So, the sudden, unprecedented stay-at-home situation had some of us revisiting our favourite shows like the popular 90’s TV show ‘F.R.I.E.N.D.S‘ to add a few laughs to our monotonous reality. As an official F.R.I.E.N.D.S fan and the possessor of an imaginative mind, I couldn’t help wondering how the six friends would spend their lockdown. The lockdown did have relatable F.R.I.E.N.D.S memes and dialogues from the sitcom circulating all over social media. Like this one by Netflix India…
This is evident in the fact that F.R.I.E.N.D.S was, is and will always be very close to our hearts. Leaving out the possibilities of them contracting the virus or falling sick, let’s take a look at some of the major lifestyle changes popularly seen during the lockdown through a hypothetically conjured Friends-in-lockdown-scenario surrounding the six characters – Monica, Chandler, Joey, Ross, Rachel and Phoebe. However, a disclaimer before you read further. They haven’t aged. Our beloved characters are imagined in their essence, and as they were when the show ended. Only the times have changed.
If the six friends were stuck in their apartments during the lockdown, this is what would probably happen. Well, what are you waiting for? Scroll on as a true F.R.I.E.N.D.S fan would!
Monica’s Cooking Channel
Since the first lockdown had been announced, Monica drives the friends’ mad with her rules about sanitizing and sterilizing everything around them. She wants things not just to be clean but ‘Monica clean’. She always stocks all her food supplies and sanitary items to be on the safer side, and she was one of those women who appeared in the news fighting over toilet paper. A few months into the lockdown, she started a YouTube cooking channel that soon crossed a million subscribers. They just couldn’t resist her lasagnas, her delicious candies, the famous-ever Moist Maker Sandwich, the adapted-from Phoebe’s-grandmother cookies, the salmon mousse, and Monica’s always appetizing Thanksgiving turkey.
Joey’s Charming Tinder Profile
Joey has been depressed since Day One of lockdown. He can’t believe that he can’t order takeout or go out and meet girls for a while. He has turned to Netflix for relief, and he brushes up his acting skills by directing and acting in his own short film, shot on his iPhone. Being unable to live without flirting, he has created a Tinder profile and initiates quite a charming conversation with his “How you doin’?” The six friends meet once a week at Monica’s, and Joey live streams it on Instagram and Facebook. He tries out the various trending challenges on Instagram with his friends’ help that has earned him the nickname ‘Awesome Joe’. Joey is also thinking of using his free time to write scripts to start a web series on love, food and friends titled “It’s All a Moo Point“. Wonder how that one will go!
Rachel’s Trending Insta Page
Rachel would probably be like one of those people who went whining on and on about not being able to go outside and enjoy like in the days past. She started working from home as soon as the first case of coronavirus was reported in New York and is not too happy about it now as she feels she has gained a bit of weight from sitting around at home. Rachel’s Instagram account is getting quite a lot of attention because of all the trendy outfits, and she has become quite a celebrity on social media. There is even a fan page dedicated to her, of which, without no doubt, Gunther is the admin. Rachel is more into shopping online as it is more accessible, but she still misses the thrill of passing by the sales at fashion outlets. But hey, getting a package is exciting too and guess what, you can return ‘em if you don’t like ‘em.
Chandler – The Master of Sarcasm
Chandler‘s back with the goatee that everybody absolutely detests! He has become the King of Corona memes and jokes. His meme page has a huge fan following, but his jokes are often plagiarized without credit. He has gained a lot of weight, eating all the delicious food made by Monica. Monica pesters him to join her on her workout schedule, but he pretends to sleep in every day to avoid working out with her. Chandler also has his own comic blog and is working on publishing his own comic book. He is also considering a career in stand-up comedy and his dream is to appear on Saturday Night Live. He is using his time to learn to take better selfies though he prefers candids.
Ross Geller on AGT
Ross spent his initial days researching a cure for the Coronavirus. But then he got distracted and instead started playing games. And now he’s hooked, no time to even shave, with a scruffy beard and all, he plays games day and night. Ross would constantly explain how the virus works to the group and then lose it because science has failed to give him all the answers for the first time. He started a club for other ‘Doctors in Paleontology’, and they religiously meet every week to discuss ‘dinosaur stuff’. Ross also participated in America’s Got Talent for the world to appreciate his music. The result of that goes without saying, right?
Phoebe Buffay – The Tik-Tok Star
Phoebe became a Tik-Tok star for a while, starting many trends with her catchy lyrics like #SmellyCat, #ShowerSong and #StickyShoes, which you can sing only with a cold, perfect for people in quarantine. But she also lost many of her fans because of the complaints about some of her songs’ content. Like this one, for example, ”It only takes two heart attacks to finally make you see, The first one won’t do it, but the second one will set you free.” The perfect song to hear during a pandemic. Phoebe’s crazy vlogs with her supportive husband Mike and her recreations of paintings has made her quite popular among netizens. She is also taking online classes for Ben, Emma and the triplets, teaching them French and to play the guitar. Ben almost got kicked out of the Zoom class meeting because he learnt the Old Lady Chord’s actual name!
This is just a figment of my imagination, but with talk of a F.R.I.E.N.D.S reunion around the corner, we can hope that we can see the six friends together again, right?
