Question: Is it true the cast hated Marcel the monkey that much? Would he have had more of a storyline if they didn't? Same goes for the character of Julie?
raywest
19th May 2023
Friends (1994)
20th Mar 2023
Friends (1994)
The One Where Rosita Dies - S7-E13
Question: When Phoebe meets Earl she says that her mothers name was "Pearl", but every other time Phoebe's mothers name is mentioned her name is "Lilly". Is Phoebe trying to relate her life more to Earl's? Or is this just a mistake?
Answer: Phoebe rushed to Earl's office to talk him out of killing himself. She told him about her own mother's suicide and deliberately lied that Lily's name was "Pearl" (rhyming with Earl) hoping to establish a personal connection with him. She stumbles a bit on the name, saying P-earl, as she makes it up "on the fly."
6th Jan 2005
Friends (1994)
Question: When Phoebe's mom died she went and lived on the street. But why? I am sure they had a house. Why would someone take it away from them? And what about her Grandmother?
Answer: Any answer would be a guess, it's never explained. But she mostly likely ran away from home and lived on the streets and later reconnected with her grandmother.
Answer: It's unlikely Phoebe's surrogate mother, Lily, owned a house. They lived in NYC, had little money, and probably rented a cheap apartment. Young Phoebe would be unable to support herself after Lily's suicide. It's unknown why Phoebe did not immediately go to live with her adoptive grandmother, Frances, but there appeared to be a rift between Lily and her mother. Frances may not have known right away that Phoebe was left homeless and assumed she and her twin sister, Ursula, were with their blood relatives. Phoebe, still a minor, may have run away to avoid being placed in foster care, and later lived with Frances.
Answer: According to Phoebe her mother had severe mental problems. It could be that had a house but lost it because of it, they lived on the streets and sometime later after her mother died she went to live with her grandmother. They could have lived with her grandmother, but the mother's mental problems drove her out. Either way Phoebe would want be with her to take care of her.
I don't believe it likely Phoebe and her mother would have been on the streets / homeless at the time of her mother's suicide. Multiple times in the series Phoebe explicitly states that her mom committed suicide by putting her head in an oven / was "in the kitchen." The context and phrasing as Phoebe describes it strongly implies they were in their house at the time.
19th Jul 2022
Friends (1994)
Question: I read that Ross was originally supposed to stay married to Emily, but the actress did not want to live in the USA at that time. Why not re-cast the role, since she isn't one of the main six?
Answer: Emily was slated to appear in more episodes, but it wasn't intended that she and Ross would remain married. Emily was written out sooner than originally planned because actress Helen Baxendale (Emily) was pregnant. In her last appearances, to hide her pregnancy, she is shown in a close-up from the shoulders up or is sitting in bed and covered by a blanket while talking to Ross on the phone. As she was not supposed to have a long run on the show, it would have been impractical to cast a new actress for such a short period.
13th Oct 2021
Friends (1994)
The One With Monica and Chandler's Wedding, Part 1 - S7-E23
Question: Who was the woman that Rachel thought was Chandler's dad, and what was she doing at Monica and Chandler's rehearsal dinner?
Answer: The woman was just a random family friend or Geller relative invited to the rehearsal dinner. Because the woman was in a black outfit, Rachel mistook her for Chandler's dad (played by Kathleen Turner), who Monica had described as wearing a black dress. The character, named Amanda, is merely a plot device to set up a humorous bit where Rachel messes up and embarrasses herself.
7th Sep 2021
Friends (1994)
The One With Barry & Mindy's Wedding - S2-E24
Question: Why are Monica and Richard invited to Barry's wedding? Monica wasn't even invited to Barry's first wedding to Rachel, they did not know each other.
Answer: I agree with the other answers. Another possibility is, Rachel was close friends with both Monica and Mindy in high school. Mindy was likely friends with Monica, and therefore invited her to the wedding along with Rachel, knowing they were roommates. Richard has known the Geller and Green families for years and may also know Mindy's parents and was invited separately. He could be Monica's +1, or she his, but even if both were invited separately, they are still attending as a couple. Monica wasn't invited to Rachel and Barry's wedding because the girls had lost touch after high school and Monica moved to NYC.
Answer: It's never explained, and the writers probably didn't gave it serious thought, just using their presence at the wedding as a plot device. But since, as you say, Monica was not invited to Rachel's wedding, the most logical explanation is that Richard is the invitee, and Monica is his +1. Richard and Barry are both doctors and so could know one another, or perhaps Richard is friends with Barry's, or Mindy's, parents. If the latter, this would not be unbelievable, as Mindy's parents would likely be in the same circle as the Gellers, with whom Richard is close.
26th Apr 2018
Friends (1994)
The One With Rachel's Crush - S4-E13
Question: Rachel meets Joshua at work. She goes back home after work and as she enters home announces: "I have the best job in the entire world" and keeps on repeating Joshua's name and enjoys it when suddenly Ross gets upset about it and says "hello?" which implies that "I am sitting right here, and you shouldn't be making me jealous." She answers "hi" apologetically. My question is: what right does Ross have to get upset? they're not in a relationship.
Answer: True, but they've not been broken up all that long and are still friends - it would be kind of Rachel to at least not flaunt her latest love interest in his face.
Answer: Plus, Ross acting like an entitled arsehole is a constant in the show, his behaviour regarding Rachel and her love life outside of him is wildly inappropriate on many occasions.
As a man who had complete security in his life until his wife announces lesbianism and ends in divorce, I think his paranoia regarding relationships and behaviour in the show are justified. It's all well and good to say he should be over it, but Rachel's actions inside and out of the relationship don't help him.
Answer: Rachel was being insensitive when gushing about Joshua, and it hurt Ross. Though they became friends again, Ross never stopped loving Rachel and felt she also caused their split and then played the victim. Rachel seemed more oblivious than apologetic when saying, "Hi," back to Ross, and was in denial about still loving him and her part in the breakup. She was equally jealous when Ross started dating Emily and never expected him to move on so quickly. She told Monica that she always believed they'd someday get back together.
10th Jun 2021
Friends (1994)
Question: There are a few episodes where Phoebe is talking with her twin sister Ursula, and one of them will hand something to the other person, and you can tell a stand-in is not being used for one of them because Lisa Kudrow's face is visible for both characters. How do they achieve this effect?
Chosen answer: The effect can be achieved in various ways. Split screen and image overlapping is one method. CGI can simulate body movements making it appear the characters are physically interacting, or a face can be superimposed over a body double. Lisa Kudrow's older sister, Helena, who looks almost exactly like her, was often used as her twin body double, mostly filmed from the back or the side and in scenes where one stood or walked in front of the other.
30th Mar 2021
Friends (1994)
The One with the Boobies - S1-E13
Question: After Joey says to his father "Now go to my room," it transitions to a new scene, and the music that plays sounds very similar to the song "Found Out About You" by Gin Blossoms, which was a popular song around the same time this show began airing. Is this meant to be an homage to that song, or is it just coincidental?
Chosen answer: The music definitely sounds like it's from that song, though very little is played. Its use would not be coincidental. 'Friends' frequently incorporated popular songs into episodes to reflect the storyline. In one episode, when Joey got brushed off by an attractive woman after she saw his "VD" poster in the subway, the song, "Don't Stand So Close to Me," by the Police, started playing. In another, after Joey moved into his own apartment and was feeling lonely, the episode ended with Eric Carmen's "All By Myself." The Gin Blossoms' song certainly fits with Joey discovering his father's affair.
4th Sep 2018
Friends (1994)
Question: How come the gang never knew about Gunther having feelings for Rachel?
Answer: He never openly expressed his feelings, but the friends also never paid much attention to him or thought of him as anything more than Rachel's one-time boss and the person who serves them coffee. Just before Rachel is to leave for Paris in the last season, she acknowledges Gunther's feelings when he says goodbye and that he loves her. She says she loves him, too, though probably not in the same way, indicating she knows what his feelings are.
15th Mar 2018
Friends (1994)
1st Jan 2018
Friends (1994)
Question: What does Joey mean when he says "quarters, or rolls of quarters?" when he replied to the lady that says she can "pick up quarters with her toes"?
Answer: She says quarters, but then starts sliding her foot up his thigh and demonstrates that her toes are more dextrous than he first realised.
Answer: This can be answered two ways. Joey could be asking if she is nimble enough with her toes to be able to pick up an individual quarter as well as grab an entire roll of them. However, this is Joey, and he is likely implying a sexual double entendre to the meaning of "rolls of quarters" by implying they are phallic in shape.
22nd Sep 2017
Friends (1994)
The One With Monica and Chandler's Wedding, Part 1 - S7-E23
Question: Chandler disappears and leaves a note. Monica doesn't know about this. In the same episode, it turns to morning. Phoebe and Rachel are sitting in their morning-robes, after Rachel tells Phoebe that Ross hasn't seen or heard from Chandler. Monica comes out of her bedroom and she says "I'm getting married today!", still not aware of the fact that Chandler hasn't come home. Ross also says later (in the next episode, I think) that he has been looking for him almost all night. So why hasn't Monica noticed that Chandler never came home?
7th Sep 2017
Friends (1994)
The One With Phoebe's Uterus - S4-E11
Question: When Phoebe is sitting on the couch with her mother, having just received the puppy, towards the end you can see a strange thing sitting on the couch behind/next to her. I can only view it on a small screen, but it looks like a phallic shape. It would make sense, considering that her mother makes erotic pottery, but is that what it is?
7th Sep 2017
Friends (1994)
The One with the Monkey - S1-E10
7th Sep 2017
Friends (1994)
The One With The Lesbian Wedding - S2-E11
Question: Why did the gang not understand why Ross didn't want to go to the wedding? Most people wouldn't go to their ex wife's wedding.
7th Sep 2017
Friends (1994)
The One Where Ross And Rachel Take A Break - S3-E15
Question: Why did Ross and Rachel take a break? I don't mean break up, I mean why did Rachel suggest taking a break?
Chosen answer: Rachel was tired of Ross' constant insecurity over their relationship and his unfounded jealousy over Mark, Rachel's co-worker. Ross was also fed-up because Rachel had become overly obsessed with working, and was not spending enough time with him. When Rachel said she wanted a break, it was in the heat of an argument. The next day she wanted to immediately get back together, only to discover that Ross had slept with the girl from the copy center within hours of their break-up.
Answer: Ross was being an insufferable jealous man. He never actually listened to Rachel when she said she didn't have time to stop for food and wine for their anniversary. Typical selfish baby behavior that was Ross Geller.
11th Jan 2015
Friends (1994)
17th Jun 2015
Friends (1994)
The One with Mrs. Bing - S1-E11
Question: When we first see Mrs Bing on TV, Jay Leno mentions that she recently got arrested and asks how it came about. Her response is "occasionally, after being intimate with a man, I just get a craving for Kung Pao chicken" This gets a lot of cheers and laughter from the audience and Chandler shouts "that's too much information!" at the TV. What was happening here? Why does what Mrs Bing said get so much of a reaction from everyone and not answer the question she was asked? Am I missing something?
Answer: This is a story about how Chandler's mom got arrested. So she is saying "after being intimate with a man I get a craving for Kung Pao Chicken." So what she is implying is that she is intimate with whomever, and immediately afterwards when orders Kung Pao Chicken. By this she is saying she got arrested at the place where they sell Kung Poa Chicken, because she was being intimate with the individual there. Conclusion she was openly having sex at a Chinese Restaurant.
Answer: I've seen a few answers that are similar to this. It's really unclear to me what the relation to being arrested is and/or why it's too much information. I feel like I'm missing a connection here.
Chosen answer: Nora Bing's remarks got a huge response by her being funny and making the incident about sex. Audiences tend react to titillating anecdotes. Chandler, of course, is always mortified by his mother for not acting her age and being sexually uninhibited.
This answers nothing really.
Answer: I honestly think part of it has been deleted since the original broadcast. I remember her saying something extra that carried on the joke, but watching it on streaming services, it isn't there.
28th Oct 2014
Friends (1994)
Question: Can someone explain why there is no door to Monica's balcony? Is it normal to climb out a window to get on to the balcony in these types of apartment buildings? It doesn't seem like something that would be allowed due to building regulations.
Answer: There's never been an explanation, but it's an older building, and theoretically there could have been a laxer construction code when it was built and inspections were less stringent. It may originally have been intended only an access to the fire escape and not as a recreational area. Of course, this likely would never have happened in real life and it simply makes it more humorous for the character to have to climb in and out the window. Also, the size of the balcony changes over the course of the series and the fire escape comes and goes.
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Answer: It was mostly David Schwimmer (Ross) who had issues with Marcel the monkey. He became frustrated working with an animal that often missed its mark, didn't behave properly in scenes, etc. resulting in constant retakes. As Ross was Marcel's owner, Schwimmer had the most interactions with the animal. Regarding Julie, there's no indication that any cast member had issues with Lauren Tom, the actress who played her. She was an extended guest star only intended to appear for a few episodes. Her character was simply a "complication" to Ross and Rachel finally getting together. There was no reason for Julie to remain on the show any longer.
raywest ★