Tag: Friends

Get your laugh on with these 5 Halloween-themed TV episodes

This blog was originally published on elkharttruth.com on Oct. 31, 2014.

Costumes, jack-o’-lanterns and scares … it must be October.

While you can watch Halloween-themed movies, shows and more throughout the month (See ABC Family’s 13 Nights of Halloween or AMC’s Fearfest), here are five TV episodes that will give you a laugh or smile instead of a scare.

The Slutty Pumpkin: Season 1, “How I Met Your Mother”

While the title of this “HIMYM” episode focuses on one costume, many other outfits also make an appearance, thanks to Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris) and his desperate attempts to attract women.

Barney, being the ultimate player that he is, changes costumes throughout the night to continue hitting on the hottest girl at the party.

The episode focuses more on the lead’s character development, but seeing all the costumes makes the episode fun.

The One with the Halloween Party: Season 8, “Friends”

Rachel hands out money instead of candy. That’s not trick-or-treating!

Phoebe tells her twin sister’s fiance many negative things about Ursula, and then she ends up dating him for an episode. That’s not normal!

And then there’s Chandler in a pink bunny suit. And that’s just too funny.

In typical “Friends” fashion, the episode is full of laughs, and it’s the comedy’s only Halloween-centered episode.

And Then There Was Shawn: Season 5, “Boy Meets World”

Technically, this isn’t Halloween-centric, but the episode does have a Halloween vibe.

It parodies “Scream,” and you know it’s not really real. It’s more kitschy than anything.

Still, it’s entertaining to watch Shawn (Rider Strong) discover who the “killer” is.

Someday Your Prince Will Be in Effect: Season 1, “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”

Mostly taking place in a mall, this episode is worth watching for the parts when cousins Will (Will Smith) and Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro) compete for a girl.

Oh yeah, and Aunt Vivian (Janet Hubert) gets lost in the music at a recording booth in the mall.

The Halloween Scene: Season 5, “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch”

This Melissa Joan Hart-starring show features many Halloween episodes, for obvious reasons.

In this Halloween-themed episode, Sabrina hosts a party when her aunts Hilda (Carolina Rhea) and Zelda (Beth Broderick) are away. Which would be fine … if the portal to the Other Realm didn’t keep transporting monsters to her house.

But hey, at least she got to counsel Frankenstein and his bride, right?

What are your favorite Halloween-themed TV episodes?

Top 10 best episodes of ‘Friends’

This blog was originally published on elkharttruth.com on May 14, 2014.

After picking the best “How I Met Your Mother” episodes, it seems logical to pick the top 10 episodes of “Friends.”

But narrowing down the show’s 238 episodes into one top-10 list proved tougher than I thought.

I’m sure these could be debated, but here are my picks:

10. The One with Monica and Chandler’s Wedding (first aired May 17, 2001)

Three seasons after they got together (see No. 6 on the list), Monica and Chandler tie the knot.

Of course, Chandler freaks out over marriage. And Joey ends up performing the ceremony in his movie costume, which is stained with fake blood.

And, like most “Friends” seasons, it ends with a cliffhanger: Rachel, not Monica, is pregnant.

9. The One in Vegas: Part 2 (first aired May 20, 1999)

Poor Joey. The actor can’t catch a break.

Chandler and Monica leave their relationship fate to the casino, and then they steal — I mean, borrow — a blue sweatshirt for their Vegas wedding.

To top it all off, after permanent marker pranks and drunken stupor, Rachel and Ross go too far … and get married

8. The One Where Joey Dates Rachel (first aired Jan. 10, 2002)

I love this episode purely for the five or so minutes when Joey and (a pregnant) Rachel are on a date and they teach each other their moves.

They are the two flirtatious ones of the group, so it’s fun to watch them woo each other.

7. The One at the Beach (first aired May 15, 1997)

This episode shows a (brief) moment of reconciliation for Rachel and Ross after going on a break (or was it a break?) and breaking up earlier in the season.

Plus, Phoebe acts as she always does — a little nutty with a lot of heart. After breaking into what she thinks is her mother’s friend’s house, she discovers it’s actually her mother she’s staring at.

And the strip “Happy Days” game was ridiculous … and just kooky enough for the show.

6. The One with Ross’s Wedding (first aired May 7, 1998)

Um. Oops. You might want to say the right name in your wedding vows, Ross.

This episode is also the start of Monica and Chandler.

5. The One with Barry and Mindy’s Wedding (first aired May 16, 1996)

Best songs ever in the show (minus Phoebe’s songs, of course): “Copacabana” and “Someone to Watch Over Me” can be heard in this episode. Not that they compare with Phoebe’s songs, such as “Smelly Cat,” but they are two songs that I love.

The songs are incorporated into the emotion of the episode.

Rachel’s too-pink dress and wardrobe snafu at the wedding of her ex-fiance were hilarious moments, but she keeps the humor going with her rendition of “Copacabana.”

But mixed in all that, we have the emotional component of the reality and ending of Monica and Richard’s relationship, played out over the jazz tune, “Someone to Watch Over Me.”

4. The Last One (aired May 6, 2004)

This episode is arguably one of the best series finales ever.

“I got off the plane.”

It’s poignant and exciting, and it gave closure to a show that ran for 10 seasons.

3. The One with the Embryos (first aired Jan. 15, 1998)

Lisa Kudrow was actually pregnant in real life, so her character Phoebe is artificially inseminated in this episode.

In true Phoebe fashion, she agrees to be a surrogate for her brother, Frank (Giovanni Ribisi), and his wife, Alice (Debra Jo Rupp).

Phoebe was nervous, but the pregnancy was a success. But no one knew it would be triplets.

This is also the episode where Rachel and Monica lose their apartment in a quiz game to Joey and Chandler. All because they couldn’t remember what Chandler did for a living.

But the quiz did give some funny factoids into the characters’ lives. Who knew Rachel’s favorite movie is ”Weekend at Bernie’s”?

2. The One Where Everybody Finds Out (first aired Feb. 11, 1999)

Oh the games that ensue because of Monica and Chandler’s secrecy. And because Ugly Naked Guy moves out, allowing Ross to check out and move into the apartment.

It goes so, so far, but it’s hilarious.

1. The One with the Prom Video (first aired Feb. 1, 1996)

This is the episode that unites Ross and Rachel as a couple … finally. They are each other’s lobsters, as Phoebe called them.

And the appearance of Fat Monica and Rachel’s old nose are priceless.

 

There are many other good episodes I have left off here. What are your favorites?

‘Full House’ shouldn’t be revived, even if it ‘Boy Meets World’ has been

This blog was originally published on elkharttruth.com on Sept. 11, 2014.

Just because a show was good in the ’90s doesn’t mean it will be good now.

Case in point: “Girl Meets World.”

Sorry, Disney, but the show doesn’t work.

So, John Stamos, as much as I love Uncle Jesse, please don’t revive “Full House.”

“Girl Meets World,” a spin-off of “Boy Meets World,” should’ve been destined for success. It had the nostalgia factor. It was going to have Cory and Topanga. And old cast members of “Boy Meets World” kept coming out of the woodwork to guest star. Even Minkus (Lee Norris) and Harvey “Harley” Keiner (Danny McNulty) came on the show.

Not to say “Girl Meets World” is not successful — it has been renewed for season 2, and it’s the No. 1 TV show for kids 2 to 14, according to Entertainment Weekly. But it’s failing to conjure the magic of its predecessor.

When I finally sat down to watch some episodes of “Girl Meets World” a few weeks ago, I was disappointed.

I’m a huge fan of “Boy Meets World.” I’ve seen every episode multiple times. I hate when Cory and Topanga aren’t together. I love how the parents take care of Cory and his friends.

But “Girl Meets World” does not have the same dynamic.

Yes, it’s a family show. Yes, Riley (Cory and Topanga’s daughter) and her friend, Maya, have similar characteristics to Cory and Shawn. But the show comes off as a cheesy rehashing of the original, with copied to-the-tee plot lines and forced moral lessons, which came off so naturally on “Boy Meets World.”

Part of the problem with “Girl Meets World” is simply the passage of time. Cory and Topanga were wonderful to watch as kids and students, but they aren’t as relatable as adults. Not everyone who watched “Boy Meets World” is at the stage in life where kids are on the horizon, much less in middle school — which is where Riley is.

This is probably why “Friends” will never return. As much as fans clamor for a reunion, co-creator Marta Kauffman has made it clear the show is about being in your 20s — when your friends are your family — so a movie reunion will never happen. Chandler and Monica had a family at the end of the show’s 10-year — why would we want to watch that?

If the key to the “Girl Meets World” was Cory and Topanga, it failed. They aren’t young anymore. They have responsibility, and it was more fun to watch them struggle through life than to see them have it all together.

That’s why “Full House” shouldn’t be revived. Word on the street is Stamos wants to bring the show back and many cast members are on board.

If you are going to bring a TV show back, it needs to have value and purpose. Besides nostalgia, a “Full House” revival doesn’t have value or purpose, and it’s not a fresh idea, either.

“Boy Meets World” and “Full House” still do well in reruns on various networks. It’s partly for nostalgia, but it’s also partly for the fact that the shows are timeless, minus the fashions. (I hope feathered bangs never come back.)

But let’s stick to reruns only, please. Or funny Jimmy Kimmel Live staged reunions. Enjoy.