a dreamy idea

okay I just had this dream (I'm so sad, I dream about friends <~~~hangs head in shame) okay, well basically it's kinda an idea for the very last episode, and it's a little flash forward and flash back Chandler and Monica are not together, (Monica fans will kill me) more or less cause Monica's dead. (My head has some wierd thoughts) neways, Chandler has this little kid by Monica before she died, and the kid never knew Monica, and Chandler never talks about her. So he gets curious, and asks about her, and he goes around trying to find stuff about her, and in the end he finds this picture,which finally gets Chandler and the other friends to talk about her. It's a wierd idea, but it seemed cool this morning when I woke up :)

I'm not so sure if I liked that idea. What if.... na, I can't come up with anything good, but I sure hope that that's not how the show ends. It needs a grand finale!

it's a

less

has

and

and he

her.

It sure won't be how the show ends, but you know it was just a little dreazm I had :)

It might work, if they had names like Carlos and Desri and aired at 2:00 in the afternoon. Basically it sounds like a sick soap story, or something from a show like providence or something. Toni, you better not be psychic, or I just may stop watching friends!!!

nbcz (a guys gotta sya what a guys gotta say)

In article ,

dreazm I

come up

ends. It

and

more or

Chandler

Monica,

her,

finds this

about

up :)

not you!

you!

does a bit don't it :)

probably not the best time to tell you that some of my dreams have come true... but don't worry, I don't think the writers will be so stupid as to actually use this idea!

In article , [email] (Toni Perry If only) wrote:

Don't worry about it, Toni. You're a fan. :)

Actually, that sounds a bit like a fanfic I've read, don't ask me where.

Tennant

okey :)

<~~~drops an acid to induce a flashback, then remebers she doesn't believe in drugs so dwells in her memory

okay, I don't think I've read it so that must be some wierd subconscious I have... Maybe it was one of Poppy and Kaths... no wait, there's are better than my dreams. oh! maybe it was one of mine! nope, never wrote anything like that...

In article , [email] (Toni Perry If only) wrote:

Mebbe it's one you're gonna write... ;)

Tennant

I'll probably end up doing that and then thinking what a stupid idea I had :)

In article , [email] (Toni Perry If only) wrote:

Have confidence in yourself. :)

Tennant

I'm not saying I couldn't write it, I'm just saying it's not a very good idea. what do you think?

In article , [email] (Toni Perry If only) wrote:

I liked it. Remember that this is fanfic - a fiction within a fiction - so we can enjoy a tragic story about the aftermath of Monica's death, and then return to a 'world' in which Monica is 'alive'.

Tennant

In article , Tennant Stuart writes:

yeah okay, it's better than the fanfic finale I had in mind anyway, Chandler not making it to the alter cause when he was drunk he ended up hitching a lift to Massachussettes, but it reminded me to much of Eastenders Ricky's wedding

In article , [email] (Toni Perry If only) wrote:

Ah - I'll have to take your word for that. :)

Funnily enough, I dreamt last night that I was a junior writer for "Friends", and I came up with a story twist to save an ailing plot, so the story editor let me do the pitch to Marta Kauffman...

Tennant

In article , Tennant Stuart writes:

okay okay okay stop stealing my dreams :) If only it were true then I could say I knew a friends writer...

In article , [email] (Toni Perry If only) wrote:

Grin.

If only it were true then I would send you VIP tickets and you could come and meet Matthew Perry...

Tennant

:)

alrite that's it, one of us has to become a writer and get the other VIP tickets. <~~~dreams of meeting Matthew Perry :)

In article , [email] (Toni Perry If only) wrote:

Me too, except I'm dreaming of Courteney Cox.

Tennant

wouldn't it be cool if we did get to meet them?

In article , [email] (Toni Perry If only) wrote:

Yep. Sigh.

Tennant

couldn't we just, apply for some job there, or pretend to be interviewers and try and get in... ?

In article , [email] (Toni Perry If only) wrote:

Have you seen the article about what a shitty life they lead?

Tennant

what, writers in general or Friends writers, cause I ain't seen it but I know about a writers life. That's more or less what I'm like anyway, three hours sleep

In article , [email] (Toni Perry If only) wrote:

Friends writers.

Tennant

okay no I haven't, what kind of lives do they have?

In article , [email] (Toni Perry If only) wrote:

I've posted the article before, but it's worth repeating.

Note that Andrew Reich's credits are currently as follows...

   323 "TOW Ross's Thing"
   404 "TOW the Ballroom Dancing"
   409 "TOW They're Gonna Party!"
   415 "TOW All the Rugby"
   418 "TOW Rachel's New Dress"
   509 "TOW Ross's Sandwich"
   517 "TOW Rachel's Inadvertent Kiss"
   523 "TOI Vegas (part 1)"
   604 "TOW Joey Loses His Insurance"
   612 "TOW the Joke"
   614 "TOW Chandler Can't Cry"
   623 "TOW the Ring"
   625 "TOW the Proposal (part 2)"
   702 "TOW Rachel's Book"

Tennant

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

SPOILER SPACE FOR THE EASILY OFFENDED OR THE REALLY YOUNG P O I L E R

S P A C E

F O R

T H E

E A S I L Y

O F F E N D E D

O R

T H E

R E A L L Y

Y O U N G

This is from Larissa's Across The Hall newsletter...

The All-Nighter by Andrew Reich from Bikini Magazine, September/October 1999

Note: We should have censored this article, but decided not to. If you are easily offended or really young, please skip it!

Sometimes it's hard to be funny, especially when you're in a poorly-lit, cramped room drinking bad coffee. But Friends writer Andrew Reich says it's a lot harder when you're not.

It's 2 a.m. on a Monday night. I am sitting around a table with 11 other writers, writing an episode for one of television's most watched sitcoms. We are all under a lot of pressure. Sixteen hours earlier, our day started badly.

The "table read" is the first step in the sitcom production week. We sit around a table and take notes as the actors read the script for the episode that will be filmed on Friday. In this case, the show on Friday will probably bear little resemblance to what was read, because what was read sucked. Of the three storylines, one was completely unfunny, one started out funny and then became unfunny, and the third was, in most people's opinion, pretty funny. The script, which took weeks to be conceived, outlined, and written, needs to be almost completely overhauled by 9:00 tomorrow morning when the actors come in to rehearse. It's up to the 12 of us, all highly educated, highly-paid writers at the top of our profession. There are important matters to be discussed.

    "Would you rather have an eight-inch penis, or a two-inch penis that
shoots money?"
    "Money penis."
    "Okay, would you rather have an eight-inch penis, or a two-inch penis
that shoots an eight-inch penis?"
    "So, I would have a ten-inch penis, but only right at the end?"
    "Yes."
    "Hmm."

It's another late night in The Room.

The Room, at first glance, looks like your average corporate conference room; but on closer examination you see the differences. The ceiling is pierced with dozens of pencils, pens, plastic knives, and paper fasteners. There are two pieces of cheese nailed into one wall - one cheddar, one provolone - that have been there for several months and have hardened to the consistency of bathroom tiles. A drawer is filled with various food "experiments." One of the least repulsive of these is "Bonewater," a 12 ounce water bottle filled with water, a baby back rib bone, and several vitamin C tablets that have been marinating for about six months. (Space limitations prohibit me from describing such other drawer contents as "Shit Hand" and "Greek Food.") The Room is where I and my fellow writers spend 60-80 hours a week, and as we work here this Monday and into Tuesday morning, each of us will go slowly, slightly mad.

It takes until 10 p.m. to come up with fixes for the script that everyone can agree on. Now it's time to start writing. When my wife calls to say goodnight at midnight, we're only on page four. The sleepiness in her voice gives me a sudden, painful urge to be in bed. I quickly banish such thoughts. I know I've got at least another five hours of work ahead.

The work can only go so fast. Periods of intense concentration are followed by periods of blowing off steam in which the conversation inevitable revolves around a rather limited array of topics: the male and female genitals, sex, and all things pertaining to the anus. Tonight, in addition to the above Hypothetical Penis discussion, there is an extended riff on Stephen J. Hawking doing stand-up ("I. Just. Rolled. In. From. Cleveland. And. Boy. Is. My. Finger. Tired."). We have all become unshockable, but that doesn't stop any of us from trying to find the line and go over it.

By 3 a.m. everyone is engaged in their private battles to stay awake, alert, and funny. The hardest part of sitting for so long is keeping yourself physically occupied. I'm so used to this I don't notice that we must look like we are all wards of the state. I am obsessively cleaning food crumbs out of the cracks in the table. Steve holds a World War I era antique British rifle and absentmindedly pulls the trigger. Daniela has various arts and crafts supplies and is fashioning a set of overalls for LaPooh, the stuffed dog mascot of The Room. Jon methodically cuts each page of his script into strips. Gerald tries to pry open an Etch-a-Sketch (this is one of the last unbroken remnants of a gift basket full of toys sent by someone's agent). And Tom is burning something. During all of this we're writing a television show that will earn hundreds of millions of dollars for one of the country's largest corporations. [Note: Yes, writers' names have been changed, but not by Across The Hall.]

The Stephen Hawking stand-up routine has somehow metamorphosed into a bit where he plays the Harrison Ford role in "The Fugitive" ("I. Did. Not. Kill. My. Wife."). Brooke, understandably cranky at this hour, asks if we can please get back to the script. She gets the stock reply, "Why? Do you have someplace you need to be?"

Here's a list of what I have already eaten tonight: one bowl Honeycomb, one bowl Lucky Charms, two rolls ShockTarts, five Jolly Ranchers, one KitKat, one Twix, one cup miso soup, one can diced pineapple in syrup. I'm one of the healthier eaters.

It's 6:15 when we finally finish the last scene. At this hour, no one is sure if it's funny, or even if it makes any sense. We'll find out in nine hours when we see it at rehearsal.

Exiting the elevator to the parking lot, we cross paths with some people arriving early for their jobs at other companies in the building. They eye us curiously. We don't look or smell good. I get in my car and almost immediately hit the beginnings of morning rush hour. I punch the steering wheel in anger. Then I think about Stephen Hawking as The Fugitive, going backwards out of the sewer pipe in his wheelchair. And I laugh like a crazy person.

<snipped>

oh my God! wow that looks like a crap life! I don't know though, it hasn't put me off <~~~that was your last warning that this girl, is in fact, a very crazy person but I do like to write actually. I'm writing a script for the ranger group for the district festival this year in the dramatic reading class. I wrote the one we used last year too, we came third :) and we beat last years winners :)

In article , [email] (Toni Perry If only) wrote:

<snipped>

Yep.

Go for it Toni, and make Season 12 of Friends something to be proud of. :)

Tennant

Christ that's bad!

hehe! If only it'll be aroundfor that long... It will won't it?

In article , [email] (Toni Perry If only) wrote:

Could be. Contracts are signed for next year, and CCA said she'd only do another ten years, so the window is S8 to S16. I split the difference.

Tennant

I posted an article in another thread, I forget which, but it said something about it ending next year. Damnit! why did I start reading tabloids again! It would be cool if it did go on for longer, don't know how it would work, still be funny, or any thing else, but I'd so watch it! And if I could I would so write it!

In article , [email] (Toni Perry If only) wrote:

People couldn't see how "Friends" could go on after Season 4, but it did.

The other reason I said 12 seasons is that would just surpass "Cheers".

In the end it all comes down to the quality of the writing.

Tennant

they couldn't? huh, seemed like it could go on well to me

nothing could surpass cheers... one of the best... :)

I suppose it does, and it's going okay so far is it? can't wait in that case! Hope it goes on fer as long as possible! :)

In article , [email] (Toni Perry If only) wrote:

Fraid so. At the time, S4 was being vilified by the TV critics, the show was said to have lost its heart, fans were supposedly deserting in droves because Ross & Rachel had not been reconciled, and finally the two London episodes insulted many extra British viewers who tuned in without knowing about the basic philosophy of 6 friends in a hostile world. It was obvious that S5 would be a complete disaster, so the show should be cancelled.

In terms of number of episodes - 273. "Cheers" was indeed a great show, but of course critics demanded it should be cancelled after Diane left and/or Coach died, and TV critics said it was a mistake to open out the focus from Sam & Diane's willthey-wonthey romance since viewer interest would be fragmented by an ensemble of 6 characters, especially Frasier Crane who was jumped-up minor character without any staying power.

As far as I'm concerned the writing in S7 is up to standard, many good episodes, some merely okay, a few great ones. The new characterisations which affected late S5 & most of S6 have been largely reversed, and the show is benefitting from Kauffman & Crane's full attention once more.

Me too. Sixteen seasons *at*least*. :)

Tennant

So I wasn't the only one that was slightly offended by the England show. mind you, at the time I watched it, I hadn't even seen any of the episodes with Emily in it so I didn't know what was going on! Thank God for season five! That was a bloody good season!

yeah but after coach died woody appeared and he was a really good character! How do you mean without any staying power though, I din't understand that bit, my minds been a bit stupid today :)

I saw the two new episodes last night! I thought the writing was good, and Monica had actually calmed down a lot, she was still a little screechy, but it was calmer. I like that. It was funny IMO, and I'm so glad that kauffman & Crane are working their magic properly again :)

hehe! could you see it going on or more than two seasons? I'm not sure how many people would wanna see friends in their fifties.. :)

okay I meant to say 16 seasons, not two :)

In article , [email] (Toni Perry If only) wrote:

Magically, you just have... :)

Tennant

toni worte:

wow! how did you do it Tennant? :)

In article ,

I'm in control of this computer.

Tennant

ah, Now control mine, see what happens, maybe it will work for once in its life :)

In article , [email] (Toni Perry If only) wrote:

Indeed. The script was rather hard on Emily's parents, which could offend any new British viewer who wouldn't know that "Friends" shows all ten of the principal parents in a bad light. However, Hugh Laurie came off well.

I know - the show was totally rejuvenated by Chandler & Monica's affair.

I'm summarising the things which critics said at the time which turned out to be very wrong. Of course Woody Boyd was very good, the character propelled Woody Harrelson into becoming a movie star. And that remark about staying power was that there was little you could do with Frasier Crane before the writers would run out of ideas, and yet Kelsy Grammer is still playing the character 16� years later.

Yep. They are no longer distracted by their other two sitcoms, "Veronica's Closet" and "Suddenly Susan", since these were both cancelled.

Well first of all, Ross & Phoebe (the eldest ones) won't turn 50 until Season 24, which is very unlikely. Secondly, if the show did last that long, then the majority of fans would be much older too.

The cast have only signed for one more season, and there are rumours that Kauffman & Crane feel that the writers are running out of fresh ideas. But remember that there are always new writers, and most importantly the show is making a fortune for Warner Brothers & NBC. The inflated salaries they now pay the cast are peanuts compared with the profits.

Tennant

toni wrote: Tennant wrote:

Hugh Laurie was so good in this! I think that's one of the only reasons I wanted to watch it cause I'd seen him in Blackadder They do make fun of all the parents don't they? ummm, well except Joeys mum, she's a little quirky, but she was a good person

umm, do you think they could not focus on them so much though? :)

have you seen Woody Harrelson im Welcome to Sarejavo? (I can't spell btw) He was very good!

I never watched those...

thats a good point... :) I would be thirty three... That's kinda wierd to imagine myself growing up woth friends...:)

again? they were peanuts the first time? how much money is WB making!!! :)

In article , [email] (Toni Perry If only) wrote:

:)

I reckon she's worse than any of them except Monica & Phoebe's mothers.

Do you mean in Season 7?

No.

It's Sarajevo.

Good.

I've seen a couple, they're not a patch on "Friends".

Yep. Ben would be 23, and Ross will have been divorced 12 times...

A *lot*.

Tennant

he was great in that... :)

how exactly? I didn't think she was that bad

you should

so I got two letters mixed up, better than usual...

you should watch it, it's a brilliant film in itself

Well Friends is the best...

dear God... And rachel would have seduced eight colleagues, and customers, Monica gets 25 jobs, Phoebe gets married to several more gay ice dancers and stabs a few more cops, and Joey is still a struggling actor. How we love them... :)

Christ! How come this thread is claiming I wrote that report on the money?

In article , [email] (Toni Perry If only) wrote:

I have my suspicions that all was not well in the Tribbiani household.

Joey is well out of there.

No worries, I only spelt it out for you because you said you couldn't.

Yep.

yep. The show would be on 584 episodes.

And Chandler & Monica are still in love.

Is it?

Tennant

well she said her self that all was not well. JOey Sr was always yelling.

ummm

and I thank you

of course

That's a LOOOONG time...

And Rachel and Ross are still jealous of each other

yeah, It's got 4 >'s for the report, then 4 >'s to my comment on it

In article , [email] (Toni Perry If only) wrote:

Oh arr, sorry. Maybe I accidentally deleted one of your >'s, and then your passage must have neatly reformatted itself. :)

Tennant

ah, I see...

Billions..Syndication packages sold seperately to every major tv market in the US, not to mention over seas. The money will keep coming until the show stops being shown in syndication.

====== es*o*ter*ic b : of or relating to knowledge that is restricted to a small group

2 a : limited to a small circle

my God! No wonder so many people want to go into acting!