# Something that always bothered me about "Friends" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 23, 2017, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-that-always-bothered-me-about-friends/782832 "2017-03-23T13:37:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Trancephalic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trancephalic/32/380_2.png) [@Trancephalic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trancephalic)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-that-always-bothered-me-about-friends/782832/21 "2017-03-23T20:16:08Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > It is true what they say–Women are from Omicron Persei 7, men are from Omicron Persei 9. [“Who knows what she’ll be when she emerges from her dark chrysalis”](http://i.imgur.com/gZISHEw.png) ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-that-always-bothered-me-about-friends/782832/22 "2017-03-23T20:28:21Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Phoebe lived with her grandmother for part of the series and I have no idea how she was meant to afford her own place. I think she lived in a different (possibly cheaper?) part of NY than the other friends. She also had a roommate (Denise!) for a while. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-that-always-bothered-me-about-friends/782832/23 "2017-03-23T20:36:07Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > She also had a roommate (Denise!) for a while. That’s assuming that Denise actually existed (and was not, in fact, Santa Claus). ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-that-always-bothered-me-about-friends/782832/24 "2017-03-23T20:42:44Z")
Chandler would have made most because he was singularly brilliant in his specialized field, being bribed heavily to return when he chose something else ( although initially his employment looked office drone ) plus they exclaimed over his income, and of course, rich family with servants. Ross would have a good wage as a museum expert; Monica would been well paid as a top chef in a Manhattan restaurant ( there’s no indication she commuted to Staten Island or Queens ): both of them from a well-off family — not many American families then could have afforded to pay for a wedding in London. Rachel became a highly regarded professional at some fashion house; father a doctor who gave her a small yacht when she was 15. Joey was a well-regarded actor ( I can’t be the only one who thought his derided portrayal of Freud was brilliant ). Poor working-class family. Phoebe allegedly came from the gutter, although her relatives mostly seemed respectable, and worked as a waitress, but later married into the Upper East Side. Most of them could have afforded the full rent without each other. And it certainly wasn’t a _big_ apartment. One large room plus two little bedrooms. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-that-always-bothered-me-about-friends/782832/25 "2017-03-23T20:54:42Z")
I always figured Phoebe lived way uptown in Manhattan-- Washington Heights, Harlem, Spanish Harlem, Marble Hill-- up there somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-that-always-bothered-me-about-friends/782832/26 "2017-03-23T20:56:47Z")
> [@Evan\_Drake](#): > > Most of them could have afforded the full rent without each other. And it certainly wasn’t a _big_ apartment. One large room plus two little bedrooms. Their apartment was HUGE by Manhattan standards. Really. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-that-always-bothered-me-about-friends/782832/27 "2017-03-23T21:17:20Z")
Did Phoebe work as a waitress or was that her twin sister Ursula? ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-that-always-bothered-me-about-friends/782832/28 "2017-03-23T21:42:17Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Did Phoebe work as a waitress or was that her twin sister Ursula? That was Ursula. Phoebe seems to just be the “Kramer” of the group, where she just has money and it’s unclear how. Remember when she financed Monica’s catering business? ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-that-always-bothered-me-about-friends/782832/29 "2017-03-23T22:08:41Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > That was Ursula. > > Phoebe seems to just be the “Kramer” of the group, where she just has money and it’s unclear how. Remember when she financed Monica’s catering business? Phoebe never just had money. She worked as a masseuse during the whole run of the show. She also sang for money and drove a cab sometimes. And she was always depicted as broke. There was a whole episode on how Joey, Phoebe and Rachel were the ‘poor’ friends. The money she put in for Monica’s business was money she was saving for, I think, masseuse equipment. It was a loan that she needed back. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-that-always-bothered-me-about-friends/782832/30 "2017-03-23T22:09:30Z")
> [@Evan\_Drake](#): > > And it certainly wasn’t a _big_ apartment. One large room plus two little bedrooms. Ha ha ha. It really is _very large_ for Manhattan. ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-that-always-bothered-me-about-friends/782832/31 "2017-03-23T22:10:28Z")
Ah yeah Phoebe was a masseuse and singer \* — maybe confused by her vocal imitation of a waitress in one episode. - Actually Monica was far more popular as a singer, when she sang ‘_Delta Dawn_’. Plus Phoebe just wasn’t a nice person. ---
**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:** [March 23, 2017, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-that-always-bothered-me-about-friends/782832/32 "2017-03-23T22:15:03Z")
> [@Evan\_Drake](#): > > Ah yeah Phoebe was a masseuse and singer \* — maybe confused by her vocal imitation of a waitress in one episode. > > - Actually Monica was far more popular as a singer, when she sang ‘_Delta Dawn_’. Plus Phoebe just wasn’t a nice person. That’s because they could all see her tips 😛 ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-that-always-bothered-me-about-friends/782832/33 "2017-03-23T22:16:46Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Phoebe never just had money. She worked as a masseuse during the whole run of the show. She also sang for money and drove a cab sometimes. And she was always depicted as broke. There was a whole episode on how Joey, Phoebe and Rachel were the ‘poor’ friends. The money she put in for Monica’s business was money she was saving for, I think, masseuse equipment. It was a loan that she needed back. Not saying she’s rich, but other than that specific episode, Phoebe never really seemed to be wanting for money. She definitely had more spare cash than a sometimes unemployed masseuse should have. She specifically did not sing for money (she was upset the one time she did because Smelly Cat made less money) ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-that-always-bothered-me-about-friends/782832/34 "2017-03-23T22:44:09Z")
> [@chorpler](#): > > Then when Rachel found out, they started fighting, and Ross said “I didn’t think there was a relationship to save, I thought we were broken up,” and Rachel said “We were on a break!” As the seasons progressed, that became Ross saying “We were on a break” and Rachel saying they weren’t. That always annoyed me. I didn’t think she said they weren’t on a break, but just that on a presumably temporary break, what he did wasn’t acceptable. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-that-always-bothered-me-about-friends/782832/35 "2017-03-23T23:14:10Z")
I always thought that this whole story line proved (intentionally or not) how the rules are different for a pretty girl vs. a so-so looking geek. She was always aware that he needed and wanted her more than she did him, and she was playing that. Everything was his fault. Remember how he had to write out all the reasons he was wrong before she would get back with him (which he also failed to do)? She never made any effort to understand how he might have been feeling, and how he was drunk (not really an excuse but at least a reason) when he did the deed and immediately regretted it. On the other hand, the writers made him such an insecure, jealous jerk that I wouldn’t have blamed her for breaking it off completely instead of “taking a break.” ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-that-always-bothered-me-about-friends/782832/36 "2017-03-23T23:53:38Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Monica’s apartment was a rent controlled sublet from her grandmother who apparently must have lived there since La Guardia was mayor. […] I know you probably didn’t literally want an explanation but the question comes up a lot. Came up so often that, AIR, they invented that explanaiton in the last episode, when they were tieing up the loose ends? ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2017, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-that-always-bothered-me-about-friends/782832/37 "2017-03-24T00:32:28Z")
I believe they offered that explanation in the first season — on the other hand if R & M’s grandmother was the rent-control tenant and then in that same season she died, wouldn’t her tenancy die with her ? A previous discussion on these boards. The OP was _angry_. **[How much would an apt. like Monica and Rachels actually cost in NYC?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=139471)** ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2017, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-that-always-bothered-me-about-friends/782832/38 "2017-03-24T01:13:08Z")
I think Mark and his gf/fiancee broke up. I seem to remember him saying so when Mark did mention he liked Rachel. I was watching it every night on Nick (again) but lately they’re showing them in weird orders, like backwards consecutive, then some other random season. It’s hard to get with the flow even if I’ve seen them all 30 times when they aren’t in order or grouped in a theme (ie Thanksgiving marathons). ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2017, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-that-always-bothered-me-about-friends/782832/39 "2017-03-24T03:17:52Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > Came up so often that, AIR, they invented that explanaiton in the last episode, when they were tieing up the loose ends? I remember this coming up fairly early on, there was someone like the building super who couldn’t be allowed to find out that the grandmother was dead. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2017, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-that-always-bothered-me-about-friends/782832/40 "2017-03-24T04:38:52Z")
I was never a regular _Friends_ watcher, but I was curious about “Chloe the copy girl” so I did some googling: She was played by Angela Featherstone, fair enough, but I was surprised to discover Featherstone also played the S-Mart worker who gets rescued and kissed by Ash at the end of _Army of Darkness_. Up to now, I’d assumed the character was played by Embeth Davidtz, who played the role of “Sheila” earlier in the movie during Ash’s time-travel adventures through the 13th century, i.e. the trope of the woman he meets upon returning to the late 20th century being played by the same actress and her being the far-removed descendant of the woman he left in the past. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-that-always-bothered-me-about-friends/782832.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-that-always-bothered-me-about-friends/782832.md?page=3)