Friends (season 1)

Friends (season 1)
Friends season 1 DVD cover
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	24
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	September 22, 1994 – May 18, 1995

The first season of Friends, an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, premiered on NBC on September 22, 1994. Friends was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television. The season contains 24 episodes and concluded airing on May 18, 1995.

Season synopsis

This season introduces the six main characters: Rachel Green, Monica Geller, Phoebe Buffay, Joey Tribbiani, Chandler Bing and Ross Geller. Rachel, who left her fiancé at the altar on her wedding day, has come to New York and ends up living with Monica. It is established early on in the season that Ross has been in love with Rachel since the two characters attended high school. Several episodes revolve around his attempts to tell her how he feels. Meanwhile, Ross's estranged lesbian ex-wife, Carol, is pregnant with his baby. This puts Ross and Carol's lesbian life partner, Susan, in an awkward position. Due to the loneliness, Ross gets a capucin monkey who he names Marcel.^[1] When the baby is born at the end of the season, Ross, Carol, and Susan agree to name him Ben after a name tag on a janitor's uniform worn by Phoebe. The episodic nature of the season sees the characters learning moral lessons about life and having multiple dates, many of which go wrong, yet each episode still ended happily. The recurring character of Janice is introduced as a girlfriend Chandler breaks up with in an early episode but frequently returns to. Ross leaves for a fossil dig in China at the end of the season, but when Chandler lets it slip about Ross's continuing feelings for Rachel on her birthday, she is shocked to find out. She rushes off to the airport to tell him about her feelings, but he has already boarded the plane. The season ends with a cliffhanger in which Rachel goes to greet Ross at the airport after his return, unbeknownst to her that he has a new girlfriend.

Reception

Early reviews of the series were mixed. Tom Feran of The Plain Dealer wrote that the series traded "vaguely and less successfully on the hanging-out style of Seinfeld",^[2] while Ann Hodges of the Houston Chronicle called it "the new Seinfeld wannabe, but it will never be as funny as Seinfeld."^[3] In the Los Angeles Daily News, Ray Richmond named the series as "one of the brighter comedies of the new season",^[4] and the Los Angeles Times called it "flat-out the best comedy series of the new season".^[5] Chicago Sun-Times' Ginny Holbert found Joey and Rachel's characteristics to be underdeveloped,^[6] while Richmond commended the cast as a "likeable, youth ensemble" with "good chemistry"^[4] Robert Bianco of USA Today was complimentary of Schwimmer, calling him "terrific". He also praised the female leads, but was concerned that Perry's role as Chandler was "undefined" and that LeBlanc was "relying too much on the same brain-dead stud routine that was already tired the last two times he tried it".^[7] The authors of Friends Like Us: The Unofficial Guide to Friends thought that the cast was "trying just a little too hard", in particular Perry and Schwimmer.^[8]

Cast and characters

(In particular, Introduced in season 1 or Only in season 1)

Main cast Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green Courteney Cox as Monica Geller Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing David Schwimmer as Ross Geller Recurring cast Anita Barone/Jane Sibbett as Carol Willick Mitchell Whitfield as Barry Farber Cosimo Fusco as Paolo Maggie Wheeler as Janice Hosenstein Jessica Hecht as Susan Bunch Vincent Ventresca as Fun Bobby James Michael Tyler as Gunther Elliott Gould as Jack Geller Christina Pickles as Judy Geller Larry Hankin as Mr. Heckles

Guest stars Merrill Markoe as Marsha, Ross' boss Jill Goodacre as herself Hank Azaria as David Morgan Fairchild as Nora Bing Fisher Stevens as Roger Jon Lovitz as Steve Helen Hunt as Jamie Buchman Leila Kenzle as Fran Devanow George Clooney as Dr. Mitchell Noah Wyle as Dr. Rusell Jennifer Grey as Mindy Claudia Shear as Fake Monica Leah Remini as Lydia Jonathan Silverman as Dr. Franzblau Corinne Bohrer as Melanie Tommy Blaze as Carl Lauren Tom as Julie Sofia Milos as Aurora Jennifer Grant as Nina John Allen Nelson as Paul the Wine Guy Geoffrey Lower as Alan Beth Grant as Lizzy Marianne Hagan as Joanne Michele Maika as Kiki Leesa Bryte as Leslie

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	1	"The Pilot"[lower-alpha 1]	James Burrows	David Crane & Marta Kauffman	September 22, 1994	456650	21.5[10]
Rachel leaves her fiance, Barry, at the altar and decides to move in with her old friend Monica after meeting the gang in the coffee place 'Central Perk.' Everyone watches Spanish soap operas at Monica's place. Monica, meanwhile, sleeps with Paul the 'Wine Guy' from her work, who turns out to be less than sincere and lies to get her into bed. Chandler and Joey try to get Ross back into dating who is reeling from his divorce from Carol as he found out she is a lesbian. Ross reveals his high school crush on Rachel and mentions asking her out. Rachel discovers independence isn't as easy as she thought and gets a job at the coffee house as a waitress.
2	2	"The One with the Sonogram at the End"	James Burrows	David Crane & Marta Kauffman	September 29, 1994	456652	20.2[10]
Carol, Ross' lesbian ex-wife, tells him at work that she is pregnant with his child and when he attends the sonogram, is stunned to learn that she wants to give the baby her and her lesbian lover's last names. Monica nearly has a breakdown from stressing when her and Ross' parents come for dinner. Ross and Rachel console each other, as she has to return her engagement ring to Barry and finds out that he and her maid of honor Mindy, went on her honeymoon.
3	3	"The One with the Thumb"	James Burrows	Jeffrey Astrof & Mike Sikowitz	October 6, 1994	456651	19.5[10]
Monica becomes irritated when everyone likes her new boyfriend Alan, more than she does. Chandler starts smoking again and when the group complains, he diverts their attention to their own faults. Phoebe gets money put into her bank account that isn't hers and when she complains she gets more so she gives it to her homeless friend who buys her a can of soda, only to find a thumb in the can of soda. Phoebe uses the money from the soda company to pay Chandler to quit smoking.
4	4	"The One with George Stephanopoulos"	James Burrows	Alexa Junge	October 13, 1994	456654	19.7[10]
Ross, upset about it being the anniversary of his first time sleeping with Carol, goes to a Rangers game with Chandler and Joey and gets hit in the face by a puck, and is taken to the hospital. There, Ross reveals Carol is the only woman he's ever slept with. Rachel gets her first pay check but is angry that most of her money went to FICA, and also gets a visit from her old friends, which depresses her further about her new life. To cheer her up, Monica and Phoebe have a slumber party which isn't very fun due to Rachel's depressed state, until the girls spy on George Stephanopoulos, whose pizza was delivered to them by mistake, across the street.
5	5	"The One with the East German Laundry Detergent"	Pamela Fryman	Jeff Greenstein & Jeff Strauss	October 20, 1994	456653	18.6[10]
Chandler and Phoebe decide to break up with Janice and Tony at the same time, and Phoebe's goes well but Chandler has a harder time requiring Phoebe's help. Ross arranges to do laundry with Monica and Rachel but Monica cancels leaving just the two of them. Rachel reveals she's never done laundry before but Ross helps her stand up to a woman and Ross gets his first kiss with Rachel. Joey wants to go out with his ex-girlfriend (Angela) who now has a boyfriend (Bob), so he arranges for Monica and him to double-date with them by leading Monica to believe that Angela and Bob are siblings and therefore Angela's actual boyfriend is Monica's date. This creates much confusion when Monica sees Angela and her "brother" being 'inappropriate' but it eventually works out for Joey.
6	6	"The One with the Butt"	Arlene Sanford	Adam Chase & Ira Ungerleider	October 27, 1994	456655	18.2[10]
Everyone attends Joey's new musical where Chandler meets a beautiful and exotic Italian woman, Aurora, and asks her out. He finds out she is married and already has another boyfriend and is thrilled at the prospect of having "all the fun and none of the responsibility" in this polyamorous relationship. However, when she picks up another he learns that it's not all it's cracked up to be and can't take it. Joey gets picked up at the musical by the 'Estelle Leonard Talent Agency,' which finally gets him a film role as a stand-in for Al Pacino's butt double. However, he loses the job because he overacts. Rachel cleans the apartment by herself for the first time, but she triggers Monica's obsessive tendancies when she moves furniture around.
7	7	"The One with the Blackout"	James Burrows	Jeffrey Astrof & Mike Sikowitz	November 3, 1994	456656	23.5[10]
During a New York City-wide power outage, while the gang is hanging at Monica and Rachel's apartment, Ross tries to share his loving feelings with Rachel but is attacked by a cat. Rachel and Phoebe begin searching for the cat's owner, but when Mr. Heckles tries to claim the cat he spooks it. The cat turns out to belong to Paolo, a dark, attractive Italian hunk who lives in the building and doesn't speak much English and Rachel falls for him immediately. Meanwhile, Chandler is trapped in an ATM vestibule with 'Victoria's Secret' model Jill Goodacre and he desperately tries to impress her. (This episode was tied to the Mad About You season 3 episode Pandora's Box which depicted the cause of the city-wide blackout.)
8	8	"The One Where Nana Dies Twice"	James Burrows	Marta Kauffman & David Crane	November 10, 1994	456657	21.1[10]
Ross and Monica go to the bedside of their passed grandmother, who momentarily returns to life. Meanwhile, one of Chandler's colleagues tries to fix him up on a date with a man and Chandler finds out that a lot of people think he's gay when they first meet him and he tries to find out why. The gang goes to Ross and Monica's Nana's funeral, where Monica confronts her mother about her critical attitude. Ross falls into an open grave and hurts his back, resulting in him getting a bit loopy on muscle relaxers.
9	9	"The One Where Underdog Gets Away"	James Burrows	Jeff Greenstein & Jeff Strauss	November 17, 1994	456659	23.1[10]
Ross finds out Susan talks to the unborn baby and decides he must too. Monica plans a lovely, quiet Thanksgiving feast for the gang in her apartment because Ross and Monica's parents are away, but her plans go awry. Phoebe joins them because she celebrates Thanksgiving with her grandmother in December. Joey poses for a health poster, but later finds out he's become the V.D. poster boy and so his family thinks he has V.D. and he joins them too. Chandler plans to boycott Thanksgiving because his parents announced their divorce on Thanksgiving when he was younger. The 'Underdog' balloon breaks free during the parade and everyone goes to the roof to watch and get locked out of Monica's apartment meaning the dinner gets burned. Rachel had planned to go skiing in Vail with her family, but misses her flight home and joins them too. Everyone ends up eating Chandler's cheese sandwiches for dinner.
10	10	"The One with the Monkey"	Peter Bonerz	Adam Chase & Ira Ungerleider	December 15, 1994	456661	19.9[11]
Everyone makes a pact not to bring dates to their New Year's Eve party but everyone breaks the no-date pact except Ross. While performing at Central Perk, Phoebe confronts some noisy scientist guys and ends up dating one of them, David (Hank Azaria), whom she brings to the party. Their relationship develops well until he gets offered a grant to go to Minsk and has to choose whether to stay with her or go for career making research. Monica invites 'Fun' Bobby, but he just lost his grandfather and cries all evening. Joey's date is a single mom, Sandy, whom he met whilst working as an elf in a department store and brings her children to the party, but ends up with David's friend. Rachel plans to bring Paulo who was supposed to fly in earlier than expected, but he misses his flight and Rachel gets into a fight at the airport. Chandler snaps and asks Janice to be his date, but he breaks up with her again. Ross arrives at the party bringing his new companion, a monkey named Marcel, who seems to take no interest in Ross at all. No one has anyone to kiss at midnight, so Joey ends up kissing Chandler.
11	11	"The One with Mrs. Bing"	James Burrows	Alexa Junge	January 5, 1995	456660	26.6[11]
Chandler's flamboyant romance-novelist mother (Morgan Fairchild) comes to New York for a visit, and Joey catches Ross making the mistake of kissing her in a restaurant, after getting himself drunk when he sees Rachel bring Paolo. Monica and Phoebe see a guy who they like who's passing the street when Monica shouts after him the guy turns and is hit by a car. They both fight for him while he is in the coma.
12	12	"The One with the Dozen Lasagnas"	Paul Lazarus	Jeffrey Astrof & Mike Sikowitz & Adam Chase & Ira Ungerleider	January 12, 1995	456658	24.0[11]
Everyone knows the sex of Ross' baby except for Ross, who does not want to find out until it's born. Rachel's relationship with Paolo hits a snag when he makes a pass at Phoebe. Monica makes a dozen lasagnas for her aunt, only to discover that her aunt does not eat meat.
13	13	"The One with the Boobies"	Alan Myerson	Alexa Junge	January 19, 1995	456664	25.8[11]
After Chandler accidentally sees Rachel wandering around topless after her shower, a chain reaction of nudity ensues when she tries to even the score by seeing him naked. She sees Joey naked, who then sees Monica naked, who then sees Joey's father naked. Joey finds himself playing parent when he has to decide whether to hide his father's affair from his mom. And no one can stand Phoebe's new boyfriend, an irritating psychologist named Roger (Fisher Stevens).
14	14	"The One with the Candy Hearts"	James Burrows	Bill Lawrence	February 9, 1995	456667	23.8[11]
Ross' first date in nine years is on Valentine's Day with a beautiful neighbor. Carol and Susan, also out on a romantic date, end up at the same restaurant where Ross ends up kissing Carol. Joey sets Chandler up on a blind date-with Janice and they end up sleeping together. Chandler ends up breaking up with Janice on Valentine's Day. And Phoebe, Monica and Rachel decide to spend the holiday burning mementos of their past boyfriends which causes a fire.
15	15	"The One with the Stoned Guy"	Alan Myerson	Jeff Greenstein & Jeff Strauss	February 16, 1995	456663	24.8[11]
Monica cooks a gourmet meal for a restaurateur named Steve (Jon Lovitz), who is looking for a new chef. Unfortunately, he's stoned and would just as well eat taco shells as her haute cuisine. After working as a data processing permanent temp for five years, Chandler gets promoted to data processing supervisor, then quits. He takes his job back when he is offered more money. Ross has a date with a beautiful colleague named Celia (Melora Hardin) and gives new meaning to the term "spanking the monkey," when he brings her back to his place to meet Marcel. Celia is willing to have sex with him, but only if he talks dirty to her which he cannot do so he asks Joey for help.
16/17	16/17	"The One with Two Parts"	Michael Lembeck	Marta Kauffman & David Crane	February 23, 1995	456665	26.1[11]
Joey falls for Phoebe's twin sister, Ursula, making Phoebe feel neglected. Meanwhile, Chandler finds himself between a rock and a hard place, when he is told to fire an employee he is attracted to. Ross has doubts about parenthood when he attends Lamaze classes with Carol and Susan. Meanwhile, Monica tries to fix her TV after Marcel puts the TV on "SAP" function to Spanish, which she cannot turn off. After weeks of procrastinating, Rachel finally takes down the Christmas lights on their balcony, only to fall off the balcony and sprain her ankle. At the hospital, Rachel, who has no health insurance, convinces Monica into trading identities with her so she can use Monica's coverage. The girls end up trying to date two cute doctors (George Clooney & Noah Wyle). Ursula dumps Joey, but plans not to tell him, so Phoebe disguises herself as her twin sister to dump Joey and make sure he does not get hurt. Ross doubts that he will ever feel like a father. Marcel swallows Scrabble tiles and Ross takes care of him making him feel like he would be a good father after that.
18	18	"The One with All the Poker"	James Burrows	Jeffrey Astrof & Mike Sikowitz	March 2, 1995	456662	30.4[11]
Tired of being referred to by customers as "Excuse me," Rachel interviews for a job as an assistant buyer at Saks Fifth Avenue. She also sees another side of the usually docile Ross when the girls face the boys during a not-so-friendly game of poker after some help from Monica's aunt.
19	19	"The One Where the Monkey Gets Away"	Peter Bonerz	Jeffrey Astrof & Mike Sikowitz	March 9, 1995	456668	29.4[12]
The gang searches frantically for Marcel, who slipped out of the apartment while Rachel was baby-sitting him. Rachel, who does not know that Marcel is an illegal pet, ends up calling Animal Safety. This annoys Ross. The woman who comes to take away Marcel turns out to be an old class-mate of Rachel & Monica. After Marcel is found and safe, Ross finally gets up the courage to try to woo Rachel. But just when it looks like the two might actually spend a romantic evening alone together, Barry, Rachel's ex-fiance, barges into the apartment declaring his love for her.
20	20	"The One with the Evil Orthodontist"	Peter Bonerz	Doty Abrams	April 6, 1995	456669	30.0[12]
Rachel and Barry start dating again, which is slightly awkward because he's now engaged to Mindy, who wants Rachel to be her maid of honor. But when Rachel finds out that Mindy and Barry had an affair while she was engaged to Barry, the two women decide to call Barry out on it. Meanwhile, Chandler goes nuts when a woman he likes won't return his phone calls. The friends become annoyed after they discover someone is spying on them from the building across the street.
21	21	"The One with the Fake Monica"	Gail Mancuso	Adam Chase & Ira Ungerleider	April 27, 1995	456671	28.4[12]
When Monica's credit card is stolen, she, along with Phoebe and Rachel, decide to catch the thief, but Monica begins a friendship with her. Joey enlists his friends to help him come up with a less ethnic-sounding stage name. And when Ross finds out that Marcel has reached sexual maturity and needs to be with other monkeys, he tries to get him accepted into the "Harvard of zoos", with an emotional goodbye.
22	22	"The One with the Ick Factor"	Robby Benson	Alexa Junge	May 4, 1995	456670	29.9[12]
After losing his virginity to her, Monica's boyfriend Ethan reveals that he's a high school senior, not a college senior. Rachel has erotic dreams about Joey and Chandler, making Ross both disgusted and envious. And when Phoebe temps as Chandler's secretary, she finds out that no one at work likes him anymore.
23	23	"The One with the Birth"	James Burrows	Story: David Crane & Marta Kauffman Teleplay: Jeff Greenstein & Jeff Strauss	May 11, 1995	456672	28.7[12]
Carol goes into labor, prompting Monica to begin thinking about having a baby of her own. When Ross and Susan cannot stop bickering over who gets to help Carol more, Phoebe drags both of them into a closet to settle their differences – but all three end up getting locked in just as Carol is about to give birth to the baby. Rachel flirts with an OB/GYN who has a love-hate relationship with women's private parts due to seeing them every day at work. Joey ends up assisting birth for a single mother (played by Leah Remini).
24	24	"The One Where Rachel Finds Out"	Kevin S. Bright	Chris Brown	May 18, 1995	456673	31.3[12]
Ross has to go to China for a fossil dig before Rachel's birthday. Chandler tells Ross to find another girl and get over Rachel. Ross tells Chandler to give Rachel his present, and then leaves. Joey's new girlfriend, Melanie (Corinne Bohrer) wants to go to bed with him, but Joey's participation in a fertility study is preventing this. During Rachel's birthday party, Chandler accidentally lets it slip that Ross is in love with her, and a big decision presents itself.

Awards and Nominations

47th Primetime Emmy Awards

• Nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series
• Nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (David Schwimmer) (Episode: "The One with the Blackout")
• Nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (Lisa Kudrow) (Episode: "The One with the Monkey")
• Nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series (Christina Pickles) (Episode: "The One Where Nana Dies Twice")
• Nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series (James Burrows) (Episode: "The One with the Blackout")
• Nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (Jeff Greenstein, Jeff Strauss) (Episode: "The One Where Underdog Gets Away")

11th TCA Awards

• Nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy

Writers Guild of America Awards

• Nomination for Best Comedy Episode (Jeff Greenstein & Jeff Strauss) (Episode: "The One Where Underdog Gets Away")

Directors Guild of America Awards

• Nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series (James Burrows) (Episode: "The One with the Birth")

Notes

1. Alternate titles given to the pilot episode are "The One Where Monica Gets a Roommate", "The One Where It All Began" and "The First One".^[9]

References

1. ""Friends" The One with the Monkey". Retrieved 12 November 2012.
2. Feran, Tom (September 22, 1994). "New Series Softens Dabney Coleman—A Little", The Plain Dealer, Newhouse Newspapers. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
3. Hodges, Ann (September 22, 1994). "NBC sitcoms make Thursday less funny", Houston Chronicle, Hearst Newspapers. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
4. Richmond, Ray (September 22, 1994). "Season Premiere of Friends Leaves Room to Grow", (Registration required). Los Angeles Daily News, Los Angeles Newspaper Group. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
5. Rosenberg, Howard (September 22, 1994). "NBC's Strongest Evening of the Week Has Its Weak Spot", (Registration required). Los Angeles Times, Tribune Company. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
6. Holbert, Ginny (September 22, 1994). "X Marks Spot For Friends On Thursday". (Registration required). Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
7. Bianco, Robert (September 22, 1994). "Six Friends Sittin' Around, Talking", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
8. Sangster, p. 14
9. Sangster & Bailey, p. 11.
10. "Nielsen Ratings" (PDF). USA Today (Gannett Company). Retrieved October 15, 2013.
11. "Nielsen Ratings" (PDF). USA Today (Gannett Company). Retrieved October 15, 2013.
12. "Nielsen Ratings" (PDF). USA Today (Gannett Company). Retrieved October 15, 2013.

• Sangster, Jim; Bailey, David (2000). Friends Like Us: The Unofficial Guide to Friends (Second ed.). London: Virgin Publishing. ISBN 0753504391.

External links

• List of Friends episodes at the Internet Movie Database
• Friends: Season 1 at Rotten Tomatoes