Top 20 Unscripted Friends Moments That Were Kept in the Show
#20: Rachel’s Bagpipe Reaction “The One with Joey's New Brain”
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In 2017, Lisa Kudrow told E! that her favorite episode of “Friends” was “The One with Joey's New Brain”. Joey’s — or rather, Dr. Ramoray’s — new brain is certainly entertaining. But Kudrow’s love for the episode has more to do with the part where she sings as Ross ‘plays’ the bagpipes. We have to admit that this scene is one of the funniest the sitcom ever produced. In fact, you might be familiar with the classic outtake in which none of the cast can hold it together. While Kudrow was able to get through it in the version that made the show, you can see Jennifer Aniston breaking again. We’d say that was unplanned.
#19: Noisy Name “The One with Rachel's Other Sister”
When Christina Applegate guest-starred on the show as Rachel’s sister Amy, she had some great moments and pieces of dialogue. But one of the best bits is her getting Phoebe confused with Emma, and then not grasping why Phoebe repeats her real name to her. It leads to her asking: [“Why does she keep making that noise?”] Well, it turns out that hysterical quote wasn’t part of the original script. In fact, Applegate revealed to Today that it was penned on the day of shooting, literally “in front of the audience.” And yes, the actress loves it too. Talk about a great rewrite!
#18: Water in Joey’s Face “The One After the Superbowl”
For the big post-Super Bowl episode, “Friends” brought in a bunch of guest stars, including Julia Roberts and Brooke Shields. Shields was Erica, a stalker who didn’t grasp that Joey was an actor, and believed him to be his “Days of Our Lives” character, Dr. Drake Ramoray. Unable to convince her otherwise, the friends tell her that he’s really Ramoray’s horrible twin. To bring the lie home, Rachel and Monica throw water in Joey’s face. But the funniest bit is when Chandler does the same, which, rumor has it, wasn’t scripted. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to confirm this, and it may simply be hearsay. But Jennifer Aniston’s reaction does hint that it was maybe unplanned. We sure hope so.
#17: Authentic Branson “The One with Ross's Wedding”
The “Friends” trip to London gave us two of the most memorable moments in the show’s history. There was the beginning of Monica and Chandler’s love story, and of course, Ross accidentally saying “Rachel” at his wedding. But it also might’ve given us an unscripted moment featuring one of the richest men in the world. You might remember Richard Branson as the guy Joey purchases a hat from. Well, Branson reportedly struggled to get his lines right, possibly from not having properly memorized them. So as the story goes, the writers apparently ditched the script and Branson, Matt LeBlanc and Matthew Perry improvised.
#16: Monkey Business Various
We all remember Marcel the monkey, Ross’ pet capuchin, whose stint on “Friends” was relatively short but certainly memorable, right? You probably also know that actor David Schwimmer wasn’t a huge fan of filming with the two creatures who played the character. But did you know that apparently, some of the capuchins’ unplanned actions made it into the final cut of the sitcom? As well trained as they were, they were also still animals, and there’s a reason the expression is “monkeying around”. While in many cases, this led to delays in filming, there were reportedly also times where the unplanned nature of what transpired resulted in comedy gold!
#15: Paolo’s Italian Various
If you were wondering if the show had any Italian writers writing the dialogue for Rachel’s season one boyfriend Paolo, the answer is no. Well, some of the writers may have been Italian, we don’t know. But they weren’t writing Paolo’s lines. In fact, no one was. Actor Cosimo Fusco has explained that the producers gave him a directive to make up the Italian dialogue as he went. “I was asked to improvise,” he said, adding that he “made up most of the Italian spoken by Paolo. We may not have always understood what Paolo was saying, but the actor certainly nailed his delivery.
#14: Joey’s Dislocated Shoulder “The One with the Jam”
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“Friends” fans probably remember how Joey dislocated his shoulder in season 3 by jumping on his bed. But that isn’t how Matt LeBlanc did it. That came while filming the previous episode. In “The One Where No One's Ready”, Joey and Chandler are fighting over a chair, and in one scene Joey has to rush to it before his friend can get there. Well, the actor fell and landed awkwardly - dislocating his shoulder in the process. He had to wear a sling for a while, so the writers had to change the script for the next episode in order to account for it. Thus, the falling off the bed storyline.
#13: Wrong Name “The One with Ross's Wedding”
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As amazing as it would be, we’re not here to tell you that Ross saying Rachel instead of Emily at his wedding was a David Schwimmer ad-lib. However, it reportedly happened because of a previous flub the actor made. You see, the writing team didn’t have a set plan for what was going to happen with Ross and Emily. Then, one day while they were rehearsing for a different episode, Schwimmer accidently said Rachel instead of Emily in a scene. The instant that happened, writer Greg Malins told co-creator David Crane “that’s it”. And the “I Ross, take thee Rachel” moment was born.
#12: “Does a Bear…?” “The One with the Cheap Wedding Dress”
In the season seven episode “The One with the Cheap Wedding Dress” Ross and Joey both start dating the same girl. The ensuing conundrum culminates in a hysterical back and forth with each trying to embarrass the other in front of her. Needless to say, she ends up leaving the two guys alone for dinner. This led to Matt LeBlanc seemingly improvising a line that didn’t make it into the episode that aired on NBC, but is in the uncut DVD version. The language used obviously wasn’t what you’d call TV friendly, but the moment sure is memorable.
#11: Grabbing the Lamp "The One Where Phoebe Hates PBS"
Have you ever been so excited about something that you handed someone a lamp? We can’t say we have. But Ross was in season five when Emily called from London to talk to him. He runs over to the couch and in his excess of enthusiasm hands Chandler the lamp. It’s a great moment, but rumor has it it’s one that the writers hadn’t thought of. Apparently, this one came from the mind of David Schwimmer. Why or how he decided to do it we don’t know, but if it’s true, we’re glad he did. We should also mention the comic mind of Matthew Perry who not only takes the object, but hilariously holds on to it for a while.
#10: Worst Hangover “The One After Vegas”
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The gang’s trip to Vegas is a memorable one, but its aftermath is perhaps the most notable part. Ross and Rachel drunkenly get married, which is, well, awkward for them, since they’re currently in the off part of their on-off relationship. Ross’ insistence on trying to make the marriage work leads Rachel to become-understandably- increasingly exasperated. This culminates in a line Jennifer Aniston improvised: that it isn’t a marriage, but rather the world’s worst hangover. Reportedly, they had to edit out the audience’s laughter at this take.
#9: Real Tears “The One with the Candy Hearts”
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Given how long the show went on, it can be easy to forget that Ross begins the series going through a divorce. His early attempts to get back into the dating world don’t get off on the right foot either, since his first first date in years sees him run into his ex-wife, Carol. Determined to make things better, Ross implores Carol for a chance to make their marriage work. Actress Jane Sibbett’s welling up with tears during the scene was real and unscripted; she said in an interview that she was just so moved by David Schwimmer’s performance. This is also not the only time Sibbett got emotional while filming -- her tears were real when she gave birth to Ben at the end of season 1, as it was filmed soon after she had given birth to a son in real life.
#8: Prank “The One with the Truth About London”
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When Rachel is asked to watch Ross’ son Ben, she wants to be known to him as “fun”. So, to endear herself to Ben, she teaches the boy about practical jokes. Ross isn’t amused at first, because Ben does several of the pranks on him. After allowing Rachel to watch Ben again, Rachel tells Ross about a sign taped to his back, prompting father to chase son into the hall and onto the stairs, which he then appears to fall down. It’s actually a dummy that Ross and Ben are pranking her with, but Rachel’s shocked reaction was genuine from Aniston. The producers neglected to tell her about it, to prompt her to deliver a more authentic performance.
#7: Call for Bob “The One with Five Steaks and an Eggplant”
This episode sees Chandler get a phone call by mistake for someone named Bob, from a woman with an attractive voice, named Jade. Pretending to be Bob, he sets up a fake date with her, and then steps in when “Bob” doesn’t show. However, his plan doesn’t go well as Jade calls “Bob” to tell him it didn’t go well. The final scene shows Jade leaving a message on the machine, which is overheard by Joey. Jade’s description of what she wants to do with Bob prompts him to trip over himself to get to the phone. Although Joey picking up the phone was scripted, his hilarious tripping was accidental on Matt LeBlanc’s part, and it was so funny, they left it in.
#6: Cabinet Smack “The One with the Cuffs”
Chandler has a lot of unfortunate romances before he finds the One, and one of the most dangerous love interests is Rachel’s boss, Joanna. While fooling around in her office, Joanna leaves Chandler handcuffed in her office and without any pants. Things only get more embarrassing when Rachel discovers him there. Events reach peak funny, though, when Chandler punctuates his request to be freed by accidentally opening the filing cabinet drawer he’s cuffed to, and hitting himself in the head. Apparently, this was not in the script, and Jennifer Aniston can be seen covering her mouth to maintain her composure. Naturally, it was too good not to include in the episode.
#5: Williams & Crystal “The One with the Ultimate Fighting Champion”
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One of the most memorable openings and cameos in “Friends” history sees two men (played by Billy Crystal and Robin Williams) enter the gang’s usual coffee shop, and then engage in a loud conversation. Tomas, played by Williams, tearfully confesses to Tim, played by Crystal, that he believes his wife is cheating on him. Tim eventually confirms that it was he that was sleeping with his friend’s wife, prompting Tomas to storm off in anger. The entire scene was reportedly improvised by everyone involved, including Williams and Crystal, Matt LeBlanc’s interruption, and Courteney Cox’s declaration that she can’t even remember what she wanted to tell her friends. If we were doing quantity of lines improvised, this would easily be number one!
#4: Blue Blazer Black “The One with Phoebe’s Uterus”
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When Joey is down on his luck for having difficulty finding acting work, Ross helps him get a job as a museum tour guide. However, when the rest of the group sees Joey in his bright new uniform, Chandler can’t resist making fun of him. But his awkward insult that Donald Trump wants his “blue blazer black” was an actual mistake made by actor Matthew Perry. Similarly, the rest of the actors mocking him for his mix-up were not in the script; and it was all in-character enough that the creators left the moment in, because it was “blazingly” funnier than the real line.
#3: Pages Stuck “The One Where Ross Got High”
One of the show’s famous Thanksgiving episodes also gave rise to one of its greatest improvised, and filthiest, jokes. One plotline features Rachel making a trifle, which ends up containing beef and peas, of all things. When trying to get to the bottom of the confusion, Joey and Ross find out that Rachel has accidentally made half a trifle and half a shepherd’s pie, due the recipe pages being stuck together. Upon finding this out, Joey immediately yells Chandler’s name in admonishment for supposedly being responsible for the… sticky situation. According to the commentary, this was made up on the spot.
#2: Q-tip Quip “The One with Ross’s New Girlfriend”
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The season 2 premiere finds Chandler having an unfortunate experience with a tailor. When inquiring to his friends about going to see a tailor, Chandler is recommended to the craftsman by Joey, who hems and haws about when exactly he first went to this tailor. Joey’s poor memory, and incredibly stupid questions about when a particular year was, prompt Chandler to deliver a spectacularly scathing quip about stopping a Q-tip when there’s resistance in the ear. The remark was invented on the spot by Matthew Perry and it remains one of the actor’s favorite lines he ever said on the show.
#1: Last Laugh “The Last One: Part 2”
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As sad as the final hours of “Friends” are, given the 10 years of laughter and joy that preceded them, there are still, of course, some funny moments. One such case is the final line of the series. Once everyone has packed up their things and goodbyes have been made, the gang decides they have time to get coffee. Ever irreverent, Chandler sarcastically asks where they’ll get coffee, as if they won’t be going to Central Perk, Matthew Perry reportedly delivered this final quip off the cuff, leaving one last mark of his own on the series.
