Discuss minty-fresh and moustachioed Richard, the various neurotic members of the Greene family, Ross and Monica's frighteningly frisky parents, the legions of boyfriends and girlfriends, psycho roommates, and even weirder co-workers.

My favorite guest star? Selleck, no contest. Damn, the man is smooth.

I didn't know till a while ago that Matthew Perry's dad was on the show as Joshua's dad.

Favorite guest star? I liked Tom Selleck, but for a one-time appearance, I have to go with Brad Pitt. He was so damn funny as the guy who hates Rachel Green.

I've always liked Chandler's parents, Kathleen Turner and Morgan Fairchild. Their interactions at Monica and Chandler's wedding were hysterical.

Nora: At our wedding, I seem to recall seeing the groom in the wedding dress.

Charles: But that was after the wedding--it's not bad luck then.

Nora: Honey, it ain't good luck.

Two of my favorite one-shots were Susan Sarandon and Brooke Shields. Sarandon as the fading soap queen and Shields as the psycho fan. IIRC, Shields won her TV series with this role, I was disappointed that Suddenly Susan completely ignored her talent at playing a raving loony....

The ever traumatizing parenting of Jack and Judy Geller was alway my favorite on the show. They were alway willing to tell you information you didn't need to know, or give advice that you didn't want from them. They were great.

As much as I like Paul Rudd, I think Richard would have been a far superior "seventh Friend". The way he interacted with Chanoey, the girls' crushes on him, Ross being all uncomfortable ("DOCTOR BURKE???"), it's all good.

Michael Vartan was good too. "You're not wearing the patch yet."

Elliot Gould is one of the best character actors I can think of. I mean, the man was in two "Muppet" movies!!!! And I didn't realize this til it was on VH1 recently, but Christina Pickles played Drew Barrymore's mom in "The Wedding Singer." When I saw that I got so excited! Jack and Judy are always entertaining. And it's very realistic, because we see them enough and know enough about how they treated their kids to understand how Monica, in particular, was the way she was.

Christina Pickles as the Wedding Singer mom was basically Judy Gellar. "Have you considered faking a pregnancy?" is something I could totally see her saying to Monica. If she cared a little more about Monica (Ross was a medical miracle, after all).

I loved Rachel's dad, and how he scared the bejeezus out of Ross. I recently found out that the actor who plays him, Ron Leibman, is married to Jessica Walter, who plays Lucille Bluth. I liked the idea of Mr. Green and Lucille Bluth together. Hee.

Tom Selleck was also great. I was surprised how quickly I started rooting for the Monica/Richard romance.

I loved Christina Applegate as Amy and, of course, Maggie Wheeler as Janice.

George Clooney and Noah Wiley. God bless the chickpea.

Tom Selleck was amazing. He had such an unbelievable charm about him, and he played up that maturity factor so well. I thought he fit in seamlessly with the cast. I love when Chandler and Joey try to act like him.

The Gellers were pretty great, too, though early Judy makes me uncomfortable because she's just insanely mean. She got a little better as time went on. I always loved the scenes where Jack and Judy played off each other such as the London Wedding ("I wanted to ride the tube," "Judy!" "Jack, that's what they call the subway," "Oh, I thought she meant...") and the penis cake episode ("I know what you're thinking, the resemblance is uncanny"). I hate that they didn't get a proper farewell.

Christina Applegate was amazing as well. She was able to expand on Kelly Bundy and so she seemed perfectly at ease. Her chemistry with Matt LeBlanc, in particular, was awesome.

That episode is hilarious, but now it's sort of awkward, what with all the Brangelina stuff...but still, a great ep.

And Tom Selleck did pretty much rock every episode. I hate to say it, since my mother's in love with him and it'd be creepy if I was too, but that very first scene, in the tux? ("It's James Bond!") Um, yes please.

And of course, the Gellers. My favorite moment has to be the infamous "that's a lot of information to get in 30 seconds..." mini-monologue. So classic. "It did not taste good." Ah ha ha ha.

I have to chime in here and say that my favourite guest-star is Adam Goldberg as Eddie the crazy roomate. His three-episode arc from season two is to me, Friends at its absolute best. He's a dehydrating maniac!

Goldberg, yes! Good call. That was perfect writing. He was just unbelievable in that role.

Was it really only three episodes? Feels like so much more. :) "Man ALIVE, this thing's fantastic!" He was funny on his own and caused some really great Chandler lines/moments: "Hannibal Lecter? Better roommate than you!" Hee.

I loved Reese and Christina as Rachel's sisters. They were so well cast. I actually think Christina was funnier. Marrying the guy for the cool aparartment, becoming a baby stylist, thinking Ross was the falafal guy.

I've been watching my S2 DVDs for the last 2 weeks, and got to the Eddie episodes today. Brilliant. Loved Adam Goldberg. Whenever I see him though, he is always Eddie the psycho to me.

I also loved Paul Rudd as Phoebe's boyfriend but Hank Azaria and Charlie Sheen also played great boyfriends.

In general, I think Friends has always been good at taking advantage of its guest stars.

"NO MORE FALAFAL FOR YOU!"

Weren't Reese and Christina both nominated for Emmys for their guest roles? I believe CA won one year, actually.

Robin Williams and Billy Crystal are a notable exception to that rule.

No mention for Giovanni Ribisi? I think he did one of the best jobs of the guest stars, really adding something as Frank. And the Phoebe pregnancy story was one of the best arcs they ever did.

I also liked Jon Favreau, Marlo Thomas, Morgan Fairchild ["honey, it isn't a good sign"], Christina Applegate and Tom Selleck [Monica was at her best with Richard].

LizDC, I think everyone just tries to forget that happened. What the hell was the deal with anyway? Cross-promotion? Seriously, could it have been any worse?

I must be in the minority because I didn't really care for Reese as a sister, probably because I don't particularly like either of those episodes. Monica's vanishing cold, Chandler's sudden inability to cry (it always killed me how they sometimes wanted to characterize Chandler as a man and sometimes as a woman), etc. The Phoebe porn stuff is awesome, though, especially Joey's decision that it's okay to look at the porn since it's actually Ursula.

Still, though, I just don't think that Reese was a good enough comedic actress to overcome mediocre material. I guess, though, the glue in all this is material. In television, it's really hard to overcome bad writing. Eh, maybe she wasn't too bad after all.

Oh, and I definitely don't want to forget Jon Lovitz for his amazing stoned guy portrayal. His cotton mouth scene in the first season was great, but I think I loved him more in season nine.

"Well, I do like my hair."
"Really?"
"Ahhhhh!"

He was terrific.

I believe what happened there was that Williams and Crystal just happened to be somewhere near the set and they wanted to be on the show. Or something like that. Somebody who remembers this help me here!

My favorite guest stars are definitely Elliott Gould and Christina Pickles. I love every episode they're in, especially The One Where Ross Got High. That episode was Christina Pickles at her best.

Aside from the Gellers, my other faves are Paul Rudd as Mike Hannigan, Reese Witherspoon as Jill Green, Brad Pitt as Will, and Bruce Willis as Paul.

I think Paul Rudd did an amazing job of blending into the cast. It must have been hard for a 7th person to go onto that set, see how tight the cast was, and then to be thrown into that. Those 6 actors had been working together for 9 years before Paul Rudd stepped onto the scene, and it really didn't show in his episodes. He seemed so natural, and he had great chemistry with the cast as a whole, and with Lisa Kudrow in particular. The episode where Phoebe meets Mike's parents is one of my favorite episodes of all-time, and I really love Paul Rudd's reactions to Phoebe's crazy behavior.

I thought Reese Witherspoon did a great job. Her depiction of Jill was perfectly spoiled, self-centered, and superficial. But underneath those negative qualities was a likeable character, and Reese managed to portray this in just 2 short episodes. Normally I would think a girl who wants to date her sister's ex-boyfriend is just being spiteful and petty, but Reese managed to not make me hate Jill, but to actually find her endearing in a way. I know this is going to be sacrilege around here, but I think Reese Witherspoon was way better then Christina Applegate on the show. I never understood all the praise Christina got for her portrayal of Amy Green. The first episode she appeared in, the Thanksgiving episode in the 9th season, was funny with or without Christina Applegate. I don't think she made the episode at all. Yes, her fight with Rachel was hysterical, but other then that, I don't see this greatness everyone is talking about. I find her character highly unlikeable, and not funny at all. Constantly forgetting Emma's name, not knowing who Ross and Monica are, asking Rachel & Ross who gets Emma when they die? Not funny. Painful. I understand that the character is supposed to be unlikeable and all these negative things, but to me the mark of a good actress is someone who can make an unlikeable character on paper likeable in execution. Jennifer Aniston saved Rachel's character, because on paper I hate her. But her portrayal was excellent and made the character likeable, sympathetic, and relatable. Reese Witherspoon did the same for me with her portrayal of Jill. Christina Applegate did not make Amy likeable for me at all.

I loved, loved, loved Brad Pitt on the show. I loved the irony of his character hating Jennifer Aniston's character. "So, you got her knocked up, and you're not marrying her? High Five!" I agree that it does seem a little weird now that they have broken up and he's with Angelina Jolie, but at the time, it was great.

Finally, I loved Bruce Willis's portrayal of Paul. He exuded confidence, and talked a tough act, and the payoff of seeing him acting like such a tool in the bedroom when Ross was hiding was great.

Not the only one. I thought there was something 'off' about Reese's episodes. I find her to be a little robotic at the best of times but here she seemed really stilted. A thing I guess I must be in the minority about is Pitt. I thought he was all kinds of awful. Can't do comedy. The situation itself with the Rachel club was funny but David Schwimmer made that worthwhile IMO.

Oh in terms of not making the most of guest stars, I'd add in Sean Penn. Seriously I forget he was even on the show. And it's Sean Penn for chrissakes!

Tom Selleck was pretty goood, as was Brad Pitt. And I always loved Ross and Monica's parents, no matter how deranged they were.

Does anyone remember Hugh Laurie? (He was the British guy sitting next to Rachel on the flight to London) I loved his part and how he finally got to tell Rachel off ("I'm afraid I have to agree with your friend, "Pheebs"...its seems to me that you were on a break....")

I will always love Hugh Laurie (besides being Dr. House) for finally telling off Rachel. I love that scene. Rachel was not my favorite character.

Hugh's fist-in-mouth moment is one of the best moments on the series, and I don't just say that because I'm a House fan, and I am definitely taking into account every great episode. But it was really just a perfect moment as we saw that not everyone really cared about these people's problems, and Rachel, who had dug her own grave that season, was told off. I liked Rachel, but still, she deserved it there. Just a perfect scene. Maybe Aniston will cameo on House now as a patient with her fist stuck in her mouth or something absurd.

Yeah, I agree. CA was funny, but I hated her character so much that I would not have wanted to see any more of her. Piercing Emma's ears and talking about her need for a nose job? Not cool.

I, too, am just a love machine. Bruce Willis was perfect in that scene, and in the whole role.

I know! When I went to imdb.com, I was looking at the cast of AD, and recognized Leibman's name, I was so excited! My two all-time favorite shows, had a link!

I totally agree. Brad Pitt was not funny in this episode at all, and I though the plot line and it's "irony" being juxtaposed against Brad and Jen's real-life relationship was very contrived. Never mind the fact that I could never buy in a million years Brad Pitt ever being fat or unattractive. I cannot suspend my disbelief that much, sorry.

I read this page, I swear, but saw no mention of Alec Baldwin in The One In Massapequa?
Didn't you guys think that was just the most glorious, the most magical guest appearance you ever saw in your entire life?

I also loved Freddie Prinze Jr. as the male nanny! I don't usually like him, but his character was hilarious!:-D (The flute! His light madeleines!)

Freddie Prinze Jr as Sandy was hysterical. I LOVED his stuff with Joey. "It's like the cheapest college ever!"

For the most part, the guest shots on Friends were very well done. There were far more hits than there were misses in my opinion.

In the "worst" category, I can only say: Jean-Claude Van Dame. So horrible he made me oversee any Chris Isaak badness from the same double-ep (which, actually, wasn't so much badness as the poor guy being incapable to say one single line without sounding like he was reading off a card in a foreign language; he made me feel bad for him, while JCVD just made me want to throw something at the TV when he was on).

As for the London wedding episode/s, thank God Hugh Laurie was there, because Fergie and Jennifer Saunders (whom I usually a fan of) just weren't that funny.

Hugh Laurie was amazing. I almost want to buy that season on DVD just to have those two minutes with him and JA.

The way Hugh says the name "Pheebs" is worth the whole episode by itself.

I'm not at all ashamed to say that is one of the reasons I bought Season 4 on DVD... before any other season.

The other reason is 'The One with the Embroyos.'



Oh God. I hated the second part of 'The One with Two Parts' mainly because of Jean-Claude and how Rachel and Monica, particularly Monica, were around him. The Jean-Claude and Monica date was painful. I wanted to reach through the screen and throttle Monica until she shut the hell up. "Can you beat up that guy? Can you beat up that guy? This is so cool!" I understood why she was so school-girl with Chip considering all the history but not so much Jean-Claude Van Damme because I never bought that Monica would be so impressed with Timecop that she'd be all "Rachel! He changed time!" as if she totally believed it.

Say he's got an incredible ass and is amazingly flexible... that I can understand... but being amazed with Timecop just seemed very much NOT like Monica.

I mean, this was the girl who then went on to meet and date Richard and behave in a fairly normal fashion?

Danny Devito.

I'd pay good money to have the memory of that guest spot surgically removed from my brain.

LOVED her!

"What's wrong with it?"
"It's a little slutty."
"It's yours."
"Yeah, well, I'm a slut!"
"So am I."

One of my favorite all-time exchanges on this show, EVER.

A big word to whoever said Christina Pickles was at her best in "The One Where Ross Got High". That's one of my favorite episodes and her rant at the end is my favorite part. My second favorite part is Phoebe's Jack Gellar fixation.

When I first saw it I admit he was just That Guy From 101 Dalmatians to me, but now that he's Gregory "God of Sex" House, I'm now obsessed with those scenes and quote them endlessly. "I just have to say that you...are a horrible person!...I'm afraid I have to agree with your friend Pheebs!" It must be said: could he be any cuter?



I know! So cute! His interactions with Ross were priceless (as were Ross' reactions to him - "They're not even manly cookies, you know, with-with chunks! [takes delicate bite]"). He made his own lotion...I must admit, lingering guest-stars can be annoying, but I would have loved to see Sandy again.

I totally think that Reese was the better funner sister than Christina. That look she gives to Rachel right before she closes Ross's curtains was comedic genius.

I think some of the funniest guest stars were not necessarily because the guest actor was great, but because the writers did an awesome job of integrating them into the plots. For example, the bit with Denise Richards was absolutely hilarious "She's your cousin..." and Phoebe's "She's not YOUR cousin!", as well as the Winona Ryder's coconuts knocking.

Okay. Maybe I find hilarity in inadvertant lesbianism.

Oh, the Denise Richards episode was hilarious. And Denise Richards, though I have absolutely no respect for her acting skills whatsoever, was an awesome choice to play the cousin. The flipping of the hair with the music...Denise Richards simply had the perfect hair for the episode.

Although the funniest bit in the episode to me was David Schwimmer's voiceover delivery of "This is the longest anyone has not talked, EVER!"

Speaking of Denise Richards (how's that for a segue?) I thought Charlie Sheen was actually a really funny guest star. His scream when Phoebe reveals her poxed face simultaneous with the lightning strike is gold.

And add me to the list of folks who could watch Hugh Laurie say "Pheebs" and put his fist in his mouth on a continuous loop and never stop finding it hilarious.

My least favorite guest star was Dermot Mulroney. I've liked him in other things but I thought the whole storyline with his character and Rachel just fell flat. I didn't buy into it at all.

I thought Alec Baldwin was very funny and I did think that Brad Pitt was funny. That episode is just fun to watch, if only to imagine that there was a time when Brad Pitt might have been an overweight geek.

Jeff Goldblum! How I love that man. Also agree on Jon Lovitz as stoned guy, Bruce Willis, Freddie (who is annoying everywhere else) as Sandy, Adam Goldberg, and Giovanni Ribisi. And Debra Jo Rupp was okay, except I have trouble seeing her in any role but Kitty's.

My favorite Eddie moment is "this one's going in the display!" paired with the beginnings of crazy laughter over the dehydrated tomato.

You all have already mentioned the great guest stars (although I really think of Jack and Judy as recurring characters more than as guest stars, but that's splitting hairs, I suppose). I, too, love Hugh Laurie in that plane scene. Fan-freaking-tastic.

I thought of another "worst" one: Elle MacPherson.

Yeah, her and Joey had no chemistry, I hated his crush on her and how she was supposed to be so hot, which I couldn't see, I only noticed how flat her butt was. Even though I thought the fight with Monica in the hall was quite funny.

Rebecca Romijin was terrific as the hot paleontologist. You would think that someone that smart would be a neat freak, but no, she has the messiest apartment ever.

Elle's character was annoying. While I did get a kick out of Joey reacting to all of the changes she made to the apartment that was really the only thing I liked about her presence on the show other than Monica ready to kick her ass at a moments notice.

Oh... and her being there did introduce us to The Routine.

Joey's thing with the potpourri, though, cracks me up to this day. Just the way he says it. 'Why... that's like summer in a bowl!' The way his voice cracks. Hilarious.

I really enjoyed Charlie and her nerd bonding with Ross. "The bartender said that they split up into two search parties, the herbivores and the carnivores. ...You know, we as a group are not the coolest."

And having her there led to another one of my favorite guest stars, Greg Kinnear.

Benjamin: You're right, I apologize. Scratch the last question. Spell "Boscodictiasaur".
Ross: um... I've never heard of a "Boscodictiasaur".
Benjamin: Yeah, I just made it up. Spell it.
Ross: Ok. B - O - S ...
Benjamin: No, it starts with a silent "M".
Ross: oh, come on!

I have to agree with Alec Baldwin-that is one of my favorite episodes...

I can't find the quote but it is something like "In my mind's eye... And now I'm like 'Mind's Eye-you had no idea!" He makes me laugh the entire time-you know you've found friends when you say something like "What an ingenious solution to man's plate dispensing problems" at a restaurant and people get you.

I also like Eddie and use the line "No help required Chico" quite frequently.