Friends is probably one of the best, most popular sitcoms ever created. Throughout 10 seasons of this iconic show, we met and fell in love with the gang through different periods of their life, each and every one of them and their own unique character. But after watching all episodes so many times, memorizing the dialogs and jokes, it time to try and find some mistakes that were made during the shooting of the show, that we never noticed before.
1. Phoebe Appears Twice In The Same Scene
In the show's first episode, which was written as the pilot, you can see Phoebe sitting and sipping her cup of coffee in Rachel's and Monica's living room. How odd is it that at the same time she is spotted standing in the same apartment's kitchen talking to Rachel?
Phoebe was actually having a conversation with her friends but we guess someone forgot to check that there should be only one Phoebe in every scene.
2. Monica's Body Double Make a Surprise Appearance
Body doubles shouldn't usually stand out in a scene and are usually there in scenes where the actors are filmed from behind or from a distance. In this case, Monica's body double face was accidentally spotted in the scene.
Phoebe and Monica are sitting and talking in the cafe, when the camera flipped for a second focusing on Phoebe talking, not noticing that Monica's double face was actually shown.
3. Rachel and Monica's Apartment Number
In the first episode of the show, we all saw that Monica and Rachel live in apartment number 5, and Joey and Chandler live right in front of them in apartment number 4. Surprisingly when the show continues, we see that the number on Monica and Rachel's apartment is actually 19.
As we later learned, the fact that Joey and Chandler can afford their Manhatten apartment is only because it is on the upper floor with no elevator, which makes the 19 number on the door looks much more reliable than a 5.
4. Ugly Naked Guy's Building
The gang is totally obsessed with following every move of the ugly naked guy from the building right across from Monica's and Rachel's apartment, but how weird is it that the building is evolving during the show without us even seeing it?
We can see that in one episode the building was looking pretty new with outdoor emergency stairs, a very Manhatten typical look, and then in another episode we see a different building looking newer with reddish and brown bricks.
5. Brad Pitt's Missing Pie
Brad Pitt was a guest star in the 8th season of the show while he was still married to Jennifer Aniston. He starred as Ross's friend from college coming over for Thanksgiving dinner. Brad Pitt's character Will Colbert, comes in holding a pie in his hand. In one scene you can see Brad is giving the pie and to Monica, who is putting it on the table, and a few seconds later, when looking at the same dinner table, the pie is missing.
This episode was a part of the show's Thanksgiving dinner tradition, where they usually hosted a familiar actor for dinner in this special holiday episode.
6. Rachel's Body Double
Not only did Monica's body double make an appearance, apparently, Rachel body double was also noticed in this scene where we see Joey talking and Rachel right behind him wearing one top, and a second after we see Joey continued talking with Rachel body double next to him in a different top.
We already know you are using body substitute for every actor, but can't you make the effort of dressing them up the same?
7. Joey's Bottles Change to Cans
This scene was probably filmed a number of times, so no one noticed that Joey is holding different items in that same scene. He is seen holding 3 cans in one hand and 2 empty bottles in the other hand. A second later, we see him holding 4 cans in one hand and 2 cans where one were the 2 bottles
Don't get us wrong. we are all for recycling, cans or bottles, but how about a little attention to details over there?
8. The View From Monica and Rachel's Kitchen Window
It's not as big as the window where they are watching Ugly Naked guy, but the window in Rachel's and Monica's kitchen gives us a different view every time. In one scene we can see the skyline of Manhatten from it, and in a different scene, all we see from the window is a brick wall.
Either in daylight or night time, the view from the famous apartment kitchen window isn't the same which makes us think that maybe someone didn't think it was important enough
9. The Boots Mystery
In the 8th season, Monica buys an expensive pair of boots that when she wears for the first time, hurt her feet so much and injure her so badly, that Chandler, her husband on this season, has to carry her on his back home. She then decides to leave them in the restaurant where she takes them off, for there is no way she will wear them again
Later on, around season 9 of the show, the boots make a surprising comeback, worn by Monica with no pain and no suffering.
10. The First Time Rachel And Chandler Meet
She is the girl that his best friend was in love with most of his adult life but still, the first time they met is a bit confusing. In the first episode of the show, we learned that Rachel and Chandler have never met before. They were introduced in the scene where Rachel enters the coffeehouse in her wedding dress.
But in the flashback episodes in seasons 3 and 5, we learn that Rachel and Chandler in fact not only know each other but even kissed. In every flashback, we see them introduced all over again as if they suffer from a short term memory loss.
11. How Old Is Ross?
Not only that he celebrates his birthday in different months but we are not sure how old he is, because he just stays the same for several seasons. Once Ross celebrated his birthday in March, then in October, and one year even in December.
Then in seasons 3, 4, and 5, we learned that Ross doesn't get old and stays 29 during those 3 years. Don't we wish we could stay at the same age while everyone else is getting older? By the way, his age is not the only thing that isn't consistent about Ross. On one occasion we see him glutton over a huge crab pie and on a different episode, Ross confesses that he is allergic to seafood.
12. Ross's First Time With A Woman
We caught Ross making another inconsistent statement, and this time, regarding his first time. In season 1 Ross is telling Joey that Carol was his first time ever with a woman, and during their marriage, he never once was unfaithful to her.
Later on, during season 7, we learned that while arguing with Chandler about their cleaning lady back in college, Ross blames Chandler for sleeping with her, but Chandler corrects him and says that it was actually him that slept with her. Can someone please let Carol know?
13. Same Extras, Different Location
cIn one of the season finales, Ross is looking for Rachel before living in Paris in two different airports in the city: Newark and JFK. first Phoebe drives Ross in her Taxi to Newark airport, where we can see a female extra standing next to the arrival and departure board wearing a brown headcover.
In the next scene filled at JFK, we see the same extra, wearing the same brown headcover, standing behind Phoebe and Ross. Isn't that amazing that she got there so fast?
14. Different Writing on the Whiteboard
In one of the episodes in season 4, Ross is standing and doing his lines while behind him, hanging on Joey and Chandler's door is a whiteboard with the word "Poop" written on him.
A second later, on that same exact scene, we see Ross talking on the same spot, but now there is a different word written on the whiteboard, no longer saying "Poop", but "Get Out!".
15. Joey Gets His Hands Confused
In the Las Vegas episode, Joey is super excited about finding his hand double in the Casino. When he tells Chandler all about it, he points with his finger at him with his left hand, but while the camera changes its angle, we then realize that Joey is now pointing his finger with his left hand.
the scene was probably cut off and glued in from several takes where no one realized Joey wasn't using the same hand.
16. Ross's Disappearing Foam Hockey Finger
It's not easy filming in a crowd or inside a real stadium, but we didn't see this coming. While cheering for their favorite hockey team, the NY Rangers, Ross is holding a foam finger. Chandler and Joey are sitting behind him.
In the same scene, a second later, Ross is seen without his cheering foam finger. maybe he just put it aside or threw it on to the court. A mystery indeed.
17. Rachel's Neckless
One of the most iconic episodes of "Friend" is the one where Rachel and Ross kiss for the first time. Maybe because of the excitement around the romance, we didn't notice that in one scene Rachel is not wearing a neckless and after the camera returns a second later, the neckless makes an appearance.
If we take a close look we might see that Rachel is wearing earrings on the first take and afterward we see the neckless, but not the earrings. We can only guess that her dresser had a change of heart regarding her appearance that day.
18. Joey's Shirt Change
In one of the episodes of season 5, Joey is knocking on Ross's door while wearing a purple buttoned shirt. Then the camera flips into the inside of Ross's apartment and when he opens, we can then see that Joey is wearing a black T-shirt.
Not that we have any problem with watching Joey in different outfits, but not in the same scene, please.
19. The Present that Wrapped itself
In season 8, right after Monica and Chandler got married, Monica starts opening her wedding presents. We then see Monica unwrapping one of her presents but a few seconds later, we see that same present, wrapped as it was never opened before.
Well, she probably had a lot of gifts to unwrap, but to wrap one all over again? That's just a waste of time.
20. Paul Takes the Wrong Turn
Paul the "wine guy" appeared in the pilot episode as Monica's boyfriend. They went out and Paul confessed that he hasn't been able to perform sexually since he was separated from his ex-wife. He and Monica ended up having sex. Then, when Monica escorted him out of her flat, she and Paul kissed and he turns left out to of the building although we all know that the stairs of the building are on the right side of the door.
Paul can always claim that he got confused by Monica's dazzling looks, but later in that episode, we learn that Paul is actually a crook who pulled the same trick with another girl who worked with him in the restaurant. Let's hope he still hasn't found his way out of the building.
21. The Disappearance of The Paper Towel
We can't forget the episode where Phoebe decides to tell Rachel that Paolo, Rachel's Italian boyfriend, made a pass at her while she gave him a massage. In that scene we see Rachel reacting rather nervously and pulling off a paper towel to clean her hands, but instead of taking one paper towel, she pulls out the entire roll.
In the same scene, a second later, we see Rachel again, but this time the paper towels are all wrapped up in their place like nothing ever happen. Don't you wish you had someone cleaning after you all day?
22. The Missing Dining Table
When Rachel tells Ross that Marcell, his beloved monkey has escaped, we are all too busy looking at Ross's reaction that we don't realize that the dining table that we just there, has disappeared a second later.
In one shot we see Rachel and Ross talking and the table is right next to them, and in the next shot there is no table in the scene. Maybe Marcell took it before he ran away?
23. The Apartment Wall Ends in the Middle
While Richard, Monica's boyfriend, plays table football with Joey and Chandler, we get a glimpse of the real deal. The shot shows us that it's not really an apartment but a set. We can see that that the wall behind Richard ends in the middle and doesn't continue like a real wall.
This camera mistake happens all the time and reveals the backstage of the set in a way that we wish it hadn't.
24. The Top Of The Set Reveals
We can find another funny camera mistake on season 10, where you can notice the top of the set, which is loaded with lights and microphones, revealed at the top side of the shot.
The camera is usually directed at the exact angle to avoid these kinds of mistakes, which gives us a sneak pick of how the set really looks like when we zoom out.
25. Phoebe's Dress Stain Changes Size
One of the most memorable episodes in the show is the one where Ross gets an award from the University and invites his friends to the ceremony.
Phoebe puts on a yellow evening dress but unfortunately stains it with hummus just before they are ready to go. In one scene we see this big stain on the drees, and in the same scene, we see Phoebe again, this time the stain looks much smaller. Same stain - different sizes. We wish we had whatever quick-acting detergent she has.
26. Monica's Door Moves By Itself
In season 3, while Monica and Richard (who by then doesn't have his famous mustache), try really hard to act like they are no more than just friends, we see the door to Monica's bedroom opens and closes by itself, without anyone touching it.
It's either Chandler checking to see if he has a chance or there's a ghost in this apartment, but we swear that the door moves by itself.
27. Ross's Son Ben is Blond AND Brown
Ross and Carol's adorable son, Ben, is just a baby in the early seasons of the show, and we all know that filming babies can be a real headache for everyone. We can only guess that this mistake was made for that reason.
In the same episode, we can see that Ben first played by a blond baby actor, and in another scene, he is played by a totally different brunet baby actor. Well, that's what happens when one actor just has to have his morning nap.
28. Ross's Suits Changes Hands
In season 3, Ross is invited to talk on a television show as a doctor of Paleontology. He asks Joey and Chandler to help him choose the right suit for the event and presents them with two suits, a black one on his left hand, and a brown one on his right.
The camera turns to Joey and Chandler, but then as it goes back to Ross. the suits change hands and now the black one is on the right and the brown is on the left.
29. Puppets Switch Hands
A similar mistake happened to Sandy, Emma's man nanny played by Freddi Prinze Jr. Sandy, also known as the "Manny". He plays with puppets to entertain Emma, holding a blue one in his right hand and a yellow one in his left.
In the same scene, a second later, the camera returns to the Manny, and we see that the puppets are held on opposite sides.
30. Can Chandler Cry?
During season 6 of the show, the gang is watching E.T, and sobbing along with the final scene of the movie. Chandler then confesses to them that he is not a crying person, and doesn't really cry from sad stuff.
But the truth is that Chandler was spotted crying several times before. For example, in season 4 alone we watched him burst into tears on two different occasions, on episodes 14 and 22.
31. Monica Changes Wedding Dresses
When Monica decides to start looking for her wedding dress, she takes the girls to a special sale for dresses and fights for the one she really wants with another girl.
But when Monica returns home and tries out the dress for Chandler, we can see that it's a totally different wedding dress.
32. Emma's Newborns Hat
When Ross and Rachel bring home baby Emma for the first time, the gang is super excited to meet her and we see a close-up of her in a sweet pink baby hat on her little head.
Seconds later, in the same scene, Rachel picks Emma on her hands, and we see the baby again, this time wearing a white hat.
33. Potato as a Dessert
There is no doubt that Central Perk Coffee, is a fairly odd spot in the middle of Manhatten, that attracts some very strange characters including the owner, the immortal Gunther.
But this one takes the jackpot when we see a potato in the dessert tray. We had to take a second more close look to realize that it is in fact a potato. Well, maybe it's served with chocolate syrup on top?
34. Joey's Shirt Stain Changes
Thanksgiving episodes were always the show's special episodes, providing us surprise with special guests or stories. In this episode, Monica is hosting thanksgiving dinner again and Joey falls over the dinner table and gets his shirt really dirty.
In the same scene, we then see Joey again, still with stains on his shirt, but this time they look much smaller and on different areas of his shirt. Might this be the work of the same laundry-fairy that fixed Pheobe's stain?
35. Coffee Mugs Change In Central Perk
In season 2, Rachel and Ross sit with Rachel in the cafe while Rachel tries her best to talk Ross out into not having sex yet with his new girlfriend Juli, not telling him yet that she is secretly in love with him.
When the camera turns to Ross for the first time, there is a red mug behind him, and in the same scene, the mug changes into a smaller green mug. The service in Central Perk is truly impeccable.
36. Rachel Mistakenly Changes Berry's name
We first met Rachel in the pilot episode when she flees her own wedding with her fiance, Berry. We all know Berry for being this boring rich dentist that Rachel dated for a long time, but we had no idea that Rachel can't rememebr his last name.
When she talks on the phone with Berry for the first time since the wedding she calls him Dr. Berry Finkel, but in another incident, she approaches him as Dr. Berry Farber. Which one is his real name? We'll have to ask Mindy.
37. Chandler gets Joey's Name Confused
When Joey and Chandler are worried that something might have happed to Mr. Hakels, their neighbor, Chandler is terrified that he is going to end up like him and live and die all by himself.
He then decides to go and do something about him being alone, and while stepping out of the flat, he refers to Joey mistakenly as "Matt". which is the actor's real name, Matt Lablanc.
38. The Orange Juice Glass Mystery
In season 4, Monica Poured herself a full glass of orange juice. She puts the glass down to feel Phoebe's baby kicking, and when she picked it back again the glass was only half full. Elves, perhaps?
It happens again in that same scene when Joey hurries out to an audition, he passed by Monica, and the glass is completely filled with fresh orange juice.
39. The Fireman's Helmet
There was a fire in Pheobe and Rachel's apartment in season 6, caused by Rachel's hair straightener. Monica, Chandler, and Joey entered the apartment after the firefighters finished their work, to estimate the damages and we can see the firefighter holding his helmet under his right hand.
As the camera returns to the firefighter a few seconds later, we see him holding his helmet with his left hand.
40. A Toy Appears in Emma's Hands
In season 10, Emma is not a newborn anymore, and she is sitting and playing in her crib while Rachel is talking to her sister. In the next scene, Rachel picks Emma up and we can see that the baby has nothing in her hands.
Having said that, once Rachel's sister announces that she is getting married, the camera flips to Rachel to see her respond, and there is Emma, but this time, she is holding a toy in her hands. A ninja baby, perhaps?
Most of the mistakes are technical and are made due to the fact that every scene is being edited from several takes. We took up the opportunity of watching our favorite show all over again, this time looking for those 40 mistakes made in real-time. Try it for yourself, it's almost as fun as watching it for the first time.