Twenty-five years ago, a sitcom debuted on NBC. Starring a clutch of beautiful yet little-known starlets, the sitcom was envisioned as a line in the sand for young Generation X-ers. This was their show, discussing the things they wanted to hear about. It was vital. It was epochal. The sitcom was called Madman of the People, and it was cancelled after one season after reviews called it “impoverished” and “noxious”.
However, the show that debuted one hour before Madman of the People was Friends – a sitcom that became so staggeringly popular it still qualifies as one of Netflix’s most watched shows. What better way to celebrate this anniversary than picking through all 236 Friends episodes to find the funniest 25?
25. The One in Vegas
Season five’s double-length finale might be best known for yanking the Ross/Rachel will they/won’t they thread until it all but snapped – it’s where they get drunk and get married – but don’t forget it’s also the one where Joey discovers his hand twin.
24. The One Where Ross Got High
The episode where Chandler and Monica announce their relationship to Monica’s parents and where Rachel makes a trifle with meat in it.
23. The One With Rachel’s Sister
Nobody in the world wants to watch Apple’s new series The Morning Show. But what if I told you it will reunite Jennifer Aniston with Reese Witherspoon, the woman who played her spoilt little sister Jill in Friends? Still no? Fair enough.
22. The One With Ross’s New Girlfriend
After deciding to tell Ross about her feelings for him, Rachel is staggered to see that Ross has a new girlfriend and, in response, gets off with a terrible Italian man. Fun fact: this was the first episode of a new season, and the cast looked so dramatically different from the previous year the writers had to squeeze in an entire plot explaining why.
21. The One With Ross’s Inappropriate Song
The episode where Ross and Rachel stop baby Emma crying by explaining how sexually attracted they are to large buttocks (“You really do like big butts, don’t you? Oh, you beautiful little weirdo!”). Notable for being one of the only episodes where Ross thinks about other people.
20. The One With Chandler in a Box
Where Monica almost blinds herself to the extent that she kisses the son of a man she used to go out with, and Chandler sits in a box.
19. The One With the Blackout
The plan was for NBC to run four episodes of four shows, all set during the same blackout. Mad About You complied. Madman of the People complied. Friends complied, resulting in the episode where Chandler gets trapped in an ATM with Jill Goodacre. Seinfeld did not comply. Seinfeld is the best.
18. The One With Ross’s Teeth
Ross tries to alter his body but too much, part one.
17. The One With Ross’s Grant
Where Ross loses his girlfriend to her ex and he just stands there watching. My theory is that, had Friends been made in 2019, Ross would spend most of his time on Reddit. Maybe when the reunion happens.
16. The One Where Ross Dates a Student
Ross is so creepy. Take this episode, where he uses his position of power to date a girl much younger than him. When the reunion happens, there will be an episode of Friends where Ross spends the whole time downvoting movie trailers with female leads.
15. The One With Unagi
Not that there’s a theme here or anything, but this is the episode where Ross mansplains karate a lot then goes out of his way to truly frighten a couple of women to prove a point.
14. The One Where Heckles Dies
A neighbour of the friends suddenly passes away and this moment manages to teach many of them important lessons about their lives. So, you know, at least his death wasn’t in vain.
13. The One Where Everybody Finds Out
Frasier was better than Friends – don’t argue, it was – but this was Friends at its most Frasierest. Chandler and Monica are dating, and the rest of the gang all know to some degree, but they don’t know how much the others know. A beautifully-plotted episode that ends with Ross watching his sister have sex. Which is very Ross.
12. The One With Ross’s Step Forward
Ross has a girlfriend he doesn’t love, but he tells her he loves her anyway because he is weak. He gives her the keys to his apartment then changes the locks because he is weak. Rachel wants to have sex with Ross because she is silly.
11. The One With the Male Nanny
The one where Phoebe is going out with Paul Rudd then kisses someone who isn’t Paul Rudd, because she wouldn’t know a good thing if it pushed her under a steamroller.
10. The One With Ross’s Sandwich
This came two episodes before The One Where Everybody Finds Out and sees Joey flailing like mad to stop everyone else finding out about Chandler and Monica. It’s arguably one of Matt LeBlanc’s finest performances and therefore one of the episodes that got the spinoff Joey made, so therefore the worst episode of Friends. Also, Ross gets angry about a sandwich, because of course he does.
9. The One Where Ross is Fine
By this point, more out of boredom than anything else, Joey and Rachel are together. This is the episode where Ross discovers the betrayal and has a minor nervous breakdown (“E is for how extremely normal I find it that you two are together!”). Looking back, it was a real shame that Friends ended a year before The Game was published. Ross would have loved that.
8. The One With the Princess Leia Fantasy
In which Rachel asks Ross what his deepest sexual fantasy is and he replies that it’s a woman in a bikini from a film made for children to enjoy. God, Ross is the worst.
7. The One With Ross’s Library Book
Where Ross gets so protective about the area in a library that contains his doctoral dissertation that he pretty much flat-out becomes a vigilante to ensure it’s treated with adequate respect. Did I mention that Ross was the worst?
6. The One With Russ
Where Rachel starts dating someone who looks like Ross, acts like Ross and has a name that sounds similar to Ross.
5. The One Where Eddie Won’t Go
Eddie was the best character ever to appear on Friends, for having an abrasive streak that wasn’t usually present in the series. In this episode, Chandler throws Eddie out of the apartment after waking up to see him standing over him. He chooses to do this by gaslighting Eddie; a nice reminder that, while Ross is the worst, Chandler is a pretty close second.
4. The One With the Jellyfish
One day, our ancestors will realise that people who had been stung by jellyfish liked to urinate all over themselves and they will trace it all back to this episode. It doesn’t even work. Trust me.
3. The One With Ross’s Tan
Ross tries to alter his body but too much, part two. “Oh my God, you can do a duet of Ebony and Ivory all by yourself!”
2. The One Where Ross Can’t Flirt
In which Ross opens the door to a woman to discuss the smells of different types of gas until she runs away in a fit of abject panic. Oh Ross, you genuinely troubled man.
1. The One With the Prom Video
A truly great episode that manages to flit from comedy to heartbreak to romance with barely a change in gears. This episode is widely considered the best Friends episode of all time, and is apparently a favourite of David Schwimmer, possibly because it’s one of the only ones where Ross doesn’t look or act like a serial killer.
What are your favourite moments from Friends? Tell us in the comments below.
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