Every time The Good Place referenced FRIENDS | The Good Place

[@anthonyvillanueva5226]

Michael thinking that Phoebe would be the friend to make it into the Good Place absolutely seemed like Production Foreshadowing for Lisa Kudrow's appearance

[@DanSmith-j8y]

I don't see why, since she wasn't playing Phoebe.

[@Zeropointill]

@@DanSmith-j8y ...played by Lisa Kudrow. You know what a gag is, right?

[@DanSmith-j8y]

@@Zeropointill Do you know what a character is? How about an actor? Define "foreshadowing" for me. You must have a double-digit IQ.

[@EnderW33]

@@DanSmith-j8y greater than three shadows. Slightly less than five.

[@DanSmith-j8y]

@@EnderW33 I doff hat to you.

[@subman23]

Missed opportunity to title this video "The One With All The Friends References"

[@VanessaSamuels-v5x]

Lisa Kudrows cameo in the penultimate episode was the perfect full circle moment for the friends references

[@bigk9000]

@@VanessaSamuels-v5x It always throw me off whenever a production has an actor who's also performed in a show or movie they referenced. You'd think Eleanor would at least point out how she looks just like Phoebe! lol

[@charzemc]

Monica explained that the apartment was her grandmothers, who passed, & it was rent controlled.

[@bcs1793]

Chandler closes the show with this

[@bigk9000]

I was gonna point the exact same thing out! 😂

[@tyrant-den884]

They bring it up in at least two episodes. The One Were They All Almost And The One Where Joey And Treager Dance

[@joshuacoldwater]

That isn’t how rent control works, especially here in NY.

[@bcs1793]

@@joshuacoldwater Yes it does. "A family member has the right to a renewal lease or protection from eviction if he or she resided with the tenant as a primary resident in the apartment for two (2) years immediately prior to the death of, or permanent departure from the apartment by the tenant. The tenant shall be considered to have permanently vacated the apartment when he/she has permanently ceased living there. The continued payment of rent by the tenant or the signing of renewal leases shall not preclude a claim by a family member to seek tenancy. The family member may also have the right to a renewal lease or protection from eviction if he/she resided with the tenant from the inception of the tenancy or from the commencement of the relationship. If the family member trying to establish succession rights is a senior citizen or disabled person, then the minimum period of cooccupancy is reduced to one (1) year."

[@MrGeekFreek]

Why does Ross, the largest Friend, not simply eat the other 5?

[@themeitarrubin]

Because without them he would have no other friends.😂😂😂

[@gsampson97]

Perhaps they are saving that for Sweeps

[@Alakaizer]

You know what they say. Females are from Omicron Persei 7. Males are from Omicron Persei 9.

[@IsiahTomas]

He'd need a break or two to properly finish the task.

[@notaffiliatedwith7363]

Now I understand what happened to the monkey

[@Meni_Rosenfeld]

Maybe the real friends were the apartment we lived in along the way.

[@HeyNonyNonymous]

Not the apartments I lived in, mate.

[@guilhermepinheiro5342]

"Friends like Ross and Phoebe" lmao

[@marccos41]

That’s funny

[@DaniCasavilla]

Ross did buy Phoebe's first Bike. I think it's one of the show's sweetest moments

[@G2S2H2]

​@DaniCasavilla it's funny as most would say Joey and Chandler or mon and Rachel. He instead picked the 2 not likely and the 2 that except bike scene where not as close as others x

[@VITALSPARKMEDIA]

"wait, are you a... what's it called? A think-book man? No! A think-READ book man?" "A philosopher? YES!"

[@PASTY06]

Having Lisa Kudrow in The Good Place is like having Samuel L Jackson in the MCU where they meantion starwars movies ahaha

[@Horopter]

The prequels didn't happen in MCU. Lucky them!

[@OverWims]

1:20 I love that on a rewatch this means something completely different than you think at first

[@EmilyReid-f3c]

Monica subletted the apartment from her grandma

[@thomasbedient9191]

And it was rent controlled as long as it was in the family, iirc. I Don't know why that's still a discussion, they literally talk about that in the show.

[@leonaschaffer9198]

I know! It was explained early on in the series.

[@EmilyReid-f3c]

@@thomasbedient9191 actually I think monica was illegally living there because she said if anyone asks she’s an old woman that’s afraid of her VCR

[@SamanthaO369]

I thought that!​@@thomasbedient9191

[@Ruby-yn5fp]

@@EmilyReid-f3c i guess subletting was illegal, in a lot of places the contract specifies that they dont want you subletting it

[@tyrant-den884]

MONICA USES HER GRANDMOTHER'S RENTCONTROL ILLEGALLY! They bring this up in TWO episodes!

[@Norrie_Rugger]

And the final episode; Chandler says something like "because of rent control is was a frikken steal"

[@tyrant-den884]

@@Norrie_Rugger I had forgotten that one. It's three episodes.

[@DanSmith-j8y]

I'm pretty sure you're the first person to ever mention this.

[@DavidPlass]

"The one with the ballroom dancing"

[@imnothigh69420]

THE REASON IS FRIENDS!

[@donutschool]

What about the Friends plot "homage" in the one where Chidi chooses the painting for Jason to give to Tahani & she figures it out and falls for Chidi (c.f. Chandler choosing the book for Joey to give to his GF, who figures it out and falls for Chandler)? Oh God... did I just remember an obscure plotline from a Friends episode? It's the Bad Place for me...

[@radhiadeedou8286]

I don't think so

[@michaellyndaker2438]

Always loved how Ted Danson said the word "Friends" at the beginning

[@jinxysaberk]

i think seeing Lisa was such a nice surprise for everyone. i’m not sure how many friends fans cross over into liking the good place but if it’s 0 then i’m dead. These references made me so happy

[@cameronrmwarren]

i hate that i know the answer to monicas apartment

[@TequilaToothpick]

Rent control?

[@goddos]

funny that michael said phoebe shoudnt be in the bad place and lisa kudrow cameo'd as someone in the good place

[@mhey112]

Which is actually the Bad Place

[@rootedinland6823]

"I used to be cool, man!" Same, same

[@RealRomplayer]

Spoiler: You've never been cool. I'm so, so sorry!

[@xoltacueponi]

"rent control". it's actually a six-floor walkup. the rent is cheaper because there's no elevator and it's six floors+ up. that kind of term isn't really common outside of cities like new york, hence the in-universe "rent control".

[@themeitarrubin]

Monica inherited her apartment from her grandmother lol

[@victor100judo]

Actually they were subleasing it from Monica's grandmother to keep it rent controlled

[@elgatitodraven7501]

But Monica mentioned paying rent a lot didn't she?

[@PhantomXI]

@@elgatitodraven7501 Mean... monica was neurotic and worried about appearances, so isn't it likely she just lied?

[@pat2rome]

@@elgatitodraven7501 yes but the apartment was rent-controlled, so they were still paying the same amount in rent as her grandmother used to.

[@wrongsideofmidnight]

The apartment was rent controlled. Actually, Monicas grandmother rented the apartment and when she died Monika kept paying the rent and living in it without telling the landlord about this transition. That is why in one episode when monika and Rachel have an argument with the super, he threatens to tell their landlord that Monika is living there illegally.

[@bloodsling]

I'll never not have a crush on Kristen Bell. What a sweetheart.

[@calamitykitten4350]

I love that at 2:15 he is wearing a friendship bracelet made out of paper clips

[@veravevi]

2 of my favourite tv shows mashed together, I love it 💚💚💚💚💚

[@Fiercekun]

"The one with the number piles"

[@OneWingedRose]

Six!

[@gigin6534]

1:21 he wasn't lying 😂

[@traceyt4580]

Any true fan of Friends knows that the apartment was rent-controlled as it was her Gran's🙄 it was infuriating they gave it up in the finale, like really?

[@PhoebeGupta]

The rent control system might have ended after Monica and Chandler moved out. I actually don't know why did they gave it up. I thought Ross and Monica might have worked out a system to keep the flat to give it to their kids as a starting apartment as they moved out of their homes and pursued their careers in NYC and think about it, Ben or Emma or the twins would have been living there and Ben's almost 30, Emma is 22, the twins turned 20, and Ross and rachel's other kids are in college/high school with Phoebe's kids probably.

[@davidmsirois]

they were doing it illegally... the super blackmailed joey into dancing with him to keep it a secret remember? eventually someone would have found out and Monica would be in loads of trouble... they knew their days were numbered and they wanted to leave the city... it was a practical and very monica move.

[@PhoebeGupta]

@@davidmsirois I know that, I am just saying how Monica managed all these years there, I am not saying its not illegal, because at the end of the day, impersonating as your dead grandmother to live in a nice apartment in one of the best locations of a big city is illegal in every big city in the world. I think apart from the rent, I think Monica was also bribing Treeger in some way in exchange of keeping his mouth shut, but I think Treeger was the kind of person who didn't need to be bribed anyway as he knew how difficult it is to find a good place to live in NYC, or he worked while grandma was still living there, so she talked him into keeping his mouth shut. Only after the grandma died, he was in a position to get what he wants from the girls in exchange of keeping his mouth shut, but didn't until that one time in s4 where he blackmailed Joey. He could have done his job via the girls but he's their bestie, so threaten one, threaten all and we all know Joey is better in friendships than relationships, so he would absolutely do it for them.

[@davidmsirois]

@@PhoebeGupta i love all your saying... i'm such a friends lover and encyclopedia of knowledge of the show that i love people like you and love to discuss anything about the show... your insights make me so happy there are others like me out there that will share this show until we are long gone and the show lives on... :)

[@PhoebeGupta]

@@davidmsirois oh now I understood. I only said originally that since this was their grandmother's flat, Ross could have bought it for investment purposes as he lived in front of it. By that, he could pass on that flat to Ben, who doesn't need to purchase his own flat and everything. Monica left because she didn't visualize her kids growing up in the city, but rather in suburbs away from the city. Ross was already raising two of them in the city and as for Phoebe, she is probably going to inherit a townhouse in Upper East side whenever Mike's parents die or they move in when one of them dies with the other and since the house has a lift, they can totally not bother each other and live their lives and keep a caretaker for the other parent. Mike is very 🤑.

[@louisenielsen6635]

Loved the friends references but sad that they just stopped😢 !

[@JohnSmith-bn5mi]

Well for Monica and Rachel it's explained they're illegally subletting from Monica and Ross' dead grandmother. And it's rent controlled. For Joey and Chandler, Chandler actually makes pretty decent money as a transponster while Joey gets uneven, but decent work. Until he makes it big in Days of Our Lives. Ross is a college professor, which... it depends on the university. Phobe is a massuse which is weird. I always assumed she sold drugs or threatened her landlord for a better price.

[@EmonEconomist]

That's not even a word! 😭

[@stupled]

i would watch Phoebe breaking bad...or weeds.

[@deksroning125]

Transponster was a made up word Rachel said because she didn't know what Chandler's job was. His actual job was statistical analysis and data reconfiguration if I'm not mistaken - aka, data processing/science.

[@MMcarly]

love that you said transponster lmao

[@radhiadeedou8286]

No she wasn't dead, it's their other grandma who died

[@felipe87912]

my top 3 favorite shows ever

[@kennyd3898]

You forgot s2 e1 where Eleanor called Janet 'Joey' and 'Janine'

[@joeblankenship377]

Weird. I don't remember Lisa Kudrow being on the show. Now I'm realizing I probably did that thing where I'm sad that a show is ending and I never watch the last half of the season.

[@DaniCasavilla]

You should watch it. This is one of very few shows with a perfect end

[@ShaktiWomaan]

I did that with friends. Stilll haven't watched the last episode. Thinking that series is still going on.

[@homerman76]

The thing that's interesting about the good place being problematic in practice because having all of your needs met for eternity gets old eventually is why I think the traditional views on heaven are flawed since most people look at it from this perspective, but, if you think about it, could heaven be truly perfect if it is flawed in design like this? This doesn't mean that heaven doesn't exist, but that it instead most likely is just simply outside of the limited scope of our mortal and imperfect beings. It's kind of like how the human mind is incapable of truly grasping the true nature of infinity, there was one mathematician that tried, but he drove himself insane trying to do so, and when he got help and went back to tackle the concept again, he promptly checked himself back into the mental health institution he had left. Imperfection cannot grasp perfection because any attempt at doing so would be inherently imperfect (though this was one of the themes of the show that there really isn't a such thing as true perfection, at least not from our limited perspective.) On a similar note, I know the belief that there is no higher power involved in the inner workings of our system cannot be correct because there are just too many coincidences that led to things being the way they are (there is a massive statistical improbability that life both formed when it did, evolved as quickly as it did and that human civilization is advanced as it is since some scientists have actually believe we're too advanced for the time period we've existed, so the chances are high that someone or something has been helping us to grow as much as we have, especially since humans are also really bad about not just blowing ourselves up, we're like toddlers that got ahold of a grenade sometimes really)

[@iamthinking2252_]

So that… heaven is still just eternally good, it’s just done in a way with no downsides, and beyond our understanding?

[@eolendes6432]

Immortality is always presented with this sense of perfect permanence, where things don't change anymore and you're gradually driven to insanity or become a vegetable. It is true that our brains are naturally prone to anxiety, that we need constant stimuli. But our brains also forget things, rather selectively too. I imagine an immortal being would slowly change over their continued existence, their past lives becoming this sort of dream, haze in their ever expanding memory while they slowly change who they are and what they remember over the centuries. I guess the problem with the good place, is that it doesn't allow for new stimuli to appear, since every thing that might hold interest to someone is just readily available. But that also seems strange. With all the information available to you, why wouldn't you just spend eternity learning new things? And then forgetting them and learning them again? I imagine people in the good place would eventually grow so wise that they would be completely detached from their humanity- rather than fall into the comatose existence portrayed here. Or maybe they would if they get bored from learning new stuff?

[@shelbynamels7948]

remember, paragraphs are your friend(s).

[@bh5826]

I keep running into this point as well. And feel like going insane and probably hitting seizures on a serious note. I do believe that ultimately consciousness blends together with other beings somehow, so we detach ourseleves from our own understanding to gain a greater understanding. Thus we ultimately reattach, hopefully, to the greater or higher being. But those who do "bad" are stuck in a kind of loop like guilt trip, which therapy might help.

[@anthonyvillanueva5226]

The show operated on the assumption that humans would keep their mortal way of thinking. It was more of a thought piece to the question of what would happen if we always got everything we desired.

[@jmal4904]

Even with rent control there is NO CHANCE they could afford that apartment. I understand some fans want that last minute explanation to be a silver bullet but it's ridiculous. Rent control doesn't mean the building owner has to lose money to their tenants, it means they have to charge a reasonable rent, which yes would be lower than new tenants but would still be widely out of range of an oft out of work line cook and waitresses price range

[@PhoebeGupta]

She pretended that her grandma was alive or paid rent in her name until she left the apartment, even though she died in the first season of Friends, in fall 1994. After that, Treeger covered for her, and as long as the rent was paid, the landlord didn't bother to look into the matter and Treeger was enough to get general info about the building. She was pretending to be her grandma, scared of VCR, in 1993 when Joey moved in. She offered him lemonade, but he got naked. I wonder why Mr. Heckles didn't report Monica living almost illegally due to the gang's constant stomping on the floor which irritated him and he ultimately died from it in season 2. Also, there is no elevator in the building and the building is 6+ floors making the rent cheaper the rent control term is a NYC term given to apartments purchased by people in the 50s and 60s and who still owned them around the show's timeline which starts in mid-90s.

[@jakestroll6518]

You need to educate yourself on the Rent Stabilisation Act. Everyone who’d lived in an eligible apartment since 1970 was paying 1970 rent prices when I arrived to SoHo in 1990. Most are now dead, so the number of the advantageously priced apartments is falling. You don’t even have to take my word for it, Google the subject on New York Times or the Gothamist

[@aprilhippie8752]

2:12 Man thats so real like what were they thinking with that and the relationship lasted like what three episodes😂😂 I've said it once and I'll say it again Phoebe and Joey as a couple it was right there man right Flipping there but they didn't use it.

[@Shady_Fungus]

Lisa Kudrow @3:46 looks like Elsa from Frozen.

[@atharvadeshpande3090]

I love the blooper where 2:35 he forgets a name and says. I never watched it, I was jealous

[@sagejennings4342]

I love Michael studying humans through friends given that's how many immigrants study American English

[@RobertMcMurrer]

Is friends a show? If so where can I watch it?

[@pikkusaukko]

For now on, I'm gonna use Ross & Phoebe as example with my friendships

[@HelgaCavoli]

When Nana dies and Ross goes behind the closet to search for something and finds those pink sweetners (falling over him).. this was well stabilished.

[@donatoliotino1872]

Does Lisa Kudrow REEEEALLY count as a “reference”?

[@AbstractJJJ]

If she played as herself, then I would say yes, but not as an unrelated character. Since the real Lisa Kudrow is somewhere else.

[@BrunoBarcelosAlves]

I mean, she did refer to math as "The one with the number piles"

[@E_D___]

if they had the rights to actually use her as Phebe they probably would have. Beause they couldnt, they used her for anther character (her behavior is still very Phebe like)

[@donatoliotino1872]

@@E_D___ how would the fictional character of Phoebe Buffay have even been written into the show?

[@E_D___]

@donatoliotino1872 idk. Janet can literally create people, when they passed through the portal they saw parrarel dimensions, they could find an excuse

[@BeckettSong]

Funny thing, I just got through watching Steve Shives's video here on YT about whether or not it was right to hit the "reset-button" on an episode of Star Trek Voyager (Year Of Hell: a 2 part episode)OL Weird coincidence. LOL

[@emmamarshall221]

I honestly think Phoebe deserves Hell more than Joey, Chandler and Monica. If we are ranking! She was the worst hypocrite and was cruel to her pals a lot

[@stupled]

yeah...but they were all bad people...almost like Seinfield rejects

[@ngin98]

@@stupledalso she went through so much as a child

[@sortingthroughdata.brb.7983]

Love me some Matthew. ❤

[@greevar]

If eternal perfection makes things bad, it's not perfect. It's flawed. A perfect, endless paradise would not make you a glassy-eyed mush person.

[@plumdutchess]

So you're saying a perfect, endless paradise would have lesser moments to appreciate the perfect moments? That's yinyang.

[@bobcox003]

so... a few references and an actress who appeared in the show?

[@mattjewett4473]

For someone who isn't an actor, Dansen is in front of a camera a lot.

[@November_Monday]

Wait did they use sims music in their show or am I just Mandela-ing

[@mycatalrhythm]

joey and rachel makes the MOST SENSE!!!!

[@NixDuto]

I didn't catch any Friends references in the Hypatia scenes.. `,:o

[@manthony225]

Tell me you didn't really watch all ten seasons of Friends without... I still love TGP though.

[@Jean-vo8bg]

If he really did watch friends he would have known that Monica‘s grandmother actually owned that apartment and Monica just took over “ illegally”. 😆 and I’m pretty sure families are always willing to help family especially with financial issues.

[@HelgaCavoli]

Joey and Rachel made NO SENSE!!

[@juliai.2852]

Joey and Rachel would have been much better than Ross and Rachel 😅

[@Octobris]

Even as a kid I just couldn't stand Ross 😂 still can't

[@homerman76]

I can definitely see it

[@Michelle-DiPalo]

​@@Octobris I CANNOT stand Ross. Most people love the "Pivot" scen and credit him, but I only start laughing during that scene when Chandler says "Shut Up" in the same cadence.

[@shelbynamels7948]

Joey and Chandler were perfect for each other. A great bromance.

[@Stalebread47]

How is the ending a reference to friends

[@Fearless-fy1eb]

[@danazholsha9864]

🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩

[@fewfoes]

i like joey and rachel together more than ross and rachel

[@anthonywhite9178]

Boy that chandler line aged very poorly

[@askmeagain43]

Rent controlled. It's brought up multiple times in the series and lampshaded a few times too

[@Lurklen]

The only problem with the whole "Paradise is flawed" thing, is that if it's flawed it's not paradise. Paradise would have just enough momentary difficulty to stimulate you, but never enough to cause you to be unhappy. Does that sound impossible? Well, that's what makes it paradise.

[@E_D___]

the scording system they used to judge people was flawed, are you suprised thier Paradise was as well?

[@Lurklen]

@@E_D___ In the fiction of this show, no. The show is all about cosmic bungling etc. It's more of a trope issue. There's a lot of "Paradise/heaven would actually be really dull and drive you crazy after a while." concepts out there, but they miss the point. A Utopia/Paradise cannot suck. Or else it isn't a Paradise/Utopia. (Which is also why they are things we strive for, but can't really achieve.) It's just something that irks me when it comes up, because it feels like the writer is trying to make some grand statement about life, but really they're just making something imperfect and going "See, nothing is perfect."

[@dantebayer919]

i'm confused, because nobody had made it to the good place in 521 years from what i remember, but then the actor who played pheobe made it there likely only a few years ago, and i've never seen that adressed.

[@Noone-f8d6l]

In universe, that's not Lisa Kudrow. Neither Phoebe, nor the actress Lisa have died. The woman in the show is Hypatia. She's just played by Lisa Kudrow.

[@EmonEconomist]

Hypatia of Alexandria died around 415 AD (around 1600 years ago). Relatively speaking, I guess she would've been one of the newer arrivals to the Good Place. She did say she hadn't seen newbies in a while (I guess in 500+ years, which is a bare sliver of eternity).

[@E_D___]

Take into account that the cast was in the bad place for about 300 years or so

[@RobotMetalhead]

I'm sorry, but there's no way Phoebe of all people would get into the Good Place and not Joey.

[@RobotMetalhead]

Or Chandler. Or Monica. You know what? Joey, Chandler, and Monica all deserved to be there more than Phoebe.

[@firstname4337]

@@RobotMetalhead why ? Joey slept around (sin of lust), Chandler was a money guy (sin of greed), Monica had the sin of gluttony

[@JackThor]

@@firstname4337 omg, Ross is sin of wrath, Phoebe sin of sloth, and Racheal sin of envy. They all have Pride.

[@guilhermepinheiro5342]

Joey treated lots of women like trash, he'd never get into The Good Place

[@anthonyvillanueva5226]

I think that line only works as a setup for Lisa Kudrow appearing later on.

[@MariaEduarda-ti5xo]

thats so forced

[@waterinmyotter6245]

I never understood the problem with the Good Place. Hypatia says, “Every second of my existence was amazing, but my brain became this big dumb blob.” Isn’t that the point of heaven? Eternal happiness? You don’t need things like language and mathematics in heaven. So what if everyone just stands around feeling amazing; that’s literally what heaven is.

[@E_D___]

the highs are not the same without the lows. perfect doesnt really exist

[@notme222]

Ah, but if you lose your sense of identity, what even are you?

[@ahmed61299]

i don't know this show but this is so cringe maybe i need context

[@Everythingisromanticass]

The old guy is a celestial being he doesn't know the concept of society that's why he watched Friends to learn about friendship because he created a type of heaven where people would be happy and friendly forever and ever I think it's like a satire on how friends is a like the most surface level buddy comedy show that people easily obsesse over and how even a celestial being aren't immune to it

[@coffepot4800]

it's a sit-com from 2019. the humor is meant to be dumb and silly. But it's a great show.

[@aceanimations3214]

It's a good a show

[@E_D___]

context is very much needed

[@kamikuru4014]

gay