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The One With The 20 Best Friends Episodes (10-1)

19 December 2014
A few months days later than I'd originally planned, here's the second half to my Friends countdown. Do you agree with my ten favourite Friends episodes ever?



Monica and Chandler can't sleep, Phoebe has some issues with an obnoxious smoke alarm, Rachel and Tag end up back in the office trying to prove who was at fault for some important documents that weren't posted, and Ross and Joey end up stuck on the roof. Standard.

Whilst the 'couples' stories are a little weak and easy to skip over, some of my favourite ever scenes come from the other three. Ross and Joey climbing down the fire escape, which gets stuck halfway, meaning Ross has to climb down and hang off of Joey, and ends up falling off when Joey fears his jeans will fall down and reveal his little Drake Ramoray, and Phoebe vs. the smoke alarm. Effectively screaming at the smoke alarm as it continues to go off, smashing it with a shoe, and throwing it away in a towel until being told there's simply a reset button...


I've always rooted for Phoebe. I just want her to be happy, you know. After a long string of failed relationships, Mike came along and made everything a lot, lot better. In the last series we finally got to see her experience something 'normal' - her wedding.

With her step-dad still in prison, Phoebe asks Joey to give her away at the ceremony, but Ross and Chandler have to battle over filling in for one of the grooms-men, and pester poor Rachel into choosing. Eventually the place goes to a family dog. Monica turns into the wedding planner from hell, obviously, and Phoebe fires her, but as things start going wrong, and a blizzard hits Manhattan, they all regroup and put the wedding together outside Central Perk. Joey fills in and performs the simple ceremony, and it's just ruddy beautiful.


Another Phoebe-central episode, you can tell she's my favourite character, ey? The 100th episode saw Phoebe give birth to her brother's triplets (it was through surrogacy, don't worry) and after being faced with a Fonzie fangirl posing as a doctor, Phoebe gave birth to Frank Jr Jr, Leslie and Chandler (who turned out to be a girl, but they still kept the name for the LOLs.) 

Monica and Chandler's secret relationship hits rocky shores, when Chandler gets jealous of a double date Rachel set up for her, Monica and a couple of doctors. It all works out fine, obvs. Phoebe wants to keep one of the babies, and leaves it up to Rachel to ask Frank Jr - you can kind of guess the answer to that one. Joey has kidney stones, and has to pass them through his afore-mentioned little Drake Ramoray... ouch.


Ross decides to get a spray tan, but manages to mess it all up inside the booth, as he doesn't turn around quick enough. He gets two coats on his front, and as he returns to replicate it, he runs into further trouble with double nozzled booths and other sheer hilarity.

Monica and Phoebe's old friend is in town, and she is just... a piece of work. A funny character no doubt, but in real life she'd just be bloody intolerable. A rubbish fake British accent, constant self-adoration and bragging, and rather interesting dance moves, which poor Chandler has to endure. They decide to try and cut her out, but she reveals that Phoebe was trying to do the same thing to Monica years ago. Monica gets a little annoyed but they obviously make up after a little heart warming conversation. Rachel and Joey can't seem to get intimate with each other, and when Joey pulls one of his moves, a simple rub of the leg, Rachel slaps him... several times. She then knees him in his 'misters' (this post has referenced Joey's penis three times, and we're not even halfway through, sheesh) and they decide to split up.


Who doesn't love a flashback episode? By flashback, I don't mean the annoying 'clips' episodes, but when we get to see the gang pre-The Pilot. They all talk about their worst Thanksgivings, Phoebe's being years and years ago, in another life, on the battlefield. Her arm gets blown off. Standard. In another flashback, Joey tries to scare Chandler with a turkey, but gets it stuck on his head. Chandler's worst Thanksgiving is his parents' divorce, and then everything turns to Monica...

We go back to the 'Fat Monica' era, and see Chandler call her fat behind her back. Ross tries to flirt a little with Rachel, who is thinking about having her nose done. We fast forward a year, and Monica's lost a lot of weight, and wants to get back at Chandler, so Rachel suggests seducing him. Monica tries, but ends up trying to be sexy with a knife, and ends up dropping it on Chandler's foot - he loses a toe... ouuuch. Back in real time, they have an argument about it, but Monica turns it all around by sticking a turkey on her head, leading Chandler to tell her he loves her. Aww.


The last episode of the first series, and probably a lot of this generation's first experiences of shipping and OTPs, Rachel finds out that Ross loves her, after he gets her a sentimental gift for her birthday and it's all very exciting as she tries to catch him at the airport, but as she goes to meet him as he lands, he's got another woman in tow... oooooh.

Joey goes out with a lady who makes fruit baskets (does anyone else genuinely want that job?) but because of a sex study, has to be a little less selfish in bed, and be there for her, if you know what I mean. She loves it, I mean she really loves it.


Another Ross and Rachel climax episode. The pair aren't on the best terms after Ross made a list of her pros and cons to use against Julie to find out who he should date, but after Monica finds a old prom video, things soon change. During the flashback, Rachel's date hasn't showed up, so Ross is persuaded by his father to offer to take her instead. He dresses up all nice and that, but is shocked to find Rachel's date has actually turned up. Poor thing. Also, he had great hair.

Joey buys Chandler a horrible bracelet, which he absolutely hates, and Joey finds him insulting it via a moderate Mr T impression. He's pissed. Chandler then loses it, and has to buy another in it's place, but luckily (?) Rachel finds the other one in Central Perk so happy days. Apart from the fact he has two (and probably lost a lot of money,) but when questioned by Joey as to why, he tells him he bought two and everything's all good and lovely again.


In this ruddy-good-two-part-end-of-the-series-special, Monica tries to scare Chandler by telling him she's ready for a baby, and is stunned to find he feels the same. She freaks out a little, but he calms her down, and with Monica conveniently ovulating at the time, they try and find a place in the hospital to 'try.' Phoebe meets a hot guy in a wheelchair at the lifts in the hospital, and gets Joey to help her find his room, and find out a few things about him to see if he's a genuine guy etc. Joey poses as a doctor, but is sussed out when Days Of Our Lives comes on the TV. It doesn't work out. Poor Phoebe.

Rachel's dilation goes very slowly, and she's stuck in a two-patient room with some pretty testing fellow mothers-to-be and their partners, including a very open couple, an arguing couple and... Janice. Luckily that doesn't last too long for them, and within about 30 hours or something she has the baby. Ross and Rachel share a moment together, and Phoebe convinces Ross to go for it with her, but as his grandmother's ring (given to him by Judy) falls out of his pocket and into Joey's hands, it looks like he's the one proposing... and Rachel says yes.


Phoebe visits the hospital to have the embryos planted inside, and does everything she can to make it work, like laying upside down and letting gravity do it's thing, and of course, singing.

The other's partake in an ultimate quiz to see who knows each other better. Ross is the quizmaster of the genuinely pretty well thought out quiz, which sees Chandler and Joey face Monica and Rachel. The stakes are low at the start, as they play for money, but the game escalates and the stakes are raised as the girls could lose their apartment and the boys could lose... the chick and the duck. Eeshk.


Finally, a number one for a lot of people I'd imagine, or at least very high indeed, as Rachel and Phoebe try to break Monica and Chandler into revealing their little secret. Joey already knows about Monica and Chandler, and whilst Ross, Rachel and Phoebe visit a potential new place across the street, Ugly Naked Guy's place, the girls spot Monica and Chandler through the window, doing the do. They manage to distract Ross, and come up with a plan to seduce Chandler until he cracks.

Ross tries to get into Ugly Naked Guy's good books, so he picks him to have the apartment, and when a small basket of mini muffins is outshined by many many other gifts, Ross makes the ultimate sacrifice - he gets naked with him.

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And there we go. Sorry for the late post, it's still 2014, so the 20 years celebrations are still going, and I'm sure you were all on the edge of your seat waiting for the top ten! Let me know what your favourite episodes are and why! I'm off to go and watch Friends bloopers on YouTube~
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