Friends: Every Season Ranked Worst To Best

These days, there are very few shows which are as beloved and re-watched as Friends. With its legions of fans and timelessness, it seems as though this sit com is getting bigger and more popular with every passing year, despite the fact that it finished up sixteen years ago.

Friends premiered in 1994 and had its final episode in 2004, and over its ten seasons fans watched in complete fascination as Rachel, Ross, Chandler, Monica, Joey and Phoebe navigated their way through life with hilarious, awkward and touching results.

Ross and Rachel's relationship remains one of the biggest "Will-they-won't-they" stories on television; Chandler and Monica's evolution into one of TV's best couples is constantly entertaining; and the slew of unforgettable guest characters and sub-plots mean Friends is a show with a lot to love that is always funny and full of relatable, moving content.

However, it's not quite a perfect show. In fact, it's far from it. Like all shows, there are some blips which are hard to ignore, such as bad character development, terrible side plots, poor jokes and frustrating conflicts.

All the seasons are funny, sure, but some are lacking the narrative consistency of others in the show's run.

Many agree that Season Nine is the show's weakest. Despite the birth of Emma, and Christina Applegate scene-stealing role as Rachel's sister Amy, there are a lot of ill-advised arcs which overshadow the season's stronger moments.

Behind the scenes, it was assumed that this would be the last entry in the show, and so the writers were doing everything to tie-up the gang's story. This is why Chandler finds himself moving to Tulsa and Phoebe finds herself in a committed relationship with Mike. However, halfway through production, the cast agreed to return for an unprecedented tenth season, and so everything in the first half of the season is swept under the rug in order to get things back to normal.

On top of this development leading to some rushed and weak plotting, Season Nine also consists of some of the show's most questionable episodes, including one in which Monica thinks Chandler watches "shark porn", and one where Ross fires Emma's nanny for being "too sensitive." If that wasn't enough, the season starts with the awful Joey/Ross/Rachel proposal arc, and decides to throw Joey and Rachel into a relationship by the season's climax. Oh, and Ross fakes his death.

There's still much to love with the season, mind. Watching Rachel become a mother is a satisfying development in her character, and Chandler and Monica's decision to start a family makes for some of the show's most touching moments. But outside of that, Season Nine is a bit of a mess.