Jennifer Aniston won’t be seen playing a lesbian on “Cougar Town”. Her representative has come out with a denial to Showbiz Spy’s report that the actress has been set to guest star on the ABC series. “There are no plans for her to be on ‘Cougar Town’,” the rep told Gossip Cop, adding “She has not been asked to do ‘Cougar Town.’ ”

Showbiz Spy earlier came out with the story that star/executive producer Courteney Cox “persuaded Jen to guest star”. It reported a source told U.K.’s the Mail On Sunday, “They have both wanted it to happen for a while, but Jennifer has been too busy. She promised she would do it as soon as she finished promoting her new film, The Bounty Hunter, and it was Jen’s idea to play a lesbian. She wanted to do something different.”

In another news, Jennifer has reportedly told British TV show GMTV that she still opens reconciliation door for Brad Pitt. “Absolutely,” she said as quoted by OK! magazine. “Sometimes you meet each other at a time in your lives when you’re not necessarily ready and you’re not fully formed – you don’t sort of have the maturity it takes to be in a relationship.”

Her friend told OK!, “[Brad] was her only true love; she has always held out hope that they would get back together, and there have even been a few in-person meetings.” The friend added, “In her heart, Jen has always felt that Brad’s relationship with Angelina [Jolie] is just a very passionate fling. It’s lasted a lot longer than she ever expected, but she still thinks it has an expiration date. That’s why she said, ‘Never say never.’ “

During the the series’ run, pop psychologists have “prattled” about the cultural impact of Friends, with the producers laughing, “It’s only a TV show.”

Aniston’s hairstyle was nicknamed “The Rachel”, and copied around the world. Joey’s catchphrase, “How you doin’?”, has become a popular part of Western English slang, often used as a pick-up line or when greeting friends.

The series has also impacted on the English language, according to a study by a linguistics professor at the University of Toronto. The professor found that the characters used so as an adjective more often than other intensifiers, such as very and really.

The professor believed that although the preference had already made its way into the American vernacular, usage on the series may have accelerate the change. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States, ratings increased 17% over the previous season as viewers tuned in for comfort.

The Central Perk coffee house, one of the principal settings of the series, has inspired various imitations worldwide. In 2006, Iranian businessman Mojtaba Asadian started a Central Perk franchise, registering the name in 32 countries. The decor of the coffee houses are inspired by the one in Friends, featuring replica couches, counters, neon signage and bricks.

The coffee houses also contain paintings of the various characters from the series, and televisions playing Friends’ episodes. James Michael Tyler, who plays the Central Perk waiter in the series, Gunther, attended the grand opening of the Dubai cafe, where he worked as a waiter.

 As part of a museum exhibit at Warner Bros. Studios, Central Perk was rebuilt and shown on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in October 2008. Lisa Kudrow revisited the set for the first time after the series finale in 2004

 Here are some of our favorite quotes from Joey, Rachel and the gang!!

“Welcome to the real world! It sucks! You’re going to love it!”
- Monica, to Rachel in The One Where Monica Gets a Roommate

“‘You’re such a nice guy’ means ‘I’m going to be dating leather-wearing alcoholics and complaining about them to you.’”
- Chandler in The One With the Thumb

“Pheebs, who’s George Stephanopoulos?”
“That’s Big Bird’s friend.”
- Rachel and Pheobe in The One With George Stephanopoulos

“You’ll find someone. I know you will. The right woman is just waiting for you.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You found one already.”
- Carol and Ross in The One With the Candy Hearts

“Guys, guys, guess what, guess what?”
“Hmm, I don’t know…the fifth dentist caved and now they’re all recommending Trident?”
- Rachel and Chandler in The One With All the Poker

“I figured after work, I’d pick up a bottle of wine, go over there, and try to…woo her.”
“Hey, you know what you should do? Take her back to the 1980′s when that phrase was last used.”
- Ross and Chandler in The One Where the Monkey Gets Away

“Stop being so testosteroney!”
“Which, by the way, is the real San Francisco treat.”
- Phoebe and Chandler in The One With the Evil Orthodontist

“If I wanna get the money, I’m not allowed to conduct any personal experiments, if you know what I mean.”
“Joey, we always know what you mean.”
- Joey and Monica in The One Where Rachel Finds Out

“Let me get this straight. He got you to beg to sleep with him, he got you to say he never has to call you again, and he got you thinking this was a great idea?”
“Mm…hmm.”
“This man is my god!”
- Joey and Phoebe in The One Where Ross Finds Out

“Hey, hey, check it out! Guess what I got!”
“Rhythm?”
- Joey and Chandler in The One With Russ

“What are you getting so bent out of shape for? It’s not like we agreed to live together forever. We’re not Bert and Ernie!”
- Joey in The One Where Joey Moves Out

“You know what’s weird? Donald Duck never wore pants. But whenever he’s getting out of the shower, he always put a towel around his waist. I mean, what is that about?”
- Chandler in The One Where No One’s Ready

“Quick! How do you get a chick out of a VCR!?”
- Chandler in The One With a Chick and a Duck

“Monica Im quitting, I just helped an 81 year old women put on a thong and she didnt even buy it!”
- Rachel in The One With Rachel’s Crush

“Phoebe, there is no secret, okay? I didn’t propose!”
“Are you lying? Is this like that time you tried to convince us you were a doctor?”
- Ross and Phoebe in The One Where No One Proposes

“If you don’t like this one, I can find you a better one,” (looks around restaurant) “Mike, Mike!”
- Joey in The One Where Emma Cries

“Did I leave the stove on?”
“You haven’t cooked since 1996!”
- Rachel and Ross in The One With Phoebe’s Birthday Dinner

“You got a manny!?”
- Chandler in The One With The Male Nanny

“So let me get this straight. My friends die, then we get Emma, then my wife dies, then Emma, the one tiny ray of hope left in my life gets taken away from me?!”
“Now there’s your movie!”
- Chandler and Phoebe in The One With Rachel’s Other Sister

“Emma is the product of a bottle of Merlot and a 5 year old condom.”
- Monica in The One With Rachel’s Other Sister

“What is the difference between beer and lager?
“I don’t know. We could look it up.”
“Thing’s are about to get wild.”
- Mike and Ross in The One With Rachel’s Phone Number

“No, I want you to have a job that you love. Not statistical analysis and data reconfiguration.”
“I quit, and you learn what I do?”
- Monica and Chandler in The One Where Rachel Goes Back To Work

“You really think she’s hot?”
“Are you kidding? If I wasn’t married she’d be rejecting me right now.”
- Rachel and Chandler in The One With Phoebe’s Rats

“If she wants to go out there kissing guys that she barely knows, then so will I!”
- Ross in The One Where Monica Sings

“They shouldn’t be having S-E-X around the B-A-B-I-E!”
- Joey in The One With The Blind Dates
 

Early reviews of the series were mixed. Tom Feran of The Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote that the series traded “vaguely and less successfully on the hanging-out style of Seinfeld”,[51] while Ann Hodges of the Houston Chronicle called it “the new Seinfeld wannabe, but it will never be as funny as Seinfeld.”[52] In the Los Angeles Daily News, Ray Richmond named the series as “one of the brighter comedies of the new season”,[53] and The Los Angeles Times called it “flat-out the best comedy series of the new season”.[54]

Chicago Sun-Times’ Ginny Holbert found Joey and Rachel’s characteristics to be underdeveloped,[55] while Richmond commended the cast as a “likeable, youth ensemble” with “good chemistry”[53] 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”.[56] 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.[57]

As the series progressed, reviews became more positive, and Friends became one of the most popular sitcoms of its time. Critics commended the series for its consistently sharp writing and the chemistry between the main actors.[58] Noel Holston of Newsday, who had dismissed the pilot as a “so-so Seinfeld wannabe” in 1994, reneged his review after rewatching the episode, and felt like writing an apology to the writers.[36] Heather Havrilesky of Salon.com thought that the series “hit its stride” in the second season. Havrilesky found the character-specific jokes and situations “could reliably make you laugh out loud a few times each episode”, and the quality of writing allowed the stories to be “original and innovative”.[59] Bill Carter of The New York Times called the eighth season a “truly stunning comeback”. Carter found that by “generating new hot story lines and high-decibel laughs”, the series made its way “back into the hearts of its fans”.[60] However, Liane Bonin of Entertainment Weekly felt that the direction of the ninth season was a “disappointing buzzkill”, criticizing it for the non-stop celebrity guest spots and going into jump the shark territory. Although disappointed with the season, Bonin noted that “the writing [was] still sharp”.[61] Havrilesky thought that the tenth season was “alarmingly awful, far worse than you would ever imagine a show that was once so good could be.”[59] Friends was featured on Time’s list of “The 100 Best TV Shows of All-Time”, saying, “the well-hidden secret of this show was that it called itself Friends, and was really about family.[62]

“It may have been impossible for any one episode to live up to the hype and expectations built up around the Friends finale, but this hour probably came as close as fans could have reasonably hoped. Ultimately, the two-hour package did exactly what it was supposed to do. It wrapped up the story while reminding us why we liked the show and will miss it.”
— Robert Bianco of USA Today on the series finale.[63]
Reviews of the series finale were mixed to positive. USA Today’s Robert Bianco described the finale as entertaining and satisfying, and praised it for deftly mixing emotion and humor while showcasing each of the stars.[63] Sarah Rodman of the Boston Herald praised Aniston and Schwimmer for their acting, but felt that their characters’ reunion was “a bit too neat, even if it was what most of the show’s legions of fans wanted.”[64] Roger Catlin of The Hartford Courant felt that newcomers to the series would be “surprised at how laughless the affair could be, and how nearly every strained gag depends on the sheer stupidity of its characters.”[65] Ken Parish Perkins, writing for Fort Worth Star-Telegram, pointed out that the finale was “more touching than comical, more satisfying in terms of closure than knee-slappingly funny.”[66]

Set of Central Perk at Warner Bros. Studios

Although the producers thought of Friends as “only a TV show”,^[1] numerous psychologists investigated the cultural impact of Friends during the series’ run.^[1] Aniston’s hairstyle was nicknamed “The Rachel“, and copied around the world.^[1] Joey’s catchphrase, “How you doin’?”, became a popular part of Western English slang, often used as a pick-up line or when greeting friends.^[91] The series also impacted the English language, according to a study by a linguistics professor at the University of Toronto. The professor found that the characters used the word “so” to modify adjectives more often than other intensifiers, such as “very” and “really”. Although the preference had already made its way into the American vernacular, usage on the series may have accelerated the change.^[13] Following the September 11 attacks, ratings increased 17% over the previous season as viewers tuned in for comfort.^[60]

Friends is parodied in the twelfth season Murder, She Wrote episode “Murder Among Friends”. In the episode, amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) investigates the murder of a cast member in Buds, a fictional television series about the daily lives of a group of city friends. The episode was devised after CBS moved Murder, She Wrote from its regular Sunday night timeslot to a Thursday night timeslot directly opposite Friends on NBC; Angela Lansbury was quoted by Bruce Lansbury, her brother and Murder, She Wrote‘s supervising producer, as having “a bit of an attitude” about the move to Thursday, but he saw the plot as “a friendly setup, no mean-spiritedness”.^[92] Jerry Ludwig, the writer of the episode, researched the “flavor” of Buds by watching episodes of Friends.^[92]

The Central Perk coffee house, one of the principal settings of the series, has inspired various imitations worldwide. In 2006, Iranian businessman Mojtaba Asadian started a Central Perk franchise, registering the name in 32 countries. The decor of the coffee houses is inspired by Friends, featuring replica couches, counters, neon signage and bricks. The coffee houses also contain paintings of the various characters from the series, and televisions playing Friends‘ episodes. James Michael Tyler, who plays the Central Perk manager in the series, Gunther, attended the grand opening of the Dubai cafe, where he worked as a waiter.^[93] Central Perk was rebuilt as part of a museum exhibit at Warner Bros. Studios, and was shown on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in October 2008. Jennifer Aniston revisited the set for the first time since the series finale in 2004.^[94] From September 24 to October 7, 2009, a Central Perk replica was based at Broadwick Street, Soho, London. The coffee house sold real coffee to customers and featured a display of Friends memorabillia and props, such as the Geller Cup from the season three episode “The One with the Football”.^[95] In 2009, a dance remix of the song “Smelly Cat” became a popular internet meme.^[96]