NINE YEARS AGO this week saw the last ever episode of Friends air in the US.

It may be nine years since the show gave us a new episode but repeats means that Friends lives on.

Mind you, we’d be happy to see it back, and here’s why.

1.  The general hilarity of it all

Well obviously, Friends was very, very funny.

We’ve got a soft spot for Friends particular brand of humour including physical comedy like this:

bastihanna / YouTube

2.  The supporting cast

Yes the core six characters were all amazing (more on that in a minute) but we had a soft spot for Gunther and his obsession with Rachel, Monica and Ross’ parents, Marcel the monkey and even Janice who made Oh My God! her very own catchprase.

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3.  Watching it on a Monday night

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In the US the show was a staple of NBC’s Thursday night but in Ireland, Friends was mainly on Mondays on Network 2 and was appointment viewing for many of us.

Remember when they’d have an ad for Baileys before each episode even when you may have been too young to drink Baileys?

Very glamourous.

4. The fact that they seemed like actual friends

/EMPICS Entertainment

The fact that Friends ran for ten years seemed to largely rely on the fact that the cast got on really well and were actual friends.

Friends sold us the lifestyle of witty New Yorkers but it also showed us that people could get on at work for years and years.

If you’re reading this at work feel free to turn to your co-worker and ask why you don’t have a friendship like Jennifer Aniston and Courtney Cox.

We can wait.

5. The guest stars

Jean Cummings/EMPICS Entertainment

Friends had so many brilliant guest stars everyone from Susan Sarandon to Sean Penn and Elle MacPherson to Reese Witherspoon.

We loved when Brad Pitt turned up to play someone who hated Rachel at the time when the Brad / Jen relationship was all Hollywood could talk about.

conor95lfc / YouTube

Julia Roberts turned up in a season 2 episode that originally aired after the Super Bowl in the US to over 52 million viewers.

Friends was a relatively new show at the time so seeing such a big star on the show was a treat (the same episode also featured Jean Claude Van Damme which is also kind of amazing)

ClassZix / YouTube

Bruce Willis also played against type in spectacular style for a recurring (And hilarious) role in season 6:

Artem Frolov / YouTube

6.  Ross and Rachel

We miss the drama between them, the one liners and most importantly this gem:

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Also, can someone get us this t-shirt? Cheers.

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7. Joey and Chandler

The ultimate sitcom duo in our eyes, we couldn't get enough of their back and forth usually at Joey's expense

via Favim

They shared the good times with each other:

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And weren't afraid to show each other they cared:

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8. Monica

We miss her for making people who liked to clean feel better about themselves:

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And for this excellent burn to her judgemental friends:

isAniston / YouTube

9. Phoebe

Phoebe's dippy, lighthearted outlook on life was a constant highlight and as was her understanding of all things cat related:

via Imgur

And speaking of cats, we'll always have this:

2luh3 / YouTube

And the glossy music video version:

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10. Questionable merchandise

Whether you were lucky enough to have a Central Perk mug:

via NBC Store

or rocked a Friends pencil case (!) in school:

via Ebay

There were plenty of ways to show your love of Friends outside of a Monday night viewing party.

11. The catchphrases

The reason we all say "Oh my god!" and "Hello?" like we're American is likely due to Friends and they gave us plenty of other catchphrases we've yet to replace:

iwatchfriendseveryday / YouTube

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