when people say 7th Friend, some are referring to the 7th most important character of the show, whereas others refer to someone who is part of the gang (or maybe a combination of the two).
I would say the three nominees for all the above are:
Gunther
Mike
and Janice
Gunther had been constantly featured throughout the whole show (beginning to end) but usually got little attention
Mike was only part of the last couple of seasons but got a lot of attention
And Janice was sporadically featured throughout the show (beginning to end) and got a lot of attention as well.
In terms of who is closer to the gang. Janice was part of the gang but no till the end whereas Mike became a part of the gang later than Janice but until the end. One would assume he still hangs out with everybody.
Gunther though could be considered a more impo1c84rtant character in the sense that he's not an extension of a single friend's cycle. He's not a boyfriend or a relative and he's been a bigger part of the show.
So I guess it all depends on how you define "the seventh friend"

What about mike Paul Rudds Character, I think of him as the 7th Friend

I agree that Gunther would have made a better spinoff show than Joey. We'd already had ten years of Joey's personality, but I think that fans really yearned to know more about Gunther (I know I did.) I could actually see him talking about "his ex, Rachel" and stuff. It would have been quite funny, especially if he had a friends who was around and knew the real Rachel story.
I don't think he was the seventh friend, but I certainly think he deserves more credit than a lot of people give him credit for. Just because he was the only extra who could work an espresso machine doesn't take away from his talent. What is fame if not just a matter of one lucking his way into it? 111c Talent usually unfolds after being thrust into the spotlight.
Gunther, himself, was more than just the creepy guy who had a crush on Rachel. In fact, he wasn't really creepy at all. He was a guy with whom the friends frequently had encounters. A lot of times they made jokes at his expense, but I thought that attested to more to the fact that he had a relationship (if distant and awkward) with them. He played well off of their banter and knew a lot about them. Not to mention, he was the blonde guy that Rachel's mom referred to in one episode and the guy who Phoebe referred to as being attractive in an obvious sort of way and so much more. He was not seen one way, nor was he merely one-dimensional.

Gunther may have been memorable, but he is in no way the seventh friend. He wasn't even a friend in this circle. He was just the guy who served coffee at their favorite hang-out spot. chandler doesn't know his last name, Ross doesn't think of inviting him for a drink when he gets his tenure, even after he made an honest mistake of ordering six glasses, and the only people to have had any meaningful interactions with him are Rachel and Joey since both of them worked for him (and he had a crush on Rachel). As much as I thought Gunther was funny and I feel a little sorry for him, he was not a seventh friend because he was outside the gang, and even if he wanted to be in the gang, no one in the gang ever considered letting him in. I still think he was a great assett to the show, but he was a peripheral character.

I actually think they should've given a spinoff show to Gunther, not Joey. Joey was already an established character in Friends, Gunther was almost entirely blank canvas to draw from, but keep the connection with Friends. It could still have Joey in it for recurring roles. Idk, but I think there could've been huge potential for that.

We could be men with ven!

I think paul rudds mike hannigan was more likely to be the 7th friend, although he did come in pretty late, he just merged with the whole gang on a whole more than any other introduced charictor

I think Gunther was great and I agree his character was memorable, but I don't think he was the seventh friend. Though, he COULD have been with just a little more interaction with the other 5 characters. I don't know if anyone else could 5b4play Gunther as well as James Michael Tyler.
And some forget: Gunther didn't own Central Perk. Terry did (go back to the first couple of seasons). So I doubt he could have given Rachel a humongous raise.

He is without a doubt, the seventh 5b4friend, some of the scenes would not work without him in it and James Michael Tyler was excellent as Gunther, I had really hoped to see more of him in other roles after friends but sadly that is not the case. I would love to see them do a friends reunion and see the cast back together one more time and yes they would have to bring in the seventh friend in.
My favorite seen with Gunther is were Joey is trying to chat up that girl and JKoey says he doesn't chat up girls that much and Gunther makes a noise in the background and Joey is says Guzuntight to him(sorry I know I spelt it wrong)and Gunther gets all embarrassed.
Luke I am your father, noooooooooooooooooo

This message has been deleted.

That's right.
Gunther - I found him a little difficult to like to begin with, but halfway through the third series, I got used to him Can't help but raise a smile when he's on the screen now.

How dare you!?
He told her on the last episode, ok?

He can't be a seventh "friend". He just is not a friend with any of the other six, never shared any history. All we know is he is that weird guy that had a crush on Rachel and never had the balls to tell her.
And yea,I can easily see the show go without him.

as the "7th Friend" do you thin he deserved to get a million per episode as well?

Less than 25%? He's in over 60% of the episodes.
"Ha, did he just call me a Luddite?"

Indeed. Apparently he was the only extra who could operate the espresso machine. Somehow that resulted him being in ~25% of the episodes. Wow, charmed life much?

Chipping away at a mountain of pop culture trivia,
Darren Dirt.

16d0I don't really agree. He was more thrust into Friends after they suddenly shone light on his obsession for Rachel in the third season of the show. And that's pretty much the only time you saw him.
He was as good as his character could get, but I wouldn't say anyone was the seventh Friend.

Yer,
I totally agree, IMH-Teen-O, I think that JMT was the great and he would be great in Joey They should've given him a bigger role in friends!