Come back to the Central Perk, Rachel Green, Rachel Green

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Monica was always my favorite, but this is my favorite Friends gif.

Sometimes I miss this show so much it hurts.

[CarlosAlberto]

The blu-ray complete series boxed set is coming out very soon.

[Jordan Catalano]

Over the years I've accepted the fact that I am Monica. And at this point in my life, I accept it.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

I'm Monica, too!

Carlos, I am so excited about the blu ray colletion. I have them all on dvd, but I can't wait to to see them in high def.

[CarlosAlberto]

I'm a cross between Rachel and Joey. LOL.

[Jon]

Quick trivia Q - what other "Must See TV Thursday" show had a character named Rachel Green?

[CarlosAlberto]

That's easy. Rachel Green was also the name of Dr. Mark Green's daughter on ER.

[Jon]

So, while we're at it, name 2 TV shows with a character named "Dr. Mark Sloan" and two with a "Sergeant Carter".

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Mark Sloan = Grey's Anatomy/Diagnosis Murder

I can't even name one with Sergeant Carter.

[Kad]

David Schwimmer has not aged well.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Neither has David Schwimmer's performance! I was watching a latter episode the other night and I kept wishing someone would blowdart him with a tranquilizer.

[madbrian]

Sargeant Carter - Gomer Pyle & Hogan's Heroes?

[Jon]

you are correct, madbrian.

To finish off the topic - in 1984, the same year "Kate and Allie" premiered, theare was another new sitcom called "Double Trouble" about identical twins named Kate and Allie.

[madbrian]

And SNL had a skit where Martin Short and Billy Crystal were Kate (Hepburn) & (Muhammad) Ali.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Double Trouble???? I LOVED that show! Especially when it was re-tooled for a move to NYC which involved them living with their Aunt Margo, played by Barbara Barrie.

How could a Jean and Liz Sagal vehicle get better? Just add a little Babs Barrie!

[wickedfan]

Funny you mention Schwimmer, SonofRobbieJ! I semi-agree with you. Agree in the sense that, yes, as the seasons went on Schwimmer's performance got weaker (he went from one of my favorites to by far my least favorite over the 10 seasons), but I always loved Ross' story lines.

I've been re-watching the whole series on TBS and I forgot just how much I loved this show. I also forgot just how much impact it had in pop culture.

Also, is it just me, or do Courtney Cox and Jennifer Aniston get SCARY thin around season 3-6?

[Mister Matt]

I also loved Double Trouble the NYC episodes were the best! I was surprised the series never took off. I even remember them in Grease 2.

[Mister Matt]

And just to make this the best threadjack ever in the history of the world, the cast of Hello, Larry! Including Joanna Gleason, shortly after her Broadway turn in I Love My Wife, Meadowlark Lemon of Harlem Globetrotter fame, McLean Stevenson, a pre-Square Pegs John Femia, a young Kim Richards...child star and eventual Real Housewife of Beverly Hills, and the incomparable Ruth Brown.

You're welcome.

[Jon]

You wanna talk about scary thin? Look at Matthew Perry in the season where he dates Rachel's boss. His clothing hangs off him like he's a holocaust victim. I know his up and down weight was related to drug usage.

It's also funny how Schwimmer went from a skinny, gangly geek to totally buff with bulging biceps in the last copuple of seasons.

[strummergirl]

I was totally into Ross and Rachel but even I just got annoyed with their relationship by the end and wished Ross just followed her to Paris instead of her skipping her plane ride.

I cannot watch HIMYM because the closeness Ted Mosby shares with Ross is a bit too surreal.

Perry had a weight yo-yo issue due to the fact he got addicted to pain killers that made him lose weight and later pack a lot on when he recovered.

Monica and Ross got way too crazy in the latter seasons that I no longer saw Phoebe as the weird one.

[EricMontreal22]

I haven't understood why the writers have never been able to come up with a competent show after Friends. Was it just a quirky thing where they found the right concept with the right actors?

[Jay Lerner-Z]

For years I only knew Joanna Gleason as Rachel's smoker boss - a tiny part but she was great. Then I got into theatre, and her fabulousness made sense.

[EricMontreal22]

A character I relate all too well to.

[SNAFU]

I do believe that Friends was sort of a perfect storm. The right cast, the right premise at the right time.

[Jon]

Sometimes you can tell fromt he pilot episode - they way each character is introduced and defined. The Friends pilot was right on.

Other times. it takes several episodes, maybe the whole first season, for the actors and writers to figure out who these people are.

The one irony is that as originally conceived, Monica (Courtney Cox being the most well-known of the actors) was going to be the "anchor" of the show - the most well-adjusted of the group, surrounded by quirky oddballs. By the end of the first season, Monica was as dysfunctional as the others - maybe more. Borderline OCD, former fat girl, now perfectionist, super competitive.

[strummergirl]

I actually just re-watched the pilot online. Joey's relationship advice was actually sound than easily dismissed 'Don Juan goof' and Rachel also seemed a bit dumb from her naivete and privilege but later on was pretty competent in her various jobs. Yet the pilot seemed way more on Monica, Ross, and Rachel. Chandler, Phoebe, and Joey were pretty broad but were identifiable as jokester, free-spirit kook, and ladies man. But none of them, except Phoebe's life-story background taking Rachel's life struggles down a peg, had much to do.

And reading the reviews on the pilot on the Wikipedia page, apparently this show was considered a Seinfeld wannabe. I did not know there was such a thing, especially when you consider there are still shows that try to follow (and usually fail) the Friends sitcom formula.

BTW, Does anybody remember the time that Phoebe had a conquest with Ross on the pool table (which never came close to happening ever again) that was played for laughs. I swore it was the pilot or really early in Season 1 but it was not the pilot that aired in the 30-minute format.