The One With the Friends Post

As much as I love to watch TV, I guess I couldn’t let the 25th anniversary of the debut of Friends go by without some comment. 


Much like M*A*S*H, Friends is a show that is frequently being re-run somewhere and I will watch if it’s on and I’m just to tired to work the channel change button on my TV remote.


Let’s take a look at some of my favorite episodes.  


"The One Where Rachel Finds Out"


Two words make this episode stand out for me: “crystal duck”. Specifically Chandler’s frantic efforts to not acknowledge he has let slip the secret that Ross is in love with Rachel.


It’s Rachel’s birthday and everybody is there except Ross who has gone to China for a fossil dig. After Rachel comments on the thoughtfulness of Ross’s gift for her birthday, Chandler says, “Remember when Ross was in love with Carol and he bought her that crystal duck?”


While the rest of the gang burns holes into Chandler’s head, Rachel who heretofore was oblivious to Ross’ affection for her asks, “What did you say?”


Chandler, realizing his error, stammers in reply, “Crystal duck?” 


"The One with the Baby on the Bus"

Circumstances occur that puts Chandler and Joey baby-sitting Ross' son, Ben. Women like babies so Chandler and Joey use baby Ben as a prop to help pick up girls. It works! Perhaps too well as Joey and Chandler get distracted and leave Ben on the bus. They track the baby to a bus terminal office where it turns out Joey and Chandler aren’t the only ones to leave a baby on the bus today. There are two babies in two cribs, the only thing distinguishing the two are their shirts. One has ducks, the other has clowns. Joey and Chandler decide to flip a coin for it.

Joey calls “heads” and is overjoyed when it comes up heads.  Chandler does a slow burn for a moment then says, “We have to assign heads to something!”

Joey frantically looks between the two babies and then he has an idea. “Ducks is heads. Because ducks have heads!” Time for another slow burn from Chandler before he blurts out, “What kind of scary ass clowns did they have at your birthday parties?”  

These two instances highlight Matthew Perry's strength with comedic timing. Chandler's best zingers were proceded by a beat or two of build up  beforehand. 


BONUS POINTS: Lea Thompson from Caroline in the City makes an appearance, not as her character Caroline but as a woman with a gay brother interested in where Joey and Chandler adopted Ben.  


"The One Where Ross Finds Out"


A comic tour de force from Jennifer Anniston. Rachel is out on a date with a perfectly nice guy (played perfectly nicely by Ayre Gross) but she won’t shut up talking about Ross, his current girlfriend Julie and that the two are going to get a cat.

As she gets increasingly more and more drunk throughout the date, she badgers a restaurant guest to borrow their cell phone which she uses to leave a long and rambling message on Ross’ answering machine. “And that is what you call closure.” Jennifer Anniston is at the center of this extended comic sequence and she just kills it.

I think Jennifer's comedic skills are frequently underestimated, getting lost in comparison to Monica's obsessive compulsions and Phoebe's weirdness. 


"The One with the Prom Video"


This is the one that introduces us to Fat Monica, an element of the show that has not aged well. I remember thinking at the time that jokes at Fat Monica’s expense verged on cruelty. She’s always eating. We get it! She’s fat.

There is however one really good, funny line. Watching the video in the present day, Monica notes that the camera adds 10 pounds, prompting Chandler to ask, “How many cameras are on you?”


"The One with Chandler in a Box"


Angry that Chandler kissed his girlfriend, Joey decides to punish Chandler by having spend time in a box on Thanksgiving. Why? Chandler helpfully provides three reasons.

1. "It gives me time to think about what I did to Joey.
2. It shows how much my friendship with Joey means to me.
3. It hurts!"

"The One with Ross's Wedding"

Two things about this episode:

• Rachel on the airplane to London who is sharing her story with the man next to her who in turns decides to defend Ross. “It’s clear to me that you two were on a break!”
• Monica and Chandler sleep together. The reveal that Monica is bed with Chandler is one of the best reveals on the show.  

"The One Where Everybody Finds Out"

Of all the friends, only Joey knows that Monica and Chandler are having an affair after the events in London. The pressure is getting to him but he’s doing his best to keep it a secret.

But Rachel and Phoebe have figured it out and are a little put out that Monica and Chandler are keeping this from them. “We know but they don’t know that we know.” Phoebe decides to seduce Chandler.

Meanwhile, Monica and Chandler find out that Rachel and Phoebe know. Or “We know that they know but they don’t know that we know that they know.” So Monica tell Chandler to answer Phoebe’s challenge and seduce her right back. 

In Chandler’s apartment, Phoebe sashay’s her way over to Chandler who says, “I’m so glad we’re going to have… the sex.” 

True Story: Andrea and I have referred to sex as... the sex.

"The One with the Holiday Armadillo"  

Ross wants to introduce Ben to Hanukkah but Ben loves Christmas. Perhaps Ben might be more receptive to the story of  Hanukkah if it came from Santa Claus.  So Ross goes in search of a Santa suit but so close to Christmas, none are to be found.

So this is a job for "the Holiday Armadillo, Santa’s representative in the southern United States. And Mexico!"

True story: this was the first episode of Friends Andrea and I watched after the birth of our daughter. Andrea was still in the hospital, recovering from her C-section. We were worried Andrea was going to pop her stitches laughing at the Holiday Armadillo. 

"The One with the Rumor" 

Will was a high school loser who never made it with the ladies. Especially Rachel Green. In high school, he belonged to a “We Hate Rachel Green” club.  Which only had 2 members: Will and Ross.

Now Will looks like Brad Pitt and Monica has invited him to Thanksgiving dinner. When he sees Rachel holding a casserole dish of yams, Will observes, “There are my two worst enemies: complex carbohydrates and Rachel Green.”

It’s kind of hard to watch this episode now. Back when it was made, Jennifer Anniston and Brad Pitt were still a couple, before Brad was seduced by the wicked allure of Angelina Jolie. 


“The Last One"

“This plane has NO phalanges!”

Bringing a long running series in for a landing that makes everybody happy is darn near impossible. But “The Last One” comes close. Yes, of course, Ross and Rachel get together. Look, we spend a decade putting up with this crap and the series needed to end with Ross and Rachel together as a couple or Rachel standing over Ross’s dead body, the gun still smoking in her hand. I would’ve counted either one as a happy ending. Man, Ross irked me!


The series ends with the status quo shifting. Monica and Chandler heading off to the suburbs with their newborn twins, the apartment now empty, the walls bare. Yes, Joey, the walls were always purple. But we know as we fade out the gang will be gathering for a cup of coffee downstairs at Central Perk where were first met our friends and, for whatever changes are coming next, we can imagine they will always be.