No-one could have predicted the sheer volume of popularity that the nineties sitcom Friends would receive. After the pilot aired, Variety said that while the actors had ‘sharp sitcom skills’, the show needed ‘funnier writing’ to get through its growing pains. The New York Times described the cast as ‘appealing’ the dialogue to be ‘pitch-perfect 1994’ and the show being as close as possible to ‘having it all’; and have it all they did. Friends is a true icon of our time, having ten seasons under its belt and a runtime of ten years. There is hardly a sitcom more talked about or more in demand than this show; Netflix even paid $100 million just to keep it streaming. The story of six friends trying to make it through adulthood and the dating scene while remaining sane still gets plenty of laughs over twenty years after the pilot released.
While the entire cast of characters brings something new to the table, I want to talk about Joey and Chandler. The bromance of all TV bromances, these two were inseparable. There was never a dull moment when one of them was on screen, never mind two. These two roommates had each other’s backs and were friendship goals long before hashtags were even a thing. Joey and Chandler were the drama free comedy kings of Friends but what secrets do they have? What makes these two tick? Time to revisit some of their best moments and find out what Joey and Chandler are all about.
20 The One Where They Went To Vegas
Once the cast were all chosen and Friends was confirmed, the gang all went to Vegas to enjoy one last night of complete anonymity before the show aired. Director James Burrows told the cast "Once the show comes on the air, you guys will never be able to go anywhere without being hounded." The gang went to Caesar’s Palace for a wild night of fun. Later, they would return to Caesar’s Palace again for any Vegas-centric episodes.
19 The One With The Handshakes
What friends don’t have a secret handshake? Well, unique handshakes are often seen as a kid thing, but Joey and Chandler made it cool. Saying goodbye to the foosball table and each other, these two whipped out the iconic ‘lame cool guy handshake’. This handshake is regularly featured in top TV handshake lists and showed that adults can do sick handshakes with their friends. It turns out that the lame cool guy handshake is not so lame after all.
18 The One With The Power Entrances
Who does not love a power entrance? Whether you are out to prove something or steal the spotlight at your next business meeting, an iconic entrance is a fast way to ensure that you command attention. Joey and Chandler had a habit of making some powerful entrances together for laughs. From riding in on the white dog statue to the room to Joey actually busting down the door, these two really know how to enter a room. Add to that their in-sync movements and funny jokes and you have a recipe for a good episode.
17 The One With The Real Talk
While things were usually goofy and silly around Joey and Chandler, they did know how to discuss their emotions in a healthy way. They would regularly check in with each other and encourage honesty – often with a hug afterward. Joey and Chandler knew that honesty was the best policy, even if it took a couple of tries to get their thoughts out. They supported each other when it mattered most, and that was what helped sell their relationship.
16 The One With The Synced Moves
Joey and Chandler were close; so close in fact, that they were often in sync. Whether it is giving the iconic double thumbs up or throwing up an ‘L’ sign together, these two are pros at letting people know how they feel with gestures. Also pointing at each other or the other friends was a pretty classic move. Sometimes you just need someone who knows how you feel without words; Joey and Chandler have it down to an art.
15 The One With Interior Design
When living with a roommate in a rental, it can be difficult to decide how to design everything. Someone may want to pick up a new rug or put up a picture and someone else just wants to keep things messy. Joey and Chandler were always making interior design choices together in the ultimate expression of bromance. Of course, sometimes that means getting a canoe instead of actual furniture, but it also means getting matching recliner armchairs to watch the game in.
14 The One With The Canoe
Living in a big city can be dangerous and inviting strangers in your home even more so. Joey proved it when he and Chandler tried to sell their TV unit. A guy came to buy it, Joey locked himself in the unit. The suspicious guy then stole everything the guys had. Soon, the guys ended up selling the unit for a canoe, which led to some great bits. Chandler even let Joey off the hook for losing their stuff, which is proof of a great bro-ship.
13 The One With The Sick Burns
Are you really friends if you do not drag each other every chance you get? Chandler and Joey are the epitome of timely roasts, ready to give each other a verbal beat down at any time. Their quips and jabs were always entertaining to watch and rarely taken personally. Sometimes the quips would go too far, and they would fight but the boys would come around. True friends know that banter is just that.
12 The One With The Apartment
It is hard to imagine a time where Joey and Chandler did not know each other, but that time did exist. It was Chandler who rented the apartment first and then started looking for a roommate. Chandler even had a different roommate before Joey, a guy called Kip who left. There are two contradicting reasons for Kip’s departure; some say that he left because he dated Monica and others because he wanted to get married. Either way, he got phased out.
11 The One With The New Friend
While Chandler was interviewing for a roommate, he chose someone other than Joey as his first choice. Chandler was going to go for a man named Eric, who was a fashion photographer. By rooming with Eric, Chandler thought that he could reap some benefits. However, Mr. Heckles convinced Eric he was not chosen, so Joey filled his spot. Thankfully, Joey and Chandler became bros and gave everyone amazing screen time.
10 The One With The Lipstick
Sometimes revenge is best served cold. When Chandler gets the chance to create his own nationwide commercial, Joey begs him for the part. Chandler does not think Joey is the right man for the job and does not pass on or watch Joey’s audition tape. Joey figures out that Chandler did not watch it and showed him the tape; on the tape is a Japanese nationwide commercial for Ichiban, a lipstick for men. To apologize, Chandler wears Ichiban to Central Perk and calls himself a ‘pretty little girl’ in front of everyone.
9 The One With The Hugs
No-one does bromance like Joey and Chandler. These two were always hugging each other and being affectionate bros. They hugged so much that they mastered all kinds of hugs; the behind hug, the jump hug, the mid-air hug, the piggyback hug. You name it, Joey and Chandler have mastered it. It was unusual to see two guy friends hug each other so much but it just added to their friendship. Their bromance made the final hug when Chandler moved out even more special.
8 The One With The Kiss
It is well-known that Chandler hates being alone. Chandler was always looking for someone to date and validate his life, to the point where he kept dating women he did not like, like Janice. In The One With The Monkey, New Years’ posed a particular problem for Chandler and he tried his hardest to have someone to kiss at midnight. What started as a no-date New Years’ turned into a dating disaster. Chandler moaned that no-one would kiss him so much that Joey kissed him to shut him up.
7 The One With The Birds
Adopting a pet with your friend must be the next level of friendship. If you do that, could you BE any closer? Joey and Chandler showed us how fun living with your best friend and pets can be when they adopted a duck and a chick. There was already a running gag that Joey and Chandler were married before Chandler married Monica but they really took it to heart when they treated their new pets as their own children. The birds getting stuck in things and being scolded did not help.
6 The One With Four Friends
When the show was in its early conception, there were originally only going to be four friends in the cast. Joey, Monica, Rachel, and Ross were going to be the main characters while Phoebe and Chandler were side characters. Lucky for fans, Chandler and Phoebe were both picked as main characters. The show would not be the same without Phoebe and Chandler’s input every episode and Joey would definitely miss out on having the best friend ever.
5 The One With The Comfy Chair
It is well-known that live studio audiences were brought in to watch the cast film the episodes in real time. This meant that the laugh tracks were genuine most of the time. The only time audiences were not included were in the early episodes and for big finales. However, one audience got a shock when Joey and Chandler ran for a chair only for Matt LeBlanc to injure his shoulder. This particular audience had won the opportunity to watch through a Coca Cola competition and went home a little disappointed.
4 The One With The Audition
Remember when Monica dated Pete the wannabe UFC champion? It turns out that the actor who played him, Jon Favreau, had initially auditioned to be Chandler. It is hard to imagine anyone but Matthew Perry playing Chandler Bing but it was a possibility early on in its production. Luckily, Jon Favreau was perfect for Pete the almost Ultimate Fighting Champion. Pete even got to date Monica before Chandler did, so he had that going for him.
3 The One With The White Dog
Speaking of cool power entrances, remember when Joey and Chandler rode into the room on that white dog statue? It turns out that that white dog statue belonged to Jennifer Aniston, who plays Rachel Green. Aniston received the dog as a gift to celebrate getting her role as Rachel in Friends. The white dog, named Pat, was originally Joey’s before he lost it in a repossession. Ross buys the dog back for him and it then moves from Joey’s apartment to Chandler and Monica’s apartment, to the balcony where it stays for the remainder of the show.
2 The One With The Double Audition
Sometimes a character really speaks to an actor and they feel a strong need to play that character. Hank Azaria, who played the scientist David that went to Minsk, originally wanted to play Joey. In fact, Azaria was so passionate about playing Joey that he auditioned for the role not once but twice in a row. It is a shame that he could not play his ideal character, but Azaria did a fabulous job playing David. Many fans were upset that he had to break up with Phoebe for Minsk.
1 The One With The Questionable Girlfriends
Joey has dated the most people on Friends by a long shot; over all the seasons, Joey dated 17 girls while Phoebe dated 16 different men. While Joey has dated some interesting women in his time, there are two matches that were not favored by Chandler or the other actors. In the show’s early conception, Joey was going to end up with Monica until producers saw the fans’ excitement for her to be with Chandler. When Joey began dating Rachel, the entire main cast had a meeting with the crew as they felt it was ‘inappropriate’ for the two characters to date.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErZ%2Bippeoe6S7zGidq6GVo7G0ecOeq5qhnKh6q7vEsmScoJGjsa2x0WapnqSRqbawutKhoKln