History Friends / TropesKToO

** In the second season episode, "The One With Five Steaks and an Egglpant", Chandler gets laid via a convoluted sitcom shenanigan. He had to give the girl Ross's number because he couldn't give her his number because she thought his number was [[ItMakesSenseInContext Bob's number]]. After Chandler explains this, Ross asks, "And what should I do if [[Series/ThreesCompany Mr. Roper calls]]?"

** Whenever the friends do try to become friends with other people, it usually never lasts because the friends or the new friends don't like each other. For example, Joey gets a female roommate and leaves after a few episodes because she couldn't stand Monica and Chandler and Joey refused to ditch them.

* LousyLoversAreLosers: Early on, Chandler was portrayed as being bad in bed, something he was very aware of.

* MoodWhiplash: The show occasionally does this, and never more than in the episode "The One With the Morning After" which deals with the fall out of Ross sleeping with another woman behind Rachel's back after believing she's left him. Although it's a fairly serious episode, the majority of it still has a few hilarious moments such as Ross and Rachel taking a brief break from their fight to order pizza and Rachel intentionally ordering anchovies mixed in with the toppings and sauce because she knows Ross hates them. However, the very last scene completely abandons the humorous aspect and goes completely serious. Even the brief moment where we see the remaining four other characters still trapped in Monica's bedroom is suddenly [[PlayedforDrama much more serious]] as they're all somberly listening in to the conversation, with Monica and Phoebe even breaking down into tears as they all realize that their two friends' relationship is over.

** A lot of episodes with Monica and Chandler involve this, as the writers balance what is a genuinely sweet, heart-warming relationship and comedy. Their engagement episode goes from an amusing ZanyScheme to Chandler breaking down thinking she's left him and a gut-wrenching proposal, to the others coming in to crack some jokes, and then back to them dancing quietly together. Hell even their wedding vows switch between their tender declarations of love and Joey's messing up the order of service.

* MySisterIsOffLimits: Ross explodes when he first finds out about Chandler and Monica, until they both say that they're in love and not just fooling around. He immediately becomes happy for them. Of course, [[MoodSwinger he was taking anti-rage drugs at the time]].
** Ross's main concern was that Chandler was just using Monica for sex, prompting his poor reaction. He's happy for them as soon as he realizes it's actually serious.
** There's also the time Chandler drunkenly kissed one of Joey's sisters. Joey started out angry and concerned that Chandler was just using his sister as a rebound after breaking up with Janice again. Chandler denies it which calms Joey down...until he learns Chandler doesn't actually know which of the seven near-identical sisters he made out with.
** In the first season Phoebe gets upset when Joey starts dating Ursula. However in this case Phoebe's problem is that ''Ursula'' will hurt ''Joey'' and he won't want to be friends with her afterwards. Luckily when Ursula does end the relationship Joey and Phoebe's friendship remains intact.

* NearAndDearBabyNaming: Phoebe is acting as a surrogate and is allowed to name one of the triplets. She decides to name one of the children after one of her friends, Chandler. This becomes amusing when it turns out that the child, which was thought to be a boy, turns out to be a girl, to Chandler's shock.

** "The One With The Routine" plays with the concept by having Joey, Ross, Monica, and Joey's date all participating in a New Year's Eve special filmed months in advance. Joey wants to kiss his date but keeps running into roadblocks- the producer decides to have her dance with someone else, who is ''also'' hoping to kiss her. Then, as they prepare to kiss at the very end...the filming stops, leading to a BigNo from Joey. Luckily, the girl does still decide to kiss him afterward.
** "The One With the Routine" has Monica and Ross attempting to get on TV whilst on-set filming ''Creator/DickClark's New Year's Rockin' Eve''.

** Also, Phoebe is shown to be attracted to women on occasion, and seems to be seriously considering asking out Ross and Monica's ridiculously beautiful cousin Cassie (although it could be argued that this is more a case of EvenTheGirlsWantHer. She is, however, openly admiring of attractive women on a number of occasions. Despite this, she's only ever shown dating men.

* NotSoDifferentRemark: In "The One With the Morning After", in an effort to cover up his trail from Chloe (with whom he'd had an affair) to Rachel, Ross speaks with Chloe's co-worker, Isaac, who is more than eager to help Ross.

--> '''Issac:''' Aw, no problem dude. Y'know we got to look out for each other. We’re the same, you and me.

--> '''Issac:''' Yeah, we are.

--> '''Issac:''' Yeah, we are.

--> '''Issac:''' Okay, we’re not.

--> '''Issac:''' But, we are.

** RomanticFalseLead:
** When Ross confesses to Chandler's mother (who is a romance novelist) about being jealous of Rachel's boyfriend Paolo, she soothes him by saying "the guy is a secondary character; a complication that you eventually kill off."

*** In one episode, all six characters are sitting in Monica's apartment, when there's a knock on the door. Everyone looks utterly confused; no one says anything, but you can tell they're thinking, "if we're all already here, who the heck is it?" Phoebe is even shown pointing at each of the characters, ''counting them'', just to make sure (it turns out to be Rachel's sister Jill).

** One ColdOpen features the characters bitching about how their employers hate them. Joey: "Maybe it's because you're in a coffee shop at 11:30 on a Wednesday morning?"
** Another ColdOpen in the premiere of season 3 sees the cast walk into the coffee house and see that another group of six friends (writers of season 3) has taken their spot on the couch. Chandler notes, "Huh," and they turn around and walk out.
** Later in the series, you can occasionally see a "Reserved" sign on the table in front of the couch as an explanation of how they manage to always get "their" spot.

** In the second season episode, "The One With Five Steaks and an Egglpant", Chandler gets laid via a convoluted sitcom shennanigan. He had to give the girl Ross's number because he couldn't give her his number because she thought his number was [[ItMakesSenseInContext Bob's number]]. After Chandler explains this, Ross asks, "And what should I do if [[Series/ThreesCompany Mr. Roper calls]]?"

** {{Lampshaded}} in one episode. The main characters are all hanging out at Monica's apartment when someone knocks at the door. Everyone is stunned for a moment, and Phoebe actually counts to make sure that, yes, they're all already there. No one says anything out loud, but you can tell they're all thinking, "If we're all here, who the hell is at the door!?"

* LostFoodGrievance: When Ross was in the middle of his second divorce, one of the things he was looking forward to in his depression was the special sandwich made from the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers (it has a piece of gravy-soaked bread in the middle to keep everything moist). He brought it to work, but one of his coworkers steals it. The straw that broke the back of Ross's remaining civility and sanity was that the coworker didn't even ''finish'' the sandwich, most of it ended up in the trash.

** Ross's family wedding ring was lost before his wedding to Emily, but it was actually lost by Joey, the best man who was afraid to tell Ross the groom. At first they thought the stripper stole it, but as it turns out, their pet duck swallowed it.

** In "[[Recap/FriendsS2E5TheOneWithFiveSteaksAndAnEggplant The One with Five Steaks and an Eggplant]]", a woman leaves a message on his machine looking for her old lover Bob, Chandler pretends to be Bob and makes a date with her. He then "consoles" her when "Bob" doesn't show up, and [[OnTheRebound they sleep together]]. But the next morning she calls "Bob" again, to confess that she slept with another man but deeply regrets it, saying Chandler was disastrously bad in bed and that she had to stop herself from [[WrongNameOutburst calling "Bob's" name]].

** The show also had the episode "The One With The Rumor", where it was revealed that Ross made out with his librarian in high school, she was 33 years older than him. Not really a Romance ''Relationship'', though.

* MeatVersusVeggies: Phoebe is a strict vegetarian, which is sometimes teased by the group. She was temporarily forced to eat meat while pregnant due to pregnancy cravings and when she met Mike's parents, she attempted to eat veal in an effort to make a good impression. It made her sick instead. Monica also commented that she was so in love with her gay husband that when he left, depression drove her to eat a cheeseburger. This story dramatically shocks the rest of the group.

** Ross buys a sports red car. Too bad it gets stuck in the parking space and he just can't get it out. He also quickly abandons the car when an old, bald gentleman shows up driving the exact same car. Ross offers to sell the car to Joey after the bald guy shows up. Joey passes.

* MiserableMassage: In one episode, Monica gives Chandler terribly painful massages, but he's too afraid to tell her, because he doesn't want to ruin their relationship.

* MissConception: Monica and Chandler want to adopt from a woman who is still pregnant with the child. They inquire about the father who she reveals is one of two choices: one golden boy and one jail hound who murdered his own father with a shovel (Shovelly Joe). They (especially Chandler) worry about the father-murderer choice until Monica discovers that the act she committed with him was ''not'' something that could get you pregnant.

* UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts [[ProWrestlingEpisode Episode]]: "TOW the Ultimate Fighting Championship."

* OutOfFocus: Ben disappears after season 8, Carol after season 7, and Susan after season 6.

* OpeningCreditsCastParty: The opening has the characters goofing around a fountain in the park. The odd part isn't that the characters are all together (they almost always are in the show itself), it's that they're apparently having a late-night party in the middle of a deserted park... that has a ''couch and a lamp that's hooked up to the fountain's floodlight!

* OtherMeAnnoysMe: Rachel dates Russ, a guy who's remarkably like Ross. Ross finds him completely annoying, being totally unaware that he's basically criticizing himself.

** Chandler has an ordinary office jobs but appears to take lunch breaks for hours at a time. He is shown wearing his office attire, implying that they take place just before/after his work day or during his lunch break, but one time looks at his watch and says, "Well, it's 4:30, I guess my lunch break is over..." Chandler is mid-level management who apparently does his job well despite his disinterest and absenteeism. His affable demeanor probably helps him smooth out any complaints he gets about not being at the office. In fact, the only time he seems to be in serious danger of losing his job is the time he accidentally agrees to move to Tulsa and then back out of it.

* ItsASmallWorldAfterAll: Throughout the series, the gang bumps into Janice (Maggie Wheeler) often. In her final apperance, near the end of the series, Janice makes a cameo in the neighbouring house of the one Monica and Chandler are buying. Chandler lampshades the unlikelihood of bumping into her every now and then.

* OneHourWorkWeek:

* AManIsAlwaysEager:
** Averted in "The One With Phoebe's Birthday Dinner," Chandler and Monica have a fight about him smoking, which seems to ruin the intimate evening they wanted. But since she's ovulating and it may be her last day to be fertile, she then pretends she's not mad to get him to have sex with her. At first he's upset about being tricked like this but it ends with essentially 'you got to have sex so why you are mad' and him wondering if he's too much of a girl. Monica also, during their fight, brings up a time (never shown on screen) where it was played straight - when Chandler wanted to have sex just after her uncle's funeral.

** Also, Phoebe is shown to be attracted to women on occasion, and seems to be seriously considering asking out Ross and Monica's ridiculously beautiful cousin Cassie (although it could be argued that this is more a case of EvenTheGirlsWantHer / IfItsYouItsOK). She is, however, openly admiring of attractive women on a number of occasions. Despite this, she's only ever shown dating men.

** RomanticFalseLead: When Ross confesses to Chandler's mother (who is a romance novelist) about being jealous of Rachel's boyfriend Paolo, she soothes him by saying "the guy is a secondary character; a complication that you eventually kill off."

** ItsASmallWorldAfterAll: Throughout the series, the gang bumps into Janice (Maggie Wheeler) often. In her final apperance, near the end of the series, Janice makes a cameo in the neighbouring house of the one Monica and Chandler are buying. Chandler lampshades the unlikelihood of bumping into her every now and then.

** OneHourWorkWeek: One ColdOpen features the characters bitching about how their employers hate them. Joey: "Maybe it's because you're in a coffee shop at 11:30 on a Wednesday morning?"

** After Chandler and Monica have upgraded from friends to FriendsWithBenefits for a while, a falling out between them one Thanksgiving leads Monica to don a turkey on her head, complete with sunglasses, hat and a funny dance, to try and cheer him up. Laughing, he exclaims, "You're so great! I love you!". His amusement almost immediately dies into shock as he realises what he just said and what it means, and he freaks out so badly he takes it back. It takes several more episodes before he's willing to actually admit it properly and stand by it, and even then, Phoebe has to break him into confessing it.

* NoBisexuals: Prior to the start of the series, Ross's wife Carol comes out as a lesbian after seven years of marriage to a man - which is perhaps not in itself unusual, particularly in a less than gay-friendly early '90s context (especially since it's later made clear that her parents are at least vaguely homophobic). However, it's clear that she and Ross still enjoyed a sexual relationship together for a while after she got involved with Susan - not only does he explicitly bring up on one occasion how they had "some good times before she became a lesbian...and a few afterwards, as well," but a flashback to exactly one year before the pilot episode reveals that their son Ben must have been conceived at least three months ''after'' she admitted to seeing Susan. However, bisexuality is never brought up, and everyone accepts that she's exclusively gay.

* NobodyThinksItWillWork - WhatDoesSheSeeInHim: Both Rachel and Phoebe look down on Monica and Chandler as a couple, but as neither of them manage to establish a successful relationship until the end of the series, and Monica and Chandler are very happy and well-suited, they come across looking like [[{{GreenEyedMonster}} jealous jerks]] rather than friends with legitimate concerns.

* NoPoliceOption: * In the episode "The One With The Giant Poking Device" the gang thinks that Ugly Naked Guy has died...

* MoonLandingHoax: While at a thanksgiving meal in the "The One With Rachel's Other Sister" episode, Joey realises he was meant to be on a parade float with his fellow ''Days of Our Lives'' stars and has difficultly trying to come up with a good excuse as to why he is not there.

** "The One Where Phoebe Runs" features this trope again, when Chandler moves Monica's things to clean their apartment and can't remember where they all go. After an episode of his agonising over what she will think, she returns home and seems ready to blow up at him, though ultimately she just thanks him for trying to be nice and do her a good thing by cleaning up for her.

** In "[[Recap/FriendsS4E11TheOneWithPhoebesUterus The One with Phoebe's Uterus]]", Chandler is [[InsecureLoveInterest apprehensive]] about sleeping with his current LoveInterest Kathy, because she used to date Joe (who is a SexGod) and Chandler fears the inevitable comparison since he knows he's no good. So he seeks Monica and Rachel's advice on how to become a better lover, leading to them showing Chandler a diagram of the seven female erogenous zones [[TakeOurWordForIt (unseen by the audience)]]. By the end of the episode, a sated Kathy personally thanks Monica and Rachel, showing that the lesson did indeed help and [[ContinuityNod from this episode on, the joke that Chandler is bad in bed is no longer used]].

* LiterallyLovingThyNeighbor: Monica and Chandler live across the hall from each other for years before falling in love. Their two apartments are basically treated as one open-doored house for everyone. When they do move into together its hard to tell what's changed.

* LearningToRideABike: Thanks to her HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood, Phoebe never owned a bike. The B-Plot of [[Recap/FriendsS7E9TheOneWithAllTheCandy "The One With All the Candy"]] focuses on Ross's dismay that she never got to have that experience, and he buys her a bike. Then, realizing she doesn't know how to ride it, tries to teach her (Including the typical moment where he lets go and she's doing it on her own! Only she realizes he's not there any more and freaks out.). The episode ends with her happily riding her bike thanks to training wheels.

** This seems to be what Joey is trying for when he acts, particularly as Dr Drake Ramore.

'''Joey:''' Ross! We're having a surprise party for Rachel!\\
'''Ross:''' (from the bathroom) Okay!\\

** In the second and third season, Ross dated Julie, a Chinese woman.