Decider Essentials
By Joe Reid@joereid
Published Nov. 3, 2016, 1:34 p.m. ET
WhenFriends began, no character seemed less essential than Phoebe. The girl who spent most of her scenes in the pilot cleaning Ross’s aura, Phoebe was a ditz and a flake who didn’t seem like a real person. If there was one inessential part ofFriends that could have been lifted out, it was her. Which is why the fact that, in the capable hands of Lisa Kudrow, the fact that Phoebe quickly became a standout character is so impressive.
Picking out Phoebe’s best moments is a harder task than it is for the other Friends, because Phoebe’s best moments are often brief and in passing. The episodes and storylines dedicated to her are often ones that give her more serious work to do. The best Phoebe episodes, however, give you a little but of gravitas and a little bit of silly and combine it into something light and airy and sneakily hilarious.
So from thwarted romance to silly songs to a game of chicken that stands as one of the finest scenes in all of televised comedy ever … here are the 10 best Phoebe episodes, as chosen by us.
1
"The One With the Monkey" (Season 1, Episode 10)
Phoebe’s relationship with David the physicist (played by Hank Azaria) never really got the chance to flourish, but because of that, it took on a kind of mythic reputation. Watching this episode explains why. Phoebe had basically been the flake of the group for the first nine episodes, but getting to see her break out as a romantic character in this episode was special. Watching her get her heartbroken as David followed his dream to Minsk was one of that first season’s most indelible moments.
2
"The One with Two Parts" (Season 1, Episodes 16/17)
It may seem like a cheat to isolate the two episodes in season 1 where Phoebe is at her most serious, but the two-parter where Phoebe’s twin sister Ursula (who actually pre-datesFriends, as she was a recurring character onMad About You) shows up and starts dating Joey. Phoebe’s turmoil over possibly losing her friend to her crappy sister is the emotional center of this pivotal two-part episode, and Lisa Kudrow really nails it.
3
"The One with Phoebe's Husband" (Season 2, Episode 4)
Here’s one about Phoebe’s personal life that isn’t so melancholy: when the gay Canadian figure skater Phoebe married for green-card purposes (Steve Zahn) comes back to town, Phoebe is shocked to find out he’s actually not gay at all.
4
"The One with Phoebe's Ex-Partner" (Season 3, Episode 14)
Phoebe’s music career became more and more of a forgotten sideshow as the years went on, but in the early years, Phoebe’s coffee-shop stream-of-consciousness tunes were a staple of the show. This episode put the spotlight on Phoebe’s music career, when her old singing partner returns to Central Perk, and Phoebe refuses to forgive her for past betrayal.
5
"The One With Joey's New Girlfriend" (Season 4, Episode 5)
Phoebe gets a cold, and all of a sudden her singing voice goes from coffee-shop-ditzy to sultry and smoky. You’ve never heard “Sticky Shoes” the right way until you’ve heard it through Phoebe’s sexy, sexy phlegm.
6
"The One With Ross's Wedding" (Season 4, Episodes 23/24)
Lisa Kudrow was too pregnant to fly to London to film the on-location fourth season finale, so instead, Phoebe stayed home and kept up with the proceedings at Ross’s wedding over the phone. You’d think this would limit her, but she really comes through, especially in her scenes with Jennifer Saunders as Emily’s mum.
7
"The One Hundredth" (Season 5, Episode 3)
Phoebe gives birth to her brother Frank’s triplets! It’s much more heart-warming than that sentence sounds, butFriends sure got a lot of mileage out of the strangeness of the situation. Lisa Kudrow did some of the best work of her career during this storyline, and the birth episode was the pinnacle of this.Murphy Brown has the most iconic sitcom scene of a post-partum mom speaking to her newborn, but Phoebe’s ranks a very close second.
8
"The One With All the Resolutions" (Season 5, Episode 11)
Further proof that Phoebe pairs best with Joey, this episode sees Joey making a resolution to learn guitar, and Phoebe teaches him. Of course, she doesn’t teach him the proper names of the chords. Phoebe’s teaching style is a LOT more descriptive.
9
"The One Where Everybody Finds Out" (Season 5, Episode 14)
The best episode in the history ofFriends is the one where “everybody” finds out that Chandler and Monica have been sleeping together. Of course, Joey and Rachel already knew, and Ross doesn’t find out until the very end, so it’s mostly Phoebe who finds out. And when she does, she and Chandler engage in an EPIC game of sexual chicken to see which side will admit defeat first. You know an episode is a good Phoebe episode when her “MY EYES” freakout isn’t even the funniest moment.
10
"The One Where Phoebe Runs" (Season 6, Episode 7)
Phoebe running is one of the truly great, joyful things in all of popular culture. Say what you will about the flailing limbs and lack of aerodynamic form … Phoebe is free.
- Decider Essentials
