The funniest moment is actually an entire plot of the season 4 episode, “The One with the Embryos.” In a monetary bet gone haywire, Monica and Rachel play against Joey and Chandler in a trivia game about each other lives. Ross, as game master, devised the questions and split them into categories such as “it’s all relative” and “ancient history.” With questions like “every week TV Guide comes to Chandler and Joey’s apartment. What name appears on the address label?” and “in what part of her body did Monica get a pencil stuck at age 14?” it comes down to a tie. With a lightening round at the ready to determine the winner, ultra-competitive Monica wants to up the ante. If she wins, Chandler and Joey have to give up the rooster that’s been keeping them up every night, if Joey and Chandler win, they get Monica and Rachel’s apartment.
The rapid pace at which they play the game proves how well they know each other while also giving viewers a peek behind the ‘curtain’ of the characters. It shows that their lives presumably continue off-screen, that they talk about the way Chandler’s TV Guide is addressed to him, and they know what movie Rachel likes to say is her favorite, versus what it actually is. We get a peek into their grand apartments once a week for thirty minutes, but they lived together 24/7.
Everyone has lived in Monica’s apartment at some point in their lives. |
In the end, Rachel and Monica lose the game, and subsequently, must move into the boy’s apartment across the hall. The living situation stays that way throughout the rest of season 4 (this episode was season 4, episode 12) until Rachel and Monica kiss (off-screen) to convince Joey and Chandler to switch back with them.
Side note: if you really think you know this game, BuzzFeed actually made it so you can go play it after you’re done reading this.
Is it cliche to consider the series finale’s final scenes to be the most emotional moments of the show? For a programming with very little fluctuation in it’s ups and downs, there weren’t a lot of tear-jerking moments. But one that is definitely on that short list? Ross yelling into the phone and Rachel appearing behind him, saying “I got off the plane,” and inferring that they’re meant to be together.
But before we dive into that scene, let’s backtrack and explain the way the show ended. “The Last One” was an hour-long special finale that aired on May 6, 2004. In the first part, Monica and Chandler’s twins, Erica and Jack, are born and the family prepares to move to the suburbs of New York City. Rachel prepares to move with her and Ross’ daughter, Emma, to Paris for an amazing new job opportunity, but before she does, she and Ross spend their final night together. Ross ruefully lets her leave the next morning without telling her how much he loves her, and Phoebe rushes him to the airport to catch her, but it’s too late.
The comedic relief in this episode comes mostly from Joey. While all of this is happening, Joey has gotten a new duck and chicken to give to Chandler and Monica as a house-warming present. He realizes though, that the foosball table isn’t the source of the noise, but that the animals have gotten trapped within it. Monica comes in with a sledgehammer and frees them, and in the end, Chandler insists Joey is to the be the one to keep them.
So no one told you life was gonna be this way. |
In the second half of the finale, Phoebe calls Rachel as she’s on the plane and demand she de-plane. In an effort not to spoil Ross’s big moment, in true Pheobe fashion, she lies, because there is something wrong with the “left phalange” of the plane. Of course, no such part exists, but Rachel’s seat-mate, played by Jim Rash, over-hears, panics, and begins shouting. This causes mass chaos and in a fictional world, every one gets off the plane.
Ross gets home, thinking Rachel is on her way to Paris at that moment, to hear a string of voicemails from Rachel saying she wants to get off the plane and come home. Ross is yelling into the voicemail “let her get off the plane!” And then, off-screen we hear, “I got off the plane.” Rachel and Ross stand there, staring at each other, Ross says “you got off the plane,” they embrace and Rachel says “you and me – this is it.” Of course, Ross makes the joke, “unless we’re on a break.” But, in our minds, they will never be on a break again.
Let’s see, where to begin. There’s “Pivot!,” the Hanukkah Armadillo, “he’s her lobster!”, emphasizing the word be in sentences, “we were on a break!”, and perhaps most importantly, “how you doin’?”: all terms and phrases that Friends introduced into our lexicons over the years.
The revolving door of guest stars: In the ‘90s, Friends saw numerous guest stars, playing big and small roles. Brad Pitt appeared in season 8’s “The One with the Rumor” (he was Jennifer Aniston’s husband at this point), Tom Selleck and his mustache appeared in ten episodes throughout the series, Paul Rudd appeared at the end of the series as Mike, the man who would eventually marry Phoebe, Anna Faris played Erica for five episodes, the woman from whom Monica and Chandler adopt their twins from, and even Gary Oldman appears in two episodes. For a full list of recurring guests stars, special cameo appearances and everything in-between, this Wikipedia list seems fairly thorough.
The Magna Doodle on the back of Joey and Chandler’s door featured a new image every episode. |
Debunking the Friends reunion rumor: Sorry guys, but do not hold your breath on this one. In the ten years since Friends ended, the rumors surrounding the idea of a reunion episode or movie have been falsely reported again and again. The creators of the show and various cast members have spoken out against the idea of one.
In fact, here is an excerpt from an interview the L.A. Times did with Matt LeBlanc a few days ago about his Emmy nomination for Episodes. Of course, Friends came up.
So, how tired are you of being asked about a “Friends” reunion?
I’m not tired of getting asked that question at all. “Friends” was probably the greatest 10 years of my life. I’d be hard-pressed to find something that matches that in terms of success and just sheer fun. So anything that harks back to that has a soft spot in my heart.
As far as a reunion project, that’s just not in the cards. I think that show was about a finite period in your life — after college and before you start your family where your friends are your family — and that’s what that show was about.
Even Hypable had to debunk this rumor when a photoshopped image of the infamous couch started making the rounds on Tumblr last year. In fact, we had to do a rumor control post not once, but twice in the past two years.
Where are they now? After playing Rachel Green, Jennifer Aniston has gone on to become a movie star, starring most recently in the hilarious We’re the Millers and can be seen in the upcoming Horrible Bosses 2. Courteney Cox jumped around various television shows before landing on Cougar Town in 2009 on ABC that has since moved to TBS.
Lisa Kudrow is the lead on the unique show, Web Therapy, which debuted online as short-form episodes but has since moved to Showtime with longer, 15-minute episodes and commands guests stars such as Meryl Streep, Alan Cumming and former Friends co-stars, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer and Courteney Cox. It was also recently announced Kudrow’s canceled show The Comeback will be making a comeback (sorry) on HBO this year, after being canceled after one season in 2005.
After two seasons of the Friends spin-off, Joey, Matt LeBlanc stars in the Showtime comedy, Episodes, created by Friends co-creator, David Crane. Now in its fourth season, it was just nominated for three Emmys. David Schwimmer has spent the past few years doing guest spots on television and voicing the giraffe Melman in the successful Madagascar movie franchise. And finally, Matthew Perry starred in the Aaron Sorkin show, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, the short-lived shows Mr. Sunshine and Go On and can be seen in the upcoming remake of The Odd Couple with Thomas Lennon.
You can find Friends on cable stations like Nick @ Nite and TBS pretty much any time of day, but if you are looking for it online, you might not be so lucky. It is unavailable to legally stream on major online platforms like Netflix, Hulu (even HuluPlus) and Amazon Instant Prime, but you can buy individual episodes, or full seasons, on Amazon, Google Play and iTunes to stream. TBS online does also offer a few episodes at a time to watch for free, but you need to provide your television service provider and your login and password to gain access.
As we’ve been mentioning, Friends had a lasting cultural impact that goes well-beyond the ten years it was on the air. Maybe it was the ‘timeless’ quality of the show and the way they rarely relied on technology to talk to each other. The story lines about friendship and dating and growing up were applicable before cell phones, and they will be just as applicable years into the future when we all drive around on hover boards.
All that being said, we want to know what your favorite quote was from the show. We know there are so many to choose from, so we listed some of our favorites. Have a different one in mind? Let us know in the comments!
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