Looking for one of the best Friends episodes forward of a rewatch? You’ve picked a very good time. This weekend marks the thirtieth anniversary for the 90s sitcom, with the pilot episode ‘The First One’ airing on September 22, 1994.
To mark the event, we have up to date this information to one of the best Friends episodes with 10 extra entries to complete 30 for its thirtieth anniversary. Wondering the place you possibly can stream them? It’s top-of-the-line Max reveals within the US, alongside Friends: The Reunion, an unscripted one-off reunion occasion that reunited the Central Perk gang for the primary time since they closed the door to Monica’s condo in 2004. For these within the UK and Australia, you possibly can catch it on Netflix (Aussies can even discover it on Stan).
All 10 seasons are value revisiting, definitely, which is a testomony to its consistency, however making an attempt to binge all 236 episodes this weekend is… formidable. Below, then, we have picked out our 30 finest episodes of Friends, so you possibly can follow the highlights in the event you fancy a brisk rewatch to see Monica, Rachel, Phoebe, Ross, Chandler and Joey.
30. The one with the morning after (season 3, episode 16)
Proof that the present handles drama in addition to comedy and particularly with a relationship that earned such emotional funding from followers. After their choice to “take a break” Ross sleeps with the lady from the copy place and Rachel finds out. It’s a easy dilemma that manages to sneak comedy in because the remaining 4 are trapped in Monica’s bed room with Joey consuming wax to stave off starvation. The meat of the episode lies with the deftly performed two-hander by Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer out in the lounge. It’s a testomony to their chops that by the episode’s finish you will be getting ready to tears. “This cannot be it,” Ross cries, decided to avoid wasting their relationship, to which Rachel plainly replies “Then how come it’s?”
29. The one with the routine (season 6, episode 10)
When the present seems again at Ross and Monica’s youthful years it will possibly spotlight their completely different upbringings (see ‘The One Where Ross Got High’) so it’s enjoyable to see their shared pleasure over a lifelong dream. This ep captures the pair lastly set to seem on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve after Joey’s roommate Janine (Elle McPherson) scores them tickets. It’s a stable bit that lets Schwimmer and Cox go all-out on the bodily comedy. Their makes an attempt to get on TV – ahhh, the great outdated days – discover them ramping as much as do ‘The Routine. This supposed dance quantity from their youth teased all through the episode seems to be fairly the efficiency.
28. The one with the cop (season 5, episode 16)
Another piece of popular culture historical past shielded by a title that no-one ever makes use of – yep, this needs to be referred to as ‘The One When Ross Pivots’. The primary storyline follows Phoebe’s dalliances along with her new boyfriend, a cop performed by Michael Rapaport, who she meets after scrounging his badge from the cushions at Central Perk. As is oft the case, whereas that plotting works to broaden Phoebe’s repertoire of bizarre romantic encounters it’s actually the subplot about Ross’ new furnishings that cements it as a traditional episode. After he refuses to pay for his new sofa to be delivered, he enlists Chandler and Rachel to assist carry it up his slim staircase with the instruction to “pivot!” just for it to get caught and finally sawn in half.
27. The one with all of the poker (season 1, episode 18)
Difficult as it might be to reconcile the truth that Monica and Rachel stay in that condo, the present addresses the monetary disparity throughout the group on a number of events. This underrated early episode finds the gang break up down gender traces as the ladies insist on becoming a member of the boys’ poker recreation and lose. They enlist Monica’s aunt Iris to high school them which ends up in a hysterical smash reduce to later that evening when it is revealed she taught them Cross-Eyed Mary. Tension between Ross and Rachel finish on a form word after Rachel would not get a job callback and Ross opts to let her win her hand. Jennifer Aniston cites this as one in all her favorite episodes.
26. The one with the proposal (season 6, episodes 22 and 23)
Ask anybody about the relationship in Friends and it is sometimes Ross and Rachel who snag all of the oxygen. But actually? The longest, most secure pairing within the present is Monica and Chandler and this hour-long story highlights how far they’ve come for the reason that begin of the sequence. Naturally, it would not begin that method when Monica’s ex Richard (Tom Selleck) interrupts a romantic dinner in the mean time Chandler is poised to suggest. Chandler’s want to shock Monica causes him to – in typical Bing style – completely bungle issues by behaving like he would not want to commit in any respect. Both of them realise what they really need, resulting in one of many present’s most heartfelt moments as Monica proposes to Chandler in her candle-lit condo.
25. The one the place Eddie gained’t go (season 2, episode 19)
Joey’s success on Days of Our Lives lures him to greener pastures, leaving Chandler in a predicament together with his new roommate Eddie. He’s bonkers and he will not depart. After watching Chandler sleep all evening the pair hash it out and Eddie agrees it is best if he departs. The subsequent day he acts as if nothing’s occurred and his antics proceed to develop ever extra unhinged– he steals a model’s head and begins dehydrating meals. It’s completely bananas and made all of the funnier by the sparring between Matthew Perry and Adam Goldberg, whose chemistry works superbly. On the ladies’ aspect, we be taught all about ‘stealing wind’ which turns into funnier every time they are saying it.
24. The one with all of the thanksgivings (season 5, episode 8)
You can not go flawed with a Friends vacation episode. This one discards the spirit of Thanksgiving because the gang recount their worst. Chandler’s mother and father announce their divorce, Joey will get a turkey wedged on his head, and a throwback to the Geller’s in fact means Ross and Chandler’s unflattering 80s hair and style selections, plus a revelation as we be taught Monica loses weight after overhearing Chandler name her fats. Not essentially the most progressive storyline but we’re handled to Chandler shedding a toe in consequence. Is it an ideal counterbalance? No, but it surely a minimum of tries to make amends. The ending provides a young second between the pair as Chandler tells Monica he loves her. Biggest guffaws of the episode go to Phoebe who recounts her previous life as a subject hospital medic.
23. The one with Monica’s thunder (season 7, episode 1)
The season seven opener takes place technically the identical evening because the season six finale and follows Monica’s beyond-excited behaviour following her engagement. Like ‘The One Where No-One’s Ready’, this episode hooks in all primary forged members and sticks near house with the motion unraveling on the condo. This is a traditional Monica episode as she struggles to share the highlight with Ross and Rachel who lock lips once they start to really feel the strain to calm down. Monica’s line supply as she opens the door onto their tryst, “I’m sorry, apparently I’ve opened the door to the previous!” proof of Cox’s chic comedic timing.
22. The one with two components (season 1, episodes 16 and 17)
Crossover episodes aren’t unusual however again throughout season one it felt like an occasion. The blackout earlier within the season rippled by means of two different reveals on NBC’s slate, and this season nearer repeats that riff. In the primary episode, we meet Phoebe’s sister Ursula who originated on the present Mad About You, which featured Kudrow because the no-nonsense waitress. Even extra enjoyable is watching Helen Hunt and Leila Kenzie drop into Central Perk and mistake Phoebe for her sister. And, they are not the one huge names to make an look. Monica and Rachel wind up on the hospital and enter an ongoing insurance coverage bit with a nurse, earlier than bumping into George Clooney and Noah Wyle on the peak of their time on E.R.
21. The one with the race automobile mattress (season 3, episode 7)
A private favorite of this author lands early in season three when the sequence is at its energetic peak – the entire six leads are on the high of their recreation. And that results in a chic mash of bodily comedy. Thanks to Phoebe and Joey’s tomfoolery, they by accident settle for a race mattress supply for Monica, who karmically will get hers after she bought it from Janice’s ex. “This will not be the mattress I ordered,” she says, aghast on the vivid crimson plastic automobile, to which Phoebe responds “I do know, you need to have gained a contest or one thing!” It’s a novelty that is simply the appropriate aspect of foolish to counter the growing tensions in Ross and Rachel’s fledgling relationship.
20. The One With Ross’ Tan (season 10, episode 3)
This episode provides a traditional instance of Ross’ tutorial thoughts getting in the best way of a easy activity. After noticing Monica’s bronzed complexion, Ross decides to additionally pay a go to to the spray-on tan place. Typical of Ross, he botches it and spends the episode getting more and more extra tanned till he seems downright ridiculous. Even in its last season, the present commits to slapstick silliness right here brilliantly with Schwimmer appearing the clown. Guest star Jennifer Coolidge additionally crushes it as Phoebe and Monica’s outdated pal. Points to the present, too, for wrapping up the late-in-the-day Rachel and Joey romance on a young word.
19. The One With Unagi (season 6, episode 17)
Phoebe and Rachel take a self-defense class, which Ross scoffs at. He believes their expertise to be no match for his personal ‘ka-ra-tay’ and supposed mastery of the traditional idea of Unagi, a “a complete state of consciousness” which really means eel. That doesn’t cease Ross from making an attempt to show he’s an final badass, however the women get their very own again on him in a hysterical soar scare. Rachel’s line supply of “Ah, salmon pores and skin roll” is the episode’s spotlight.
18. The One With All The Cheesecakes (season 7, episode 11)
It’s a disgrace we didn’t get extra Rachel and Chandler episodes, since Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry performed off of one another so properly. In this one, the pair unite over a cheesecake Chandler finds within the hallway that’s one of the best both of them has ever tasted. Alas, it finally ends up on the ground, with the 2 selecting at it with forks in a traditional Friends second. Meanwhile, Phoebe and Joey’s aspect story – involving the return of Phoebe’s former lover David (Hank Azaria) – reveals a young and type second between the 2 that the sometimes ‘foolish’ duo of the present seldom have.
17. The One Where Ross Finds Out (season 2, episode 7)
A must-see episode within the Ross and Rachel journey. Having lastly given up on Ross now that he’s courting Julie, Rachel will get winedrunk on a date who evokes her to hunt closure. She leaves Ross a drunken voicemail confessing that she’s now “over him.” In one of many present’s good setups, he performs again the message with a hungover Rachel close by. The episode ends with the pair kissing within the rain exterior of Central Perk. It’s an iconic picture that’s cemented within the Friends canon as a pivotal second of their relationship – and certainly, it comes up within the reunion particular.
16. The One With All The Resolutions (season 5, episode 11)
The gang makes New Year’s resolutions, good fodder for some really nice gags that tie collectively a number of story strands whereas by no means scrimping on comedy. That stated, this actually needs to be referred to as ‘The One With Ross’ Leather Pants’, because it’s his storyline that everybody remembers (that second comes up within the reunion particular, too). Vowing to strive one thing new daily he dons his new leather-based pants on a primary date, however will get too scorching so escapes to the lavatory to chill off. With his leather-based pants round his ankles, legs spackled in lotion and powder paste… Ross creates a glance.
15. The One With The Jellyfish (season 4, episode 1)
This huge episode wraps up the season 3 finale cliffhanger – will Ross find yourself with Rachel or Bonnie? As it seems, neither. Ross falls asleep studying an 18-page letter from Rachel (“Front and again!”) and mistakenly agrees to take accountability for all their earlier issues, birthing the enduring “We had been on a break!” line. Elsewhere, unconventional seeds of Monica and Chandler’s relationship are planted by means of him peeing on her jellyfish sting. The largest coronary heart second right here is when Phoebe meets her delivery mother, in a twist nobody noticed coming.
14. The One With The Rumor (season 8, episode 9)
This episode is finest generally known as ‘The Thanksgiving One With Brad Pitt’. Jennifer Aniston’s then-husband seems as Ross and Monica’s good friend Will, who Rachel bullied all all through highschool. It’s revealed that Will co-created the ‘I Hate Rachel Green’ membership, and is dismayed to be taught that its co-founder, Ross, is the daddy of Rachel’s youngster. Pitt’s flip is nice because the seething, resentful Will. And, whereas the rumor the membership spreads about Rachel is in poor style, Joey’s insistence on consuming a whole turkey provides that acquainted Friends vacation feeling.
13. The One After the Superbowl (season 2, episodes 12 and 13)
Season 2 welcomed a slew of visitor stars and crammed most of them into this star-studded and memorable two-parter. The wraparound story entails the fictional Outbreak 2 capturing on the streets of Manhattan, the place Ross tries to reconnect together with his monkey, Marcel. Meanwhile, Monica and Rachel chat up Jean Claude Van Damme, who tries to ensconce Monica right into a threesome with Drew Barrymore. Elsewhere, Phoebe dates Chris Isaak briefly, Joey will get stalked by a fan performed by Brooke Shields, and Chandler encounters Susie, performed by Julia Roberts, who agrees up to now him regardless of their tough playground historical past.
12. The One With Chandler within the Box (season 4, episode 8)
Chandler kisses Joey’s girlfriend, Cathy, and as “punishment” he spends Thanksgiving in a field. That’s Joey logic for you. Joey adjustments his thoughts on the final second as Chandler waves goodbye to Cathy (with one finger by means of a gap), realizing how a lot the 2 take care of each other. Meanwhile, Monica invitations Richard’s son to dinner and issues get bizarre, main her to dispense this traditional comeback: “Fine, high-quality, choose all you need. But – married a lesbian, left a person on the altar, fell in love with a homosexual ice dancer, threw a woman’s wood leg in a fireplace, stay in a field!” Vintage Friends.
11. The One With The Fertility Test (season 9, episode 21)
Monica and Chandler’s infertility made for a really nice storyline that arced over a number of seasons. Friends bungled delicate subjects ceaselessly over its ten years, however the Bings’ household planning was dealt with deftly, beginning with this episode. The pair share a last second closing out the episode that’s one of many gentlest, most compassionate of the sequence. Speaking of, Ross’ compassion makes a uncommon look when he helps Joey plan the right date for Charlie. A candy episode.
10. The One with the Flashback (season 3, episode 6)
Friends dabbled with flashbacks aplenty over time. We catch a glimpse within the season 2 promenade video, however that is the primary devoted episode, prompted when Janice asks the gang if any of them have ever nearly slept collectively. What outcomes is a historic tapestry of moments with the six. Back when Central Perk was a bar, Ross and Phoebe made out on the pool desk, Chandler and Rachel nearly did the identical, and Monica and Joey… had a misunderstanding about inviting somebody in for lemonade.
9. The One Where Everybody Finds Out (season 5, episode 14)
Everyone apart from Ross learns that Monica and Chandler are collectively, but nobody will admit out loud to the opposite that they know, prompting one of many present’s silliest competitions of attractive hen. Phoebe pretends to hit on Chandler, he pretends to love it, leading to an ungainly showdown the place they’re every making an attempt to outlast the opposite. What’s good is Chandler’s breaking level, when he cries out that he can’t do it as a result of he loves Monica.
8. The One With Joey’s New Brain (season 7, episode 15)
Joey learns the way to play a bitchy mother when his Days of our Lives character Dr. Drake Ramoray emerges from his coma, following a mind transplant. Snagging Susan Sarandon to play his cleaning soap co-star nonetheless doesn’t high one of the best a part of this episode. The b-plot has Ross studying the way to play “Celebration” on the bagpipes as a shock for Monica and Chandler’s marriage ceremony. He reveals the gang his progress, and asks all of them to affix in and sing alongside, prompting one of many sequence’ funniest moments as Phoebe screeches to mimic the bagpipes. Lisa Kudrow is laugh-out-loud hysterical on this sequence.
7. The One With the East German Laundry Detergent (season 1, episode 5)
‘The One Where Ross Finds Out’ is taken into account to be the place Ross and Rachel first kiss, however technically? It’s this one. Rachel vegetation one on the flustered paleontologist after her first-time success on the laundromat. Elsewhere, Chandler struggles breaking apart with Janice after guzzling numerous espressos then by accident swatting her within the face. In traditional Friends style, Joey convinces Monica to double-date together with his ex and her new man, however tells Monica they’re siblings.
6. The One With the Prom Video (season 2, episode 14)
The gang collect to observe Monica and Rachel’s promenade evening video, shakily lensed by Jack Geller, the place we be taught Ross was going to take Rachel to the promenade when her date failed to indicate. The backwards and forwards between Ross and Rachel feels dizzying within the first half of season 2. It lastly reaches its apex when, regardless of having shunned him when he made a execs and cons checklist, Rachel adjustments her thoughts about Ross instantly upon seeing the tape. She walks slowly to him, and so they kiss. Aw.
Of all of the Thanksgiving episodes Friends gave us over time, this one spends essentially the most time exterior of Monica’s kitchen – though her trusty timer makes a repeated look. Inspired by the soccer on TV, the gang ventures to the park for a pleasant recreation which swiftly grows aggressive. Ross and Monica’s childhood rivalry emerges once they introduce the gang to the coveted Geller Cup, a vile troll-looking memento. The recreation options glorious performs, together with Phoebe’s circle round Ross and Rachel flapping the ball away from her. Although Monica wins along with her merciless motivational barb: “Come on you hairy-backed Marys!”
4. The One Where Ross Got High (Season 6, Episode 9)
Arguably one of the best Friends Thanksgiving episode which, like Rachel’s catastrophic beef trifle, is full of layers. The early phases of Monica and Chandler’s romance is milked to most impact, right here, as Chandler tries to win over the Gellers however by accident tells them that Ross acquired excessive as a teen and pinned it on him. The “meet the mother and father” schtick takes a backseat as soon as Ross and Monica’s sibling bickering kicks into gear. A slew of revelations come forth as they out-tattle one another. Christine Pickles’ Judy Geller steals the present within the genuinely laugh-out-loud climax the place Rachel additionally learns that she wasn’t supposed to place mince within the dessert.
3. The One Where No-One’s Ready (season 3, episode 2)
A bottle episode to rival all of them. ‘The One Where No-One’s Ready’ unravels at Monica’s condo on the evening of an necessary work engagement for Ross. His worries over being late sends the evening right into a shambles. Chandler and Joey have interaction in a tussle over a chair, which spirals right into a struggle over garments, ending in Joey lunging in Chandler’s total wardrobe. Monica breezes in and embarks on a voicemail recreation along with her ex Richard’s answering machine, whereas Phoebe’s costume will get hummus stained, Rachel takes umbrage with Ross’ snippy tone… and briefly? Everything falls aside, Ross will get irritated and it’s hilarious.
2. The One With the Blackout (season 1, episode 7)
A season 1 traditional. This action-light episode showcases the sequence’ present for sharp, relatable humor as town falls below a blackout. Ross, Rachel, Monica, Joey, and Phoebe hang around on the condo, the place we first be taught of Phoebe’s ability for on-the-fly songwriting (“New York City has no energy, and the milk goes bitter, however to me that isn’t scary, ‘trigger I keep away from dairy”) and Ross’ emotions for Rachel. But it’s all about Chandler, who spends the entire episode caught in an ATM vestibule with Victoria’s Secret mannequin, Jill Goodacre. A phase so good it gave us the unforgettable line: “Gum can be perfection.”
1. The One With The Embryos (season 4, episode 12)
This needs to be referred to as ‘The One With The Housemate Trivia’. The finest episode of the sequence begins, like all the opposite greats, with an harmless wager between Monica and Rachel and Joey and Chandler, and escalates right into a trivia recreation designed by Ross. It’s right here we be taught of Joey’s imaginary childhood good friend Maurice, of Miss Chanadler Bong, and that nobody actually is aware of what Chandler’s job is. That final one loses the ladies their condo, prompting a lot bickering. But Phoebe’s excellent news on the finish of the episode cuts by means of any bitterness, as she publicizes she’s pregnant. It’s nonetheless a real traditional, all these years later.
