October 6, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[Bort]

Suspicious, ok. I have no problem with that. It’s Ross’s actions that I had a problem with. Just like Rachel’s intention to bust up his wedding to Emily was wrong but since she came to her senses and did nothing, then I find no fault in her with what ended up happening. If Ross had vented his suspicions to the other friends but sat back and did nothing, I’d feel the same but he didn’t do that, he unleashed the crazy.

[ljenkins782]

1 hour ago, kariyaki said:

Nah, I’m on Team Mark here. Would he have helped Rachel get a job if she’d been unattractive? Maybe, maybe not. But from what we saw of him, he seemed like a genuinely nice guy so I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he would’ve. He never hit on her while she was with Ross, he waited a respectable amount of time to ask her out after they broke up and he even took it well when she ultimately shot him down. I thought he was a class act.

I guess I'm just cynical but I don't believe he'd have helped her. He probably wouldn't have even taken note of the conversation if it hadn't been happening between two women as attractive as Rachel and Monica. 

And wasn't he at her apartment the night of "The Break"? Again, it could have been in a friend capacity, but again, possibly with an eye toward the future when she'd be single. So I never really buy that he was doing everything he did for her out of the goodness of his heart and that he'd have done it for anyone.

Quote

Suspicious, ok. I have no problem with that. It’s Ross’s actions that I had a problem with. Just like Rachel’s intention to bust up his wedding to Emily was wrong but since she came to her senses and did nothing, then I find no fault in her with what ended up happening. If Ross had vented his suspicions to the other friends but sat back and did nothing, I’d feel the same but he didn’t do that, he unleashed the crazy.

Oh, for sure, Ross's actions were inexcusable. It's hard to help your feelings especially when you have recent experiences that impact your emotions, but you don't have to act on them. 

[Bort]

1 minute ago, ljenkins782 said:

I guess I'm just cynical but I don't believe he'd have helped her. He probably wouldn't have even taken note of the conversation if it hadn't been happening between two women as attractive as Rachel and Monica. 

And wasn't he at her apartment the night of "The Break"? Again, it could have been in a friend capacity, but again, possibly with an eye toward the future when she'd be single. So I never really buy that he was doing everything he did for her out of the goodness of his heart and that he'd have done it for anyone

But that ultimately goes back to what I was saying about Ross’s actions. The same thing applies to Mark. Whether he had ulterior motives is irrelevant, if he did, he never acted on it. In the end, he was a good friend to Rachel and never crossed the line.

[mojoween]

When Monica had her identity stolen, the teacher at the dance class was really super snotty.  Is that normal, that the teachers judge the students so harshly?

[Ms Blue Jay]

43 minutes ago, mojoween said:

When Monica had her identity stolen, the teacher at the dance class was really super snotty.  Is that normal, that the teachers judge the students so harshly?

😄😄😄😄😄😄

I love how we are all watching the same damn episodes at the same time!

Seriously!  It was so over the top!

By the way, I always hate the jail scene at the end, because Fake Monica doesn't even seem the tiniest bit remorseful, and NEVER apologizes to Real Monica.  What a piece of work.  And to make matters worse, Real Monica thanks her instead!  🙄

Here's the transcript:

http://friends.tktv.net/Episodes1/summaries/21.html

1 hour ago, ljenkins782 said:

I guess I'm just cynical but I don't believe he'd have helped her. He probably wouldn't have even taken note of the conversation if it hadn't been happening between two women as attractive as Rachel and Monica. 

And wasn't he at her apartment the night of "The Break"? Again, it could have been in a friend capacity, but again, possibly with an eye toward the future when she'd be single. So I never really buy that he was doing everything he did for her out of the goodness of his heart and that he'd have done it for anyone.

Oh, for sure, Ross's actions were inexcusable. It's hard to help your feelings especially when you have recent experiences that impact your emotions, but you don't have to act on them. 

Don't worry.  I've seen too much in my life and I think the exact same way.  😄

Edited October 6, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[Bort]

47 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

By the way, I always hate the jail scene at the end, because Fake Monica doesn't even seem the tiniest bit remorseful, and NEVER apologizes to Real Monica.  What a piece of work.  And to make matters worse, Real Monica thanks her instead!  🙄

Heh, and I like the jail scene because why would Fake Monica be remorseful? She’s a criminal. Her only remorse is that she got caught. Granted, she’s not exactly a smart criminal since she was essentially returning to the scene of a crime by buying dance lessons with a stolen credit card and actually showing up for them.

[Guest]

Episodes like Fake Monica are why I can't really get into Season 1. It's trying too hard to be earnest and "meaningful", and in retrospect it just comes off as weird.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Yeah Monica comes off looking really ....... sad in that episode.  

[helenamonster]

2 hours ago, mojoween said:

When Monica had her identity stolen, the teacher at the dance class was really super snotty.  Is that normal, that the teachers judge the students so harshly?

I was a dancer for 14 years, and can confirm that the teacher in that episode was on the mild side of personalities in that profession.

[ljenkins782]

17 hours ago, helenamonster said:

I was a dancer for 14 years, and can confirm that the teacher in that episode was on the mild side of personalities in that profession.

For serious dancers, I'm sure that's the norm for teachers, but a community dance class for beginners, I don't think so. They need to make money off people signing up for classes and no one would subject themselves to that kind of thing if it was just for fun.

There's a pro at my club who approaches drills this way, when people complain about it, he insists that he's only an asshole to help people get better. And like, fine whatever, but this sport isn't my life or my career path. It's a hobby I enjoy and I do classes/drills to improve, but the whole Whiplash approach just isn't applicable to a hobby. You aren't training future champions here, tone it down. As a result, a lot of people just don't go back again after they take one of his drills, it's bad business.

Quote

Episodes like Fake Monica are why I can't really get into Season 1. It's trying too hard to be earnest and "meaningful", and in retrospect it just comes off as weird.

Yeah, Monica nearly apologizing to the person who stole HER credit card is a very weird way to wrap up a storyline. Fake Monica's "zest for life" led her to thievery, it's not exactly an admirable path.

[Katy M]

19 hours ago, kariyaki said:

ranted, she’s not exactly a smart criminal since she was essentially returning to the scene of a crime by buying dance lessons with a stolen credit card and actually showing up for them.

And apparently the credit card was completely unnecessary.  Phoebe, Monica, and Rachel all just showed up to that class with no plan to participate, but just to figure out who the Monica impersonator was.  They all got to take that class and Monica, at least, showed up to one more.   Whenever I've paid for a class the instructor has always made sure that I was supposed to be there, or at the very least known how many people were supposed to be there and made sure there weren't too many.  I could handle one person not showing up for the class, but 3?

Same thing when Monica and Joey snuck into that cooking class.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I might have said this before?  But I actually think that Fisher Stevens as Roger is absolutely hysterical and I would have watched a spinoff about him.  It would be like an even more intense "Frasier" I guess. 

[Kawaiiko]

4 hours ago, Katy M said:

Same thing when Monica and Joey snuck into that cooking class.

I mean, they did get caught in that episode.

[Bort]

But what about Ross in the self defense class? How did he not get the cops called on him for asking the instructor for tips on attacking his ex-wife?