Seventeen years ago today, Monica, Ross, Chandler, Joey, Rachel and Phoebe entered our lives and changed it forever.
It was the beginning of my senior year in high school, and F•R•I•E•N•D•S (I'll only write it out with the dots this once. Promise) premiered, captivating us for
a decade, inspiring hairstyles (Admit it. You totally had The Rachel at some point!) and bucket list items (I can't be the only one who has wanted to romp in that fountain!), resurrected the popularity of the name Emma, and I'm pretty sure they're responsible for the whole “furniture placed in random locations as photo prop” phenomenon.
Since it's been in syndication, I've seen most episodes a dozen times or more, but there is still the occasional one where I don't remember it or never saw it, and it's like finding one last caramel in the box of chocolates when you thought all that was left was nougat. (Blech)
FRIENDS is exactly half my age. I was 17 when it started, I'm 34 now. (Cue sentimental music) If it was a person, it would be graduating high school this year. Looking back now, watching them each turn 30, I can't believe I'm now older than they ever were… like Will & Grace, they'll always be “grown-ups” in my mind, even as I out-age and out-wrinkle their video-preserved selves.
I still use FRIENDS terminology on a daily basis…
- How YOU doin'?
- Could I BE any ________?
- You don't go commando in another man's pants (OK, I don't really use this one daily”
- I'm “sorry” with Joey's misplaced air quotes
- Smelly cat
- You're my lobster
- I'm just the oven, totally their bun
- We were on a break!
Now watch this and I DARE you not to clap on cue! *clapclapclapclap
So tell me… what are YOUR favorite FRIENDS moments?
I LOVED FRIENDS! I still get all excited when I catch re-runs on TBS or whatever. I still smile when I think of the Ross/Rachel kiss right inside the door of the coffeehouse. And how excited I was when Chandler and Monica got together. 🙂
Oh my goodness. Firstly, I feel really old, because I was already married and a mom when it debuted.
Secondly, I agree, I quote so many of the lines all the time.
I use Phoebe's "This is brand new information!" and Monica's "I KNOW!" all the time.
Love it! And so appreciate episodes that weren't my favs back when, but are now…like Rachel in labor with Janice. But, I'll always love the Joey & Chandler, from Joey locking himself in the entertainment center to their 'All By Myself' moment (I'm gonna be singing that for-eh-vah now!!), to the Duck & the Chick, to the foosball, to Cups, to the recliners…the whole bromance! Actually….I love them all & still watch reruns. Yay for reruns! :>
Love that show. Definitely my all time fave. I've seen every episode now because we own the whole set. I used to turn it on and just watch a whole season. (Uh, that was before kid.) I'm like you – I think of them all as older and find it so odd to watch the early episodes.
It started when I was in university and I still remember everyone getting together in our common room to watch.
No matter how old this show gets it'll always be timeless. I started watching it kind of late, in its last two seasons when I was a senior in high school. But I'd also seen reruns here and there, and I'd always loved it, so a few years ago my husband and I decided to buy the DVDs and watch all the seasons in order. It's just one of those perfect shows. We were actually talking about watching it in order all over again just the other night.
oooh how I love that show, YES I totally had the Rachel..are you kidding me?? it was the haircut and even if she doesn't think so, I still think she looks amazing with that cut. 😉
my favorite line of all: when Rachel gets drunk (in her Rachel haircut) and tells Ross she is OVER him.
He listens to his messages…and looks at her:
"You're Over me? Over me? when were you under me?"
CLASSIC.
oh and I really always loved "You wanna get with this?" (Monica is very very ill) and Chandler answers "you shouldn't say that when you're well"
God I love that show! thanks for those memories. 🙂
I loved Friends. LOVED it. Used to own all of the seasons (then moved out of my parents house and they insisted on keeping them). I still think the best episode is the one where Joey wears all of Chandler's clothes and Ross almost drinks the fat.
Friends is absolutely my favorite! My favorites include The One with the Embryos (pretty sure that's the title). It's the one when Monica & Rachel play Joey & Chandler for the apartment. "It's Ms Chalondler Bong", 11 categories of guest towels, "He's a transpondster" etc. Also can't go wrong with the 2-part beach episode–the one that ends with the "We were on a break" fight. I could go on and on… Wrote a blog about friends getting engaged last week, and of course I had to conclude it with the clip of Monica & Chandler's proposal–still brings tears to my eyes. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
Loved friends. I can’t tell you how many times I life imitated art! For instance I have twice found myself moving a sofa down a flight of stairs repeatedly calling out “pivot, pivot, PIV-OT!”
Every Thanksgiving I say I need to get out my “Thanksgiving pants”. And I laugh SO hard every time I think of the scene when Rachel & Chandler were fighting over some pie in the hallway and they dropped it on the floor and started eating it anyway. Joey walks up to them, pulls a fork out of his pocket and says “what are we having?”
I still miss that show SO much!!!
I relate things to Friends all the time. “It’s like that time on Friends when…” I own all the seasons on DVD and some of the discs are wearing out, that is how much I watch them. I don’t think I could pick a favourite episode but definitely can pick a favourite scene. The one where Joey is teaching Ross to talk “dirty” and Chandler walks in unnoticed, “Aaannnd?”