No, not the ones I have in my daily life. I’m talking about the show FRIENDS. I’m a product of the 90s. The youngest of the GenXers. We had a channel called MTV that showed music videos. Can you believe that, bands actually made mini movies called music videos and they would play on MTV! The music was amazing, the style was gorgeous, the parties were off the charts, the movies were fantastic and the TV shows were hilarious.
My favorite of course being FRIENDS. I get that some things are problematic. For example, the lack of diversity, and the incessant teasing of Monica about her weight and Rachel about her nose (they teased Monica more). I remember going on a senior camping trip with my classmates, and we snuck in a pager so that my friend’s sister could “pager code” us whether or not Ross and Rachel got together. There were no cell phones like the phones of today.
Even now, if FRIENDS is on regular TV with the commercials, I’ll watch it. I have all the seasons on DVD and pay for HBO MAX. It makes me laugh and I can say the lines along with the characters. Every summer I hold a re-watch FRIENDS-a-thon. Now, I’m doing the same with Modern Family and Big Bang Theory, both shows I found on streaming but never watched when they were at network.
My husband gave me the idea to create blog posts about my favorite episodes. I’m thinking is going to be a three part series. First I’m going to list the seasons in order from least loved to absolutely 100% LOVED (yes, all in caps). Then I’m going to list my favorite episode of each season and then list my favorite episodes of all time. Who knows, on that list I may leave a season out! Who knows, maybe I’ll make even more posts where I rank the top 10 episodes per season, the Thanksgiving episodes, or the main characters and then the guest stars. The possibilities are endless. Thank you to my hubby for the idea!
So here goes…………
10. Season 1: The gang is just starting out, the writing is good, and the stories are fine, that apartment is gorgeous! Seriously though, no own really rates movies like The Phantom Menace and A New Hope or Captain America: The First Avenger as their most favorite in the series. The story has the start somewhere and it’s usually not that interesting. Honestly, I don’t like how Carol and Susan treated Ross. Obviously, Carol was still sleeping with Ross while she was with Susan. Changing Carol was also so confusing. “No, I don’t want you to buy me a hat, I’m saying that I am a hat, it’s a metaphor daddy!”
9. Season 9: At the time Rachel and Joey together gave me the ick. Of course we all rooted for Ross and Rachel, but now I can see the attraction between the two. Joey and Rachel have a lot more in common than Rachel and Ross. I’m glad they didn’t “jump the shark” after Emma was born. The only episode that jumps out at me is Phoebe’s birthday episode. “You decorate dad’s office and you’re a decorator? Okay, I went to the zoo yesterday. Now, I’m a koala bear!”
8. Season 3: Ross and Rachel break up. There are a few skip-able episodes this season like, The One Without the Ski Trip. Even though it still wasn’t right, they (Ross and Rachel) were on a break. “No Mon, you want to put them in concentric circles, I want to do this.”
7. Season 7: Some great episodes. The end was better than the beginning and I loved Rachel’s hair! The blunt bob was so cute! Maybe an unpopular opinion, but I wasn’t a huge fan of Tag. I liked that storyline, I just didn’t care for the actor who played him. “Okay Ben, why don’t you come open some more presents? And Santa, the Armadillo and I will have a talk in the kitchen. There’s a sentence, I never thought I’d say.”
6. Season 2: Will they, or won’t they, Ross and Rachel, Rachel and Ross. I didn’t care for Tom Selleck, but I liked that storyline. They’re finally getting in to a better rhythm. “See? He’s her Lobster.”
5. Season 8: The start of the season was amazing. Rachel is pregnant, who’s the father? Monica and Chandler are married. They’re my favorite couple. Joey and Rachel go on a date. That episode was cute. It shows how much of a softy Joey is. “Hey, my sweater! I’ve been looking for this for like a month!”
4. Season 4: Unpopular opinion, I liked Ross and Emily. They turned her into an awful character in season 5 because Ross said the wrong name at the wedding. The switching of apartments, London, Joshua and Rachel were all great storylines! “I Ross, take thee Rachel.”
3. Season 6: Ross is married again! The proposal and Chandler’s growth as a character were so good! This could be ranked higher, maybe it should be? The way I think about each season is how many episodes stand out in my mind as being really funny. I think season 10 has this beat but just a smidge, but this season has the routine. It’s too hard. “That’s a lot of information to get in thirty seconds.”
2. Season 10: There were so many laugh out loud episodes. I love Paul Rudd. I’m so glad he finished out the show. “Yeah, I changed my name. Meet Princess Consuela Banana Hammock.”
Season 5: My favorite of all the seasons. I love Monica and Chandler. Enough said. “Feminism, yes. But also the robots.”
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