I have a gripe with how the ‘we were on a break’ argument played out. In later seasons, it’s played more as ‘whether or not they were on a break’ rather than the fact that they WERE on a break, but Ross basically slept with someone else immediately afterwards.

Anyway, I am totally Team Rachel. What the Rachel-haters tend to ignore is the fact that Ross was horribly paranoid and controlling before they broke up. On their first date, they spend it at the museum because of his work, but then he gets mad at her when her work takes priority! His excuse for sleeping with Chloe is that he thought she was sleeping with Mark, but that was entirely in his own paranoia and Rachel did NOTHING wrong in regards to Mark.

I'm after typing my feeling on this twice and it hasn't posted.
I might cry
Edit:Have it now

My thoughts on "the break" are as follows :
1: Ross didn't think they were on a break when he shagged Chloe. He thought they were broken up. That she was shagging mark right there and then.

2: Rachel didn't think they were on a break. She said "maybe we should take a break" in a moment of sheer exasperation after Ross set her office on fire and wouldn't listen to her, bringing up Mark again when it had nothing to do with him.
Its actually insulting: "no Rachel dear you couldn't possibly care about your job, you must be shagging someone. That's all you're good for" no wonder she was pissed off.

3: when Ross wakes up with Chloe and gets Rachels message he's keen to get Chloe out of the house and hide what he's done from Rachel.
Surely if they were on a break this isn't a problem?
Oh and her shagging Mark the night before? now!! Suddenly he believes her nothing happened!!
Why is that...?

4: Ross runs around town covering his tracks. Again, if they were on a break, why does he care what others think? Why should he be bothered if Rachel knows or not, those 12 hours they were supposedly on a break are none of her business right?

5: Ross is super apologetic to Rachel, begging for forgiveness... But she said they should take a break... Why so guilty Ross?

6: when it becomes apparent to Ross that Rachel won't take him back he comes up with the "we were on a break" defence. This is no longer about wanting to be with Rachel but basically wanting to "win" the break up.
Rachel wanted the break.
It's her fault.
He didn't do anything wrong.
And that theme continues for the rest of the series.

Winning the we were on a break argument becomes more important to both Ross and Rachel than how they actually feel about each other.
They could've got back together at the beach house and stayed together but no. Rachel needed him to own up. He needed to still have been on a break.

Maybe Ross just didn't realise that Joey wasn't there in that scene. But yeah maybe it was like Jerry and Newman's relationship in Seinfeld, as the rest of the group like Newman and in Friends no one else has any problem with Gunther

Agreed, if she had said his line "you have to realise it's only a job" he wouldnt have took it well

Yea Ross doesn't realise Joey isn't there when he asks for six glasses.
Gunther says oh you want me to join you?
Ross realises Joey is missing then and instead of saying oh sure Gunther join us he tells him no just 5 glasses then,putting Gunther back in his place.
If that was Chandler or Joey on realising their mistake they'd stall for a minute and then do a big exaggerated "Oh Of Course we want you to join us!" so I think it's fair to say Ross doesn't think much of Gunther

Is that it? Have we mentioned every single gripe? Haha

It always surprises me how many people say that Ross had a right to be as paranoid and childish as he was. Like Monica said, Mark wanting Rachel didn't mean that Rachel would cheat. She worked with Mark. She couldn't just ignore him and Ross went so OTT it was unbelievable. I get that his ex wife cheated, but that was because she was gay. She didn't just fancy a fling with a hot colleague.

I also don't like how the break was handled, but more because Rachel proposed a break, but she didn't say "we are definitely on a break" and she didn't state that "break" meant "we can shag other people".

yay the thread is revived

Here's a gripe from an episode I watched yesterday - in season 9 when Rachel and Phoebe go out for girls night and Ross and Mike are at home. Rachel gives a guy her number - her home number - and he says he will call her later that night if they come across any fun parties. However! If he calls her at home, she'll either not speak to him as she'll still be out having fun, or she will already be at home and probably wouldn't want to go out again. They all have cell phones at this point, so it just bugged me that they would coordinate this silly way of Rachel giving him her number, just so they could weave the storyline of Ross taking the message. All would have been fine if the guy had just said 'can I have your number and give you a call sometime?'

It only took 98 pages...

Yep 100%

At first I assumed, perhaps she had 2 numbers on her card, her mobile and her home number as I find it odd that she'd just pass on a home number, especially with Ross at home. But she seemed to quickly realise when he left that Ross would pick up the phone, which she wouldn't have done if she had her mobile on there because lets be honest, your go to in this day and age (and back then) was to phone a mobile phone to arrange something like that, not a home one. If she had 2 numbers on the card she gave him, she surely would know the guy would phone her on mobile so wouldn't have had that freak-out, "omg he's gone!"

I was reading yesterday that 'fan fiction' story, that the reason we dont see or hear much of Ben in the last few series is because Ross lost custody of him. I'm not liking that story at all

This rumour seems to be peddled by people who don't seem to understand that we don't see everything the characters do in a half hour show.

I'm happy to believe that Ross still saw Ben regularly. It's just that we no longer needed to see these scenes because it didn't add to the stories or the humour.

That's my main gripe about Friends!

I think it has taken 98 pages for this gripe to come up

I'm sure we would have been told this. I know it may be a bit "dark" for the show, but it's too much of a major thing to leave out.

We obviously aren't shown all of what actually happens.

Which leads on me to say, what happened Susan? I know she is mentioned in the later seasons eg. when Phoebe goes to the school to see Ben regarding the Sting tickets and she says "oh that would make me Susan" which obviously means Susan is still with Carol. But was the actress doing other stuff? Like to have seen her in the final season. Taking out the "Could have been" episode in S6, the last time we saw Susan in "real time" was in Season 4.

Come to think of it... the last time we saw Carol was in S7. Would like to have seen the two of them in the last season at least like we saw Janice.

Also just watched a S4 episode and that statues glowing eyes at Joshua's parents house is quite creepy (and it's a goof apparently as in some shots it's not glowing). Not a gripe though.

The fun parties was a ruse to get her number, maybe she was expected phone her machine to check the messages to receive her invite to said fun party. but yea why in God's name didn't she have a mobile phone or even the most American of all a pager?
Or they could've had her forget said phone or pager at home and Ross being the interfering fook he is answered it?

But yay thank you for saving the thread
Never stop griping folks.. Never!!!

I have another gripe.

In the Princess Leia episode, Christina Pickles is credited seconds before we actually see her. So for those watching for the first time, the joke/reveal is somewhat spoiled.

I always noticed that on repeat viewings too, Can't remember noticing it on original airing though

More of a general gripe but I "still" cringe at these London episodes. Soooooooo bad. Second only to Frasier for their horrific portrayal of English people.

*shudders*

It really was a turning point for the show

You're welcome!

This is a gripe of mine in many US shows - when I watched the final season of ER the ep where George Clooney makes a return appearance was ruined by his name being credited at the start of the ep!