Inventive suggestions for Season 10 episodes

Now that a 10th season of "Friends" seems to be in the works, a lot of people on this NG have expressed doubts that the writers could come up with inventive storylines. So what would you guys like to see that you have not seen yet?

I have thought of something, and I have racked my brains for a previous episode of "Friends" that might have used this device before, but I guess it has not been done (although I did see it being used in other shows; an episode of "The X Files" comes to mind).

My suggestion is an episode that could tentatively bear the title: "The one where they ripped off Rashomon." It would be an episode in which three of our six heroes are involved in an embarrassing incident. We get to see the situation three times, narrated from the point of view of each of the three characters, and the stories contradict each other, since each character lies about certain details according to their own convenience. In the end the other three step in and narrate the story as it really happened.

This narrative device was used in a famous movie by Akira Kurosawa, named "Rashomon."

In article , [email] (Julio Duarte) wrote:

So ripping off not only Rashomon but Frasier?

wg

[email] wrote in message news:...

Correctamundo! But lets just stick to the Rashomon reference. A sitcom ripping off a classic movie, and a foreign one at that, is cool. A sitcom ripping off another sitcom is laughable unless you are found out. If that Frasier story ever comes out, then Bright, Kaufmann and Crane can deny, to their deathbeds, that they were even aware of the existence of a TV show named Frasier.

BTW, I liked the suggestion, posted by somebody else, that the episode should avoid a direct explanation of what really happened.

On 3 Jan 2003 16:51:19 -0800, [email] (Julio Duarte) wrote:

TPTB of various shows must believe that it's okay to use this formula. I've seen this technique used in a couple of eighties sitcoms like Small wonder and Belvedere. I'm sure there are bound to be countless others that predate Frasier.

Priya

Simpsons did it!

"p r i y a" wrote in message news:[email]...

news:...

details

in

That's MISTER Belvedere to you. ;-)

[email] (Julio Duarte) wrote in message news:...

It would be more true to Rashomon if you just drop off the fourth "correct" way that events happened. That way, know one will ever know the full, "real" truth. And that will be fun and debatable for years to come... kind of like whether Ross and Rachel were or weren't on a break.

Lee

In article , [email] (Julio Duarte) wrote:

I've seen it in a Jamie Lee Curtis sitcom, and an episode of ST-TNG.

Surely it would be better if only two of our six heroes were involved in the embarrassing incident, but we don't know which one of them to believe, and then the title could be "The One with Ross or Mon".

Tennant Stuart

On Fri, 03 Jan 2003 18:12:43 GMT, Tennant Stuart wrote:

Excepting the fact that there was only one flashback scene, what you are suggesting was done in TOW The Videotape. :)

Priya

In article , p r i y a wrote:

That's a HUGE exception, Priya! In that case the *one* flashback proved that poor Ross was honest and Rachel was a liar. The whole point of the 'Ross or Mon' scenario (I hope you at least got the pun) was to look at a set of events from multiple points of view, yet never be sure.

Tennant

On Mon, 06 Jan 2003 01:24:17 GMT, Tennant Stuart wrote:

The multiple point of views that I've seen in other shows that used this formula always had tree parties lying while one party was telling the truth which is revealed at long last.

Not until you almost spelled it out here. :(

You know, I don't really believe the writing team can deliver the goods as well as they used to. This idea might actually get really embarrassing to watch.

Priya

In article , p r i y a wrote:

Yes, but the pun, the pun!

At last...

Maybe, but then again, maybe it will be quite good.

Have you heard the story of The Horse That Couldn't Sing?

I think it's in the 1001 Nights.

Tennant

"Julio Duarte" wrote in message news:[email]...

Hahaha... this is a good one !