Thankful for ‘Friends’

Thankful for 'Friends'
Hicks, Brittany In the Season 5 episode, Chandler (Matthew Perry) opens the door to find Monica (Courteney Cox) with a turkey on her head.

It’s been more than 10 years since the end of “Friends,” but the sitcom lives on — especially its Thanksgiving episodes.

Over the show’s 10-year run, Thanksgiving episodes became a hilarious staple of “Friends.” They were among the show’s funniest episodes and always run in syndication on Thanksgiving Day. The series is also available on Netflix.

Although each Turkey Day episode is funny, some are better than others.

No. 10 “The One Where Underdog Gets Away”

In the first season’s Thanksgiving, the friends unintentionally spend their first major holiday together. The show was still finding its footing, but it introduced the ongoing joke about Chandler’s hatred for Thanksgiving.

Despite Monica’s efforts to make everyone’s holiday special by meeting their demands for specialized food, it’s all burned after the gang gets locked out of the apartment.

No. 9 “The One with the List”

Although funny, the show’s second-season episode had minimal Thanksgiving references to it. Season 2 Episode 8 follows the series’ monumental first kiss between Ross and Rachel.

The plot centers around Ross’ decision to break up with his girlfriend to pursue Rachel, with a subplot involving Monica creating recipes for a mock chocolate company.

No. 8 “The One with Chandler in a Box”

By Season 4, the show focused more on the Thanksgiving theme. As the episode title indicates, Chandler spends dinner spent in a giant box as an apology to Joey for stealing his girlfriend.

Meanwhile, Monica hurts her eye and has to go to the optometrist, who ends up being her ex-boyfriend’s attractive son. She invites him over for dinner with hopes of starting something romantic.

No. 7 “The One with the Late Thanksgiving”

By the final season, Monica is over being the hostess all the time and announces she isn’t making a big meal. Phoebe convinces her otherwise by tapping into Monica’s competitive nature and encouraging her to outdo herself.