Things You Didn't Know About Friends

In Entertainment Weekly's The First Decade : A Special Collector's Issue they have a one page article on Friends and they listed some of the top 6 things we didn't know about the show. One of them some of you may know but the rest I don't think you do.

Here they are:

1. The sitcom was initially pitched to Fox. When the network balked, NBC bought it.

2. Youth isn't always king. Worried the series might only appeal to a young demographic, NBC wanted to cast a coffeehouse owner as a mentor to the Friends. Producers Marta Kauffman, David Crane, and Kevin S. Bright nixed the idea.

3. Tea Leoni and Jami Gertz were approached for the role of Monica; they both passed. Courtney Cox Arquette ultimately beat out Nancy McKeon for the part

4. David Schwimmer was the only one of the six cast members who didn't have to audition for the show; the producers wrote the part of Ross with him in mind.( A few years earlier, they'd done a pilot for ABC about three couples in NYC and Jonathan Silverman had edged out Schwimmer for one of the roles.)

5. What's in a name? A lot, apparently. The title of the show went through several incarnations. The first name, suggested by NBC, was Across the Hall(the girls lived across the hall from the guys; get it?) The producers didn't like it, and the title of the pilot script was switched to Six of One. That name didn't stick either, so they submitted the pilot to the network as Friends LIke Us. NBC countered with the current shorter version.

(This one I definately did not know about.) 6. Were all friends created equal? Not exactly. The show was originally going to focus on four main characters(Monica, Joey, Ross, Rachel) with two supporting players(Phoebe and Chandler). But after Matthew Perry and Lisa Kudrow were cast for the pilot, the producers were so pleased, they decided to make it a true ensemble of six.

Well that's it.

Matt

I read that in the Friends book I have that it was Monica, Ross, Rachel, Chandler as the main (Monica was actually supposed to be the sort of main character though) characters and Phoebe & Joey as the supporting instead of Chandler. I kinda think this is more believeable because Joey's never really been given a big storyline, and Chandler's the guy who gets all the good jokes. Also they wanted Courtney to play Rachel at first, (they thought she fit their profile of a spoiled pretty girl) but she convinced them to let her read for Monica. Also Jennifer read for the Monica part according to the book.

====== "Life is never without love" -Sheryl Crow

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Knew all that too :)

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And 2 years later, Lisa Kudrow got the embarrasing honour of getting an award for being a best supporting actress.

On Sat, 27 May 2000 13:46:15 +0100, "Tom Hawley" wrote:

I don't think anyone on the show could be considered a leading actor/actress when awards time rolls around - it really is an ensemble cast in the truest sense of the word. Critics always praised Cheers as a brilliant ensemble show, but Ted Danson was the star, no two ways about it. Granted, Joey seems to be getting short-changed as far as storylines go, but nobody really jumps out as "leading" this cast.

And I doubt Lisa is terribly embarrassed with her award!

I disagree. Sure some of them left and came back over time, but when you say something like this its effectively saying replace all the other actors, and it'd still be as good. It wouldn't have been.

I'll say again, she didn't get a leading actress award, she got a supporting actress award. Surely you see why she might be annoyed or embarrassed. It's like saying "you're not the big star here, but you being in it makes it better".

On Sat, 27 May 2000 22:56:20 +0100, "Tom Hawley" wrote:

That's not what I'm saying at all. I'm saying that any one of the other characters could have left without much effect. But if Danson left, you don't have a show. The show revolved around him. It's not that way with Friends. The show doesn't revolve around any one character.

Dontcha know how them awards thingies work? *She* had to submit herself for Emmy consideration. *She* chose the supporting actress category. When she got eventually the nomination, *she* chose the episode to submit for the Academy to vote on.

Yeah, I bet she's really annoyed and embarrassed after doing all that self-promotion to have actually won the darn thing!!!

But the cast all said, "There IS not big star here."

Lisa Kudrow and all the others deliberately stipulated that they were *all* supporting actors, and that there was no lead. That was the actor's decision, and when they submit their choice episodes for review by the Emmy committee, that is the category for which they chose to be considered. She is not even the slightest bit annoyed or embarrassed at all, anymore than David Hyde Pierce is annoyed at those Emmys on his mantlepiece.

"Tom Hawley" wrote in message news:dn7Y4.259$[email]...

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I am under the impression that Emmy's are awarded to Actors and Actresses for their performance in a 'paticular' episode. Now I don't know what episode Lisa received that well-deserved award for, but i'm certain that she would have played a supporting roll 'in that episode'. (this does not imply that the cast is not an equal ensemble, for i agree that they are; all it means is that only having about three storylines per episode, two or three of the actors must take supporting rolls for the duration of the episode.)

again,. this is only how i understand it - and I doubt very much that Lisa Kudrow could be embarrased for recieving such a great award - she's a great actress.

Scott Andrew

The name of the pilot was "One Of Six". I have a script signed by the cast.

XGeNsPiCeBoYx wrote:

one wrote...

Where did you get that??! Lucky...

Adeline. ===== "Your timing couldn't be better, I'm puttin' out fires all over the place." ~Joey Tribbiani, "Friends"

"I'm right! I'm right! Am...I...right??" ~Chandler Bing, "Friends"

On Mon, 29 May 2000, one stated this considered view. Waking from my doze, I hastily scrawled -

One of six? I prefer seven of nine myself. :)

In article , Paul Hyett wrote:

Abbreviated from "Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero One", but actually named Annika Hansen... :)

Tennant