Why The Friends From Friends Are Terrible People - After Hours 

There is that episode where Phoebe dates a psychologist who ends up listing a bunch of reasons that they're all bad people. They all ignore it.

Why does Ross, the largest Friend, not simply eat the other five?

The actress who played Phoebe actually came out recently and said she realizes everyone is equating her with the character and she wanted to set it straight and say she is nothing like her.

I can't believe they didn't address how they actively stole each other's lovers!!

I can excuse all of Phoebe's shortcomings - look at her backstory. She brings it up so much that I think the audience is desensitized to how much tragedy she's gone through. Her biological dad walked out on the family, her older twin sister overshadowed her accomplishments, her stepdad ended up in prison, the woman raising her (who she believed to be her mom) killed herself, and then she finds out her biological mom didn't want to raise her. Phoebe had to live on the streets, never went to high school, somehow encountered a pimp long enough to contract hepatitis from him, has admitted to taking self-defense courses to deter rapists ("the YMCA guys weren't very Christian"), and mugged people to survive. The fact that she's not currently a crack whore is amazing.

can't believe you guys missed the fact that throughout the entire series, they all made fun of Monica for being fat when she was in highschool

Also the whole fat shaming they do. They make out that Monica is better person because she's not fat, her life is better because she is skinny. I was watching the What If episode because it just got so bad and I felt like it was disgusting.

chandler left racheals boss hangcuffed at her office because thats what she did to him so it was more like a revenge thing and not some wierd sexual thing he enjoyed

Then there's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia where the gang is a terrible, terrible group of people but they get into wacky adventures, so you tend to see them as lovable idiots, forgetting how dark their actions really are.

The Friends are all child-like personalities in adult situations. Chandler's life is largely dictated by his childhood traumas. Monica has an uncontrollable need for attention and for things to go her way. Joey would rather play than do his chores. Rachel is still a spoiled little girl. Phoebe is that one weird girl bully everyone grew up with. Ross likes to impress people with how smart he is. Everyone still has those traits inside them, often buried under layers of tact and strategy. Through Friends, we get to explore what would happen if we let them out as adults. What do sexual relationships, jobs and making it on your own look like when you operate on a 9 year old's morality?

Chandler is the kindest friend. Consider the fact that Joey owes him a lot of money, and Chandler doesn't even give a second thought to letting it go. Remember that he and Joey actually went through all the things that Chandler paid for for Joey, and the number was so large that Joey (who until that point was throughly intent on paying him) tried to immediately drop it. And this was right after Joey started in a major motion picture. So Joey just got paid Hollywood money and still wasn't able to pay Chandler back without going bankrupt. That's a lot of money. And Chandler is totally fine with the fact that that money is never getting back to him. He pays for every bill from his and Joey's apartment. His and Monica's wedding, which was apparently Monica's cheaper alternative wedding, was calculated to cost roughly $60,000. Her dream wedding would've taken Chandler's entire life savings, and in the end Chandler was willing to pay for it. He is both the richest friend and the one who puts his friends before money. If someone owed me so much cash that even Hollywood money wouldnt be able to cover it, I'd be pissed and expecting that money. But Chandler doesn't care at all. Chandler is the best friend

Not to mention how Phoebe dated two guys at the same time (the kindergarten teacher and the firefighter). She just sort of put both of them on hold until she decided who she wanted to be with, and when they found out, I don’t think she was genuinely sorry. If that happened to Phoebe, and there was an episode about a guy dating her AND another girl, she would be pissed. And everyone would say “what a jerk”. But because Phoebe is a main character “she was just having some fun”. There are a lot of instances in which the friends do shitty things and aren’t held accountable, whereas if a side character does it, it IS deemed shitty.

To be fair about the 9/11 thing, they purposefully didn't cover it because it was viewed as too serious/heavy a topic for a SitCom

but Gunther, is a bit of stalker....😐

As a transgender person, I'm actually okay with Chandler's feelings towards his father. It's not an easy thing for any family member to deal with, when someone suddenly announces they feel like the opposite sex - especially the father, a male role model, the person a son looks to, to learn how he should behave and self-identify. Yet even despite this awkwardness towards his father, Chandler doesn't actually hate him, or even insist his father wear male clothes at his wedding. Despite his discomfort he allows his father to be who he is. And that's all any transgender person really wants (at least that's how I feel).

They dedicated an episode to those lost in 9/11 and the civil servants who worked after the event to clean up the city and help save lives. How much else do you want them to do on a sitcom to reference an American tragedy? They had an episode with the whole "airport mix up after saying the word 'bomb'" thing going on and had to reshoot that week's episode on short notice after 9/11 occurred.

Chandler wasn't homophobic just because he didn't understand his father. It's a massive change in someone's life when they switch identities or whatever you call it, and it's an even bigger change for their family. And he was traumatized by his parents constant bickering which left him estranged from both his mother and father. Homophobic would imply that he hated his father, which he clearly did not. I realize that this doesn't seem like a big deal to most, but they just slipped that in and they are implying that anyone uncomfortable with Trans/crossdressers are automatically homophobic. I'm not comfortable with it either and I'm gay! It just really irks me when people jump to conclusions and say someone is homophobic without even understanding what it means and then overusing the word for everything. And don't even get me started on the differences between racism, prejudice, stereotypes and the misuse of all three.

So no one told them life was going to be that way. (clap-clap-clap-clap) Their jobs are jokes, they're broke, their love lives're DOA.

Phoebe makes fun about Ross multiple marriages but she gets married 3 times herself...

First: most of the children don’t show up in most of the episode Bc of child labor laws Also here are some notable mentions 1. Rachel dated a younger man 2. She had an affair with her boss (not a bad thing but still frowned upon) 4. Monica dated a high schooler 5. Ross dated with a student 6. Also they never let anyone into their group the moment someone comes into their lives and sees a flaw they exclude them

The whole Seinfeld comparison makes me want to see a cagematch between the Friends and the Seinfeld quartet. Sure, the Friends have the numerical advantage but I think a properly pissed off Elaine and Kramer count for two.

Why The Friends From 'Friends' Are Terrible People - bit.ly/1H0XwHy Of all the unrealistic things about “Friends,” no one mentions how unlikely it was for six utterly lousy human beings to find each other. Watch the whole damn “After Hours” episode right here! #itsavideomfers

Everyone has flaws. Personally I rather like most of the friends. Rachel and Ross I don't really care for. I think some of your reasons aren't really that great. Like the 9/11 point. It's a comedy sitcom. How are you supposed to handle that? Imagine people at the time turning on the tv so they can forget about the devastation for a bit and they are reminded by a sitcom.

I'm sorry but the 9/11 point is actually really stupid and really annoyed me. OF COURSE none of the characters acknowledged 9/11 on screen. Friends is a sitcom and the show mentioning 9/11 probably would have been done in poor taste because of genre.

I think this show was so successful because it brought out, in comedic fashion, the darker tendencies everyone always jokes and thinks about doing in their lives and with their friends. Stealing money, being violent, manipulation, sexual promiscuity, etc., I think there are all degrees of "taboo" or bad things that people in all types of relationships think about, and Friends just happened to put all of those elements together within their storyline. Also, I understand them not mentioning 9/11 because in all reality, it would have been something that would have changed the character's lives permanently, and isn't particularly fair to the creative team to suddenly have some REAL in the world permanently alter their fictional characters. Also, it would need a good solid season at least to resolve all of the emotions... properly... so I think it was better to go the way they went, really, it's escapism anyway.

Chandler's father forced him to work at a transgender/gay burlesque show WHEN HE WAS A CHILD. That was obviously deeply traumatic and it makes sense that he would be uncomfortable going back to that environment or inviting his father (who he hadn't talked to in years) to his wedding. He isn't homophobic, he never had any kind of problem with Carol and Susan, it's specifically his father he doesn't like.

I think their flaws being so prominent is intentional because one of the big points of the show is that they are imperfect people with unstable lives, but have one another as a safety net and find happiness in their community.

I mean the writers might not have wanted to bring up 9/11

This video actually perfectly summarizes why I love this show, because all 6 main characters have a great balance of realistic positive traits and flaws. They feel real. And are still pretty damn funny.

Was just rewatching FRIENDS, and I didn't pick up on this earlier as much, but after "ross said rachel at the wedding" and the fallout they all refer to emily as a "controlling, conniving woman", as if what she did afterwards was REALLY bad and inexcusable, and NO ONE ever calls ross out on saying Rachel (not seriously, anyway). Realistically, emily's reactions (including stipulating that ross never see rachel, and get rid of anything that 'rachel has sat on' (probably more of a 'rachel detox' thing)) are not only completely excusable but expected, frankly I'd have expected way worse, there was NO WAY I can imagine them even TRYING to fix the marraige, I mean ross actually EXPECTED emily to go on the honeymoon with him? WHAT O.O.

I genuinely feel sorry for Monica. She has OCD and rather then actually trying to help her her 'friends' just make fun of her for it.

About 9-11, they did not mention it, because it is a show we watch in order to distract ourselves and cheer up. Actually, they did acknowledge it, around the time of 9-11, they had a storyline about Monica and Chandler's honeymoon, when they get in trouble because Chandler couldn't help to joke about bombs in the security screening at the airport. They deleted the whole storyline and wrote something else to fill it up, time later, they showed the storyline on DVD, with a message regarding to the 9-11 terrorist attacks.

Rachel's boss tied up Chandler first! she was just asking for it. at least he left her in there knowing Rachel had a key & would find her the next day. When she originally left Chandler in her office hand cuffed to the chair, she had no idea Jennifer Aniston had a key & could get in, in case of an emergency. both are pretty fcked up scenarios, but it is not like he just up & did something psychotic out of the blue for no reason. lbvs. There was at least some explanation. Great topic though! :)

Obviously you can’t have a young boy in every single episode

Maybe the reason rosses children weren't featured much was that he was a good dad and that would have been boring to watch

I've thought about this before, and it's true, I would really hate the friends if I knew them in real life. All six are completely selfish. The girls are manipulative and mean. The guys are sexist and closed-minded. I could go on and on about what's wrong with each of them. Taking all that into account, Ross is my favorite because he doesn't have a commitment phobia like Joey and Chandler, and he is the most educated and kind of the six, in my opinion. But he is pretty whiny, which is why he's some people's least favorite. I agree we see him spend a ridiculously small amount of time with his kids, but keep in mind that all the episodes of Friends only take up about 84 hours of time spread over ten years. I've always assumed that he spends time with Ben and later Emma in between episodes or scenes. I also assume they all go to work in between episodes and scenes. There are plenty of times a scene starts with someone coming home or to the coffee house after work.

There's no question the the majority of the Friends cast are terrible people. But about half of the stuff complained about here aren't actually bad things

It's part of loving people for their flaws. They dramatize archetypes of everyday people that most people can at least somewhat relate to each character. Seinfeld took a more down to Earth approach.

Rachelis the worst one, she feels entitled to everything and is very jealous about Ross dating

I think Joey is the only sane one. He just likes sex and sandwiches. He was also the most understanding? Until the later seasons when the writers turned him into a twelve year old.

Joey is bad because he likes sex and doesn't share food? WTF? He's a great friend to all of them.

Rachael is the worst. She's by far the most selfish and has everything handed to her in life. She has a brief period where she has to work then gets a job high paying high level job that she is in now way qualified for, based solely on her looks then wants respect for a she's achieved. Plus....they were, in fact, on a break

I think Rachel is the absolute worst of the friends. She constantly says she and Ross were not on a break even though in that episode she tells Monica that she and Ross broke up. On top of that she is a horrible friend to Ross. She constantly interferes in Ross's relationships. She told Ross not to sleep with Julie, she flew to London to stop Ross's wedding and she convinced Ross's girlfriend Bonnie to shave her head. Rachel was the absolute worst

This was a really great episode. That Gunther joke at the end was perfect. Nice job on the first episode Katey!

For years I was confused about why I couldn't relate to any of the characters in sitcoms or romcoms or most dramas. Thanks to these guys' videos, now I know.

One reason they didn't mention 9-11 is that most seasons on a TV are filmed, edited etc in it's entirety before they are aired so they would either have to a) write a special episode, and rewrite the rest of the season, because that's not something that can be dealt with in one episode and then back to the zaniness or b) write an episode about put it in the next season which would be broadcast the following year so people who lost loved one's would have to relive it if they happened to watch it

Haha awesome episode, Friends is the best! Only thing I'll say in defense of Joey being a "creep" is he's not as bad as Swarly! ;)

*"I'm not even sorry"* 🤣🤣🤣

I weird out because in each of the Friends characters "bad behavior" I can see my own group of friends and I. I mean is that so bad that we're not that nice ? After all nobody is perfetly good, neither perfectly bad, if we feel confortable enough to be nasty around each others from time to time, it maybe means we're close enough to be honest too.

To be fair with Chandler, his father being a woman effected him his entire childhood plus being constantly confused with being gay would piss anyone off.

Swaim: Pros - really hot Cons - not currently having sex with me Daniel: Pros - really hot Cons - not currently having sex with me and swaim at the same time

They forgot to mention one of the worst things any of them have done, Phoebe sexually assaults her clients. In one episode she said she had her massage licensed revoked 'again', meaning she's done it before. Then when asked why, she says something like "well there's a lot of oil and sometimes the hand just slips".

I think they're taking this all too serious. People are forgetting that the show was intended to be FUNNY. They're overlooking the positives of all the characters and focusing on the negatives. In reality, all people have some messed up things about themselves, including our own friends, yet we're still friends with them and CHOOSE to see past their flaws. These friends are also all growing up. I mean, they're hardly 30 in most of the seasons. I think it's an amazing show and deserves all the recognition and hype that it got, because it always puts me in a better mood. Having people who are perfect and flawless act in a show is boring. The writers want ratings.

No one mentioned that Phoebe grew up with a middle school education without any parents and had to fend for herself?? Shouldn't she get some leeway for that?

Finally FINALLY someone has said this.

Well...we all see something of us on friends from Friends, it's why we forgive their bad behavior. They probably show some bad things about us that we don't want no one to know and embrace that flaws making it look funny and less bad. Is that a good thing? No. But if I want to learn how to behave I would watch Dora the Explorer instead...

Gunther is a creeper he is always creeping on Rachel at cetntral perk, I wouldn't be surprised if he stalked her OUTSIDE of the coffee shop with the way he acts at central perk.

you should do one for how i met your mother

"Chandler leaves Rachel's boss chained up in her office overnight with no intention of going back for her" That was to get her back for doing that to him...

That friends theme song is brutal.

Phoebe also denies evolution, and then when Ross shows any open-mindedness in her favor--when she lectures that he should--she tells him that he's lost his whole belief system. Total C word.

Someone once said that we can question now why the show didn’t address 9/11, but at the time, this was our present and people watched sitcoms to escape. Addressing it not only wouldn’t have gone with the tone of the show, but it probably wouldn’t have been well received either. I also read an article that discussed the impact 9/11 had on American television: for years afterward shows that were premiering took place outside of New York and didn’t ever discuss 9/11, I think The Office was an example. The point is, they made a call that was appropriate for the time, and if it weren’t for the rise of streaming services like Netflix, Friends wouldn’t still be as popular today as it is.

Katie fucking kills it with the writing here. Characterization is perfect, made me lol multiple times. Classic AH. I miss you so!

you guys should do a video about how terrible a dad ted mosby is

8:43 we don’t like them because they’re nice and good people.If they were like that,it wouldn’t be nearly as funny.We like them because while they’re jerks,each in their own way,they’re FUNNY jerks,who we can relate to because we either have been or have been around someone that’s like at least one of them,so they’re all believable.They’re all entertaining in their own way and while from time to time, they do a bad thing,they each have their great moments that have them develop as characters.I love Friends and I think that’s what I love most about it

I still want to know is why in the flashback episode when central perk was a bar, monica sees Rachel and introduces Chandler to her as if they have never met before?

so clearly the answer is: Mike.

ross had so many of the homophobic and transphobic jokes (but yes it was the 90s and he wasnt the only one but there was a lot in a row from him when i was marathoning one time)

Its weird to see a breakdown of friends like this, because I'm pretty sure they were supposed to be caricatures of realistic people for the sake of entertainment. The writers knew that, so they made them likable in ways that didn't rely on them being morally sound all the time. I think we were supposed to relate to their feelings and knee jerk reactions and find the crazy situations they got into funny. I doubt anyone thinks bringing any of these characters into the real world would leave them entertaining. They would be obnoxious, manipulative, and abusive. Adding the context of the show we can suspend realistic beliefs and find them likable. Granted I don't care much for the show.

You guys nailed this one. I always hated those people.

My favorite character is Ross, he's the least horrible. He did stupid things, but he was emotionally in touch with himself and all he wanted was love.

I've figured out who they're all dressed as! Michael: Chandler Katie: Monica Soren: Ross Daniel: Joey

You can't blame Ross for not seeing Ben all the time, since Carol has sole custody. Plus, Rachel tried breaking up his wedding and convinced his girlfriend to shave her head out of jealousy.

Watching just reminded me of how much HIMYM stole from this show. LOL. You all should do one on how terrible those people are... if you haven't already.

The friends kinda did acknowledge 9/11 by a Easter egg on the board at chandlers and joeys apartment

From the time I was a kid, my parents always did say that the show should be called “T•A•K•E•R•S” instead! 🤣

R.I.P. James Michael Tyler, "Gunther"

To all those that say, "it's a sitcom, not the news! It's not supposed to make you feel sad!" They're in New York. The creators acknowledge that 9/11 happened. There are TONS of sitcoms with extremely sad situations (Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, MASH, Cheers, etc.) So, yes, they should've talked about it. It wouldn't hurt to add some drama to it.

They acting like normal friends don’t do this stuff, they might find it as a joke but some slow fans might take it seriously n go off ranting which is very annoying

You guys should make a community episode

In regards to the 9/11 issue; if I remember correctly it's touched on in one of the outtakes for the series where they removed a clip involving an airport scene that was already filmed when the tragedy happened. They removed it and decided not to reference it to be sensitive to the families who were going through loss etc.

Hey Cracked, would you do an After Hours episode about How I Met Your Mother?

I was no lover of Friends, but I defend the producer's decision not to acknowledge Sept 11. There was plenty of 'ACKNOWLEDGEMENT' going on at the time, and Friends was meant to be a 'lighthearted' show for young adults. I imagine the producers of the show decided not to 'tackle' it because the show actually offered a reprieve from the horror of 9/11. Why not allow people a break from the madness of the hour. Besides, could you imagine Friends tackling 9/11? It just wouldn't have worked, so better to allow the show to offer some light relief from what was happening at the time.

Safe Travels Matthew Perry, you will be missed

Well, we almost *did* fight Mexico in WWI. Almost.

I love that Soren's con is "too much hair-gel." Not a personality-trait.

Could make a documentary of the same thing for Seinfeld xD lol Even they made fun of it themselves

I want to address chandlers relationship with his parents, he doesn’t want his father at the wedding because it’s so horrible (he walked in on his parents having a threesome, and a lot more horrible things that he tells us throughout the series) and he blames his father more because he was the one leaving his mom and him for something that was better for him, of course that scars a child. He probably only uses the thing about the bride getting less attention because that was the only thing he could think of that would lead to changing Monica’s mind about inviting him

Wow! The 80's & 90's were full of social engineering. At the time I would never had realized, but seeing this collage, & then thinking about all of the other 'programming' & the music industry & videos, that period was utterly full of "programming", "socially engineering".. Kinda creepy & disturbing, really.

I think that's what makes it such a good show, they're all characters with problems and bad character traits just like ALL OF US (I can be a bit narcissistic but I really try to keep it under wraps) and I know all of you have bad character traits, none of are perfect in any way and to say we are, would just be lying to ourselves. That's probably the best part about the show, very few of their character traits are relatable but the fact that they are all so different from each other and have unique personalities makes them relatable because we all feel that we're unique in some way

I always disliked Phoebe

One word for each Friend. Monica: sociopathic Ross: dull Rachel: calamitous Joey: purile Phoebe: notional Chandler: abnormal

I don't like that you take a lot of stuff out of context to make the characters look stupid or bad in any other ways. A lot of your points is not realy correct or fair. I would respect you if you showed everything in context but you don't and therefore, henceforth I will dislike the video.

Chandler only left Joanna handcuffed in her office because she did it to him first.

Finally someone else recognizes how shitty those people were! I hate how Im the bad guy for grumbling when this show ends up on the TV. I didnt watch it back in the day, I didnt like it. I still dont. Joey is funny now and then, and by that I mean hes got like 10 funny jokes through the whole series. Just not that funny. Awesome Job Katey, I love your work. Thank you to everyone on and off camera for all your obvious hard work.

All friends have flaws, obviously, but I don't think they are bad people. Except for Ross, he says the wrong name at the freaking altar, he has super fragile masculinity and forces it in everyone else, he treats Rachel terribly and always believes he's right, while he refuses to even listen to her. Do you remember the list he made about Rachel's flaws? Why would anyone think this could ever be okay?? He treated Monica like shit her entire life, mostly when she was a little fat girl, his best friend and he make so much fun of her she develops an eating disorder and clearly still has an disordered relationship to food. Their parents treat Ross better than her all the time, but he belittles her insecuritys when she openly talks about it. When her dad gifts her his Porsche as an apology for a life long emotional abuse he immediately gets jealous. Also he is classist af, everyone who has less education or a lower paid job is less worth than he, also he uses Rachel's job "just a waitress" as a reason not to date her. He treats all of them like shit, even his best friend chandler. When joey and chandler offer him to stay in their apartment he's a fucking pain in the ass all the time! Well he's really just a piece of crap

Guys chill its a funny show not really like IRL

It's almost like the show is a satire on insecure young adults who pretend they know everything

Everyone was a bad person in 90's sitcoms. In the 80's, almost every show had a ridiculous, self centered, and often destructive character. In the 90's, everyone in the show was that character.

You're not supposed to like the friends, you're supposed relate to them let's be honest... ur a terrible person, yes u reading this, no one is more terrible than u... expect foreign dictators, but aside from that ur the worst... but ur also the best. Hear me out, everyone is terrible, everyone has stolen, lied, judged, hated, cheated, or hurt someone and probably will do it again, but that's normal. People, hell not just people, LIVING CREATURES are assholes, that's not fine but it's normal. You are not better than any of these people portrayed on Friends, you are just as bad, selfish, prejudice, and cruel as these people and that's the point. You suck, I suck, we all suck. We can definitely relate to the friends in this show, everything good, bad, and ugly about them. Damnit I wish I worked for Cracked I woulda totally won that argument!!