The Ultimate 'Friends' 24-Hour Marathon

Sure, you’ve probably seen every Friends episode — or at least all the really great ones — many times over. But the arrival of all ten seasons of Friends on Netflix streaming this Jan. 1 warrants a re-watching.

And while no one should start off the New Year by couch-surfing for 236 consecutive episodes, we think a day-long fest with the Central Perk crew is not only downright doable, but a perfectly lovely way to kick off 2015.

Photos: 'Friends' at 20: 20 Incredibly Dated Things About the Show

To that end, we’ve taken the time to select the 48 most essential episodes from Friends’s decade-long run, and we’ve sprinkled in video clips, GIFs, and some well-placed ideas for TV timeouts to see you through a fantastic trip down memory lane. (Could we be any more helpful?)

So grab your snacks (we’ve provided some suggestions on that front, too), have your remote at the ready, and prepare for lots of laughs.

12:00 a.m.-12:30 a.m.: “The Pilot” (Season 1, Episode 1)

It’s the One Where… we meet the whole gang, including spoiled Long Island-er Rachel, who leaves her fiancé Barry at the altar and runs to Manhattan to live with childhood pal Monica. We’re also introduced to Central Perk, the gang’s coffee shop hangout, and the ongoing saga of Ross ‘n’ Rachel, as Monica’s bro (who’s just been dumped by his lesbian wife) ‘fesses up to a longtime crush on Rachel.

12:30 a.m.-1:00 a.m.: “The One With the Blackout” (Season 1, Episode 7)

It’s the One Where… Ross plans to share his feelings with Rachel, only to have her meet and start dating hunky Italian neighbor Paolo first. Meanwhile, during a citywide blackout, Chandler gets stuck in an ATM vestibule with Victoria’s Secret model Jill Goodacre, whom he tries (and fails, duh) to impress.

[WE WERE ON A BREAK! Time: Jill Goodacre loved her some gum. And Nana loved her some Sweet ‘n’ Low. For your first marathon break, gum would be perfection — sugarless, of course — in honor of Jill and Nana.]

1:00 a.m.-1:30 a.m.: “The One Where Nana Dies Twice” (Season 1, Episode 8)

It’s the One Where… Monica and Ross’s Nana dies, and we learn Monica’s hyper-critical mama Judy is the cause of much of Monica’s neuroticism. And, as the whole gang attends the Geller grandma’s funeral, we also see one of many examples where the theme song’s lyrics — “I’ll be there for you” — prove to be true.

1:30 a.m.-2:00 am: “The One Where Underdog Gets Away” (Season 1, Episode 9)

It’s the One Where… Joey gets kicked out of his family’s Thanksgiving celebration because they think he has VD after he models for a poster for the city’s free health clinic. Also in the series’s first Turkey Day ep: Chandler reveals he’s hated the holiday since childhood, because it’s when his parents told him they were getting divorced. Ever since, he’s eschewed the traditional turkey and eats his own unique annual feast instead.

2:00 a.m.-2:30 a.m.: “The One With Ross’s New Girlfriend” (Season 2, Episode 1)

It’s the One Where… Rachel decides to meet Ross at the airport and tell him she has feelings for him. Instead, she greets Ross… and his new girlfriend, Julie, who he met on a business trip in China. Elsewhere, Chandler has a bad experience with Joey’s tailor, who gets too touchy-feely while measuring The Chan Man for new pants: “There was definite… cupping.”

2:30 a.m.-3:00 a.m.: “The One Where Heckles Dies” (Season 2, Episode 3)

It’s the One Where… crabby building loner Mr. Heckles dies and leaves his belongings to Monica and Rachel. While going through his possessions, Chandler is dismayed to realize how much he has in common with the crusty coot — like breaking up with women for frivolous reasons — and worries he will end up alone like Heckles.

[WE WERE ON A BREAK! Time: Unless you’re watching the marathon with a group of pals, take a time out to make a quick phone call or dash off a sweet email to make lunch plans with a loved one. It’s the best way to avoid your own landing in Aloneville or Hermit Junction.]

3:00 a.m.-3:30 a.m.: “The One Where Ross Finds Out” (Season 2, Episode 7)

It’s the One Where… Rachel finally (and drunkenly) tells Ross about her feelings for him (“You’re over me? When were you under me?”), which forces him to choose between her and Julie. Obsessive Monica becomes Chandler’s personal trainer, and Joey finds a new hero in Phoebe’s boyfriend, who uses reverse psychology to make Phoebs beg him to have sex with her. And, of course, the episode ends with one of the most classic kisses in primetime history.

3:30 a.m.-4:00 a.m.: “The One With the List” (Season 2, Episode 8)

It’s the One Where… Ross messes up his new relationship with Rachel almost instantaneously when he makes a list of her pros and cons to help him choose between her and Julie. (Remember Phoebe’s song about them? “He must decide! He must decide!”) Monica, meanwhile, gets a job creating recipes for the nastiest-tasting but best-named dessert product ever: Mockolate. (Phoebe: “This is what evil must taste like!”)

[WE WERE ON A BREAK! Time: Skip the Mockolate; it never did get FDA approval. Instead, make some real chocolate-chip cookies. Just make sure you don’t fall asleep while using the oven. It is the middle of the night, after all.]

4:00 a.m.-4:30 a.m.: “The One With Russ” (Season 2, Episode 10)

It’s the One Where… Monica reunites with ex-boyfriend Fun Bobby, who’s only fun when he’s drunk. Joey lands a plum role on Days of Our Lives playing neurosurgeon Dr. Drake Ramoray, and Rachel dates a guy named Russ, who looks, sounds, and acts an awful lot like… you know who.

4:30 a.m.-5:00 a.m.: “The One With the Lesbian Wedding” (Season 2, Episode 11)

It’s the One Where… Ross’s ex Carol marries Susan (in a ceremony officiated by Newt Gingrich’s half-sister Candace); Rachel’s mom (Marlo Thomas) visits and announces Rachel’s new independent lifestyle has inspired her to divorce Rachel’s controlling father; and Joey makes his soap debut and explains his “Smell the Fart” acting technique.

[WE WERE ON A BREAK! Time: Practice your own “Smell the Fart” responses for getting out of a speeding ticket or fibbing to your fashion sense-less friend about his new outfit.]

5:00 a.m.-5:30 a.m.: “The One With the Prom Video” (Season 2, Episode 14)

It’s the One Where… Ross and Rachel finally get it right, as the gang views a Geller home movie that shows teenage Ross making a really sweet gesture for teen Rachel, leading her to forgive him for The List. (Phoebe: “He’s her lobster!”) Also: We see the first of several flashback appearances of “Fat Monica.”

5:30 a.m.-6:00 a.m.: “The One Where Dr. Ramoray Dies” (Season 2, Episode 18)

It’s the One Where… Joey learns never to take credit for the work done by soap opera writers, lest you find your character being killed off by falling down an elevator shaft. Chandler discovers just how cuckoo new roommate Eddie (Adam Goldberg) is, while Rachel and Monica realize there’s just one condom in the apartment — at the moment they’re each about to have sex with their boyfriends.

Photos: Peek Inside the ‘Friends’ Central Perk Pop-Up Shop in New York City

6:00 a.m.-6:30 a.m.: “The One Where Eddie Won’t Go” (Season 2, Episode 19)

It’s the One Where… Chandler tries to get Eddie to leave and finds out just how mentally unstable his substitute roommie is. Joey has to downgrade his lifestyle and lose his pricey new possessions after losing his soap-opera gig, and Rachel, Monica, and Phoebe bond over a new female-empowerment book called Be Your Own Windkeeper.

[WE WERE ON A BREAK! Time: One of the few decorative items Joey got to keep was his giant ceramic pooch, Pat the dog, which Ross bought for him when his other goodies were repossessed. Grab some paper and markers and draw your own version of Pat, suitable for framing… or at least hanging on the fridge.]

6:30 a.m.-7:00 a.m.: “The One With the Two Parties” (Season 2, Episode 22)

It’s the One Where… Rachel’s warring parents unexpectedly both show up at her birthday party. Make that parties; unhappy with the stuffy affair Monica’s planned (two words: birthday flan), the rest of the gang decides to host a more fun soirée across the hall at Chandler and Joey’s.

7:00 a.m.-7:30 a.m.: “The One Where No One’s Ready” (Season 3, Episode 2)

It’s the One Where… Ross freaks out because everyone’s late getting ready for a black-tie event at the museum. Phoebe’s dress gets covered in hummus, Monica obsesses over a phone message from ex-boyfriend Richard, Rachel refuses to go at all after Ross yells at her for taking too long to choose an outfit, and Joey and Chandler get into an escalating war that leads to this:

7:30 a.m.-8:00 a.m.: “The One With the Giant Poking Device” (Season 3, Episode 8)

It’s the One Where… the gang, fearing Ugly Naked Guy is dead, investigates by “fashioning a very long poking device,” as Joey says, which they will use to jab UNG and find out if he’s still breathing. Plus, after breaking up with Janice, Chandler drowns his sorrows by dueting with Phoebe on “Endless Love.”

[WE WERE ON A BREAK! Time: Into everyone’s life a little Lionel Richie should fall. Cue up a mini-marathon of Lionel — all ballads — on iTunes.]

8:00 a.m.-8:30 a.m.: “The One With the Football” (Season 3, Episode 9)

It’s the One Where… we learn about a new level of Geller sibling rivalry when Ross and Monica enlist their friends to play a game of Thanksgiving football, aka the “Geller Bowl.” And yes, there is a trophy, made of a troll doll nailed to a piece of wood, aka the “Geller Cup.”

8:30 a.m.-9:00 a.m.: “The One Where Ross and Rachel Take a Break” (Season 3, Episode 15)

It’s the One Where… Ross and Rachel have a huge fight about her busy work schedule and her attractive co-worker Mark, which ends with Ross sleeping with copy-shop girl Chloe when he thinks he and Rachel are broken up. (As he’ll later argue: “We were on a break!”)

9:00 a.m.-9:30 a.m.: “The One With the Jellyfish” (Season 4, Episode 1)

It’s the One Where… Ross and Rachel reunite, temporarily, while Phoebe gets to know her birth mother, and Chandler has to pee on Monica when she gets stung by a jellyfish.

9:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m.: “The One With Chandler in a Box” (Season 4, Episode 8)

It’s the One Where… Chandler decides to spend Thanksgiving inside a shipping crate to prove to Joey just how sorry he is for kissing Joey’s girlfriend Kathy. Meanwhile, Monica has to see a new eye doctor, who turns out to be the son of her ex-boyfriend, Richard.

10:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m.: “The One With Phoebe’s Uterus” (Season 4, Episode 11)

It’s the One Where… Phoebe’s brother asks her to carry a child for him and his wife, while Joey gets a job as a tour guide at the museum where Ross works, and Monica gives Chandler a very detailed lesson about female erogenous zones (“Seven! Seven! Seven!”), for which Kathy — and, we assume later, Monica herself — is very grateful.

10:30 a.m.-11:00 a.m.: “The One With the Embryos” (Season 4, Episode 12)

It’s the One Where… Phoebe becomes the surrogate for Frank and Alice, while Monica, Rachel, Chandler, and Joey engage in an epic trivia contest to see who knows each other better: the women or the men. We find out that Joey’s imaginary friend is a space cowboy, that Chandler’s TV Guide is addressed to Miss Chanandler Bong, and that no one really knows what Chandler’s job is… though he’s definitely not a “transpondster.”

[WE WERE ON A BREAK! Time: We know how well they know each other, but how well do you know Friends? Test your knowledge with Vulture.com’s Friends SAT Exam.]

11:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m.: “The One With the Fake Party” (Season 4, Episode 16)

It’s the One Where… Rachel throws a fake going-away party for Emily so she has an excuse to invite her dream man Joshua to the apartment. Plus, Joey makes a big sacrifice to help even things out when pregnant vegetarian Phoebe thinks the baby is craving meat. Their conversation about how Joey will give up meat while Phoebe eats it throughout her pregnancy — after Joey confirms there’s no meat in beer — is a gem.

11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: “The One With Ross’s Wedding” (Season 4, Episodes 23 and 24)

It’s the One Where… the whole gang — except pregnant Phoebe — goes to London for Ross and Emily’s wedding, where Ross says Rachel’s name during his vows, and Ross ‘n’ Rachel’s supercouple status is challenged when Monica and Chandler shockingly, but delightfully, hook up.

12:30 p.m.-1:00 p.m.: “The One With All the Thanksgivings” (Season 5, Episode 8)

It’s the One Where… thanks to some glorious flashbacks to the gang’s worst Thanksgivings, we see the moment Chandler learned his father was having an affair with the houseboy, and the moment when teenage Monica first met (and was insulted by) Ross’s college BFF Chandler, whose look includes homages to Miami Vice and A Flock of Seagulls. There’s also the loss of a toe, heads stuck inside turkeys, wicker shoes, and a monumental “I love you.”

[WE WERE ON A BREAK! Time: Sticking your head inside a real turkey would be gross and smelly, but PerpetualKid.com offers a turkey-on-the-head mask that makes using real poultry unnecessary, so why not order one now?]

1:00 p.m.-1:30 p.m.: “The One With Ross’s Sandwich” (Season 5, Episode 9)

It’s the One Where… an already overstressed, about to be twice-divorced Ross snaps when his boss eats his special Thanksgiving leftover sandwich (aka the Moistmaker), and Joey is made to look like a pervert while he keeps the secret of Monica and Chandler’s new relationship.

1:30 p.m.-2:00 p.m.: “The One With All the Resolutions” (Season 5, Episode 11)

It’s the One Where… everyone makes New Year’s resolutions, though Rachel’s resoution to gossip less goes out the window when she finds out about Monica and Chandler’s relationship. Also, Chandler resolves not to make fun of his friends, and Ross pledges to try one new thing each day. Which leads to him finding out why leather pants, lotion, and powder do not mix.

2:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m.: “The One Where Everybody Finds Out” (Season 5, Episode 14)

It’s the One Where… Ross goes to great lengths to sublet Ugly Naked Guy’s apartment, while Phoebe finds out about Monica and Chandler, which prompts her to pretend to be interested in Chandler so he and Monica will confess they’re dating. It all culminates in the moment Ross spots Monica and Chandler gettin’ busy from Ugly Naked Guy’s apartment and screams, “Get off my sister!”

2:30 p.m.-3:00 p.m.: “The One With the Cop” (Season 5, Episode 16)

It’s the One Where… Phoebe finds a police badge and pretends to be a cop, until she meets the badge’s owner. And Ross buys a new couch but refuses to pay a big delivery fee, so he, Chandler, and Rachel try to move it into his apartment. Say it with us now…

3:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.: “The One in Vegas” (Season 5, Episodes 23 and 24)

It’s the One Where… Chandler and Monica contemplate getting married during a trip to Vegas. But a drunken Ross and Rachel actually do say “I do.”

4:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m.: “The One Where Ross Got High” (Season 6, Episode 9)

It’s the One Where… Rachel tries to make a traditional trifle dessert for Thanksgiving. But the recipe pages are glued together in the magazine, so she makes half a trifle… and half a shepherd’s pie. Joey, of course, actually likes it.

[WE WERE ON A BREAK! Time: Take a serious dinner break, with shepherd’s pie and trifle on the menu. Pinterest offers a variety of great recipe options for both, but make sure they’re two separate recipes. We’re with Ross on this: Meat + jam + custard in one dish sounds like it would taste like feet.]

4:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.: “The One With the Routine” (Season 6, Episode 10)

It’s the One Where… Ross and Monica are at their most adorkable, as they get the chance to go on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve and perform the dance routine they created in eighth grade. (Which won them honorable mention in the brother/sister dance category in junior high, we’ll have you know.)

[WE WERE ON A BREAK! Time: Work off that delish dinner and dessert by practicing Monica and Ross’s award-winning routine.]

5:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.: “The One That Could Have Been” (Season 6, Episodes 15 and 16)

It’s the One Where… the gang wonders what would have happened if Ross and Carol stayed married, Rachel married Barry, Monica never lost weight, Joey continued his Days of Our Lives role, Phoebe became a stockbroker, and Chandler became a writer (and Joey’s personal assistant).

6:00 p.m.-6:30 p.m.: “The One With Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E.” (Season 6, Episode 20)

It’s the One Where… Joey lands the lead role in a crime drama called Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E., where he plays private investigator Mac Macavelli, aided by his robot friend: a Computerized Humanoid Electronically Enhanced Secret Enforcer.

6:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m.: “The One With the Holiday Armadillo” (Season 7, Episode 10)

It’s the One Where… Ross wants Ben to celebrate Hanukkah, but not miss out on Christmas, so he decides to play Santa. But when all the Santa suits are sold out, Ross dons a different costume and introduces Ben to Santa’s good friend from Texas: the Holiday Armadillo.

[WE WERE ON A BREAK! Time: Wondering if there’s a Holiday Armadillo T-shirt you could obtain? Why, yes, Friends fan, there is.]

7:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.: “The One With Monica and Chandler’s Wedding” (Season 7, Episodes 23 and 24)

It’s the One Where… in spite of Chandler’s last-minute commitment freak-out and Joey’s movie role, both (eventually) show up for Monica and Chandler’s wedding. Plus, there’s the revelation that the positive pregnancy test Phoebe found isn’t Monica’s…

8:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m.: “The One After ‘I Do’” (Season 8, Episode 1)

It’s the One Where… it’s confirmed that the pregnancy test belongs to Rachel. She takes a second test to confirm her positive result, and when Phoebe lies and tells her it’s negative, Rachel realizes she really does want to become a mama.

8:30 p.m.-9:00 p.m.: “The One With the Rumor” (Season 8, Episode 9)

It’s the One Where… Brad Pitt guest stars as Will, a high school classmate who, along with Ross, started an anti-Rachel club because she was so mean to him. He and Ross even started a rumor — that spread throughout multiple schools — that Rachel was a hermaphrodite. Worth it just to hear Brad Pitt seething: “My two greatest enemies, Ross: Rachel Green and complex carbohydrates.”

9:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.: “The One Where Rachel Has a Baby” (Season 8, Episodes 23 and 24)

It’s the One Where… after nearly two days of labor, Rachel gives birth to Emma. Plus, Emma’s birth sparks Monica and Chandler to start trying for a baby of their own. Right there in a hospital janitorial closet — specifically, Chandler confirms, on a bucket.

10:00 p.m.-10:30 p.m.: “The One With Ross’s Inappropriate Song” (Season 9, Episode 7)

It’s the One Where… Ross discovers baby Emma is a big fan of Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby Got Back.” Ross and Rachel duet on the ’90s hip-hop novelty hit after deciding that the sound of Emma’s laughter is more important than the fact that they’re singing a song that is disturbingly unsuitable for an infant.

[WE WERE ON A BREAK! Time: Take a throwback trip and watch the official “Baby Got Back” video.]

10:30 p.m.-11:00 p.m.: “The One With Phoebe’s Wedding” (Season 10, Episode 12)

It’s the One Where… Phoebe has an appropriately unconventional wedding, with a last-minute ceremony planned by Monica, groom Mike’s family dog as a groomsman, Chandler giving the bride away, Joey officiating, and the snowy street outside Central Perk as the venue.

11:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m.: “The Last One” (Season 10, Episodes 17 and 18)

It’s the One Where… everyone gets the ending you hoped for, including Gunther, who finally tells Rachel he’s had feelings for her all these years. The final scene — where the whole gang gathers in Monica and Chandler’s apartment one last time — is sweet, funny, sentimental, and even includes a reference to the long-running question of how an oft-unemployed chef could afford such a huge Manhattan abode.

Congratulations: You made it! Now take a nice, long nap (you earned it) so you can get up and watch the other 188 episodes.

All ten seasons of Friends are available for streaming on Netflix starting Jan. 1.