Even though the show ended in 2004, it is often quoted today. Friends was one of the funniest shows on television -- and the replays may still hold that title. It is a cultural icon that everyone should know and remember. So, if you've never seen the show, or you just need to catch up, you are in the right spot! Here are some of the basics of the shows and some of the funnier moments.

The Cast 

Rachel Green 

The Spoiled One

Monica is a clean freak. She makes sure everything is scrubbed clean and people are only allowed to eat crumbs over the sink. She is also a chef who gets a head chef job after writing a really bad review of a restaurant and the restaurant hires her. Monica is Ross' sister and Ross is the favorite child, causing Monica to have some deep anger issues against her parents, particularly her mother. She has a secret affair with Chandler in Season Four and they end up getting married. However, they are not able to have a child and instead adopt twins at the end of the series. They move to the suburbs in order to raise the babies.

Phoebe's backstory is a lot different from the rest of the characters. First off, like Joey, she did not know any other characters through school or family. She lived on the street after her mother committed suicide when Phoebe was ten. Her step father is in jail and her father ran out on her mom. Phoebe also has a twin sister, Ursula, who is a nasty person who seems to have everything from their childhood: birth certificates, mother's suicide note, etc. At the end of Season Three, Phoebe finds out that the mother who killed herself was not her biological mother and that her biological mother was still alive (and named Phoebe). In Season Four, Phoebe is the surragate for her brother's babies as his wife could not carry a child. She ends up having triplets. She has no serious relationships until Joey sets her up with a man named Mike. However, they break up as he doesn't want to get married and she does. Her ex-lover, David, comes back to town (he left her to go to Russia for several years) and they date but she realizes that she is still in love with Mike and they end up breaking up when Mike proposes. Although Phoebe says no to Mike at the time, they do end up getting married in Season Ten. Phoebe is a masuse who used to freelance (as she "didn't need to pay taxes") but she ends up working in a spa, even though she hates corporations, as they pay more, provide her benefits, and give her a "4-0-wonk." As a hobby, she sings and plays guitar at the Central Perk, although she is not very good. Her most mentioned song is "Smelly Cats."

Joey comes from a large family, with seven sisters. He is a pig who generally sleeps with woman and never calls them back. The only woman he was ever in love with was Rachel, who did not love him back. It takes him a while to get over her and really matures him, though he continues to be a pig. He actually does get together with Rachel at the end of Season Nine, but that only lasts about a week. For the first few seasons, Joey is a struggling actor, relying on Chandler to pay for everything. He eventually gets a job on Days of Our Lives, but he offends the writers so they kill of his character, Dr. Drake Romoray, by pushing him down an elevator shaft. He continues to work odd jobs but eventually gets his Days of our Lives job back as Drake's twin brother, Striker. Joey is a really sweet guy who would do anything for his friends, but he is very slow. He is always the last one to get jokes and he is in the dark about most current events.

Chandler comes from a broken family with a very promiscuous mother and a drag queen father. Because his parents told him that they were getting a divorce (after Chandler's dad slept with the pool boy) on Thanksgiving, he is completely against everything Thanksgiving-related and refuses to eat turkey on that day. Chandler has problems with woman and only has a serious relationship with Janice, who cheats on him, until he hooks up with Monica in London and has a secret affair with her. They end up getting married and adopting twins at the end of the series. No one actually knows what Chandler does for a living, even though he moves to Oklahoma for a while to do the job. He ends up quitting and going into advertising, which he much prefers. Due to his broken childhood, Chandler uses humor to avoid awkward social interactions.

Ross has been divorced. First, he married a woman who left him for her lesbian lover while carrying Ross' son. Then he married Emily after only knowing her for a couple of months and said the wrong name at the wedding (he said "Rachel.") Then he got drunk in Vegan and married Rachel. However, he never got an anullment like he was supposed to, which caused a rift between them (they did end up getting divorced). Ross is in love with Rachel from the time he if about fourteen. Even though Ross and Rachel break up, he never truly stops loving her. They have a drunken night together which gives Ross his second illegitimate child, Emma. Ross is a paleontologist and a nerd. He tends to share boring stories with the rest of the gang that instantly put them to sleep. He is Monica's older brother and the favorite of their parents as he is "a medical miracle." Chandler was his college roomate and they were in a "band." He is quite stubborn about his beliefs, which leads him to clash often with Phoebe, but is actually really sweet, which is shown when he buys Phoebe her first bicycle.