“Friends” is one of Netflix’s most anticipated additions for 2015. Reasonably so, as it’s both an iconic ’90s staple, and extremely lethal for binge watching. As indicated by its title, the show earned its reputation as a top sitcom because of its main characters. Each one of the weird and wonderful Friends has his or her own quirks that develop over the course of the show’s ten seasons. Appropriately, we made a starter’s guide of sorts, ranking every main character’s top 5 episodes, so that new viewers can connect on a more personal level, and classic fans can rediscover the magic.
Ross Geller
1. “The One With Ross’s Sandwich” – Season 5: Episode 9
Ross has an explosive reaction to a co-worker eating his lunch (AKA “the only good thing going on in his life.”)
2. “The One With The Holiday Armadillo” – Season 7: Episode 10
To show his son that Hanukkah can be just as cool as Christmas, Ross creates a new Jewish holiday mascot by wearing an unconventional costume.
3. “The One With All the Resolutions” – Season 5: Episode 11
Ross’s New Year’s Resolution to “try something new every day” goes awry when a pair of new leather pants betray him during a date.
4. “The One With Ross’s Tan” – Season 10: Episode 3
Due to miscommunication with the employees at a tanning salon, Ross quadruples his desire to be a “2” on the tan scale, with all of the damage done to his front side.
5. “The One With Ross’s Teeth” – Season 6: Episode 8
After ignoring directions from a DIY teeth-whitening kit, Ross ends up with teeth that are painfully white.
Monica Geller
1. “The One With The Routine” – Season 6: Episode 10
When their unchoreographed moves fail to get them on a platform at the taping of “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” Ross and Monica rely on their middle school dance routine to impress the show’s producers.
2. “The One With The Cheap Wedding Dress” – Season 7: Episode 17
Monica taps into her inner army general in order to fend off the other bargain shoppers at a wedding dress outlet.
3. “The One With Monica’s Boots” – Season 8: Episode 10
Monica spends an absurd amount of money on a pair of designer boots she thought were the deal of the century, only to realize they are the most painful shoes on the planet and she can’t return them.
4. “The One With the Jellyfish” – Season 4: Episode 1
The mystery of “what happened to Monica at the beach” is revealed in a dramatic and disgusting manner when the gang returns to New York after their weekend getaway.
5. “The One Where Monica Sings” – Season 9: Episode 13
Monica doesn’t realize that the applause for her karaoke cover of “Delta Dawn” is actually for her fully visible chest.
Phoebe Buffay
1. “The One Where Everybody Finds Out” – Season 5: Episode 14
Phoebe puts her seduction skills to the test when she, Rachel, and Joey decide to mess with Chandler and Monica as punishment for hiding their relationship.
2. “The One Where Phoebe Runs” – Season 6: Episode 7
Phoebe’s running style is “a cross between Kermit the Frog and the Million Dollar Man.” Rachel is embarrassed, but afraid to tell Phoebe because she doesn’t want to crush her loveable, childlike spirit.
3. “The One With Joey’s New Girlfriend” – Season 4: Episode 5
A common cold transforms Phoebe’s regular singing voice into a sultry, slightly flemmy new act that she is quite proud of.
4. “The One With The Dollhouse” – Season 3: Episode 20
Monica doesn’t understand why the gang prefers to play with Phoebe’s wacky, offbeat dollhouse instead of traditional, colonial one.
5. “The One Where Rosita Dies” Season 7: Episode 13
Phoebe’s first day on the job as a toner saleswoman takes a turn when her first call is to a suicidal office manager and she takes on the responsibility of saving him.
Rachel Green
1. “The One With The Ball” – Season 5: Episode 21
Rachel’s new sphynx cat is considered “a minion of the anti-Christ” by the group, but only after the cat begins abusing her does she realize how evil it really is.
2. “The One With Rachel’s Inadvertent Kiss” – Season 5: Episode 17
During an interview for her dream job at Ralph Lauren, Rachel misinterprets the boss’s motion to open the door as an invitation to embrace. And it’s really awkward.
3. “The One With The Football” – Season 3: Episode 9
Dubbed the least valuable player on the team, Rachel has a lot to prove during the gang’s Thanksgiving football game.
4. “The One With The Fake Party” – Season 4: Episode 14
When mature methods fail to get Rachel attention from her crush, Joshua, she employs her high school seduction secrets that “never missed.”
5. “The One In Vegas (Part 1)” – Season 5: Episode 23
After a prank war with Ross on the plane, Rachel arrives in Vegas ready to raid the mini bar and thus ready to make some classic Vegas-style mistakes.
Chandler Bing
1. “The One Where Eddie Won’t Go” – Season 2: Episode 19
Chandler goes into freakout mode when his crazy new roommate, Eddie, refuses to vacate the apartment.
2. “The One Where Chandler Can’t Remember Which Sister” – Season 3: Episode 11
A heartbroken and drunken Chandler fools around with one of Joey’s seven identical sisters and he can’t remember which one. Plus he doesn’t know how to tell Joey that he isn’t interested in dating her.
3. “The One With the ‘Cuffs” – Season 4: Episode 3
Chandler’s affair with Rachel’s boss results in his being handcuffed to a desk in the office as a sexy prank, but Rachel refuses to interfere and free him for fear of losing her job.
4. “The One Where Chandler Takes A Bath” – Season 8: Episode 13
After Monica shows Chandler how relaxing (and manly) a bubble bath can be, he becomes obsessed with baths, yet he cannot make them as soothing as she can.
5. “The One Where Chandler Doesn’t Like Dogs” – Season 7: Episode 8
Chandler is the black sheep at the Thanksgiving table when his friends find out that he doesn’t avoid dogs due to allergies, but he just doesn’t like them, “not even puppies.”
Joey Tribbiani
1. “The One With The Nap Partners” – Season 7: Episode 6
Joey and Ross grapple with the knowledge that they take the best naps while cuddling together.
2. “The One With Joey’s Bag” – Season 5: Episode 13
Joey refuses to give up his feminine handbag because of the bag’s plethora of compartments as well as the confidence it brings him.
3. “The One With Joey’s Porsche” – Season 6: Episode 5
Joey realizes the respect people give him when they think he owns a fancy car, so he pretends to own the Porsche that parks on his street and even gets the wardrobe to match.
4. “The One With The Baby On The Bus” – Season 2: Episode 6
Joey and Chandler get distracted while babysitting and accidently leave Ross’s son on a public bus. Then they can’t remember what he looks like when they go to the police station to retrieve him.
5. “The One With The Ride-Along” – Season 5: Episode 20
Joey’s true colors shine when he chooses to save a meatball sub instead of either of his two best friends during a “dangerous” ride-along with Phoebe’s cop boyfriend.
