How much do you know
about Friends? You thought you know it all? Read these and see if you know what
you think you knew. These are facts gathered through a period of times. At
least 25 facts came officially from NBC.com. These facts include Taping cycle,
bloopers and facts behind the scene. Read it to become a "truer"
Friends.
1. Courteney Cox originally
auditioned for the part of Rachel Green (played by Jennifer Aniston.)
2. The golden frame around the
peephole was originally a mirror which one of the crew accidentally smashed.
But because it still looked good they decided to leave it there.
3. In the first couple of
episodes
4. In an episode made shortly
after Courteney Cox married actor David Arquette and considered taking the name
"Courteney Cox Arquette", the producers of Friends jokingly added
"Arquette" likewise to the end of the names of every actor in the
opening credits.
5. Other titles considered for
the show were "Friends Like Us," "Six of Us,"
"Insomnia Café," and "Across the Hall."
6. The first line of dialogue in
the very first pilot episode of Friends was "There's nothing to
tell."
7. A 30-second commercial during
the break in the show in
8. According to Aniston, her
famous "Rachel" hairdo was created by accident when her
"friend" Chris cut her hair with a razor.
9. Perry's wit is so legendary
that the scriptwriters have often incorporated his gags into the show.
10. Central Perk, the café in
which they all hang out, is based on the Manhattan Café in
11. Famous guest stars on the
show have included ER's George Clooney and Noah Wyle, Jean-Claude Van Damme,
Chris Isaak and Julia Roberts.
12. The whole cast huddle
together before each episode to wish each other luck. This made frequent guest
star Tom Selleck feel a bit left out.
13. When the pilot show was
approved by the network, and a series comissioned, the entire cast was sent on
a free trip to
14. The cast apparently get on as
well in real life as they do on screen. They play poker and Scrabble together,
and the girls often shop with each other. The rumor that they had made a pact
never to sleep together is untrue.
15. Friends is Channel 4's
top-rating comedy, regularly attracting three million viewers.
16. Marcel's trainer, Nerissa
Pulizer, said of her charge: "If Marcel were human, she'd be Meryl
Streep".
17. The monkey was the first cast
member to get a
18. The opening footage of the
cast dancing around a fountain was filmed on the Warner Brothers lot in LA at
five o'clock one morning.
19. The first thing Cox bought
with her Friends money was a brand new Porsche.
20. The occupations of the
characters are as follows: Ross, palaeontologist; Monica, chef; Joey,
actor/model; Phoebe, masseuse; Rachel, waitress;
21. Cox has said of her character:
"She's obsessive, the one who has to be perfect and please everybody. I'm
so similar to her it's frightening".
22. There's a book out called
Cooking with Friends, full of comfort-food recipes for when "it hasn't
been your day, your month or even your year" - a reference to the theme
song.
23. The show's producers admit
that the characters could never afford the rents on the apartments they live in
on the show.
24. Both cast members Jennifer
Aniston and David Schwimmer have directed at least one episode of the show.
25. Friends was released in the
26. Jennifer Aniston's (who plays
Rachel) actual last name is Anastassakis but her family changed it to Aniston
when they moved to the
27. Stage 24 (home to Friends
from season two until now) is said to be haunted. It is one of the oldest
stages on the Warner Bros. lot and rumors of late night "occurrences"
have been circulating for years!
28. Each episode enlists from 35
to 50 extras. James Michael Tyler (Gunther) was an extra in season one. He was
the only extra who could work the cappuccino machine, which led to his
recurring role. Not until his first spoken line ("Yes." in The One
with Phoebe's Dad) did the writers give him a name.
29. The Wardrobe
Department has an entire room just for handbags!
30. The artwork in Central Perk
is changed every 3 episodes. The art department showcases local, national and
international artists. Some artists create original pieces just for the show!
(pictured artist: Elise Margolis)
31. The shops across from Central
Perk have meaning. Dottie & Herman's Deli is named after co-creator Marta
Kauffman's relatives. Free Being Records is an homage to a
32. Paul Swain, the Electrical
Best Boy, draws the art on the Magna-Doodle board hanging on the back of Joey
and
33. Monica and Joey's
refrigerators actually work (a TV rarity). Monica's is filled with water and
soda for the cast and crew. Joey's is, um, pretty darn bachelor-like.
34. The sandwich board outside
Central Perk references a crew member who went above and beyond the call of
duty. "Neighbor Tim" has been appearing at Central Perk ever since
his good deed on the set.
35. In the cold open of "The
One with the Princess Leia Fantasy" (Season Premiere, 1996), the gang came
in and found other people sitting in their Central Perk spots. Those were the
show's writers for that season.
36. The show goes through 32 pots
of regular coffee on show day and over 100 cases of water a week.
37. Phoebe has performed over 25
original songs on the show since the first season.
38. The Central Perk set is one
of the few soundstage sets with a real asphalt "street." This allows
for more realistic sound during exterior scenes, and allows for underground
plumbing to pipe-in real steam from the manholes.
39. The newspapers near
the pay phone in Central Perk are six months old.
40. 30,000 feet of film
is used to tape one episode of Friends
41. The art department updates
the food in Monica's kitchen cupboards weekly. But types of food (ie: pasta,
canned goods) are always kept in the same areas, because Monica is so
organized!
42. Monica and
43. The show orders pizza twice a
night for the studio audience. That's a total of 85 pizzas to feed the 300
audience members. (The cast and crew sometimes get sushi too!)
44. When the original
Magna-Doodle wore out, the prop department had to find one on eBay to match the
original.
45. Robin Williams and Billy
Crystal did four takes of their brief cameo in Central Perk.
46. Most of the copy on the
Central Perk coffee board is the original copy from the show's first season
(typos included!)
47. The show spends $
48. Executive producer/co-creator
Kevin Bright often directs episodes. He also re-edits the opening title
sequence twice each year with new footage. Once for the first 12 episodes, then
again for the second 12.
49. Each script goes through
three to five drafts - and often times jokes are rewritten during filming,
based on audience response.
50. It takes 366,000 watts of
electricity to light all the sets on Stage 24 for one Friends filming. That is
the equivalent electrical power of 12 large homes.
51. 25 to 30 people attend the
weekly table reads. This is when the cast reads the script for that week's
episode aloud for the first time.
52. Joey's pin number is 5639
which if you look at the letters in a telephone numbers actually spell out
JOEY.
53.The characters of Ross's
ex-wife Carol and her girlfriend Susan are based on the godmothers to
Kauffman's daughter.
54. The one and only time they
took the Central Perk set down was in TOI Vegas, in which they needed it for
The Caesar's Palace
55. Central Perk, is
based on the Manhattan Cafe in
56. Joey hurting his arm (falling
of his bed in TOW The Jam) was not part of the storyboard, it was just thrown
in as Matt dislocated his shoulder on the set.
57. Courteney Cox
originally read to play the part of Rachel.
58. Other titles considered for
the series included "Once upon a time in the
59. A break up scene was written
for Ross and Julie, but the writters decided to skip it, because everyone's
hearts would be with Ross and Julie if they kept it in, instead of with Ross
and Rachel.
60. It took Matt LeBlanc twelve
times to open Phoebe's blouse correctly in TOW Everyone Finds Out
61. The opening footage of the
cast dancing around a fountain was filmed on the Warner Bros. lot in LA at five
o'clock in the morning.
62. The golden frame around the
peephole on the door was originally a mirror which one of the crew accidentally
smashed. But because it still looked good they decided to leave it there. (get
one of your own!)
63. Helen Baxendale, who played
Emily, was pregnant while filming the part. This is why they decided that Ross
should get divorce. If you noticed, they only showed her from the shoulders up
when she was in
64. Some of the writers on
Friends have guest-stared on the show. Michael Curtis was a police officer in
TOW Heckels Dies and was on Wheel of Fortune as the guy who couldn't guess
65. hen Ursula is on the show,
Lisa Kudrow's sister doubles for the shoulder shots
66. At the end of TOW Five Steaks
And An Eggplant, Joey was supposed to pick up the phone and say 'Bob here' but
it was so funny that they left it like that. The same happenned with the pillow
dropped in TOW George Setphanopoulos.
67. Does the Friends set look
familiar?? Well, its where the popular ABC show Full House was taped.
68. The fist line of dialogue in
the very first, pilot episode of Friends was: "There's nothing to
tell."
69. The whole cast huddles
together before each episode to wish each other luck. This made frequent guest
star Tom Selleck feel a bit left out.
70. The cast apparently gets on
as well in real life as they do on screen. They play poker and Scrabble
together, and the girls often shop with each other. The rumour that they had made a pact
never to sleep together is untrue.
71. Monica and
72. The day he auditioned for
Friends, Matt LeBlanc had a big scab on his nose and forehead after falling
down drunk on a bender the night before. And was down to his last $11.
73. When David Schwimmer first
met Matt LeBlanc he was sceptical. Matt was wearing leather jeans, and
Schwimmer thought he was "Joe Cool Stud" and hated him on sight.
74. David Schwimmer accused the
handlers of his on-screen pal Marcel the monkey of being "too
possessive". He claims he was never allowed to bond with the creature.
75. Marcel's trainer, Nerissa
Pulitzer, said of her charge: "If Monkey were human, she'd be Meryl
Streep."
76. To direct Marcel he
had to be yelled at which drove everyone crazy.
77. The shot of Marcel
dancing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is a loop.
78. Matthew's father John Bennett
Perry appeared in the 4th season episode "TOW Rachel's New Dress".
79. The fridge at Monica's
apartment actually works, the one at Joey's doesn't.
80. Robin Williams and Billy
Cristal's appearence wasn't prepared, they just happened to be in the building
and joined them.
81. The show's producers admit
that the characters could never afford the rents on the apartments they live in
on the show.
82. Matthew Perry's wit is so
legendary that the scriptwriter has often incorporated his gags into the show.
83. According to Aniston, her
famous "Rachel" hairdo was created by accident when her
"friend" Chris cur her hair with a razor.
84. Bruce Willis donated
the money he made for his appearence.
85. Matthew Perry dated
Julia Roberts after her appearance on the show.
86. A 30 second commercial during
the break in the show in
87. The reason that the black chairs
were stolen actually was that they were like BLACK HOLES for light on the set.
Our DP made us make the change.
88. They didn't use a stunt guy
for the actual filming of "The One With Chandler In A Box" that was
actually Matthew Perry in the box.
89. In TOW Sandwich Matt LeBlanc
really shaved his leg, no 'stunt' legs were used.
