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The program was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television for NBC in the US, and was first broadcasted on that network. It was followed by a host of other broadcast networks in numerous countries throughout the globe. In the US, the first episode was aired on September 22, 1994, and the last on May 6, 2004. OverviewThe show focused on the lives of a group of six friends: spoiled "daddy's girl" Rachel Green, learning to make it on her own; compulsively clean chef Monica Geller; wise-cracking, perennially unlucky-in-love, underconfident office drone Chandler Bing; oversexed, uneducated actor Joey Tribbiani; paleontologist nerd Ross Geller who goes through three failed marriages; and quirky, positive masseuse and aspiring folk singer-songwriter Phoebe Buffay.
After moving to the city, Rachel got her first job as a waitress in the coffee shop. She later became an assistant and personal shopper at Bloomingdale's, and later a buyer for Ralph Lauren. Monica struggled for success the first several seasons, but eventually became head chef at a well-respected restaurant. Chandler worked his way up in data processing and eventually switched to a career in advertising (by the last few seasons) after a mid-life crisis. After on-and-off success as a soap opera actor, Joey's career eventually stabilized with a regular part on a soap opera from which he had been fired earlier in the series' run. Palaeontologist Ross eventually became a college professor. Phoebe made a living as a singer-songwriter and a masseuse.
The show uses non-stop exaggerated, deadpan humor. Some jokes are related to sexual activity, politics and innuendo, sometimes non-sequiturs. The show also occasionally developed on serious angles such as relationship breakups. Situational humor, ironic humor, and irony were also frequently used. The show has provided an opportunity for consistent work by actors who were more active in the past. Elliott Gould played Monica's and Ross' father. Marlo Thomas (the star of That Girl) played Rachel's mother. The show's theme song, "I'll Be There For You" by The Rembrandts, became a major hit after a Tennessee disc jockey looped it into a full length track and played it on the radio. The band's record label required them to write additional material and re-record the track as a full-length song, which peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at #17. The popularity of the show was such that, by the end of the series, the six main cast members were each paid US$ 1,000,000 per episode."$1m Christmas bonus for Friends" BBC News. 11 November 1998 Advertisements during the series finale, which attracted an audience of over 52 million viewers, cost $2,000,000 for a 30-second spot in the United States and CAD$190,000 in Canada. Due to the tremendous popularity of the show during its initial run, rumours of a reunion special or movie persisted well after the final episode had aired, with some even stating a deal for a special had been reached. "Friends may return with special episodes" RTÉ Guide, January 23, 2006. URL accessed May 16, 2006 These rumours, however, have been continually denied by NBC and the six cast members. "NBC says forget `Friends` reunion rumors" Monsters and Critics, January 24, 2006. URL accessed May 16, 2006. Jennifer Aniston, seen as the least likely to reprise her role among the main cast due to her movie career, hinted in 2006 at the possibility of a Thanksgiving special. "Aniston: 'Friends' Reunion Sounds Good" CBS News, July 17, 2006. URL accessed July 26, 2006 As of July 2006, however, no reunion appears likely in the near future. Cast membersPrimary charactersSecondary characters
Running gags
; The One... (episode titles): Almost every episode name starts with these two words. This is in reference to the fact that most sitcoms do not display the title of their episodes, so fans must discuss the main plot points with each other when referring to specific episodes. The only exception to this rule is the episode entitled 'The Last One'.Fat Monica: Monica, now slim and attractive, was obese as a child. She and the other characters would often refer to her "fat past" and several flashbacks throughout the series allowed us to see just how she looked then.Monica's personality quirks:In some of the episodes, Monica is shown as a clean freak as well as person who loves to be in charge of organizing things such as parties. She is also known to be overly competitive.Chick and the duck:In season three Joey decided to take a chick (later grew up and became a rooster) and a duck as pets for him and Chandler. The girls often disagreed with this and they even decided to bet and make Chandler and Joey get rid of their pets in case they win. However this simply caused them to lose their appartment instead.Gay Chandler: Chandler was often painted with the possibility of being gay, despite his determination to prove himself as the heterosexual he actually was.Gunther likes Rachel: When Gunther appeared in an episode, it usually involved his anything-but-secret crush on Rachel, who remains oblivious to his feelings throughout the show until the series finale.Ross' tendency to divorce: Ross is married a total of three times throughout the course of the show, and each of these marriages end in divorce.Phoebe's music: Phoebe was often a busking musician at Central Perk and was known for her rather unusual, original songs, especially "Smelly Cat"."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. She is also known for her annoying, idiosyncratic laugh.Chandler's humor: Chandler would often drop sarcastic, snide remarks, typically in response to the actions of his friends. He is also known for saying phrases matching the form of "Could [object(s)] be any more [description]?" In addition to many other jokes in the show, this phrase in particular 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.We were on a break!: When Rachel and Ross broke-up temporarily, and Ross slept with another woman, there was a constant argument between the two about their subsequent breakup being of good cause. This was a common running gag in the series."Ka-rah-tay": Ross' pronunciation of "karate" was always humoured at by the rest of the gang, naturally more by Chandler. This was more emphasised in Series 6. His pronunciation is rather camp, with Ross pronouncing it "ka-rah-tay," as opposed to the more conventional "ka-ra-tee" or "ka-rah-tee.""I know!": Monica's On again - off again catchphrase. Cultural legacy
The phrase "Ross and Rachel" is used to describe a 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 on as a joke in Scrubs: The Janitor describes J.D.'s relationship with Elliot as "you're not exactly Ross and Rachel", which turns out to refer to two other employees in the hospital. SpinoffsJoey premiered September 9, 2004 on NBC. It centered on the Friends character Joey Tribbiani, still played by LeBlanc, who moved to Los Angeles to advance his career as an actor. Past Friends cast members were expected to have cameo appearances on the show from time to time, but none ever did.Although Joey debuted to strong ratings, its numbers steadily decreased. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Joey co-star Andrea Anders quit the show in early 2006 to work on a new CBS comedy. The show was confirmed as cancelled on 16th May 2006. "Friends TV spin-off Joey scrapped" BBC News, May 16, 2006. URL accessed May 16, 2006 Season synopsesSeason 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 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. 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. 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 after Chandler finally gets rid of the psychotic Eddie. Phoebe finds she has a half brother named Frank and they start building a relationship. Monica dates Richard Burke, an ophthalmologist and a friend of her parents who is almost twice as old as her, 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 for a job at Bloomingdale's. Ross becomes convinced her new co-worker, Mark, 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 (the hot xerox girl). 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 she starts to date a customer named Pete without realizing that he is a millionaire. 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 begins to wrestle in a fighting competion (Ultimate Fighting Champion) and gets severely injured in every fight but 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 he and Joey buy a chick and a duck as pets. 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 to the beach. 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. After Phoebe learns the older Phoebe is her real mother, she tells her twin sister, Ursula, who knew all along. Phoebe agrees to be a surrogate mother for her half-brother Frank and his wife Alice. Luckily, after having fertility treatments and a nice talk with Frank and Alice's embryos in a petri dish she becomes pregnant . . . with triplets!Joey begins dating 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 him, 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 was referred to as 'Ross's mum', and the fact that she wasn't married. Chandler comforts her and they 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 take thee, Rachel" instead of "I take thee, Emily". Season Five (1998-1999)Ross and Emily's wedding continues despite Ross's faux pas and they are married, but she disappears 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.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 at different parts of the season. 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 due to anger issues and they were finally considering having him come back but this new discovery didn't help matters) and is furious, but once he finds out they arent 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, but 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 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 planning to get married too. 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 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. 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 permanent (but short-lived) role as the main star of Mac and Cheese. 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, so Rachel lives with Joey instead. Bruce Willis makes a three episode cameo appearance as Elizabeth's father and Rachel's boyfriend. Reese Witherspoon also makes a two episode cameo appearance as Rachel's younger sister Jill, who dates Ross. 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 is 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 didnt 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. They later break up when Rachel turns 30.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 Cheese 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 slept with throughout the episode, after she falls off a horse into an electric fence, his 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)In this season the clips of New York's World Trade Center were removed because of the terrorist attacks. 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 that it's his. 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, Rachel goes into labor, and while in the hospital, Ross's 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 realise 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, OK. 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 Hanigan (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 Hanigan 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 begins to develop feelings for Joey.The group goes to Barbados. Phoebe takes her new boyfriend David (Hank Azaria), whom she first met in Season One and has been in love with off and on throughout the show, and Joey takes his girlfriend Charlie. 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)
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 a 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. They decide to keep the birds at Joey's. 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 episode 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 last word of the show: "Where?" After the show ended, Joey moved to Los Angeles in the spin-off show, "Joey". It's ironic that Joey was the one to move since he was always the most upset by the thought of the group growing apart. No one knows what happened to the chick and duck. RatingsThe 66-minute series finale was named by Entertainment Tonight as the biggest US TV moment of the year 2004, and was the second highest rated show in 2004 beaten only by the Super Bowl. However, it did not surpass the ratings received by series finales for M*A*S*H (106m), Cheers (80.4m) or Seinfeld (76.3m), nor was it the most watched episode of Friends â€"that accolade remains with the season two episode The One After the Superbowl, which aired on January 28, 1996 and drew 52.9m viewers. During the 2001â€"2002 season, Friends was the highest rated show in the United States.AwardsEmmy Awards*2003 - Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series - Christina Applegate *2002 - Outstanding Comedy Series *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 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 Errors and inconsistencies* In "The One Where It All Began", Monica introduces Rachel to Chandler, yet we later find out that Rachel and Chandler had met in her senior year of High School.*In "The One With the Sonogram at the End" Carol is played by Anita Barone but in all other episodes including Carol she is played by Jane Sibbett. * In the episode "The One With the Bullies" Phoebe goes to see her Dad, but is attacked by a dog. At the part when the dog is half way through the window you can see the top of the dog controller's head in the window behind Joey. * In the episode "The One Where Estelle Dies" Ross's hairstyle is different from where the episode left off. * In the episode "The One Where Everybody Finds Out", just before Phoebe and Chandler kiss, Phoebe says, "Our first kiss." This ignores a previous episode, "The One With All the Kissing", when Chandler gives Monica a passionate kiss, not fully comprehending that Rachel and Phoebe are also in the room. To cover, he gives Rachel and Phoebe similar kisses, to their amazement. But this is their first consenting kiss together as Phoebe did not know that first kiss was coming. *In "The One With Phoebe's Dad" Phoebe states that her father left her and her mother and sister before she was born, but in "The One With Joey's Bag" Phoebe's dad, Frank, tells how he was a terrible father and sang a lullaby, "Sleepy Girl", that he wrote himself to her and Ursula ("Sleepy Girl" is sung to the same tune as "Smelly Cat"). That would imply that he left after Phoebe and Ursula were born. This could of course mean that Phoebe's mother lied to her after Frank left to make it easier on her daughters. *In the first episode of Friends, Rachel said Barry's last name was Finkle, but later on, Barry's last name became Farber. In "The One With the Flashback" Barry's last name is said to be Barber by one of Rachel's friends. *In "The One Where Chandler Doesn't Like Dogs", Chandler is criticised by his friends for not liking dogs. However, in a previous episode, "The One With Joey's Porsche". Phoebe asks Monica and Chandler if they would mind watching "three incredibly cute little puppies" and Chandler agrees. In the episode where he doesn't like dogs, he refuses to even be in the same room as a dog that Phoebe is watching for her friend. *In Season 9, "The One With Ross's Inappropriate Song", when Joey pulls Monica down to avoid seeing the sex tape, it can be seen that Monica is wearing knee pads. *In Season 9, Phoebe says to Mike that she has never lived with another guy, but in Season 5 she moved in briefly with Gary. She also states when she met Phoebe Sr in series finale of season 3 that she lived in a gremlin with a man named Cindy. *In the episode "The One With the Kips" Monica says that she and Chandler had their first fight. This is ignoring the two previous fights Monica and Chandler had in the episodes "The One With the Triplets" and "The One Where Phoebe Hates PBS". *In Season 3, "The One With the Flashback" Rachel and Chandler clearly act as if they've never met when they meet each other at the bar (later turned into the coffee house) - this is set a year before the beginning of the show. Later on in episodes such as "The One With All the Thanksgivings" and "The One Where the Stripper Cries" it shows that Rachel and Chandler were introduced to each other during their high school/college days, and they even kissed at a college party. This is also true in "The Pilot" when Monica introduces Chandler as a new friend whilst saying "and you remember my brother Ross." She would also remember Chandler. Although, the pilot can be considered non-canon to some degree, since there are many things within it that changed later on. Jasmine, Phoebe's friend at the massage place, worked at Central Perk in the first episode. Other things like Barry's last name were changed (as stated above). *In the first six episodes of Season 1, Chandler and Joey's apartment number was 4, and Monica and Rachel's was 5. Shortly after production began, it was decided that the apartment building where much of the show takes place was too big to have upper apartments with numbers as low as 4 and 5, so the numbers were changed to 19 and 20, respectively. *When Joey is writing out the hospital-form for Ross's broken hand in Season 9, he says that his birthday is October 18th, but in previous episodes he once told Rachel; "Mine is December...?" and once that it is in May. *Ross remains the same age (29) for three years. In Season 3, he tells Chandler "No thanks, I'm 29" when offered chocolate milk, in Season 4 when the guys try to party without Gandalf they all say they're 29, and in Season 5 when he's trying to reconcile with Emily he says either he does or he would get divorced for the second time before age 30. * The show is set in New York City. Joey was a cast member on Days of Our Lives, which is filmed in Los Angeles, but is still always around. * In Season 2 when Monica, Rachel and Phoebe are into Be-Your-Own-Goddess, Rachel points out that Phoebe once betrayed a "windkeeper" (woman) for a "lightning bearer" (man) by sleeping with Jason Hurley an hour after he and Monica broke up. Monica gets really surprised and angry at Phoebe, even though Phoebe in fact once in Season 1 (in the episode "The One With George Stephanopoulos"), told Monica and Rachel that she did sleep with Jason Hurley, and that it happened an hour after he and Monica broke up. * In a later season, Chandler says to Monica that he is jealous of Richard Burke (Monica's boyfriend) because he cannot grow a moustache. However, in Season 2, when Chandler and Joey want to be exactly like Richard, Joey has a cigar, and Chandler grows a mustache. He also grew a goatie towards the end of season 3, although he shaved it off before the events of the final episode of season 3. *In The One with Frank Jr, in Series 3, Frank Jr asks Phoebe when her birthday is. She replies 'February 16th.' However in Series 9 in 'The One with Phoebe's birthday dinner', Phoebe's birthday is clearly being held at the end of October as Phoebe tells the gang that she couldn't make a reservation for her actual birthday, so she booked it for Thursday which is Halloween- clearly an inconsistency. *In The One where Nana Dies Twice, Joey says that he didn't think Chandler was gay the first time they met, however, in The One With The Flashback, we can see that when they met, Joey says "Hey, I'm ok with the gay thing", by the time Chandler was showing Joey his apartment for the first time. *Rachel's age in the show is probably the most inconsistent in the show. When she started the show, she was 23. However by series 3, she was 28 as Chandler states, 'Yes it would be much worse to be 28 and still working here (referring to the coffee house). In Series 4 she says she is 28 (in the episode "The One with the Fake Party," she tells Ross to enjoy what time he has left with Emily, and that he is wasting his time "...stuck in a hallway with a 28-year-old cheerleader with a fat lip.") Her sudden jump of 5 years within 3yrs suddenly slows down between Series 4 and 7 as she does not reach 29 until the end of Series 5, when the gang throw her a surprise party. Her 30th birthday is not celebrated until mid Series 7 in 'The One Where They All Turn 30.' At this point of the show, her age is correct as it is 7 years since the start and so it adds up. It is her inconsistent age at the start which is the main error. *In the last episode in Series 3, Chandler's hair is far shorter than it is in the start of Series 4. Both episodes are supposed to be in the same time period. *Ross is often referred to by his parents as the "miracle" child; Judy was supposed to be unable to have kids, but then had Ross, proving them wrong. They use this as their excuse for favoring him over Monica. However, in one episode, Jack and Judy say they got married because Judy got pregnant with Ross out of wedlock. *In Season 9, in The One Where Emma Cries; Ross uses "quotation fingers" to Joey in Central Perk. Joey claims that he does not understand the usage of quotation fingers, and incorrectly uses them during the corse of the episode. However, In Season 8, in The One with the Secret Closet; Joey asks Chandler if he had a hairpin to pick the lock to the closet. Chandler tells Joey, that "he's not a nine year old girl" and tells Joey that Monica might have one. When Chandler walks off camera, Joey says: Yeah, sure. "Monica." and uses quotation fingers. * In the season 6 episode The One With The Routine, Rachel is trying to find the presents that Monica bought for her, Phoebe, and Chandler for Christmas, and she looks in a closet. However, in a season 8 episode (The One With The Secret Closet) it is revealed that no one has ever seen nor knows what is in that closet. Trivia*Alternate titles considered by the show's producers for the series include "Six of One", "Across The Hall", "Insomnia Café", and "Friends Like Us".*In the sixth season premiere, The One After Vegas, to comemmorate Courteney Cox's marriage to David Arquette, the entire cast is credited as Arquette (i.e. Aniston Arquette, Schwimmer Arquette, LeBlanc Arquette). *The episode title format ("The One With/Where/etc ...") was created when the producers realized that the episode titles would not be featured in the opening credits and therefore would be unknown to most of the audience. They believed that sitcom audiences generally refer to specific episodes of a show by the most memorable event of the episode (e.g. "Did you see the one where the monkey gets away?") and decided to name their episodes in that format. *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 shows 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. *James Michael Tyler's character, Gunther, came into the series by accident. He was an extra throughout the first season, and when given a line in season two, the directors were impressed enough to create a full-time part for him. He was hired because he was the only extra on the set of the pilot who knew how to operate an espresso machine. *Central Perk, the coffee shop in the series, is based on Cholmondley's (pronounced Chumley's), a coffee shop/lounge in Usen Castle at Brandeis University, the alma mater of the show's creators. *The sign for Central Perk, the coffee shop in the series reads correctly from both the outside, and inside of the shop. *Although it seems that most of the action of the series took place in Greenwich Village in Manhattan, New York City, the series was filmed in California. The exterior shot of the Friends' apartment building is located at Grove and Bedford streets in the Village. No scenes featuring cast members were filmed in New York; even the show's opening is shot around a fountain in California. Ross is the only one with a remunerative position: a paleontologist. The others have spotty careers, until Monica becomes established with her career as a sous chef or catering chef. Yet, they have stunning apartments in the hotly sought-after real estate location of Greenwich Village. The show never accounts for how marginally employed Joey can afford an apartment in Greenwich Village. It is further incredulous how classically insecure Chandler can suddenly land a professional-managerial position. Rent control can only account for how Joey, an occasional actor, can afford a spot in primo Greenwich Village. *Cox was originally approached for the role of Rachel, but convinced the producers that her personality was more suited for the character of Monica, which is the role producers first pitched to Jennifer Aniston. *Behind the scenes, the show was known for its unusually cohesive and unified cast. The six main actors made deliberate and conscious 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 (mostly "Supporting Actor") 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. *David Schwimmer directed several episodes. *Janice (Maggie Wheeler), Chandler's ex-girlfriend, has appeared at least once in each season (although in season six she did not appear herself; she did only voice acting). *Many middle names for the characters have been revealed: Rachel's is Karen, Ross' is Eustace, Joey's is Francis, Chandler's is Muriel, Monica's has been revealed to begin with the letter E, Phoebe doesn't know hers - it was on her birth certificate which her twin sister sold to a Swedish runaway. *Every character had lived in both Monica's apartment (Ross only mentioned to have lived there in the finale, where it is revealed he attempted to make it as a dancer, which was mentioned in an earlier season) and Joey's apartment. *There have been 7 'Friends children' born each with their name chosen as a result of a significant moment or person: *#Ben Geller - The name 'Ben' was on a pair of overalls in the janitor's closet in the hospital and was noticed when Ross, Susan and Phoebe were locked in it during Ben's birth *#Lesley Buffay - As Lesley was one of the triplets Phoebe carried for her brother Frank Jr. and wife Alice, each got to choose a name this was Alice's choice *#Frank Jr. Jr. Buffay - This was Frank Jr. name choice, in wanting to continue the family name *#Chandler Buffay - Phoebe chose this after tossing up between Chandler and Joey, originally it was chosen when the third triplet was thought to be a boy, however it turned out to be a girl but Frank and Alice decided to stay with Chandler *#Emma Geller-Green - Emma was one of Monica's chosen names for her own children but after Ross and Rachel could not decide on a name, Monica offered Emma to them *#Jack Bing - Jack was named after Monica's father *#Erica Bing - Erica is name of the twins biological mother Trivia gameA few trivia games have been released over the years, as well as a trivia book. The trivia book spans Seasons 1-8. There have been two versions of a board game released, one being a cardboard box version with fewer questions and the other a die cast collector editon with more questions. Recently, a "Scene It" version of Friends was released with actual show clips, trivia questions and other puzzles on screen. The trivia includes questions from all ten seasons. A new PS2, PC and Xbox game called "Friends: The One with All the Trivia" was released simultaneously with the Season 10 DVD box set. It includes the voices of characters Janice, Gunther and Jack & Judy Geller as hosts.References in other television series* In an episode of King of the Hill, when Connie tries to get away from her family, she goes to her room and turns on the TV; you can hear the Friends theme song in the background when she turns on the TV.* In an episode of Futurama, Lrr and his wife are watching Friends. We know this because while watching he says, "This is by far the most absurd of Earth's shows. Why doesn't Ross, the largest friend, not simply eat the other five?" To which his wife replies, "Perhaps, they're saving that for sweeps.". They are also seen watching in a later episode with Lrr deciding to stop watching saying "This is a Joey-heavy episode anyway." * In a later episode of Roseanne, the family is sitting around the living room watching The Facts of Life, bored and not talking to each other, prompting Dan Conner to remark "Just think, this was the Friends of the early '90s." * In an episode of Half & Half, Mona remarks "Friends don't do friends, except on Friends" * In one episode of Ellen, which was launched in mid-season the previous year to Friends, the title character tells somebody that she owns a bookstore with a coffee shop. The response "Very cool, very Friends" prompts her to complain, "Yeah, but we were here first!" * In The Simpsons episode "Bart vs. Lisa vs. The Third Grade," Bart watches the Japanese version of Friends, while in another episode, Homer, searching for a job, attempts to become Rachel's Irish cousin Seamus, with the line, "So yer all doin' each other are ya? Well who's gonna put out for old Seamus," only to be disappointed to learn that Friends has now been cancelled. * In one episode of South Park, Shelly (Stan's sister), while babysitting Cartman, is shown watching Friends; you can hear the theme song in the background. In another episode of South Park, Eric Cartman loses his "Funny Fuse," and Mr. Mackey, the school counselor, tells him not to worry because he can be a writer for Friends. * Episode 93 of Animaniacs parodied of Friends called "Acquaintances", right down to the theme song (We Won't Ever Leave). Some of the Friends cast reprised their role in the short. * In one episode of Married... with Children, Kelly walked into the room while Al was watching Friends, asking why he is watching, knowing that he dosn't like Friends (he declared in a previous episode 'Don't have friends, sure as hell don't wanna watch them!). Al replied saying that if you mute the volume and watch with binoculars, you can see that Jennifer Aniston is not wearing a bra. * In one episode of Family Guy where the movie Poltergeist is parodied, Stewie Griffin talks to the TV, obviously talking about the season finale of Friends and the situation between Ross and Rachel. He also talks about the Friends spinoff Joey. In another episode of Family Guy, "Death" arrives late to Quagmire's fake funeral, claiming he was at NBC sitting in on talks about the cancellation of Joey. * Second-season promotions for the show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia parody the Friends fountain dance, with members of the cast assaulting one another. * In the UK Saturday morning children's program, SMTV, the hosts filmed sketches of a sitcom called Chums, which is a parody of the show. The opening credits show the hosts playing in the fountain, which is also the opening of Friends. * In one episode of The Nanny, Maggie, after being caught smoking by her father and Fran, turns down a cigarette from her boyfriend, saying that she wants to "Live long enough to see if Ross and Rachel get together". * In an episode of Scrubs, the Janitor says to J.D. (talking about him and Elliot), "It's not like you're Ross and Rachel." JD doesn't understand whom he is talking about, and the janitor points to another doctor, who is talking to a nurse. "You know, Dr. Ross and Rachel from book-keeping." * On a spring 2004 episode of Will & Grace, Jack McFarland and Karen Walker lament the fact that Friends was ending that season, as were Frasier and Sex and the City. * An episode of Duel Masters is entitled "The One Where Shobu Duels Hakuoh," which is a supposed parody on the Friends episode titles. * The first two episodes of season two of Arrested Development are entitled "The One Where Michael Leaves" and "The One Where They Build a House." These episodes, which aired in fall 2004, are parodies of the Friends episodes titles. *On the ABC show Whose Line Is It Anyway?, which aired against Friends (on NBC), the comedians made recurring sour remarks about the show, since Friends was more popular. *On an episode of "S Club 7 in Miami", while the british group was trying to prove they were american, group member Paul says to the rest "Ok guys, you all have seen Friends, group hug!" which is funny to note that the show was somewhat a sitcom and the group was also formed by guys and girls, except that these were seven, not six. IN an episode of Hope and Faith, while Faith is talking about burning down the studio she used to work at, she says, "well, let's just say there isn't going to be another season of friends." Syndication*UK - Channel4/E4*US - TBS and many other local TV stations around the USA, coming to Nick at Nite in 2011. *Australia - Arena TV includes Friends in its daily schedule, as well the occasional 'Friends Marathon' *Ireland - RTÉ Two (also Channel 4 and E4 from UK) *New Zealand - Currently in Syndication on TV2, 7 nights a week at 6.30pm ReferencesExternal links* Official Friends site * Friends at TV.com * Friends at IMDb.com * Negative 1994 NBC research report about the pilot *
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