Monday, May 23, 2011

'Friends' is my favorite

Some people quote poetry. Others like famous quotations, maybe by presidents or authors. Lots of people like to quote musical lyrics, too.

Me? I quote "Friends."

I don't actually remember when I became a "Friends" fan or how it really happened. What I do know is I own all ten seasons and managed to get all of my college roommates hooked to the show, too. (Two of them now own the entire series as well!) At my wedding last year, our wedding party walked into the reception to "I'll Be There For You" by The Rembrandts - or the "Friends" theme song, for those of you who aren't fans. I could watch the same episode over and over and I would never get tired of it. I don't know what it is about that show, but it endlessly entertains me.

Something I've been trying to do for a long, long time is rank my top five favorite "Friends" episodes - a nearly impossible task, because every time I think I've got it figured out, I run into another episode that's just got to be one of my favorites.* In any case, these are my current faves - in no particular order.


1) The One Where No One's Ready: No matter when I'm thinking about my favorite episodes, this one always makes the list. This is during the third season of "Friends," when Ross and Rachel are dating and everyone is going to an event at Ross' museum. Obviously, no one is ready to go on time, and Ross freaks out. Hilarity ensues! My favorite part is when Joey walks into the apartment wearing all of Chandler's clothes, which leads to my favorite quote of the episode: "Look at me! I'm Chandler! Could I BE wearing any more clothes?!"


2) The One Where Everybody Finds Out: The reason season five of "Friends" is my favorite season is solely because of Chandler and Monica hiding their relationship from everyone. It lends itself to a lot of funny moments, but hands down this episode is the best! It's also when Chandler says he loves Monica for the first time (or the first time that counts, I suppose, because he really said it first in the Thanksgiving episode of the same season). Favorite quote is Chandler, when Monica says Phoebe knows about their relationship - "Okay... but what about my pinchable butt and bulging biceps --- SHE KNOWS!"


3) The One with the Holiday Armadillo: It's a holiday armadillo. Do I really need to explain further? Fave quote goes to Phoebe - "I understand why Superman is here, but why is there a porcupine at the Easter Bunny's funeral?"


4) The One with the Routine: I love the sibling relationship between Ross and Monica. It's one of my favorite parts of the entire series - I just think they play brother and sister so well. They are competitive and always embarrassing each other with personal info... Ha, it's great. This episode showcases a routine they did in grade school and resurrect on a taping of "Dick Clark's New Years Rockin' Eve." I also like the subplot in this episode with Rachel and Phoebe trying to find where Monica hid their Christmas presents. Favorite quote is really an exchange between Ross and Monica - Ross: "We got honorable mention in the brother/sister dance category. Look, it's almost fake midnight. Do we really have any other choice?" Monica: "Okay, let's do it. Mom and dad are going to be so faced!"


5) The One with Phoebe's Wedding: Let me preface this with saying I've had a crush on Paul Rudd since he was on "Clueless" in 1995. When he debuted on "Friends" as Mike in "The One with the Pediatrician" (oh my, another great episode!), I was psyched. Then he and Phoebe started dating, were moving into together and - BAM! - they broke up. I was devastated, and despite the fact that my husband wanted to see Phoebe end up with the scientist guy David, I was thrilled when Mike reappeared and proposed. So there's the back story to why I love this episode. The things that put it over the top were the snowstorm (turning the wedding into the prettiest ever), crazy Monica and the competition with the guys to be involved in the wedding party. And just because it's a wedding episode, I'll give the favorite quotes to Phoebe and Mike's vows - Phoebe: "When I was growing up, I didn't have a normal mom and dad, or a regular family like everybody else. And I always knew that something was missing. But now I'm standing here today, knowing that I have everything I'm ever going to need. You are my family." Mike: "Phoebe, you're so beautiful. You're so kind, so generous, so wonderfully weird. Everyday with you is an adventure. I can't believe how lucky I am, and I can't wait to share my life with you forever."

* This really is impossible, because in talking to Ryan about this post the other day, we brought up about a dozen more classic episodes that should be in the top five, like "The One with the Nap Partners" and "The One Where Chandler Takes a Bath." So um. Take this with a grain of salt.

2 comments:

  1. After reading this post I think I need to watch it! I cant think of my favorite episodes right now. So instead I will leave you with some favorite quotes!

    Monica: Honey, umm I-I love you, (laughs) but umm, if you call our wedding a party one more time, you may not get invited. Okay?

    Joey: If u can't talk dirty to me then how are u gonna talk drty to her, now tell me u want to caress my butt!

    Monica: Oh, excuse me, I seemed to have opened the door to the past

    Gunther: Hey, buddy, this is a family place, put the mouse back in the house.

    ReplyDelete