Friends

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Friends can also refer to Quakers or, more esoterically, a brand name of a spring loaded camming device.

Friends

Format	Sitcom
Run time	approx. 0:22 (per episode)
Creator	David Crane and Marta Kauffman
Starring	Jennifer Aniston Courteney Cox (Arquette) Lisa Kudrow Matt LeBlanc Matthew Perry David Schwimmer
Country	USA
Network	NBC
Original run	September 22, 1994 "“ May 6, 2004
No. of episodes	236

Friends was a long-running American television situation comedy centered on lives of a group of six twenty-somethings (eventually thirty-somethings) consisting of three men and three women living in Manhattan. The program was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television for NBC in the US, first broadcast on that network and followed by other broadcast networks in numerous countries throughout the world. In the US, its first episode was aired on September 22, 1994, the last on May 6, 2004.

Overview

The cornerstone of NBC's Thursday evening Must-See TV strand during the late 90s and early 2000s, Friends became the most successful sitcom of all time in monetary terms. By the end of the series the six main cast members were each paid $1,000,000 per episode. 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. The last episode was released on DVD 5 days after its broadcast.

The show focused on the lives of a group of six friends: spoiled Daddy's girl Rachel Green; compulsively clean chef Monica Geller; wise-cracking, perennially unlucky-in-love, underconfident office drone Chandler Bing; oversexed, clueless actor Joey Tribbiani; divorced paleontologist nerd Ross Geller; and scatterbrained hippie, masseuse, and aspiring folk singer/songwriter Phoebe Buffay. As the pilot begins, Rachel leaves her fiancé Barry at the altar and moves in with her childhood best friend, Monica. The pair lives across the hall from Chandler and Joey. They hang out with Monica's brother, Ross "“ who recently divorced his lesbian wife "“ and Phoebe, the "free spirit" of the bunch and Monica's old roommate. The settings for the show include Monica's apartment, Chandler and Joey's apartment and the coffee shop downstairs, "Central Perk".

After cutting herself off from her father's money, Rachel got her first job as a waitress in the coffee shop and later becomes a personal shopper at Bloomingdale's, then a buyer for Ralph Lauren. Monica struggled for the first several seasons for success, and later became head chef at a well-respected restaurant. Chandler eventually switched to a career in advertising by the last few seasons. 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 was intitially fired earlier in the series' run. Paleontologist Ross eventually becomes a college professor. Phoebe ekes out a living as a singer-songwriter and a masseuse.

A constant story line throughout the series was the on-again/off-again romance between Ross and Rachel, and later in the series, the developing relationship between Chandler and Monica.

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 chart at #17.

Cast members

Chandler and Monica share a kiss (episode: The One After Ross Says Rachel)

Main characters

• Rachel Karen Green "“ Jennifer Aniston
• Monica E. Geller-Bing "“ Courteney Cox Arquette
• Phoebe Buffay-Hanigan "“ Lisa Kudrow
• Joseph Francis Tribbiani "“ Matt LeBlanc
• Chandler Muriel Bing "“ Matthew Perry
• Dr. Ross Geller "“ David Schwimmer

Recurring characters

See also: List of significant others of Friends

Relations

• Jack Geller (Ross & Monica's father) "“ Elliott Gould
• Judy Geller (Ross & Monica's mother) "“ Christina Pickles
• Frank Buffay Sr. (Phoebe's father) "“ Bob Balaban
• Lily Buffay (Phoebe's adopted mother) "“ Never Appeared
• Phoebe Abbott (Phoebe's biological mother)"“ Teri Garr
• Frank Buffay Jr. (Phoebe's half-brother) "“ Giovanni Ribisi
• Ursula Buffay (Phoebe's twin sister) "“ Lisa Kudrow
• Dr. Leonard Green (Rachel's father) "“ Ron Leibman
• Sandra Green (Rachel's mother) "“ Marlo Thomas
• Jill Green (Rachel's sister) "“ Reese Witherspoon
• Amy Green (Rachel's sister) "“ Christina Applegate
• Charles Bing (a.k.a. Helena Handbasket) (Chandler's cross-dressing father) "“ Kathleen Turner
• Nora Tyler Bing (Chandler's mother) "“ Morgan Fairchild
• Joseph Tribbiani Sr. (Joey's father) "“ Robert Costanzo
• Gloria Tribbiani (Joey's mother) "“ Brenda Vaccaro
• Dina Tribbiani (Joey's sister) "“ Marla Sokoloff

Other

• Gunther (works at Central Perk) "“ James Michael Tyler
• Janice (dated Chandler on many occasions) "“ Maggie Wheeler
• Estelle Leonard (Joey's agent) "“ June Gable
• Carol Willick (Ross's ex-wife) "“ Jane Sibbett (played by Anita Barone in episode #2)
• Susan Bunch (Carol Willick's lesbian partner) "“ Jessica Hecht
• Ugly Naked Guy (lives across the street)
• Mr. Heckles (complaining man who lives below Monica's apartment) "“ Larry Hankin
• The Chick and The Duck (Chandler and Joey's pets, who in Season 10, we find out died. However, a new chick and duck come along to live with Joey.)
• Mike Hanigan (marries Phoebe in Season 10) "“ Paul Rudd
• Mr. Treeger (superintendent in the apartment building where Monica, Chandler, Joey and Rachel live) "“ Michael G. Hagerty

Guest stars

The show has had many well-known celebrities as guest stars, including Bruce Willis, Tom Selleck, Brad Pitt, Ian Thorpe (as an extra), Elle MacPherson, and Charlie Sheen.

See: List of guest stars on Friends

Pre-broadcast audience research

After the finale was broadcast, The Smoking Gun made available the May 27, 1994 "Program Test Report" summarizing the audience reaction to a version of what became the pilot episode. Overall reactions to the pilot were "not very favorable"; most viewers felt the show was "not very entertaining, clever, or original". The report recommended:

• Broadening the show to include some older characters
• Adding more humor
• Changing the pilot so that the audience could become more involved emotionally with the show's characters
• Toning down the sexual situations, at least at the beginning of the series
• Having Chandler talk about his dreams on a recurring basis
• Incorporating Phoebe more into the stories
• Make the coffee shop less "funky"

Running gags

Friends had many running gags throughout the span of the show. Some of the most famous include:

• The One With [episode name] : Almost every episode name starts with these three words.
• 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.
• Gay Chandler: Chandler was often painted with the possibility of being gay, despite his determination to prove himself as the heterosexual he actually was. Various characters on the show had assumed that he was gay when they first met him, and describe him as having a certain gay "quality". In addition, Chandler's father was a transvestite, which may have been the cause of some of Chandler's feminine behavioral traits.
• Ross' paleontology: Ross had a habit of speaking in (un)scientific technobabble, and often showing off unsolicited and often poor knowledge of various subjects, most notably paleontology. One particularly good example of this was the statement, "they found a Paleozoic amphibian in the jaws of a Mesozoic mastodon "” how did it get there?" Another such statement was "Australopithecus was never fully erect". (The joke here is that any grade-school student knows there were no mastodons alive during the Mesozoic, and that Australopithecus did have fully-erect posture.) This was on one level a great 'double entendre', but was also an somewhat high-brow gag, which many viewers weren't necessarily able to recognize as humorous outside of it painting Ross as a "nerd". Regardless, his nerd talks would often send the rest of the gang into mock narcolepsy.
• Ugly Naked Guy: An obese, nude hermit who engaged in odd habits in the "privacy" of his apartment across the street from Monica's. One of the gang would often notice something going on in his apartment and cry out "eww, eww, Ugly Naked Guy is..." and would describe the usually strange act to the others, who would then crowd around the window to a chorus of "ewwwww". During a flashback in one episode that was set a year before the pilot, Phoebe comments to Ross, "Aww, cute naked guy is really starting to put on weight". Ugly Naked Guy decides to sublet his apartment in Season 5, and Ross rents it to live across the street from his sister.
• Joey & Chandler as a couple: One of the more frequent recurring jokes of the early episodes paralleled the interactions of Joey and Chandler to the interactions of a married couple. The gag was usually used to enhance the aforementioned "Gay Chandler" joke, as Chandler would often assume the "wife" role, but was often funny on its own. This gag even appears in the first episode of the spinoff, Joey.
• Gunther likes Rachel: When Gunther appeared in an episode it usually involved his anything-but-secret crush on Rachel, who however remains oblivious to his feelings throughout most of the show's run.
• Phoebe's previous way of life: It is often mentioned that Phoebe once lived on the street, and her strange former friends often come up. Various random facts from her childhood are revealed throughout the show, such as that she "stabbed a cop", had a pimp spit in her mouth, has lived in Prague, and even mugged Ross when they were fourteen.
• Ross' tendency to marry: Ross marries a total of three times throughout the course of the show, all of which end in divorce. Many gags from the sixth season on run along the line that Ross is wont to marry any girl he hooks up with and is equally as likely to break up after marriage.

Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay in Friends. In this picture she is playing a guitar in a New York coffee shop named Central Perk.

• Phoebe's music: Phoebe was often a musician at Central Perk and was known for her rather unusual, original songs. Some include: "Jingle Bitch Screwed Me Over", "Sometimes Men Love Women, Sometimes Men Love Men...", "The Barnyard Song" in which she graphically describes farm animals being turned into meat products to a group of elementary schoolers, and her most famous, "Smelly Cat".
• Oh. My. God!: Janice's catchphrase; used as her introductory line in her later guest appearances.
• We were on a break!: A highlight of the third season was Rachel and Ross, a couple at the time, having a major fight and subsequently deciding to go on a break in their relationship. Around this point, the depressed Ross sleeps with another woman; his resulting guilt and Rachel's resulting resentment resonated for many seasons to come.
• Dr. Regina Phalange: Phoebe's alter ego, which she regularly makes references to (similar to Art Vandelay on Seinfeld). In the last episode she stops Rachel's plane by getting her to ask whether the plane had something wrong with its left phalange.
• Mr. Heckles: A slighty off-kilter man who lived below Monica and Rachel's apartment and continually complained about the noise. Died during the second season.
• Chandler's speech: Chandler has a strange way of speaking, in which he emphasizes the wrong word in his sentences. One exaggerated example, where Ross was mocking Chandler's speech pattern: "The hills are alive with the sound (pause) OF music". His particular brand of sarcasm is also often based on the phrase "Could this [object] (pause) BE any more [description]".
• How You Doin'?: This is Joey's pick-up line. It was first seen in "The One with Rachel's Crush," and Joey continues using it for the rest of the series, sometimes on Phoebe, Rachel, Monica, and even humorously on Chandler.
• Phoebe's dead mother: Phoebe often references her mother's suicide to various situations on the show, usually as an excuse. For example, when Ross questions her on why she's never tried taffy, "I think my mother was too busy planning her suicide to provide saltwater treats".
• Monica's obsessive-compulsive behavior: Monica has continuously exhibited various traits of an obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, including obsession with cleanliness, refusal to relinquish control over anything, excessive categorization and organization, intense competitiveness, and the need to get people to like her. Her competitiveness could be observed when playing tennis with Chandler's boss, where Chandler suggests that they should let him win, to which she replies "I'm sorry, I don't understand what you just said". In another instance, Rachel, who is moving out of the apartment, offers Monica a chance to pack her belongings for her, presenting the offer as a good-bye present, which Monica gladly accepts. In addition, the show has innumerable references to Monica cleaning her apartment, or any other location she's in.

Trivia

• The character of Ursula (Phoebe's twin sister) first appeared in the sitcom Mad About You as a not-so-quick-witted waitress. Lisa Kudrow played Ursula on both Mad About You and Friends. Phoebe was not originally supposed to have a twin, but the show's creators added the fact to explain why Kudrow was appearing on two different shows, at one point on the same night. Ursula would go on to make several appearances on Friends, played simultaneously by Kudrow. Producers used split-screen photography and doubles to create the illusion the two both appeared in a scene at the same time. Later, Helen Hunt appeared on an episode of Friends and her character mistakenly thought Phoebe was Ursula.

• James Michael Tyler's character came into the series by accident. He can be seen as an extra throughout the first season, and when given a line in the second, the directors were adequately impressed that they created him a full-time part: Gunther. Additionally, it's been reported that Gunther got the job because he was the only extra who knew how to operate the espresso machine, having been working at an actual coffee shop at the time. In addition to playing Gunther, Tyler remained an actual coffee shop employee for the first four seasons of of the show.

• Central Perk, the coffee shop on the show, is based on Chomondley's (pronounced Chumley's), a coffee shop/lounge in Usen Castle at Brandeis University, the alma mater of the show's creators.

• Katie, who played Marcel, Ross' pet monkey, would become even more famous as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim's Rally Monkey.

• Although the show was filmed in California, it took place in the West Village in Manhattan, New York City. The exterior shot of the Friends' apartment building is actually located at Grove and Bedford streets in the Village.

• 55 people were paid to come to the studio and watch the first four episodes of "The Six of Us"; this show's title was changed to "Friends"

Further trivia can be found in the series' IMDb entry.

Season synopsis

Season 1

We are introduced to Phoebe, Monica, Chandler, Joey and Ross, shortly after Ross's wife Carol has become a lesbian and divorced him. At this point, Monica, Phoebe and Ross all live alone, while Chandler and Joey live together. Monica's old school friend Rachel enters Central Perk wearing a wedding dress, having just run away from her wedding to Barry Farber and needing somewhere to go. She moves in with Monica, gets a job as a waitress at Central Perk, and struggles to work for a living having previously lived a rich life.

Ross finds his ex-wife Carol is pregnant with his child. In the penultimate episode of the season, she gives birth to a boy, named Ben, who is subsequently raised by Carol and her lover, Susan.

In the pilot, Ross reveals he had a crush on Rachel in high school, and we see (unbeknownst to Rachel) that he still has feelings for her. Throughout the season, he fails to make his feelings known to her, and eventually Chandler and Joey persuade him to move on. In the last episode, 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 eventually 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 2

Ross is unaware that Rachel now has feelings for him, and has started a relationship with a paleontologist named Julie whom he knew at grad school and has met again while in China. Rachel is very unhappy about this and makes attempts to sabotage the relationship, eg: when Ross wants to consummate his relationship with Julie, Rachel tells him women find nothing sexier than a man who doesn't want to have sex.

Rachel later goes on a date with another man, where she gets very drunk and leaves a message on Ross's answer machine saying she is over him. Next morning, Ross comes to Monica and Rachel's apartment and plays back the message with their phone. Rachel is forced to admit that she likes Ross, causing Ross to get very confused over his own feelings. He later comes to Rachel at Central Perk and angrily tells her she shouldn't have told him, and he is now over her, but after leaving, he comes back and they kiss passionately. Ross is unable to choose between Rachel and Julie - in the process of making a list of pros and cons for both women, he decides he really loves Rachel, and breaks up with Julie. Unfortunately, Rachel discovers the list of pros and cons he made, becomes angry with Ross and rejects him.

However, later in the season, the group watches a video of Monica and Rachel getting ready for their high school prom. In the video, it looks like Rachel's date isn't going to show, so Ross's parents persuade him to take her instead. But just as Ross is about to, Rachel's date arrives and they leave together. Rachel is touched by this, and decides to start dating Ross after all.

Joey gets a high profile acting job as Dr Drake Ramoray on the soap Days Of Our Lives, and earns enough money to move into his own apartment. Left on his own, Chandler gets a new roommate called Eddie, who turns out to be insane. When Joey states in an interview that he writes his own lines on Days Of Our Lives, the show's writers are offended and kill off his character. With no income for his lavish spending, Joey moves back into Chandler's apartment. Chandler had been struggling to get Eddie to move out since due to his mental problems, Eddie continuously forgot that Chandler had asked him to leave. Chandler and Joey solve the problem by moving out Eddie's things, changing the locks, and pretending they don't know Eddie when he comes to the door - Eddie assumes he has the wrong apartment and leaves.

Phoebe finds she has a half brother called Frank, from her father's side.

For a period, Monica goes out with Richard Burke, a friend of her parents' who is significantly older than her. They become very close, but break up in the last episode when Richard tells her he doesn't want to have children with her, having already had them with his ex-wife.

Season 3

Rachel quits her job at Central Perk and tries to get one in the fashion industry. She meets a man named Mark who gets her a job in Bloomingdale's, but Ross becomes convinced Mark has ulterior motives, and becomes increasingly jealous. Tension between Ross and Rachel culminates on their anniversary, when Rachel is too busy at work to go to dinner with Ross. Instead, Ross brings some food to her work, but gets in the way and she orders him to leave. Back home, the two have an argument which ends in Rachel suggesting they take a break.

Afterward, Ross goes for a drink with Chandler and Joey. Both he and Rachel independently decide to resolve their differences, but when Ross calls Rachel, Mark is there to check if Rachel is all right. Having heard him over the phone, Ross assumes the worst and hangs up. Feeling depressed, he ends up sleeping with a woman named Chloe. He tries to resume his relationship with Rachel without telling her, but she finds out, and after a prolonged argument, they break up.

However, towards the end of the season, Rachel becomes upset when Ross starts dating a woman named Bonnie. In the final episode, the group goes on a beach trip, so Phoebe can meet up with a woman (also named Phoebe) who has information about her family. While at the beach, Bonnie unexpectedly turns up. 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. The episode ends with Ross standing between Rachel and Bonnie's bedrooms, picking one, and going in.

Season 4

The season begins with Ross entering one room and finding both Rachel and Bonnie. Ross decides to get back together with Rachel, and breaks up with Bonnie. Rachel writes Ross a letter of her feelings about them getting back together. It turns out to be a request that Ross take full responsibility for everything that went wrong last time, which he finds he cannot do, and they quickly break up again.

While still at the beach, Phoebe learns the older Phoebe is actually her real mother. Phoebe tells Ursula, who makes it sound like she knew all along. Ursula produces their mother's "suicide note" (which she really wrote herself) which says "Dear Phoebe and Ursula, I love you both very much. P.S. Your birth mother lives in Montauk."

Phoebe agrees to be a surrogate mother for her half brother Frank and his infertile wife Alice. She is artificially inseminated and becomes pregnant with triplets.

Chandler & Joey and Monica & Rachel compete in a quiz about each other, put together by Ross, to decide which of them knows more about the other two. The two teams make a bet "“ if Monica and Rachel win, Chandler and Joey will give up their pet chick and duck, but if Chandler and Joey win, they get Monica and Rachel's apartment. In the end, Chandler and Joey win, and swap apartments with Monica and Rachel. They live like this for a few episodes, then Monica and Rachel try to trade New York Knicks tickets to the boys in exchange for their apartment. Chandler doesn't think it's a fair trade, and they draw cards, with the winner getting the apartment and the tickets. Chandler and Joey win again, but when they get back after the Knicks game, they find the girls have moved all the guys' things back into their original apartment, and moved back into theirs. The boys agree to let living arrangements return to normal when, in exchange, Monica and Rachel kiss each other for one minute in front of them.

Ross meets a British woman named Emily and starts dating her. When it is time for Emily to go back to England, she and Ross don't want to leave each other and they decide to get married. In the last episode, the group travels to London for the wedding - except Phoebe, who is too pregnant, and Rachel, who doesn't want to see Ross get married. At the wedding rehearsal dinner, Monica becomes depressed because she's not married, and a drunken man thinks she's Ross' mother. Chandler comforts her and they end up sleeping together.

Rachel realizes she still loves Ross and decides to go to London and tell him. When she gets there, she sees him with Emily and decides it wouldn't be right to mess things up for him. The wedding goes ahead, but comes to an abrupt halt when Ross is supposed to say "I take thee, Emily" and instead says "I take thee, Rachel".

Season 5

Ross and Emily's wedding continues after Ross' faux pas and they are married, but at the reception, Emily argues angrily with Ross and disappears. After everyone has returned to New York, Rachel tells Ross she still loves him and then starts laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation, since he is now married. They both decide to forget it. Emily eventually calls Ross from England and tells him that she will only give the marriage a chance if he promises he will never see Rachel again. Ross agrees, but Emily continues to make unreasonable demands to keep him away from Rachel, such as moving to another apartment. Eventually, he decides the marriage won't work if Emily doesn't trust him and they divorce.

Ross has already sold his old apartment at this point and can't get it back since the subletter is Emily's cousin, so he lives with Chandler and Joey for a period until he gets a new apartment for himself. He later loses his job at a museum when he gets angry at his boss for eating his Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich.

In the 100th episode (third of the season), Phoebe gives birth to triplets - a boy named Frank Jr. Jr., and two girls named Leslie and Chandler (they had originally thought it would be two boys and a girl, and Phoebe was going to name one boy after Chandler). Phoebe tries to keep one after becoming attached to them, but finds out that Frank and Alice are unwilling to give up a child.

After sleeping together in London, Chandler and Monica feel attracted to each other and continue an intimate relationship in secret. Joey finds out about it, but keeps it a secret for them. Rachel then finds out, but after she tells Monica and Monica denies it, Rachel pretends to be oblivious. Phoebe is the next to find out. However, rather than keeping it a secret or pretending to be oblivious, she plays mind games with Chandler by pretending she is attracted to him. When Chandler and Monica realize she knows about them, Chandler pretends he is attracted to Phoebe, but eventually confesses he is in love with Monica. Ross finds out shortly afterwards, and Chandler and Monica's relationship becomes public.

Rachel gets a new job at Ralph Lauren.

Towards the end of the season, Joey gets the lead in a movie, but travels to Las Vegas to find production has shut down due to lack of money. In the last episode, Chandler, Monica and Phoebe travel to Las Vegas to see him (he has stayed there waiting for production to restart, but has been lying to them, telling them he is filming for the movie), with Ross and Rachel following them later. They find Joey working as a Roman guard in the Caesar's Palace hotel lobby. On the plane there, Ross draws on Rachel's face with a felt tip pen - Rachel can't get it off and doesn't want to leave her hotel room, so Ross stays with her. They both get very drunk and Rachel draws on his face in return.

Chandler and Monica decide to get married in a Las Vegas chapel, but just before they do, they encounter Ross and Rachel, still drunk, who have just wed at the same chapel.

Season 6

After finding out that they are now married, Ross and Rachel agree to get an annulment, but Ross doesn't want to have been divorced three times and lies to Rachel, telling her he has had the marriage annulled when he actually hasn't. Rachel eventually learns the truth and forces Ross to go ahead with the annulment, but they are unable to get one as Rachel has added humiliating misinformation about Ross on the form, and they are forced to file for divorce.

Ross gets a new job teaching paleontology at New York University (NYU).

Chandler and Monica decide it's too soon for them to get married, and decide to move in together instead. Chandler moves into Monica's apartment, Rachel moves in with Phoebe, and Joey is left on his own. Later in the season, a fire wrecks Phoebe and Rachel's apartment. It is assumed that Phoebe's candles started the fire, so while Rachel moves in with Chandler and Monica, Phoebe moves into the less savory conditions of Joey's apartment. However, when the firemen find the fire was actually started by Rachel leaving a hair straightener switched on in the bathroom, Phoebe and Rachel swap. Rachel finds living with Joey quite enjoyable, while Phoebe is annoyed by Monica's constant attention and obsession with cleanliness.

Towards the end of the season, Chandler plans to propose to Monica. In the final episode, he fails to propose at a restaurant when Richard, Monica's ex-boyfriend, appears. Later, Richard meets Monica at her workplace and tells her he still loves her. She considers going back to Richard when Chandler pretends he isn't interested in marriage (so she'll be surprised when he proposes) but Joey explains the situation to her. When Chandler proposes, Monica says yes.

Season 7

Phoebe and Rachel's apartment is restored after the fire. Phoebe moves back in on her own, while Rachel continues living with Joey.

Joey resumes his role on Days Of Our Lives.

In the final episode, it is time for Chandler and Monica's wedding, but the night before, Chandler gets cold feet and disappears. While he is gone, Phoebe finds a positive pregnancy test in Monica's bathroom, and assumes Monica is pregnant. Phoebe and Ross find Chandler at his office 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, deciding that a baby wouldn't be so bad. Chandler and Monica get married, but when Chandler tells Monica he knows about the baby, she says she isn't pregnant, and it wasn't her pregnancy test that Phoebe found. As the episode ends, it is hinted that it is actually Rachel who is pregnant.

Season 8

It is confirmed that Rachel is pregnant, and in the second episode, the group finds out that Ross is the father (we learn they secretly slept together before Chandler and Monica's wedding).

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.

In the last episode, Rachel gives birth to a girl named Emma.

Season 9

Ross, Rachel and Emma continue living together until they have a argument about their current relationship. Feeling it may not be right that she is living with Ross, and they have a baby together, but they are not in a relationship, Rachel decides to move back in with Joey, taking Emma with her.

Chandler's job starts requiring him to spend the better part of the week in Tulsa. He puts up with this for a while, but when he finds himself working in Tulsa over Christmas, and a female associate comes on to him, he quits his job, and later gets one in advertising.

Chandler and Monica try to conceive a baby of their own, but fail to do so. They go to a fertility clinic and find they are both infertile, so decide to adopt a baby.

Phoebe starts dating a man named Mike Hanigan. They become close and decide to move in together, but when Phoebe asks about the future of their relationship, Mike tells her that since he has already been through a failed marriage, he doesn't want to get married again. Phoebe does want to get married, so they break up.

Towards the end of the season, Rachel begins to develop feelings for Joey.

In the final episode, the group goes to Barbados, where Ross is giving a paleontological talk. Phoebe takes her boyfriend David (whom she first met in the first season and got back together with in the previous episode) and Joey takes his girlfriend Charlie (another professor of paleontology whom Ross had welcomed to the city). Monica learns David is planning to top Mike by proposing to Phoebe, and calls Mike to tell him to get back together with Phoebe. Mike originally doesn't want to intervene, but later comes to Barbados and tells Phoebe he loves her and wants to marry her. Phoebe rejects Mike's proposal, but still resumes her relationship with him, letting David down gently.

Joey and Charlie break up when they decide they have too little in common, and Joey subsequently learns Rachel fancies him. He originally decides not to act on it. Meanwhile, Charlie feels she still likes Ross, and they kiss. Joey sees them doing so, changes his mind about Rachel, and goes to her room and kisses her.

Season 10

Joey and Rachel's intimate relationship only lasts for the first three episodes of the season, at which point they find that since their relationship has been platonic for so long, they are too uncomfortable getting physical with each other, and decide to be just friends again.

As the season goes on, Mike proposes to Phoebe again, and they get married in a later episode.

Chandler and Monica apply to adopt the baby of a pregnant woman named Erica and also decide to move out of their apartment into a house in the suburbs. In the final episode, Erica gives birth to twins, a boy and a girl, who are named Jack (after Monica's dad) and Erica (after Erica).

Rachel goes for an interview for Gucci, but her Ralph Lauren boss is at the same restaurant where the interview takes place, and fires her. While moving out her things, she runs into Mark (from the third season) who gets her a new job "“ in Paris. The other friends hold a going-away party for Rachel 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 the airport to go to Paris, he goes after her to tell her. When he catches up with her and lets her know, she originally rejects him. Ross gets back to his apartment and finds a message from Rachel on his answering machine, telling him she does still love him and is trying to get off the plane. As the message ends, she arrives at Ross' apartment, and they kiss.

The final episode ends with Chandler and Monica moving out of their apartment, and everyone going for one last coffee at Central Perk.

Ratings

The 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 season finales for M*A*S*H (106m), Cheers (80.4m) or Seinfeld (76.3m), nor was it the most watched episode of Friends"”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 2001"“2002 season, Friends was the highest rated show in America according to the Nielsen Ratings.

Ratings by country for the finale:

• United States: 52.25m (56m peak) [Nielsen]
• Canada: 5.159m [BBM Canada]
• United Kingdom: 8.6m (8.9m peak) [BARB]

Region 1 DVD Releases

Best of Releases

Individual Episode Releases

Season Releases

Cultural legacy

Friends handbags, on sale at a mall in Florida.

Friends has, in some areas, made a notable contribution to language, fashion, and (to a lesser extent) women's attitudes. The use of "so" to mean "very" was not invented by any Friends writer, but it is quite arguable that the extensive use of the phrase in the series encouraged its use extensively. Also commonly said by the characters, particularly Monica, was the loud and drawn-out "I know". The series has also been noted for its impact on everyday-fashion and hair-styles"“Jennifer Aniston, in particular, had her hair-style copied by many women. Along with this, 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.

Spinoff

Main article: Joey (sitcom)

Joey premiered September 9, 2004 on NBC. It centers around the Friends character, actor Joey Tribbiani, still played by LeBlanc. Past Friends cast members are expected to have cameo appearances on the show from time to time, though as of April 7, 2005, none have.

"Tribbiani in this comedy spin-off that continues the beloved Friends tradition. Joey, an aspiring actor, is off to Los Angeles to pursue his dream and begin a new chapter in his life. In this new town he's sure to face new challenges, both professional and personal. After reuniting with his sister, Gina, Joey moves in with his 20-year-old genius nephew, Michael, who is literally a rocket scientist. What Joey lacks in book smarts, however, he makes up for with people smarts, making him the best new friend his nephew could ask for. Cast: Matt LeBlanc, Drea deMatteo, Paulo Costanzo, Ashley Scott, Jennifer Coolidge".

-Quoted From the NBC homepage

Ashley Scott would later be replaced by Andrea Anders, and the scenes involving the character in the Pilot were reshot.

"Friends" in other countries

• Austria - Friends
• Belgium (Flanders) - Friends
• Bosnia and Herzegovina - Prijatelji
• Brazil - Friends
• Bulgaria - ПриÑ?тели (Priyateli)
• Croatia - Prijatelji
• Czech Republic - Přátelé
• Denmark - Venner
• Finland - Frendit
• France - Friends
• Germany - Friends
• Greece - Τα φιλαÏ?ακια (Ta filarakia)
• Hong Kong - è€?å?‹è¨˜
• Hungary - Jóbarátok (English: Fast Friends)
• Iceland - Vinir
• India - Friends
• Israel - Haverrim (Hebrew)
• Italy - Friends
• Japan - フレンズ
• Latin America - Friends
• Lithuania - Draugai
• The Netherlands - Friends
• Macedonia - Пријатели (Priyateli)
• Mexico - Amigos
• Norway - Venner for livet
• Poland - Przyjaciele
• Romania - Prietenii TÇ?i
• Russia - ДрузьÑ? (Druzya)
• Saudi Arabia - الأصدقاء
• Serbia and Montenegro - Prijatelji
• Slovakia - Priatelia
• South Africa - Friends
• South Korea - 프렌드
• Spain - Friends
• Sweden - Vänner
• Taiwan - 六人行
• Turkey - Sıkı Dostlar (Close Friends) in 1990's and Friends as of today
• Ukraine - Друзi

Broadcasters

First-run

• NBC (United States)
• M-NET (South Africa)
• Channel 4 (United Kingdom; seasons 1-2 and season 10 finale only)
• Sky One (United Kingdom; pay-tv service, seasons 3-6 only)
• E4 (United Kingdom; pay-tv service, seasons 7-10)
• Global (Canada)
• RTÉ Two (Ireland)
• ORF (Austria)
• Sat 1 (Germany)
• WOWOW (Japan)
• MTV3 (Finland)
• TVNZ (New Zealand)
• RAI (Italy)
• Sony (Latin America; seasons 1-7)
• Warner Channel (Latin America)
• TV 2 (Denmark)
• TVB (Hong Kong; season 10)
• Nine Network (Australia)
• TV 2 (Norway)
• Canal + (Spain)
• France 2 (France
• Televisa cinco (Mexico)
• 1+1 (Ukraine)
• MBC 4 (Middle East)

Reruns/syndication

• Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution (United States)
  • Note: In the United States, Friends is syndicated on local affiliates and/or independent stations, not throughout any one broadcast network (such as WB, FOX or ABC).
• TBS Superstation (United States)
• Channel 4 (United Kingdom)
• E4 (United Kingdom)
• Subtv (Finland)
• Star World (India)
• Zee English (India)
• Sony (Latin America; until 2001)
• Warner Channel (Latin America; since 2001)
• SBT (Brazil)
• ProSieben (Germany)
• Star Channel (Greece)
• TV 2 Zulu (Denmark)
• RTÉ Two (Ireland)
• CityTV (Canada)
• TV 2 (Hungary

China is said to be the next country to syndicate Friends.

Caveats

In the UK, seasons 7 to 10 were first aired on pay-tv channel E4, except for the season 10 finale which was broadcast on its sister FTA channel Channel 4 first, then aired an hour later on E4. This was the first time Channel 4 had broadcast an episode of Friends before the pay-tv channels since 1996.

See also

• List of Friends episodes
• List of Friends directors

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations by or about:

Friends

• Official Friends site
• Friends at the Internet Movie Database
• Friends at TV.com
• Negative 1994 NBC research report about the pilot
• Popular unofficial "Friends" website
• Unofficial Friends Site
• Frienatic, unofficial Friends fan website

Source: en.wikipedia.org
The above document is available under GNUFDL