If you talk to people, and ask them when they think about Friends what comes to mind. Some would say Central Perk Coffee house, others would say the "Rachel" hair cut. Most of all Joey's famous pick up line "How you doin?
Monica, Chandler, Ross, Rachel, Joey and Phoebe all started out in their early to mid 20's as lost souls. Throughout the years these six best friends where there for each other. They supported each other through each failed relationship, marriage, and career change. They showed us what friendship was all about, and when you're in your 20's, your friends become your family.
The series opened with Rachel leaving Barry at the altar, moving in with Monica to start a new life. While Ross was adjusting to the idea of raising his first born child with his ex-wife and her life partner Susan. As time went on the gang helped Rachel adjust to the real world. They helped her write a resume, showing Rachel the importance of proof-reading a resume before sending it out to potential employers. It wasn't until Rachel's friends from her old life came to visit her that made Rachel realize that she no longer had a plan. Which made Monica and Phoebe realize, they don't have a plan either. But life doesn't want you to have a plan.
Over the ten years we saw Ross and Rachel get together, break-up and get back together, several times. At one point they got married and then divorced. Six weeks before Monica and Chandler's wedding they had a one night stand and conceived their baby girl Emma. When it came time for Rachel to leave for Paris it was so hard to say goodbye to Ross that she couldn't do it. Ross felt cheated, he felt like he didn't mean enough to her to say goodbye. But Ross was of course wrong. Rachel loved him just as much as he loved her and at the last minute she got off the plane and told Ross that she loved him.
When the series started Ross was doing pretty good professionally. He was working at a museum as a professional Paleontologist. He was there for a while until he yelled at his boss for eating his sandwich. Everything kind of went downhill at that point because that was the time when Emily divorced him for saying the wrong name at the altar when they got married. On top of it they where going to move into Emily's cousin's apartment, but when she divorced Ross her cousin kicked him out. Luckily Joey and Chandler took Ross in until he found a place to live. When Ross finally found the perfect place it was Ugly Naked Guy's apartment, and in order for Ross to get the place he had to sit and be naked with him. Later Ross got a guest speaker job at a University which later turned into a tenure position.
Monica started off as a chef in a New York resturant, got fired for a miss understanding. Then for the next few years she did freelance jobs as a Caterer. At one point Monica worked at a 50s resturant as a waitress where she had to dress up in 50s clothes and ride around on roller skates. It wasn't until years later that Monica got a chance to once again run her own kitchen. Then she earned her way to the top and got to be the head chef at a high end New York restaurant.
In the mist of all this Monica was bouncing from guy to guy. Fall in love with her father's golfing buddy Richard. But not before she dated and slept with a high school senior. To be fair they both lied about their ages. It wasn't until she went to London for Ross's wedding to Emily that she realized that she had feelings for Chandler. And that's when their love affair started. After that fateful night Monica and Chandler kept their relationship a secret from the rest of the group for months only because they're both really bad at relationships and they didn't want their friends to know yet. But as we all know life doesn't work out they way we plan. Joey was the first one to find out about them when they got back from their weekend away together. Rachel was next, after she picked up the phone and heard Monica called Chandler "Mr. Big".
Of course when Rachel confronted Monica about it, she denied the fact. A few months later Phoebe found out about Monica and Chandler, when Ugly Naked Guy was moving and Ross, Rachel, and Phoebe went over to look at the place and Phoebe saw Monica and Chandler "doing it" up against the window. After Phoebe found out about those two she and Rachel decided to have a little fun of their own. So Phoebe pretended to be interested in Chandler so she asked him out on a date. Monica figured it out quickly what she's doing so she told Chandler to go on the date. So the epic game of chicken had begun.
Chandler and Monica never thought they would fall in love with their best friend. As the years passed they fell more in love. On a trip to Las Vegas they decided to get married but backed out when they saw Ross and Rachel coming out of the chapel, drunk and married! So they decided to move - in with each other instead. However by the end of that season they did end up engaged. A room full of candles, and an Eric Clapton song made for an unforgettable moment.
While Monica was getting her life together so was Chandler. But he was fine on the job front other than the fact he hated his job and it wasn't until the ninth season that he had the guts to quit his job and find his true passion which was Advertising.
Before there was Chandler and Monica there was Chandler and Joey. Well without the sex.... Those two where attached to the hip. You all remember the gold bracelet that Joey gave Chandler that said "Best Buds"! For many years Joey was a struggling actor, he had small jobs. Mostly in underground theaters, really bad infomercials and every now and then Joey would get a double job. For example, playing Al Pacino's butt in a movie. For many years Chandler paid for Joey's acting classes, head shots, went with him on acting auditions when Joey was nervous. Those two were a couple in every aspect. When Joey got his big break on Days of Our Lives and moved out they missed each other so much it was like a real couple breaking up. Thank fully Joey came to his senses and moved back in with Chandler mainly because Chandler's new roommate Eddie was crazy. But Chandler broke Joey's heart when he moved in with Monica... Then again when Monica and Chandler moved to the Suburbs.
Phoebe never seem to have such luck when it comes down to love. She fell for David a science guy who ended up moving to Russia for work. Phoebe also fell in love and married with a gay ice dancer, then he broke her heart after he told her that he was straight and needed a divorced, because he was getting married. It wasn't until she and Joey decided to set each other up with friends that she met Mike. Phoebe loved Mike, but he didn't want to get married again so they broke up. When David came back to New York Phoebe was finally able to get over Mike. It wasn't until they all took a trip to the islands that Phoebe finally got engaged, and thanks to Monica's meddling.
The series opened with Rachel leaving Barry at the altar, moving in with Monica to start a new life. While Ross was adjusting to the idea of raising his first born child with his ex-wife and her life partner Susan. As time went on the gang helped Rachel adjust to the real world. They helped her write a resume, showing Rachel the importance of proof-reading a resume before sending it out to potential employers. It wasn't until Rachel's friends from her old life came to visit her that made Rachel realize that she no longer had a plan. Which made Monica and Phoebe realize, they don't have a plan either. But life doesn't want you to have a plan.
It was hard for Rachel but she managed to get a job at Bloomingdales, where she was an assistant to a woman who ended up sleeping with Chandler and treating Rachel horribly. Then finally Joanna said she would promote Rachel, before Joanna had a chance to send in the paper work she got hit by a car and died. A couple years later Rachel earned herself a job at Ralph Lauren. Which she almost didn't get because she kept blowing the interviews. She was at Ralph Lauren till the end of the series until she got a job offer in Paris. Which Rachel decided to take, but it wasn't until Ross came to the gate to tell her that he still loves her and wanted her to stay.Monica Geller: Welcome to the real world, it sucks! You're going to love it!
[after coming out of a Las Vegas chapel married and drunk]
Ross: Well *hello* Mrs. Ross
[throws confetti]
Rachel: Well *hello* Mr. Rachel
[throws confetti]
When the series started Ross was doing pretty good professionally. He was working at a museum as a professional Paleontologist. He was there for a while until he yelled at his boss for eating his sandwich. Everything kind of went downhill at that point because that was the time when Emily divorced him for saying the wrong name at the altar when they got married. On top of it they where going to move into Emily's cousin's apartment, but when she divorced Ross her cousin kicked him out. Luckily Joey and Chandler took Ross in until he found a place to live. When Ross finally found the perfect place it was Ugly Naked Guy's apartment, and in order for Ross to get the place he had to sit and be naked with him. Later Ross got a guest speaker job at a University which later turned into a tenure position.
Monica started off as a chef in a New York resturant, got fired for a miss understanding. Then for the next few years she did freelance jobs as a Caterer. At one point Monica worked at a 50s resturant as a waitress where she had to dress up in 50s clothes and ride around on roller skates. It wasn't until years later that Monica got a chance to once again run her own kitchen. Then she earned her way to the top and got to be the head chef at a high end New York restaurant.
In the mist of all this Monica was bouncing from guy to guy. Fall in love with her father's golfing buddy Richard. But not before she dated and slept with a high school senior. To be fair they both lied about their ages. It wasn't until she went to London for Ross's wedding to Emily that she realized that she had feelings for Chandler. And that's when their love affair started. After that fateful night Monica and Chandler kept their relationship a secret from the rest of the group for months only because they're both really bad at relationships and they didn't want their friends to know yet. But as we all know life doesn't work out they way we plan. Joey was the first one to find out about them when they got back from their weekend away together. Rachel was next, after she picked up the phone and heard Monica called Chandler "Mr. Big".
Monica Geller: I can't wait to see you. I'm just going to tell Rachel that I'm doing laundry for a couple hours.Chandler: Laundry. Huh. Is that my new nickname?[Rachel is shocked]Monica Geller: You know what your nickname is, Mr Big...Rachel: AHHHHH![hangs up]
Of course when Rachel confronted Monica about it, she denied the fact. A few months later Phoebe found out about Monica and Chandler, when Ugly Naked Guy was moving and Ross, Rachel, and Phoebe went over to look at the place and Phoebe saw Monica and Chandler "doing it" up against the window. After Phoebe found out about those two she and Rachel decided to have a little fun of their own. So Phoebe pretended to be interested in Chandler so she asked him out on a date. Monica figured it out quickly what she's doing so she told Chandler to go on the date. So the epic game of chicken had begun.
While Monica was getting her life together so was Chandler. But he was fine on the job front other than the fact he hated his job and it wasn't until the ninth season that he had the guts to quit his job and find his true passion which was Advertising.
Before there was Chandler and Monica there was Chandler and Joey. Well without the sex.... Those two where attached to the hip. You all remember the gold bracelet that Joey gave Chandler that said "Best Buds"! For many years Joey was a struggling actor, he had small jobs. Mostly in underground theaters, really bad infomercials and every now and then Joey would get a double job. For example, playing Al Pacino's butt in a movie. For many years Chandler paid for Joey's acting classes, head shots, went with him on acting auditions when Joey was nervous. Those two were a couple in every aspect. When Joey got his big break on Days of Our Lives and moved out they missed each other so much it was like a real couple breaking up. Thank fully Joey came to his senses and moved back in with Chandler mainly because Chandler's new roommate Eddie was crazy. But Chandler broke Joey's heart when he moved in with Monica... Then again when Monica and Chandler moved to the Suburbs.
Joey: [Chick Jr and Duck Jr are trapped in the Foosball table] Does that mean we're gonna have to bust it open?
Chandler: I don't know. Maybe.
Joey: Oh my God!
Chandler: I know, it's the Foosball table.
Joey: All right, you know what? We don't have a choice. It's like what I'd have said in that Sci-Fi movie if I'd gotten the part: "Those are our men in there, and we have to get 'em out. Even if I have to sacrifice the most important thing in my life... my time machine."
Phoebe the free spirit she is, was writing songs, telling us crazy stories from when she was living on the street when the series started. The only family she had was a grandmother and a twin sister that she never saw. As the series progressed Phoebe met her half brother, birth mother, and her father. Later her brother Frank Jr. asked Phoebe to be a surrogate mother. She agreed after much thought, and taking care of a puppy. Soon Phoebe gave birth to her brother's triplets two girls Leslie and Chandler and a boy Frank Jr. Jr.
Phoebe never seem to have such luck when it comes down to love. She fell for David a science guy who ended up moving to Russia for work. Phoebe also fell in love and married with a gay ice dancer, then he broke her heart after he told her that he was straight and needed a divorced, because he was getting married. It wasn't until she and Joey decided to set each other up with friends that she met Mike. Phoebe loved Mike, but he didn't want to get married again so they broke up. When David came back to New York Phoebe was finally able to get over Mike. It wasn't until they all took a trip to the islands that Phoebe finally got engaged, and thanks to Monica's meddling.
Friends will be one of those shows that will go down is TV history as one of the highest rating shows of all time. It touched so many people life's. The show came up with catch phases like " How you doin?", "going commando". Most of all Monica and Ross taught us the new way of giving the middle finger, by bumping our fists together.
20 years ago these six best friends became our best friends...
Anniversary of two classics
ReplyDelete#friends and #lost.
I miss this show so much sometimes. Thanks for a great read, Shirleena.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed reading this though I only started and finished watching friends this year. I had seen maybe 30 episodes of it before and not really in order so I never knew the whole story. I started missing the show when I was watching the last season, even though it had stopped airing 10 years ago! They are all such amazing actors which you don't always see in comedy especially when the shows don't last long enough to get to the more subtle things that we followed throughout friends. I personally love Ross' "Hi" line which they started right from the start. Friends was so different when it first started that it really captivated people and even now, new people in their 20s can watch and enjoy the show thoroughly as if it was a current show. Of course I would say there are A LOT of episodes and I was watching it in the summer when i didn't have much work and it took me 6 weeks. I felt a Friends void and I'm sure in 5 years when I go back and watch some parts I will miss it all over again.
ReplyDeleteI watch a lot of series. Some people might say that I'm kind of addicted, because I don't go one day without it and, on my spare time, most of what I do is watch tv series. But there isn't, and I don't think there will be, a TV series that I love more than Friends. It's the only series that I have bought all the seasons on DVD, I've watched each episode like at least 10 times, they still make laugh every time, know a great deal of the lines, and I can't get enough of it. I absolutely love this show ;)
ReplyDeletedo not forget ER!
ReplyDeleteGod I miss good TV! Friends and ER now that was great TV.
ReplyDeleteI agree !!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you all!! Those were my two favorite shows. Friends ended the year I graduated from high school, so it was like my childhood ended with Friends. Friends was a huge part of my life.
ReplyDelete