Best F R I E N D S: Monica Geller

So the time has finally come - digital channel E4 are letting go of long-running 90s sitcom Friends, handing the baton to Comedy Central as of Autumn this year.

Being a digital TV owner, this fills me with a little bit of wistful sadness. I've had the fortune of growing up as the series unfolded, and now I find myself actually starting to go through the things the Friends were going through it's a relative comfort to see other people's perspectives, even if they are fictional. And American. And gorgeous.
Bastards.


This got me thinking. Since there are three girls and three boys, everyone can find a little something to relate in all of them. There's siblings, children, career changes, adoptions, holidays, and even deaths. Everyone had a favourite character; one of the six whose developing personality traits matched up to their own. So with that in mind, I've come up with a little feature:

Which Friend are you most like? Do you love order and rules, like Monica? Are you smart and sensitive like Ross? Do you hide your soft centre behind jokes and tomfoolery like Chandler? Not only are we going on a journey to find out which Friend you most resemble, but we are going to find out a little bit more about the characters as we go along, and hopefully a little about ourselves as well.

Obviously there will be SPOILERS, but I'm suspecting that thanks to our friend E4 most people have watched the series so many times they can replicate the moves from the title sequence. (I once had a friend who could name the episodes each two-second clip was from!) Let's kick things off with a little look at...

"I would get a room with this cake. I could show this cake a good time!"

I'd like to point out that by my standards, I'm a Monica. So if you know me personally you might recognise a few of these traits. If not, here's your handy guide.

- Monica is known for being extremely compulsive. She is fueled by the need for organisation and order in her life, and gets nervous and angry when things aren't done 'her way'.

Whether you iron your used wrapping paper or number your cups, like Monica you need a certain sense of order. Monica struggles throughout the series with the worry that she may be left alone while her friends pair off, and she also struggles when she and Chandler can't conceive naturally. You expect things to work out the way you are prepared for, and when it doesn't you need to rely on other people around you for guidance and familiarity. You don't like to relinquish control which can make you difficult to handle; but it can mean you are great at organising events, like when Monica rescues Phoebe's wedding.


- Monica is very competitive, and not just with her older brother. She throws occasional tantrums during games and is a stickler for 'the rules'. 

Whether you hate to be beaten by your peers or siblings or you get angry when you can't complete something, you're a classic Monica. Famous for throwing a plate during Pictionary, she sometimes gets excluded from parties and you may find people are reluctant not just to play with you but to even argue or negotiate with you. Luckily this means you won't be a pushover and you can usually get what you set out for. Just be careful with that temper - it's not endearing!

- Monica's best friend Rachel was pretty and popular in High School, while she herself was overweight and homely. As a result, she is more timid with the opposite sex and also subject to fond teasing.

It needn't be chubbiness that held you back among your peers, and like Monica getting motivated to lose weight after Chandler's mean remarks it could have been by your own motivation that you shed whatever it was that was stopping you. Perhaps you were held back by your own perception of yourself, or by a partner or friend, or a dead-end job. But like Monica you broke free and became a better person for it. In a relationship you may be insecure and have reservations because you expect your partner to find someone better. You need assurance from your partner, therefore you will choose someone who can support you without patronising you, like Monica did.

Monica's Best Moment: [SEASON 5 EP. 8 - "The One With All The Thanksgivings"]
The Friends decide to tell stories of previous Thanksgivings. After finding out how Monica was compelled to lose a massive amount of weight and slim down into her current slender figure, we learn how she plotted to humiliate Chandler who had called her fat and in the process accidentally severed the tip of his toe. Upset and angry, he leaves and confines himself in the boys' apartment. And how does Monica win him back? She puts a turkey on her head, complete with a fez and kooky glasses and does a dance (terrifying Joey in the process). This leads Chandler to say "I love you" for the very first time. Not bad for a face full of poultry.