The 12 Funniest Unscripted Moments In Friends

There are a few shows in the history of television that are so ubiquitous, even people who don't particularly like them are probably at least a bit familiar with them. "Friends" is one of those shows. In case you've been living under a rock for the past 30 years, the entire "Friends" story is based around a group of friends — Ross Gellar (David Schwimmer), his sister Monica (Courteney Cox), his college roommate Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry), Monica's past roommate Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), and Chandler's roommate Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc) — as they accept Monica's old high school pal, Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston), into their little chosen family. While it seems like a simple premise, "Friends" changed TV, even if most audiences didn't notice at the time. 

With a robust cast full of fantastic comedic performers, "Friends" also seemed like the kind of show that might allow its stars to take some liberties with the script. Unfortunately, tight TV shooting schedules probably didn't leave a lot of room for improvisation. If things ever seemed off-the-cuff, it was most likely due to the excellent line readings by the actors. That said, there are a good handful of moments from the show's time on air where improvisation was necessary (or too darn funny to leave out). Injuries, cast banter, and live audiences are just a few of the variables that sometimes resulted in an unplanned moment on "Friends."

Funnily enough, the first time that significant lines were ad-libbed by a "Friends" cast member wasn't done by any of the six main characters. Season 1, Episode 7, "The One with the Blackout," finds most of the gang sheltering in Monica and Rachel's apartment as New York City is plunged into darkness. While trying to find the owner of a lost cat, Rachel runs into a very tall, very Italian man named Paolo (Cosimo Fusco). He barely speaks English, and has never been one of the best or most engaging secondary characters on "Friends," but he still had a few memorable moments, including several in his debut. 

Fusco was told by the "Friends" writing team to simply ad-lib all of his Italian. Obviously, a lot of the audience and none of the characters understand what he's saying, but it still had to be a challenge to ad-lib basically all of your character's main dialogue in a TV series. Rachel is the first of the friends to find and meet Paolo, and she quickly invites him to shelter with them in the apartment, where she introduces him to everyone. 

When Paolo meets Phoebe, he sensually holds her hand and says "Phoebe, sei tanto bella anche tu. Se siete tutte così belle, mi trasferisco qui," to which Phoebe responds, "you betcha!" What Fusco improvised translates in English to "Phoebe, you're so beautiful too. If you're all so gorgeous, I'll move right here," offering an interesting hint at Paolo's womanizing behavior.

Season 2, Episode 1 of "Friends," called "The One with Ross's New Girlfriend," serves as the first example of comedic improv from one of the show's main cast members that made it into the taped version of an episode. In a short set-up scene, Chandler asks the gang for help finding a tailor. Joey immediately offers the name of the tailor who does work for his family and attempts to figure out when he last saw him. Joey interrupts the rest of the scene once or twice to give a new year to Chandler, and finally he's so confused that he asks Chandler, "When was 1990?" 

This is an essentially inscrutable question for Chandler, as he would have no idea how to orient Joey within his own life's timeline. What's more, Chandler doesn't really care about what year Joey last saw his tailor. Matthew Perry, expressing Chandler's frustration with Joey at that moment, leans down and says "You're supposed to stop the Q-Tip when there's resistance!" Chandler then mimes using a Q-Tip as Joey frowns. 

It must have been exciting for a young Matthew Perry to have his own joke make it to air, and it is an apt sort of interaction that audiences often see in Chandler and Joey's relationship. Of course this episode also mentions one of the worst things everyone ignored in "Friends," but nothing is perfect.

The B-plot in Season 2, Episode 5 of "Friends," "The One with Five Steaks and an Eggplant," surrounds a voicemail left on Chandler and Joey's answering machine. Chandler and Ross listen to a live voicemail from a seductive-sounding woman named Jade (Brittney Powell). Jade is looking for Bob, an ex-lover who apparently used to rock her world. She's desperate for him to give their relationship another shot, and she clearly has the wrong phone number written down. Chandler decides to use this setup to his advantage and pretends to stand her up, as Bob, in order to trick her into dating him as himself. Chandler receives some level of karmic payback, but it's frustrating and unsurprising that Joey's instinct is to do the same thing as he races to answer the phone.

Joey was not meant to trip over the couch as he does so — it was a total accident that Matt Leblanc fell over trying to get to the answering machine. Despite the fact that the stumble wasn't planned, Leblanc recovers quickly and answers the phone with "Bob here!" Matt LeBlanc and Matthew Perry especially always do a great job of utilizing the physical space of the set and its props.

As only "Friends" superfans know, the whole opening gag for Season 3, Episode 3, "The One with the Jam," was written into the show because Matt LeBlanc did sustain a real-life injury that required him to wear his left arm in a sling. This is more of a writer improvisation than an acting one, but still something that was ultimately unplanned. In another Season 3 episode (Episode 2, "The One Where No One's Ready"), Joey and Chandler spend the time leading up to a big event for Ross's job fighting over the armchair in Monica and Rachel's apartment. According to the DVD commentary, LeBlanc ran to leap into the armchair in order to beat Matthew Perry there, and in doing so actually ended up dislocating his shoulder.

It didn't make sense to blame Chandler and Joey's fight for LeBlanc/Joey's injury, so the writers had to find a way to explain Joey's sling in the next episode. They wrote a little opening for the show where Chandler is sitting in the living room of his apartment. He's listening to Joey jump up and down on his bed, which is hilarious— and on-brand for Joey, who never quite gives up his childlike sense of fun— when he hears a thud and a yelp from Joey. When Chandler goes to check on him, he admonishes Joey for jumping on the bed, and later in the episode audiences (and the other main characters) learn that Joey will have to wear a sling for a little while. 

Superstar comedians Billy Crystal and Robin Williams just happened to be on the same studio lot the day "Friends" was filming Season 3, Episode 24, "The One with the Ultimate Fighting Champion." The two actors were working there to promote their 1997 film "Father's Day," and while the movie ended up being a huge flop for both actors (It has a 26% rating on Rotten Tomatoes), their cameo together on "Friends" has remained one of the most iconic out of all 10 seasons of the show. 

The writers didn't have time to put a script together for Crystal and Williams, so their whole bit in the episode is ad-libbed, including two notable instances of comedic instinct from Matt LeBlanc and Courteney Cox. In the scene, Crystal and Williams play a pair of friends who need to sit on the end of Central Perk's famed orange velvet couch because the cafe is especially busy that day. Williams' character has a distinct accent and is explaining to his Crystal that he believes his wife is cheating on him. 

Williams suspects the gynecologist, only for Crystal to confess that he is the one who has been sleeping with Williams' wife. LeBlanc interrupts here to pry, saying, "So you're the gynecologist?!" This prompts Crystal to admonish Joey for interjecting on a private conversation. Things get heated between Crystal and Williams, and by the time their (actually very funny) conflict is over, Courteney Cox — and by extension, Monica — has completely forgotten what she's supposed to say.

It seems that a few members of the main cast of "Friends" sustained injuries during filming, although at least they were well-paid for their trouble. In Season 4, Episode 3, "The One with the Cuffs," Chandler decides to rekindle his brief connection with Rachel's boss, Joanna (Alison La Placa). Rachel is upset about this because Chandler nearly caused her a lot of problems at work when he rejected Joanna the first time, but Chandler is more interested in continuing his intimate adventures than worrying over Rachel's job. 

Later in the episode, Joanna is called away and decides to sexily keep Chandler in her office, only to be gone much longer than initially planned. Rachel and her coworker attempt to get into Joanna's office to find the Christmas bonus list, only to find a pants-less, debauched-looking Chandler handcuffed to a filing cabinet.

Chandler immediately attempts to persuade Rachel to set him free, but she is hesitant to interfere. According to the show's DVD commentary, the whole bargaining conversation between Rachel and Chandler is somewhat ad-libbed, but the most hilarious and unplanned part of the scene happens when Chandler accidentally opens the filing cabinet into his own head with his cuffed hand.

Probably one of the most famously cited examples of improvisation on the part of the cast is not exactly improv, because it originated during unfilmed rehearsals for the episode and then was kept in by the writers. Season 4, Episode 11, "The One with Phoebe's Uterus," follows a B-plot in which Joey gets a job at Ross's museum working as a tour guide. As a part of his uniform, Joey has to wear a royal blue blazer, which is exactly the kind of thing Chandler can't help but tease.

When the cast was learning the script, according to the book "Friends Forever: The One About the Episodes," Matthew Perry could not stop saying, "Donald Trump wants his blue blazer black," instead of "Donald Trump wants his blue blazer back." For some reason he couldn't untwist his tongue, so during one rehearsal, the rest of the cast (in character) made fun of him for messing up his joke. When he tried to point out that they knew what he meant, Courteney Cox, as Monica, said, "No, you got it wrong. You're stupid!" just to mess with Perry. The writers loved it so much that they embraced Perry's jinxed line delivery and allowed the cast to castigate him on camera as well.

Season 5 of "Friends" is largely considered to be one of the best seasons of the show. After four years, the cast had found a groove with each other and fans were thoroughly invested in the development of the lives of the show's characters. Season 5, Episode 4, "The One Where Phoebe Hates PBS," finds Ross desperately trying to reconcile with his recently separated wife. Ross is overjoyed when Emily (Helen Baxendale) finally returns his calls, but his happiness doesn't last long thanks to her discomfort over his continued friendship with Rachel.

When Ross gets Emily's first call while he's over at Monica's apartment, his friends celebrate with him — albeit by miming joy because loud, celebratory noises aren't conducive to successful phone calls. During the scene, David Schwimmer really sells Ross's excitement over Emily's call and actually picks up one of Monica and Rachel's lamps. He quickly hands the lamp to Matthew Perry, who remains in character as Chandler, perplexed but not bothered enough to put the lamp back down right away.

One of the best shocks that the writers of "Friends" pulled off happened in the show's Season 5 finale, where it is revealed that Rachel and Ross, both blackout drunk, have gotten married as a joke. In Season 6, Episode 1, "The One After Vegas," neither of them remember what they did they night before, but at breakfast their friends tell them about the voicemail they left inviting them to the wedding. They're both stunned and horrified, and agree to pursue an annulment as soon as they get back to New York City. This episode also provides one of the biggest plot holes in "Friends" – Rachel and Ross suddenly wash off that permanent marker pretty easily!

When the gang returns to New York City, Ross calls and meets with his divorce lawyer, who freely admonishes him for having a third failed marriage over the course of five years. Ross is cowed by this and asks Rachel if they can stay married just to spare him the embarrassment of three failed marriages (Rachel points out that nothing about their marriage could be deemed a success). Originally, Rachel was supposed to say a written line to put a cap on their fight, but the live audience simply wasn't laughing at the punchline. Jennifer Aniston, seeking a more enthusiastic response, ad-libbed, "This isn't a marriage, it's the world's worst hangover!" during one take, and that's the line that made it into the show.

After their marriage fiasco in Seasons 5 and 6, Rachel and Ross maintained a little more distance than usual, but the two characters picked up more episodes together by the back half of Season 7. In Season 7, Episode 15 "The One with the Truth About London," Ross goes over to Rachel and Joey's so that his son Ben (Cole and Dylan Sprouse) can use the bathroom. He asks Rachel if she can watch Ben for an hour while he goes to a work event, and Rachel agrees despite her reservations. 

Desperate for a way to bond with Ben, Rachel teaches him several classic pranks (saran wrap on the toilet seat, for example). Ross is furious that Rachel teaches Ben how to be mean, but ultimately forgives her, recognizing that she was trying to connect with his son. 

A while later, Ross and Ben stop by Rachel's apartment again. Ross asks Rachel to look after Ben once more, but before Ross can leave, Rachel removes a prank sign from his back and gently chides Ben. Ross becomes enraged and chases Ben up the stairs to the next floor of apartments. The two argue, and Rachel hears what sounds like Ross being pushed down the stairs. According to "Friends Forever: The One About the Episodes," Jennifer Aniston had no idea that this was the planned end of the bit, and initially thought that it was really David Schwimmer who fell down the stairs, not a dummy. Her reaction is completely genuine.

Christina Applegate is one of the best "Friends" guest stars ever, and one of a few who made multiple appearances. In her first episode, Season 9, Episode 8, "The One with Rachel's Other Sister," Applegate plays Rachel's sister Amy, who is horrifyingly selfish and insulting. When Ross and Rachel realize that the sister knocking on their door is Amy and not Jill (Reese Witherspoon), Rachel frantically tells Ross to "hide her rings." Rachel begrudgingly invites Amy to Monica's place for Thanksgiving after Amy's married boyfriend ditches her for his wife. 

Amy meets all of Rachel's friends and manages to insult each of them. including Ross and Monica, whom she knew growing up. Rachel reminds Amy of her newborn daughter's name (Emma) right as she is meeting Phoebe, so Amy believes that Phoebe's name is Emma. From then on, every time Amy refers to Phoebe blankly or as Emma, Phoebe says her name loudly in correction. At one point, Applegate ad-libs one of the funniest lines of the episode when she asks Rachel why Phoebe "keeps making that noise," not realizing that Phoebe is her name. Applegate plays Amy perfectly, making this one of the best late-season episodes of the show.

"Friends" ran on NBC for 10 full-length seasons, during which David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry, and Lisa Kudrow brought laughs and surprisingly effective drama to audiences for a full decade. The final episode of the show, Season 10, Episode 18, "The Last One, Part II," finds all six characters at a point of change, with Monica and Chandler having recently celebrated the birth of their twins and Rachel set to leave for a high-profile fashion job in Paris. 

Rachel ultimately decides not to go to Paris so that she can finally reconcile with Ross, but Monica and Chandler are still moving out of the apartment that has served as a second (or first) home to nearly all of them for many years. Faced with the empty, open-concept living area, the friends become emotional. When Rachel asks if Monica and Chandler have time to grab some coffee, everyone agrees to go, but it is Matthew Perry (as Chandler) who brings the entire show home with a simple, ad-libbed joke: "Where?" As if they haven't been going to the same coffee shop for 10 years. It's hard to imagine a more appropriate end to the show.