Facebook have dubbed today – the company’s 12th birthday – as Friends Day.
Given the fact that it’s the most braindead marketing idea this side of Arthur’s Day, we decided to put a different slant on it.
Friends has been in the news a lot recently, what with the reunion and the news that Matt LeBlanc is going to host Top Gear, so we decided to pick our seven favourite episodes of all time.
7) The One Where Eddie Won’t Go
A dark horse to start the list, but Adam Goldberg brings a manic brilliance to the character of Eddie, who moves into the apartment when Joey decides to try living on his own for a while.
Turning down a game of foosball because “I’m not really that into sports” was a bad sign, and things only got worse as Eddie began to make Glenn Close’s character in Fatal Attraction look like a nun with a mild headache.
Eventually, Chandler managed to get rid of the fruit dehydrating psycho by pretending he’d never lived there in the first place, and promptly moved Joey back in.
6) The One With The Prom Video
“I can’t believe you did that.” Monica sums it up after Ross finally bags Rachel when he shows her the lengths he would have gone to as a teenager to save her prom.
Like much of Friends, they’re going straight for tear ducts and it’s not exactly the most subtle of scenes, but it’s one of the show’s best. He’s her lobster.
5) The One Where Everybody Finds OutÂ
Joey’s finest hour, or one of them anyway, as he grows more and more confused around Chandler and Phoebe’s game of chicken. All of the Friends (bar Ross) now know that Chandler and Monica have been doing the sex, but THEY don’t know that WE know that THEY know that WE know.
We believe this is the exact moment that Joey’s head explodes.
Definitely one of the best episodes in the show’s history.
4) The One With The Zesty GuyÂ
Before he played the Machiavellian genius that was Jack Donaghy in 30 Rock, Alec Baldwin had a brilliant single-episode arc as the world’s most positive man and (briefly) Phoebe’s boyfriend, Parker.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xFrBfeKJoo
Eight words: “My God, what a fantastically well lit hallway.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_INzlg-fQlI
3) The One With The Cheesecakes
Seen as a whole, this isn’t an episode that would jump out at you as a classic, but it does feature Hank Azaria’s David – back from Minsk to win back Phoebe’s affections – and Chandler and Rachel doing battle over a neighbour’s cheesecake.
A good episode is made into an instant classic the moment Joey removes the fork from his jacket.
2) The One With Chandler In A Box
The whole Chandler-Kathy-Joey love triangle dominated the fourth series, and this Thanksgiving episode saw a repentant Chandler – having told Joey that he kissed Kathy while she and Joey were still a couple – ask Joey how he could make it up to him.
So Joey put him in a box in the middle of the living room.
No episode better illustrates that Chandler and Joey are every bit as important to the show, as a ‘couple,’Â as Ross and Rachel.
1) The One Where No One’s Ready
The best episode, hands down, and it barely even needs to move out of the apartment.
One room, in real time, with only three speaking roles besides the central cast, this 50th episode of the show would never be bettered.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66DhJxZuCJk
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
