21 Problems Only Friends Fans Will Understand

18. When Ben Kinda Just Disappeared

NBC

Rachel: "How serious are you about keeping Ben in your life?" Ross: "My son? Pretty serious."

Only you weren't, were you Ross? Because what happens to Ben, exactly? The birth of his child with Carol, who's now living with her lesbian life-partner Susan, was one of the major plot points of season 1, especially in dealing with Ross recovering from his failed marriage and how he'll cope as a father.

He appeared sporadically throughout subsequent seasons, first played by Michael Gunderson, then the Allen twins Charles Thomas and John Christopher, and then finally Cole Sprouse. His last appearance came in The One Where Joey Dates Rachel, as the friends try to remove the dirty words from the Ms Pacman game before he comes over, and although he's mentioned after that - as evidenced above - we don't see him.

There's never even a scene of him meeting his baby half-sister. It's every child's nightmare, that once the baby comes along they'll be forgotten about, and for poor Ben Geller-Willick-Bunch (or is it Willick-Bunch-Geller?) it becomes a reality.

Contributor
Contributor

NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.