12 Dumb Decisions In Friends We Can't Forgive

Phoebe's parents weren't the only important characters that made a sudden disappearance from the show. Though Ben played a huge role in the first few seasons, somewhat complicating Ross and Carol's divorce, and forcing his dad to grow up maybe sooner than he expected, his presence in the show deteriorated as the seasons went on.

After appearing in 11 episodes throughout season two, Ben went on to appear in just 12 more episodes between seasons three and eight. Surely, with all the time focused on the gang, a lot of it seemingly during the middle of the day and outside of work, suggesting the weekend, Ross would have had a lot more interaction with his son.

Ben's final ever appearance in Friends amazingly came halfway through season eight, when Monica and Chandler had him over. After that, for the next two-and-a-half years, Friends was Ben-less, with no real explanation as to why. We never even got to see him meet his half-sister, Emma.

Again, this feels like a massive oversight from the writers, completely ignoring such an important and influential part of Ross' life. Even if they conscientiously kept him out of the show, there should have at least been some sort of reason given in terms of the show's narrative.