25 best and funniest Friends episodes on Netflix, ranked

But which instalments should be prioritised for a rewatch? We've combed through the episode list and picked out 25 of the greatest misadventures by the Central Perk gang.

Read on for our full guide to the best Friends episodes of all time.

25. The One with the Football (season 3, episode 9)

A wholesome Thanksgiving activity gets out of hand when the ultra-competitive Geller siblings show the group exactly why their parents banned them from playing American football.

To be fair, the stakes are high: a homemade troll doll trophy fished out of a river lies on the line.

Elsewhere, Joey and Chandler compete for the attention of an enigmatic Dutch woman, with the former mistaking the Netherlands for the setting of Peter Pan.

Best moment: Rachel "goes long".

24. The One with Ross's Wedding: Part 2 (season 4, episode 24)

Ross has moved on with Emily, but he hits a bit of an issue when Rachel rocks up to their wedding in London, leaving him torn - and saying the wrong name at the altar. Ouch.

The debacle, along with Ross's thoroughly botched attempt at damage control, makes for mesmerising (if slightly painful) viewing, and ushers in an era of chaos for the palaeontologist that includes several other legendary moments.

Also, stop hating on Emily from Friends. Helen Baxendale was great, I won't hear otherwise.

Best moment: "Take thee, Rachel." – Perhaps Ross's greatest mistake?

23. The One with the Prom Video (season 2, episode 14)

Ross and Rachel's first kiss! After endless back-and-forth and will-they-won't-they ("You’re over me? When were you under me?") the two finally got together.

Rachel watched their high school prom video and realised Ross really was her lobster.

These flashbacks have understandably taken some heat in recent years for below-the-belt jokes about Monica's weight, but the heartwarming scenes regarding the show's central couple make this a worthy inclusion.

Best moment: That kiss.

22. The One with Ross's Tan (season 10, episode 3)

Ross decides to get a spray tan but, thanks to some mishaps in the booth, ends up with a very tanned front and a very pale back. This is just one of many of Ross's epic 'mishaps'. We'll get to more of those later.

This episode is also noteworthy for a guest appearance from Jennifer Coolidge, who would finally get some mainstream recognition almost two decades later with a lauded role in The White Lotus.

Here, she plays Amanda, an estranged friend to Monica and Phoebe, whose English accent, dance skills and general narcissism have to be seen to be believed.

Best moment: "Smell my neck! It's not perfume, it's ME! It's my natural scent!" – Amanda reconnects with her pals.

21. The One with All the Thanksgivings (season 5, episode 8)

Another flashback episode, this time focusing on the rollercoaster relationship between Monica and Chandler, who are objectively the best couple on the show.

Chandler gets upset after a Thanksgiving storytelling session, which reveals a botched attempt at seeking revenge for his nasty remarks led Monica to accidentally chop off the tip of his toe. "It's the best part... it has the nail," he whines.

Things end on a positive, however, with Monica donning a turkey on her head in a reconciliatory gesture that stunningly provokes a confession.

Best moment: "I love macaroni and cheese. I love the way this box feels against my cheek." – Monica's ill-fated seduction attempt.

20. The One with Ross's Teeth (season 6, episode 8)

The writers always strike gold when they throw Ross into a surreal situation: this time, he decides to whiten his teeth for a date, but leaves the gel on far too long and, well, they become as luminous as a glow in the dark toy.

The episode is bogged down slightly by Chandler's dated fretting over masculinity, but a case of mistaken identity brings big laughs as Phoebe believes she has courted fashion boss Ralph Lauren – who makes a cameo appearance!

Best moment: "Yeah, nothing happened. You could cut the sexual tension in here with a knife!" – Rachel's boss Kim gets the wrong idea.

19. The One with Phoebe's Uterus (season 4, episode 11)

Monica gives naive Chandler a very vocal lesson in the seven erogenous zones on a woman’s body, leading to a famous scene that Cox probably deserved an Emmy for.

Alas, she was the only member of the main cast not to win one during the show's original run. Insanity!

Best moment: "SEVEN! SEVEN! SEVEN!" – Monica has a moment.

18. The One Where Joey Speaks French (season 10, episode 13)

Joey describes himself as a fluent French speaker on his CV, but there’s just one problem: he doesn’t understand a word. And when Phoebe tries to teach him, it becomes clear he’s not going to pick it up any time soon.

Season 10 is often considered past the show's prime, but episodes like this can still boast legendary status. Plus, it's nice to see Joey doing something besides predatory behaviour.

Best moment: "Oh, de fuff!" – Joey

17. The One with the Holiday Armadillo (season 7, episode 10)

Ross wants to teach Ben about his Jewish heritage, so – to compete with Chandler’s Santa – he dresses up as the Holiday Armadillo to hold his son’s attention.

The costume is burned into our collective imaginations forever, with Schwimmer once again proving to be a brilliant physical comedian.

Best moment: "If Santa and the Holiday Armadillo are ever in the same room for too long, the universe will implode. Merry Christmas!" – Chandler (as Santa)

16. The One with The Embryos (season 4, episode 12)

Monica and Rachel take on Chandler and Joey in a trivia quiz to see who knows each other best. The stakes are raised when a hyper-competitive Monica bets the girls’ apartment.

All the while, as the title suggests, Phoebe is attempting to become a surrogate host for her brother's embryos. But the gang is more interested in answering Ross's comprehensive list of questions – which come down to an ill-fated lightning round.

Best moment: "A transponst– a transponster!" – Rachel attempts to guess Chandler's job. (Monica responds: "That's not even a word!")

15. The One Where No One's Ready (season 3, episode 2)

Joey sits in Chandler's chair, Phoebe gets hummus on her dress, and Monica is freaking out over a voice message that her ex Richard (Magnum PI's Tom Selleck) has left on her answering machine.

Not exactly the best reasons for missing a black-tie event, so we can see where Ross's frustration comes from.

This episode is noteworthy for being set (almost) entirely in Monica's apartment, making it a budget-saving entry for the production team - as well as an excellent 22 minutes of television.

Best moment: As the row between Chandler and Joey escalates, Chandler hides his friend's underwear so Joey wears all of Chandler's clothes at once... while going "commando". Ew.

14. The One with Ross’s Sandwich (season 5, episode 9)

In a different show, seeing one of the main characters suffer a mental breakdown after a failed marriage might be rather harrowing. But not Friends – and certainly not when it's the most reliably hilarious character, Ross.

In this classic episode, the three-time divorcee is given the not-so-affectionate nickname "mental Geller" by his colleagues, and placed on sabbatical after he freaks out at his boss for eating a Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich.

Best moment: "Someone ate the only good thing going on in my life!" – Ross

13. The One with All the Resolutions (season 5, episode 11)

New Year, same Friends.

Resolutions include Chandler's vow not to make fun of people, Rachel's mission to stop gossiping and Joey's plan to learn how to play the guitar.

The highlight, however, must be Ross (again!) as he endeavours to do something new every day, leading him down a slippery slope that ends with a risqué pair of leather trousers dramatically ruining a date.

Best moment: "This year was supposed to be great. Well, it's only the second day, and I'm a loser with stupid leather pants that don't even fit!" – Ross

12. The One with Joey’s New Brain (season 7, episode 15)

Joey's Days of Our Lives character Dr Drake Ramoray finally comes out of his coma, but there's a twist.

His brain is transplanted with that of Joey's soap veteran co-star Cecilia Monroe (Susan Sarandon), who must teach him how to play the role of b*tchy stepmother.

There's also a winning subplot in which Ross tries to learn the bagpipes as a surprise for Monica and Chandler's wedding.

Best moment: Phoebe sings along to Ross's cursed cover of Kool & The Gang's Celebration.

11. The One Where Ross Got High (season 6, episode 9)

Ross doesn't want his parents to know he got stoned in their house when he was a college student – and when someone lets it slip to them over Thanksgiving dinner, a whole load of the group's other secrets come bubbling to the surface.

Meanwhile, Rachel is tasked with making a dessert for Thanksgiving. But when two pages of her recipe book get stuck together, she comes up with a trifle made of jam, custard… and beef.

Best moment: Judy Geller puts unruly kids Ross and Monica in their place.

10. The One with the Cop (season 5, episode 16)

Ross purchases a new sofa but refuses to pay the delivery charge. As he, Rachel and Chandler attempt to manoeuvre it up a narrow staircase, he barks a now infamous instruction.

Best moment: "PIVOT! PIVOT! PIVOT!" Need we say more?

9. The One Where the Stripper Cries (season 10, episode 11)

Danny DeVito aka Officer Goodbody arrives at Monica and Chandler's apartment to strip for Phoebe's bridal shower. He's panting, red-faced and sweaty just from climbing the stairs in the apartment block. It goes downhill from there.

DeVito was already a well-established Hollywood star by this point, but he would go on to win a whole new generation of fans in the cast of a considerably edgier show – see It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Also of note is Joey Tribbiani's appearance on a US game show called Pyramid, where he's partnered up with a member of the public who has little patience for him.

Best moment: "Paper! Snow! A ghost!" – Joey's answers for a white substance he might put in his coffee.

8. The One with the Jellyfish (season 4, episode 1)

As the gang finish up their vacation in Montauk, Monica gets stung by a jellyfish at the beach, leaving Joey and Chandler to step up to the plate and put an end to her anguish. If you know, you know.

Elsewhere, Ross falls asleep while reading an 18-page letter Rachel wrote to him as the two prepare to get back together. That means he has to make a 50:50 guess as to the answer of an important question.

Best moment: "Does it?" – Rachel asks a bemused Ross.

7. The One Where Eddie Won’t Go (season 2, episode 19)

Chandler tries and fails several times to evict his unstable room mate Eddie (Adam Goldberg), who likes watching Chandler sleep, stealing mannequins from Macy's and, of course, dehydrating various fruits.

Best moment: "Is anyone else starting to really like him?" – Phoebe fails to read the room on Eddie.

6. The One with the Rumour (season 8, episode 9)

Often argued as one of the best guest star roles of the entire show, Brad Pitt (then husband to Jennifer Aniston) appears as Will, an old schoolmate of Ross and Monica's, who was bullied by Rachel for being overweight.

Over the course of the episode, it comes out that he and Ross had started an I Hate Rachel Green club, and spread a rumour that she was a hermaphrodite. Kids, eh?

Best moment: Will glares furiously at Rachel from across the apartment, which she mistakes for an act of seduction.

5. The One Where Joey Loses His Insurance (season 4, episode 6)

Temporarily without health insurance due to his recent unemployment, Joey tries desperately to avoid a trip to the doctor, despite a hernia rendering him a ball of agony on the floor – a reminder that the nightmarish US healthcare system frequently bankrupts people.

Luckily, after several calamitous auditions, he catches a break when the role of "dying man" becomes available, although an uncooperative co-star throws even that gig into uncertainty.

Elsewhere, Rachel and Monica discover Ross has adopted a British accent while lecturing at the university,

Best moment: "Well, 'ello, Rachel!" – Ross

4. The One Where Everybody Finds Out (season 5, episode 14)

Everyone (bar Ross) now knows that Chandler and Monica are secretly together, but they're all keen to have a bit more fun with it before the truth is out in the open.

Phoebe's vigorous seduction of Chandler culminates in a hilarious game of chicken, as Monica's competitive streak places her man in the firing line.

Best moment: "They don't know that we know they know we know!"

3. The One Where Ross Is Fine (season 10, episode 2)

Ross is not fine. He's just walked in on Joey and Rachel sharing a passionate kiss – and he doesn't know how to deal with it.

He keeps saying he's fine, however, in high-pitched tones, proceeding to invite the fledgling couple over for a double-date with himself and Charlie (Aisha Tyler).

What could go wrong? He's making fajitas!

Best moment: Ross laughs hysterically after bringing out a sizzling hot pan of food without wearing oven gloves.

2. The One with All the Rugby (season 4, episode 15)

Forget about the rugby, this episode is all about the subplot in which Chandler is so desperate to escape the grasp of his ex-girlfriend Janice (and too cowardly to tell her the truth) that he pretends he's moving to the Middle East.

She doesn't let him off the hook so easily, and he's forced to buy a ticket to Yemen and board the plane.

Best moment: "15 Yemen Road, Yemen." – Janice recites Chandler's fake new address.

1. The One with Unagi (season 6, episode 17)

Ross is determined to prove that he could still beat up his female friends, Rachel and Phoebe, despite their recent self-defence classes.

He claims that he has "Unagi", something he defines as a state of total awareness, in his years spent practising karate. Unagi is actually a type of freshwater eel.

Best moment: Ross approaches a self-defence teacher with an unhinged request.

Friends is available to stream on Netflix. Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.

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