I’d also point out that Pheobe is a rip-off of Woody from Cheers and/or Rose from Golden Girls. But there was never any extra layer of humor, like Diane’s horror or Blanche’s baffled disbelief. And minus that, she comes off as ridiculous, ... which is amazing in comparison given that for crying out loud, Rose’s gym teacher was actually Adolf Hitler.
... and Dear God, Betty White pulled it off.
“I’d also point out that Pheobe is a rip-off of Woody from Cheers and/or Rose from Golden Girls”
Saw an interview where Jon Lovitz, who was a lifelong friend of Lisa Kudrow’s older brother, said Kudrow’s character Phoebe was a total copy of Kudrow’s older sister.
He said he told Kudrow during the first season of Friends that he could tell she was imitating her older sister, and she begged him not to tell anyone.