Now this is my new tradition. There's a holiday, there's a Friends Episode... I'm rankin' 'em! So here we go! I'll start out with mini reviews and then go onto ranking the episodes!
Season 1
The One With The Monkey
So this is the 2nd episode with Janice, the first episode with Marcel, the first episode with David and the first episode with Fun Bobby. There are 3 very iconic characters in here, that I don't think they originally set out for in this episode... but it certainly gives this episode a bit of a nudge. I have a feeling Fun Bobby was introduced to be included more often... but it didn't work as well. This one was a lot of fun. I feel like it attempted a lot and it followed through on everything pretty well. Ross was pretty funny in this one. This is really the first episode where we see that Janice is super annoying... and its our first real glimpse into the darker side of Phoebe (with the songs about her mom) and also the relationship we have between her and David. This one is a really good one... plus it sort of reflects a typical young New Year's Eve Party. They want to be better places with better people... and they aren't!
Season 2
The One With Phoebe's Dad
Another big one for Phoebe! There's kind of a theme of The Holidays being hard for Phoebe and I think its because her mom killed herself around the holidays. Even if they don't bring up that Phoebe lost her mom around Christmas in the episode or if it has nothing to do with Phoebe's mom... there is pretty much a difficult thing for Phoebe in every one of the holiday episodes and I think that is just good writing. Very subtle, but I'm sure its intentional and it works. I kind of learned a lot from watching these episodes all at once.
Anyway there was that, Ross and Rachel were fighting because of The List that Ross made... also Ross was being kind of a jerk because he broke the radiator and wanted Monica and Rachel to tip the super with something more than cookies... but he liked the cookies. Lol. I laughed.
The end was funny too with them getting everyone presents from the Gas Station. Phoebe was still excited for her toiler seat covers. It was pretty good.
Season 3
The One Where Rachel Quits
I like this one too! It again, deals with Phoebe's Christmastime woes and her love of the old Christmas trees! It was very subtle but it really worked for her character and was really funny. This is also the only Christmas with Ross and Rachel together... and they didn't over-do that. They had reminders they were together, but really didn't overplay it or anything.
I liked that Ross really wanted to help that little girl and I thought it was really sweet. Monica and the cookies was funny. And Chandler helping Rachel quit was just really funny too. Great episode!
Season 4
So this was a lot different... so far my least favorite... but there was still some important character stuff in it. It was after the Ross/Rachel break up so they were both dating other people, or at least trying to. Ross was pretty desperate in this one. He was dating girls that lived too far away and one girl he really didn't like... I guess cause he needed to move on from Rachel. And Rachel was also trying to have a fling and Chandler told everyone that... which you don't do and that happened.
No huge mention of Phoebe's Christmas, but she was having trouble writing a song... so that was kind of a reference to the bigger problems I think.
The part that makes me not like this episode as much was the Monica/Joey story... its kind of out of character for Monica to be non-confrontational. I mean she's Monica... another joke I think is good, but it sort of had a weak set up was the "Does Orson Wells direct Burger King commercials?" Its just random that Chandler happens to know this fun fact about a director that fired people just to prove a point. And he goes "I think it was Orson Wells." It was just... like really?
Season 5
The One With The Inappropriate Sister
This one was funny. Probably one of the less great episodes of the season... but still a good one! Rachel is dating Danny, who is the least interesting of any of the Friends Love Interests in my opinion. He's a recurring character... but his character arc is a little weird... and it makes Rachel kind of a crazy person. And he's got a weirdly close relationship with his sister and Rachel calls it off when she sees the sister draw a bath for them...
Monica and Chandler are sleeping together at this point, but no one knows except Joey and there is only a brief mention of it.I'm guessing they had to include something subtle for the casual watcher because lots of people watch only at holiday episodes I would imagine.
And here's an interesting one for Phoebe... She is working as a Santa for the Salvation Army and gets very mad when people disrespect her bucket. This is a more subtle and playful reminder of the holidays being especially hard for Phoebe. This is also the season where she gives birth to babies, she meets her dad and her grandmother dies... so this was a hard year for Phoebe and there are some subtle hints to that too I think. Her trying to get Chandler in "The One Where Everyone Finds Out," "The One Where Phoebe Hates PBS" and then her relationship with the cop ending because when they move in together, a bird is singing outside of their apartment and the cop just shoots the bird. (very topical right? Lol.) So this was a really good subtle reminder and clue to the year getting harder for Phoebe.
Ohhh and Chandler and Ross are fighting because Ross wants Joey to write a movie like "those Good Will Hunting Guys" (lol. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were unknowns at that time!) And Chandler just wants to play a game called "fireball" that he and Joey invented and he keeps distracting Joey. It's funny.
Season 6
The One With The Routine
This one was pretty funny... not totally consistent with all the other Friends Christmas Episodes as far as Phoebe is concerned... so slightly different. I guess you could say she and Rachel are struggling to find the Christmas Presents... next year I think is Phoebe's biggest struggle... but yeah.
Joey, Janine, Monica and Ross all go to the Dick Clark's Rockin New Years Eve filming, and Joey is trying to kiss Janine to see if she likes him while Ross and Monica attempt to do a dance routine from High School to try to get on TV.
And as I mentioned Phoebe, Rachel and Chandler are trying to find the Christmas presents Monica gave them. Its the first Christmas where Monica and Chandler are officially and publicly dating and he wants to get her something good.
Pretty funny episode overall. I liked it.
Season 7
The One With The Holiday Armadillo
This is probably the funniest and the most recognizable of all of the Christmas episodes. Ross has Ben for Christmas and he wants to teach him about Hanukah. Ben still wants to see Santa so Ross tries to get a costume... but he tries 2 days before Christmas and the only costume... so he went for the next best thing... an Armadillo. As Ross is trying to get Ben excited about Hanukah, Chandler comes in dressed as Santa and then Ben wants the Armadillo to leave, but Santa wants him to stay and learn about Hanukah. And then Joey comes in dressed as superman.
What I thought was most compelling about the episode was the Rachel/ Phoebe story. Phoebe's apartment is fixed after the fire and she wants Rachel to move back in with her... but she's afraid that Rachel is having so much fun at Joey's that she'll want to stay with him. So she gets Joey a bunch of Christmas gifts she thinks will drive Rachel out, like a drum set and a tarantula. When Phoebe and Rachel go back to their apartment, Rachel sees that the wall has been taken down and turned into one big bedroom with a skylight... so Phoebe stays in the one bedroom apartment and Rachel gets to live with Joey.
There's also a part where Monica and Chandler go out to a restaurant and Chandler tries passing money in the waiters hand to get a table... so that was sort of the C Story of the episode. Its mostly cut out of the Netflix version, I think its more involved on the DVD.
Overall... this is a more deep and complex episode than what it initially appears, and I like that about this. Friends can really go to real places in such a subtle way that you don't totally realize it until you watch them all back to back like this.
Ohhh and she had the Christmas Skull to remind her that even though its Christmas, people still die.
Season 8
The One With The Creepy Holiday Card
I feel like the holidays are hard for Ross also. The first season he was recently divorced and shared Christmas with a Monkey, the second season he was arguing with Rachel about The List, the third season he was helping the Girl Scout and failed, 4th season he was trying to get over Rachel, Season 5 he was unemployed and bored, Season 6 he was desperate to get on TV, 7 he wanted his son to love him and his traditions... and this season he is failing in his commitment to Mona. She wants to send out a holiday card, but they're just dating and he thinks its too soon... and it kind of is. So he gives her a key to his apartment and he didn't have another key... so yeah. He was dumb.
And then we have Rachel who is... trying to put this in PG terms... wanting a man for Christmas and she's struggling with that, so Phoebe offers one of her friends for Rachel to be with... so that's Phoebe's sort of "crazy thing" this Christmas... although she was just trying to help her friend out... idk. Didn't make much sense.
Chandler went out with his boss and told his boss he and Monica got divorced because Monica didn't want to go out with the boss and he learned what his life would be like without Monica and "It was like It's a Wonderful life but with lap dances" and he didn't ever want to leave Monica.
And then there was the first hint of a relationship between Joey and Rachel at the end... and in the next episode Rachel and Joey go on a date! But just for fun... but then Joey falls in love with her.
Season 9
The One With Christmas In Tulsa
No character development except for Chandler quitting. The plot wasn't terrible... but I don't like Flashback episode and for a holiday episode... thats just a cop out. It made me happy though because this episode was when they announced they would have a season 10. So that was exciting. But yeah... the Friends were all really busy at this point. Friends kind of made all of them a huge deal, which doesn't totally happen in TV anymore. They were all doing movies and they were big celebrities... and now movie stars are kind of the big stars and there's nothing on TV thats really the same. Like the people on Modern Family do a few movies, but they aren't really big stars and that shows ratings aren't quite as high even.. and thats probably as close to Friends as anything. They all do animated movies and VO's for commercials... but they aren't in a ton of movies... and neither were the Friends I guess... but they were all movie stars... so there weren't really as many episodes in the final season. Weird to think of.
Anyway that is all of them... now ranking.
9) The One With Christmas In Tulsa- No real development... not all that funny. And Flashback episodes are bad.
8) The One With The Girl From Poughkepsie- Not a great season... the Monica thing felt very out of character... so thats my major problem with that.
7) The One With The Inappropriate Sister- Not a bad episode... I just don't like Danny! I liked Phoebe's Part.
6) The One With The Creepy Holiday Card- This one did a good job of showing the hard times with Ross. I thought it was a good place for the show and a good lead-in to the Rachel and Joey Romance Storyline. Season 8 is probably my favorite season and this is one of my least favorite episodes in it though.
5) The One With The Routine- This one was really funny. I love seeing when Monica and Ross are Geeky Brother and sister. I just think its really funny. And I thought the Routine was pretty good. I liked the episode!
4) The One With The Monkey- This was a great episode. I feel like this could be number one just because it does introduce a lot of iconic characters and it really does do a good job of relating what the show was at the time... just a bunch of young friends trying to kiss someone at New Years. Janice and Marcel and David... it was just really good. I love the way that David and Phoebe get together... its just really good.
3) The One With Phoebe's Dad- I thought this was a very sweet and funny episode. It was fun to see Ross obsessing over Rachel calling him obsessive and him sort of getting a taste of his own medicine. I felt like we really got a chance to see Phoebe's fears of losing another person in her life... and the end was just super funny with the friends getting gas station presents. It was good.
2) The One Where Rachel Quits- Another genuinely sweet and funny episode. I love that Ross is trying so hard to help that little girl out. And Joey and Monica try hard to make Phoebe happy and they get all of the dead Christmas Trees and Rachel finally getting tired of being a waitress and realizing that she's more than that. She really develops a lot in this episode and I feel like its a huge turning point to the show.
1) The One With The Holiday Armadillo- And this one wins because its as funny as it is serious. And it plays it off so well. And when you watch them all back to back over a few days... you'll realize just how brilliant this really goofy episode is. There's a lot under the surface and they play it off in a very lighthearted way... but it is also pretty real. I loved this episode, its probably one of my favorites now that I've realized this Phoebe thing.
Season 1
The One With The Monkey
So this is the 2nd episode with Janice, the first episode with Marcel, the first episode with David and the first episode with Fun Bobby. There are 3 very iconic characters in here, that I don't think they originally set out for in this episode... but it certainly gives this episode a bit of a nudge. I have a feeling Fun Bobby was introduced to be included more often... but it didn't work as well. This one was a lot of fun. I feel like it attempted a lot and it followed through on everything pretty well. Ross was pretty funny in this one. This is really the first episode where we see that Janice is super annoying... and its our first real glimpse into the darker side of Phoebe (with the songs about her mom) and also the relationship we have between her and David. This one is a really good one... plus it sort of reflects a typical young New Year's Eve Party. They want to be better places with better people... and they aren't!
Season 2
The One With Phoebe's Dad
Another big one for Phoebe! There's kind of a theme of The Holidays being hard for Phoebe and I think its because her mom killed herself around the holidays. Even if they don't bring up that Phoebe lost her mom around Christmas in the episode or if it has nothing to do with Phoebe's mom... there is pretty much a difficult thing for Phoebe in every one of the holiday episodes and I think that is just good writing. Very subtle, but I'm sure its intentional and it works. I kind of learned a lot from watching these episodes all at once.
Anyway there was that, Ross and Rachel were fighting because of The List that Ross made... also Ross was being kind of a jerk because he broke the radiator and wanted Monica and Rachel to tip the super with something more than cookies... but he liked the cookies. Lol. I laughed.
The end was funny too with them getting everyone presents from the Gas Station. Phoebe was still excited for her toiler seat covers. It was pretty good.
Season 3
The One Where Rachel Quits
I like this one too! It again, deals with Phoebe's Christmastime woes and her love of the old Christmas trees! It was very subtle but it really worked for her character and was really funny. This is also the only Christmas with Ross and Rachel together... and they didn't over-do that. They had reminders they were together, but really didn't overplay it or anything.
I liked that Ross really wanted to help that little girl and I thought it was really sweet. Monica and the cookies was funny. And Chandler helping Rachel quit was just really funny too. Great episode!
Season 4
So this was a lot different... so far my least favorite... but there was still some important character stuff in it. It was after the Ross/Rachel break up so they were both dating other people, or at least trying to. Ross was pretty desperate in this one. He was dating girls that lived too far away and one girl he really didn't like... I guess cause he needed to move on from Rachel. And Rachel was also trying to have a fling and Chandler told everyone that... which you don't do and that happened.
No huge mention of Phoebe's Christmas, but she was having trouble writing a song... so that was kind of a reference to the bigger problems I think.
The part that makes me not like this episode as much was the Monica/Joey story... its kind of out of character for Monica to be non-confrontational. I mean she's Monica... another joke I think is good, but it sort of had a weak set up was the "Does Orson Wells direct Burger King commercials?" Its just random that Chandler happens to know this fun fact about a director that fired people just to prove a point. And he goes "I think it was Orson Wells." It was just... like really?
Season 5
The One With The Inappropriate Sister
This one was funny. Probably one of the less great episodes of the season... but still a good one! Rachel is dating Danny, who is the least interesting of any of the Friends Love Interests in my opinion. He's a recurring character... but his character arc is a little weird... and it makes Rachel kind of a crazy person. And he's got a weirdly close relationship with his sister and Rachel calls it off when she sees the sister draw a bath for them...
Monica and Chandler are sleeping together at this point, but no one knows except Joey and there is only a brief mention of it.I'm guessing they had to include something subtle for the casual watcher because lots of people watch only at holiday episodes I would imagine.
And here's an interesting one for Phoebe... She is working as a Santa for the Salvation Army and gets very mad when people disrespect her bucket. This is a more subtle and playful reminder of the holidays being especially hard for Phoebe. This is also the season where she gives birth to babies, she meets her dad and her grandmother dies... so this was a hard year for Phoebe and there are some subtle hints to that too I think. Her trying to get Chandler in "The One Where Everyone Finds Out," "The One Where Phoebe Hates PBS" and then her relationship with the cop ending because when they move in together, a bird is singing outside of their apartment and the cop just shoots the bird. (very topical right? Lol.) So this was a really good subtle reminder and clue to the year getting harder for Phoebe.
Ohhh and Chandler and Ross are fighting because Ross wants Joey to write a movie like "those Good Will Hunting Guys" (lol. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were unknowns at that time!) And Chandler just wants to play a game called "fireball" that he and Joey invented and he keeps distracting Joey. It's funny.
Season 6
The One With The Routine
This one was pretty funny... not totally consistent with all the other Friends Christmas Episodes as far as Phoebe is concerned... so slightly different. I guess you could say she and Rachel are struggling to find the Christmas Presents... next year I think is Phoebe's biggest struggle... but yeah.
Joey, Janine, Monica and Ross all go to the Dick Clark's Rockin New Years Eve filming, and Joey is trying to kiss Janine to see if she likes him while Ross and Monica attempt to do a dance routine from High School to try to get on TV.
And as I mentioned Phoebe, Rachel and Chandler are trying to find the Christmas presents Monica gave them. Its the first Christmas where Monica and Chandler are officially and publicly dating and he wants to get her something good.
Pretty funny episode overall. I liked it.
Season 7
The One With The Holiday Armadillo
This is probably the funniest and the most recognizable of all of the Christmas episodes. Ross has Ben for Christmas and he wants to teach him about Hanukah. Ben still wants to see Santa so Ross tries to get a costume... but he tries 2 days before Christmas and the only costume... so he went for the next best thing... an Armadillo. As Ross is trying to get Ben excited about Hanukah, Chandler comes in dressed as Santa and then Ben wants the Armadillo to leave, but Santa wants him to stay and learn about Hanukah. And then Joey comes in dressed as superman.
What I thought was most compelling about the episode was the Rachel/ Phoebe story. Phoebe's apartment is fixed after the fire and she wants Rachel to move back in with her... but she's afraid that Rachel is having so much fun at Joey's that she'll want to stay with him. So she gets Joey a bunch of Christmas gifts she thinks will drive Rachel out, like a drum set and a tarantula. When Phoebe and Rachel go back to their apartment, Rachel sees that the wall has been taken down and turned into one big bedroom with a skylight... so Phoebe stays in the one bedroom apartment and Rachel gets to live with Joey.
There's also a part where Monica and Chandler go out to a restaurant and Chandler tries passing money in the waiters hand to get a table... so that was sort of the C Story of the episode. Its mostly cut out of the Netflix version, I think its more involved on the DVD.
Overall... this is a more deep and complex episode than what it initially appears, and I like that about this. Friends can really go to real places in such a subtle way that you don't totally realize it until you watch them all back to back like this.
Ohhh and she had the Christmas Skull to remind her that even though its Christmas, people still die.
Season 8
The One With The Creepy Holiday Card
I feel like the holidays are hard for Ross also. The first season he was recently divorced and shared Christmas with a Monkey, the second season he was arguing with Rachel about The List, the third season he was helping the Girl Scout and failed, 4th season he was trying to get over Rachel, Season 5 he was unemployed and bored, Season 6 he was desperate to get on TV, 7 he wanted his son to love him and his traditions... and this season he is failing in his commitment to Mona. She wants to send out a holiday card, but they're just dating and he thinks its too soon... and it kind of is. So he gives her a key to his apartment and he didn't have another key... so yeah. He was dumb.
And then we have Rachel who is... trying to put this in PG terms... wanting a man for Christmas and she's struggling with that, so Phoebe offers one of her friends for Rachel to be with... so that's Phoebe's sort of "crazy thing" this Christmas... although she was just trying to help her friend out... idk. Didn't make much sense.
Chandler went out with his boss and told his boss he and Monica got divorced because Monica didn't want to go out with the boss and he learned what his life would be like without Monica and "It was like It's a Wonderful life but with lap dances" and he didn't ever want to leave Monica.
And then there was the first hint of a relationship between Joey and Rachel at the end... and in the next episode Rachel and Joey go on a date! But just for fun... but then Joey falls in love with her.
Season 9
The One With Christmas In Tulsa
No character development except for Chandler quitting. The plot wasn't terrible... but I don't like Flashback episode and for a holiday episode... thats just a cop out. It made me happy though because this episode was when they announced they would have a season 10. So that was exciting. But yeah... the Friends were all really busy at this point. Friends kind of made all of them a huge deal, which doesn't totally happen in TV anymore. They were all doing movies and they were big celebrities... and now movie stars are kind of the big stars and there's nothing on TV thats really the same. Like the people on Modern Family do a few movies, but they aren't really big stars and that shows ratings aren't quite as high even.. and thats probably as close to Friends as anything. They all do animated movies and VO's for commercials... but they aren't in a ton of movies... and neither were the Friends I guess... but they were all movie stars... so there weren't really as many episodes in the final season. Weird to think of.
Anyway that is all of them... now ranking.
9) The One With Christmas In Tulsa- No real development... not all that funny. And Flashback episodes are bad.
8) The One With The Girl From Poughkepsie- Not a great season... the Monica thing felt very out of character... so thats my major problem with that.
7) The One With The Inappropriate Sister- Not a bad episode... I just don't like Danny! I liked Phoebe's Part.
6) The One With The Creepy Holiday Card- This one did a good job of showing the hard times with Ross. I thought it was a good place for the show and a good lead-in to the Rachel and Joey Romance Storyline. Season 8 is probably my favorite season and this is one of my least favorite episodes in it though.
5) The One With The Routine- This one was really funny. I love seeing when Monica and Ross are Geeky Brother and sister. I just think its really funny. And I thought the Routine was pretty good. I liked the episode!
4) The One With The Monkey- This was a great episode. I feel like this could be number one just because it does introduce a lot of iconic characters and it really does do a good job of relating what the show was at the time... just a bunch of young friends trying to kiss someone at New Years. Janice and Marcel and David... it was just really good. I love the way that David and Phoebe get together... its just really good.
3) The One With Phoebe's Dad- I thought this was a very sweet and funny episode. It was fun to see Ross obsessing over Rachel calling him obsessive and him sort of getting a taste of his own medicine. I felt like we really got a chance to see Phoebe's fears of losing another person in her life... and the end was just super funny with the friends getting gas station presents. It was good.
2) The One Where Rachel Quits- Another genuinely sweet and funny episode. I love that Ross is trying so hard to help that little girl out. And Joey and Monica try hard to make Phoebe happy and they get all of the dead Christmas Trees and Rachel finally getting tired of being a waitress and realizing that she's more than that. She really develops a lot in this episode and I feel like its a huge turning point to the show.
1) The One With The Holiday Armadillo- And this one wins because its as funny as it is serious. And it plays it off so well. And when you watch them all back to back over a few days... you'll realize just how brilliant this really goofy episode is. There's a lot under the surface and they play it off in a very lighthearted way... but it is also pretty real. I loved this episode, its probably one of my favorites now that I've realized this Phoebe thing.
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