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Joey (sitcom)

Joey (sitcom)

Joey is a sitcom starring Matt LeBlanc, reprising his role as Joseph Francis Tribbiani from the popular sitcom Friends.

Overview

Rumors of Joey, a spin-off show from Friends and produced by Bright-San Productions, Silver & Gold Productions and Warner Bros. Television, began to surface towards the end of the final season of Friends. First aired on 9 September 2004 on American television network NBC, Joey continues the story of popular character Joey Tribbiani, moving to Los Angeles in an attempt to boost his acting career. Possibly he is also seeking distance from his quintet of friends in New York, as his best friend Ross Geller has just gotten together with the only woman Joey has ever truly loved, Rachel Green. Joey, with Matt LeBlanc reprising the role, meets up with his sister Gina, and her son Michael, who help him acclimatize to the differences between New York and LA. The advertising image shows LeBlanc on a lounger in a pool in a suit but with bare feet. Despite middling ratings, the sitcom was renewed for a second season, 2005-2006. During its second season, ratings fell 42%. In the second season, Joey becomes a bigger star. He also gets a new best friend named Zach Miller, played by actor Miguel A. Nunez Jr (who will be a series regular). Also, Jennifer Coolidge will have a more prominent role this season.

Recurring characters


- Richard Ruccolo as Glen, Joey's assistant
- Mädchen Amick as Sara, Joey's girlfriend
- Ben Falcone as Howard J. Peckerman, Joey's neighbor
- Danneel Harris as Katie Harper, Joey's daughter in his new show Deep Powder
- Lucy Liu as Lauren Beck, the obsessive-compulsive executive producer of Deep Powder
- Simon Helberg as Seth Tobin, Michael's rival at Caltech
- Matt Letscher as Eric Garrett, Alex's (ex)husband
- Alex Ball as Todd/Producer, On the set of the filming of Deep Powder in both Season 1 and 2

List of guest stars

The show has had the following celebrities as guest stars:
- Peter Stormare [1.7] -- as Viktor
- Kelly Preston [1.8-9] -- as Donna Di Gregorio
- Danny Nucci [1.9] -- as Ron
- Bob Saget [1.11] -- as Himself
- Lucy Liu [1.12-14] -- as Lauren Beck
- Brent Spiner [1.14] -- as Himself
- Jay Leno [1.16] -- as Himself
- Christina Ricci [1.19] -- as Mary Teresa Tribbiani
- Carmen Electra [1.22] -- as Herself
- Kevin Smith [2.1] -- as Himself
- John Larroquette [2.3,6] -- as Benjamin Lockwood

Development of the show

Cast and filmed in the series pilot as married next-door neighbour Allison, actress Ashley Scott was released when test audiences responded poorly to her character. The role was renamed as Alex, recast with Andrea Anders, and her scenes in the pilot reshot in July 2004. The episode aired in September 2004 was this reshot version. Joey has been renewed for a second season. The show was pulled from its Thursday-night timeslot in December 2005, but it will return in the spring of 2006, after the 2006 Winter Olympics, which will air on NBC.

Episode list

See List of Joey episodes.

Region 2 DVD releases

Season releases

Trivia

List of Joey episodes
- The pilot episode was released in screener form for test audiences and members of the entertainment industry to preview the show and drum up business. The screener was subsequently leaked onto the Internet, and thus has received a much wider critical review process than initially conceived.
- The theme song for the show is Sunny Hours by Long Beach Dub Allstars featuring will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas.
- The fifth and the thirteenth episodes were directed by David Schwimmer (who played Ross Geller on Friends).
- The sixteenth episode, aired on February 3, makes reference to Johnny Carson, who died on January 23, 2005.
- Drea de Matteo and Paulo Costanzo, who play mother and son, were born six years apart. Costanzo's character is twenty years old, while de Matteo's is in her mid-thirties. This is probably referenced by Joey's role on Deep Powder, where he plays the father of a woman just five years his junior.
- The duckling and the chick, bought on the last episode of Friends have yet to appear in Joey.
- There is a picture of Joey & Chandler in a green picture frame on the cabinet next to the door into the apartment
- Joey's classic pick-up line of "How you doin'?" was first spoken in the show by Gina.
- The boxes of ordered Chinese food from which the characters of the show can be seen eating, have the Chinese character for friend (or friends, as Chinese lacks plural forms of nouns) printed on them.

Broadcasters

First-run


- NBC (United States)
- five (United Kingdom)
- CH Television (Canada)
- Global (Canada)
- Rai Due (Italy)
- TV 2 (Norway)
- Warner Channel (Latin America)
- MTV3 (Finland)
- RTÉ (Republic of Ireland)
- Xtra HOT (Israel)
- Nine Network (Australia)
- TV2 (New Zealand)
- Stöð 2 (Iceland)
- Veronica (The Netherlands)
- Kanal 5 (Sweden)
- TV 2 (Denmark)
- HBO (Romania)
- 8TV (Malaysia)
- CNBC-e (Turkey)
- RTV Pink (Serbia)
- FOX (Spain)

Reruns/syndication


- None announced as of March 2005 though the first episode rerun on NBC, in the place of a new episode.

External links


- [http://www.nbc.com/Joey/ Official Joey site]
-
- [http://www.tv.com/joey/show/20952/summary.html TV.com Entry for Joey] (including an episode guide)
- [http://www.Joeytv.net/ JoeyTV.net] – fansite
- [http://www.joey-page.webzdarma.cz/ Joey page] – fansite Category:Friends Category:NBC network shows Category:Sitcoms Category:Television spin-offs Category:2000s TV shows in the United States ja:ジョーイ

Situation comedy

A sitcom or situation comedy is a genre of comedy performance originally devised for radio but today typically found on television. Sitcoms usually consist of recurring characters in a format in which there are one or more humorous story lines centred on a common environment, such as a family home or workplace. The situation comedy format seems to have originated in the old time radio era of the United States, but today they have become among the most popular programmes on the schedule.

History

The situation comedy format originated on radio in the 1920s. The first situation comedy is often said to be Sam and Henry which debuted on the Chicago, Illinois clear-channel station WGN in 1926, and was partially inspired by the notion of bringing the mix of sexual confusion and continuity found in comic strips to the young medium of radio. The first network situation comedy was Amos & Andy which debuted on CBS in 1928, and was one of the most popular sitcoms through the 1930s. According to the 11th edition of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, the term sitcom was coined in 1951, making the term contemporaneous with I Love Lucy. Situation comedies have been a part of the landscape of broadcast television since its early days. The BBC in the United Kingdom broadcast Pinwright's Progress from late 1946 until early the following year. The first in the United States was probably Mary Kay and Johnny, a fifteen minute sitcom which debuted on the DuMont Television Network in November of 1947.

Characteristics

Traditionally, situation comedies featured individual episodes that were largely self-contained; the regular characters themselves remained largely static and events of the episode resolved themselves by the conclusion of the episode. Most sitcoms took this format; events of previous episodes would rarely be mentioned in subsequent episodes and while school friends or beloved relatives might appear, often they would only be seen once in the series, something apparent in The Brady Bunch and many other programs. This formula has been parodied many times by The Simpsons. The characteristics of animation allow the characters to be unchanging in appearance forever and the characters in the show sometimes make knowing reference to this. The true identity of Seymour Skinner parodies the habit of traditional sitcoms introducing a major upheaval in the story of an episode before returning everything to how it was before and subsquently never mentioning that change in later episodes. More recently sitcoms have introduced some ongoing storylines. Friends, a hugely popular US sitcom of the 1990s, contains soap opera elements such as regularly resorting to an end-of-season cliffhanger, and has gradually developed the relationships of the characters. Other sitcoms have veered into social commentary. Examples of these are sitcoms created by Norman Lear (including All in the Family and Maude) in the U.S., and Johnny Speight's Till Death Us Do Part in Britain. A common aspect of family sitcoms is that at some point in their run they introduce an addition to the family in the form of a new baby. One exception to this are the several sitcoms starring Bob Newhart, who insisted that his sitcoms not have babies or children. The addition of a new baby to the family provides new story situations for the series as the family must adjust to a new member, however the new-born baby itself - while appearing cute - provides only a limited range of stories due to their limited mobility, mental development and limited vocabulary. In addition there are the practical problems of working with a baby on set. Thus most sitcom kids are aged to four or five within two years of their birth—for example Andrew Keaton on Family Ties and Chrissy Seaver on Growing Pains, allowing the characters a wider range of storylines. Instances in which sitcoms retained the same child without such age jumps, such as Erin Murphy as Tabitha Stephens on Bewitched and the Olsen twins as Michelle Tanner on Full House are the exception to the rule. Most contemporary situation comedies are filmed with a multicamera setup in front of a live studio audience, then edited and broadcast days or weeks later. This practice has not always been universal and is used mainly for traditional style comedies. Several 1960s sitcoms such as The Munsters, The Addams Family, I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched used the single camera filming style which looked slicker and was more practical given the visual effects used in these shows. Overall the late 1960s was a period of increased production values for sitcoms, with others such as Get Smart also using the single camera filming style allowing it to feature carefully created and sharply edited sequences that parodied action and fight sequences of spy genre films and TV shows - something that would not have been achieved with the same level of finesse in a multi-camera production. In the 1970s M
- A
- S
- H also used the single camera filming style which again was more suited to the show's naturalistic, and flowing style, and more practical given its multiple sets and frequent location filming. In the 1980s US sitcoms again predominantly used the multicamera style.

Ensemble cast structure

Many sitcoms reuse a common mixture of character archetypes to achieve reliable comedic situations from week to week. The most common archetype appearing in sitcoms is the Holy Fool. Typically, this character accepts events and statements at face value, and often misunderstands situations in ways that create conflict in the plot. Examples of the naive fool character in sitcoms include:
- Rose Nylund in The Golden Girls
- Gilligan in Gilligan's Island
- Coach / Woody in Cheers
- Latka Gravas in Taxi
- Steve Urkel in Family Matters
- Joey in Friends
- Father Dougal in Father Ted
- Herman Munster in The Munsters
- Walter (Radar) O'Reilly in MASH
- Kramer in Seinfeld
- Barney Fife in The Andy Griffith Show
- Mork in Mork and Mindy
- Baldrick in Blackadder
- Uncle Fester in The Addams Family
- Kelso in That 70's Show
- Chrissy Snow in Three's Company
- Tim Taylor in Home Improvement The Sage is another frequently-occurring archetype in sitcoms. In the standard sitcom ensemble, this character usually has either an elevated intellect, advanced age, or "outsider" experience. The Sage frequently comments wryly on the situation into which the other characters have placed themselves, and often suggests solutions to resolve the major plot conflict. Examples include:
- Niles in The Nanny
- Chandler Bing in Friends
- Professor Roy Hinkley Jr. in Gilligan's Island
- Mike Brady in The Brady Bunch
- Jeffery in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
- Dr. Frasier Crane in Cheers
- Wilson in Home Improvement
- Lisa Simpson in The Simpsons
- Andy Griffith in The Andy Griffith Show
- Dr. Heathcliff "Cliff" Huxtable in The Cosby Show
- Debra Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond
- Steven Hyde in That 70's Show Other recurring archetypal characters that appear in sitcoms include:
- The meddling or nosy neighbor
- The wisecracking curmudgeon
- The well-meaning blue collar worker
- The lovable loser (the always-second-best)
- The acerbic servant/worker
- The cutesy moppet

Plot formulas

The plot and situations for many sitcom episodes arise out of a character's lying to or otherwise deceiving the other characters. Some sitcom television series, such as Mr. Ed, Bewitched, Three's Company, and Bosom Buddies based their fundamental premise on the main character's attempt to hide the truth through a series of deceptions and "white lies". The most common comedic situations based on deception include:
- Attempts to hide egregious mistakes or acts of weakness.
- Attempts to protect friends and family members from bad news.
- Attempts to "correct" a mistake before others find out about it.
- Attempts to hide the breaking of pacts.
- Attempts to maintain an advantage based on deception.
- Attempts to dupe someone so as to achieve an advantage.
- Attempts to return stolen property before discovery of the theft. The majority of sitcom episodes revolve around some form of the lying/deception premises listed above. Lesser-used sitcom plot formulas include:
- One or more characters going into a foreign environment only to return to "where they belong." Frequently, sitcom writers will use this plot formula to transplant the entire cast to Hawaii, Hollywood, or Europe in later seasons.
- A character choosing to make some fundamental change in their body, habits, job, or other component of their environment, only to return to "what feels normal."
- Characters entering contests or races.
- Characters being elevated to positions of responsibility they can't handle.
- Newcomers or strangers making one-time appearances that change the personal dynamics between the recurring characters.
- A special holiday episode, such as for Christmas or Halloween.
- A character thinks another character is going to die and does anything to please him/her, which the other character takes advantage of.

Lifecycle

Landmarks in the lifecycle of a typical sitcom include:
- Development
- pilot episode
- Jumping the shark
- Cancelation
- Reruns in syndication

Specific countries of origin

Most US sitcoms are half-hour shows in which the story is written to run a total of 22 minutes in length, leaving 8 minutes of commercial time. Sitcoms made outside the US may run somewhat longer. US sitcoms are often characterised by long series runs of 20 or more episodes, whereas the British sitcom is traditionally comprised of distinct series of six episodes each. US sitcoms often have large teams of young script writers from top universities firing gags into the script and round-table sessions, whereas most British sitcoms are written by one or two people.

Australia

Australia has not had a significant number of long running sitcoms, however there have been a large number of Australian sitcoms through each decade of Australian television that each had relatively short runs. The successful sitcoms it has had have been somewhat similar to UK comedies. In the 1970s it was the popular soap operas Number 96 and The Box that provided the forum for Australian-grown sitcom style comedy. There was also a number of sketch comedy programs, one of which, The Naked Vicar Show, spawned successful sitcom spinoff Kingswood Country in 1980, a series which itself was somewhat similar to UK comedy Til Death Us Do Part. At around this time there were also Australian versions of UK comedies Are You Being Served, Doctor in the House (as Doctor Down Under) and Father, Dear Father which transplanted key original cast members to Australia to situations markedly similar to those of the original series. A subsequent sitcom to achieve lasting success was Hey Dad...!. In 2002, sucessful sitcom Kath and Kim begun its hit run.

Canada

See also: Canadian humour Despite Canada's wealth of comedic talent, Canadian TV's conventional sitcoms have generally fared poorly with both critics and audiences. One particularly notorious example is The Trouble with Tracy, regarded by many Canadians as one of the worst TV shows ever made. Other Canadian sitcoms have included Snow Job, Check it Out!, Mosquito Lake and Not My Department, all of which were mocked in their time as being particularly unfunny. The few successful Canadian sitcoms have included: La famille Plouffe and its English version, The Plouffe Family, King of Kensington, Hangin' In and Corner Gas. Canadian TV networks have had much more success with sketch comedy shows such as The Kids in the Hall, CODCO, SCTV, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, You Can't Do That On Television, and Royal Canadian Air Farce, and quirky dramedies such as Twitch City, The Newsroom, Made in Canada, Trailer Park Boys, The Beachcombers, Naked Josh and Seeing Things. While being teen dramas, the shows Degrassi Junior High and it's sucessor, Degrassi: The Next Generation occasionally use sitcom-like subplots for comic relief. One of Canada's most enduring comedic television series airing today, The Red Green Show, is essentially a cross between a sitcom and a sketch series. Each episode unfolds through short comedic sketches rather than a conventional sitcom plot, but unlike a true sketch series, the sketches always draw from a single set of characters and no actor plays more than one role. A notable Quebec sitcom in recent years was La Petite Vie; one episode of that show holds the world record for the highest market share ever achieved by a television program. A popular current Quebec sitcom is Les Bougon.

Russia

See also: Russian humour Sitcoms have appeared in Russia in second half 1990s, for example, My beautiful nurse on channel STS.

New Zealand

New Zealand began producing television programmes later than many other developed countries. Due to New Zealand's small population the two main New Zealand networks will rarely fund more than one or two sitcoms per year each. This low output means there is less chance of a successful sitcom being produced to offset the failures. Early sitcoms included Joe & Koro and Buck House. Later there was The Billy T James Show (subsequently rerun in early 2004 as part of the first year's offering on Maori Television). The team of David McPhail and Jon Gadsby produced and/or starred in quite a number (such as Letter to Blanchy), with help from writer A K Grant. The most popular and successful New Zealand produced sitcom to date has been Roger Hall's Gliding On, based on his hit stage play Glide Time. Another Hall play, Conjugal Rites was also made into a sitcom, but by Granada in Britain. In 1994, Melody Rules was produced and screened. Critically and commercially unsuccessful, it has become part of the lexicon within the television industry to describe an unsuccessful sitcom. (e.g. that show will be the next "Melody Rules" ) Another sitcom to have its roots in a stage play was Serial Killers (2003), about the scriptwriters of a medical soap opera. Many British and US sitcoms are and have been popular in New Zealand, including many of those aforementioned in this article.

United Kingdom

Main article: British sitcom The United Kingdom has produced a wealth of sitcoms, many of which have been exported to other nations or redone in adaptation. Classic British sitcoms include Only Fools and Horses, Porridge, Fawlty Towers, Dad's Army, Blackadder, Open All Hours, and The Young Ones. More recent successes have included Father Ted (set in Ireland), The Vicar of Dibley, The Royle Family, Spaced and The Office. The British sitcom tends to rely less on quick-fire jokes and quirky characters than plots, the analysis of the British individual and exaggerated caricatures of everyday stereotypes. There are, of course, some exceptions. Bottom gained popularity through its exaggerated comical violence and childish humour mixed with adult situations, Red Dwarf was a parody of the sci-fi genre, and The League of Gentlemen revolves around the macabre. There is also a tendency towards black humour—Porridge, for example, is set in a prison, The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin involves a man who is suicidal, Steptoe and Son can be heart-breaking as the ambitions of Harry are quashed by his needy, manipulative father, and the end of each series of Blackadder involved the ritual slaughter of the cast. Additionally, British sitcoms tend to be set in unusual situations—World War II, prison, the far future—than the more everyday situations preferred elsewhere. Many British sitcoms are re-made for American audiences. For example, Till Death Us Do Part became All in the Family, Man About the House became Three's Company, and the hugely popular Steptoe and Son became Sanford and Son. However, most British sitcoms usually fare better in their original forms. Re-makes of Red Dwarf, Men Behaving Badly, Coupling, and One Foot in the Grave fell victim to adaptations that largely removed the essence of the comedy and did not stand the test of time. Possibly the best example of this was Fawlty Towers, where the character of Basil became a woman. This eliminated the roles of the hen-pecked lead and the dragon-like wife.

United States

Mary Kay and Johnny was followed by The Goldbergs which first aired on January 17, 1949. Probably the most well-known and successful early television sitcom was I Love Lucy, starring Lucille Ball, which is well known because the producer took the step, unusual for its time, of shooting the episodes on film, thereby inventing reruns. The Simpson's is another very successful sitcom. In 2005, Bravo aired a reality show, called Situation: Comedy, produced by Sean Hayes. Out of 10,000 scripts, NBC President, Kevin Reilly, chose two pilots: Mark Treitel and Shoe Schuster's The Sperm Donor and Stephen's Life, with the later ultimately winning the reality series.

List of sitcoms

Listed alphabetically by decade

1940s


- The Aldrich Family (1949–1953)
- Mary Kay and Johnny (1947–1950)
- The Morey Amsterdam Show (1948–1950)
- Pinwright's Progress (1946–1947)
- That Wonderful Guy (1949–1950)

1950s


- The Adventures of Hiram Holiday (1956–1957)
- The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952–1966)
- Amos & Andy (1951–1953)
- The Ann Sothern Show (1958–1961)
- Bachelor Father (1957–1962)
- Beulah (1950–1953)
- The Bob Cummings Show (1955–1959)
- Date with the Angels (1957–1958)
- December Bride (1954–1959)
- The Donna Reed Show (1958–1960)
- The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1950–1958)
- Hancock's Half Hour (1954–1960)
- The Hank McCune Show (1950–1953)
- Hennessey (1959–1962)
- The Honeymooners (1955–1956)
- I Love Lucy (1951–1957)
- I Married Joan (1952–1955)
- Jamie (1953–1954)
- The Jean Carroll Show (1953–1954)
- Leave It to Beaver (1957–1963)
- Love and Marriage (1959–1960)
- Make Room For Daddy (1953–1965)
- My Favorite Husband (1953–1955)
- The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959–1963)
- My Friend Irma (1952–1954)
- My Hero (1952–1953)
- Our Miss Brooks (1952–1956)
- The People's Choice (1955–1958)
- Private Secretary (1953–1957)
- The Real McCoys (1957–1963)
- Stanley (1956–1957)
- Those Whiting Girls (1955–1957)

1960s


- Accidental Family (1967–1968)
- The Addams Family (1962–1966)
- The Andy Griffith Show (1960–1968)
- Angel (1960–1961)
- The Baileys of Balboa (1964–1965)
- The Beverly Hillbillies (1962–1971)
- Bewitched (1964–1972)
- The Bill Cosby Show (1969–1971)
- The Bill Dana Show (1963–1965)
- The Bing Crosby Show (1964–1965)
- The Bob Newhart Show (1961–1962)
- The Brady Bunch (1969–1974)
- Car 54, Where Are You? (1961–1963)
- Citizen James (1960–1962)
- The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1969–1972)
- Dad's Army (1968–1977)
- The Dick van Dyke Show (1961–1966)
- The Dustbirmen (1969–1970)
- Fair Exchange (1962–1963)
- The Farmer's Daughter (1963–1966)
- The Flintstones (1960-1966)
- The Flying Nun (1967–1970)
- Get Smart (1965–1970)
- Gidget (1965–1966)
- Gilligan's Island (1964–1967)
- The Good Guys (1968–1970)
- Grindl (1963–1964)
- Hancock (1961)
- Hazel (1961–1966)
- Here Come the Brides (1968–1970)
- Here's Lucy (1968–1974)
- Hogan's Heroes (1965–1971)
- I Dream of Jeannie (1965–1970)
- In Loving Memory (1969–1986)
- The John Forsythe Show (1965–1966)
- Julia (1968–1971)
- The Liver Birds (1969–1996)
- Love on a Rooftop (1966–1967)
- Margie (1961–1962)
- Mister Ed (1961–1966)
- The Monkees (1966–1968)
- The Mothers-In-Law (1967–1969)
- Mr. Digby Darling (1969–1971)
- Mr. Terrific (1967–1968)
- The Munsters (1964–1966)
- My Favorite Martian (1963–1966)
- My Mother the Car (1965–1966)
- My Three Sons (1960–1972)
- O.K. Crackerby! (1965–1966)
- On the Buses (1969–1973)
- The Patty Duke Show (1963–1966)
- The Rag Trade (1961–1963, 1977)
- The Second Hundred Years (1967–1968)
- Steptoe and Son (1962–1974)
- The Tab Hunter Show (1960–1961)
- Tammy (1965–1966)
- To Rome With Love (1969–1971)
- Two in Clover (1969–1970)
- The Ugliest Girl in Town (1968–1969)
- Valentine's Day (1964–1965)
- Wendy and Me (1964–1965)
- Window on Main Street (1961–1962)

1970s


- Agony (1979–1981)
- Alice (1976–1985)
- All in the Family (1971–1979)
- All's Fair (1976–1977)
- Angie (1979–1980)
- Archie Bunker's Place (1979–1983)
- Are You Being Served? (1972–1985)
- Arnie (1970–1972)
- The Associates (1979–1980)
- Baa Baa Black Sheep (1976–1978)
- The Bad News Bears (1979–1980)
- Barefoot in the Park (1970–1971)
- Barney Miller (1975–1982)
- The Baxters (1979–1981)
- Benson (1979–1986)
- The Betty White Show (1977–1978)
- Bless This House (1971–1976)
- The Bob Newhart Show (1972–1978)
- The Brian Keith Show (1972–1974)
- Bridget Loves Bernie (1972–1973)
- Butterflies (1978–1983)
- C.P.O. Sharkey (1976–1978)
- Chico and the Man (1974–1978)
- Terry and June (1979–1987)
- The Last Resort (1979)
- Working Stiffs (1979)
- Out of the Blue (1979)
- The Facts of Life (1979–1988)
- End of Part One (1979)
- The Ropers (1979–1980)
- Flatbush (1979)
- Turnabout (1979)
- Hello, Larry (1979)
- Delta House (1979)
- Tankki täyteen (1978)
- Please Stand By (1978)
- Diff'rent Strokes (1978–1986)
- Apple Pie (1978)
- Who's Watching the Kids (1978)
- WKRP in Cincinnati (1978–1982)
- Mork & Mindy (1978–1982)
- Taxi (1978–1983)
- The Waverly Wonders (1978)
- ABC Saturday Comedy Special (1978)
- America 2-Night (1978)
- The Ted Knight Show (1978)
- Father, Dear Father in Australia (1978)
- A.E.S. Hudson Street (1978)
- On Our Own (1977)
- We've Got Each Other (1977)
- The Love Boat (1977–1986)
- Sugar Time! (1977)
- A Year at the Top (1977)
- The ABC Monday Night Comedy Special (1977)
- All That Glitters (1977)
- Eight Is Enough (1977–1981)
- Three's Company (1977–1984)
- Blansky's Beauties (1977)
- Robin's Nest (1977–1981)
- The Fosters (1976)
- Ball Four (1976)
- All's Fair (1976)
- Big John, Little John (1976)
- George and Mildred (1976–1979)
- What's Happening!! (1976–1979)
- Viva Valdez (1976)
- Good Heavens (1976)
- Laverne & Shirley (1976–1983)
- On the Rocks (1975)
- King of Kensington (1975–1980)
- One Day at a Time (1975–1984)
- Grady (1975)
- The Cop and the Kid (1975)
- Fawlty Towers (1975–1979)
- When Things Were Rotten (1975)
- Welcome Back, Kotter (1975–1979)
- Phyllis (1975–1977)
- Big Eddie (1975)
- The Melting Pot (1975)
- The Last of the Australians (1975)
- The Good Life (1975–1977)
- We'll Get By (1975)
- The Bob Crane Show (1975)
- Barney Miller (1975–1982)
- The Jeffersons (1975–1985)
- Paper Moon (1974–1975)
- Rhoda (1974–1978)
- Rising Damp (1974)
- My Name Is Harry Worth (1974)
- Good Times (1974–1979)
- Happy Days (1974–1984)
- Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (1973)
- Steptoe and Son Ride Again (1973)
- Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1973)
- Needles and Pins (1973)
- Adam's Rib (1973)
- The Girl with Something Extra (1973)
- Lotsa Luck (1973)
- Thicker Than Water (1973)
- Here We Go Again (1973)
- Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (1973)
- Last of the Summer Wine (1973-)
- Steptoe and Son (1972)
- Fleksnes fataliteter (1972)
- Maude (1972)
- Temperatures Rising (1972)
- The New Bill Cosby Show (1972)
- The David Steinberg Show (1972)
- The Corner Bar (1972)
- Sanford and Son (1972)
- The Trouble with Tracy (1971)
- The Chicago Teddy Bears (1971)
- It's Awfully Bad for Your Eyes, Darling (1971)
- The New Andy Griffith Show (1971)
- The Goodies (1970)
- The Odd Couple (1970)
- The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–1977)

1980s


- My Wife Next Door (1980)
- Rising Damp (1980)
- Breaking Away (1980)
- Bosom Buddies (1980–1982)
- Too Close for Comfort (1980–1986)
- Mr. and Mrs. Dracula (1980)
- Semi-Tough (1980)
- Flo (1980–1981)
- When the Whistle Blows (1980)
- Family Matters (1989–1998)
- Yes, Minister (1980–1988)
- Kingswood Country (1980–1984)
- Keep It In the Family (1980)
- Hangin' In (1981–1987)
- Open All Night (1981)
- A Fine Romance (1981–1984)
- Gimme a Break! (1981–1987)
- Lewis & Clark (1981)
- Laverne and Shirley in the Army (1981)
- Mr. Merlin (1981)
- Best of the West (1981)
- Only Fools and Horses (1981–2003)
- Till Death... (1981)
- Aloha Paradise (1981)
- The Brady Brides (1981)
- Harper Valley P.T.A. (1981)
- Newhart (1982–1990)
- Star of the Family (1982)
- Cheers (1982–1993)
- Square Pegs (1982–1983)
- Silver Spoons (1982–1987)
- Family Ties (1982–1989)
- Third Time Lucky (1982)
- A.J. Wentworth, BA (1982)
- Teachers Only (1982)
- Report to Murphy (1982)
- Making the Grade (1982)
- Joanie Loves Chachi (1982–1983)
- Herbie, the Love Bug (1982)
- One of the Boys (1982)
- The New Odd Couple (1982)
- Reinikainen (1982)
- 'Allo 'Allo! (1982–1992)
- The Young Ones (1982)
- Foot in the Door (1983)
- Oh Madeline (1983)
- After MASH (1983–1985)
- Just Good Friends (1983–1986)
- Just Our Luck (1983)
- Webster (1983–1987)
- We Got It Made (1983)
- Herndon (1983)
- Zorro and Son (1983)
- Goodnight, Beantown (1983–1984)
- Baby Makes Five (1983)
- Krovim Krovim (1983)
- Ace Crawford, Private Eye (1983)
- Amanda's (1983)
- Mama's Family (1983–1985)
- Down to Earth (1983–1987)
- Shaping Up (1984)
- The Front Line (1984)
- It's Your Move (1984–1985)
- Three's a Crowd (1984–1985)
- Tripper's Day (1984)
- Who's the Boss? (1984–1992)
- The Cosby Show (1984–1992)
- E/R (1984–1985)
- The Duck Factory (1984)
- Double Trouble (1984–1985)
- Fresh Fields (1984)
- Pablo (1984)
- Night Beat News (1984)
- Duty Free (1984)
- Mother and Son (1984–1994)
- Night Court (1984–1992)
- What's Happening Now! (1985–1988)
- Check It Out (1985)
- Orazio (1985)
- In Sickness and in Health (1985–1992)
- Girls on Top (1985–1986)
- Growing Pains (1985–1992)
- The Golden Girls (1985–1992)
- Maguy (1985)
- Small Wonder (1985–1989)
- Mr. Belvedere (1985–1990)
- Better Days (1986)
- Designing Women (1986–1993)
- Amen (1986–1991)
- ALF " (1986–1990)
- It's Garry Shandling's Show (1986–1990)
- Throb (1986–1988)
- Perfect Strangers (1986–1993)
- All Is Forgiven (1986)
- You Again? (1986)
- Air Waves (1986–1987)
- He's the Mayor (1986)
- Yes, Prime Minister (1986)
- Hey Dad...! (1986–1994)
- New Monkees (1987)
- Familie Ouderijn (1987)
- Beverly Hills Buntz (1987)
- The Lenny Henry Show (1987)
- A Different World (1987–1993)
- I Married Dora (1987)
- Full House (1987–1995)
- My Two Dads (1987–1990)
- The New Statesman (1987–1992)
- Marblehead Manor (1987)
- Marc et Sophie (1987)
- Married... with Children (1987–1997)
- The Popcorn Kid (1987)
- Vivement lundi (1988)
- Baby Boom (1988)
- Loft story (1988)
- Just the Ten of Us (1988–1990)
- The Wonder Years (1988–1993)
- Eisenhower & Lutz (1988)
- Red Dwarf (1988–1999)
- After Henry (1988–1992)
- Ken Ma?! (1988)
- Murphy Brown (1988–1998)
- The Van Dyke Show (1988)
- Annie McGuire (1988)
- Roseanne (1988–1997)
- The Munsters Today (1988–1991)
- Empty Nest (1988–1995)
- Dear John (1988–1992)
- Acropolis Now (1989–1992)
- French Fields (1989)
- The Simpsons (1989-)
- Tattingers (1989)
- Doogie Howser, M.D. (1989–1993)
- Major Dad (1989–1993)
- Saved by the Bell (1989–1993)
- Seinfeld (1989–1998)
-

Matt LeBlanc

 Matt LeBlanc (born July 25, 1967 in Newton, Massachusetts, USA) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the role of Joey Tribbiani on the TV sitcom Friends. His wife's name is Melissa McKnight, and the couple has a daughter, Marina Pearl, born in early 2004. LeBlanc is a stepfather to Tyler and Jacqueline from McKnight's marriage to musician Anthony Esposito. "LeBlanc" is French for "The White". His mother is Italian and his father is of mixed Irish, Dutch, English and French ancestry. LeBlanc has also appeared in some well-known Hollywood films including Lost in Space, Charlie's Angels, and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. In the fall of 2004, LeBlanc started his own TV sitcom, Joey, based on the character he played in Friends. He has also starred in several lesser or less successful films including The Killing Box (1993), Ed (1996), Lookin' Italian (1998), and All the Queen's Men (1999). In August 2005, LeBlanc apologized to his wife and the public for having inappropriate contact with an overly aggressive stripper during a vacation in British Columbia.

External links


- Internet Movie Database: [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001455/ Matt LeBlanc]
- [http://www.westlord.com/mattleblanc/ Matt LeBlanc Website] LeBlanc, Matt LeBlanc, Matt LeBlanc, Matt LeBlanc, Matt ja:マット・ルブランク

Friends

:For other uses, see Friends (disambiguation). Friends was a long-running American television sitcom centered on the lives of a group of six twenty-somethings (eventually thirty-somethings) consisting of three men and three women living in New York City. The program was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television for NBC in the US, first broadcast on that network and followed by other broadcast networks in numerous countries throughout the world. In the US, its first episode was aired on September 22, 1994, the last on May 6, 2004.

Overview

Friends is one of the most successful sitcoms in the US. By the end of the series the six main cast members were each paid US$1,000,000 per episode. Advertisements during the series finale, which attracted an audience of over 52 million viewers, cost $2,000,000 for a 30-second spot in the United States and CAD$190,000 in Canada. The last episode was released on DVD 5 days after its broadcast. The show focused on the lives of a group of six friends living in a state of arrested development: spoiled Daddy's girl Rachel Green; compulsively clean chef Monica Geller; wise-cracking, perennially unlucky-in-love, underconfident office drone Chandler Bing; oversexed, clueless actor Joey Tribbiani; divorced paleontologist nerd Ross Geller; and scatterbrained hippie, masseuse, and aspiring folk singer-songwriter Phoebe Buffay. As the pilot begins, Rachel leaves her fiancé Barry at the altar and moves in with her childhood best friend, Monica. The pair lives across the hall from Chandler and Joey. They hang out with Monica's brother, Ross – who recently divorced his lesbian wife – and Phoebe, the "free spirit" of the bunch and Monica's old roommate. The settings for the show include Monica's apartment, Chandler and Joey's apartment and the coffee shop downstairs, Central Perk. After cutting herself off from her father's money, Rachel got her first job as a waitress in the coffee shop and later becomes a personal shopper at Bloomingdale's, then a buyer for Ralph Lauren. Monica struggled for the first several seasons for success, and later became head chef at a well-respected restaurant. Chandler eventually switched to a career in advertising by the last few seasons. After on-and-off success as a soap opera actor Joey's career eventually stabilized with a regular part on a soap opera from which he was initially fired earlier in the series' run. Paleontologist Ross eventually becomes a college professor. Phoebe makes out a living as a singer-songwriter and a masseuse. A constant story line throughout the series was the on-again/off-again romance between Ross and Rachel, and later in the series, the developing relationship between Chandler and Monica. The show's theme song, "I'll Be There For You" by The Rembrandts, became a major hit after a Tennessee disc jockey looped it into a full length track and played it on the radio. The band's record label required them to write additional material and re-record the track as a full-length song, which peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at #17.

Cast members

Billboard Hot 100 share a kiss (episode: The One After Ross Says Rachel)]]

Main characters

Recurring characters

See also: List of significant others of Friends

Relations

Other

Guest stars

The show has had many well-known celebrities as guest stars, including Bruce Willis, Julia Roberts, Jean Claude Van Damme, Brad Pitt, Ian Thorpe (as an extra), Elle MacPherson, and Charlie Sheen. Some of these guest stars real life names were actually mentioned at some point in the series. Some of the names mentioned were Elle MacPherson, Winona Ryder, Brad Pitt, Alec Baldwin and Susan Sarandon. Also, some guest stars such as Jean Claude Van Damme, Isabella Rosellini and Charlton Heston starred as themselves. In addition, some of the movies associated with them were also mentioned like Bruce Willis' Die Hard (and Die Hard 2). See: List of guest stars on Friends

Pre-broadcast audience research

After the finale was broadcast, The Smoking Gun made available the May 27, 1994 "Program Test Report" summarizing the audience reaction to a version of what became the pilot episode. Overall reactions to the pilot were "not very favorable"; most viewers felt the show was "not very entertaining, clever, or original". The report recommended:
- Broadening the show to include some older characters
- Adding more humor
- Changing the pilot so that the audience could become more involved emotionally with the show's characters
- Toning down the sexual situations, at least at the beginning of the series
- Having Chandler talk about his dreams on a recurring basis
- Incorporating Phoebe more into the stories
- Make the coffee shop less "funky"

Running gags

Friends had many running gags throughout the span of the show. Some of the most famous include:
- The One With [episode name] : Almost every episode name starts with these three words. In reference to the fact that most sitcoms don't display the title of their episodes, so fans must discuss the main plot points with each other when referring to specific episodes.
- Fat Monica: Monica, now slim and attractive, was obese as a child. She and the other characters would often refer to her "fat past" and several flashbacks throughout the series allowed us to see just how she looked then. She is also known to have "fat clown feet" as mentioned by Rachel. There is confusion as to at what point she became overweight as a child, as several episodes put her at developing her weight as early as kindergarten, while one episode shows a home movie of her clearly after that point, as being still thin
- Gay Chandler: Chandler was often painted with the possibility of being gay, despite his determination to prove himself as the heterosexual he actually was. Various characters on the show had assumed that he was gay when they first met him, and describe him as having a certain gay "quality." In addition, Chandler's father was a transvestite, which may have been the cause of some of Chandler's feminine behavioral traits (as well as the middle name Muriel), and one of Chandler's first phrases on Friends was "I wish I was a lesbian. Wait, did I say that out loud?!"..
- Ugly Naked Guy: An obese, nude hermit who engaged in odd habits in the "privacy" of his apartment across the street from Monica's. One of the gang would often notice something going on in his apartment and cry out "eww, eww, Ugly Naked Guy is..." and would describe the usually strange act to the others, who would then crowd around the window to a chorus of "ewwwww". During a flashback in one episode that was set a year before the pilot, Phoebe and Ross have a conversation that goes, Phoebe: "Aww, that is so unfortunate." Ross: "What?" Phoebe: "cute naked guy is really starting to put on weight." Ugly Naked Guy decides to sublet his apartment in Season 5, and Ross rents it to live across the street from his sister.
- Joey & Chandler as a couple: One of the more frequent recurring jokes of the early episodes paralleled the interactions of Joey and Chandler to the interactions of a married couple. The gag was usually used to enhance the aforementioned "Gay Chandler" joke, as Chandler would often assume the "wife" role, but was often funny on its own. This gag even appears in the first episode of the spinoff, Joey.
- Gunther likes Rachel: When Gunther appeared in an episode it usually involved his anything-but-secret crush on Rachel, who however remains oblivious to his feelings throughout most of the show's run. That he virtually obsesses about Rachel is evident in the episode where Chandler breaks up with Janice so she can give her marriage another try. When Gunther sees Chandler with Janice's gold-coloured shoe in his hand, he observes, "Rachel has those in burgundy". This is also seen when he buys all the stuff Rachel came into contact with in Ross' apartment.
- Phoebe's previous way of life: It is often mentioned that Phoebe once lived on the street, and her strange former friends often come up. Various random facts from her childhood are revealed throughout the show, such as that she "stabbed a cop", had a pimp spit in her mouth, has lived in Prague, and even mugged Ross when they were 14. In addition to those, Phoebe is known for holding grudges (for a long time) against people who have "betrayed" her. Notable examples of this are her feud with her sister, her ex-singing partner leaving her to write jingles for an advertising firm and her birthmother not looking for her
- Ross' tendency to marry: Ross marries a total of three times throughout the course of the show, all of which end in divorce. Many gags from the sixth season on, run along the line that Ross will likely marry any girl he hooks up with and is equally as likely to break up with her after marriage. Prague in Friends. In this picture she is playing a guitar in a New York coffee shop named Central Perk.]]
- Phoebe's music: Phoebe was often a musician at Central Perk and was known for her rather unusual, original songs. Some include: "Jingle Bitch Screwed Me Over", "Ode to a pubic hair", "Sometimes Men Love Women, Sometimes Men Love Men...", "The Barnyard Song" in which she graphically describes farm animals being turned into meat products to a group of elementary schoolers, and her most famous, "Smelly Cat."
- Oh...My...God!: Janice's catchphrase; used as her introductory line in her later guest appearances.
- We were on a break!: A highlight of the third season was Rachel and Ross, a couple at the time, having a major fight and subsequently deciding to go on a break in their relationship. Around this point, the depressed Ross sleeps with another woman; his resulting guilt and Rachel's resulting resentment resonated for many seasons to come.
- Regina Phalange: Phoebe's alter ego, which she regularly makes references to (similar to Art Vandelay on Seinfeld). In the last episode she stops Rachel's plane by telling her the plane has something wrong with its left phalange. She is sometimes "Doctor Regina Phalange."
- Mr. Heckles: A slighty off-kilter man who lived below Monica and Rachel's apartment and continually complained about the noise. Usually claims he could have something you know he doesn't. For eg, "I could have a cat", or "I could play the oboe". Died during the second season. In his will, he leaves all his possessions to the "noisy girls in the apartment above mine".
- Chandler's speech: Chandler has a strange way of speaking, in which he emphasizes the wrong word in his sentences. One exaggerated example, where Ross was mocking Chandler's speech pattern: "The hills are alive with the sound (pause) OF music". His particular brand of sarcasm is also often based on the phrase "Could this [object] (pause) BE any more [description]."
- Ross's Speech: Ross also speaks oddly, leaving long pauses in sentences. When speaking to Russ (an uncannily similar character), he exclaims "It takes that guy...like, hello, what, like, a, uh, year to get a out a sentence", to which Chandler replies "Annoying, isn't it?" and Ross says "heh, uh, (pause)
- weeze
- yeah."
- How You Doin'?: This is Joey's pick-up line. It was first seen in "The One with Rachel's Crush," and Joey continues using it for the rest of the series, sometimes on Phoebe, Rachel, Monica, and even humorously on Chandler.
- Phoebe's dead mother: Phoebe often references her mother's suicide to various situations on the show, usually as an excuse. For example, when Ross questions her on why she's never tried taffy, "Well, my mother was too busy planning her suicide to provide saltwater treats."
- Monica's obsessive-compulsive behavior: While there is no medical diagnosis to point out she has such, Monica has continuously exhibited various traits of an obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, including obsession with cleanliness, refusal to relinquish control over anything, excessive categorization and organization, intense competitiveness, and the need to get people to like her. Her competitiveness could be observed when playing tennis with Chandler's boss and his wife, where Chandler suggests that they should let them win, to which she replies "I'm sorry, I don't understand what you just said." In another instance, Rachel, who is moving out of the apartment, offers Monica a chance to pack her belongings for her, presenting the offer as a goodbye present, which Monica gladly accepts. In addition, the show has innumerable references to Monica cleaning her apartment, or any other location she's in.
- Ross and Chandler's college days: Ross and Chandler used to be roommates in college and throughout the series, a lot of funny stuff about their college days have been mentioned. Including Chandler saying the basis of his and Ross' relationship was "unfortunate hair."
- The Magna Doodle: The Fisher-Price Magna Doodle next to Joey and Chandler's front door first appeared in season 3, episode 18: The One With the Hypnosis Tape. In following episodes it was the source of many hidden gags, as it almost always had something humorously written or drawn on it. Joey still has the Magna Doodle at his new L.A. apartment on Joey, next to his front door.
- Chandler's smoking: In early seasons, Chandler is a fairly heavy smoker, and still smokes occasionally (but secretly) in later seasons, stealing cigarette butts from ashtrays, hiding packets of cigarettes in the toilet cistern, and at one point, when told he smells of "Perfume and cigarettes" replies "Well, the perfume's not mine, be thankful for that!".
- Mom love Ross more than Monica: Monica is constantly criticized by her mother, while Ross is the golden child. Ross's room was maintained "as a shrine" until the house was sold, while Monica's room was quickly converted to a gym. Rachel was once told by Judy Geller that she was like the daughter she's never had. Another time Monica's mother actually told Ross that she would be "childless" if he died. To a lesser extent, Jack Geller also showed this favoritism. In one episode, when Ross went to pick up some of his childhood possessions before the family home was sold, he noticed that the boxes containing Monica's possessions had been used to protect Jack's Porsche from flooding, and were thus ruined. Feeling guilty, Jack gave Monica the Porsche as recompense.

Trivia


- The character of Ursula (Phoebe's twin sister) first appeared in the sitcom Mad About You as a not-so-quick-witted waitress. Lisa Kudrow played Ursula on both Mad About You and Friends. Phoebe was not originally supposed to have a twin, but the show's creators added the fact to explain why Kudrow was appearing on two different shows, at one point on the same night. Ursula would go on to make several appearances on Friends, played simultaneously by Kudrow. Producers used split-screen photography and doubles to create the illusion the two both appeared in a scene at the same time. Later, Helen Hunt appeared on an episode of Friends and her character mistakenly thought Phoebe was Ursula.
- James Michael Tyler's character (Gunther) came into the series by accident. He can be seen as an extra throughout the first season, and when given a line in the second, the directors were adequately impressed that they created him a full-time part: Gunther. Additionally, it's been reported that Tyler got the job because he was the only extra who knew how to operate the espresso machine, having been working at an actual coffee shop at the time. In addition to playing Gunther, Tyler remained an actual coffee shop employee for the first four seasons of the show.
- Central Perk, the coffee shop on the show, is based on Chomondley's (pronounced Chumley's), a coffee shop/lounge in Usen Castle at Brandeis University, the alma mater of the show's creators.
- Katie, who played Marcel, Ross' pet White-headed Capuchin monkey, would become even more famous as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim's Rally Monkey. An outtake from season 1 shows Jennifer Aniston becoming exasperated at the monkey's antics and addressing it as Katie rather than by the character's name, Marcel.
- Although the show was filmed in California, it took place in the West Village in Manhattan, New York City. The exterior shot of the Friends' apartment building is actually located at Grove and Bedford streets in the Village.
- The picture frame around the peep hole in Monica and Rachel's apartment originally was a framed mirror, but a crew member accidentally broke it. The producers liked the look and decided not to replace the mirror.
- 55 people were paid to come to the studio and watch the first four episodes of "The Six of Us"; this show's title was changed to "Friends"
- Not all episodes were filmed in front of a studio audience. Most episodes were filmed with a laugh track, like the episode of Ursula and Phoebe together.
- Alternate titles were "Six Of One", "Across The Hall", "Insomnia Cafe" and "Friends Like Us".
- Ross and Chandler are presumably the oldest, with Joey after them and the girls after Joey. There is however some confusion on this issue, with different bits of information from different episodes complicating the matter severely. Rachel would seem to be the youngest, since in "The One Where They All Turn Thirty" in season 7, she celebrates her 30th birthday while the others share reminiscences of theirs, indicating that the rest of them have all turned 30 already. In real life, Lisa Kudrow is the oldest cast member, followed by Courtney Cox, who is actually two years older than David Schwimmer, who played her older brother, and five years older than Matthew Perry, while Matt LeBlanc is a year younger than Schwimer but a year older than Perry, with Jennifer Aniston being the youngest of the three girls, having been born in 1969, the same year as Matthew Perry. Cox and Kudrow were actually both over 30 when the show began, and both were clearly over 40 by the time the show finished its run.
- Jennifer Aniston did her own nudity in "The One In Vegas, Part 1".
- In the first six episodes of Season 1, Chandler and Joey's apartment number was 4, and Monica and Rachel's was 5. Shortly after production began, it was decided that the apartment building where much of the show takes place was too big to have upper apartments with numbers as low as 4 and 5, so the numbers were changed to 19 and 20, respectively. Further trivia can be found [http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0108778/trivia in the series' IMDb entry].

Cultural legacy

laugh track Friends has, in some areas, made a notable contribution to language, fashion, and (to a lesser extent) women's attitudes. The use of “so” to mean “very” or “really” was not invented by any Friends writer, but it is quite arguable that the extensive use of the phrase in the series encouraged its use in everyday life. [http://www.news.utoronto.ca/bin5/040107a.asp] Also commonly said by the characters, particularly Monica, was the loud “I know!” The series has also been noted for its impact on everyday-fashion and hair-styles. Jennifer Aniston, in particular, had her hair-style copied by many women. Along with this, Joey Tribbiani's catchphrase, “How you doin'?” has become a popular part of American slang, often used as a pick-up line or when greeting friends. The show also inspired the cultural meme of the laminated list.

Decline in quality

As with many long-running television series, fans of Friends have debated when the show jumped the shark. Some insist that it was brilliant from start to finish, or only got better as it went along, often pointing to the ten-year run as proof of its quality. Other fans, however, feel that Friends ran too long and went into decline when Chandler moved in with Monica, and profess that they were turned off as the characters became progressively more neurotic (particularly Ross) and the situations sillier, often pointing to the baby Emma storyline and the Joey/Rachel/Ross love triangle as low points in absurdity; these fans feel that the series was at its best during the early seasons. Another complaint often made by these fans was that the infamous salary demands made by the actors eventually took a toll on the quality of the show's humor.

Spinoff

Joey premiered September 9, 2004 on NBC. It centers around the Friends character Joey Tribbiani, still played by LeBlanc, who moved to Los Angeles to advance his career as an actor. Past Friends cast members are expected to have cameo appearances on the show from time to time, though as of December 2005, none have, and none have been asked. It has been hinted at that Matthew Perry will be the first to, however.

Season synopsis

Season one

We are introduced to Phoebe, Monica, Chandler, Joey and Ross, shortly after Ross's wife Carol has realized she is a lesbian and divorced him. At this point, Monica, Phoebe and Ross all live alone, while Chandler and Joey live together. Monica's old school friend Rachel enters Central Perk wearing a wedding dress, having just run away from her wedding to Barry Farber and needing somewhere to go. She moves in with Monica, gets a job as a waitress at Central Perk, and struggles to work for a living, having previously lived a rich life. Ross finds his ex-wife Carol is pregnant with his child. In the penultimate episode of the season, she gives birth to a boy, named Ben, who is subsequently raised by Carol and her lover, Susan. In the pilot, Ross reveals he had a crush on Rachel in high school, and we see (unbeknownst to Rachel) that he still has feelings for her. Throughout the season, he fails to make his feelings known to her, and eventually Chandler and Joey persuade him to move on. In the last episode, on Rachel's birthday, Ross leaves for a paleontological trip to China - while he is gone, Chandler accidentally reveals to Rachel that Ross is in love with her. Rachel eventually decides she would like to start a romantic relationship with Ross, and goes to meet him at the airport when he returns from China, unaware that he is getting off the plane with another woman.

Season two

Ross is unaware that Rachel now has feelings for him, and has started a relationship with a paleontologist named Julie whom he knew at grad school and has met again while in China. Rachel is very unhappy about this and makes attempts to sabotage the relationship, eg: when Ross wants to consummate his relationship with Julie, Rachel tells him women find nothing sexier than a man who doesn't want to have sex. Rachel later goes on a date with another man, where she gets very drunk and leaves a message on Ross's answer machine saying she is over him. Next morning, Ross comes to Monica and Rachel's apartment and plays back the message with their phone. Rachel is forced to admit that she likes Ross, causing Ross to get very confused over his own feelings. He later comes to Rachel at Central Perk and angrily tells her she shouldn't have told him, and he is now over her, but after leaving, he comes back and they kiss passionately. Ross is unable to choose between Rachel and Julie - in the process of making a list of pros and cons for both women, he decides he really loves Rachel, and breaks up with Julie. Unfortunately, Rachel discovers the list of pros and cons he made, becomes angry with Ross and rejects him. However, later in the season, the group watches a video of Monica and Rachel getting ready for their high school prom. In the video, it looks like Rachel's date isn't going to show, so Ross's parents persuade him to take her instead. But just as Ross is about to, Rachel's date arrives and they leave together. Rachel is touched by this, and decides to start dating Ross after all. Joey gets a high profile acting job as Dr Drake Ramoray on the soap Days Of Our Lives, and earns enough money to move into his own apartment. Left on his own, Chandler gets a new roommate called Eddie, who turns out to be insane. When Joey states in an interview that he writes his own lines on Days Of Our Lives, the show's writers are offended and kill off his character. With no income for his lavish spending, Joey moves back into Chandler's apartment. Chandler had been struggling to get Eddie to move out due to his mental problems; Eddie continuously forgot that Chandler had asked him to leave. Chandler and Joey solve the problem by moving out Eddie's things, changing the locks, and pretending they don't know Eddie when he comes to the door - Eddie assumes he has the wrong apartment and leaves. Phoebe finds she has a half brother called Frank, from her father's side. For a period, Monica goes out with Richard Burke, a friend of her parents' who is significantly older than her. They become very close, but break up in the last episode when Richard tells her he doesn't want to have children with her, having already had them with his ex-wife.

Season three

Rachel quits her job at Central Perk and tries to get one in the fashion industry. She meets a man named Mark who gets her a job in Bloomingdale's, but Ross becomes convinced Mark has ulterior motives, and becomes increasingly jealous. Tension between Ross and Rachel culminates on their anniversary, when Rachel is too busy at work to go to dinner with Ross. Instead, Ross brings some food to her work, but gets in the way and she orders him to leave. Back home, the two have an argument which ends in Rachel suggesting they take a break. Afterward, Ross goes for a drink with Chandler and Joey. Both he and Rachel independently decide to resolve their differences, but when Ross calls Rachel, Mark is there to check if Rachel is all right. Having heard him over the phone, Ross assumes the worst and hangs up. Feeling depressed, he ends up sleeping with a woman named Chloe. He tries to resume his relationship with Rachel without telling her, but she finds out, and after a prolonged argument, they break up. However, towards the end of the season, Rachel becomes upset when Ross starts dating a woman named Bonnie. In the final episode, the group goes on a beach trip, so Phoebe can meet up with a woman (also named Phoebe) who has information about her family. While at the beach, Bonnie unexpectedly turns up. Rachel is unhappy and persuades Bonnie to shave her head so Ross will be less attracted to her. Ross and Rachel argue about this and start to feel like they still love each other. The episode ends with Ross standing between Rachel and Bonnie's bedrooms, picking one, and going in.

Season four

The season begins with Ross entering one room and finding both Rachel and Bonnie. Ross decides to get back together with Rachel, and breaks up with Bonnie. Rachel writes Ross a letter of her feelings about them getting back together. It turns out to be a request that Ross take full responsibility for everything that went wrong last time, which he finds he cannot do, and they quickly break up again. While still at the beach, Phoebe learns the older Phoebe is actually her real mother. Phoebe tells Ursula, who makes it sound like she knew all along. Ursula produces their mother's "suicide note" (which she really wrote herself) which says "Dear Phoebe and Ursula, I love you both very much. P.S. Your birth mother lives in Montauk." Phoebe agrees to be a surrogate mother for her half brother Frank and his infertile wife Alice. Frank and Alice's embryos, conceived by in vitro fertilization, are implanted in Phoebe's uterus and she becomes pregnant with triplets. Chandler meets a girl named Kathy who originally dates Joey. The latter two, who are classmates in acting class break-up after Kathy kissed Chandler while Joey was outside the apartment. This made Joey angry and as punishment, Chandler was made to stay in a box for several hours to show him [Joey] how much he wants him to be his [Chandler's] friend again. Joey eventually forives him and Chandler starts going out with Kathy. The relationship however does not last long as Chandler suspects that Kathy is sleeping with a fellow cast member after watching one of her plays. This actually happens after their first fight and they break up. Chandler & Joey and Monica & Rachel compete in a quiz about each other, put together by Ross, to decide which of them knows more about the other two. The two teams make a bet – if Monica and Rachel win, Chandler and Joey will give up their pet chick and duck, but if Chandler and Joey win, they get Monica and Rachel's apartment. In the end, Chandler and Joey win, and swap apartments with Monica and Rachel. They live like this for a few episodes, then Monica and Rachel try to trade New York Knicks tickets to the boys in exchange for their apartment. Chandler doesn't think it's a fair trade, and they draw cards, with the winner getting the apartment and the tickets. Chandler and Joey win again, but when they get back after the Knicks game, they find the girls have moved all the guys' things back into their original apartment, and moved back into theirs. The boys agree to let living arrangements return to normal when, in exchange, Monica and Rachel kiss each other for one minute in front of them. Ross meets a British woman named Emily and starts dating her. When it is time for Emily to go back to England, she and Ross don't want to leave each other and they decide to get married. In the last episode, the group travels to London for the wedding - except Phoebe, who is too pregnant, and Rachel, who doesn't want to see Ross get married. At the wedding rehearsal dinner, Monica becomes depressed because she's not married, and a drunken man thinks she's Ross' mother. Chandler comforts her and they end up sleeping together. Rachel realizes she still loves Ross and decides to go to London and tell him. When she gets there, she sees him with Emily and decides it wouldn't be right to mess things up for him. The wedding goes ahead, but comes to an abrupt halt when Ross says "I take thee, Rachel" instead of "I take thee, Emily".

Season five

Ross and Emily's wedding continues after Ross' faux pas and they are married, but at the reception, Emily argues angrily with Ross and disappears. After everyone has returned to New York, Rachel tells Ross she still loves him and then starts laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation, since he is now married. They both decide to forget it. Emily eventually calls Ross from England and tells him that she will only give the marriage a chance if he promises he will never see Rachel again. Ross agrees, but Emily continues to make unreasonable demands to keep him away from Rachel, such as moving to another apartment. Eventually, he decides the marriage won't work if Emily doesn't trust him and they divorce. Ross has already subletted his old apartment at this point and can't get it back since the leasee is Emily's cousin, so he lives with Chandler and Joey for a period until he gets a new apartment for himself. He later loses his job at a museum when he gets angry at his boss for eating his Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich. In the 100th episode (third of the season), Phoebe gives birth to triplets - a boy named Frank Jr. Jr., and two girls named Leslie and Chandler (they had originally thought it would be two boys and a girl, and Phoebe was going to name one boy after Chandler). Phoebe tries to keep one after becoming attached to them, but finds out that Frank and Alice are unwilling to give up a child. After sleeping together in London, Chandler and Monica feel attracted to each other and continue an intimate relationship in secret. Joey finds out about it, but keeps it a secret for them. Rachel then finds out, but after she tells Monica and Monica denies it, Rachel pretends to be oblivious. Phoebe is the next to find out. However, rather than keeping it a secret or pretending to be oblivious, she plays mind games with Chandler by pretending she is attracted to him. When Chandler and Monica realize she knows about them, Chandler pretends he is attracted to Phoebe, but eventually confesses he is in love with Monica. Ross finds out shortly afterwards, and Chandler and Monica's relationship becomes public. Rachel gets a new job at Ralph Lauren. Towards the end of the season, Joey gets the lead in a movie, but travels to Las Vegas to find production has shut down due to lack of money. In the last episode, Chandler, Monica and Phoebe travel to Las Vegas to see him (he has stayed there waiting for production to restart, but has been lying to them, telling them he is filming for the movie), with Ross and Rachel following them later. They find Joey working as a Roman guard in the Caesar's Palace hotel lobby. On the plane there, Ross draws on Rachel's face with a felt tip pen - Rachel can't get it off and doesn't want to leave her hotel room, so Ross stays with her. They both get very drunk and Rachel draws on his face in return. Chandler and Monica decide to get married in a Las Vegas chapel, but just before they do, they encounter Ross and Rachel, still drunk, who have just wed at the same chapel.

Season six

After finding out that they are now married, Ross and Rachel agree to get an annulment, but Ross doesn't want to have been divorced three times and lies to Rachel, telling her he has had the marriage annulled when he actually hasn't. Rachel eventually learns the truth and forces Ross to go ahead with the annulment, but they are unable to get one as Rachel has added humiliating misinformation about Ross on the form, and they are forced to file for divorce. Ross gets a new job teaching paleontology at New York University (NYU). Despite his divorce record, Ross dates two people: Jill Green, Rachel's sister and Elizabeth Stevens, a student in one of his NYU classes. Jill comes into the city to goes to Rachel to help her look for a job after her father takes away her credit card and in her job hunt, there seems to be a spark with Ross when one of the items she bought at a store isn't confiscated by Rachel. Neither one was planning to ask the other out but when Rachel accidentally says it's OK, Jill asks Ross out and he agrees. But Rachel's true feelings about her sister and ex-boyfriend started to be known to both and she forces Ross to stop seeing Jill. Meanwhile, with Elizabeth, Ross discovers that she is the one who rated him a "hottie" in her evaluation form. They start dating despite a university policy that makes it illegal for a teacher to date a student and threats from Ross' colleagues and Elizabeth's father that Ross will be fired for violating that policy. Ross tries to impress Elizabeth's father, Paul but is usually unsuccessful. They break up after Ross figures that there is no future between them. Chandler and Monica decide it's too soon for them to get married, and decide to move in together instead. Chandler moves into Monica's apartment, Rachel moves in with Phoebe, and Joey is left on his own. After Chandler moves out, Joey gets a sexy female roommate named Janine. After a few weeks of carefully avoiding the subject, the two start dating, but the relationship doesn't last long when Janine tells Joey she doesn't like Monica and Chandler. Joey's attempts to make them get along only make the situation worse and Janine moves out. Another interesting aspect of season 6 is Joey's money and career crisis. First Joey, not getting an acting job in a long time loses his insurance. He gets it back by getting a part in a movie which he acted as a dying father. Joey finds it very difficult to keep up with the bills living on his own and as a result of Janine moving out, Joey's telephone and cable service has been cutoff and desperate for money, Joey gets a job at Central Perk. He later tries other ways to get money like participate in a study for identical twins but isn't successful as he and his partner, Tony, aren't identical twins. Also, Joey gets a job as the lead actor on a new TV Series named 'Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E.', which revolves around a detective and his robot sidekick. Joey promptly quits his job at Central Perk. Later in the season, a fire wrecks Phoebe and Rachel's apartment. It is assumed that Phoebe's candles started the fire, so while Rachel moves in with Chandler and Monica, Phoebe moves into the less savory conditions of Joey's apartment. However, when the firemen find the fire was actually started by Rachel leaving a hair straightener switched on in the bathroom, Phoebe and Rachel swap. Rachel finds living with Joey quite enjoyable, while Phoebe is annoyed by Monica's constant attention and obsession with cleanliness. Towards the end of the season, Chandler plans to propose to Monica. In the final episode, he fails to propose at a restaurant when Richard, Monica's ex-boyfriend, appears. Later, Richard meets Monica at her workplace and tells her he still loves her. She considers going back to Richard when Chandler pretends he isn't interested in marriage (so she'll be surprised when he proposes) but Joey explains the situation to her. She decides to surprise him with a proposal and he says yes.

Season seven

The season mainly focuses on Monica and Chandler's wedding plans from the selection of the maid of honour to the wardrobe to the seating arrangement. It was almost thrown in jeopardy when Monica's parents spent all the money from the Monica Wedding fund to acquire a beach house. Chandler agreed to give some money. Rachel gets a promotion in Ralph Lauren and one of its perks includes hiring a new assistant. She hires Tag Jones (as opposed to an experienced applicant), who she has a crush on from the moment she meets him. They got together on Thanksgiving but broke up during her birthday. Phoebe and Rachel's apartment is restored after the fire. Phoebe moves back in on her own, while Rachel continues living with Joey. 'Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E.' is a ratings failure and is quickly cancelled, but luckily for Joey he is offered his job back on Days Of Our Lives. In the final episode, it is time for Chandler and Monica's wedding, but the night before, Chandler gets cold feet and disappears. While he is gone, Phoebe finds a positive pregnancy test in Monica's bathroom, and assumes Monica is pregnant. Phoebe and Ross find Chandler at his office and persuade him to come back, but Chandler overhears Phoebe and Rachel talking about Monica's "pregnancy" and disappears again. He quickly returns on his own, however, deciding that a baby wouldn't be so bad. Chandler and Monica get married, but when Chandler tells Monica he knows about the baby, she says she isn't pregnant, and it wasn't her pregnancy test that Phoebe found. As the episode ends, it is hinted that it is actually Rachel who is pregnant.

Season eight

It is confirmed that Rachel is pregnant, and in the second episode, the group finds out that Ross is the father (we learn they secretly slept together before Chandler and Monica's wedding). Her pregnancy becomes the central focal point of the eighth season. Ross met Mona at the wedding and went out with her for a few months but they broke up becuase of complications arising from his impending fatherhood with Rachel's child. As Rachel and Joey continue living together, Joey starts to develop feelings for her. Feeling that Ross is missing out on his fatherly duties, Joey reluctantly suggests that Rachel move in with Ross, and she does so. Joey later reveals his feelings to Rachel, who politely rejects him. In the last episode, Rach