Amazing plotlines on ‘Friends’ you totally forgot existed
Warning: I might be the biggest Friends fan to ever walk the planet. I remember every episode, every joke and every exchange like they were real-life conversations I was part of. I drop the subtlest, most random Friends references in daily conversations, but so many go unnoticed. So I’m here to remind you of some of the amazing episode plots you might have forgotten about.
Even the most casual Friends fan knows the gist of the show, and can recall the high and low points. But when you’re dealing with 236 episodes (!), some plot lines are bound to fade from memory. But they’re all so good, you guys. So I picked one episode from every season that you might have forgotten about, but seriously need to remember. Behold: Some of the show’s best plots that you totally forgot existed.
“The One with the Thumb,” Season 1
Lots of gems in this episode. The gang becoming obsessed with Monica’s new boyfriend Alan. Ross having the realization that the Geller Family dog, Chichi, was sent to a proverbial farm—not the Milner’s farm in Connecticut. But the hero plot belongs to Phoebe, who keeps stumbling into good financial luck: When she gives an undeserved $1,000 (and a football phone) to her homeless friend Lizzy, Lizzy buys her a soda. Of course, the soda has a human thumb in it, leading to an additional $7,000.
“The One with the Bullies,” Season 2
Basically, this entire episode is about the couch at Central Perk. Chandler and Ross sit on the sofa—their sofa—as per ush. Two bullies come up and claim Chandler and Ross stole their seats, threatening them with a beating. And it’s like, hi, haven’t you ever seen an episode of Friends? Chandler and Ross always sit here. They run away, but quickly tire of making instant coffee at home and decide to face the bullies. It’s clear nobody really wants to fight, and while they discuss logistics, some ACTUAL bullies make off with their stuff. Oh, boys.
“The One with the Race Car Bed,” Season 3
Monica is expecting delivery of a new bed, and the wrong one is delivered—a bright red child’s racecar bed. But Phoebe doesn’t notice, because she’s just punched Joey in the face (for acting practice, natch). The moral of this episode is: Never trust Phoebe to sign for your packages. Unless you want her to invent a super rad middle name for you, like she does for Monica Falulah Geller.
“The One with the Ballroom Dancing,” Season 4
I’m not sure which is the better plot line in this one: Chandler and Ross’s cries of “I wanna quit the gym,” or Joey agreeing to learn to ballroom dance with the building super, Treeger. The dancing montage on the roof is A+.
“The One Where Phoebe Hates PBS,” Season 5
Oh, the many confusions of Joey Tribbiani. Joey thinks he’s hosting a telethon on PBS, so he dons a spiffy tux. Then, he finds out he’s just answering phones and taking pledges. Phoebe explains why she hates PBS and calls Joey out for his so-called “good deed” actually being a selfish act, so he can get on the air. The episode then becomes her unending quest to prove that selfless good deeds DO exist.
“The One Where Phoebe Runs,” Season 6
If we all ran like Phoebe Buffay, the world would be a better place. Rachel quickly discovers that when Phoebe goes jogging, she flails her arms like a crazy kid running down a hill at full speed, and Rachel isn’t having it. Initially she’s too embarrassed to run with Phoebe, but ultimately, she gives in and realizes she shouldn’t care so much about what other people think.
“The One Where Chandler Doesn’t Like Dogs,” Season 7
“Hello! My name is Clunkers! Can I please stay with you nice people?” He only appears in this one episode, but Clunkers is on my top 5 TV dogs of all time list. He’s so unassumingly cute and fluffy, and Phoebe’s cough-barks are gold. Kind of makes you wish there’d been a dog present for more of the series. But it’s also hilarious and totally fitting that Chandler doesn’t like dogs.
“The One with the Cooking Class,” Season 8
This is Monica at her finest. After getting a bad review at the restaurant, she masquerades as a newbie at a cooking class to prove a point, and quickly escalates to competitive, bossy and just the right amount of shrill. At one point Joey’s cookies are deemed better than hers, and all hell breaks loose. Also, this is a great Chandler episode—there’s some hilarious potty humor that we’re definitely not above.
“The One Where Monica Sings,” Season 9
First of all, any episode with Paul Rudd is a guaranteed hoot. But the combination of his presence and Monica again being so incredibly “Monica” is truly winning. Courteney Cox singing ‘Delta Dawn’ and Matthew Perry singing ‘Joy to the World’ is everything.
“The One Where Joey Speaks French,” Season 10
“Ja boo boo, Claude!” Whenever somebody is just making zero sense, I tell them (a la Phoebe Buffay), “You’re not speaking French!” They have no idea what I’m talking about, but THIS EPISODE is what I’m talking about, guys. Phoebe decides to teach Joey to speak French for an audition (because of course she speaks French), but his French is more like, well, absolute nonsense. Her frustration with him is perfect and hilarious. So much so that “You’re not speaking French!” is a totally acceptable reaction to somebody when they’re being a hot mess IRL.
(Images via NBC)
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