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(Warner Bros)
Chandler’s jokes are weak and Ross’s transformation from a decent bloke to a gender-stereotyping Neanderthal is actually quite upsetting.
Show stealer
Chandler: (To a door) I’m funny aren’t I? What would you know, you’re a door. You just like knock knock jokes.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
A woman called Jade calls Chandler’s apartment looking for her ex, Bob. Chandler pretends to be Bob on the phone, purposely stands the poor girl up to allow ‘hero’ Chandler, to prey on vulnerable Jade. He manages to get her into bed, and it’s all rather uncomfortable to watch.
Show stealer
Chandler: Oh see I had to tell her that my number is your number because I couldn’t tell her that my number is my number, because she thinks that my number is Bob’s number.
(Warner Bros)
Possibly because of the brief reappearance of Emily – albeit in an answerphone message, wondering if she and Ross made a mistake splitting up – this is a real downer of an episode. The other strand of the story, which involves Joey and a sandwich on a ride-along with Gary – is equally uninspiring.
Show stealer
Rachel: (To Ross, who mistook a car backfiring for a gunshot while out on the ride-along) That was not a near-death experience! That was barely an experience!
(Warner Bros)
Blah, blah, blah. Monica has a bit of a freak out that she won’t get to have sex with anyone else or have a first kiss. Blah, blah, blah. Ross fails a student but then changes his mark when the student declares his love for Ross. Oh and Joey doesn’t get an award.
Show stealer
Ross: Last year, Elizabeth – now this guy. What is it? Am I giving out some sort of sexy professor vibe?
Rachel: Not right now.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Ross is having a baby, Rachel finds out Barry went on her honeymoon with her best friend Mindy, and we’re shown Monica’s relationship with her parents for the first time – but frankly, not a lot happens. Until the sonogram. At the end. It’s a slow, slow start.
Show stealer
Rachel: (To Ross) I mean, didn’t you think you were just gonna meet somone, fall in love – and that’d be it?
(Warner Bros)
Phoebe gets the chicken pox just as Ryan the submarine guy gets into town. No one wants to see them scratch each other while they get it on. The only thing that redeems this episode is Joey who gets into character as ‘Joseph’ when Chandler gets him a job in his office.
Show stealer
Chandler: Ok I can’t fire Joseph but I can sleep with his wife.
Joey: Karen?
Chandler: Yeah Karen, I’m thinking of having an affair with her… Oh I just did.
Joey: What the hell are you doing to me, man?
Chandler: Oh it’s not me it’s my character- Chandy. Yeah I’m the processor who seduces his co-workers’ wives for sport and then laughs about it the next day at the water cooler. In fact I have her panties in my drawer.
(Warner Bros)
Joey goes on an interview for Soap Opera Digest and we see his life in flashbacks. He gets so close to making it through the interview, but ultimately drops a clanger.
Show stealer
Joey: I don’t watch soap operas. Excuse me, I have a life, you know.
(Warner Bros)
Chandler is stuck in Tulsa for Christmas with a beautiful and flirty employee. He reminisces about Christmases spent with Monica and his friends, and decides to quit his dull job.
Show stealer
Chandler: Look, you’re a really nice person. Ham stealing and adultery aside.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
It turns out Phoebe has a gay husband she married to help with a green card, bizarrely she failed to mention it to anyone before. The gang find out Chandler has a third nipple and that Joey has been in a porno, and Rachel tries to persuade Ross not to sleep with Julie.
Show stealer
Chandler: Pressing my third nipple opens the delivery entrance to the magical land of Narnia.
(Warner Bros)
Phoebe looks at tea leaves to predict people’s future, Rachel and Joey are in an uncomfortable situation.
Show stealer
Chandler: I am not great with the advice, can I interest you in a sarcastic comment?
(Warner Bros)
Ross and Chandler are bullied in the coffee house, Phoebe tries to go to meet her dad again, but still can’t do it, and this story line is starting to get really dull. Monica gets into buying and selling shares but loses all her money and is forced to take a demeaning job in a sixties diner wearing a huge padded bra.
Show stealer
Joey: Ross have you ever been beaten up before?
Ross: Yeah sure.
Joey: By someone other than Monica?
Ross: No.
(Warner Bros)
Joey sets Phoebe up with a stranger, Mike, on a double date but gets found out. Mike woos Phoebe with a fake piano and they agree to go on a real date. But although all this Mike stuff is classic, Ross is uncomfortably creepy in this episode and Monica’s decision to stay in New York rather than move to Tulsa with Chandler reveals some heart-breaking priorities.
Show stealer
Rachel: It’s impossible to find a good doctor. I mean how do you tell the difference between the good ones and the ones that press their penis against your knees?
Monica: What?
Chandler: I know what she means.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
If you want a reality check that it was 20 years ago this show came out, Monica spends Lira on her date in Italy with mega-loaded tech entrepreneur Pete and Chandler listens to a hypnosis cassette tape. Frank and Alice reveal their relationship and baby plans.
Show stealer
Gunther: (On having a single drag on Chandler’s cigarette – much to Chandler’s confusion) Oh dark mother, once again I suckle at your smoky teat.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Chandler and Monica make up through the power of gambling and almost get married. Ross and Rachel make up through the power of alcohol and do get married. Joey plods through some ridiculous nonsense with his identical hand twin, which is barely watchable. For a finale it really doesn’t show off Friends at its best.
Show stealer
Ross: Well, hello, Mrs Ross!
Rachel: Well, hello, Mr Rachel!
(Warner Bros)
Ross and Rachel get a hot nanny who Joey falls in love with but turns out to be a lesbian. Phoebe and Mike inherit rat babies. Rachel and Gavin share a kiss on the balcony – and Ross sees. Not a great episode, with the ‘hot nanny’ thing being a bit repugnant. Plus, does anyone like Gavin?
Show stealer
Phoebe: (on her rat) I thought we were gonna capture him and, you know, set him free in the countryside where he could meet a friendly possum and a wisecracking owl.
(Warner Bros)
The friends attend Ross and Monica’s parents’ 35th wedding anniversary in Massapequa. Yawn to everyone, except Parker.
Show stealer
Phoebe: You are like a Santa Claus on Prozac in Disneyland getting laid.
(Warner Bros)
Julie and Monica go shopping together and lie to Rachel, who is really mean about Julie at every opportunity. Joey gets competitive at work as an aftershave cowboy, and everyone tastes Carol’s breast milk.
Show stealer
Chandler: You’re going to Bloomingdales with Julie? it’s like cheating on Rachel in her house of worship.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Joey has to move back in with Chandler, which is convenient really because Chandler doesn’t want to live with Eddie any more. He’s definitely got mental health issues and they probably shouldn’t have made him the butt of jokes… It’s seriously dated.
Show stealer
Phoebe: Oh see this is a typical lightening bearer thing. Oh hello, who wants some of my phallic-shaped man cake?
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
The guy in the apartment below dies and leaves everything to Rachel and Monica, Phoebe tells Ross she doesn’t believe in evolution, and she’s super annoying about it. Chandler realises there are loads of similarities between his life and Mr Heckles, he panics that he’ll end up alone too, and calls Janice, which is just ridiculous.
Show stealer
Chandler: She’s great. She’s pretty, she’s smart and I’ve been putting off asking her out in the past because, well, she has an unusually large head. But I’m not going to let that stuff hang me up any more. Look at me, I’m growing.
(Warner Bros)
Rachel goes on a date, Phoebe goes out with Monica’s junior colleague Tim and we get to know Chandler’s middle name. He he!
Show stealer
Ross: Chandler Muriel Bing. Boy your parents never even gave you a chance.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Joey tells Reader’s Digest that he writes a lot of his own lines on the show, the writers get mad and make him fall down an elevator shaft. Eddie goes a bit crazy and Monica and Rachel tell their boyfriends their “magic numbers” – how many people they’ve slept with.
Show stealer
Monica: It’s not going to happen. They’re doing it tonight, we can do it tomorrow.
Richard: In the future if I could see the schedule in advance…
(Warner Bros)
Ross comes back from China with a new girlfriend, Rachel rebounds with Paolo, Phoebe gives Monica an horrendous haircut, and Joey’s tailor gets inappropriate with Chandler.
Show stealer
Ross: It’s actually 6 o’clock tomorrow night for us.
Chandler: OK but don’t tell us what’s going to happen, I like to be surprised.
(Warner Bros)
Not much happens despite everyone being up all night. Kudos to Chandler for looking like South Park’s Kenny while trying to keep warm on the roof as they wait to watch a comet.
Show stealer
Ross: So shall I climb down your front so we’re face to face, or should I climb down your back so we’re butt to face..?
Joey/Ross: Face-to-face
Joey: (As Ross’s crotch is his face): I don’t think we thought this through.
(Warner Bros)
Rachel turns into her dad when she tries to teach Joey how to sail (an utterly weird green screen boat scene). Elsewhere, Chandler inadvertently gives Ross/Monica’s dad a lapdance in a steam room.
Show stealer
Rachel: When I was 15 my dad bought me my own boat.
Phoebe: You had your own boat?
Rachel: What? What? He was trying to cheer me up, my pony was sick.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Phoebe finds out that her mum lied to her about the endings of sad films. It’s weird seeing Phoebe so down for an entire episode and we don’t like it. Chandler and Joey go to a basketball game with Richard and, in a bid to be more like him, Joey tries out a cigar and Chandler grows a moustache. Rachel and Ross say they love each other for the first time.
Show stealer
Monica: Right I’ve got a leg, three breasts and a wing.
Chandler: Wow, how do you find clothes to fit?
(Warner Bros)
Everyone decides to enter the lottery. When a fight breaks out over tickets Phoebe drops them over the balcony after being attacked by pigeon. Emma says her first word – “gleeba”. Chandler gets an advertising job.
Show stealer
Phoebe: Oh, vegetarians never get to do the wishing bone! Which is unfair. Just because we don’t like eating the meat doesn’t mean we don’t like playing with the carcasses.
(Warner Bros)
Just after the birth of Emma: Rachel thinks Joey proposed to her, Phoebe thinks Ross proposed to Rachel – Ross doesn’t understand. Monica and Chandler get caught having sex in a store cupboard by her dad.
Show stealer
[Monica comes up behind Chandler and hugs him]
Monica: I want a baby.
Chandler: Honey we’ve been through this, first I’ve got to be facing the other way.
(Warner Bros)
Hey this is getting modern now, some of them have got mobile phones. Ross is planning a surprise for the wedding and Joey gets good news at work.
Show stealer
Joey: (On explaining his coma brain transplant storyline to Ross) Why is this so hard for you to get? I thought you were a scientist.”
(Warner Bros)
Ross tries to pick up girls after seeing Rachel kiss her colleague. Monica sings at a karaoke night while wearing an unintentionally-revealing top. Joey gets his eyebrows plucked by Chandler. Rachel moves in with Joey after a fight with Ross.
Show stealer
Chandler: (To Ross) Single white male. Divorced three times. Two illegitimate children. The personal ad writes itself.
(Warner Bros)
Rachel is desperate to get the gang together for Emma’s first birthday. Rachel discovers the bakery has made a major mistake and instead of a bunny, Emma’ll be celebrating with a phallic-shaped birthday cake.
Show stealer
Ross: (After rectifying the cake mishap) Some can sing, some can dance. I, apparently, can turn phallic cakes into woodland creatures.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Rachel loses Ross’s monkey and the friends race to find Marcel before animal control can swoop in and take him away. We see glimpses of the couple’s future relationship, with Rachel calling Ross one of the most important people in her life, but all in all, there’s not much to see here.
Show stealer
Chandler: (On learning Rachel is taking care of Marcel for Ross) I can’t remember the last time I got a girl to take care of my monkey.
(Warner Bros)
Caring for the chick plays out like an old-fashioned man and wife debate on child-rearing between Chandler and Joey. Ross proves his good-guy credentials by taking Rachel to the hospital and missing his TV debut. A look between them suggests all is not over.
Show stealer
Ross: (Wearing an all-white suit and bow-tie) Hey you guys guess what?!
Rachel: You got a job on a riverboat?!
(Warner Bros)
Monica opens all the wedding presents without Chandler, Ross and Chandler take fake pictures of the wedding while Joey manages to propose to Phoebe and Rachel on the same day. There’s the crucial red sweater clue too.
Show stealer
Phoebe: Pretty big? It’s huge! God this guy doesn’t have a clue. He’s just walking down the street thinking ‘I had sex with Rachel Greene. I rock’. And bam! He’s a father. Everything’s different.
(Warner Bros)
Rachel and Joey go on a “date”, Ross gets to teach an advanced class and has to run across the campus to make it in time, Phoebe’s wedding present to Monica and Chandler finally arrives.
Show stealer
Joey: I usually start (a date) by sending a bottle of wine to the table from a fan.
(Warner Bros)
Monica and Chandler prepare for a visit from the adoption agency and Joey thinks his celebrity status will help. Phoebe and Mike deliberate donating their wedding fund to a children’s charity and opt for a low-key wedding. Meanwhile Ross drags Rachel to the playground with Emma to conquer her fear of swings.
Show stealer
Chandler: We love kids, we love them to death. Well, not actually to death – it’s a figure of speech. We love kids the appropriate amount, as allowed by law.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Monica and Chandler try to write their vows with a little help from scene flashbacks – the first time they met, Monica explaining the erogenous zones, London, Monica wearing a turkey, and more besides. Not bad for a recap show, but you always feel short-changed watching ‘em.
Show stealer
Monica: (To Chandler) Sweetie you know I have no sense of humour about the wedding.
(Warner Bros)
Joey finally tells Rachel about his feelings and Ross totally freaks out when Joey confesses to Ross. Phoebe dates someone who she thinks is Monica’s soulmate.
Show stealer
Rachel: I believe that there’s one perfect person for everyone. And you know when you find him, you stop looking for him. That’s why I’ve stopped looking for Russell Crowe.
(Warner Bros)
Chandler realises finding a new job makes it hard to have a baby. Joey gets Phoebe some work as an extra, but she’s terrible. Rachel goes back to her new job to find she’s been replaced.
Show stealer
Monica: (On walking into her apartment with Chandler AND Ross) It’s baby making time. Pants off Bing! [Pause] Didn’t see you there, Geller!
(Warner Bros)
It’s mostly a case of wrapping things up from the last episode, so it’s more functional than funny. Chandler and Monica’s attempts to recreate their night of passion form the thrust of the comedy.
Show stealer
Judy Geller: (After Ross says the wrong name at his and Emily’s wedding) This is worse than when he married the lesbian.
(Warner Bros)
Monica, Chandler and Phoebe confront Joey and Rachel about their kiss. The new pair promise not to take things further until they have spoken to Ross. However neither Joey nor Rachel actually manage to talk to him and, back in New York, he discovers the two together.
Show stealer
Phoebe: What is this?
Rachel: What is this? Well let’s see – we kissed for 10 minutes and now we’re talking to our friends about it so I guess this is sixth grade.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
There’s a blink-and-you-miss-it guest appearance from Billy Crystal and Robin Williams before the credits. Other than that, Phoebe gives Rachel a talking to about Ross, Chandler’s boss hits his bum as a congratulations – repeatedly, and Monica breaks up with Pete who remains committed to becoming the ultimate fighting champion.
Show stealer
Ross: Anything goes except eye gauging and fish-hooking?
Monica: What’s fish-hooking?
Ross: What’s fish-hooking? (laughs)
[Joey inserts his finger into Ross' mouth to demonstrate]
Ross: Thanks man, that would have been really hard to explain.
(Warner Bros)
Ross is worried when his girlfriend wants to send out holiday cards together, Rachel’s pregnancy hormones are kicking in and Chandler ends up going to a strip club with his boss.
Show stealer
Ross: (On giving Mona a key to his apartment) Not just a key. I gave her the only key. I am a homeless person in a very serious relationship.
(Warner Bros)
Monica and Chandler throw a Halloween party, Ross dresses up as “spud-nik”, Phoebe meets Ursula’s fiance and Rachel can’t contain her emotions during trick or treat.
Show stealer
Phoebe: I don’t normally like sweaty guys but this one I could just lap him up.
(Warner Bros)
Phoebe and Mike plan to move in together. Covering for why she’s borrowed money, Joey tells Chandler that Monica is planning to get a boob job. Rachel baby-proofs Joey’s apartment. Mike and Phoebe break up after it becomes clear Mike doesn’t want to get married.
Show stealer
Chandler: If there’s one thing I have learned from my dad… Well, it was always to knock before going into the pool house.
(Warner Bros)
While supposedly at work, Phoebe and Rachel spy Chandler with a mystery blonde woman and follow them to a house in the suburbs. Convinced he’s cheating on Monica, the gang confront her only to discover Monica and Chandler plan to move out of the city.
Show stealer
Monica: It’s really sweet. It has this big yard that leads down to the stream. And then there’s these old maple trees.
Phoebe: Ugh, again with the nature. What are you, beavers?
(Warner Bros)
Pregnant Phoebe is mean to Rachel, accusing her of acting all high school over her feelings for Ross. There’s a nice Joey and the duck montage after the duck eats Ross’s ring meant for Emily. Joey, Chandler and Ross originally think the bachelor party stripper stole the ring.
Show stealer
Chandler: You lost the ring? You’re the worst best man ever.
(Warner Bros)
Rachel is looking for a new apartment, Ross tries to help her out but Joey wants her to continue being his flatmate. Phoebe has a lunch date with her sister’s ex-fiance Eric while Chandler hires a maid to clean the apartment, which does not go down well with Monica.
Show stealer
Rachel: I can’t live with Joey once the baby comes. I don’t want my child’s first words to be ‘How you doin’!’.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Ross can’t decide between “Rachem” and Julie so he makes an ill-advised pros and cons list, and Monica gets desperate for a job and has to resort to working for “Mocolate”.
Show stealer
Chandler: Oh I know this must be so hard. Oh no, two women love me. They’re both gorgeous and sexy. My wallet’s too small for my fifties and my diamond shoes are too tight!
(Warner Bros)
Joey’s date goes wrong because she ate a few of his chips. Ross seeks fashion advice from Rachel but a mix-up sees him wearing some questionable attire. Chandler and Monica visit the birth mother for their adoption but soon find out she thinks they’re a doctor and a reverend.
Show stealer
Joey: Joey doesn’t share food!
(Warner Bros)
Joey’s sister tells him she’s pregnant, Phoebe tries to meet Sting and Monica buys really expensive new boots that make her feet hurt.
Show stealer
Phoebe: Would you say it’s more than 50 yards away from Sting, his wife or any member of the family? … Then that’s not breaking the law, I’m there!
(Warner Bros)
Rachel finally gets the courage to tell her dad about her pregnancy. Rachel’s father tells Ross exactly what he thinks of him while Monica accidentally hires Chandler a hooker instead of a stripper for his belated bachelor party.
Show stealer
Phoebe: I’m sorry I won’t be able to make it to your imaginary wedding, but I am busy that day. I already have a unicorn baptism and a leprechaun bar mitzvah.
(Warner Bros)
Phoebe thinks her mother has been reincarnated as a cat, while Joey and Chandler are robbed after Joey gets locked in the Entertainment Centre.
Show stealer
Ross: You know, I’ve got an extra futon.
Joey: Dude you don’t have to brag we got nothing here.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Rachel has sex with ex Barry. Her best friend and Barry’s fiancee Mindy wants to meet for lunch, and one of Chandler’s “greatest first dates of all time” fails to call him back. But when she comes to see him in Central Perk, Chandler worries she’s the one who might just be too needy after all.
Show stealer
Chandler: (On calling his “best first date”, Danielle) I got her machine.
Joey: Her answering machine?
Chandler: No, interestingly enough, her leaf blower picked up.
(Warner Bros)
Ross and Rachel’s break-up continues to dominate the storyline. Ross is upbeat Rachel might want to get back together but she’s just got a load of his stuff to return. He demands the T-shirt she borrowed, but by the end of the episode she gets it back – maybe all is not lost between these two!
Show stealer
Joey: Just because she went to Yale drama she thinks she’s the greatest actress since… since… sliced bread!
Chandler: Ah sliced bread, a wonderful Lady Macbeth.
(Warner Bros)
Not much happens but at the same time everything moves along quite nicely. Phoebe has to choose between two guys, the gang think Pete might be asking Monica to marry him, and Ross ends up with 16 doctors looking at something strange on his bum.
Show stealer
Ross: Monica’s right, we’re talking about getting married here. Ok. She can’t just rush into this.
Rachel: Oh, what do you know? You married a lesbian.
(Warner Bros)
We love Monica’s phone call wedding invitation to Joey’s mother. Winona Ryder is underused in a dull story about how she and Rachel kissed in college while wearing bras made out of coconuts. The guys get suits worn by famous people for the wedding.
Show stealer
Chandler: Ross is Batman!
Monica: Well he did manage to keep his identity secret for a very long time.
(Warner Bros)
Ross finally finds out Rachel is pregnant with his child, Monica and Chandler go on their honeymoon, and Joey and Phoebe ask their landlord to break open Monica’s apartment door.
Show stealer
Ross: I grew up with Monica. If you didn’t eat fast, you didn’t eat.
(Warner Bros)
Ross and Chandler keep pranking each other on their college reunion website, leading people to think Chandler is gay and Ross is dead. Joey doesn’t want Emma having his toy penguin, Hugsey.
Show stealer
Ross: You got over 60 responses for coming out of the closet, and I’ve got none! And I’m dead!
Chandler: Well the gay community is much more vocal than the dead community.
(Warner Bros)
We get to see everyone turn 30 as they sit around for Rachel’s milestone birthday. Phoebe gets a present for her evil twin sister Ursula but is told she is 31 and immediately feels sad that she hasn’t achieved the things on her “before 31″ list – like go to Sniper School.
Show stealer
Rachel: Can I keep the presents and stay 29?
(Warner Bros)
Monica has a secret closet and Chandler is curious, Phoebe gives Monica a massage that doesn’t go down too well, and Joey proposes Rachel move in with Ross.
Show stealer
Rachel: No uterus, no opinion.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Mascara goop becomes a thing. Joey’s love life falters as he can’t work out what’s going on with co-star Kate. Monica acts like a little kid banning Phoebe from playing with her pristine doll’s house.
Show stealer
Monica: C’mon Rach, when a guy says he’s going to call, it doesn’t mean he’s going to call. This never happen to you?
Rachel: Well they always call.
Monica: Bite me.
(Warner Bros)
The gang throw a party for Rachel’s birthday but her divorced parents both turn up so they have to throw two separate celebrations to keep them apart. Joey ends up kissing Rachel’s mum to distract her.
Show stealer
Ross: (To Rachel’s dad) All righty roo!… What a great moment to say that for the first time.
(Warner Bros)
Rachel’s sister Amy somehow persuades Ross to let her babysit Emma. Meanwhile Joey writes a recommendation letter on behalf of Monica and Chandler but gets carried away with the thesaurus. Phoebe and Mike celebrate their one year anniversary but she thwarts Mike’s attempts to propose.
Show stealer
Chandler: (Reading Joey’s ‘improved’ letter of recommendation) They’re humid, prepossessing homo sapiens with full-sized aortic pumps.
(Warner Bros)
Chandler goes for a job interview, Rachel and Ross go shopping for baby clothes, Monica is disappointed after her restaurant gets a bad review.
Show stealer
Katie: (The shopgirl flirting with Ross) A paleontologist who works out, you’re like Indiana Jones.
(Warner Bros)
Ross, the most annoying roommate in the history of roommates, shacks up with Chandler and Joey. The Rachel-Danny sub-plot is especially tedious.
Show stealer
Ross: (Recording a new voicemail message at Chandler and Joey’s apartment) We will, we will CALL YOU BACK!
(Warner Bros)
Chandler and Joey get into a fight and Joey moves out, Rachel and Phoebe get tattoos and Monica’s parents find out about her and Richard.
Show stealer
Joey: Hey are you cool with this? I don’t want to leave you high and dry.
Chandler: Oh I’ve never been lower or wetter.
(Warner Bros)
Rachel has a baby shower organised by Phoebe and Monica. Ross and Chandler help Joey with a new game show gig.
Show stealer
Rachel: It goes 10 times a day? What are we feeding this baby, Indian food?
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Ross struggles with dating a girl who lives two hours away, while Monica hires then fires Joey to prove a point at the restaurant. Chandler tries to find Rachel a date from his office.
Show stealer
Joey: Does this Orson Welles guy direct Burger King commercials?
(Warner Bros)
Joey auditions for a part in a Warren Brady film where he has to kiss a guy, and he tries to practise on Ross and Chandler. Richard admits he doesn’t want to have children. Rachel walks down the aisle as Mindy’s bridesmaid with her dress tucked into her knickers. And Chandler falls for a woman online who turns out to be Janice.
Show stealer
Chandler: It’s a website, it’s the Guggenheim museum. She likes art, and well, I like funny words.
(Warner Bros)
Chandler starts getting a bit addicted to baths, Ross and Rachel find out their baby is going to be a girl and Joey starts developing feelings for Rachel.
Show stealer
Chandler: It’s not the bath I enjoy, it’s the wet naked lady.
(Warner Bros)
Ross is still angry at Joey for proposing to Rachel, and hospitalises himself trying to punch him. Rachel can’t make Emma stop crying. Chandler falls asleep in a meeting and is told he’s moving to Tulsa. It’s another of those flashback review episodes – sigh.
Show stealer
Chandler: (To his angry boss) Carol. Can I call you Carol? Why would I? Your name’s Elaine.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Chandler raids Monica and Rachel’s fridge and catches Rachel coming out of the shower topless, setting up a series of revenge shower peeks with everyone catching the wrong person – including Joey’s dad. Meanwhile, the Friends are analysed by Phoebe’s shrink boyfriend Roger and all agree they “hate that man”.
Show stealer
Chandler: That’s a relatively open weave and I can still see your nipular area.
(Warner Bros)
Emily finally gets in touch with Ross, leading to the whole Emily/Rachel dilemma. Meanwhile, Chandler finds out he is the best Monica has ever had. It’s fine. Juuuuust fine.
Show stealer
Phoebe: I will find a selfless good deed! ’Cause I just gave birth to three children and I will not let them be raised in a world where Joey is right!
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Ross and Chandler can’t decide who made up a joke, before realising it’s rubbish anyway. Monica is out to prove to Phoebe that she isn’t high maintenance and Rachel is insistent she isn’t a push over. Joey gets a job at the coffee house.
Show stealer
Ross: Hey Joey can I get some coffee?
Joey: OK. I guess it doesn’t seem that weird!
Ross: No seriously I asked you before, you still haven’t gotten it.
(Warner Bros)
Mark’s being nice to Rachel and Ross’s paranoia is setting in. Joey’s sister/s from the title take a back seat.
Show stealer
Rachel: (Talking to Monica dressed in a Marilyn Monroe wig and giant boobs at the Moondance Diner) I hate my job, I hate it. I wanna quit but then I think I should stick it out but then I think why would such a person stay in such a demeaning job just because it’s remotely related to the field they’re interested in?
(Warner Bros)
Joey hears about a lead in a TV show, but Chandler almost screws it up by not giving him the message about the audition. Other than that, it’s just a lot of flashbacks.
Show stealer
Phoebe: I don’t need you, or anyone else. I’m gonna make it on my own. You’ll see. YOU’LL ALL SEE.
(Warner Bros)
Monica and Chandler decide they’re moving in together, and Phoebe is convinced Ross still has feelings for Rachel.
Show stealer
Monica: It’s a big change. The end of an era… some might say.
Rachel: Are you OK? You’re not blinking.
(Warner Bros)
Chandler gets jealous of Kathy’s on-stage chemistry with a co-star, with no help from Joey’s theories. Monica decides to make the girls’ new apartment better so she can be the hostess again. Rachel gets a crush on her new client at work, Joshua. Joey’s biggest catchphrase also makes its first appearance…
Show stealer
Joey: I look a woman up and down and say ‘hey, how you doin?’.
(Warner Bros)
Ross has a brief fling with Janice, but moans so much that she ends it with him. Not the funniest episode, but the emotional heart of it – where Rachel overhears Monica saying how much it’s hurting her to lie to her best friend – is very touching.
Show stealer
Ross: So you’re saying I’ve become so whiny that I annoy you, Janice?
Janice: Well, yeah.
Ross: Oh. My. God.
(Warner Bros)
Ross and Rachel continue to flirt as the gang randomly relocate to a beach house. Chandler makes the case to Monica that he would be a good boyfriend. And the series ends on a cliffhanger surrounding Rachel, Ross, and Ross’s sort-of date Bonnie – now with a shaved head.
Show stealer
Chandler: (To Monica) If the worst comes to the worst, I’ll be your boyfriend.”
Monica: [laughing] Yeah, right!
Chandler: Why is that so funny?
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Joey and Chandler are missing each other, Phoebe has Smelly Cat made into a music video, Creepy Eddie moves into Chandler’s but everyone thinks he’s just a rebound roommate.
Show stealer
Joey: I figured I’d have time alone with my thoughts, but it turns out I don’t have as many thoughts as you’d think.
(Warner Bros)
Chandler and Joey spend the day looking after Ben, and leave him on a bus. A professional musician gets paid to play at Central Perk instead of Phoebe.
Show stealer
Joey: Ducks is heads because ducks have heads.
Chandler: What kind of scary-ass clowns came to your birthday party?
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Monica tips everyone with cookies, Phoebe finds out the guy she thinks is her dad isn’t her dad, Monica and Rachel’s heating breaks and they throw a tropical Christmas party.
Show stealer
Joey: Phoebe here with the cab yet?
Chandler: Yeah she brought the invisible cab. Hop in!
(Warner Bros)
Ross helps Joey take Charlie on an intellectual date to the Met. Rachel discovers Phoebe is working for a corporate massage chain. Monica and Chandler find out it’s unlikely they can have a baby.
Show stealer
Monica: (When Chandler has reservations about a fertility test) You can’t do it in a doctor’s office but you’re fine in a parked car behind a Taco Bell.
Chandler: I can’t believe Ross told you that. And in my defence it was a Wendy’s!
(Warner Bros)
Chandler and Monica go on an actual date, but Chandler ends up getting “‘Richard envy”. Ben’s back and to keep him company there’s the Holiday Armadillo, Santa and Superman. And we get to learn about Hanukkah.
Show stealer
Rachel: It looks like the Easter Bunny’s funeral in here.
Phoebe: I understand why Superman is here, but why is there a porcupine at the Easter Bunny’s funeral?
(Warner Bros)
Phoebe’s brother asks her to be a surrogate. Phoebe’s birth mum doesn’t think it’s a good idea and gives Phoebe a puppy to look after to show how hard it will be. Joey starts working at Ross’s museum, while Monica and Rachel help Chandler and Kathy’s sex life.
Show stealer
Monica : Seven, seven, seven, seven, seven, seven…
(Warner Bros)
Joey sees a hot girl in Ross’s apartment building but can’t find her. Meanwhile Monica freaks out that Phoebe and Gary are a hotter couple than she and Chandler, while Rachel gets a job at Ralph Lauren despite the worst interview ever.
Show stealer
Gary: So Chandler, you like that badge I got you?
Chandler: Oh yeah, it’s so cool. [Opens his coat and shows the badge pinned to the lining.] Now I gotta go, Officer Bing has gotta, 10-100. [Pause, softly] That’s pee-pee.
(Warner Bros)
It’s fun to see Monica and Ross’s family dynamic as they take a trip back to their soon-to-be-sold parents’ house. Phoebe ends up being more Samaritan than saleswoman when she tries to sell toner to guest star Jason Alexander, and Rachel breaks Joey’s chair known as Rosita.
Show stealer
Joey: Rosita does not move.
(Warner Bros)
Monica and Chandler are back from their honeymoon, Ross accidentally reveals the existence of the Rachel-Ross sex tape. Yep, the Europe story is code-red for “let’s do it!”
Show stealer
Joey: (To Ross) Yes, the sky is blue, and I had sex yesterday.
(Warner Bros)
Two storylines both secure the laughs – Joey needing to show that he is not circumcised – which is not the case, and everyone’s infatuation with Monica/Ross’s cousin (guest star Denise Richards) who Ross tries to kiss. Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!
Show stealer
Joey: (Trying on temporary foreskins made by Monica) You are such a good friend and this is so weird.
(Warner Bros)
Ross asks Rachel to move in with him because he lurves her. Phoebe just wants to know how that little black curly hair got into her bed.
Show stealer
Phoebe: (To Ross) That’s why women are shorter. So that men will fall in love when they hug them. Come on Ross you’re a scientist.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
It’s a moving-the-plot-along episode as Ross and Emily finally realise their marriage is over. Elsewhere, sub-plots happen.
Show stealer
Rachel: (To Phoebe, who was going to cremate a fur coat) Honey, I know you’re quirky and I get a big kick out of it, we all do.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Chandler freaks out when he thinks Monica wants to get married and have kids, while Ross, newly moved into Ugly Naked Guy’s old apartment, struggles to win over the other residents in the building.
Show stealer
Ross: I’m gonna throw a party for everyone in the building, and I’m gonna sit them down and explain to them, I am not a bad guy. I am not a cheap guy! I’m just a guy who stands up for what he believes in. A man with principles.
Chandler: Sounds like a fun party.
(Warner)
The gang go to Las Vegas because the plot requires them to go to Las Vegas. Ross and Rachel are horrible to each other in quite an amusing way, Chandler and Monica are horrible to each other in quite a horrible way, and the other two appear occasionally too.
Show stealer
Rachel: Phoebe just because I’m alone doesn’t mean I wanna walk around naked. I mean, you live alone, you don’t walk around naked.
Phoebe: Uh-huh! Why do you think it takes me so long to answer the door?
(Warner Bros)
Monica’s the victim of identity fraud by a woman who’s living her life better than her, Ross needs to find a zoo for his monkey Marcel as he won’t stop humping everything, and Joey’s searching for a good stage name. Well, the monkey just had to go…
Show stealer
Monica: This woman’s living my life. She’s living my life and she’s doing it better than me.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Monica caters for her mother and proves her wrong, Joey and Chandler get patio furniture and Chandler hooks up with Rachel’s boss Joanna.
Show stealer
Chandler: Could we be more white trash?
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Surely every couple now has a list – even if it’s not laminated, but Ross took his to a whole other level. And it’s always great to see Frank, Phoebe’s younger brother. He’s ace.
Show stealer
Chandler No you didn’t get me, it’s an electric drill.
(Warner Bros)
Rachel’s office resembles a florist as Ross marks his territory. There’s even a barbershop quartet to wish her well in her new job. Ross plays the “Carol” card to explain why seeing Rachel get close to Mark is hard. Gunther’s crush on Rachel continues.
Show stealer
Chandler: We have a stripper! A Miss Crystal Chandelier.
Joey: Well sure, if you name your kid that what you expect them to grow up to be?
(Warner Bros)
Phoebe’s on hold for pretty much the whole episode which is a bit tiresome, Ross isn’t keen on Rachel’s date (guest star Ben Stiller) when they turn up to watch Joey’s play. The play Boxing Day (the one with the spacecraft going to the future) was panned in the New York Times and the Post and we’ve got to admit, it did look a bit odd.
Show stealer
Joey: I borrowed some of your cologne, I hope she likes it.
Chandler: I don’t have any cologne.
Joey: Green bottle next to the shaving cream?
Chandler: Worm medicine for the duck!
(Warner Bros)
Oh. My. God! Janice is back. Meanwhile, Ross inadvertently hits on a gay librarian while trying to defend the honour of the area near his PhD thesis in the university library and Rachel and Phoebe encourage Joey to date Erin.
Show stealer
Chandler (To Ross on discovering a couple having sex in a library): You didn’t bring me here to do that did you?
(Warner Bros)
Rachel goes past her due date and is miserable while Joey takes best friend Chandler to the opening night of his movie World War 1.
Show stealer
Monica: Wait a minute, just because he (Chandler) paid for your head shots you’re gonna take him? Joey, I don’t think you’re comprehending just how slutty this dress is!
(Warner Bros)
Rachel and Phoebe have a girls’ night out while Mike and Ross share an excruciating night in. When Chandler lies to Joey about being in Tulsa, Joey thinks Monica’s cheating on him.
Show stealer
Monica: Chandler, you’re home!
Chandler: That’s right! Your husband is home so the sex can stop!
(Warner Bros)
Rachel throws a fake surprise party for Emily, which annoys Ross, who had a special evening planned. Meanwhile Phoebe gives in to her pregnancy craving for meat, and strikes a deal with Joey for him to become vegetarian so no extra animals die. It doesn’t last.
Show stealer
Chandler: There’s a Phoebe on my sandwich.
Rachel: Every time.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Joey meets Kathy, and Chandler realises he likes her too. Phoebe gets a cold and likes her new singing voice, before getting Monica ill too. Rachel and Ross try to make each other jealous.
Show stealer
Phoebe: I lost my sexy phlegm.
(Warner Bros)
The one where Rachel gets her magic beans, the girls drink rum while spying on a sexy politician in the street and the boys go to the hockey – and on to the hospital after a puck hits Ross in the face on his anniversary of sleeping with Carol for the first time.
Show stealer
Rachel: What if we don’t get magic beans? What if all we’ve got is… beans?
(Warner Bros)
After Monica says she’s not making Thanksgiving dinner, the gang persuade her it’s tradition that she does. Monica caves in and spends all day cooking with Chandler and is furious when the rest of the group turn up 45 minutes late. All tension disappears when Monica and Chandler receive a call from the adoption agency.
Show stealer
Chandler: Get ready to taste my very special cranberries, or should I say, chanberries.
(Warner)
The Friends relocate to London for Ross’s wedding to Emily except Phoebe, who is too pregnant to travel, and Rachel, who can’t face watching Ross marry.
Show stealer
Rachel: I’m not in love with Ross!
Phoebe: Oh. No. Good. Me neither.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
There’s some great British guest stars but ultimately this is a Ross and Rachel episode. She flies out to tell him she loves him, realises he’s so happy that she can’t spoil his day, but her mere presence puts him off kilter for when he says the vows.
Show stealer
Ross: I Ross, take thee, Rachel. EMILY! EMILY!
Vicar: Shall I go on?
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Ross becomes the Cookie Duuuuude selling Brown Bird treats around the NYU campus at munchie time, aka 11pm, and also sells them drug-like to Monica. We love it because Rachel feels the fear as she quits her job at Central Perk to give her an incentive to get a job in fashion.
Show stealer
Joey: (To Rachel) If you ask me, as long as you’ve got this job you got nothing pushing you to get another one. You need The Fear.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Ross and Rachel realise they’re married. Chandler and Monica try desperately to avoid getting married without ever telling each other they don’t want to. Joey lets Phoebe down on their road-trip.
Show stealer
Phoebe: You love divorce so much you’re probably gonna marry it, and then it won’t work out so you’re gonna have to divorce it, divorcing guy… I’m so drunk.
(Warner Bros)
Ross finds out Phoebe mugged him when he was a boy. At an audition with a renowned actor Joey finds that needing to pee makes him perform better. Chandler impresses his boss at his advertising internship.
Show stealer
Phoebe: I had a hard life. My mum got killed by a drug dealer.
Monica: Phoebe, your mum killed herself.
Phoebe: Yeah, she was a drug dealer.
(Warner Bros)
It’s the fireball episode. Pretty average fare rescued by a cool ending as Joey gets Chandler and Ross to make up by getting them to read a script he’s written.
Show stealer
Ross: (Trying to encourage Joey): Write a movie! Huh? I mean, what about those Good Will Hunting guys?
Joey: Come on Ross be realistic, y’know? If I did write something, what are the chances I could get those guys to star in it?
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Phoebe’s trying to get rid of some money put into her account by mistake – finding a thumb in a soda along the way and winning yet more compensation. Look closely and you’ll also see the first appearance of Gunther as an extra too.
Show stealer
Chandler: (On learning Phoebe has had an extra $500 put in her account) Oh, Satan’s minions at work again…
(Warner Bros)
Everything is ticking along, with Monica planning her wedding and not really letting Chandler get involved. The duck ate Rachel’s face cream. The laughs come from Ross who accidentally agrees to massage one of Phoebe’s clients – and ends up using chopsticks, spoons and toy trucks on the guy’s back.
Show stealer
Joey: (On finding out Ross massaged Arthur) Dude, what are you massaging an old man for?
Ross: His daughter was hot.
Joey: Gotcha.
(Warner Bros)
When Joey’s life-long agent Estelle dies the gang try to hide it from him. Monica and Chandler revisit their potential new house only to discover an unlikely neighbour moving in next to them. After Rachel receives a job opportunity in Paris, Ross fights to keep her in New York.
Show stealer
Janice: What a small world!
Chandler: And yet I never run into Beyonce.
(Warner Bros)
Charlie overhears Rachel telling Phoebe in a dressing room that she’s into Joey. A professor falls asleep while Ross is trying to convince him he should be keynote speaker. Chandler and Monica make a potential sperm donor very uncomfortable over dinner.
Show stealer
Dr Connolly: You can always adopt.
Chandler: Is that a hint? Because we love you Dr Connolly but we don’t want you to be our child.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Ross goes for Marcel the monkey over a roommate, Rachel gets beaten up and Phoebe’s Central Perk performance gets interrupted by physicist David who says she’s the most beautiful woman in the world. A busy episode and by far the last we’ll see of David.
Show stealer
Chandler: You don’t have to face the horrible pressures of this holiday: desperate scramble to find anything with lips just so you can have someone to kiss when the ball drops!! Man, I’m talking loud!
(Warner Bros)
We get to know the names of more neighbours: there’s Guy With A Moustache, Smokes A Lot Lady, and a red-headed guy who does not like to be called Rusty. Ross uses Phoebe logic to convince her to ride the bike he bought her, not just push it around. And there’s lots of lovely-looking candy.
Show stealer
Monica: Ross, the neighbours ate all my candy!
Ross: Mine stole my newspaper, it’s like a crime wave.
(Warner Bros)
Chandler buys Kathy an early edition of her favourite book for her birthday, but lets Joey take the credit. Ross dates a girl from work with a dirty apartment, while Rachel finishes her first crossword on her own and Monica and Phoebe become catering partners.
Show stealer
Joey: You go get that beautiful pig.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
As Monica and Ross rush to their Nana’s hospital bed, Chandler searches for why people think he’s gay and seems more perturbed that his colleague sees him with Lowell rather than the sexier Brian.
Show stealer
Chandler: (On being told by his colleague Shelley that Brian is out of his league) Excuse me? You don’t think I could get a Brian? Because I could get a Brian. Believe you me… I’m really not.
(Warner Bros)
Surely this should be called The One Where Joey Throws A Woman’s Artificial Leg On A Fire. Smelly Cat is used by Phoebe’s ex-singing partner as a jingle for cat litter. All together now “Smelly cat, smelly cat…”
Show stealer
Phoebe: Well OK. Let this be a lesson to all of you. OK. Once you betray me I become like the ice woman, cold, hard, unyielding, y’know nothing can penetrate this icy exterior.
(Warner Bros)
Squishing tomatoes gets sexual as Richard and Monica make a lasagne, but as things hot up between the former couple Monica admits she can’t get over him again. Rachel and Joey swap books.
Show stealer
Joey: These Little Women, how little are they? Are they like scary little?
(Warner Bros)
Chandler and Joey get to enjoy free porn – but in the end it becomes too much. Meanwhile Ross tells Emily he loves her only to have her say “thank you”. Phoebe, Frank and Alice are expecting triplets.
Show stealer
Chandler: (To Monica and Rachel) Can we watch cartoons on your television? We need a porn break. We spent the last two hours watching In And Out And In Again.
(Warner Bros)
It’s the one where Joey finds himself up against little Ben in an audition but can’t get his line right. Mmmm… Noodle soup. Elsewhere Rachel gets left out at work because she doesn’t smoke and the gang throw her a surprise birthday party.
Show stealer
Monica: We could have a dinner party and just invite her close friends.
Joey: Ross!! We’re having a surprise party for Rachel!!
Ross: [From the bathroom] OK!!
Joey: Done.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Ross is jealous when Rachel reveals she’s had sex in her dreams with both Chandler and Joey. Later, after Rachel shouts Ross’s name while dreaming on the sofa, she wakes up confused to find Ross sat so close… But then his bleeper goes off because he’s having a baby! Meanwhile, Monica is getting to know “young Ethan”.
Show stealer
Ross: I can’t believe you two had sex in her dream.
Chandler: I’m sorry, it was a one-time thing. I was drunk – and it was someone else’s subconscious.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Joey goes on a three-day fishing trip, forgets to shower and stinks out the set of the movie he’s working on – with Charlton Heston no less. Chandler makes it to “phase three” after his break-up – picturing himself with other women – with the help of the girls. Ross spends the weekend with Emily in Vermont after Rachel throws them together so she can see Joshua.
Show stealer
Ross: Come on, take off the sweats. Take ‘em off and we’ll have some fun.
(Warner Bros)
Subtle mention of the girl from the Xerox place is dropped in but this one’s all about Ross and Rachel re-enacting a fantasy and how the girls share so many details. Elsewhere, Phoebe tries to help a forlorn Monica get over Richard.
Show stealer
Chandler: We’re not going to talk about girth are we?
(Warner Bros)
Monica’s new plan is jam, then a baby without a man. Ross teaches Chandler the art of the hug and roll. It’s designed to let Rachel/Janice fall asleep on them but then retreat to their own side of the bed for a decent night’s sleep. Chandler’s implementation is actually really funny.
Show stealer
Monica: I don’t need an actual man, just a couple of his best swimmers.
(Warner Bros)
Ross shows a hot new professor, Charlie, around New York. Rachel discovers Joey has an annual Days Of Our Lives roof party without his friends. Chandler gets stuck at a feminist play. Joey ends up kissing Charlie, upsetting both Ross and Rachel.
Show stealer
Ross: (Intimidated by Charlie’s dating history) She only dates Nobel Prize winners and geniuses. Earlier today at the Chinese restaurant I put chopsticks in my mouth and pretended to be a woolly mammoth.
(Warner Bros)
Ross chooses Rachel over Bonnie, while Chandler pees on Monica after her jellyfish sting. Phoebe gets to know her birth mother.
Show stealer
Joey: If I had to, I’d pee on any one of you.
(Warner Bros)
Joey gets his big break in a movie called Shutter Speed, but arrives in Las Vegas to discover the project’s been shut down due to lack of money. Meanwhile Phoebe gets mad at Ross but doesn’t know why.
Show stealer
Phoebe (Phoebe apologises to Ross for an earlier insult): I am sorry about the fat ass thing. You actually have a very sweet little heinie.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Joey takes the lead role of Freud! in a new musical, and gets picked up by his agent Estelle who gives him a crack in showbiz as Al Pacino’s butt double. Meanwhile, Chandler just can’t handle no strings sex with the beautiful Aurora.
Show stealer
Chandler: You deserve this. After all your years of struggling, you’ve finally been able to crack your way into showbusiness.
(Warner Bros)
Joey has to stop Monica and Rachel getting evicted by giving the superintendent dancing lessons. Chandler and Ross try to quit the gym.
Show stealer
Chandler: Could we be any more white trash?
(Warner Bros)
Sibling rivalry comes to the fore as a Thanksgiving tag football game is played three-on-three. Rachel’s left out, old rivalries surface for Monica and Ross, but ultimately we still don’t know who won! Who let go of that football first?
Show stealer
Phoebe: Wait, wait. Explain something to me though, If nobody tagged Rachel then isn’t the play still going?
(Warner Bros)
Joey gets a hernia, Phoebe thinks she’s dying and Ross ponders how to stop lecturing his students with an English accent/why he started.
Show stealer
Ross: Everyone’s all, ‘Ross you have to be funny and sexy’. Well I proved them wrong.
(Warner Bros)
Janine doesn’t like Monica and Chandler, which causes her and Joey to break up. Rachel keeps buying furniture from Pottery Barn and lying to Phoebe about where she bought it. Phoebe’s dislike of Pottery Barn is almost too much for Ross.
Show stealer
Joey: She kisses better than my mum cooks.
Monica: I’m so glad you said cooks.
(Warner Bros)
Joey wants Chandler to get him an audition for the new Al Pacino movie. Rachel accidentally starts a fire at her and Phoebe’s apartment, so the two of them have to move in with Monica and Joey. Ross starts dating a student.
Show stealer
Rachel: I don’t wanna switch I can throw paper towels here!
Phoebe: But at Monica’s you can eat cookies over the sink.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Rachel and Ross get their first kiss as he helps her stand up for herself. And while Phoebe and Chandler are breaking up with Tony and Janice in Central Perk, Joey tricks Monica into double-dating his ex, Angela, and her new boyfriend Bob.
Show stealer
Monica: We ripped that couple apart, and kept the pieces for ourselves.
(Warner Bros)
Chandler kisses Kathy, and has to tell Joey. Ross reveals his keyboard “sound”.
Show stealer
Joey: The line is a dot to you.
(Warner Bros)
Phoebe has to decide whether or not to move in with Gary and Rachel buys a $1,000 cat while the rest of the gang take on the somewhat less life-changing task of seeing how long they can play catch without dropping the ball. The sequence of Chandler dropping things is a series highlight in an otherwise average episode.
Show stealer
Ross: (On Rachel’s sphinx cat, Mrs Whiskerson) Why is it inside out?
(Warner Bros)
Just when you think the show hasn’t dated they go and do something like rent Die Hard on VHS from a video store. Monica ducks out of choosing her maid of honour but ultimately it ends up being Rachel, while Ross and Joey share naps in cosy-looking sweaters.
Show stealer
Rachel: I want to apologise. I’m really sorry I was a baby.
Phoebe: That’s ridiculous Rachel, we were all babies once.
(Warner Bros)
Phoebe decides to take on Mike’s name but returns with something a little different to Phoebe Hannigan. Monica and Chandler take Joey to see the new house, who only agrees because he thinks he can talk them out of it while there. Rachel gets a job interview with Gucci but things don’t quite go to plan when she is forced to have the interview in front of her current boss.
Show stealer
Ross: Guys! I have great news! Guess what happened at work today?
Chandler: A dinosaur died a million years ago?
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Everyone was waiting for known commitment-phobe Chandler to freak out and here it is! After hearing Monica’s new answer machine wedding call out “The Bings!” he gets more and more wound up and takes off. At this point we think Monica is pregnant. Meanwhile Joey is filming with a spitting co-star.
Show stealer
Ross: (To Chandler the day before the wedding) What I’m going to say, I’m not saying as your friend but as Monica’s older brother…. If you ever hurt my little sister, if you ever cause her any unhappiness of any kind I will hunt you down and kick your ass.
(Warner Bros)
Joey has a stalker who believes he’s actually Dr Drake Ramoray. Phoebe gets invited to play her music for kids at libraries but her songs are too truthful and she’s sacked. It turns out Marcel is a film star, so the gang go to visit him on set and sing In The Jungle to get his attention.
Show stealer
Ross: I thought I’d drive down to the zoo and surprise Marcel.
Chandler: You know, I think he will be surprised. Until he realises he’s a monkey and, you know, is incapable of that emotion.
(Warner Bros)
Monica refuses to admit she’s sick. Joey is no longer authorised to give away birthday muffins and Jill, Rachel’s sister, comes to stay with her and Phoebe. Her and Ross go on a date…
Show stealer
Ross: When you put a D on fine, you’re not fine.
(Warner Bros)
Ross and Chandler’s infamous partying friend Gandalf cancels on them, so Joey takes them out. All three are soon exhausted and realise they’re getting older. Monica writes a scathing review of a restaurant, only to be offered the head chef’s job when she makes sauce for the owner. Rachel almost gets a promotion, but her boss dies before she can tell anyone.
Show stealer
Ross: So what if I want to go home, throw on some Kenny G and take a bath?
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
It’s all about Ross’s rage. And Joey being disgusting. And Rachel thinking there are robots in Jane Eyre.
Show stealer
Joey: (Covering up for why Chandler’s underwear is found in Monica’s apartment) I’m Joey. I’m disgusting. I take my underwear off in other people’s homes.
(Warner Bros)
Chandler quits after being offered a promotion but, when he starts looking for different jobs, his aptitude tests suggest he’s ideally suited to data-processing for a multi-national company. Meanwhile, Ross practises his dirty talk with Joey.
Show stealer
Chandler: I just don’t want to be one of those guys that’s in his office ’til 12 o’clock at night worrying about the Wenus.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Rachel has to convince her new boyfriend’s parents that her nightdress is actually a dress. Chandler considers giving up his name until Phoebe picks it out for one of the triplets. Ross stresses that new girlfriend Emily gets on too well with ex-wife Carol’s partner Susan.
Show stealer
Monica: (To Rachel) It really creeps me out choosing other people’s sex clothes.
(Warner Bros)
There’s a rumour about Rachel being a hermaphrodite, Brad Pitt makes a guest appearance and Joey tries to eat a whole Turkey during Thanksgiving.
Show stealer
Joey: You gotta have Turkey. Thanksgiving without Turkey is like Fourth of July with no apple pie. Or Friday with no two-pizzas.
(Warner Bros)
Phoebe and Joey purposefully set Ross and Rachel up on separate terrible blind dates. Emma goes missing while Chandler and Monica have sex when babysitting.
Show stealer
Joey: And they should name one of the kids Joey. Hey, I may never have kids! And someone’s got to carry on the family name.
(Warner Bros)
A classic Friends laughter and tears episode as Ross tries to tell Rachel he won’t be able to see her any more. It’s also the one where Joey has an excellent freak-out when he works out the truth about Monica and Chandler.
Show stealer
Joey: (trying to make sense of Chandler’s mysterious weekend away) I’m just gonna ask you this one time. And whatever you say, I’ll believe ya. Were you or were you not on a gay cruise?
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Ross’s monkey is “out of control”, leaving him to worry what his potential ability as a dad; Joey meets, dates and sleeps with Phoebe’s sister Ursula; and, instead of firing the cute girl in the office, Chandler decides to date her instead. No wonder there’s two parts.
Show stealer
Joey: Phoebs, do you think it would be OK if I asked out your sister?
Phoebe: Why, why would you want to do that? Why?
Joey: So that if we went out on a date, she’d be there.
(Warner Bros)
Chandler battles through his commitment issues with Janice much to the amazement of Rachel and Monica, while Phoebe works as Joey’s agent and Ross swaps his son’s Barbie Doll for a GI Joe.
Show stealer
Chandler: Joe, I assure you if I’m staring down the barrel of a gun I’m going to be pretty much pissing every which way.
(Warner Bros)
Everything’s moving along with the wedding but Chandler can’t take a good pic. As light relief, Phoebe and Ross date a divorcing couple and adopt their arguments. Joey repeatedly spills food on his top before an audition.
Show stealer
Joey: (On seeing a photo of him and Monica) We look great together.
Monica: We really do. Imagine what our kids would look like.
Joey: We don’t have to imagine!
Chandler: I’m marrying her!
Joey: We’ll just see.
(Warner Bros)
Chandler is upset when he finds out that Monica had been looking for Joey when she ended up in his London hotel room. Meanwhile, Rachel’s proud to become “fun Aunt Rachel” when she babysits Ben but ends up teaching him pranks which Ross falls for. Ah, the lasting image of a barefoot Ross falling for the clingfilm-on-the-toilet trick.
Show stealer
Rachel: Ben, y’know, when you were a baby you and I used to hang out all the time. because I was your Daddy’s girlfriend.
Ben: But you’re not any more.
Rachel: No, I’m not.
Ben: Because you guys were on a break!
(Warner Bros)
Joey finds his shoe… and a Porsche. Rachel does a funny on the annulment forms, meaning Ross will definitely be having three divorces. Oh, and Chandler swallows a miniature gun capable of destroying the universe.
Show stealer
Rachel: I’m so mad Ross. I don’t think I’ve ever been this angry.
Ross: What about the time I said we were on a break?
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Joey and Charlie break up. Rachel admits her feelings to Joey. Monica and Mike get into a heated ping-pong match, which is eventually won by Chandler. Ross and Charlie admit their feelings for each other while hiding from madcap palaeontologists.
Show stealer
Chandler: (to Monica) You know how competitive you get. And while I say it’s cute, others disagree – and I’m lying.
(Warner Bros)
Joey stars on the game show Pyramid and unsurprisingly, struggles to do well. Meanwhile the girls throw Phoebe an elegant bachelorette party, unaware she wanted a stripper and the full works. Chandler and Ross attend a college reunion party only to discover some slightly shocking home truths about their teen years.
Show stealer
Monica (To Ross): You were my midnight mystery kisser?
Ross: You were my first kiss with Rachel?
Monica: You were my first kiss EVER?!
Chandler: What did I marry into?
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
So much happens in this episode. But nowadays all we can see is Ross’ doomed relationship with Emily. Outside of that – Monica and Rachel bemoan their living quarters but eventually get their place back and Phoebe wears Santa pants as maternity wear.
Show stealer
Joey: (When he sees Ross’s new Emily-inspired earring) Don’t try and talk all normal with that thing in your ear.
(Warner)
Monica and Phoebe compete for the affections of coma guy. Meanwhile, Chandler’s mum visits New York, where she kisses Ross after a night on tequila and inspires Rachel to try her hand at erotic writing with “heaving beasts” and “huge throbbing pens”.
Show stealer
Chandler You kissed my best Ross! …Or something to that effect.
(Warner Bros)
The wedding theme is really running through this series and this time it’s Monica off on the hunt for a cheaper dress. If you want to do a whole series about a wedding – this is how you do it HIMYM. #justsaying.
Show stealer
Ross: (When Joey turns up on his date with a girl they are both seeing) I use to have a friend called Joey. I don’t any more.
(Warner Bros)
There’s more wedding stuff as the show nears its season finale and we finally get to meet Chandler’s dad, guest star Kathleen Turner. Playing second fiddle to the wedding storyline, Rachel gets off a speeding ticket by flirting. Ross’s charms aren’t as good when he gets pulled over for going too slow.
Show stealer
Monica: (To Chandler) Now that you’re marrying me, you don’t get to win any more.
(Warner Bros)
Monica and Chandler train together because he’s put on a little weight. The guy Phoebe’s seeing won’t sleep with her and she doesn’t understand why. Rachel gets drunk on a date and ends up telling Ross how she really feels in an answer phone message.
Show stealer
Ross (To Rachel): You’re over me? You’re over me? When were you under me?
(Warner Bros)
While Monica and Chandler begin to prepare for their move to the new house they find a mysterious pair of handcuffs cleaning out the spare room but who do they belong to? The gang throw Rachel a leaving party which ends in a confrontation between her and Ross. Erica goes into labour.
Show stealer
Rachel: (To Ross) If you think I didn’t say goodbye to you because you didn’t mean as much, you’re wrong – it’s because you mean more to me.
(Warner Bros)
Chandler convinces David to propose to Phoebe. A virus wipes Ross’s keynote speech and Charlie has to help him rewrite it (we could too, actually). Rachel and Joey get drunk at a pharmacists’ convention. Mike arrives and declares his love for Phoebe.
Show stealer
Joey: (To a palaeontologist): You don’t own a TV? What’s all your furniture pointed at?
(Warner Bros)
Joey brings his grandma over to watch him in an episode of Law & Order, but has to improvise when his scene is cut out. Meanwhile the gang eat an enormous amount of pizza as Ross tries – and monumentally fails – to flirt with the delivery girl.
Show stealer
Chandler: Rachel, when you were going out with Ross, did it bother you when he flirted with other women?
Rachel: Uhh, no, no, it bothered me when he slept with other women.
(Warner Bros)
Joey gets a hot new room-mate and realises he needs to repel her. Phoebe and Rachel go running, much to Rachel’s embarrassment, and Chandler thinks he’s doing a nice thing by cleaning the apartment…
Show stealer
Joey: I have to do something to repel this woman. Wait a minute, you guys repel women all the time!
(Warner Bros)
Ross and Rachel end up together (they had to didn’t they?). Baby chick and duck get stuck in the football table, forcing Chandler, Joey and Monica to break open the table. Back at Monica’s apartment, the gang reminisce over the past 10 years and decide to go for one last coffee before Monica and Chandler head to their new house.
Show stealer
Rachel: Do you guys have to go to the new house right away or do you have some time?
Monica: We got some time.
Rachel: OK should we get some coffee?
Chandler: Where?
(Warner Bros)
Emma laughs when Ross sings the Sir Mix-a-lot classic Baby Got Back. Chandler and Joey find a home-made sex tape in Richard’s apartment with “Monica” written on it. Phoebe meets Mike’s rich parents.
Show stealer
Phoebe: I think you would like to know, he’s a really gentle lover.
Mike’s mum: Sorry?
Phoebe: Oh no, not in a sissy way. When he gets going he can rattle a headboard like a sailor on leave.
(Warner Bros)
With New York in darkness, Chandler is trapped in an ATM vestibule with Victoria’s Secret model Jill Goodacre and desperately tries to impress. And after discussing the strangest places they’ve had sex, Ross tries to make a move on Rachel – but he’s attacked by a cat, whose Italian owner Paolo tempts Rachel.
Show stealer
Joey: Because you waited too long to make your move, and now you’re in the friend zone.
Ross: No, no, no. I’m not in the zone.
Joey: Ross, you’re mayor of the zone.
(Warner Bros)
Monica and Rachel consider insurance fraud after Rachel sprains her ankle – but it all goes wrong when they invite cute doctors Michael Mitchell and Jeffrey Rosen (guest stars George Clooney and Noah Wyle) back to their apartment. Marcel eats a Scrabble K and is rushed to hospital where the monkey grabs Ross’s finger in a real heart-melting moment.
Show stealer
Chandler: Man if you tried something like that on my birthday, you’d be starin’ at the business end of a hissy fit.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Gunther likes to come out with some classics – this time he’s lambasting Joshua for turning down Rachel when she (stupidly) suggests they get married. Eventually it turns out Rachel is not OK with Ross getting married and had assumed they would be “on again, again” at some point in the future. So did we.
Show stealer
Phoebe: (To Ross). I still can’t believe you’re engaged; just because it’s happening so fast – not because you’re a loser.
(Warner Bros)
It’s quits for Chandler and Janice because he doesn’t want to be the guy that breaks up a family. Phoebe thinks her dentist visits trigger deaths and worries Ugly Naked Guy might have died because he’s not moved in ages – and the Friends come up with an ingenious way of checking he’s actually OK.
Show stealer
Phoebe: That’s why I take such good care of my teeth these days. It’s not about oral hygiene – I floss to save lives.
(Warner Bros)
Everyone is playing name the states in advance of Thanksgiving dinner. Ross reveals he doesn’t like ice cream and Tag realises Rachel likes him. Joey logic explains “it’s a moo point – it’s a cow’s opinion: it doesn’t matter”.
Show stealer
Monica: Do you guys know your oven doesn’t work?
Joey: But the drawer full of takeout menus is alright?
(Warner Bros)
Joey enlists Phoebe to help him learn French for an audition. Monica and Chandler are shocked Erica is not sure who the baby’s father is while Rachel’s father suffers a heart attack and Ross accompanies her back to Long Island with embarrassing consequences.
Show stealer
Rachel’s dad: So what’s new with you Ross, knocked up another one of my daughters recently?
Ross: Nope, just the one!
(Warner Bros)
Joey and Chandler get the lazy boy chairs, Rachel and Ross have their first date, but Rachel can’t stop laughing when he makes a move on her. Monica caters a party for Richard and they end up kissing at an eye appointment.
Show stealer
Phoebe: I can’t believe two cows made the ultimate sacrifice so you guys could put your feet up.
Chandler: Well they were chair shaped cows, they never would have survived in the wild.
(Warner Bros)
The Ross and Rachel break-up plays out like a custody battle as they plan events which exclude each other, including this rather bizarre ski trip. Chandler’s smoking again and Ross gate-crashes Carol and Susan’s sexual anniversary.
Show stealer
Chandler: This is like when my parents got divorced. Man, I hope Ross doesn’t try to kidnap me after cub scouts.
(Warner Bros)
Rachel is at the hospital ready to give birth to her first child. All the friends are there to support.
Show stealer
Phoebe: Wow three hours and no baby. The miracle of birth sure is a snooze fest.
(Warner Bros)
The group are getting ready for Christmas. Joey’s roommate Janine invites him, Monica and Ross to dance for a show that will be aired on New Year’s Eve. Meanwhile, Chandler, Rachel and Phoebe are searching for their presents from Monica. Chandler’s left unimpressed with his water purifier.
Show stealer
Joey: And she’s so sweet. I just wanna feed her grapes and brush her hair.
Chandler: You are aware that she’s not a monkey right?
(Warner Bros)
Phoebe gets upset when Ross points out she’s never had a long-term relationship, so Ross tells Mike that Phoebe’s been in a long-term relationship with a guy called Vikram. Joey dates a girl whose flatmate he’s slept with. Monica thinks Chandler is into shark porn.
Show stealer
Monica: Joey, you don’t think sharks are sexy do you?
Joey: No. Wait… What was the Little Mermaid?
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Rachel’s boyfriend, “Pig man” Paolo, makes a pass at Phoebe, leading Rachel to throw his clothes off the balcony and, when Ross tried to sweep in and bring on “the age of Ross”, Rachel swears off men for a while. In this touching episode, Rachel also lets slip that Ross is having a boy.
Show stealer
Ross : I’m having a son.
(Warner Bros)
It’s an odd thing that a storyline about Joey wearing a bag can eclipse a storyline about Phoebe being reunited with the father who abandoned her as a child, but that’s what happens. Some of the jokes about the bag feel a little dated, but it’s consistently laugh-out-loud funny.
Show stealer
Joey: It is odd how a women’s purse looks good on me, a man.
Rachel: Exactly! Unisex!
Joey: Maybe you need sex. I had sex a couple days ago.
Rachel: No! No Joey! U-N-I-sex.
Joey: Well, I ain’t gonna say no to that.
(Warner Bros)
It’s Thanksgiving and Monica gets ice in her eye – her doctor is Richard’s son, who then comes over to dinner. They kiss, and it reminds Monica of Richard. Chandler gets in a box to prove how important his friendship with Joey is.
Show stealer
Joey: We got a box…
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Monica is back with Fun Bobby but when he gives up drinking he’s just not fun anymore. Rachel dates a Ross lookalike called Russ and it’s really weird and totally ridiculous that she can’t see the similarity. Joey gets his big part in Days Of Our Lives.
Show Stealer
Phoebe: We have to celebrate. We should do a soap opera theme.
Chandler: Yes! We should all sleep together and then one of us could get amnesia.
(Warner Bros)
Chandler accidentally watches a birthing video, and Joey makes the happiest dog in the world sadder than ever.
Show stealer
Monica: OK big brother, so which one of these you think would make your little sister look hotter, so your best friend would want to do her?
(Warner Bros)
It’s time for Rachel to move out, but Phoebe doesn’t want her after she hears the things Monica has to say about her. Eventually though, Monica does have to live with a boy. Joey wins $1,500 at a fake game before losing it to Ross.
Show stealer
Monica: Well, this is the last of your clothes. I’m just gonna label it ‘what were you thinking’.
Rachel: Funny cos I was just gonna go across the hall and write that on Chandler.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Chandler, Monica and Phoebe try to set Rachel up with two different guys for a charity dinner, while Ross worries about Elizabeth going on Spring Break. Joey’s fridge breaks and he tries to get anyone and everyone to pay for it.
Show stealer
Ross: What if she goes down there and sleeps with a bunch of guys?
Chandler: Well maybe you don’t marry this one.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
The girls take on the cocky boys at poker and, as Rachel’s job search ends in rejection, Ross throws the game just to see Rachel smile… A bit cheesy, but heartwarming nonetheless and one of the funnier episodes we’ve seen.
Show stealer
Phoebe: (when Rachel gets an interview at Saks Fifth Avenue) It’s like the mothership is calling you home.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Chandler drunkenly sleeps with Janice and breaks it off for the third time while the girls have a boyfriend bonfire. Meanwhile, Ross is on a date with Kristen but ends the night sharing a kiss – and a heart-to-heart – with his ex-wife Carol. A genuinely funny, and touching, episode as the Friends battle their far-from-ideal relationships.
Show stealer
Chandler: (encouraging Ross to ask a woman out with an egg): She’ll love it. Go with the egg, my friend.
[Ross walks over, egg in hand.]
Joey: Think it’ll work?
Chandler: No, it’s suicide. The man’s got an egg.
(Warner Bros)
Always fun to see a prequel and here we get to see everyone sort of meeting up “three years earlier”. We get to see Phoebe secretly move out, Ross’s marriage break down, and Joey strip off at the mere suggestion of lemonade as Janice questions the group’s sexual history.
Show stealer
Janice: Which of the six of you has slept with which of the six of you?
(Warner Bros)
Post wedding celebrations continue, Monica and Phoebe find out Rachel is pregnant. Chandler can’t dance at his own wedding, Ross ends up dancing with children to impress a guest and we find out Joey had freakishly small feet.
Show stealer
Chandler: (To Joey) You are not just a soap actor. You are a soap actor with freakishly tiny feet.
(Warner Bros)
Phoebe’s wedding day is approaching and while Monica is driving Phoebe insane with her overbearing approach, something bigger threatens to ruin her big day. A giant blizzard forces Phoebe to host her unplanned wedding on the streets of New York, while Chandler and Ross battle it out to be included in the wedding ceremony.
Joey: You think I’d give up being a minister and pay to ride the subway?
(Warner Bros)
The fifth season kicks into gear as Rachel tells Ross she loves him – which is always nice. Phoebe gets left out of all the London chat. London baby!
Show stealer
Ross: (assessing the Ross state of his marriage) ‘Hey Ross, where’s the missus?’ ‘Don’t know!’
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Ross embraces a bit of English culture to impress Emily – and plays rugby. Chandler bumps in to Janice, realises he can’t stand her, but has to go to Yemen in order to shake her off. Monica obsesses over a switch in her apartment that isn’t linked to anything… Or is it?
Show stealer
Chandler: I’m being transferred to Yemen!
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
It might be building up to Ross and Emily’s wedding but the Rachel issue is at this episode’s heart – re-capping their relationship from watching an old high school prom video to their first kiss and we were on a break/break up. It still makes us cry.
Show stealer
Chandler: (after deciding climbing Mount Everest was too much) One of these days we’re going to get off our butts and rent Die Hard again!
(Warner Bros)
Chandler is found, momentarily lost again, but ultimately comes good to deliver his vows which even after all this time still bring a tear to the eye. Joey makes it to the wedding on time despite his drunk co-star and Camera angles allude to the fact it’s Rachel who’s pregnant.
Show stealer
Ross: Why don’t we take it just a little bit at a time. Can you just come home and take a shower? That’s not scary is it?
Chandler: It depends what you mean by ‘we’.
(Warner Bros)
Phoebe thinks that she kissed Ralph Lauren. Ross whitens his teeth, LOL, and Joey gets in touch with his feminine side.
Show stealer
Chandler: Now I’ve upset you? What did I say?
Joey: It’s not what you said it’s the way you said it.
(Warner Bros)
In a What If episode, Joey hires Chandler as his assistant, Phoebe has a heart attack, Ross tries to spice things up with Carol and Rachel considers going to Joey’s, despite still being married to Barry.
Show stealer
Ross: Imagine if Carol hadn’t realised she was a lesbian.
Joey: I can’t. I keep seeing it the good way.
(Warner Bros)
Ross meets Elizabeth’s dad, Paul, who Rachel ends up getting together with. Phoebe writes a book that definitely isn’t about Chandler and Monica, and Joey’s afraid he’ll lose his job on Mac & C.H.E.E.S.E.
Show stealer
Monica (to Elizabeth’s dad): It’s so strange seeing Ross here at this time of day, he’s usually at the children’s hospital.
Phoebe: NOT looking for dates.
(Warner Bros)
As Phoebe and Mike prepare to move in with each other, Phoebe throws out a painting of Gladys, a bald mannequin crawling out of the frame, but gives Monica the creepy artwork. Joey begs Chandler to cast him in his new work advert and Ross is excited about a big grant he’s hoping to get.
Show stealer
Chandler: Lying is wrong. And I’m a pretty little girl.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Chandler is looking for the perfect ring to propose to Monica. Rachel asks Paul to share more and then can’t stop him crying, and Ross and Joey try to figure out why Chandler isn’t spending time with them.
Show stealer
Chandler: Sir, could you hold out that ring and ask me to marry you?
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Great overlap between the different sections – Monica’s new bed is delivered but it looks like a race car, Phoebe punches Joey to help him prep for an acting role which eventually goes to one of his students, and back at the bed store Joey spots Chandler’s girlfriend Janice kissing her separated-from husband.
Show stealer
Gunther: I love Rachel, I wish she was my wife.
(Warner Bros)
Secrets get blurted out between Ross, Chandler and Monica with the best one being that Chandler came first in a Vanilla Ice lookalike contest. Ross came fourth.
Show stealer
Phoebe: (after meeting Rachel’s new assistant Tag) So, you hired yourself a little treat did ya?!
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Ross wants “belly time” with his unborn child after hearing Susan’s been talking to the foetus, Joey becomes the face of VD, and the gang chips together so Rachel can go “shoop, shoop-ing” in Vail with her family. A heartwarming episode which deserves to be among the best of Friends.
Show stealer
Joey: Set another plate for Thanksgiving, my entire family thinks I have VD.
(Warner Bros)
Monica and Chandler rush Erica to the hospital. Rachel tells Ross sleeping with him was the perfect way to say goodbye. Ross and Phoebe chase after Rachel to stop her going to Paris but end up at the wrong airport. Joey buys Monica and Chandler a baby chick and duck.
Show stealer
Chandler: So you ever wonder which is worse, you know, going through labour or getting kicked in the nuts? You know, because no one will ever know because no one can experience both.
(Warner Bros)
Phoebe has the spirit of a dead massage client trapped inside her. Rachel’s mum drops a bombshell that she’s leaving Rachel’s dad, and Ross walks Carol up the aisle to marry Susan.
Show stealer
Joey: She taught me all about how to work with the cameras and smell the fart acting.
(Warner Bros)
Rachel puts BEEF in her TRIFLE which, according to Ross, tastes like feet. Joey and Ross just want to go to the “hot dancers’” Thanksgiving party and Chandler tries to get Monica’s parents to like him, so they can tell them that they’ve moved in together.
Show stealer
Chandler: I can be pretty charming babe. Won you over, didn’t I?
Monica: I don’t think you’ll ever get my parents that drunk.
(Warner Bros)
Chandler proves he really isn’t that shallow when he gets with a fat Monica. Rachel doesn’t cheat on her husband only to find him cheating on her when she gets home. Ross *kind of* has a threesome.
Show stealer
Rachel: I guess women aren’t that great either.
Ross: Try telling my wife that.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Chandler prepares to propose to Monica, but Richard’s at the restaurant. Disaster. Joey and Phoebe go to a charity benefit with Rachel, and Joey ends up buying a boat. Ross breaks up with Elizabeth.
Show stealer
Monica: OMG maybe he won’t see us. [shouts] RICHARD.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Rachel finally gives birth to the baby after being in labour for 21 hours, Monica and Chandler try to get pregnant at the hospital, Phoebe meets a new man.
Show stealer
Monica: I’m so glad you got drunk and had sex.
Chandler: One minute she’s inside you and 47 hours later, here she is!
(Warner Bros)
Ross tries to teach Rachel and Phoebe about “Unagi”. Joey needs some extra money so he hires an identical twin, and Monica and Chandler decide to make each other gifts for Valentine’s Day.
Show stealer
Ross (to self-defence teacher): I tried attacking two women. Did not work!… Maybe we can attack them together!
(Warner Bros)
Ross is getting divorced from his lesbian wife, Monica has “not a real date” with Paul the wine guy and Rachel runs away from her wedding and into the arms of the gang, setting up 10 years of Friends.
Show stealer
Monica (to Rachel, who’s just cut up her credit cards): Welcome to the real world! It sucks. You’re gonna love it!
(Warner Bros)
Ross and Susan argue while Carol’s in labour before Phoebe locks them in the janitor’s closet where a uniform with the name tag ‘Ben’ provides inspiration for Ross’s son’s name. Meanwhile, Joey helps deliver a baby.
Show stealer
Susan: You get to be the baby’s father. Everyone knows who you are. Who am I? There’s Mother’s Day, there’s Father’s Day, there’s no… Lesbian Lover Day.
Ross: Every day is Lesbian Lover Day.
(Warner Bros)
Everyone except Phoebe and Joey are late to Phoebe’s birthday dinner. Ross and Rachel lock Emma inside the apartment. Monica is angry because Chandler has been smoking and tricks him into having sex. Joey gets to eat all the food.
Show stealer
Ross: A pigeon, a pigeon. No, no wait, no, no, an eagle flew in. Landed on the stove and caught fire. The baby, seeing this, jumps across the apartment to the mighty bird’s aid. The eagle, however, misconstrues it as an act of aggression and grabs the baby in its talons. Meanwhile the faucet fills the apartment with water. Baby and bird still ablaze are locked in a death grip, swirling around in the whirlpool that fills the apartment.
Rachel: You’re going to feel so bad if that happens now.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
The gang make New Year’s resolutions, leading to Ross going on a date with a woman named Elizabeth Hornswoggle wearing leather pants, with pasty consequences. Rachel finds out about Chandler and Monica but can’t gossip about it. The whole thing is cleverly put together, but mostly it’s about the leather pants.
Show stealer
Chandler: (trying to keep his New Year’s resolution not to mock his friends) Ross is wearing leather pants! Does nobody else see that Ross is wearing leather pants? Someone comment on the pants!
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
A classic episode in which we flash back to Thanksgivings past, including the one where Chandler called Monica fat and the one where she responded by accidentally chopping off his toe. But it ends up with Chandler telling Monica he loves her when she has a turkey on her head, so that’s nice.
Show stealer
Ross: Her name is Carol. And she’s really pretty. And smart. And she’s on the lacrosse team and the golf team. Can you believe it? She plays for both teams!
(Warner Bros)
Rachel and Joey struggle to take their relationship to the next step and decide to break it off. Ross visits a tanning salon but things go wrong. Phoebe and Monica’s old room-mate Amanda is back in town and, after trying their best to avoid her, they end up at Central Perk where she reveals a few secrets from the past about Phoebe and Monica’s friendship.
Show stealer
Joey: I’m an expert at taking off bras. I can do it with one hand, I can do it with my eyes closed. One time I just looked at one and it popped open.
(Warner Bros)
Chandler feels bad that he can’t cry, Phoebe gets mistaken for a porn star before finding out it’s all Ursula’s fault. Rachel tells Ross not to date Jill again.
Show stealer
Monica: Chandler I don’t care if you can’t cry, I love you.
Chandler: Aww, that makes me feel so warm in my hollow tin chest.
(Warner Bros)
Ross tries to come to terms with Joey and Rachel’s blossoming relationship and suggests the new couple come over for a dinner party with his new partner (and Joey’s ex) Charlie. Meanwhile Monica and Chandler visit one of Phoebe’s friends for adoption advice – and Chandler’s mouth gets him into trouble.
Show stealer
Ross: (while on a double date with Charlie, Joey and Rachel) Weird? What’s weird? The only thing that would be weird is if someone didn’t like Mexican food because I’m making fajitas!
(Warner Bros)
Richard tells Monica he loves her, leaving Chandler to think he’s screwed things up. Chandler is distraught upon getting back to the apartment and being told Monica has left, but we end up with the most heartwarming moment of the season. There’s to be a Bing-Geller wedding!
Show stealer
Phoebe: It’s just good sense to back up your back up. I already lost Chandler.
(Warner Bros)
Now-ominous “hot girl with a belly button from the Xerox place” is even mentioned before the credits. Ross and Rachel have yet another fight sort of about her work/Mark and Ross walks out after Rachel says she wants a break.
Show stealer
Rachel: (to Ross after he turned up unwelcome at her new work when she was really busy). You do not bring a picnic basket to someone’s work unless maybe they were a park ranger.”
(Warner Bros)
PIVOT! PIVOT! PIVOT! It’s the one where Ross, Rachel and Chandler try to get a couch up some stairs. It’s very funny.
Show stealer
Ross: Not only did we go out, we did it 298 times!
Rachel: Ross! You kept count? You are such a loser!
Ross: A loser you did it with 298 times!
(Warner Bros)
Rachel and Monica fight about Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Julia Roberts makes an appearance as one of Chandler’s old school friends but she steals his clothes so he’s stuck in a restaurant just wearing women’s underwear.
Show stealer
Chandler: Stick a fork in me I am done.
Phoebe: Stick a fork what?
Chandler: Like when you’re cooking a steak.
Phoebe: Oh I don’t eat meat.
Chandler: How do you know when vegetables are done?
Phoebe: You don’t, you eat them and you know.
Chandler: OK well then, eat me I’m done.
(Warner Bros)
Rachel’s awful sister Amy arrives for Thanksgiving. An argument breaks out over who would get to raise Emma if Ross and Rachel died, and Monica’s best china is broken. Phoebe teaches Joey how to lie.
Show stealer
Phoebe: We thought it might be nice to use the fancy China for dessert too.
Monica: What a good idea. And after dinner we can all blow our noses on my wedding dress.
(Warner)
Chandler and Ross are ripped off by a romantic hotel in Vermont and decide to take as much free stuff as they can get their hands on. Phoebe starts singing outside Monica’s restaurant and the pair start fighting. Rachel is conflicted about Joey after seeing him in a soap opera love scene.
Show stealer
Phoebe : (during her feud with Monica) You’d better get back in that kitchen, Monica. The garlic isn’t going to overuse itself.”
(Warner Bros)
It’s Rachel’s birthday while Ross is working in China, and his present – a pin like one Rachel’s grandmother had – melts her heart. When Chandler reveals Ross’s feelings for Rachel, she ums and ahs about whether to act on them and finally goes to meet him at the airport…
Show stealer
Joey: Well, it’s like, last night, I couldn’t do the thing that usually makes me great. So I had to do all this other stuff. And the response I got… man, oh man, it was like a ticker tape parade!
Chandler: Yes, I know, as it happens my room is very very close to the parade route.
(Screenshot/Warner Bros DVD)
Monica feels she is upstaged by Rachel yet again because she caught Rachel and Ross kissing in the hallway – on her and Chandler’s engagement night! Meanwhile, the evening is punctuated by Joey insisting he can play a 19-year-old, at 31, and Phoebe’s insistence she will play music on Monica and Chandler’s big day.
Show stealer
Rachel: Can you believe this, can you believe they are actually getting married?
Ross: Well sure, but I get married all the time.
(Warner Bros)
So much good stuff… The doctor who loves Fonzie, Joey’s kidney stones and an appearance from Frank Jr. Suitably excellent for the 100th episode.
Show stealer
Phoebe: (unimpressed with Ross’s assurance that everything’s going to be OK).
“That’s easy for you to say, I don’t see three kids coming out your vagina!”
(Warner Bros)
Elizabeth and Ross, plus Rachel and Paul, all end up at Paul’s country home. It’s not awkward at all. Ross effectively ends Paul’s problem with him by declaring that he too, is a “neat guy”. Chandler pretends to freak out when he finds out Monica has reserved somewhere to get married.
Show stealer
Rachel: Paul’s taking me to dinner. He said he has a big surprise planned.
Phoebe: Oooh do you think maybe he’s gonna tell you he’s gay?
(Warner Bros)
Perhaps the most quotable episode from Friends with one liners from “We were on a break” from Ross, to Rachel’s reply: “You think you’re going to get out of this on a technicality?”. Plus we love how the break-up plays out for the others; trapped in Monica’s bedroom with only a tub of Waxine (organic hair remover).
Show stealer
Rachel: A mistake? What were you trying to put it in? Her purse?
(Warner Bros)
Joey buys Chandler a disgusting friendship bracelet that turns out to be a woman repeller. Monica’s parents bring round some of her childhood possessions and one is a video tape of Rachel and Monica getting ready for prom. Rachel realises how much Ross really loves her and they kiss.
Show stealer
Ross: What does he want with her?
Chandler: I’m guessing he wants to do a little dance, you know make a little love and pretty much get down tonight.
(Warner Bros)
Nice mix-up of characters doing scenes together with Rachel and Chandler tucking into illegally-obtained cheesecake, Monica and Ross at a family wedding and Joey comforting Phoebe about David, the scientist guy, heading back to Minsk.
Show stealer
Joey: (taking a fork from his pocket as he finds Rachel and Chandler eating cheesecake off the floor) All right then, what are we having?
(Warner Bros)
Phoebe has the embryos implanted, and gets pregnant. More importantly, the guys face off against the girls in the infamous quiz created by Ross, with Joey and Chandler winning the girls’ apartment.
Show stealer
Chandler: Actually it’s MISS Chanandler Bong.
(Warner Bros)
Phoebe and Rachel get into a game of cat and mouse with Monica and Chandler as they try to bring their friends’ relationship out into the open. The gear change between Chandler and Phoebe’s wonderfully awkward faux-seduction and the tender moment of Chandler declaring his love for Monica is a comedy masterclass.
Show stealer
Chandler: I’m very happy we’re gonna have all the sex.
Phoebe: You should be. I’m very bendy.
(Warner Bros)
Ridiculously clever episode with all the action shot in Monica and Rachel’s apartment, and everyone coming and going – including Joey in all of Chandler’s clothes – as Ross gets more agitated. A masterclass in ensemble acting. Bravo!
Show stealer
Joey: Could I be wearing any more clothes?
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