Small Easter Eggs in Friends That Have Gone Unnoticed

First airing in 1994 with over 30 million viewers, the TV show Friends became an iconic American sitcom favorite. The show offers comedic scenes while presenting multiple perspectives from characters with different personalities and shortcomings, making the TV show relatable to a broad audience. That’s why we also each have our favorite character – some people see themselves as Rachel, others sympathize with Chandlers, and some people are just pure Monica. And no matter how many times you’ve watched each season, you can find something different every time you watch each episode. From coincidental messages that link to the acting crew to the plot discrepancies in certain scenes, here are uncovered scenes in Friends that have gone unnoticed. Are you an ultimate fan of the show? Even so, you might be surprised by some of these Easter Eggs.

Potato Sample

We’ve visited enough coffee shops to know that in most sample cases in a café or a food store, you’d expect to see a sweet or savory treat like a cookie, a muffin, or a cracker with a new dip to sample. In specific instances where there is a cake stand, most people would expect there to be cake advertised to buy a slice.

In the eighth episode in the fourth season of Friends, Joey and the coffee shop’s owner Gunther were in a comedic exchange funny enough for anyone to notice what was in the cake stand next to them. It’s small details like this that really add to the scene’s hilarity because it is such a random and abstract detail not related at all to what’s happening on set.

When a family settles in America from another country, they often will anglicize or change their names to be English in pronunciation and appearance. The name Anastassakis originates from Greece origins and has a significant reference in this scene.

The character of Jennifer Aniston is searching the hotel for a clergy official to marry Chandler and Monica when she comes across a sign for a Greek Orthodoxy ceremony taking place. Aniston’s family happens to be of Greek descent, and her father’s last name was Anastassakis before it changed when his family came to America.

If you’re a diehard fan of the show, you probably noticed the whiteboard on the door of Chandler and Joey’s apartment changes each episode (and sometimes every scene), including the one with the robbery. Most robberies normally take place when you aren’t home and or in the middle of the night. And most robbers are after only expensive items they can turn around and sell to make a profit. Most people wouldn’t be easily tricked into being robbed of all their stuff.

Not on TV, however. You probably remember that in season four, episode two of Friends, Joey tries to sell the apartment to a prospective buyer. The buyer has an alternative intention and locks Joey inside a compartment cabinet and robs him of everything inside the apartment. Even the items in the fridge. Finally, he left them a message on the whiteboard, the usually goes unnoticed.

Most people love stuffed animals. Stuffed animals are popular amongst children, but even adults will have a favorite stuffy they like to keep as decoration or has sentimental significance. We all have at least one stuffed animal from our closet lying in the back of our closet. We just can’t bring ourselves to get rid of them.

In the ninth season of Friends, the stuffed penguin Huggsy gets introduced as Emma’s stuffed animal pal. However, if you’ve paid close attention, the stuffed penguin is featured in scenes dressed differently long before it got officially introduced as Emma’s favorite doll.

People fall in love with certain characters in shows that play a significant or favorable role. Most viewers love the protagonist, or the good guy, if you will. People also love certain characters’ humor and will memorize their lines that can eventually become famous quotes.

One actress played a seemingly minor role in season one of Friends before moving into a memorable character position. This is not uncommon for directors to do once they see the actor/actress has potential or fits a better role – as they did in this case with June Gable, who became favorable amongst viewers and known for her unforgettable lines as Joey’s agent.

Actors and actresses become well known for their TV shows or movies. Unmistakably known, at that. Even when directors need to find a look-a-like for an action scene or replacement, some distinctions are recognizable to fans. After being a staple of the show throughout its entirety, you’d recognize each of the actors in a heartbeat, right?

Joey got an audition in an episode of season nine and for a split second and change of camera view, there’s clearly a different actress playing in Jennifer Aniston’s role. They didn’t even put too much effort to try and hide it, as she’s even wearing a different shirt. And yet, we’re willing to bet that while watching the episode in real-time, most of you didn’t notice.

Technology has advanced to the point where directors and producers will make behind-the-scenes videos to show viewers what goes into producing the film. This allows viewers to catch vital moments where actors/actresses are replaced with their look-alike in certain scenes.

In season eight, there is an episode where Monica and Phoebe are sitting at the coffee shop talking, when the camera angle changes, and there is clearly a different person sitting where Courtney Cox is supposed to be. You have to wonder what brought on this sudden exchange – if Courtney Cox was there, why bring in her look-alike to stand in her place?

It’s no secret that New York is one of the busiest cities in the world. Many places you would visit require a reservation for comfortable seating. In the show Friends, though, many viewers might be wondering how the group always manages to get the same comfortable seating every time they visit Central Perk.

If you look closely at the table in many episodes, there is a “Reserved” sign specifically for them. The sign is discreet and easy to overlook as most viewers pay attention to the characters and not directly at the scene and their surroundings. Do they receive special treatment at the coffee house? Sure looks like it.

Iconic actresses and actors are known for their specific roles or action during a film. Some of them are known for being the main action character or for playing the notorious bad guy. Most people know Susan Sarandon and the memorable roles she played over the years in several television shows and movies.

The legendary actress has made a special appearance on Friends onset on the TV in an episode of Days of Our Lives. Fans watched her signature slap to her daughter in the show. The irony of the episode is that the actress playing her daughter on the show (within the show) is actually Susan’s birth daughter, actress Eva Amurri.

When a national crisis happens, it’s something not taken lightly. And it shouldn’t be. For shows and movies aired during 9/11, it was a touchy subject to pay tribute to the tragic event. Other than that, some shows and movies like to include small Easter Eggs like that, just to give a shout-out to certain people, places, or a certain cause.

The TV show Friends kept it cool and made subtle tributes to that life-changing event. In one episode, Joey is wearing an FDNY shirt paying tribute to the firefighters. The FDNY was also included in their Magna Doodle, showing love for the firefighters and New York.

During a long-running TV show, it can be confusing even for the direction crew and production to keep up with all the small details, which is why they often introduce conflicting information. It could be to see if viewers are paying attention or a small discrepancy the screenwriting.

In season four of Friends, Rachel discloses to Gunther that her birthday is May 5. Fast forward to season seven, Rachel gets pulled over, and the cop mentions she’s an Aquarius while examining her license. Anyone familiar with Astrology knows that and Aquarius is born between January 19 and February 19. So, when is her birthday?

Birthdays are important for many reasons. They are the day of a person’s beginning, and every year we get older indicates that there is more that we might have accomplished, and more for us to accomplish in life. Birthdays offer a great time of reflection and an opportunity to celebrate life with the ones you love.

In Friends, however, they disregard the need for people to know the characters true birthday. In separate seasons, Ross gives two different birth dates. In season four, he claims his birthday is in December, and a few seasons later, he says it’s in October. The fourth season also confusingly indicates that Ross’s birthday is in March. How is it to set one birth date for each character and write it down somewhere?

When something big takes place in a TV show, it feels wrong to continue the season without reference to the significant event later on. When a character promotes or does something to enact change in their lives, then it’s only right to carry it on into other episodes, right? After all, you want the show to seem realistic, at least to a certain extent.

Joey began an awareness campaign about contracting a VD. His face was on black and white posters with clear warnings of the risk all over the city. Later on in the season, Phoebe and Monica are out walking on the street, and they pass by one of these iconic posters, reminding fans that they didn’t discontinue Joey’s apparently successful campaign.

Have you ever met someone new and felt like you had seen them before or knew them from somewhere? TV shows and movies include scenes like this after hinting throughout different seasons that the characters had crossed paths before. It’s pretty annoying when this happens. Get your story straight, and don’t belittle your viewers.

When Rachel and Chandler officially meet in the first episode, introducing all the characters to the viewers as well, the show indicates that the two characters had previous encounters. In season three, they encountered each other at the bar. In season five, they got officially introduced on a Thanksgiving back in the ‘80s.

Back in the ‘90s, TV screens were significantly smaller, boxier, and could only show so much of the set on the screen. TVs today, on the other hand, can be an in-home theater projection that is 12ft. There’s almost no reason to go to the movies anymore, as your TV at home might be better.

In 2021, when you watch Friends (and many other shows, for that matter), you will see things that weren’t originally visible on screen because of the change in screen size. So, in season 10 at Joey’s apartment, there’s a huge hole in the wall that didn’t appear on the screen when it originally came out.