Friends: 10 Best Characters Only In One Episode

2. Tommy

Brooke Shields Friends
NBC

Episode: The One With The Screamer (S3E22)

Introduced as Rachel's latest date, Ben Stiller plays Tommy, the "Screamer" of the episode title. And that descriptor is quite literal, too: Tommy's most notable trait is that he gets angry at virtually everything, but rather than dealing with that emotion in a calm, collected manner, he decides to yell instead.

He begins the episode by ranting at an old couple, an outburst that comes out of nowhere and will leave you as stunned as the rest of the characters in the scene. And that's partly what makes Tommy such an amusing character: he loses his cool in situations that most of us would be able to deal with without exploding with rage.

Ross is the only main character to witness that initial outburst too, meaning that Rachel has no idea that her date is a borderline psychopath, a plot wrinkle that results in a funny sequence of events as Ross tries to get Tommy to shout once again. Eventually, Tommy has a go at Ross, before being discovered screaming at Joey and Chandler's pet chick, bringing an end to his and Rachel's relationship.

Stiller is so believable every time he loses it that you can actually see his veins popping from his neck, and though the character doesn't have much depth, the actor's commitment helps him steal the entire episode.

Contributor
Contributor

Danny has been with WhatCulture for almost nine years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. He has been writing and video editing for 10+ years, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers and uploading them to YouTube (they're admittedly a bit rusty by today's standards). If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order or to tell you about the making of 1988's Remembrance of the Daleks, Danny is the person to ask.