Friends forever! (Friends)

Member Name: ItalianFran92

Product:	Friends
Date:	08/12/08 (234 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Funny, great characters, great actors

Disadvantages: It's over

Absolutely brilliant! Brilliant show, brilliant cast, brilliant E4 for showing at least two episodes every day :) Everything to do with this show is brilliant.

Each show is a different story but it continues nicely. Each episode carries on to a new exciting part of their life. Each person brings their own comedy value and so does each character.

The episodes are on average 22 minutes long but when shown on TV last 30 minutes due to commercials.

RACHEL GREEN
Played by Jennifer Aniston. Rachel has had a spoiled childhood and she was the most popular girl at school, these traits have then been carried to her adulthood. When we first meet Rachel she has run away from her wedding as she realised she wasn't in love. Throughout the series we see Rachel develop and learn independence, first getting a job as a waitress, then a job in the fashion world where she excels. Rachel is part of the Ross and Rachel, 'We were on a break!' relationship and we see her having to deal with her feelings. A major step in her life is finding out she's pregnant with Ross' child after a night together; they have a daughter, Emma. There's always times when Ross and Rachel look like they might get back together but this eventually happens in the final season which was a great way to round things up.

MONICA GELLAR
Played by Courtney Cox-Arquette. Monica and Rachel were friends from High School, whilst Rachel had the popularity, Monica struggled with her weight. She was always on the tubby side but we see her as very skinny. It's ironic she works as a chef. She is very obsessive and likes things clean, she likes to be in control of things and hates losing. When she gets sick in one of the season's she announces she hasn't been sick in years, sickness shows weakness and Monica doesn't like that. As Ross gets married in London, she hooks up with Chandler after feeling lonely and getting a bit drunk but it works out for the best as they eventually get married. Of course, they hid their relationship for a while and we see them trying to cover up the fact they're an item, it's fun to watch their friends realising they're a couple. Monica has always wanted children and so is devastated when she realises her and Chandler are unable to conceive but there's light at the end of the tunnel when they decide to adopt. In the final episode, we see them finally get the children they've pined for and they get more than they bargained for: twins! A boy and a girl, what more could she ask for?

PHOEBE BUFFAY
Played by Lisa Kudrow. Phoebe has had a tough life, her mother killed herself and she was forced to live on the streets and yet, she remains one of the quirkiest characters in the group. She's a sort of ditzy blonde who works as a masseuse and plays guitar, albeit badly, on the side. She meets her brother early in the series, he opts for an older woman and when they can't have kids, Phoebe volunteers to carry the children for them. She ends up giving birth to triplets, it's very emotional when she realises she'd like to keep one but of course realises she can't do that. She finally finds love in a guy called Mike who Joey set her up with but it was rather a random set up as he forget he promised her a date, called out the name 'Mike!' and picked the guy who answered to that name. It must have been fate though, as they get married and talk about having kids of their own. After a rough start in life we see Phoebe get the life she deserves.

CHANDLER BING
Played by Matthew Perry. As a child his parents divorced because of his father turning out to be gay and going to work in Las Vegas as a show girl. This has always affected Chandler and especially in the earlier part of the series, we see him often be the subject to jokes about his own sexuality. Chandler is definitely the comical guy of the group and I'd say he was one of the best characters every created in any sitcom. We see him hook up with Monica when they go to Ross' wedding in London and then they finally get married themselves, we certainly see Chandler grow up a lot during the series. Chandler is the only one of the six who hates his job and doesn't feel he has a purpose until he eventually gets a job in advertising. Chandler's middle name is Muriel, Chandler Muriel Bing, in the words of Ross, 'Your parents never even gave you a chance, did they?' Chandler becomes a dad to Jack and Erica in the final episode as he and Monica complete their family and choose to live a life outside the city.

ROSS GELLAR
Played by David Schwimmer. Ross is Monica's older brother and has always been the favourite of his parents or at least his mother. His first wife turned out to be a lesbian but they did have a son together, Ben. He works as a palaeontologist and has a passion for Science. He has a relationship with Rachel and when they decide to take a break he sleeps with another woman but Ross always defends that it was okay because 'they were on a break'. This 'We were on a break thing!' is a joke that lasts the entire programme. He then marries Emily, a British woman but that is doomed from the start when he accidentally says Rachel's name in the vows. The wedding lasts only a short while before they are divorced. The group take a trip to Vegas and after having a fight on the plane (where Ross finally draws on Rachel's face with permanent marker) the two stay in their room together and get drunk because Rachel doesn't want people to see her. They get so drunk they decide to get married and that's the third time for Ross. Afterwards, Ross doesn't want another divorce under his belt and so tries to get the marriage annulled but can't, so they stay married even though Rachel doesn't know. They finally get the divorce and Ross is always subjected to jokes about marriage, divorce and engagements... for obvious reasons. In the end, he has another child, Emma with Rachel and they end up together again.

JOEY TRIBBIANI
Played by Matt Le Blanc. Joey comes from an Italian family where he has seven sisters and was brought up in Queens. Joey is the womaniser who has never been in a serious relationship. He's an aspiring actor who gets his big break in the soap, 'Days of Our Lives'. He has a wacky agent called Estelle. His acting on the soap didn't last long though and to say he's an actor, he was still one of the weaker earners. He's had his dumb moments throughout and he loves food as well as sex. We see his strong friendship with Chandler especially when they live together; the two make a good duo and really care for each other. Unlike the others, at the end of the series Joey doesn't know what he wants to do and hates the change around him. Joey gets a spin-off series but nothing can be good as Friends.
Each character is unique and together they are an awesome group of people you just wish were real. Set in New York city, it follows the lives of six 20-year-olds on there journey through life and in the end we're left with 30-year-olds that have grown up a lot. Other titles that were considered for the show were 'Insomnia Café', 'Across the Hall', 'Six of One' and the popular 'Friends Like Us', that was chosen but later shortened to the beloved, 'Friends'.

SEASON 1
We meet the characters; Rachel is the new addition to the already formed group when she crashes into the Coffeehouse wearing a wedding dress. Ross is trying to deal with his divorce as well as the fact he's going to be a dad and that his wife left him for another woman. We also discover that Ross has like Rachel since High School and he now likes her again.

SEASON 2
Monica falls for her dad's friend, Richard and they try to declare they're love despite their age gap. Joey gets a part in the soap, 'Days of Our Lives' as Doctor Drake Ramoray. Ross tries to get over his love for Rachel and starts dating Julie. As Joey moves to a better apartment, Chandler gets a new roommate in the form of Eddy the psycho.

SEASON 3
Ross and Rachel's eventual relationship is torn apart when Ross gets jealous of Mark; a guy who helped Rachel get a job at Bloomingdale's and now works with. Phoebe meets her half-brother. Chandler is in a relationship with Janice, the one with the funny laugh and 'Oh... My... God!'. Monica breaks up with Richard because of her need for kids and the fact he's not interested, she moves onto Pete, a millionaire, she likes him but isn't attracted to him. Whilst on a 'break', Ross sleeps with another woman and that finally ends the Ross and Rachel relationship.

SEASON 4
Chandler falls for Joey's girlfriend, Kathy. Rachel pursues a guy called Joshua. Joey and Chandler swap apartments with Rachel and Monica after winning a bet. Ross meets Emily, the English woman he later marries. Phoebe is carrying her brother's baby which turns out to be triplets. The finale is the wedding of Ross and Emily in London, where Ross accidentally says Rachel in the vows.

SEASON 5
Ross divorces Emily after she demands him not to talk to Rachel and move to London or it's over. Monica and Chandler's one night-stand is revealed to the viewers but they're relationship is kept secret from their friends until one by one they all find out. Ross moves in with Chandler and Joey after being suspended from work on account of his rage and he has no apartment after he sold all his furniture in thinking he was moving in with Emily. They go to Las Vegas to see Joey who is working there; Monica and Chandler decide to get married but when they get to the chapel; Rachel and Ross come stumbling out.

SEASON 6
Ross attempts to get his marriage to Rachel annulled because he doesn't want another divorce. Monica and Chandler decide to move in together. Ross goes out with a student called Emily, he knows it's wrong but they really like each other. And Chandler decided to propose to Monica.

SEASON 7
Monica and Chandler get engaged and start planning the wedding, well Monica does. Rachel turns 30. We get shown what really happened between Monica and Chandler in London. Monica meets Chandler's dad who works as a transvestite show girl. We end with Monica and Chandler's wedding.

SEASON 8
Rachel discovers she's pregnant after we're firstly led to believe Monica is. Rachel doesn't reveal who the father is straight away but we soon find out its Ross. Rachel starts getting aggravated when her pregnancy is overdue and Monica and Phoebe make bets as to when she will give birth. As we wait in the hospital, there's a lot of confusion between Ross wanting Rachel back and Joey accidentally proposing to her.

SEASON 9
Ross can't let it go that Joey proposed even though he didn't mean to. Phoebe meets Mike after Joey sets them up, claiming Mike is his friend when in fact he was just a random guy at the Coffeehouse. Chandler gets transferred to Tulsa. Phoebe meets Mike's parents and fails to make a good impression. Joey starts dating Charlie, a palaeontologist that Ross likes and Rachel starts developing a crush on Joey. Ross is giving a speech in Barbados and invites the group to go with him.

SEASON 10
Rachel and Joey try and become a couple but find out their friendship is too strong. Monica and Chandler make plans to move outside the city and adopt children. Rachel is offered a job with Louis Vuitton in Paris; her move prompts Ross to declare his love for her. Joey's agent, Estelle, dies. Gunther tells Rachel about his feelings for her after years of adoration. Phoebe and Mike get married. We see Janice for the last time as she decides whether or not to buy the house next to Monica and Chandler's prospective new house. Monica and Chandler finally get their children, twins; a boy and a girl called Jack and Erica.

Friends is amazing and it's on all the time but if you can't get enough or want to see the scenes they don't show on TV (and there's quite a lot they don't show) then buy the DVDs, they're roughly £11 a season or £90 for the entire collection. Either way, wait until Christmas because they're always cheapest then :)
This is one of the best American sitcoms, well it had to be to make it to their 10th season and everyone must give it a chance, you're in for a laugh!


This review can also be found on Ciao.co.uk, under the same name :)

Summary: Friends you'll love forever!