Favorite Episodes: Friends

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

I considered continuing along the holiday line with Valentine's Day, but it's so far in the future I'd have to come up with like 30 episodes to highlight and I was afraid I couldn't do that many. Then I thought I'd do a week of Superbowl Eps and a week of Presidents' Day eps to cut down on the number of Valentine's episodes I'd have to highlight. But, honestly, I'm not really into romance, so I decided against focusing on Valentine's. Maybe next year!

But I did really enjoy picking favorite episodes with holiday themes. So I think the new Monday series is gonna be favorite episodes of various (ended) series. We're starting with Friends because I watched all of my favorite episodes last week in my really bad mood. I should mention that a) I'm not repeating any episodes I've already mentioned elsewhere on this blog, and b) I'm really going with my favorite FUNNY AND FEEL-GOOD episodes, which knocks out the cutesy/on-edge episodes, like "The One With the Prom Video" and ones that are just knee-slapping, like "The One Where Everybody Finds Out" and "The One with the Nap Partners"

Now, I should also mention that I've seen every episode of Friends, and my tastes differ greatly from others.... I know this because I asked some folks for favorite episodes last week and four people gave me great lists... only a couple of my choices appeared anywhere else, LoL (see Seasons 3, 5, and 6).

Also, there are some seasons where it was hard for me to choose (I really have 4 favorites from Season 10!! and like none from Season 3... my choice was a stretch), but here we go!

Season 1: The One Where Underdog Gets Away. Love when Ross freaks out over not knowing his parents' Thanksgiving plans. Love the beginning of how Chandler doesn't "do" Thanksgiving. Funny how Monica goes with three kinda of potatoes to make everyone happy. Joey's modeling and subsequent poster is hilarious. I felt so bad for Rachel as she tried to earn the money to go skiing and then missed her flight when they lock themselves out of the apartment. Hoorah for grilled cheese!




Season 2: The One With the Lesbian Wedding. (technically I mentioned this one before, but it was listed as my favorite episode here, and since it still is my very favorite, I'm keeping it). The possession of Phoebe is strange. Carol turning to Ross when her parents won't come to the wedding is sweet. Monica pushing the cute stroller down the aisle is precious. But the "now I've seen everything" is awesome.



Season 3: The One Where No One's Ready. I think some of the very best episodes are the ones that take place over very short periods of time. The funniest moments in this episode are back-to-back-to-back, and I'm tied between trying to fix Phoebe's outfit and Joey wearing ALL of Chandler's clothes.



Season 4: The One With Ross's Wedding, Part 2. Particularly the second part because Rachel's trek is my favorite part. First she decides to go, forgets her passport, puts the airfare on multiple credit cards, and meanwhile Phoebe tries phoning people to convince them to keep Rachel from Ross. And in the end, it doesn't matter... Ross loves Rachel anyway. oh, and side bonus, the start of Monica and Chandler!




Season 5: The One With all the Resolutions. I enjoy this episode because of the ironic factors. Great jokes to be made, and Chandler can't do it. Uber-juicy gossip, and Rachel can't tell it. Ross's pants scene has me rolling, and Phoebe's idea of just hanging around the airport until a plane is left unattended is classic.



Season 6: The One With the Routine. Usually I like several storylines, and this episode really only has two. But they're still so funny! Joey struggling with whether he's dating the model, Monica and Ross dancing like geeks to get on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve (which is kinda the same arc as Joey), and Phoebe, Chandler, and Rachel dealing with finding presents Monica bought them in order to buy suitable replacements. I love the note Monica left them about how Chandler would end up joining in! (The One Where Ross Got High is my true favorite, but I already covered it here)



Season 7: The One With the Holiday Armadillo. Santa Claus, SuperMan, and an armadillo costume make this one pretty funny. Monica kissing "Santa" is amusing. Ross' dedication to teaching Ben about Hanukkah is endearing, and I love how SuperMan flew all of the Jews out of Egypt, haha! Oh, and meanwhile Phoebe's trying to scare Rachel out of living with Joey.



Season 8: The One in Massapequa. Um, easy choice. Monica's speech. Ross' speech. Phoebe's date. Rachel and Ross' imaginary wedding. The attention to detail in a pretend ceremony is awesome.



Season 9: The One With the Boob Job. The Joey scenes make me laugh, particularly because baby-proofed items are really hard to open if you don't know how. Joey was good at covering how he guessed Chandler needed $2,000, but the reasoning he needed to give the same amount to Monica is hilarious.




Season 10: The One with the Cake. Love how Ross saves the day. Love how Joey gets put in charge. Love the wind-up toy contest. Love the videotaping messages. Love that we don't actually see Emma, haha! SO MANY GREAT ONES TO CHOOSE FROM THIS SEASON!!!