SNAPSHOT
As part of their fascinating series of deconstructing the individual personalities of the characters on Friends, hosts Debra Minoff and Susannah McCullough of The Take take a look at how the twin characters of Phoebe Buffay and Ursula Buffay and how they truly embody the “Evil Twin” concept. (synopsis (c) Laughing Squid)
Friends may have ended way back in 2004 but when you can catch episodes of the show on streaming platforms just about any time you want, and the comedy remains as timeless as ever, does a show ever really end these days?
Not really, and nor does the possibility of exploring more about a show you love which is why this examination of the Phoebe/Ursula twin dynamic by The Take is so fascinating.
Ursula, played as was Phoebe by the superlatively-talented Lisa Kudrow, is everything her sister is not – cold, brutal, apathetic, all the things, hosts hosts Debra Minoff and Susannah McCullough point out that Phoeve has tried to hard not to be.
They go on to talk about the fact that the “evil twin” device, used in shows and movies as diverse as Bewitched and The Shining, is so effective because it uncovers not just new elements to a character we know and love, but because it draws us into the show more completely because all of us have and fear our dark side.
And after you’ve seen Ursula at work, you know that fear is warranted, and in the case of Friends, very, very funny.