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= Janice Hosenstein = Janice Hosenstein, portrayed by actress Maggie Wheeler, is a reoccurring character on the American sitcom Friends. Besides the six main Friends, Janice is one of the only characters that appears in all 10 seasons of the show, starting in 1994 to its ending in 2004. Because of her thick New York accent, nasally voice and famous laugh, Janice became a staple which helped her continue to return on the show each season. Her laugh and signature line “Oh my God” became a trademark and helped push her character beyond just a “guest”. She has become just as recognized and well-known as the six main Friends. In 2004, The Seattle Times deemed Janice as the best guest character in the Friends Series. Throughout the first 4 seasons, Janice has an off-again-on-again relationship with Chandler Bing. After many awkward breakups and makeups, the pair does not end up together. Janice finds her happy ending with Sid Goralnik in who she marries and has an unattractive baby with, according to the reactions of Ross and Rachel in the Season 8 episode “The One Where Rachel Has A Baby: Part 2”.

Originally, Wheeler had auditioned for the role of Monica Geller but was instead casted to play Janice. Janice was perceived as someone who is accessible, someone who is on the outside trying to fit in. The writers wanted to create a weird character that everyone loves to hate. Janice is the outsider that still makes her way into this little group of friends, this is meant to be the relatable factor for audiences.

Today, Janice is still recognized as a vital character to the show. Janice would appear unexpectedly in the main cast’s life, such as in the Season 9 episode “The One With The Fertility Test” where Monica and Chandler run into Janice at the fertility clinic or when Rachel Green is in labor. These encounters always included Janice’s famous line “Oh my God” that would crack the audience up, but also these encounters displayed the ways in which Janice helped the Friends grow in their own lives. For instance, her advice or presence would make the Friends self-aware in terms of their own problems or situations and help them move forward. Janice was therefore quite significant to the show’s entire narrative.

Personality
Known for her nasally voice and obnoxious laugh, Janice is portrayed as a drama queen and self-absorbed since she remains utterly clueless to the fact that all of the Friends find her extremely irritating. She is known for her trademark “Oh my God” paired with flapping hand gestures and dramatic pauses in-between each word. Janice enjoys spending time with the group of Friends who ironically hate when she is around, yet they never muster up the strength to tell her they don’t like her. Even though she can be annoying, Janice shows that she has a good heart when she supports Chandler and Rachel during difficult times in various seasons.

Janice’s famous laugh was not scripted, it was something that Wheeler improvised the first time she was on set. The intention behind the laugh was to avoid breaking character as a result of Matthew Perry’s comedic talent. Wheeler says “I needed to find a way to laugh, because Matthew Perry is so funny. Working with him, I knew right away, I thought ‘This guy’s gonna make me laugh on set. I’ve got to be prepared. What am I going to do?’ I created Janice’s laugh just as a safety measure for when Matthew made me laugh”.

Episodes of Appearance
Janice has made an appearance in every season of Friends except in Season 6, when only her voice was used. She made the greatest number of appearances in Season 3 when Chandler actively wanted to be in a relationship with her.

“The One With The East German Laundry Detergent”

“The One With The Monkey”

“The One With The Candy Hearts”

“The One Where Heckles Dies”

“The One With Barry and Mindy’s Wedding”

“The One With The Princess Leia Fantasy”

“The One With The Jam”

“The One With The Metaphorical Tunnel”

“The One With The Flashback”

“The One With The Race Car Bed”

“The One With The Giant Poking Device”

“The One With All The Rugby”

“The One With Chandler’s Work Laugh”

“The One With Unagi” (voice only)

“The One With Ross’ Library Book”

“The One Where Rachel Has A Baby, part 1”

“The One Where Rachel Has A Baby, part 2”

“The One With The Fertility Test”

“The One Where Estelle Dies”

Season 1:
Janice makes her first appearance in episode 5 “The One With The East German Laundry Detergent” in which Chandler, her boyfriend at the time, is attempting to break up with her. During this episode, Chandler learns that Phoebe has a ‘gift’ when it comes to breaking up with people, so they decide to do it together. Phoebe goes through with it no problem, whereas Chandler makes Janice cry and immediately feels guilty. While Chandler attempts to get his words out and ends up poking Janice in her eye by accident, Phoebe comes to the rescue and has a conversation with Janice in which she exits the scene understandingly.

In “The One With The Monkey” the six Friends make a pact to not invite dates to the New Year’s Eve party, to which Chandler caves and calls up Janice so he will have someone to kiss at midnight. After enduring a night of Janice’s laugh, Chandler realizes again just how annoying she is and decides to break up with her before the clock strikes 12.

In “The One With The Candy Hearts” Chandler gets set up on a blind date by Joey. At dinner, when Chandler meets Joey’s date he asks the name of his, to which she responds “Janice”. Chandler and Joey share a concerning look that is met with the sound of Janice’s voice and her famous line “Oh my God”. Unexpectedly, the two seem to hit it off and wake up together the following morning in which Chandler breaks it off once again. Yet, this time Janice seems unbothered and replies with “that’s fine” as she goes on to give a speech about how Chandler loves her and wants her, he just doesn’t know it yet.

Season 2:
In “The One Where Heckles Dies” Chandler makes a disturbing discovery that Mr. Heckles (the deceased neighbour downstairs) mirrored his life exactly. Scared that he will die alone like Mr. Heckles did, Chandler calls up Janice with the hope of rekindling their relationship. Janice shows up at the coffee shop to meet Chandler only to show off that she is married and pregnant. Janice explains that she wanted to see his reaction in person rather than tell Chandler over the phone, to which she lets out her loud, obnoxious laugh.

In “The One With Barry And Mindy’s Wedding” Chandler joins a dating website and begins talking to a woman who is married and being cheated on. Phoebe encourages Chandler to meet this mystery woman at Central Perk and after waiting a long time, Chandler assumes he has been stood up. Just as he is about to leave, Janice walks in and as they both realize they have been talking to each other this whole time Janice lets out her famous phrase “Oh my God”.

Season 3:
In “The One With The Princess Leia Fantasy” Chandler and Janice are back together but Joey still finds her incredibly irritating to be around. When Janice finds this out, she plans a day for her and Joey to spend together because “that’s how long it takes someone to love me” she says. In the end, Joey still finds her insufferable but has Janice fooled.

In “The One With The Jam” Chandler seeks out secret relationship advice from Ross about snuggling and sleeping, to which Ross gives him his honest answer that Rachel is unaware of. With Ross’s advice, Chandler accidently rolls Janice off the bed causing him to explain what he was trying to do. Without thinking, Janice tells Rachel the funny story to which she realizes Rachel does not know what she is talking about. Knowing she messed up, Janice lets out her classic line “Oh my God” paired with dramatic hand gestures.

In “The One With The Metaphorical Tunnel” Janice and Chandler’s relationship is getting more serious, causing Chandler to freak out. Joey gives Chandler the advice to face his fear, and with this Chandler decides to give Janice a drawer while also saying they should take a trip and move in together. Janice now freaks out and leaves, causing Chandler to chase after her. After an awkward encounter at the supermarket Janice calls up Chandler where they end up confessing their love to one another.

In “The One With The Race Car Bed” Janice’s ex-husband, also known as The Mattress King, is using his divorce to sell mattresses. The episode shows that Janice is finalizing her divorce, yet Joey and Monica catch Janice kissing her ex-husband.

In “The One With The Giant Poking Device” Joey tells Chandler that he saw Janice cheating, to which Chandler denies that being true. Chandler later confronts Janice to which she admits to, also sharing that she is in love with both of them. Chandler makes the decision that Janice should be with her ex-husband then immediately regrets it. Janice tells Chandler that they are soulmates, yet still chooses not to be with him.

Season 4:
In “The One With All The Rugby” Rachel and Chandler run into Janice at the nail salon who is recently divorced. Newly single Janice wants to get back together with Chandler and says she will never leave his side, to which Chandler unwillingly agrees to. To avoid having to break up with her again, Chandler lies that he is being relocated overseas to Yemen. Janice spends every day with Chandler until he leaves and goes with him to the airport, saying she will stay to watch the plane takeoff. Realizing that he has no way out, Chandler purchases a ticket to Yemen and boards the plane, leaving Janice behind.

Season 5:
In “The One With Chandler’s Work Laugh” Ross takes a walk through New York after finding out that his ex-wife, Emily is getting remarried. During his time out, Ross runs into Janice and ends up in bed with her which leads to them dating. The group of Friends are judgemental of this relationship, but Ross defends Janice by explaining that they have much in common and she is a good listener. After Janice spends many dates with Ross, hearing him complain about his ex-wife, she decides to break up with him because she can’t stand his whining. Ross realizing that even Janice finds him annoying is a wake-up call and causes him to recover from his state of depression.

Season 6:
In “The One With Unagi” Chandler gives Monica a mix tape for Valentine’s day that he found in his closet as a last minute gift. Without thinking what’s on it, Chandler plays the tape for Monica and Janice’s voice comes on singing happy birthday to Chandler. Feeling betrayed, Monica storms off to her bedroom and Chandler is left listening to Janice’s voice.

Season 7:
In “The One With Ross’ Library Book” Janice happens to be dining at the restaurant Monica works at, Alessandro’s, and makes a complaint about the food. Janice, not knowing that Monica is the chef is surprised to see her and also finds out that Monica is marrying Chandler. Mistaking the closeness of their relationship, Janice invites herself to the wedding and thinks that she is able to live with them at their apartment for a period of time. Both Chandler and Monica are unable to tell Janice that they want her out, to which Monica lies saying that Chandler still has feelings for her. With this, Janice wishes them “a lifetime of happiness” then hugs Chandler goodbye while whispering to call her when his relationship “goes in the pooper”.

Season 8:
In “The One Where Rachel Has A Baby: Part 1” Rachel is checked into the hospital because she is going into labor and is put into a semi-private room. The doctor brings in another woman to share the room which happens to be Janice. Out of total shock, Janice lets out her famous line “Oh my God” to which Ross and Rachel look utterly annoyed. Janice introduces them to her husband, Sid Goralnik and explains that he is almost completely deaf to which Ross and Rachel then understand how he can stand being with Janice. Meanwhile, Chandler and Monica are having sex in the room next door and suddenly hear Janice’s distinct laugh to which they look at each other in fear.

In “The One Where Rachel Has A Baby: Part 2” Janice and Rachel both have their children, to which Janice introduces her newborn boy to Rachel and her baby. Janice has a heart-to-heart conversation with Rachel about being a single mother, telling her that Ross will eventually get re-married and start another family. This makes Rachel fear being alone and considers getting married to Joey.

Season 9:
In “The One With The Fertility Test” Monica and Chandler are having trouble conceiving and decide to go to a fertility clinic. While being there, the couple runs into Janice who once again when seeing them yells out “Oh my God”. After Chandler finishes his appointment, Janice is still in the waiting room. She tries to reassure him that everything will be fine but that he needs to consider the possibility of them not being able to have a child.

Season 10:
In “The One Where Estelle Dies” Monica and Chandler go to see the house for sale next door to the one they just bought, and while touring they run into Janice who is a prospective buyer. Monica reveals that they are buying the house next door and Janice decides she has to make an offer so that they can be neighbours. To stop Janice, Chandler pretends that he is still in love with her and reluctantly kisses her. Janice realizes that being neighbours will never work now and decides to not make an offer.

Wardrobe
Janice is known for her big, voluminous hair and wearing bright colors and loud patterns. She is styled throughout the seasons wearing matching sets, such as leopard print pants and top. Janice often wore costume-like jewelry, such as statement earrings that were chunky, colorful, and made of plastic. Janice loved to stand out, being subtle was not her forte. She would be styled in layers of gold necklaces and perils, along with chunky earrings and bracelets, such as her outfit worn in the Season 1 episode “The One with The Candy Hearts”. She also wore bright colored pantsuits, her most memorable one being bright green with a checkered print running through it.

Relationships
Janice is known as Chandler Bings long-term on-again-off-again girlfriend from Season 1 to Season 4, to which “The One With All The Rugby” is the last episode that the two are engaged in a relationship. Yet, in Season 5 to Season 10 Janice continues to pop-up in Chandler’s life involuntarily, annoying him with her presence while also giving him meaningful advice. In Season 5, Janice temporarily engages in a short-term relationship with Ross Geller to which Janice eventually dumps Ross because she can no longer stand his whining. In Season 8, Janice is married to Sid Goralnik, who is almost completely deaf hence why he is able to stand being with Janice. The show suggests that Janice and Sid continue to stay together and have more children. Janice never becomes very close with any of the other Friends besides Ross and Chandler. While she enjoys spending time with them, Rachel, Monica and Phoebe only see her while she is with Chandler or when they run into her unexpectedly. While they all find her annoying, Joey is the only one that openly hates her and can’t stand her the most.