The well-loved series "Friends" followed the lives of 6 young friends in Manhatten as they learned to deal with the obstacles of life. For 10 long years (1994-2004), millions of viewers in living rooms around the world experienced the group's failures and successes along with them, as the actors behind the characters went from relative obscurity to becoming some of the most sought after stars in Hollywood, picking up plenty of awards along the way.
Alongside the 6 main characters, fashionable Rachel Green(Jennifer Aniston), clean-freak Monica Geller(Courteney Cox), kooky Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), funny Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry), wannabe actor Joey Tribiani (Matt LeBlanc) and geeky Ross Geller (David Schwimmer), numerous guest stars and supporting actors were featured during the shows 10 series, some such as Gunther (James Michael Taylor), becoming stars in their own right.
Getting to know you
We first meet the 6 friends at a crisis point: at the beginning of the first series Rachel turns up in a wedding dress hoping to stay with her old high school friend Monica Geller, after ditching her fiancée at the altar. Monica's older brother Ross has also suffered misfortune as his wife has left him for another woman. Throughout the season we see Ross's despair as Rachel remains oblivious to the feelings he has held for her since high school. Despite the serious basis for each of the character's stories every scene is rich with comedy, and great episodes such as "The One with the Thumb" and "The One with the East German Laundry Detergent" make this series an all-time television must see.
Series 2 continues the saga of Ross and Rachel as they eventually get together as a couple. But there is no shortage of problems for the pair, setting the scene for this to carry on throughout all 10 series. We also get to know each of the other characters better, learning, for example, that Phoebe is married to a gay Canadian ice dancer. Guest star Tom Selleck features in many episodes in the series as Monica's boyfriend, Richard, and we see more of Joey's attempted acting career.
In Series 3 we see Phoebe get to know her long-lost family. Ross and Rachel continue to be a focal point and "The One Where Ross and Rachel Take a Break" became legendary. The often neglected Chandler also experiences a bit of attention in "The One Where Chandler Can't Remember Which Sister".
On again... and off again
Series 4 brings Phoebe to centre stage as she agrees to be a surrogate mother so her brother and his wife can have children. Helen Baxendale guest stars as Emily, Ross's new girlfriend leading the series to it's dramatic end point in London for their wedding. While in London, we see the beginning of Monica and Chandler's relationship.
The relationship continues throughout Series 5 (24 episodes) and Series 6 accompanied through these two series with Rachel and Ross marrying then divorcing shortly after, a guest appearance by Bruce Willis, and Joey seeing some acting success starring on a cable TV show alongside a robot. Series 6 culminates in Monica and Chandler's emotional proposal.
Friends forever
Series 7 deals with Monica and Chandler's wedding preparations, leading to the dramatic series finale with the wedding and Rachel discovering that she is pregnant. However, we don't find out who the father is until partway through Series 9 we see Rachel coping with motherhood after the birth of baby Emma giving us great episodes such as "The One with Ross's Inappropriate Song", and Monica and Chandler desperately trying to concieve. Phoebe also has a larger role, as she gets a new boyfriend Mike (, "Knocked Up").
Series 10, the final series, sees Phoebe getting married, Monica and Chandler adopting twins, and Ross and Rachel finally getting back together! Record audiences watched "The Last One", the emotional end of 10 years of laughter.
jwi, 05.12.07 |
