Also known as, the one with the quiz…
Everyone has a favourite episode of Friends.
The one where Monica and Chandler get together? The one where Joey sticks his head up the turkey? The origin of “We were on a break”? We all have one. But we’re going for the one with the quiz, the one where there’s an entire apartment up for grabs because that’s exactly how living arrangements are worked out in the real world.
Television at its finest.
Chandler and Joey start the episode by correctly guessing every single item in Rachel’s bag. The guys initially place a hundred dollar bet on a series of questions, impartially created by Ross. The original quiz ends as a tie, and features some of the most memorable quotes in the history of the show, such as the name to which the TV Guide is addressed to (Chanandler Bong) and that Monica’s biggest pet-peeve is “animals dressed as humans”.
There’s just so much to love about this episode. The premise of the episode is in-and-of-itself pure and wholesome, both duos are boasting about how good they are at being Friends. The juxtaposition of the vicious stakes of the bet, and what they are actually betting about exemplifies the beauty of the show, despite what its newfound 2018 audience might think.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jMvc5VoavE
Clip via Favorite Videos
The stakes continue to increase until eventually they play a tie-breaker lightening round. If Joey and Chandler win, they get Monica and Rachel’s apartment. If Monica and Rachel win, the chick and the duck must go. A side story of the episode is Phoebe desperately checking every few minutes as to whether or not she is pregnant. But the quiz overshadows her, for the most part.
This is a cornerstone of why so many love the show. While one of the group is facing what could be the most important day of her life, the rest of them are as stressed, if not more, by a quiz.
Joey and Chandler correctly answer four questions, including knowing Monica’s nickname as a hockey player: “big-fat goalie”. The girls then answer three questions correctly, getting themselves off to a great start. It all comes down to whether or not the girls know the name of Chandler’s job. What happens next is comedy gold.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYzql-Y1sP4&t=100s
Clip via Favorite Videos
Pure ecstasy from Chandler and Joey, and Monica’s “NOOOO!” alone might be the best piece of acting throughout the entirety of the show. The dynamic of the group changes from that moment forward, with Joey not necessarily being pushed, and Monica and Rachel being borderline depressed. It also lends itself to the best entrance throughout the show.
Clip via FireJach
But this isn’t even the most iconic moment of the episode. Amid the fighting and bickering, Phoebe emerges from the bathroom with the news that she is pregnant with her brothers babies. Triplets to be exact, giving way to the famous line “My sister’s gonna have my baby!”
Friends has a way of giving us an emotional attachment to characters that we don’t even see much of. Frank and Alice make fewer than 10 appearances in total, but it’s scenes like these that fill us with a sense of joy for a character that we don’t necessarily know that well.
The togetherness of the group is one of the best aspects of the show. The fact that, no matter what, at the end of the day, they would be friends. It’s this reason that holds the show above most. In moments like this, that you really believe that they are best friends. What a show.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99dfyx9T14U
Clip via Favorite Videos
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
