“There’s nothing to tell” — except that it’s hard to believe it was 25 years ago when Monica Geller (Courteney Cox) first uttered that line and the world made six new “Friends” for life.
Monica, Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston), Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), Ross Geller (David Schwimmer), Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) and Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc) made their television debut in September 1994, around that big orange couch in Central Perk. And though the show was filmed on the Warner Bros. Studio lot in Burbank, Calif., it is ironically New York.
In honor of its 25th anniversary, we took a look through 10 seasons for 25 of those “only in New York” moments you’ll want to relive.
1. The one with the thumb
After receiving extra cash in her account and a football phone from her bank, Phoebe gives the winnings to a homeless woman she knows. As repayment, Phoebe settles on a soda from a nearby street vendor. Upon opening it, she finds a thumb. (“The One with the Thumb”; season 1, episode 3)
2. The one with the Rangers injury
To try and cheer up Ross as he mopes about the anniversary of his first time with his lesbian ex-wife Carol (Jane Sibbett), Chandler and Joey take him to a Rangers game, where Ross proceeds to get hit in the face with a puck. (“The One with George Stephanopoulos”; season 1, episode 4)
3. The one with famous neighbors
While the guys are at the Rangers game, Rachel, Monica and Phoebe spy on George Stephanopoulos in his apartment from their fire escape after they receive his pizza order by mistake. (“The One with George Stephanopoulos”; season 1, episode 4)
4. The one with the blackout
A blackout hits and Chandler ends up stuck in an ATM vestibule with Victoria’s Secret model Jill Goodacre. Where else but the city are supermodels just meandering into your average ATM vestibule? (“The One With the Blackout”; season 1, episode 7)
5. The one with the subway ad
The spectacular subway system makes several cameos in the series, most notably when Joey finds himself featured on VD posters in the subway and throughout the city. (“The One Where Underdog Gets Away”; season 1, episode 9)
6. The one with the noisy neighbor
Every New Yorker knows the plight of the annoying downstairs neighbor, but Mr. Heckles is a rare breed. The first season features many a moment with Mr. Heckles banging on his ceiling for the “Friends” to quiet down, until that one fateful day when he lifts his broom for the last time. (“The One Where Heckles Dies; season 2, episode 3)
7. The one with the pigeon
They’re rodents with wings and a staple of NYC, so it’s only logical that pigeons have their 15 seconds in the limelight on a New York-based show. When a pigeon flies into the apartment and startles Rachel, she manages to trap it under a pot. (“The One With Phoebe’s Husband”; season 2, episode 4)
8. The one with the baby on the bus
We’ve all left the occasional umbrella or grocery bag on public transit. But a baby?! Only Joey and Chandler can lay claim to that — we hope. The two friends get distracted by a couple of attractive ladies and end up leaving Ross’ baby Ben on the bus. (“The One With the Baby on the Bus”; season 2, episode 6)
9. The one with the apartment radiator
Ah, the glory of city apartment radiators. They often run on two settings: off and sweltering. So when the radiator valve breaks in Monica and Rachel’s apartment, their Christmas party quickly turns tropical. (“The One With Phoebe’s Dad”; season 2, episode 9)
10. The one with the movie set
The city is the site of many a movie set, so it’s no surprise that the gang would end up visiting Ross’ monkey Marcel on the set of his new flick. (“The One After the Superbowl: Part 2”; season 2, episode 13)
11. The one with the pocket thief
When confronting the bullies that kicked them out of their seats at Central Perk, Chandler and Ross — and the bullies — get their stuff stolen as they prepare to fight. Only in New York! (“The One with the Bullies”; season 2, episode 21)
12. The one with Fleet Week
Fleet Week comes to the “Friends” set when Phoebe’s submarine guy (Charlie Sheen) surfaces. Phoebe’s plans for a romantic weekend are foiled with an unexpected case of the chickenpox. (“The One with the Chickenpox”; season 2, episode 23)
13. The one with the list
Isabella Rossellini pokes into Central Perk for a cup of coffee and learns that she got bumped off of Ross’ celebrity freebie list for Winona Ryder. (“The One with Frank Jr.”; season 3, episode 5)
14. The one with ugly naked guy
When Phoebe is convinced that her cursed trip to the dentist takes out ugly naked guy, the friends fashion a poking device to reach across the alleyway and make sure their neighbor is alive. (“The One With the Giant Poking Device”; season 3, episode 8)
15. The one with the building super
After almost getting Rachel and Monica kicked out of their apartment, Joey agrees to help building superintendent Treeger (Mike Hagerty) practice his dance moves, culminating in the two of them taking a spin around the roof of the building. (“The One with the Ballroom Dancing”; season 4, episode 4)
16. The one with the cozy neighbor
With space at a premium, city dwellers often find themselves too close for comfort with their neighbors. Though if you ask Joey, he’s more than happy to be cozied up next to the “Morning’s Here” guy for his daily serenade. (“The One with All the Haste”; season 4, episode 19)
17. The one with the car backfire
When Joey, Ross and Chandler go on a ride-along with Phoebe’s new cop boyfriend Gary (Michael Rapaport), things get “dangerous” when a car backfires. The gang thinks they’ve been involved in a shooting and Joey jumps to save his sandwich (not Ross) from the “gunfire exchange.” (“The One with the Ride-Along”; season 5, episode 20)
18. The one with the cab on the George Washington Bridge
When Chandler says he doesn’t think Joey’s Las Vegas movie is going to be his big break, Joey kicks him out of Phoebe’s cab in the middle of the George Washington Bridge. (“The One with Joey’s Big Break”; season 5, episode 22)
19. The one with the ‘Rockin’ Eve’
Joey’s new dancer roommate Janine (Elle Macpherson) gets booked for a stint on “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” and brings Monica, Ross and Joey along. Monica and Ross bust out their dance routine from high school to impress the producers. (“The One with the Routine”; season 6, episode 10)
20. The one with the fire escape
Stargazing for the Bapstein-King comet goes south when Joey and Ross get locked up on the roof and have to climb the fire escape to get down. (“The One Where They’re Up All Night”; season 7, episode 12)
21. The one with the famous classmate
The world of NYC independent schools is a unique one, and Phoebe tries to take advantage of the fact that Ross’ son Ben is classmates with the son of famed musician Sting to score some free tickets to his show. (“The One with Monica’s Boots”; season 8, episode 10)
22. The one with the rat babies
City apartments are home to all sorts of little creatures. When Phoebe’s beau Mike (Paul Rudd) kills her rat friend, Bob, Phoebe and Mike raise Bob’s rat babies — until they start multiplying exponentially. (“The One with Phoebe’s Rats”; season 9, episode 12)
23. The one with the mugging
Walking down a somewhat dark alley, Ross and Phoebe are victims of an attempted mugging, which is foiled by the fact that Phoebe knows the mugger from her days on the street. (“The One with the Mugging”; season 9, episode 15)
24. The one with the lost lotto tickets
Pigeons make another cameo when one costs the gang thousands of dollars by knocking a bowl of lottery tickets out of Phoebe’s hands on the fire escape. (“The One With the Lottery”; season 9, episode 18)
25. The one with the wrong airport
Who else checks their ticket 10 times to make sure they know which NYC-area airport they’re flying out of? No? Just us? Well, maybe Ross should have checked Rachel’s flight plans before going to the wrong airport when he tries to win her back in the series finale. Luckily, he makes it to the right one in the nick of time. (“The Last One: Part 2”; season 10, episode 18)
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