History Characters / Friends

* BlondesAreEvil: Downplayed with Amy, who's more of a rude, unsympathetic SpoiledBrat / {{Jerkass}}.

* BlondesAreEvil: Particularly when it involves screwing Phoebe.

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: Ursula was appearing on ''MadAboutYou'' before ''Friends'' premiered; it was Kudrow's performance there that helped get her cast as Phoebe. When this series launched, it was decided to make Phoebe and Ursula twins to justify Kudrow playing characters on two different NBC shows.

* EvilTwin: Ursula

* LargeHam: Sometimes.

* BlondesAreEvil

[[WMG: Frances]]

%%* ButtMonkey

%% * ExtremeDoormat: More than Chandler and Ross combined. Especially in the Barbados episode.
%% * GibberingGenius

* TookALevelInDumbass: Ross was one of the most rational and serious members of the group in early seasons. By the end he becomes more of a neurotic mess and a ManChild prone to overreacting, often acting foolish, making bad choices and regularly putting himself into ridiculous situations.

** The fact that the actor was literally an underwear model might have something to do with it.

* PluckyGirl: Thanks to her dermination, she becomes a successful career woman.

Phoebe is the group's {{Cloudcuckoolander}} who has a bit of a dark past: her father walked out on her mother, her mother died, she was adopted, her ''adopted'' mother died, and she spent some time on the street before finding a stable job (as a masseuse) and roommate (Monica), before eventually moving in with her grandmother. She plays the guitar (badly) and sings (badly) at Central Perk, and exhibits traits of ThePollyanna.

* ParentalAbandonment: has lost more parents than most people ''have'': her birth mother leaves, her adoptive father walked out on them, her adoptive mother died, and her adoptive mother's second husband was in jail... And, as the pagequote reminds us, all this happened before she was 15.

* CannotKeepASecret: Chandler is pretty much made of this trope, several times during the series he has accidentally revealed his friends secrets. Probably his biggest offence is when he revealed to Rachel that Ross was in love with her. In a final season episode he reveals to a child that they were adopted and then later reveals to Phoebe's nieces and nephew that Phoebe actually gave birth to them.

* InformedDeformity: It's revealed in a flashback that Monica accidently dropped a knife on his toe and he had to amputate the top of it. We would have no way of knowing prior to this episode.

* NoSocialSkills: Moreso by the end due to {{flanderization}}. Monica lampshades this in the finale by asking if there's ''any'' social situation he's comfortable with.

* GrammarNazi: He was often this kind of Nazi or at least his irriated friends had the opinion that he was. He had a habit of correcting people when they misused "who" for "whom" and occasionally could become quite irate when confronted with bad grammar (or he would get angry about something else but still feel compelled to nitpick).

* MommasBoy: He's clearly Judy's favourite. And then there's this quote:

* MusclesAreMeaningless: She has a pretty slender, wiry build in the present day but is frequently implied to be "freakishly strong" and underestimates her own strength. She's able to easily subdue a panicky Rachel while trying to put drops in her eyes, gives back massages that border on torture, and after a painful handshake with her, Phoebe comments that she's [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar glad she's not Chandler.]]

* {{Hypocrite}}: She is trying to talk Rachel out of fooling around with Joey, no strings attached, because it would make their relationship much more complicated. The thing is, that's exactly how she and Chandler got together in the first place.

** Of course it's the opposite of hypocritical given that Rachel didn't want "anything to happen" and Monica warned her against it because last time she went for casual sex she ended up marrying the guy. So she's right to tell Rachel not to sleep with Joey if she only wants things to stay casual.

* TheKirk: To Chandler's TheMcCoy and Ross' TheSpock.

* TheMcCoy: To Joey's TheKirk and Ross' TheSpock.

* TheSpock: To Joey's TheKirk and Chandler's TheMcCoy.

* NoNameGiven: Her surname was never established, but it wouldn't be Buffay, because she is the mother of Phoebe's adoptive mother Lily.

* NoNameGiven: Lampshaded. He asks Chandler if he can remember his last name. Chandler's answer is "Centralperk."

* NoNameGiven: Her last name is not revealed.

* NoNameGiven: His last name is unknown. He's just known as David "the Scientist Guy".

* NoNameGiven: Her last name is not revealed.

* OnlyOneName: Her surname was never established, but it wouldn't be Buffay, because she is the mother of Phoebe's adoptive mother Lily.

* OnlyOneName: Lampshaded. He asks Chandler if he can remember his last name. Chandler's answer is "Centralperk."

* OnlyOneName: Her last name is not revealed.

* OnlyOneName: His last name is unknown. He's just known as David "the Scientist Guy".

* OnlyOneName: Her last name is not revealed.

* TookALevelInJerkass: After Ross said his ex-girlfriend's name at the altar and then tried to get on the honeymoon flight with said ex, Emily went into a paranoia overdrive but she had jerkass foreshadowing from the start. Her first appearance had her being completely judgemental about strangers who didn't have a chance to explain themselves. Ross later handwaved it as her being soaking wet at the time. It was also revealed that, despite being with Ross for a couple of weeks, she also had a long-term beau back home which she ended up dumping abruptly in favour of Ross, but only after Ross learned about it and decided to "fight" for her.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: She appears to be a nice enough person from when we see her, but according to Phoebe in a far later episode while Frances was nice to her was a terrible person to everyone else and is more than likely burning in hell after death. At the very least, we do know that she wound up lying to Phoebe several times, including who her father was, who her grandfather was, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking that the secret to the recipe for her famous batch of cookies was that they were really store-bought]].

* TookALevelInDumbass: In terms of humor. In the later seasons, his jokes made when he was uncomfortable were a lot less deadpan sarcasm and a lot more goofy and immature. By the time Rachel has her going away party he's just making fart noises.

* NoNameGiven: Her surname was never established, but it wouldn't be Buffay, because she is the mother of Phoebe's adoptive mother Lily.

* NoNameGiven: Lampshaded. He asks Chandler if he can remember his last name. Chandler's answer is "Centralperk."

* NoNameGiven: Her last name is not revealed.

* NoNameGiven: His last name is unknown. He's just known as David "the Scientist Guy".

* NoNameGiven: Her last name is not revealed.

* OnlyOneName: Her surname was never established, but it wouldn't be Buffay, because she is the mother of Phoebe's adoptive mother Lily.

* OnlyOneName: Lampshaded. He asks Chandler if he can remember his last name. Chandler's answer is "Centralperk."

* OnlyOneName

* OnlyOneName

* OnlyOneName

* OnlyOneName

* OnlyOneName

* OnlyOneName

* OnlyOneName

* OnlyOneName: She's only known as Mona.

* OnlyOneName: His last name is unknown. He's just known as David "the Scientist Guy".

* OnlyOneName: Her last name is not revealed.

%% * DidNotGetTheGirl: [[spoiler: Loses Phoebe to Mike at the end of Season 9]]

* AloneAmongTheCouples: He ends up as this in the last episode. [[spoiler:But he gets a LoveInterest in the {{Joey}} spinoff.]]

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: In the original Series there's a running joke about him being a terrible actor who constantly has to lie on his resume (Phoebe once told him that one of the casting directors said they had never heard a more fake Italian accent from someone of Italian origins). In the spinoff {{Joey}} is seen as a much more competent actor.

* AscendedExtra: Gina is a regular character in {{Joey}}, [[TheOtherDarrin although portrayed by a different actress.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Gina, in the spinoff {{Joey}} .

* TeenPregnancy: Dina in "The One With Monica's Boots". And according to {{Joey}}, this is part of Gina's backstory with her son Michael.

* WhyDoYouKeepChangingJobs: Dr. Green is initially noted to be a vascular surgeon in the earlier seasons but his profession is later changed to cardiologist without explanation.