(NBC) |
Genre: Comedy Sitcom
Creator: David Crane, Marta Kauffman
Opening theme: Rembrandts – "I'll
Be There For You"
Country of origin: United States
No. of episodes: 236 (total of 10 seasons)
Running time: 22 mins. (approx) per episode
Original channel: ABC
Started: September 22, 2004
Status: Running
Original channel: NBC
Original run: September 22, 1994 – May
6, 2004
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Friends was an Emmy award-winning
American situation comedy about a group of six friends
living in the New York City borough of Manhattan.
It was created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman
and was originally broadcast from 1994 to 2004.
One of the most popular television series of all
time, the show has been broadcast in over 100 countries
and still continues to attract good ratings for
its repeat episodes. The final episode of the show
remains one of the largest in terms of television
audience numbers in the U.S.
Friends was created in 1994 by David Crane and
Marta Kauffman. Originally to be named Across the
Hall, Six of One, Insomnia Cafe, and Friends Like
Us, Friends was aimed at young adults who, during
the early 1990s, were identified by their café
culture, dating scene and modern independence.
Two of the series' stars, Matthew Perry and Jennifer
Aniston, had already appeared in several unsuccessful
sitcom pilots.
Another, Lisa Kudrow, was also familiar with working
on sitcoms having played Ursula Buffay on Mad About
You. In the series, it was revealed that Ursula
was the twin sister of Kudrow's Friends character,
Phoebe. Kudrow was fired during filming of the pilot
of Frasier after being cast as Roz.
Courteney Cox was already an accomplished TV and
film actress when she was cast, having appeared
in the likes of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and had
had several minor roles on sitcoms such as Seinfeld
and Family Ties.
David Schwimmer was wanted by the writers of Friends
for the part of Ross Geller from the beginning;
having auditioned for Crane and Kauffman in the
past, Schwimmer was said to have a memorable voice
and was most known for his Broadway work, but he
did also direct some of the Friends episodes.
Matt LeBlanc appeared as Vinnie Verducci, the boyfriend
of Kelly Bundy in Married... with Children in the
early 1990s and starred in that sitcom's short-lived
spin-off, Top of the Heap as well as Vinnie &
Bobby, but before that had mainly been focusing
on advertising and modeling work when he was cast
as Joey Tribbiani.
[ CAST
]
Friends cast |
|
Primary characters:
Jennifer Aniston - Rachel Green
Courteney Cox Arquette - Monica Geller
Lisa Kudrow - Phoebe Buffay
Matthew Perry - Chandler Bing
Matt LeBlanc - Joey Tribbiani
David Schwimmer - Ross Geller
Secondary characters:
Elliott Gould - Jack Geller (Ross & Monica's
father)
Christina Pickles - Judy Geller (Ross & Monica's
mother)
James Michael Tyler - Gunther (Coffee shop manager)
Maggie Wheeler - Janice (Chandler's annoying on/off
girlfriend)
Tom Selleck - Dr. Richard Burke (Monica's ex-boyfriend)
Paul Rudd - Mike Hannigan (Phoebe's husband)
Behind the scenes, the show was known for its unusually
cohesive and unified cast. The six main actors made
deliberate efforts, from early on, to keep the show's
ensemble format and to not allow any one of them
to dominate. This included requesting that all actors
on the show be nominated either for the same category
of award ("Supporting Actor" until 2001,
then "Lead Actor" from 2002 onwards) or
not at all, and entering collective instead of individual
salary negotiations. The actors became such close
friends that one guest star, Tom Selleck, reported
sometimes feeling left out. This was a criticism
later echoed by British actress Helen Baxendale,
who guest starred as Ross's second wife, Emily.
The character of Ursula (Phoebe's twin sister)
first appeared in the sitcom Mad About You as a
waitress. Kudrow played Ursula on both Mad About
You and Friends. The show's creators did not originally
intend for Phoebe to have a twin, but they added
the character to explain why Kudrow was appearing
on two different shows on the same network, at one
time as a part of the same Thursday night line-up.
Friends featured many of its celebrity guest stars
as secondary characters in the show. Most U.S. sitcoms
use celebrities in cameo appearances to raise ratings
during important sweeps weeks, but some celebrities
appeared on Friends throughout each TV season. These
stars included Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis, George Clooney,
Sean Penn, Danny DeVito, Robin Williams, Helen Hunt,
Brooke Shields, Julia Roberts, Sarah Ferguson, Freddie
Prinze, Jr., Ben Stiller, Alec Baldwin, Ralph Lauren,
Hank Azaria and Isabella Rossellini. British business
mogul Richard Branson made a guest appearance in
a Season Four episode. Creator Of R'n'B Girl Group
"Pussycat Dolls", Robin Antin made an
apperance. One guest star who gained a recurring
role was Tom Selleck as Monica’s older long-term
boyfriend. The parents of the six were cast using
celebrities: for example, Kathleen Turner played
Chandler's drag-queen father, Elliott Gould played
Ross and Monica's father, and Teri Garr played Phoebe's
flaky birth mother.
Three CSI stars also played in Friends: Eddie Cahill
from CSI: NY and Emily Procter & Sofia Milos
from CSI: Miami.
[ SYNOPSES
]
Season One (1994-1995):
Phoebe, Monica, Chandler, Joey, and Ross meet
up in Central Perk shortly after Ross's wife Carol
realizes she is a lesbian and divorces him. Monica
and Ross are both living alone, Chandler and Joey
live together and Phoebe lives with her grandmother.
Monica's old high school friend, Rachel, enters
Central Perk wearing a wedding dress, having just
run away from her wedding to Barry Farber. She moves
in with Monica, gets a job as a waitress at Central
Perk but struggles to work for a living, having
previously lived a rich life. Ross discovers his
ex-wife is pregnant and she gives birth to a boy,
named Ben, who is subsequently raised by Carol and
her lesbian partner, Susan.
Joey and Chandler have many flings with different
women. Chandler gets involved with a woman named
Janice who repeatedly shows up in every season through
the series. She has a very annoying catchphrase
(oh...my...God!).
Ross reveals he had a crush on Rachel in high school
and he still has feelings for her. Throughout the
season, he fails to make his feelings known to her
and Chandler and Joey eventually persuade him to
move on. On Rachel's birthday, Ross leaves for a
paleontological trip to China. While he is gone,
Chandler accidentally reveals to Rachel that Ross
is in love with her. Rachel decides she would like
to start a romantic relationship with Ross and goes
to meet him at the airport when he returns from
China, unaware that he is getting off the plane
with another woman.
Phoebe meets a scientist named David whom she falls
in love with, but in the end he has to move to Minsk,
to continue with his scientific research. They are
left heart-broken by this move.
At Central Perk Coffee
Shop |
|
Season Two (1995-1996):
Unaware that Rachel is in fact interested in him,
Ross has started a relationship with an old friend,
Julie, whom he met in China. Rachel does not take
a liking to Julie because she is involved with Ross.
While drunk, Rachel leaves a message on Ross' answering
machine telling him she's over him. Ross hears the
message and becomes confused over his own feelings.
He and Rachel soon meet and kiss. Ross is unable
to choose between Rachel and Julie and decides to
make a pro and con list of both women. He decides
he loves Rachel and breaks up with Julie. Unfortunately,
Rachel discovers the list, becomes angry and rejects
Ross. However, the friends eventually watch a video
from Rachel and Monica's prom where it seems Rachel's
prom date, Chip, has stood her up. The teenage Ross
decides he will take her. While Ross is coming down
the stairs in a tuxedo, Rachel runs off with Chip,
who has arrived late. Ross looks shattered. Back
in the present day, Rachel kisses Ross when she
sees how sincere he is and they start dating.
Joey gets an acting job as Dr. Drake Ramoray on
the soap Days of our Lives and earns enough money
to move into his own apartment (leaving Chandler
behind). Left on his own, Chandler gets a new roommate,
Eddie, who is insane. When Joey states in an interview
that he writes his own lines, the show's writers
kill off his character by making him fall down an
elevator shaft. With no income, Joey moves back
into Chandler's apartment helping Chandler finally
to get rid of the psychotic Eddie. Phoebe finds
she has a half brother named Frank Jr. and they
start building a relationship. Monica dates Richard
Burke, an ophthalmologist and a friend of her parents
who is twenty-one years older than she is, but they
break up when Richard tells her he does not want
to have children. When Chandler meets the woman
he's been talking to online he sees that it is his
ex, Janice, and they kiss.
Season Three (1996-1997):
Rachel quits her job at Central Perk to find a
job in fashion, when she does she ends up making
coffee at the fashion label so she takes a job at
Bloomingdales offered to her by stranger Mark. Ross
becomes convinced her new co-worker wants to date
her and becomes increasingly jealous. Tension between
Ross and Rachel culminates on their anniversary
and Rachel suggests they take a break. After hearing
Rachel's co-worker Mark in the background during
a phone call, Ross assumes she is seeing / interested
in him. Depressed and under the influence of alcohol,
he sleeps with another woman (Chloe the hot xerox
girl, occasionally referred to in earlier episodes
of the season). When Rachel indicates that she still
wants Ross, he tries to resume their relationship
without telling her about his fling but she finds
out from Gunther and, after a long emotional night,
they break up. Monica, Phoebe, Chandler, and Joey
are stuck in Monica's room and hear the whole fight.
Monica has to work at a fifties diner where she
has to wear a blonde wig and flame retardant breasts.
Soon a customer named Pete asks her out, but she
says no without realizing that he is a millionaire.
Eventually, she agrees to go on a date with him.
Monica avoids kissing him for a while because she
doesn't feel attracted to him but after they kiss
she instantly finds him attractive. Eventually Pete
becomes obsessed with becoming the Ultimate Fighting
Champion, but gets severely injured in every fight
and says he won't stop fighting until he wins. Monica
can't stand to see him keep hurting himself, so
they break up.
Chandler breaks up with Janice and Joey buys a
chick as a pet. Joey and Chandler soon begin to
fight over the chick. Chandler decides to take it
back but the shop won't take it so he goes to a
shelter where he learns that they kill the animals
that can't find homes. He takes the chick back home
along with a duck. Joey's acting career continues
to go badly. Phoebe finds a woman, also named Phoebe,
who knew her parents. She invites the group to go
with her to the beach. Rachel becomes upset when
Ross starts dating Bonnie, who unexpectedly comes
with them. Rachel is unhappy and persuades Bonnie
to shave her head so Ross will be less attracted
to her. Ross and Rachel argue about this and start
to feel like they still love each other. Meanwhile
it is revealed that the older Phoebe is Phoebe's
birth mother. The season ends with Ross having to
decide between Rachel and Bonnie.
Season Four (1997-1998):
Ross decides to get back together with Rachel
and breaks up with Bonnie. However, Rachel wants
him to take full responsibility for "cheating"
on her, whereas Ross insists that they were on a
break. Unable to agree on whether or not Ross cheated,
they break up again. Since then, for almost the
entire season, they don't get along very well and
are not often seen in positive conversations with
each other. After Phoebe learns the older Phoebe
is her real mother, she tells her twin sister, Ursula,
who knew all along because she had their "mother's"
suicide note, which she had not shared with Phoebe.
Phoebe agrees to be a surrogate mother for her half-brother
Frank and his wife Alice. Luckily, after having
fertility treatments and talking to her sisters'
embryos she becomes pregnant with triplets. Joey
begins dating an actress, Kathy, but Chandler likes
her too. Joey and Kathy break up after Kathy kisses
Chandler. Joey is angry, but forgives Chandler when
he sees that Chandler and Kathy love each other.
Chandler suspects that Kathy is sleeping with a
fellow cast member after watching one of her plays.
He then proceeds to confront directly and accuse
her. She is insulted and later she does sleep with
the cast member, so she and Chandler break up. Monica
and Rachel switch apartments with Joey and Chandler
after losing a bet. The girls hate their new apartment,
so they try to convince Joey and Chandler to switch
apartments in exchange for season passes to the
Knicks. Instead, they agree to an all-or-nothing
bet. The guys win, but while they're at the game,
the girls switch the apartments back. They appease
the guys by offering them an opportunity to watch
Monica and Rachel kiss for one minute.
Ross dates a British woman, Emily, and they become
engaged. The group travels to London for the wedding,
except Phoebe, who is in her last trimester, and
Rachel, who doesn't want to see Ross get married.
At the wedding rehearsal dinner, Monica becomes
depressed because she is mistaken as "Ross's
mum," and the fact that she wasn't married.
Chandler comforts her and they completely unexpectedly
end up sleeping together. Rachel realizes she still
loves Ross and goes to London to tell him. When
she gets there, she sees him with Emily and decides
it would not be right to ruin the wedding. The wedding
goes ahead, but comes to an abrupt halt when Ross
says "I, Ross, take thee, Rachel".
Season Five (1998-1999):
Ross and Emily's wedding continues despite Ross's
faux pas and they are married, but she slips away
at the reception. The group goes back to New York
where Emily calls Ross and tells him that she will
only stay married if he promises he will never see
Rachel again. Ross agrees, but Emily continues to
make unreasonable demands, like making him move
out of his apartment, since Rachel had been there.
She also made him sell all of his stuff and get
new stuff since Rachel had touched everything. Ross
begins to see that she is asking too much and proceeds
to have dinner with his friends including Rachel.
When Emily finds out she is angry but Ross assures
her that nothing is going on between them and that
they are just friends. He says she has to trust
him and asks if she can do that but Emily feels
too threatened and says no, and they decide to get
a divorce. Ross moves in with Joey and Chandler
since he sold his apartment, but eventually moves
into Ugly Naked Guy's apartment (because Ugly Naked
Guy is planning to move out).
Phoebe gives birth to triplets: Frank Jr. Jr.,
Leslie, and Chandler (Phoebe originally chose to
name the baby after Chandler thinking the baby was
going to be a boy, but even after the baby turned
out to be a girl Frank and Alice still kept the
name as Chandler). She tries to keep one after becoming
attached to them, but finds out that Frank and Alice
are unwilling to give up a child.
Chandler and Monica continue an intimate relationship
in secret. They have this secret relationship for
more than half of the season but each character
eventually finds out about their relationship separately.
Joey figures it out first but agrees to keep it
a secret, followed by Rachel when she hears Chandler
and Monica talking very naughtily on the phone.
Soon Phoebe finds out when she sees Monica and Chandler
doing it up against the window from Ugly Naked Guy's
apartment, which Ross is thinking of buying. Chandler
and Monica don't know that Rachel and Phoebe know
and the girls decide to mess with them. To Joey's
dismay they play a series of tricks on Monica and
Chandler, who find out and respond with some tricks
of their own (which leads to Chandler and Phoebe
having a competition to see who will cave first,
and reveal the secret). Finally after Chandler caves
and admits he can't take the game any farther because
he is in love with Monica, Monica and Chandler reveal
their secret affair to everyone but Ross. Later
that night Ross sees Monica and Chandler kissing
through his window (while talking to his boss from
the museum. Ross had been suspended from his job
earlier owing to anger issues and his employers
were finally considering having him come back but
this new discovery didn't help matters) and is furious,
but once he finds out they aren't just messing around
he is ok with it. They all accept their relationship
and the story moves on.
Rachel starts a new job at Ralph Lauren.
Joey gets the lead in a movie, but travels to Las
Vegas to find production has shut down. Everyone
goes to Vegas to see him act, but they all find
out that he is working as a gladiator for the Caesar's
Palace casino. On the plane ride over, Ross and
Rachel play pranks on each other (Ross starts it
to prove Rachel can be embarrassed) until it gets
out of hand and Ross scribbles a goatee on Rachel's
face (while she is asleep) with a permanent marker.
Afterwards, Rachel finds out and becomes enraged.
She and Ross then get drunk and run to the nearest
chapel and get married. Monica and Chandler are
there too, spontaneously planning to elope.
Ross, Monica, Rachel,
Chandler, Joey, Phoebe |
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Season Six (1999-2000):
When Chandler and Monica see Ross and Rachel at
the chapel they decide not to get married. After
finding out that they are now married, Ross and
Rachel agree to get an annulment so Ross doesn't
have a third divorce, but he decides it is still
a failed marriage. He lies to Rachel, telling her
he has had the marriage annulled when he actually
has not. Rachel finds out and forces Ross to go
ahead with the annulment, but they are ineligible
for one and file for divorce. Ross gets a new job
teaching palaeontology at New York University. He
eventually dates Rachel's sister Jill (Reese Witherspoon)
and afterwards one of his students named Elizabeth.
Chandler and Monica don't get married but move
in together, and Rachel moves in with Phoebe. Joey
gets a female roommate, Janine, and they start dating
after a while. When Janine reveals she does not
like Chandler and Monica, Joey breaks up with her.
Out of a job and desperate for money, Joey gets
a job at Central Perk and tries out other acting
gigs until he lands a supposedly permanent (but
actually short-lived) role as the main star of Mac
and C.H.E.E.S.E. A fire (started by Rachel's hair
straightener) ruins Phoebe and Rachel's apartment.
Rachel moves in with Chandler and Monica, and Phoebe
moves in with Joey. They eventually swap [because
since they find out the fire was Rachel's fault,
the two girls agree that Phoebe deserves the better
apartment (Monica and Chandler's of course)], so
Rachel lives with Joey instead. Bruce Willis makes
a three episode cameo appearance as Elizabeth's
father and eventually Rachel's new boyfriend. Towards
the end of the season, Chandler decides to propose
to Monica, but wants it to be a surprise. He worries
that she suspects something so he creates a plan
to throw her off by pretending he is against marriage
and everything to do with it. He makes a weird analogy
about how relationships ought to be and pig sex.
It seems to be working and Chandler is about to
propose but things don't go smoothly as her ex-boyfriend
Richard comes in and announces to Monica that he
is still in love with her during the finale to almost
ruin Chandler's plan. Richard offers her marriage
and children and everything she's ever wanted. In
a dramatic climax, Monica is torn between wanting
Chandler and wanting a more mature relationship
than he is seemingly willing to give her and doesn't
know what to do. When Chandler finds out he, gets
angry and distressed and tries to confront Richard
who finally sees how in love with her Chandler is
and backs down. Meanwhile Joey tells Monica about
Chandler's plan. When Chandler arrives, however,
Joey tells him that Monica didn't believe it was
all a plan and was so upset that she left and told
him not to call her. Chandler is heartbroken and
goes into his apartment, only to find the lights
out, candles everywhere, and Monica in the middle
of the floor waiting to propose. In a tearful but
romantic encounter, Chandler and Monica finally
become engaged.
Season Seven (2000-2001):
Monica and Chandler begin planning their wedding.
Rachel gets a promotion in Ralph Lauren and hires
an assistant, Tag, whom she begins dating after
she tells him her true feelings at Thanksgiving
at Monica's. Rachel asks Monica and Phoebe how long
you wait before you ask someone out whose just broke
up with his girlfriend, Phoebe and Monica give reasonable
responses, but Joey says half an hour then gets
to saying: "Alright Rachel,the big question
is does he like you? Because if he doesn't like
you its all a moo point," He then tells us
what a moo point is, quote "It's like a cow's
opinion, doesn't matter... it's moo." Rachel
and Tag later break up when Rachel turns 30 and
she feels she should be in a more serious relationship
since Tag is significantly younger.
Phoebe's apartment is repaired, but has been converted
back into a one bedroom (Phoebe's grandmother had
put up a wall to make it a two bedroom apartment)
so Rachel continues to live with Joey.
Joey's new show Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E. is cancelled
but he is able to return to Days of Our Lives when
his character, Dr. Drake Ramoray, gets a new brain
from a character named Jessica Lockheart whom he
ends up sleeping with throughout the episode. She
is taken off the show by falling off a horse into
an electric fence. Joey's character then wakes from
his coma.
The night before his wedding, Chandler gets scared
and disappears. While he is gone, Phoebe and Rachel
find a positive pregnancy test in Monica's bathroom,
and Phoebe assumes Monica is pregnant. Rachel makes
Phoebe promise to not tell anyone what they have
found. Phoebe and Ross find Chandler at his office
(while Rachel keeps Monica distracted) and persuade
him to come back, but Chandler overhears Phoebe
and Rachel talking about Monica's "pregnancy"
and disappears again. He quickly returns on his
own, however, and decides that a baby would not
be so bad. Chandler and Monica get married, but
when Chandler tells Monica he knows about the baby,
she says she is not pregnant, and it was not her
pregnancy test that they found. Meanwhile Phoebe
tells Rachel how excited she is about Monica's pregnancy,
Rachel slowly agrees looking very emotional. The
camera then zooms in on her and she takes a deep
breath. The audience is left with the question:
"Could Rachel be pregnant?".
Season Eight (2001-2002):
Rachel confirms she is pregnant but doesn't tell
anyone who the father is. Unfortunately for her,
Joey finds a sweater that the baby's father left
at his apartment. Phoebe suspects that it is Tag's
sweater but Ross finds it and says,"Hey, my
sweater!", with the audience whooping in response.
After Rachel tells Ross he is the father (and Ross
learns the hard way that condoms are only 97% effective)
they tell everyone that they secretly slept together
about a month before Chandler and Monica's wedding.
After Ross meets Mona at the wedding he goes out
with her for a few months but they break up because
of complications arising from his impending fatherhood
of Rachel's child. As Rachel and Joey continue living
together, Joey starts to develop feelings for her.
Feeling that Ross is missing out on his fatherly
duties, Joey reluctantly suggests that Rachel move
in with Ross, and she does so. Joey later reveals
his feelings to Rachel, who politely rejects him.
After a passionate kiss with Ross (to try to induce
labor because she becomes overdue), Rachel goes
into labor, and while in the hospital, Ross' mother
approaches him with a ring to give to Rachel. Ross
keeps the ring in his coat pocket, even though he
does not want to propose to Rachel. Rachel remains
in labor for about 21 hours and shares her room
with five different women (including Janice) that
all have their babies before her. Rachel gives birth
to their daughter, Emma. Joey finds the engagement
ring after it falls out of Ross' coat. He bends
down to pick it up. Rachel, seeing Joey on one knee
with an engagement ring, thinks that he is proposing
to her, and says "okay". Monica and Chandler
decide to have a baby.
Season Nine (2002-2003):
Rachel finds out that Joey was not proposing to
her, but neither was Ross. After Ross doesn't pass
on a message to Rachel from a potential date, the
two realize that having a child and living together
while not actually being together is too complicated,
therefore Rachel decides to move back in with Joey
and takes Emma with her. Chandler's job requires
him to be in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Monica decides not
to come after she is offered a dream job in New
York. He puts up with this for a while, but he begins
to consider quitting when he finds he has to work
in Tulsa over Christmas. When a female associate
comes on to him over Christmas in Tulsa, he quits
and starts a new job in advertising. After trying
all season to get pregnant to no avail, fertility
tests prove that Chandler and Monica cannot conceive
a baby, so they decide to adopt. Phoebe starts dating
Mike Hannigan (Paul Rudd) after being set up on
a double date by Joey (who originally lied to Phoebe
about knowing someone called 'Mike', so he goes
to Central Perk and yells 'Mike', he then successfully
persuades Mike Hannigan to go on the date). They
move in together, but when he tells Phoebe he does
not want to get married, they break up. Rachel has
a dream about Joey and develops a crush on him.
The group goes to Barbados because Ross is giving
a key-note speech there. Phoebe takes her old boyfriend
David (Hank Azaria), whom she first met in Season
One and has been in love all this time (but hasn't
dated because he has been in Minsk doing experiments
as a scientist), and Joey takes his girlfriend Charlie
(who is Ross' new colleague and for whom Ross has
feelings). Chandler accidentally gives David some
bad advice and David decides to propose to Phoebe.
Monica finds out, and calls Mike to tell him to
get back together with Phoebe. Mike comes to Barbados
and proposes to Phoebe. She turns him down, but
- knowing their relationship has a future - agrees
to take him back, leaving David. Joey and Charlie
break up. Joey learns Rachel likes him, but refuses
her advances because he feels he would be betraying
Ross. However, when Joey sees Charlie and Ross kissing
he changes his mind and kisses Rachel.
Season Ten (2003-2004):
Joey and Rachel's relationship only lasts three
episodes: having been platonic for so long, they
feel uncomfortable taking their relationship further.
Charlie goes back to an old boyfriend. Mike and
Phoebe get married on the street right outside Central
Perk on a cold, snowy day. Chandler and Monica apply
to adopt the baby of a pregnant young woman named
Erica and decide to move out of their apartment
to a house in the suburbs of New York. Erica gives
birth to twins, a boy and a girl, who are named
Jack (after Monica's dad) and Erica (after Erica).
Chandler and Monica agree that having two may be
a good thing; Chandler had mentioned in an earlier
season that he wanted (female) twins. Rachel accepts
a job in Paris. The group holds a going-away party
for her and she says goodbye to each of them in
turn, except Ross. He is upset about this until
Rachel tells him it was too hard to say goodbye
to him. They then sleep together.
In the final episode, Ross realizes he still loves
Rachel and, after she leaves for Paris, goes after
her, driven by Phoebe on a ride with many obstacles
before he can get to Rachel. Meanwhile, Joey bought
Chandler a new chick and duck since the other two
had died (Joey doesn't know this; the gang told
him they were moved to a special farm) but they
get stuck in the foosball table (bought in an earlier
season after their proper table broke; unable to
decide upon a new one, they bought the foosball
table instead). They know they have to break it
open but neither of them have the heart to do it.
Finally, Monica destroys it and the chick and duck
are recovered. However, they decide to keep the
birds at Joey's since animals aren't the greatest
things to have around newborn babies. Ross finds
Rachel and tells her he is in love with her and
begs her not to go; however, she is overwhelmed
by this new information on top of everything else
and leaves. Ross was sure she would stay and is
crushed. When he gets back to his apartment, he
finds a message from Rachel on his answering machine,
telling him she does still love him and is trying
to get off the plane but not allowed to leave. Ross
listens intently as Rachel tries to explain to the
flight attendant that she needs to get off the plane
but the message ends before he can tell whether
or not she got off. Ross frantically runs to the
answering machine pressing buttons and screaming
"Did she get off the plane?" Suddenly
a voice from behind Ross says "I got off the
plane" and he turns to see Rachel at the door
of his apartment. They kiss and assure each other
that this is the real thing and they want to be
together.
The series finale ends with Chandler and Monica
moving out of their apartment with their new twins,
Mike and Phoebe deciding to have kids and Ross and
Rachel becoming a family with Emma. As they look
around their apartment one last time, Chandler and
Monica realize they need to leave their key on the
desk. One by one, each friend follows with his or
her own key to the apartment. Rachel then suggests
that they all go for one last cup of coffee before
Monica and Chandler move and Chandler responds with
the sarcastic last word of the show: "Where?"
[ RUNNING
GAGS ]
Friends had many running gags throughout the span
of the show. Some of the most famous include:
"The One With/Where..."
Almost every episode title starts with these three
words, hence the common abbreviation TOW in many
episode guides. This is a reference to the fact
that most U.S. sitcoms do not display the title
of their episodes, leaving fans to discuss only
the main plot points or significant events when
referring to specific episodes. The only exceptions
to this rule are the episodes "The One Without
the Ski Trip", "The One that Could Have
Been, Part 1", "The One that Could Have
Been, Part 2" "The One Hundredth",
"The Last One", "The Pilot"
(also commonly known as "The First One",
"The One Where Monica Gets a New Roommate"
or "The One Where It All Began") and some
begin "The One After..." like The One
After Vegas, "The One After Ross Says Rachel"
and "The One In Vegas". Subtitles on Friends
DVDs refer to "The Pilot" as "The
One Where it all Began", thus allowing it to
conform to the TOW trend.
Fat Monica
Monica, now slim, was obese as a child. She and
the other characters often refer to her "fat
past" and several flashbacks throughout the
series allow the audience to see how she looked
then.
Monica's personality quirks
In some of the episodes, Monica is shown as being
obsessive about cleanliness. (However, one episode
shows her to have a secret closet in her apartment
that is full of junk and that she will not allow
Chandler to "mess up".) She also enjoys
playing the part of the hostess at social gatherings,
and loves to be in charge of organizing things,
such as parties. Monica is also known to be aggressively
competitive. In "The One in Barbados, Part
2", Monica reminds Chandler that he agreed
to support her in sickness and health, and that
being competitive is her sickness. Chandler queries,
"What about the obsessive cleaning?" and
Monica replies, "That's just good sense."
"We were on a break!"
In several episodes, Ross and Rachel clash about
the way their first period of romantic involvement
ended; in the last of a series of misunderstandings
and quarrels, Rachel suggested "taking a break
from us." Though Rachel rapidly regretted her
words, Ross, in a bout of misery-induced drunkenness,
had already slept with another woman, but stubbornly
insisted he had done nothing wrong because he and
Rachel were "on a break". "We were
on a break!" thus became a catchphrase for
any desperately legalistic excuse that nobody but
the person using it believes.
The Chick and the Duck
In Season Three, Joey decides to take a chick
(which later grew up and became a rooster) as a
pet for him and Chandler. Soon afterwards, Chandler
adopts a duck which is due to be slaughtered. Their
names are simply The Chick and The Duck (in the
episode when they get the chick and the duck Chandler
refers to the chick as Little Yasmine, after Yasmine
Bleeth from Baywatch which he was watching at the
time, when Joey arrives home to find Chandler did
not return the chick to the store, but they never
call it that in future episodes). The girls often
express dislike of the pets, and even decide to
bet on whether they can make Chandler and Joey get
rid of them. However, this simply causes them to
lose their apartment instead. In the final episode,
a new chick and duck (Chick Jr. and Duck Jr.) are
introduced as a gift to Chandler from Joey. It is
revealed that Joey was told the original chick and
the duck were taken to a "special farm"
to spare his feelings. When pregnant Phoebe is asked
to keep an eye on the chick and duck when the rest
of the friends go to London for Ross's wedding,
her response reveals that they actually died. How
and when they died is not revealed, although it
is sometime after Season Seven, which is when they
are last seen.
"Gay" Chandler
All cast members have their sexual orientation
questioned at various points during the series,
however Chandler's are the most referenced. When
Chandler asks what makes him seem gay, the only
answer the others can think of is that he has a
"quality". Phoebe admits in one episode
that the first time she met Chandler she thought
he was gay, as is included in the song she designed
and played at Monica and Chandler's wedding. Some
of the lines went:
"The first time I met Chandler, I thought he
was gay, Now here I am, Singing on his wedding day!"
In another episode, it is revealed that Chandler
once kissed a man in a bar in Atlantic City. In
his defense, Chandler states: "It was dark,
and he was a very pretty guy." However, while
in London for Ross' wedding to second wife Emily,
Chandler and Monica end up in bed together after
a drunk man mistakes Monica for Ross' mother. While
this effectively ends their friendship, it is the
start of arguably the most stable and loving relationship
of the series. Chandler and Monica finally wed in
Season 7, with Chandler overcoming his cold feet
to say "I do". Though their marriage is
clearly happy, this does not mark the end of the
"gay" jokes, with Monica often remarking
on Chandler's gay qualities such as owning two copies
of the Annie soundtrack, or Chandler getting pedicures.
Gunther likes Rachel / hates Ross
When Gunther appears in an episode, it usually
involves his very obvious crush on Rachel, who remains
oblivious of his feelings throughout the show until
the series finale. For this reason he also hates
Ross and takes pleasure in Ross' downfalls, especially
when they involve his relationship with Rachel.
An example of this hatred is the fact that Gunther
is the one who told Rachel that Ross had cheated
on her, asking Ross, 'Was I not supposed to?' before
returning to his job without any apology. Another
example is when Ross is putting up flyers in the
coffee house putting his apartment up for sale,
and Gunther says, "You can't put those flyers
up in here" and Ross says, "But everybody
else can" and Gunther replies, "You can't".
As with Rachel, Ross seems oblivious of Gunther's
opinion of him.
Ross' tendency to marry and later divorce
Ross is married three times during the course
of the show; each of these marriages ends in divorce.
In one episode, he makes a promise to himself that
there'll be no divorces that year. The friends then
remind him that his most recent divorce hasn't come
through yet. He then changes his resolution to,
"Just the one divorce in '99!" Joey also
states, "Whenever I hear 'divorce' I immediately
go to Ross." Ross and Phoebe also chat in one
episode about Ross' would-be superhero name, and
come up with 'The Divorce Force' and 'Ross The Divorcer.'
Chandler jokes to Ross at one point that "If
you're not careful, you won't get married at all
this year!" While dating Monica, Chandler went
to Ross and Joey for romance advice. When Monica
found out they were the ones advising Chandler,
she replied "Who, two divorces and Joey??"
Phoebe's music
Phoebe is often a musician at Central Perk and
is known for her rather unusual, original songs,
especially "Smelly Cat", and has busked
thrice in the history of the show, once when she
was replaced at Central Perk and outside Monica's
restaurant, and also in a New York subway.
"Oh...my...God!"
Chandler's hard-to-get-rid-of girlfriend Janice's
catchphrase "Oh...my...God!" is used as
her introductory line in her guest appearances.
Her lines also include, 'Chandler BING!' and hitting
Chandler, at which he almost definitely winces.
She is known for her annoying, piercing idiosyncratic
laugh, that "makes Chandler's balls jump back
up inside his body".
Chandler's humor
Chandler often makes sarcastic, snide remarks,
typically in response to the actions of his friends.
A psychoanalyst tells him that he probably "started
using humor as a defense mechanism when [his] parents
divorced". Chandler occasionally uses these
exact words to justify his behavior.
Chandler is also known for saying phrases in the
form of "Could noun(s) be any more adjective?"
His friends often imitate him using this phrase.
For example, in the episode "The One Where
No One's Ready", Joey dresses up in all the
clothes that Chandler owns, and remarks, "Look
at me, I'm Chandler, could I be wearing any more
clothes?" This phrasing is known to have been
a significant influence upon popular culture (see
below).
"How you doin'?"
This is Joey's pick-up line. It has an identical
effect on the majority of women he uses it on: they
giggle uncontrollably and instantly warm to him.
It is known to have only failed on one woman, when
Joey tried it in Season Six on his then room-mate
Janine Lecroix (Elle Macpherson). When Rachel has
a crush on assistant Tag Jones, she sees him flirting
with other colleagues. She then employs Joey to
take him out and introduce him to other women. However,
when he comes in the next day, and uses Joey's "How
you doing?" on the nearest girl, Rachel is
not impressed. When Joey meets Rachel's sister Jill,
he says "How you doin'?", but Rachel stops
him by yelling "DON'T!!".
No one knows Chandler's job
Though it is established throughout the first
eight seasons that Chandler's job involves "statistical
analysis" and "data re-configuration,"
none of the rest of the cast can ever remember exactly
what his job title or function is. Chandler is continually
frustrated that the people closest to him can't
even remember what he does for a living; when he
talks about his job to his friends, their typical
reply is a surprised, "You know how to do that?"
He eventually leaves this never-named job for a
position at an advertising company.
This lack of knowledge actually changes the show's
major setting in Season 4. In "The One With
The Embryos", after Chandler and Joey successfully
guess everything Rachel has just bought at the grocery
store, Monica and Rachel challenge them to a competition
to determine who knows who better. Ross designs
the competition and referees it as a quiz-show-style
game. Monica's competitiveness gets the better of
her, however, and a series of escalating wagers
between the teams ends with this bet: If Monica
and Rachel win, Chandler and Joey will have to get
rid of their pet birds -- but if the guys win, they
get the girls' apartment. The final question, which
stumps Monica and Rachel and forces them to forfeit
their apartment, is of course: "What is Chandler
Bing's job?" to which Rachel answers, "He's
a...transponster!" and Monica yells, "That's
not even a word!"
Ironically, Monica learnt the name of his job
after Chandler quit.
Cliched conversations
The group occasionally acts out certain situations
using cliched dialogue normally attributed to a
different situation. For example, in The One with
the Breast Milk, Monica confesses to Rachel that
she'd been shopping with Julie, it is played as
if she was her partner confessing to an affair.
Monica uses lines like "We only did it once,
It didn't mean anything to me", "I was
thinking of you the whole time" and "one
thing led to another and, before I knew it, we were...shopping".
This also happens when Phoebe reacquaints with her
gay ice capades husband, who proceeds to tell her
that he's actually not gay.
Phoebe's dead mother
Phoebe often uses her mother's suicide as a sympathy
vote. In one episode, upon forgetting to invite
Rachel's mother to her baby shower, Phoebe's defense
is that her mother killed herself, so she often
forgets other people's mothers. In another episode
where Ross cannot believe that Phoebe has never
had saltwater taffy, Phoebe says that "my mother
was too busy planning her suicide to provide saltwater
treats!"
In some episodes, Phoebe uses the excuse of her
dead mother to get what she wants. For example,
in one episode a man leaves his cell phone on the
table, causing Rachel and Phoebe to argue over who
gets it. During the argument Phoebe says, "Yeah,
well my mother killed herself!" She then goes
on to say, "Oh, have I used that already today?
Oh, I'm sorry."
Phoebe's pseudonym
Phoebe sometimes adopts the alias Regina Phalange.
Towards the last few episodes of the show, Courteney
Cox is pregnant in real life and can't have her
stomach shown on the show. This is why she seems
to have an unusual-for-Monica choice of wardrobe
during these last few episodes.
[
CULTURAL IMPACT ]
Friends has made a notable contribution to some
areas of popular culture - in particular, language
and fashion. The use of "so" to mean "very"
or "really" was not invented by any Friends
writer, but it is arguable that the extensive use
of the phrase in the series encouraged its use in
everyday life. Also commonly said by the characters,
particularly Monica, was the loud "I know!"
The series has also been noted for its impact on
everyday fashion and hairstyles. Jennifer Aniston's
hairstyle was nicknamed "The Rachel" and
copied around the world. Joey Tribbiani's catchphrase
"How you doin'?" has become a popular
part of American slang, often used as a pick-up
line or when greeting friends. The show also popularized
the idea of the laminated list of celebrities that
a person's sexual partner will permit them to sleep
with.
The phrase "Ross and Rachel" is used
to describe an on/off relationship with a 'history',
or in a situation like "Are you on a real break,
or a Ross and Rachel break?" This is played
as a joke in Scrubs: the janitor describes J.D.'s
relationship with Elliot as "not exactly Ross
and Rachel". After a pause, they are revealed
to be two other employees in the hospital, "Dr.
Ross and Rachel from book-keeping".
In the TV show "What I Like About You",
the character Lauren talks about how there will
be pictures of famous couples at all the tables
at Val's wedding reception, such as Cleopatra &
Marc Antony, Romeo & Juliet, and Ross &
Rachel at the head table.
[ AWARDS
AND NOMINATIONS ]
Emmy Awards
2003 - Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
- Christina Applegate
2002 - Outstanding Comedy Series (nominated 1995,
1996, 1999, 2000, 2003)
2002 - Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
- Jennifer Aniston
2000 - Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
- Bruce Willis
1998 - Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy
Series - Lisa Kudrow
1996 - Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
- Michael Lembeck (for "The One After the Superbowl")
Golden Globe Awards
2003 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Television
Series, Musical or Comedy - Jennifer Aniston
Best TV-Series - Comedy/Musical - (nominated 1996,
1997, 1998, 2002, 2003)
People's Choice Awards
2004 - Favorite Television Comedy Series
2004 - Favorite Female Television Performer - Jennifer
Aniston
2003 - Favorite Television Comedy Series
2003 - Favorite Female Television Performer - Jennifer
Aniston
2002 - Favorite Television Comedy Series
2002 - Favorite Female Television Performer - Jennifer
Aniston
2001 - Favorite Television Comedy Series
2001 - Favorite Female Television Performer - Jennifer
Aniston
2000 - Favorite Television Comedy Series
2000 - Favorite Female Television Performer - Jennifer
Aniston
1999 - Favorite Television Comedy Series
1995 - Favorite New Television Comedy
Screen Actors Guild Awards
2000 - Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor
in a Comedy Series - Lisa Kudrow
1996 - Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in
a Comedy Series (nominated 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002,
2003, 2004)
