Chandler Bing

Chandler Muriel Bing is a fictional character on the popular US television sitcom Friends (1994–2004), played by Matthew Perry.

History

Chandler Muriel Bing, son of romantic novelist Nora Tyler Bing (Morgan Fairchild) and cross-dressing Vegas burlesque star Charles Bing (Kathleen Turner), was the roommate of Ross Geller in college. Chandler met Ross' sister, Monica Geller, and her friend Rachel Green while celebrating Thanksgiving at the Geller family residence. Chandler later moved to apartment #19, across the hall from the apartment of Monica and her then roommate Phoebe Buffay. Chandler's roommate, Joey Tribbiani, completed the group of friends. Chandler lived with Joey until season 6, when he moved in with Monica. He later married Monica at the end of season 7.

Relationship with Monica Geller

In season 4, Chandler began an affair with his close friend Monica Geller in London. They had been friends for some time and had met when Chandler and Ross went to college together.

Chandler began dropping hints that he was interested in Monica during the first season. Chandler genuinely increased his efforts in season 3, but Monica thought he was joking and expressed little interest in a romantic relationship. At Ross and Emily's wedding in London, a somewhat intoxicated Monica and Chandler slept together. They tried to keep their relationship secret from the other friends but they eventually found out.

The two moved in together during season 6 and were married at the end of season 7. Their wedding was officiated by Joey, who was ordained over the Internet. In the final episode, Monica and Chandler (who were unable to conceive) watched as their adopted twins - Erica and Jack - were born, though they had expected only a single child. Chandler has also had many problems with Monica's ex-boyfriend Richard.

Joey and Chandler

Chandler famously shared an apartment with his best friend Joey Tribbiani. Chandler and Joey's apartment became an important focal point for the series as one of the few meeting areas of the gang. The two formed one of the most likeable and enduring television friendships in sitcom history and got into lots of humorous situations. Their adventures included losing Ross's infant son, Ben, on a bus, Chandler's dismay at Joey building an 'entertainment center' which was so big it covered both of their bedroom doors, buying a chick and a duck (affectionately named 'The Chick and The Duck'), replacing their dining table with a foosball table and spending hours watching Baywatch. A famous running gag suggested homosexual undertones in their friendships by showing them arguing like an old married couple, with Chandler usually assuming the wife role while Joey assumed the husband role.

The two "broke up" temporarily after Joey found success as Dr. Drake Ramoray on the daytime soap opera "Days of Our Lives". When Joey's character was killed off the show and Chandler became freaked out by his new roommate Eddie, the two soon moved back in together.

Once Chandler moved in with Monica, Joey and Chandler remained close as neighbors instead of roommates. In the final episode, Monica symbolically destroyed the foosball table in order to save Chick Jr. and Duck Jr., before she and Chandler moved to Westchester. Despite no longer living in the same apartment block, Chandler and Monica made it known that their new home would have a specially designated 'Joey room'.

Humor

Chandler is noted for his wise-cracks. Some examples include him describing Rachel’s attempts to stop him smoking by throwing away every cigarette he puts into his mouth as "the least fun game ever", quoting A.A. Milne as having said "Get out of my chair, Dillhole" in an attempt to persuade Joey to vacate the chair he'd been sitting in, and his insistence that his surname is Gaelic for "thy turkey's done". His conversations with Phoebe ranged from why Donald Duck wears a towel when getting out of the shower, to why there isn't a superhero called "Goldman" (inspired by Spider-Man). Often, when he and Ross are trying to pick up women, he would be referred to as 'The Funny One'. Chandler claims he started using humor as a defense mechanism when his parents broke up, and tends to make jokes when he's in an uncomfortable social situation. Although the rest of his friends found his quips funny earlier in the series, later on his friends (Monica especially) seemed to get tired of his sarcasm. His co-workers were so used to his sarcastic jokes that any serious comment he made was thought to be another joke. At one point, the Friends even challenged him to not make fun of his friends for an entire week; this proved difficult when, among other things, Ross started dating a woman named Elizabeth Hornswoggle. He eventually broke down and sarcastically demanded "What, are you dating a character from Fraggle Rock?"

Homosexuality Innuendo

Chandler often found himself in situations or making statements that made him sound homosexual, such as wondering what it would be like to be a lesbian. His friends and co-workers described him as having a certain "quality" that made people think he might be homosexual. (At one point he entered a room full of the Friends and declared, "Well, don't we look nice all dressed up? ...It's stuff like that, isn't it.") The show's creators were actually considering making him homosexual at the beginning of the series.

Much of Chandler's sexual ambiguity (and humor, which he acknowledges is a defense mechanism) stems from his childhood.

One Thanksgiving when Chandler was nine, his father announced that he was a homosexual and that he was getting a divorce from his wife. A flashback suggests he might have had possible affair with the butler/cook. The cook says, "More turkey, Mr.Chandler?" in a very feminine voice right after Charles' announcement. Charles Bing later moved to Las Vegas where he opened up an all-male burlesque featuring such musical numbers like "It's Raining Men", called ‘Viva Las Gaygas’, where he became a crossdresser named Helena Handbasket. As a result of this, Chandler hates Thanksgiving and refuses to eat any Thanksgiving food. Chandler also highlights this as the points where he began to use humour as a defence mechanism and also started to smoke. Chandler himself is often mistaken for being gay by friends, colleagues and, most importantly, women.

Janice

Prior to his relationship with Monica, Chandler had an off- and on-again relationship with Janice, who became a constant recurring fixture in his life. With her big hair, her nasal voice and laugh, and her tendency to say "Oh... my... God!" (with noticeable pauses in between each word) in every conversation, Chandler spent most of his time trying to break up with Janice. After finally breaking up with her in the season 1 episode "The One With the East German Laundry Detergent," Chandler found himself involved with Janice twice more that season and several more times throughout the show.

Chandler's final attempt to leave her once and for all involved him claiming he was moving to Yemen (address: 15 Yemen Road, Yemen), and then actually boarding a plane and flying to Yemen (Not actually his plan to go all the way to Yemen but Janice wanted to see the plane take off as a final goodbye) just to prove to her that he was not lying during season 4.

"Statistical Analysis and Data Reconfiguration"

Chandler worked as a Data-Processor, a job which he thoroughly loathed. It remains a running joke through most of the seasons that no one quite knows what he does. His friends, in a trivia game, could not guess his job in one instance, with Rachel hysterically calling him a "transpondster." Joey once said "Jeez, Chandler, you call yourself an accountant?", to which Chandler replied, "No!". Monica admits several times that she doesn't pay attention when he talks about his work, but finally learns what he does when he quits in season 9 - she calls it Statistical Analysis And Data Reconfiguration, a job which inspired Chandler's oft-referenced office slang word "weenus."

However, Chandler was unable to simply quit his job as it was his nature to avoid ending anything forcefully, be it his job, a relationship or even his membership with a gym. Chandler tried to quit his job in season 1, but was lured back by a huge raise and a yearly bonus structure. (He eventually takes a job in the advertising business.)

Trivia

• Monica accidentally severed Chandler's pinky toe with a knife one Thanksgiving.
• Chandler had a third nipple, which he called his "nubbin". However, he had a "nubbinectomy" after he was dumped by his one-legged girlfriend, Ginger, who was bothered by it. Although Chandler claimed that it was "the source of all his power", he quickly regained his wit.
• Chandler's subscription to TV Guide is under the typo "Miss Chanandler Bong".
• Monica, who was once fat, lost her weight because she overheard Chandler making fun of her during the first Thanksgiving he spent with the Geller Family. Monica also becomes a chef because Chandler liked her macaroni and cheese.
• Chandler and Ross had a "new wave"/"synthpop" band, called 'Way, No Way' (similar to A Flock of Seagulls) in their freshman year of college.
• In a crossover, Chandler Bing appeared in Caroline in the City.
• He is either a Pisces or an Aries (hasn't been confirmed, but it is after Rachel's surprise month-early birthday party and before her real birthday, on 5th May)
• Chandler's early relationship with Monica's parents was strained because of an incident involving Ross. When Ross was caught smoking marijuana while home from college, he blamed it on Chandler, causing the Gellers to dislike Chandler strongly. Their relationship was much improved once Monica forced Ross to confess his guilt.
• Chandler is said to be of Scottish ancestry in several episodes. Ross even attempted to learn how to play the bagpipe so he could perform at their wedding. He also mentions that his grandfather was Swedish, but then follows it up with "...and my grandmother was actually a tiny little bunny" (because Monica flirtatiously asked how he got to be so cute), so he may have been joking.
• The one thing Chandler's father taught Chandler (apart from always knocking before going into the pool house) was to never borrow money.
• In an alternate reality storyline during the show ("The One That Could Have Been"), Chandler was a freelance writer, specializing in comics. In a reversal of roles, he struggles with finances while Joey rakes in the money. However, Chandler still falls in love with Monica (despite her still being fat), and the two end up together anyway.
• Chandler has kissed all the other five Friends member, although not all the kisses were seen on screen. He kiss the three ladies in "The One With All the Kissing" where he tried to hide the fact that he and Monica are dating by kissing the other two ladies whenever he kissed Monica. He and Joey kissed in "The One With the Monkey" when no one else would kiss him during New Year. In "The One Where Chandler Can't Remember Which Sister", Chandler got drunk and kissed Ross but this was not seen on screen.
• In France, Chandler was voiced by two different actors: Emmanuel Curtil (seasons 1 to 8) and Anthony Nouel (seasons 9 and 10). The characters Rachel and Joey also had different French-language voice-actors for the last two seasons.

External links

• Friends Cafe