# Musings on Watching the Whole "Friends" Series **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 20, 2012, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-on-watching-the-whole-friends-series/635235 "2012-09-20T03:39:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-on-watching-the-whole-friends-series/635235/1 "2012-09-20T03:39:18Z")
Just because I like to share with all my good buddies here. 🙂 **Season One:** - Let’s just get this out of the way at the start - holy crap, big pants! Everyone is wearing pants up to their armpits! - Pilot - Joey’s hair is very, very weird. - Paolo is not that good-looking. He’s kind of weird-looking, actually. - Ross says he’s 26 and divorced, but later Monica says she’s 26 (when inadvertently dating a 17 year old). Somebody’s lying! - Hey, Phoebe was married to Steve Zahn! **Season Two:** - The One With the Breast Milk - wow, Emily Procter’s original face! - I finally noticed that Matthew Perry is missing the tip of his middle finger on his right hand. I’ve only watched every episode of a ten year run at least once without noticing that. Now I can’t _not_ see it. - Brooke Shields is pretty damned funny as a mentally-unbalanced woman. - Everyone on the show has gorgeous hair. Really, really gorgeous hair. Man, I love their hair. Will continue updating my musings as I keep on watching. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-on-watching-the-whole-friends-series/635235/2 "2012-09-20T12:37:43Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > - Ross says he’s 26 and divorced, but later Monica says she’s 26 (when inadvertently dating a 17 year old). Somebody’s lying! Is that necessarily a lie? Say they were born a year and a half apart – such that Monica is 25, and Ross about to turn 27, in the pilot – and that Monica only turns 26 _“later”_ (say, _“right before dating that 17 year old”_). Where’s the contradiction? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-on-watching-the-whole-friends-series/635235/3 "2012-09-20T15:18:56Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Is that necessarily a lie? Say they were born a year and a half apart – such that Monica is 25, and Ross about to turn 27, in the pilot – and that Monica only turns 26 _“later”_ (say, _“right before dating that 17 year old”_). Where’s the contradiction? Hmmm. Okay, since it happened in the first season when things were not set in stone yet, I will buy your explanation. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Tamarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@Tamarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamarin)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-on-watching-the-whole-friends-series/635235/4 "2012-09-20T15:26:28Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Hmmm. Okay, since it happened in the first season when things were not set in stone yet, I will buy your explanation. 🙂 Since I just watched this episode and I’m also in the process of re-watching the series, I remember that she tells the guy (Ethan) that she’s 25…and 13 months. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-on-watching-the-whole-friends-series/635235/5 "2012-09-20T15:26:48Z")
You can often see a “Reserved” sign on the coffee table in front of the couch where they always sit in Central Perk. ETA: Hey, re-watching a non-current tv series buddies! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-on-watching-the-whole-friends-series/635235/6 "2012-09-20T16:49:59Z")
Woman still wore pantyhose in those days. Freak show. The extras in this show are unbelievable - I recognize so many of them. The latest - Frau Farbissina from “Austin Powers” as the wedding planner in “The One With Barry’s Wedding.” ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-on-watching-the-whole-friends-series/635235/7 "2012-09-20T16:58:18Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Woman still wore pantyhose in those days. Freak show. > > The extras in this show are unbelievable - I recognize so many of them. The latest - Frau Farbissina from “Austin Powers” as the wedding planner in “The One With Barry’s Wedding.” She’s in everything. I just saw her in a Doctor Who episode…one from the Eccelston and/or early Tennant periods… ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-on-watching-the-whole-friends-series/635235/8 "2012-09-21T12:19:45Z")
Joey and Chandler have the same hair and are quite hard to tell apart in the first season. It lost a lot when the monkey left. ---
**Author:** ![SykoSkotty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@SykoSkotty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SykoSkotty)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-on-watching-the-whole-friends-series/635235/9 "2012-09-21T15:02:57Z")
If you watch Jennifer Anniston close enough, you can see that the studio they worked in must’ve been very very cold. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-on-watching-the-whole-friends-series/635235/10 "2012-09-21T15:12:47Z")
> [@SykoSkotty](#): > > If you watch Jennifer Anniston close enough, you can see that the studio they worked in must’ve been very very cold. “Watch her close enough”?! - what else would we be doing if there were Aniston high-beams on display? That’s, like, Man Rule #27. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-on-watching-the-whole-friends-series/635235/11 "2012-09-21T16:27:54Z")
“I use my breasts to get attention!” “I do that too!” My husband calls it “raisin smuggling.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-on-watching-the-whole-friends-series/635235/12 "2012-09-21T16:35:35Z")
A little throw-away line that still makes me snort - [Chandler in the bathroom wearing Julia Roberts’ underpants.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab-Dca2eWAE) At about 3:10 when Ross comes into the bathroom and tells Joey, who is standing on a toilet, staring into the other cubicle - “Joey, some people don’t like that.” That just tickles my funny bone! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-on-watching-the-whole-friends-series/635235/13 "2012-09-21T17:31:44Z")
I didn’t kow that about Matthew Perry’s finger. Now that’s \*all \*Ill be looking at when I watch. Jennifer Anniston changed quite a bit physically at around the third season, IIRC. Aside form the obvious - aging and weight loss- something happened to her face. I imagine she might have had some work done, but I can’t quite put my finger on what. Her voice and mannerisms also changed. Ross is my least favorite character but he can be pretty funny when they write him as a goofball. “PiVOTTTTT!”. I think my favorite episode is Thanksgiving when Ross and Monica’s parents come over and they don’t know Monica and Chandler are dating. At the end, everyones’ secrets are revealed."No, you weren’t supposed to put beef in the trifle. It did \*not \*taste good. I don’t care for any of the episodes in the Rachel’s pregnancy story arc. Whenever I hear anyone talking about something happening in London I have to fight the urge to yell “in LONDON!”, Joey style. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-on-watching-the-whole-friends-series/635235/14 "2012-09-21T18:15:22Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > I think my favorite episode is Thanksgiving when Ross and Monica’s parents come over and they don’t know Monica and Chandler are dating. At the end, everyones’ secrets are revealed."No, you weren’t supposed to put beef in the trifle. It did \*not \*taste good. Yes, that’s a great little moment, especially because Mrs Gellar just knocks it outta the park. “I’m sorry, Phoebe, but I’m afraid that Jacques Cousteau is dead. Joey, if you want to leave… just leave!” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-on-watching-the-whole-friends-series/635235/15 "2012-09-21T19:01:19Z")
Season Three, The One With the Flashbacks, has Marissa Ribisi as Rachel’s old friend - Marissa Ribisi is apparently Giovanni Ribisi’s twin sister. Who knew? The elder Gellars are amazing throughout the whole series. ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-on-watching-the-whole-friends-series/635235/16 "2012-09-21T19:03:55Z")
If any kitties are around when I’m cleaning boxes they get a round of “Smelly Cat”. :rolleyes: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![borschevsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@borschevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/borschevsky)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-on-watching-the-whole-friends-series/635235/17 "2012-09-21T19:06:25Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Whenever I hear anyone talking about something happening in London I have to fight the urge to yell “in LONDON!”, Joey style. Me too! I think my wife was ready to throw me out by the end of the olympics. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-on-watching-the-whole-friends-series/635235/18 "2012-09-21T19:09:11Z")
One thing I noticed a lot in the early seasons… “unattractive” people regularly appeared and even dated the core cast. Paulo–already mentioned. An early episode had Monica with a new boyfriend who she was afraid to introduce to everyone… that dude was off looking (really gangly, long hair and a beard) even for the early 90s. Yet…those weren’t the jokes. Eventually once the show was an uber-hit, it was all models all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Sally\_Mander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@Sally\_Mander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sally_Mander)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-on-watching-the-whole-friends-series/635235/19 "2012-09-21T19:26:40Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > One thing I noticed a lot in the early seasons… “unattractive” people regularly appeared and even dated the core cast. > > Paulo–already mentioned. > An early episode had Monica with a new boyfriend who she was afraid to introduce to everyone… that dude was off looking (really gangly, long hair and a beard) even for the early 90s. Yet…those weren’t the jokes. If we’re thinking of the same guy, that was Fisher Stevens. The one who sort of psychoanalyzed all of them? Yep, Fisher Stevens. ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-on-watching-the-whole-friends-series/635235/20 "2012-09-21T19:30:17Z")
Seasons 2-5 were the best, IMO. It’s an unpopular opinion but Ross was always my favorite character. The episode where he tries to wear leather pants on a date, only to have it go horribly awry, still makes me howl with laughter. Monica started out as loveably OCD but became annoyingly uptight and shrill by the end. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musings-on-watching-the-whole-friends-series/635235.md?page=2)