180 Fun Facts About Friends Tv

What is Chandler's middle name?

Muriel slips out by accident in season 8, in front of friends who waste no time making fun of him.

What is the name of Phoebe Buffay's most famous song?

Smelly Cat ended up as a cat litter jingle: Phoebe refused to sell it, but her former singing partner pitched it to an ad agency anyway, then chose the ad over their act.

Which main Friends character works as a paleontologist?

Ross is a paleontologist who starts out at a museum, where a furious outburst at his boss in season 5 gets him sent on enforced leave.

What is the name of Joey Tribbiani's acting agent?

Estelle Leonard spots Joey in a dreadful stage musical and promptly lands him a film job as Al Pacino's butt double, which he loses by overacting.

In Friends, which animal did Ross keep as a pet, named Marcel, during season one?

A monkey: Marcel is a capuchin whom Ross has to give up to a zoo once he reaches sexual maturity and starts humping everything in sight.

What is the name of the coffee shop where the friends often hang out?

Central Perk had a real barista behind its counter: an extra was put there because he knew how to work an espresso machine, and the part grew from that.

What is the drawn-out catchphrase of Janice, Chandler's nasal on-again, off-again girlfriend?

"Oh. My. God." announces Janice each time she turns up unexpectedly, as when she walks into the coffeehouse and spots Chandler at the end of season 2.

Which Friends character is known for the sarcastic catchphrase 'Could I BE any more...'?

Chandler only learns he does it in season 1, when Phoebe temps as his secretary and tells him his staff mimic him with 'Could that report BE any later?'

What was Rachel Green's first job after leaving Barry at the altar?

Waitress at the coffeehouse: in season 3, told she must be retrained after two and a half years in the job, Rachel quits to chase a career in fashion.

Which couple marry in London in a ceremony that goes badly wrong?

Ross and Emily marry in London in the season 4 finale, where Ross says 'I take thee, Rachel' and the stunned registrar asks Emily whether he should go on.

Chandler's father stars in a Las Vegas drag show under what stage name?

Charles Bing performs as Helena Handbasket in the Las Vegas revue 'Viva Las Gay-gas'; Kathleen Turner played the role when Monica drags Chandler there to invite his father to their wedding.

What are the names of Ross and Monica's parents?

Jack and Judy Geller, played by Elliott Gould and Christina Pickles, are Ross and Monica's parents; Judy's constant criticism of Monica is a running gag.

Which Friends character has an identical twin sister named Ursula?

Phoebe's twin Ursula came first: Lisa Kudrow was already playing her on the sitcom Mad About You, and Friends wrote the character in as Phoebe's sister.

Which Friends barista quietly pines for Rachel from season 3 until the finale?

Gunther never says a word about his crush until the last episode, when he finally tells Rachel how he feels and she lets him down gently.

Which two characters famously had a pet duck and a chick?

Joey and Chandler adopt the chick and the duck in season 3; in the finale Joey gives Monica and Chandler a Chick Jr. and Duck Jr. as a housewarming gift for their new suburban house.

What instrument does Phoebe play when performing her songs at the coffeehouse?

Guitar is also what Joey asks her to teach him in season 5, but Phoebe's lessons, given without letting him hold one, end badly.

What is the name of Rachel Green's first child?

Emma was the girl's name Monica had picked out at fourteen for her own future daughter; she gives it up so that Rachel's baby can have it.

Ross's 'We were on a break!' defence refers to his night with which woman?

Chloe, who works at the copy shop, is the woman Ross sleeps with hours after Rachel suggests a break, and the row over whether it counted runs to the end of the series.

In Friends season 8, a co-worker named Bob turns out to have always called Chandler by what name?

Toby is what Bob has always called him, and Chandler never corrects it; after Chandler blocks his promotion, Bob complains about Chandler to 'Toby' himself.

What is the occupation of Monica's long-term boyfriend, Richard Burke?

Richard Burke, played by Tom Selleck, is an ophthalmologist and a friend of Monica's father; Monica meets him again while catering a party at his home.

Which actor plays Joey Tribbiani?

Matt LeBlanc was the only cast member to carry his character into a spin-off, Joey, which NBC cancelled in 2006 after two seasons of falling ratings.

Rachel becomes an assistant buyer at which department store in season 3?

Rachel lands an assistant buyer job at Bloomingdale's after a menial stint at Fortunata Fashions; she later works there as a personal shopper, where she meets Joshua.

What does 'unagi', the word Ross lectures Rachel and Phoebe about, actually mean in Japanese?

Unagi is Japanese for freshwater eel, not the state of total awareness Ross claims; Rachel and Phoebe, fresh from a self-defence class, ambush him to prove their point.

Who officiates Phoebe and Mike's wedding after a blizzard forces it out into the street?

Joey officiates, having been ordained over the internet to marry Monica and Chandler; Chandler walks Phoebe down the aisle and Mike's dog Chappy fills a slot in the wedding party.

In Friends, which two characters get drunk in Las Vegas and accidentally marry each other?

Ross and Rachel wake up married; Ross then secretly refuses to annul it, unable to face another divorce, until Rachel finds out.

What vehicle of Phoebe's does Joey borrow to drive to a film shoot out west?

Joey borrows Phoebe's yellow taxicab, once her grandmother's, to drive to Las Vegas for the film Shutter Speed; he kicks Chandler out on the George Washington Bridge after Chandler doubts the movie is his big break.

Chandler's mother, Nora Bing, is famous in the show for writing what?

Erotic novels made Nora Bing a celebrity, to Chandler's lasting embarrassment; on a season 1 visit she ends up kissing a drunk Ross at a restaurant.

What is Rachel's middle name?

Karen is the middle name of Rachel Karen Green, whose first-season haircut, 'The Rachel', the actress who wore it later called the ugliest haircut she had ever seen.

In the girls-versus-boys poker episode, who calls in her Aunt Iris to coach the women?

Monica turns to her Aunt Iris, an expert player, after the women lose badly to the men; in the last hand Ross gives in to Rachel's full house without showing his cards, apparently to let her win.

What is Gladys, which Phoebe reluctantly gives away when Mike moves in?

A creepy artwork: Gladys is a 3D picture of a woman bursting out of the frame; Monica and Rachel fight over who gets stuck with it, so Phoebe makes an even more disturbing one, Glynnis.

Monica's millionaire boyfriend Pete Becker sets out to become a champion in which sport?

Ultimate fighting consumes Pete Becker, played by Jon Favreau: he is beaten badly in every bout, and Monica ends things when he refuses to quit.

Which film star plays Will Colbert, co-founder of the 'I Hate Rachel Green Club', in season 8?

Brad Pitt, then married to one of the show's stars, plays Will, who founded the club at high school with Ross; the cameo earned him an Emmy nomination.

Which rule of Joey's does his date Sarah break, getting herself dumped?

He doesn't share food, as Sarah learns: she helps herself to his fries and he refuses to see her again; on a second try he orders extra fries, only for her to go after his seafood platter.

The Geller Cup, the trophy in Ross and Monica's Thanksgiving football rivalry, is made of what?

A troll doll on a plank is the whole trophy; after Monica broke Ross's nose in Geller Bowl VI their father threw it in a lake, but she secretly fished it out.

What is the title of the low-budget stage musical Joey stars in during season 1?

Freud! is dreadful, his friends agree, but it pays off: a talent agency leaves Joey its card, and his new agent soon gets him a film job as a butt double.

What is the nonsensical game show Joey auditions to host in season 8?

Bamboozled! is so convoluted that Ross and Chandler, playing contestants to help Joey rehearse, get hooked on it; by the audition the producers have stripped the rules out.

Which action star plays Paul Stevens, father of Ross's student girlfriend Elizabeth?

Bruce Willis won a guest-actor Emmy as Paul, who looks down on Ross for dating his daughter and then starts dating Rachel himself.

Monica becomes head chef at which restaurant after trashing it in a review?

Alessandro's kitchen staff resent their new boss, so Monica hires Joey as a waiter purely to fire him in front of them and win some respect.

In Friends, which actor plays Mike Hannigan, the pianist Phoebe Buffay eventually marries?

Paul Rudd's Mike is a total stranger: at the last minute Joey grabs a man named Mike at the coffeehouse and passes him off as an old friend for Phoebe's blind date.

How does Joey use Chandler's wardrobe to get even during their fight over a chair?

Wears all of it at once: Chandler had hidden Joey's underwear, so Joey does 'the opposite' and walks in wearing everything Chandler owns.

In Friends, in whose apartment do Chandler and Joey find a videotape labelled with Monica's name?

Richard's apartment is for sale, and Joey views it as an investment; when the tape is finally watched, Monica points out that the woman on it is not her.

Which rock musician plays Stephanie Schiffer, the singer who briefly replaces Phoebe at the coffeehouse?

Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders plays a professional hired when the coffeehouse wants a paid singer, and she ends up being taught one of Phoebe's own songs.

Which animals does Chandler admit to hating in season 7, to Monica's dismay?

Chandler confesses in 'The One Where Chandler Doesn't Like Dogs' that he hates dogs, after Phoebe has smuggled one into the apartment, which his fiancee Monica finds hard to accept.

When Joey's Las Vegas film shoot shuts down in Friends, which casino gives him a job?

Joey works as a costumed gladiator at Caesars Palace after his film shuts down; it is where the gang finds him and where he spots his 'identical hand twin' dealing blackjack.

How does Chandler stop Janice from buying the house next door to his new home?

He pretends he still loves her: faced with living next door to that, Janice decides it would wreck both their marriages and drops the house.

How does Ross win the lease on Ugly Naked Guy's apartment across the street?

Cavorting with him in the nude wins Ross the sublet after rival applicants out-bribe him with gifts like a pinball machine and a mountain bike.

Ross is forced to take time off work after screaming at his boss for doing what?

Eating his sandwich: Ross screams so loudly that pigeons scatter outside, and he is sent to a psychiatrist about his rage and made to take time off.

Which Friends star won a lead-acting Emmy in 2002, the year the show took its only Outstanding Comedy Series award?

Jennifer Aniston won in the first year the six entered themselves as leads; until then they had all submitted as supporting actors to keep the ensemble equal.

In 'The One Where No One's Ready', what does Phoebe use to cover the hummus stain on her dress?

A Christmas ribbon from Rachel's room does the job; when Chandler asks what cause she is supporting, Phoebe answers, 'Duh. Christmas.'

In the Friends finale, Ross and Phoebe race to JFK only to learn Rachel is flying from which airport?

Newark is where Rachel's flight leaves from: at JFK, Ross checks the flight number with Monica by phone and learns they are at the wrong airport, so Phoebe calls Rachel to stall the plane.

In the Friends finale, where do the new chick and duck get trapped?

Inside the foosball table: its owners cannot bring themselves to smash it open, so Monica gleefully does it for them.

The Friends finale drew the biggest US entertainment audience since the 1998 finale of which sitcom?

Seinfeld signed off to about 76 million viewers; the Friends finale's 52.5 million was the biggest since, yet not the show's own record, which a 1996 episode had set.

According to Phoebe, Rachel is bound to end up with Ross because she is his what?

Lobster: Phoebe claims lobsters fall in love and mate for life, walking around the tank holding claws; the line came from something the writer's husband once said.

The most-watched Friends episode ever was the lead-out for NBC's broadcast of which big game in 1996?

'The One After the Superbowl' aired after Super Bowl XXX on 28 January 1996 and drew 52.9 million viewers for Julia Roberts, Brooke Shields, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chris Isaak.

After the zoo claims Marcel has died, Ross finds him alive doing what?

Starring in a movie: a zoo janitor admits Marcel was taken and put into show business, and Ross tracks him down on a New York film set.

What does Ross bring to bribe Ugly Naked Guy into subletting him the apartment?

A basket of mini-muffins is Ross's bribe, and it looks feeble beside rival applicants' gifts, which include a pinball machine and a mountain bike.

Which Victoria's Secret model gets trapped in an ATM vestibule with Chandler during the blackout?

Jill Goodacre, playing herself, has to save Chandler with the Heimlich manoeuvre after he chokes on a piece of gum while trying to impress her.

Why did Lisa Kudrow film Phoebe's scenes for the London-set season 4 finale in Burbank?

She was heavily pregnant: Lisa Kudrow could not fly to London, so Phoebe, carrying triplets in the story, stays behind too, and Kudrow gave birth the day the episode aired.

Which Clash song plays over Chandler and Joey's sightseeing montage in Friends?

London Calling by the Clash plays as Joey films everything on his camcorder; when he buys a huge Union Flag hat, an embarrassed Chandler walks off without him.

Rachel's disastrous English trifle turns out to be half of what other dish?

Shepherd's pie got in because two cookbook pages were stuck together, giving the trifle a layer of beef sautéed with peas and onions; the others pretend to enjoy it to spare Rachel.

In the Thanksgiving football episode, Joey insists the Netherlands is the make-believe home of which character?

Peter Pan and Tinker Bell, Joey tells Margha, the woman he and Chandler are competing for; later in the game she picks Chandler, then changes her mind when he gloats.

Phoebe meets her policeman boyfriend Gary after finding what of his at the coffeehouse?

His badge: Phoebe enjoys playing cop with it until she flashes it at its real owner, Gary, who later asks her out to dinner.

Before it became Friends Like Us and then Six of One, what was the show's first working title?

Insomnia Cafe headed the short treatment pitched to NBC in December 1993; NBC later dropped Friends Like Us as too close to the title of an ABC sitcom.

Which performer appeared in more Friends episodes than anyone outside the six main stars?

James Michael Tyler began as an extra, placed behind the counter because his real experience in coffee shops meant he could work the espresso machine.

What is Joey Tribbiani's signature pickup line?

'How you doin'?' is the whole technique, as Joey explains in season 4: look a woman up and down and say it; Phoebe scoffs, then giggles when he tries it on her.

Rachel works for which fashion designer's company from season 5 onward?

Rachel joins Ralph Lauren in season 5 and climbs the ladder there until she is fired in season 10 after her boss catches her interviewing with Gucci.

On which real daytime soap does Joey land the role of Dr. Drake Ramoray?

Days of Our Lives writes Joey out after he tells a magazine he makes up his own lines: an angry writer drops Dr. Ramoray down an elevator shaft.

What colour is the door of Monica's apartment?

Purple: the door is also the last image of the series, as the camera pans across the emptied apartment and comes to rest on it.

What phrase does Ross repeatedly shout while trying to move a couch up the stairs?

Ross yells 'Pivot!' over and over on the stairwell; the sofa ends up sawn in half, and he gets four dollars of store credit for returning it.

Why do Monica and Richard split?

He wants no more children: Richard, 21 years older and a friend of her father's, has already raised a family, and Monica will not let him have a baby only to keep her.

What is the name of Joey's stuffed penguin?

Hugsy is Joey's 'bedtime penguin pal'; when Rachel's baby claims it, he buys her an identical one and keeps scheming to win his original back.

Which language does the bleached-haired coffeehouse manager unexpectedly speak fluently?

The manager speaks fluent Dutch, which he uses to call Ross an 'ezel' (donkey) to his face in 'The One with the Stain'; Ross fires back in phrasebook Dutch.

Which of the six Friends stars was the first to be cast?

David Schwimmer was cast first: the part was written with him in mind, yet he turned it down at first, soured on television by an earlier sitcom.

What is the name of Ross's first wife who leaves him for another woman?

Carol Willick leaves Ross for Susan Bunch, and the two women end up raising Ross's son Ben with him.

Which actress plays Monica Geller?

Courteney Cox was the best-known of the six when cast, and the producers wanted her as Rachel; she read the script and asked to play Monica instead.

Which Friends character does Joey fall in love with during season 8?

Joey realises he loves Rachel while she is pregnant and living with him; he confesses in 'The One Where Joey Tells Rachel', and the two briefly date in season 10.

Which Italian neighbour does Rachel date in season 1, to Ross's dismay?

Paolo, the Italian neighbour Rachel meets during the blackout, dates her until he gropes Phoebe during a massage; Ross, pining for Rachel, loathes him throughout.

Which downstairs neighbour keeps banging on his ceiling with a broom to complain about noise?

Mr. Heckles, the gang's grumpy downstairs neighbour, dies in season 2 and leaves Monica and Rachel everything in his apartment, including his 'Big Book of Grievances'.

Rachel nearly leaves New York and Ross for a job in which city as Friends ends?

Rachel accepts a job with Louis Vuitton in Paris; Ross races to the airport to stop her, and she gets off the plane in the finale's last minutes.

On which real game show does Joey appear as a celebrity guest in season 10?

Pyramid, with Donny Osmond hosting as himself: Joey fumbles round after round, nearly redeems himself at the end, then blows the final answer and loses the game.

What career does Chandler switch to after quitting his data-processing job?

Advertising copywriter is the job Chandler earns in season 9, after starting over as an unpaid intern far older than the others.

Which unqualified assistant does Rachel hire in season 7 purely for his looks?

Rachel hires Tag Jones over a better-qualified candidate because he is gorgeous; they date until her 30th birthday, when she decides he is too young for her.

How many times does Ross get divorced during Friends?

3 divorces: dreading the third, Ross secretly skipped an annulment he had promised to arrange, and had to get divorced anyway.

What is the Friends finale titled?

The Last One closed the series after 236 episodes; in its final moments the six head out for a last coffee and Chandler asks, 'Where?'

What do Monica and Rachel lose to Joey and Chandler in the roommate trivia game?

Monica and Rachel wager their apartment and lose on the final question, Chandler's job, which neither can name; they swap homes with the men until they take it back in 'The One with All the Haste'.

In the roommate trivia game, what name is on the TV Guide address label at Chandler and Joey's apartment?

The TV Guide is addressed to Chanandler Bong, and Chandler insists it is actually 'Miss Chanandler Bong'; the women lose the point in 'The One with the Embryos' by answering 'Chandler Bing'.

What do Monica and Chandler name their adopted twins?

Jack and Erica arrive in the finale as a surprise: Monica and Chandler expected one baby and learned it was twins only in the delivery room.

What is Monica's catchphrase?

'I know!' is Monica's high-pitched squeal of agreement; in 'The One with the Ride-Along' she and Rachel trade catchphrases, Monica wailing Rachel's long 'No!' and Rachel squealing hers back.

In Friends, Joey has seven of which relative?

Sisters: a drunk Chandler fools around with Mary Angela at Joey's birthday party, cannot pick her out afterwards, and takes a punch from her sister Cookie for it.

What was the name of Ross and Chandler's college band?

Way, No Way gets its joke in a college flashback: Ross tells a classmate the band's name, she gasps 'No way!', and he and Chandler answer 'Way!'

What does Mike rename himself to protest when Phoebe becomes Princess Consuela Bananahammock?

Crap Bag is Mike's way of showing Phoebe how silly her new name sounds, and it works: she settles on Phoebe Buffay-Hannigan.

After leaving the museum, where does Ross become a professor?

Ross becomes a professor of paleontology at New York University, earning tenure in season 10, and gets in trouble there for dating his student Elizabeth.

Which guest star played Elizabeth, Ross's much younger girlfriend who was also his student?

Alexandra Holden played Elizabeth Stevens across season 6; dating a student broke university policy, so Ross hid the relationship, which ended when he decided she was too young for him.

What was the name of the band that played the Friends theme song 'I'll Be There for You'?

The Rembrandts first cut only a short theme; after a Nashville radio station looped it into a full-length track, demand pushed them to write more verses and record a full song.

In the roommate trivia game, what does Monica sort into 11 categories?

Towels: the men rattle off 'everyday use, fancy, guest, fancy guest', then Joey blurts 'Eleven?' with two seconds left and wins the point.

How much did each of the six main cast members earn per episode in the final two seasons?

$1 million an episode each for seasons nine and ten; the ninth was expected to be the last until NBC struck a late-2002 deal for one more.

Which streaming service was 'Friends: The Reunion' made to help launch?

HBO Max: the special was due on the service's launch day in May 2020, but the pandemic twice delayed filming and it arrived exactly a year late.

In the Friends finale's last scene, what do all six leave on Monica's kitchen counter?

Their keys: it turns out every one of the six has a copy for the apartment, and each sets it down before they head out for a last coffee.

What does Phoebe share with the birth mother she meets at the end of Friends season 3?

Her first name: Phoebe Abbott, played by Teri Garr, gave the twins up at birth and admits who she is only when Phoebe breaks into her house looking for news of her father.

Which Friends star was nearly unavailable because of LAX 2194, a pilot about airport baggage handlers?

Matthew Perry was tied to LAX 2194 until it was clear the pilot would not become a series; the producers' first choice, his friend Craig Bierko, had turned Chandler down.

Where does Chandler claim his company is transferring him, to avoid breaking up with Janice?

He gives the address '15 Yemen Road, Yemen' and, when she waits at the gate, actually boards the plane.

Which supermodel plays Janine, the dancer who becomes Joey's roommate in season 6?

Elle Macpherson plays Janine, who moves in after Chandler leaves and dates Joey until she admits she finds Monica too loud and Chandler 'blah'.

Who is the unhinged roommate Chandler takes in after Joey moves out in season 2?

Eddie Menuek, played by Adam Goldberg, moves in, dehydrates fruit, accuses Chandler of sleeping with his ex and refuses to leave until Chandler and Joey convince him he never lived there.

Which parade balloon breaks free and sends the Friends gang to the roof on their first Thanksgiving?

The Underdog balloon gets loose during the Macy's parade, and the dash to the roof is what leaves the gang locked out while dinner burns; the episode aired on 17 November 1994.

With the holiday dinner ruined in season one, what does the gang end up eating instead?

Grilled cheese and tomato soup is Chandler's own holiday menu: he has shunned Thanksgiving food ever since his parents announced their divorce on the day.

Which actress plays Charlie Wheeler, the paleontologist who dates both Joey and Ross?

Aisha Tyler plays Dr. Charlie Wheeler across seasons 9 and 10; she dates Joey, then Ross, before leaving him for her ex, the Nobel-winning Benjamin Hobart.

What pet name does Monica's father use for her?

Little Harmonica is her father's name for her; after he ruins her childhood boxes by using them to shield his Porsche from a flood, he makes amends by giving her the car.

How does the Friends season-three football game end?

Two players dive on the ball and will not let go: Monica and Ross lie there clutching it into the night while the others go in for Thanksgiving dinner.

In 'The One with All the Thanksgivings', what does Monica accidentally drop on Chandler's foot?

Monica, trying to seduce Chandler with kitchen items, drops a knife that slices off the tip of his toe; in the rush, a piece of carrot is taken to hospital in its place.

What does Chandler blurt out after Monica dances with a fez-wearing bird on her head?

That he loves her: it slips out mid-laugh, the first time either has said it, and he at once pretends he only said 'You're so great'.

What is Joey's worst Thanksgiving in the Friends season-five flashback episode?

Joey's worst Thanksgiving was 1992, when he got his head stuck in a turkey while trying to scare Chandler; Phoebe's memory involves losing an arm in a past life as a Civil War nurse.

Why does Chandler spend a Friends season-four Thanksgiving shut in a wooden crate?

Joey is punishing him for kissing Kathy, Joey's girlfriend: Chandler sits in the crate for as long as Joey was once locked in their entertainment unit, and his silence in there wins Joey over.

What fake name does Phoebe give whenever she needs to pose as someone else?

Regina Phalange is Phoebe's stock alias; using a French version of it, she tells a director in fluent French that Joey is her little brother, to excuse his gibberish.

What did the club Ross co-founded in high school do to Rachel?

Spread a rumour that she was a hermaphrodite: Rachel is hurt, until Monica recalls Rachel's own rumour that Ross kissed the 50-year-old librarian, which he admits was true.

Unable to rent a Santa suit, what does Ross wear to teach Ben Hanukkah in season seven?

The Holiday Armadillo is Ross's stand-in for Santa; then Chandler arrives as Santa and Joey as Superman, and the three tell Ben the Hanukkah story together.

Which gifts does Phoebe give Joey to drive Rachel back to her apartment?

A spider and a drum kit: Phoebe hopes the noise and the tarantula will drive Rachel out, but Rachel loves the drums and, having owned a tarantula as a child, is not scared.

Where do Chandler and Joey end up buying everyone's Christmas presents in Friends season two?

A gas station: having put off their shopping, they hand out wiper blades for Rachel, toilet-seat covers for Phoebe and a can of cola for Ross.

In 'The One with Phoebe's Dad', what does a cash-strapped Monica bake to hand out as Christmas tips?

Cookies replace cash tips that Christmas and get a mixed reception; the superintendent, Mr. Treeger, is about the only one who likes them.

What fate of Joey's unsold Christmas trees upsets Phoebe in season three?

They go into a wood chipper, so Monica and Joey take all the doomed trees and set them up in her apartment to console Phoebe.

In Friends season five, what does Phoebe do too aggressively while volunteering before Christmas?

Phoebe volunteers to collect money for the poor with a bell and bucket, but people misusing the bucket turn her so fierce that complaints get her moved to another spot.

Why do Ross and Monica perform 'The Routine' at a New Year's TV taping?

To get themselves on camera at the taping of Dick Clark's New Year's show; the director puts them on the platform, but only to film them for the bloopers reel.

Which boss of Rachel's dates Chandler and leaves him handcuffed in her office?

Joanna cuffs him to her office chair, then leaves for a meeting that overruns, stranding him for hours until a furious Rachel finds him.

Which season-five New Year's resolution does Chandler make?

Chandler resolves to stop making jokes at his friends' expense, which nearly kills him when Ross's leather trousers turn up; Joey takes the guitar, Phoebe the aircraft and Monica the photos.

Which actress plays Wendy, the colleague who makes a pass at Chandler in Tulsa?

Selma Blair plays Wendy; Chandler turns her down, quits his job on the spot and flies home to Monica in time for Christmas.

In season eight, Ross panics when girlfriend Mona suggests they do what together for the holidays?

Mona's suggestion that they send joint Christmas cards leads to 'the talk', and Ross overcorrects so badly that he offers her a key to his apartment.

How much was each cast member paid per episode under their original first-season contracts?

By seasons nine and ten each star earned $1 million an episode after negotiating collectively from season three onward.

NBC's Warren Littlefield wanted a young roommates comedy after regretting passing on which sitcom?

Littlefield regretted passing on Living Single and wanted his own young-roommates comedy; impressed that Kauffman, Crane and Bright knew their characters inside out, he bought their pitch as a put pilot.

Who hosted the 2021 special 'Friends: The Reunion'?

James Corden hosted the special, shot on the show's old Stage 24 at Warner Bros. in April 2021 after the pandemic twice delayed filming.

What does Rachel name the hairless Sphynx cat she buys for $1,000 in season 5?

Rachel's bald Sphynx, Mrs. Whiskerson, turns out to be vicious; she ends up selling it for $1,500 to a besotted admirer after nobody else will take it.

Which actor plays Joey's father, Joseph Tribbiani Sr.?

Robert Costanzo plays Joey's father, Joseph Tribbiani Sr., introduced in season 1 with a long-time mistress, Ronni, who works as a pet mortician.

On Friends, which horror novel does Joey hide in the freezer whenever it scares him too much?

The Shining goes into the freezer every time it frightens Joey. Rachel finds it there, the two swap favorite books, and he is soon just as worried for the sisters in Little Women.

For which Hollywood star is Joey hired as a butt double in an early Friends episode?

Al Pacino was the star Joey stood in for, a film part without a single line. He lost it anyway, fired for overacting.

In the Friends pilot, what is Rachel Green wearing when she first runs into the coffeehouse?

A wedding dress, soaking wet, is how viewers first meet Rachel. She has just walked out on her own ceremony and come looking for Monica, her best friend from high school.

Where do Joey and Chandler accidentally leave Ross's baby son while babysitting him on Friends?

On a city bus is where they forget him, after using the baby as bait to meet women. When they go to collect him they are shown two infants and cannot tell which one is Ross's.

On Friends, what does Phoebe find inside a can of soda that a homeless friend buys her?

A severed thumb turns up in the can, and the soda company pays Phoebe $7,000. She hands the money to Chandler as a bribe to quit smoking.

Which movie star played Susie Moss, a former schoolmate who takes revenge on Chandler in Friends?

Julia Roberts played Susie, who seems attracted to Chandler on a film set but is really paying him back for humiliating her in fourth grade.

Almost every Friends episode title opens with which two words, a format its producers chose?

The One opens almost every title because the producers realized the titles would never appear on screen, so most viewers would not know them anyway. Only the pilot and the finale break the format.

On Friends, what is Phoebe Buffay's day job when she is not singing in the coffeehouse?

Masseuse is Phoebe's trade for the whole run of the show. She is also the group's vegetarian and a self-taught musician who composes her own songs.

Which actor played Richard Burke, the divorced family friend Monica dates in season two of Friends?

Tom Selleck played Richard and kept returning for years. The six stars were so close off screen that he later admitted he sometimes felt left out.

On a beach trip in Friends, what stings Monica badly enough that Joey suggests a urine remedy?

A jellyfish stings Monica, and Joey remembers a tip from the Discovery Channel: urine relieves the pain. He and Chandler are the only ones on hand to help.

On Friends, what is the profession of Barry Farber, the ex-fiancé Rachel Green cannot shake off?

Orthodontist Barry even gets an episode named after him, The One with the Evil Orthodontist. In it he is engaged to another woman while secretly seeing Rachel again.

On Friends, Phoebe is crushed to learn how which classic dog film really ends?

Old Yeller always ended happily for Phoebe, because the film was switched off before the sad part when she was a child. The truth sends her on a gloomy binge of every movie she was once kept from finishing.

On Friends, which beauty treatment goes wrong for Ross when he gets a double dose on his front?

A spray tan is what Ross wants after admiring Monica's. He muddles the simple instructions, and a string of mishaps leaves his front darker and darker while his back gets nothing.

After Friends ended, the spin-off series Joey followed Joey Tribbiani's move to which city?

Los Angeles was where Joey went to chase his acting career in the spin-off. Friends creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane chose not to take part in it.

On Friends, Monica and the boys across the hall live in which Manhattan neighborhood?

Greenwich Village is the setting, and a real building there at 90 Bedford Street supplied the outside shots. The interiors were filmed on a studio lot in California.

Which future Oscar winner played Jill, the spoiled younger sister of Rachel Green, on Friends?

Reese Witherspoon played Jill, who turns up in New York after her father cuts her off financially. She soon tests her big sister's patience by going on a date with Ross.

Which comic actor plays the stripper who ends up crying at Phoebe's bachelorette party on Friends?

Danny DeVito played the stripper, billed as Officer Roy Goodbody and hired at the last minute by Rachel and Monica. He starts to cry when Phoebe insults him.

Which action star do Monica and Rachel compete over after meeting him on a Friends movie set?

Jean-Claude Van Damme appears as himself, shooting a film that also features Ross's former pet Marcel. The contest over him turns the two roommates against each other.

On which Caribbean island does the whole Friends gang gather to hear Ross give a conference speech?

Barbados hosts Ross's keynote speech at the end of season nine, and romance takes over. Phoebe is proposed to twice on the trip and chooses Mike over David.

Newly married on Friends, Phoebe changes her name to which title, followed by Bananahammock?

Princess Consuela Bananahammock is the name Phoebe picks once a clerk tells her she can choose anything at all. Her new husband makes his point by renaming himself Crap Bag.

On Friends, Joey's soap character dies falling down what, after Joey claims to write his own lines?

An elevator shaft is where the writers send him, their revenge for Joey's boast to Soap Opera Digest. Years later the soap brings the doctor back, saying he had spent five years in a coma.

On Friends, Phoebe secretly married Duncan, a Canadian ice dancer, so that he could get what?

A green card was the whole point of the marriage, which had lasted six years without the gang knowing. Duncan comes back only to ask for a divorce so he can marry someone else.

Which Hollywood actress played Chandler's estranged father, a Las Vegas drag performer, on Friends?

Kathleen Turner played Mr. Bing, seen performing in his own drag show. Father and son make peace there at Monica's urging, and he agrees to come to the wedding.

Which reference tool does Joey overuse in his adoption letter for Monica and Chandler on Friends?

A thesaurus takes over the letter because Joey wants to use big words. He swaps so many that he ends up referring to himself as a baby kangaroo.

On Friends, the secret cookie recipe of Phoebe's grandmother turns out to come from which brand?

Nestlé Toll House turns out to own the recipe Phoebe had promised as an engagement gift. Monica learns it only after obsessively baking to recreate the copy lost in a fire.

Which film star played Melissa, the sorority sister Rachel insists she once kissed, on Friends?

Winona Ryder played Melissa, who flatly denies the kiss ever happened. When Rachel recreates it to prove her point, Melissa admits she remembers and has feelings for her.

Where on Long Island does the Friends gang borrow a beach house that a storm filled with sand?

Montauk is where the gang spends the weekend at the end of season three, sand and all. The trip also brings Phoebe face to face with the woman who turns out to be her birth mother.

When Rachel and Phoebe go for tattoos on Friends, which design does Rachel actually get?

A heart is the tattoo Rachel goes through with, while Phoebe chickens out and leaves with a tiny blue dot. Ross, who disapproves of tattoos, changes his mind the moment he sees it.

On Friends, which unusual body feature of Chandler's is revealed to the gang in season two?

A third nipple is Chandler's secret, and it comes out in the same episode that reveals Joey once appeared in an adult film.

The New York sitcom Friends was actually filmed on which studio's lot in Burbank, California?

Warner Bros. housed the show in Burbank, a continent away from its Manhattan setting. Even the fountain in the opening titles is there, filmed at 4 a.m. on an unusually cold morning.

On which night of the week did NBC air Friends as a staple of its Must See TV line-up?

Thursday was Friends night for the whole run, beginning in a coveted 8:30 slot. The spin-off Joey inherited the evening and was pulled from it during its second season.

Which British actor plays the plane passenger who scolds Rachel on her flight to London in Friends?

Hugh Laurie played the passenger, who calls Rachel selfish: she claims to love Ross, yet she is flying in to ruin the happiest day of his life.

Before season three of Friends, how did the six stars choose to negotiate their new salaries?

As one group, against the studio's preference for individual deals. The pact put all six on identical pay, $75,000 an episode that season.

Which future teen star played Ross's son Ben during the later seasons of Friends?

Cole Sprouse took over as Ben in season six, after an infant and then a pair of brothers had played the part. His final appearance came in season eight.

Which comedy actress plays the birth mother of the twins Monica and Chandler adopt on Friends?

Anna Faris played the young expectant mother who chooses Monica and Chandler. The couple had turned to adoption after discovering they were unable to conceive.

In Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E., Joey's cable show on Friends, his crime-fighting partner is what?

A robot is Joey's co-star: C.H.E.E.S.E. stands for Computerised Humanoid Electronically Enhanced Secret Enforcer. The low-budget show is soon cancelled, sending Joey back to his old soap.

Which 1990s TV hit do roommates Joey and Chandler famously bond over watching on Friends?

Baywatch is the shared passion that shows the two have plenty in common when Joey first moves in. A later roommate who dislikes the show never clicks with Chandler.

Which early-1990s rap hit does Ross sing on Friends because it makes his infant daughter laugh?

Baby Got Back, the Sir Mix-a-Lot hit, gets his daughter laughing and leaves Rachel jealous that he can do it. The episode is fittingly titled The One with Ross' Inappropriate Song.

On Friends, which instrument does Ross take up to surprise Monica and Chandler at their wedding?

Bagpipes are the surprise Ross plans for his sister's big day, and his playing is dreadful. Susan Sarandon guests in the same episode as a soap star charmed by Joey.

On Friends, what name does Joey give the beloved recliner that Rachel accidentally breaks?

Rosita is the chair's name, and Chandler wrongly believes he is the one who broke her. He secretly swaps in his own recliner, so Joey decides Rosita has been healed.

Broke in season two of Friends, Monica takes a humiliating job at what kind of restaurant?

A 1950s-themed diner, the Moondance, takes Monica on after bad investments wipe out her savings. The job means a silly uniform and dancing on the counter to old songs.

Which actress walks into the Friends coffeehouse just after Ross cuts her from his celebrity list?

Isabella Rossellini had been on Ross's list of five dream celebrities until Chandler called her too "international" to count. Ross tells her exactly that while trying to flirt with her.

Which British royal makes a cameo as herself in the London wedding episodes of Friends?

Sarah, Duchess of York plays herself, caught on Joey's video camera as he tries to impress Chandler. Richard Branson is in the same episode, selling Joey a Union Flag hat.

Which future movie star guests with Noah Wyle as two doctors who date Monica and Rachel on Friends?

George Clooney plays one of the two attractive doctors the women meet at the hospital. The date is awkward because Rachel and Monica have swapped identities so Rachel can use Monica's health insurance.

On Friends, what is the "Joey Special", the food order named after Joey Tribbiani?

Two pizzas make up the Joey Special, a fair measure of his appetite. His other great love is the meatball sub.

On Friends, what does a colleague of Ross eat at work, sparking a rage that gets him sent on leave?

His sandwich being taken sets off such a scene that Ross is made to take time off for his anger. He was already raw from the collapse of his second marriage.

On Friends, Phoebe believes that a cat she finds contains the spirit of which person?

Her adoptive mother, Lily, has come back as the cat, Phoebe insists. Ross's rational streak clashes with her over it, just as it does over evolution and gravity.

Which veteran sitcom director took charge of the Friends pilot and other first-season episodes?

James Burrows directed the pilot and helped steer the first year. He objected to ending the season on the birth of Ross's son, saying he did not want the show to be about a baby.

Which actor guest-stars as Sandy, the male nanny Ross cannot get used to, on Friends?

Freddie Prinze Jr. played Sandy, who plays the recorder, bakes and puts on puppet shows. Ross fires him anyway, and Sandy responds by comforting him about his childhood.

Which future film director played Pete Becker, the software millionaire who courts Monica on Friends?

Jon Favreau played Pete, who first gets Monica's attention with a $20,000 tip that she takes for a joke. Their first date is pizza, eaten in Italy.