It’s 20 years since Friends first premiered. My darlings, it was two decades ago, on September 22, 1994, that we first met Ross and Rachel and Chandler and Monica and Joey and Phoebe. They became embedded in the fabric of our lives. We cried with them. We rooted for them, even though they were downtowners, not Upper East Siders like us.
Still, my minions and I loved Monica’s OCD cleanliness. We laughed at how Chandler couldn’t go five minutes without insulting someone. We saw both sides of the “on a break” Ross vs. Rachel argument. We hummed along to Phoebe’s “Smelly Cat” songs. We loved Joey’s “How you doin’?” but not his spinoff.
In honor of the 20th anniversary of the Friends premiere, here are 12 facts you didn’t know about the series, but need to, in case you are as competitive at Pictionary as Miss Geller.
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1. Matthew Perry pitched a similar sitcom in 1993. NBC nixed it since Friends was already in the works.
2. Possible series titles were allegedly Across the Hall, Once Upon a Time in the West Village and Insomnia Cafe. I have to admit that all of those are a bit more descriptive and more interesting than the eventual title.
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3. Phoebe and Chandler were originally planned as support characters.
4. Ellen DeGeneres said ‘Thanks but no thanks’ when offered the role of Phoebe.
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5. R.E.M.’s “Shiny Happy People” was used in the pilot and was the first choice for the theme song. Could you imagine a world without “I’ll Be There for You”? That would be…uncivilized.
6. No. 5 is not just an iconic Chanel perfume; it was the original apartment number for Rachel and Monica. It was later changed to 20.
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7. Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry were 25 when the show premiered.
8. We still don’t know what the “E” in Monica E. Geller stands for. As for her bro Ross? His middle name is Eustace.
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9. The only cast member not to be Emmy nominated for her role on Friends? Oh, just Courteney Cox.
10. Bruce Willis reportedly did not take a paycheck for his guest role due to a bet he made with Perry.
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11. The apartment fridge was operational. Cast and crew were able to enjoy drinks housed in the refrigerator.
12. The first season salary for each cast member? $2
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