Courtesy of www.danmeth.com
Here’s a handy map for the rest of the world, pointing out the exact location of NYC sitcoms. Oddly enough, these were all probably filmed in California.
Ever wonder where your favorite New-York-based sitcom took place?
Dan Meth, creator of the Streamy-award-nominated cartoon The Meth Minute, did the research, and came up with this nifty map.
Friends looks about right, but I always thought I always thought Seinfeld was further south
DID YOU KNOW THAT ?
The characters of Ross’s ex-wife Carol and her girlfriend Susan are based on the godmothers to Kauffman’s daughter.
The one and only time they took the Central Perk set down was in TOI Vegas, in which they needed it for The Caesar’s Palace
Central Perk, is based on the Manhattan Cafe in New Yorks West Village.
Joey hurting his arm (falling of his bed in TOW The Jam) was not part of the storyboard, it was just thrown in as Matt dislocated his shoulder on the set.
Courteney Cox originally read to play the part of Rachel.
Other titles considered for the series included “Once upon a time in the West Village”, “Insomnia Cafe” and “Across the Hall”. The original title “Friends Like Us” was shortened to the current one-worder.
A break up scene was written for Ross and Julie, but the writters decided to skip it, because everyone’s hearts would be with Ross and Julie if they kept it in, instead of with Ross and Rachel.
It took Matt LeBlanc twelve times to open Phoebe’s blouse correctly in TOW Everyone Finds Out
The opening footage of the cast dancing around a fountain was filmed on the Warner Bros. lot in LA at five o’clock in the morning.
The golden frame around the peephole on the door was originally a mirror which one of the crew accidentally smashed. But because it still looked good they decided to leave it there. (get one of your own!)
Helen Baxendale, who played Emily, was pregnant while filming the part. This is why they decided that Ross should get divorce. If you noticed, they only showed her from the shoulders up when she was in London telling Ross never to see Rachel again.
When Ursula is on the show, Lisa Kudrow’s sister doubles for the shoulder shots
At the end of TOW Five Steaks And An Eggplant, Joey was supposed to pick up the phone and say ‘Bob here’ but it was so funny that they left it like that. The same happenned with the pillow dropped in TOW George Setphanopoulos.
Does the Friends set look familiar?? Well, its where the popular ABC show Full House was taped.
The fist line of dialogue in the very first, pilot episode of Friends was: “There’s nothing to tell.”
The whole cast huddles together before each episode to wish each other luck. This made frequent guest star Tom Selleck feel a bit left out.
The cast apparently gets on as well in real life as they do on screen. They play poker and Scrabble together, and the girls often shop with each other. The rumour that they had made a pact never to sleep together is untrue.
Monica and Chandler’s relationship was going to last a couple of episodes but when the writters saw how big of a hit they were, they decieded to keep them together longer.
DID YOU KNOW THAT ? …
TOW George Stephanopolous…
* When Phoebe, Monica and Rachel were out on the balcony, Rachel knocks her pillow over the edge. That wasn’t really supposed to happen, but they left it in anyway.
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TOW Five Steaks and an Eggplant…
* Matt LeBlanc was according to script supposed to grab the phone when Jade called and say “Bob here!”. But when jumped for the phone he missed and fell and the editors chose to go with that instead of Joey answering the phone.
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TOW Phoebe’s Husband…
* A cut line: When Rachel is jealous of Julie, she says with a phony voice “Julie’s so smart, Julie’s so special”. Originally she added “Does she put on a cape and fight crimes at night?”
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TOW the Baby on the Bus…
* Giovanni Ribisi (Frank Jr) appeared in this episode as the guy who drops a condom in Phoebe’s guitar case.
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TO After the Superbowl Pt 2…
* Monkey and Katie (the monkeys who played Marcel) actually played the monkey in “Outbreak”.
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TOW the Ultimate Fighting Champion…
* You remember the appearance Billy Crystal and Robin Williams did in the beginning of “TOW the Ultimate Fighting Champion”?? That wasn’t in the original script. They were by coincidence in the same building-, or the one across the street from where “Friends” is shot and the writers asked if they wanted to make a guest appearance. This was apparently the day of shooting, so it was just quickly thrown in.
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TOW Rachel’s New Dress…
* Joshua Bergen’s dad was played by Matthew Perry’s dad.
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TOW Ross’s Wedding…
* A cut line: It was the scene when Rachel realized she still loves Ross. Originally it was:
Phoebe: “God, that would be like telling Monica, “Hey, you like things clean.” Or, you know, hey Joey, you’re gay.
Rachel: What!?
Phoebe: Oh, please, she’s always got a broom in her hand.
But they just kept it at:
Phoebe: God, that would be like telling Monica, “Hey, you like things clean.”
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TOW Everyone Finds Out…
* This is what Chandler and Monica says at the start when Phoebe sees them through the window:
Ch: Look, we have to talk. Your shirt is really bugging me.
Mon: Wow, that’s so weird ’cause your pants are really bugging me.
Ch: Well, let’s make each other happy and get rid of them.
* One of the reasons the audience laughed so much in this episode is when Joey told Phoebe it wasn’t the first time he opened a blouse like that is that it took MLB around twelve times to get it open.
* A Chandler and Monica line that was never used:
Ch: Why is it so hard to believe that Phoebe is attracted to me?
Mon: It’s not. I believe all the girls are attracted to you because you’re part bunny.
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TO In Vegas…
* The one and only time they’ve taken down the Central Perk stage was in “TO in Vegas” when they needed that part of the stage for Caesar’s Palace.
* Phoebe says Joey’s pin number is 5639. If you look at the letters under the numbers on a telephone, 5639 spells out ‘Joey’.
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TO After Vegas…
* To commemorate Courteney Cox’s marriage to David Arquette, the entire cast is credited with Arquette after their names.
* In the original script for “TO After Vegas” Monica’s reply to Chandler’s “oh my god, is EVERYBODY getting married?” “I don’t know, but we were next!”.
* The editor has got laughs on a computer that he can add to the episodes. This was, for example, used when Rachel said “this is not a marriage, this is the world’s worst hangover”. In that case they used it because the next line was over-laughter. JA continued to speak before the audience quieted. They changed the laughter into a shorter one because they couldn’t use one where JA had waited because that would take too long.
* After Chandler tells Joey that the waitress isn’t coming ’cause it’s a buffet, Joey’s reply in the original script wasn’t “oh, here’s where I win all my money back!”, it was “and it’s in trouble”.
* The writers and producers weren’t sure weather people would understand that Phoebe had once gotten married in Vegas and they ended up having to ask the audience.
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TOW Ross’s Library Book…
* Australian swimmer, Ian Thorpe, was an extra in Central Perk. You can clearly see him sitting at a table near the right of the screen talking to a woman.
DID YOU KNOW THAT…?
Friends Fountain - Large circular fountain seen on the situation comedy FRIENDS/NBC/1994-2004.
At the opening and closing of each episode, the cast of the series is seen dancing and frolicking in a fountain. This activity is counterbalanced by the lyrics from the theme song “Ill Be There For You” written by Allee Willis and performed by The Rembrandts.
At the end of the spot, the show’s cast members pull out multi-colored umbrellas and pop them open. Reportedly, these fountain hijinx took place at 5 O’clock one morning.
One might assume that the fountain is located in New York City where the TV characters lived, but in reality, the fountain is located at the Warner Ranch at 401 N. Hollywood Way, about a half mile from the studio in Burbank, California where the series was filmed
DID YOU KNOW THAT…?
In the last few months of shooting Friends, Courteney Cox became pregnant, but, seeing as Monica wasn’t supposed to be able to have a baby, they covered up her pregnancy by making her wear baggy clothes while shooting the show so no one could tell.
At one point, Jennifer Aniston was shooting this series, Bruce Almighty (2003) and Along Came Polly (2004) at the same time.
30-second commercial spots to take place in the final ever episode sold in the UK for 1.2 million GB pounds (approx $1.8 million), the most expensive commercial slots of any TV program in England with the exception of sports.
No Friend ever made more money doing the show than any others. They started out making $22,500 per episode and ended up making $1million per show. All negotiations were done in unison. Kudrow said, “The six of us are far stronger than just one person.”
The refrigerators in Monica’s and Joey’s apartments actually worked. Monica’s was filled with water and other drinks for the cast and crew. Joey’s was usually virtually empty, unless the inside of the fridge was going to be seen in a specific scene.
Before the show was cast, the main love interest was intended to be Monica and Joey.
In the first couple of episodes Chandler and Joey’s apartment number was #4 and Monica and Rachel’s apartment number was #5. However, in the later episodes, they are 19 and 20 respectively because the producers noted that 4 and 5 corresponded to apartments on lower floors and the Friends’ apartments were higher up the building.
