Friends: 25 Greatest Episodes

11. The One With The Blackout (S1E7)

Friends The One With The Blackout
NBC

The Episode

With New York plunged into darkness, Chandler gets stuck in a vestibule with model Jill Goodacre. Ross makes a move on Rachel, only to be attacked by a cat.

Why It's Great

If The One The Morning After gives us the show's most well-known quote, this gives us its best: "Gum would be perfection."

Chandler being stuck inside the ATM vestibule with Jill Goodacre is sheer genius, and the highpoint of the show's first season. It's painfully funny to witness, and a superb outlet for the sarcastic, awkward nature of Chandler.

Not quite topping that, but still rather great, is the Ross/Rachel/Paolo story. The slimeball manages to charm Rachel, but Ross gets to score a few points by convincing him he's a huge crapweasel. Of course, he'd already lost many more by getting attacked by the cat, which is one of the series' best early examples of its farcical nature, and a showcase for the direction of the great James Burrows.

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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.