Tonight on Sky, we are being graced with the long awaited FRIENDS reunion. Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Monica, Joey and Phoebe are all taking their place on our TV screens once again, 16 years later. This time however, they are coming to us on Sky and not in character. Instead, we are looking forward to reminiscing one of (if not ‘the’… definitely ‘the’) best TV shows ever to have landed on our screens. Could we be any more excited? Absolutely not. So, what a better time to get nostalgic in preparation and look back at my 10 top Friends moments.
I like to consider myself to be an expert in Friends; if I were ever to be a contestant on Mastermind, it would be my chosen subject without a shadow of a doubt. I have driven my husband to the point of insanity on multiple occasions watching repeats of it over, and over, and over. I can quote most of the episodes word for word, I laugh before the jokes, and it’s become a borderline unhealthy obsession. I’ve been to Friendsfest twice, I have a themed cushion in my office, multiple Friends themed tees, tea towels, mugs, an entire pizza set (a plate with all their names on and a themed pizza cutter), and a six-piece espresso set. Now I’m just showing off. I’m probably not the worst person known to man for novelty Friends merch, but it’s certainly a start.
When they announced the reunion, along with 90% of Friends fans around the world, I squirmed at the thought of a proper reunion; an episode filmed 15 years on with Joey Tribbiani in his 50s and grey, Ross Gellar still shouting that they were on a break, and cringing as Friends tries to wander into the 2020s. I’m a big believer that sometimes, the greats need to stay untouched, and like with a movie, there is always the chance of ruining the incredible 10 years they had. Instead, I am eagerly awaiting a chance to hear all the behind-the-scenes chats, who broke the non-existent contract of not sleeping with each other, and what their favourite episodes were to film. And so, without further ado, here are my top 10 Friends moments…
- I Hate Rachel Green Club
Brad Pitt’s cameo as Will Colbert appeared in Season 8’s “The One With The Rumour” is undoubtedly one of the best moments in Friends. It’s solid in it’s place at number 10 after Will attends Monica and Rachel’s apartment for Thanksgiving, telling everyone that him, Ross and a foreign exchange student founded a club at high school named ‘I hate Rachel Green club’. The comedy gold moment? The second Will points at Ross, outing him as the second member of the club that spread the rumour she was a hermaphrodite, with Ross exclaiming ‘No need to point. She knows who Ross is.’, had me in stitches.
- That time the lotion and the powder made a paste…
My sister has a gorgeous pair of leather leggings, and she looks insane every time she wears them. I however, cannot even contemplate putting them on my body without thinking of Ross Gellar stuck in his date’s bathroom whilst trying to put his leather trousers back on. In ‘The One with All the Resolutions’, we all learn through Ross’ misfortune just what happens if you a) follow Joey’s advice, and b) mix baby lotion with talcum powder. A paste, a mess, and a whole lot of embarrassment.
- I doooooo…
Girls, we’ve all been there. We’ve had a day dream about our wedding, we’ve contemplated spending the day dress shopping and pretending we’re engaged, and been on the rebound when our ex moves on before us. Most of us however, have not sat drinking beer in wedding dresses when feeling awfully sorry for ourselves in the style of Rachel, Phoebe and Monica. Number 8 has a clear winner, and my 8th favourite Friends moment is the second Rachel Green heads to open the front door in a wedding dress, expecting to see Chandler and being faced with nobody else than her boyfriend Joshua who had finished their relationship after she had scared him off with her fast-paced desires. I do… ‘that oughta do it!’.
- The Shepherds Trifle
In season 6, episode 9, Rachel Green took the trifle to a new level. After a slight mishap with some sticky pages in a recipe book, Rachel makes half a trifle and half a shepherd’s pie. As a massive foodie myself, the thought of messing up a trifle that horrifically gives me chills. Joey Tribbiani is a new level of foodie, and this moment is set in its place at number 7 for this exact moment: “I mean, what’s not to like? Custard, good. Jam, good. Meat, gooooood!”.
- The Eyelash Curler
When Chandler and Monica first got together, it was a moment that could have really changed the game of the show. Chandler and Monica had the loveliest relationship and I could quite easily compile a list of my top 10, if not 20, Chandler and Monica moments. Their relationship before they were even together was always one I adored. So, in number 6 we have this iconic moment from season 5, episode 5… “YOU?! AND YOU?!” from the very moment that Joey realises that Monica and Chandler are together. To jog your memory, Monica and Chandler had gone away for the weekend and she had left her eyelash curler in the hotel room. The hotel rang Chandler and Joey’s apartment to tell them, and Monica was soon asking where her eyelash curler had gone… Iconic.
- I’M AN EIGHT?!
We’ve all had a bad fake tan, and if you haven’t, then I need your hints and tips in the comments! I’ve looked every shade of orange from a rusty bicycle, a garden fence, right through to full blown satsuma. However, none of us (I hope) have had a tanning experience quite as bad as Ross Geller’s. The final series of Friends has more iconic moments than we could possibly fit into one blog post, but in The One with Ross’ Tan, Ross’ two-tone tan disaster has me in fits of laughter every single time. “I’M AN EIGHT?”.
- He’s Her Lobster
I have always been team Ross and Rachel, and always absolutely despised their relationships with anyone else, ever. I hated Tag, Emily was by far the WORST character ever to have featured, Charlie was boring, and Mona was a moaner. In season 2, episode 14, Rachel sees the prom video in which Ross had prepared to take her to the prom when she thought her prom date had stood her up. Phoebe’s “He’s her lobster!” just after they first kiss is one of the most iconic lines of the entire show, and one I even incorporated into my vows.
- My fish, my buddy!
Adam Goldberg’s character Eddie Menuek was one of the best cameos ever to appear in Friends. Every single episode he was in (all 3 of them) has my eyes juicy with tears of laughter each and every time it’s on. There is no doubt that Eddie was a character whose sanity was questionable, and I’m always quite disappointed that he only appeared in 3 episodes. If you’re questioning who Eddie was, he appeared during season 2 as Chandler’s short-term roommate, with the fake fish. For me, Eddie’s cameo sails into the third best moment with ease. Look me in the eyes and tell me that you don’t laugh along with the line: “I mean, first you sleep with my girlfriend and then you insult my intelligence by lying about it, and then you kill my fish, my buddy?”. Exactly. You can’t.
- I take thee Rachel…
Did I mention I hated Emily? I hated Emily. There were not many scenes that Emily was in that I enjoyed, nor do I know many people who enjoyed her either. So, you can imagine how much I rejoice every time Ross says the words: “I take thee Rachel”. For Emily, it must have sucked, but let’s be honest – did anyone really want them to end up together? On that note, was anyone else sincerely disappointed when Ross didn’t go on his honeymoon with Rachel, and they didn’t come back a happy couple?
1. There’s a reason girls don’t do this!
I’ll take my crown of world’s soppiest woman ever to have lived right now and wear it with so much pride. Monica and Chandler’s engagement is my favourite moment of the whole show and I still cry like a baby whenever I get to watch the episode. I get every single one of the feels and I feel like I’m watching it for the first time, every time. It doesn’t take much to get me blubbering, but this scene does it with ease.
So there we have it, my 10 top Friends moments. I have chopped and changed this list so many times I don’t care to count, I’ve pondered over a million different moments, from the burst juice box to ‘the routine’, noodle soup to PIVOT, but for me (in this very moment), these are my top 10.
What is your favourite Friends moment?
And could you be any more excited for the reunion?
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