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I added the ratings for season 1. The reference is located in the viewers column. If any mistakes are in it please change them.
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* Seaspn 1 averaged 24.8 million viewers and placed as the 8th most watched show in the 1994-1995 season.
* Season 1 averaged 24.8 million viewers and placed as the 8th most watched show in the 1994-1995 season.
* Episodes 1 to 16 aired at 8.30pm-9.00pm on Thursdays on NBC.
* Episodes 1 to 16 aired at 8.30pm-9.00pm on Thursdays on NBC.
* Episodes 17 to 24 aired at 9.30pm to 10.00pm on Thursdays on NBC.
* Episodes 17 to 24 aired at 9.30pm to 10.00pm on Thursdays on NBC.



== References ==
== References ==

Revision as of 18:36, 5 August 2011

Friends Season 1
Season 1
Friends Season DVD Cover
No. of episodes24
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseSeptember 22, 1994 –
May 18, 1995
Season chronology
Next →
Season 2
List of episodes

The first season of Friends, an American situation comedy created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, premiered on NBC (National Broadcasting Company) 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. It is the only season in which Rachel and Ross appear on disc two for the season set DVD.

Season synopsis

The first season introduces the six main characters: Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler, and Ross. Rachel arrives in New York after leaving her fiancé at the altar, and begins living with Monica in her apartment. Ross continually attempts to tell Rachel that he loves her, while his lesbian former wife, Carol, is pregnant with his baby. Joey is shown to be a struggling actor, while Phoebe works as a masseuse. Chandler breaks up with girlfriend Janice (Maggie Wheeler), who frequently returns in later seasons. At the end of the season, Chandler accidentally reveals that Ross loves Rachel, who finds that she feels the same way.

Production

See also: The Pilot (Friends)

Writing

In the weeks after NBC's pick up of Friends, Crane, Kauffman and Bright reviewed sent-in scripts that writers had originally prepared for other series, mainly unproduced Seinfeld episodes.[1] Kauffman and Crane hired a team of seven young writers because "When you're 40, you can't do it anymore. The networks and studios are looking for young people coming in out of college."[2] The creators felt that utilizing six equal characters, rather than emphasizing one or two, would allow for "myriad story lines and give the show legs".[3] The majority of the storyline ideas came from the writers, although the actors added ideas.[4] The writers originally planned a big love story between Joey and Monica, as they intended them to be the most sexual of the characters in the series pitch. The idea of a romantic interest between Ross and Rachel emerged during the period when Kauffman and Crane wrote the pilot script.[5]

Cast

Courteney Cox was the best-known cast member during casting.

David Schwimmer was first actor to be cast.[6] He was in Chicago doing a stage adaptation of The Master and Margarita when his agent offered him the audition. He was not interested in doing television after a bad experience appearing in Monty, but changed his mind when he learned that it was an ensemble script.[7] Unknown to him, Crane and Kauffman had remembered him from when he auditioned for an earlier pilot of theirs; they had written the part of Ross with Schwimmer in mind to play him.[6] Crane and Kauffman wanted Joey to be "a guy's guy" who loves "women, sports, women, New York, women". Matt LeBlanc was given the part after he auditioned using the "grab a spoon" scene.[8][9] As the Joey character was not developed much in the script, LeBlanc used his experience playing "this Italian, kind of dim character" from Vinny and Bobby.[10]

Courteney Cox was the most well-known of the six main actors. She was called in expecting to read for the part of Rachel. After reading for Monica instead, she won the role.[11] Nancy McKeon also read for the part.[12] Jennifer Aniston read for the part of Rachel after initially being considered for Monica. Her commitment as an actress on the television series Muddling Through left her part in Friends in doubt; Muddling Through was not scheduled to be broadcast by CBS until mid-1994, after NBC's announcement of whether Friends would be greenlit for a series. If Muddling Through became a ratings success, the role of Rachel would have needed recasting, as the producer of Muddling Through would not allow Aniston to be released from her contract. A deal was eventually struck and, within three days of first auditioning, Aniston got the role.[13][14]

Chandler and Phoebe had originally been written as more secondary characters who were just there to provide humor around the other four. They had become part of the core group by the time casting concluded.[15][16] Matthew Perry had previously worked with Kauffman and Crane on an episode of Dream On, and requested an audition when he identified with the character. He was turned down at first, but was granted an audition after his new television series LAX 2194 was not picked up by a network.[15] Lisa Kudrow won the role of Phoebe because the producers liked her as Ursula, the waitress in Mad About You.[8][b] She was second to be cast, though there was about a month between her and Schwimmer being signed on.[6] Many of the actors seen at the auditions were "too theatrical" in performing comedy;[9] Crane described the six successful actors as being the only ones who "nailed" their parts.[17] The six actors met for the first time altogether at the read-through on April 28, 1994.[18][19]

Filming

The first season was shot on Stage 5 at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California.[20] The NBC executives had worried that the coffee house setting was too hip and asked for the series to be set in a diner, but eventually consented to the coffee house concept.[5] The opening title sequence was filmed in a fountain at the Warner Bros. Ranch at 4:00 am, while it was particularly cold for a Burbank morning.[21] At the beginning of the second season, production moved to the larger Stage 24, which was renamed "The Friends Stage" after the series finale.[22] Filming for the series began in the summer of 1994 in front of a live audience, who were given a summary of the series to familiarize themselves with the six main characters[5], while a hired comedian entertained them between takes.[23] Each 22-minute episode took six hours to film—twice the length of most sitcom tapings—mainly due to the several retakes and rewrites of the script.[23]

Reception

The first episode of Friends was the fifteenth-most-watched television show of the week, scoring a 14.7/23 Nielsen rating (each point represented 954,000 households) and nearly 22 million viewers.[24][25]

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",[26] while Ann Hodges of the Houston Chronicle called it "the new Seinfeld wannabe, but it will never be as funny as Seinfeld."[27] In the Los Angeles Daily News, Ray Richmond named the series as "one of the brighter comedies of the new season",[28] and The Los Angeles Times called it "flat-out the best comedy series of the new season".[29] Chicago Sun-Times' Ginny Holbert found Joey and Rachel's characteristics to be underdeveloped,[30] while Richmond commended the cast as a "likeable, youth ensemble" with "good chemistry"[28] 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".[31] 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.[32]

Cast and characters

Episodes

See also: List of Friends episodes
№ # Title Directed by Written by Original air date US viewers
(million)[33]
11"The Pilot"James BurrowsDavid Crane & Marta KauffmanSeptember 22, 1994 (1994-09-22)21.5
22"The One with the Sonogram at the End"James BurrowsDavid Crane & Marta KauffmanSeptember 29, 1994 (1994-09-29)20.2
33"The One with the Thumb"James BurrowsJeff Astrof & Mike SikowitzOctober 6, 1994 (1994-10-06)19.5
44"The One with George Stephanopoulos"James BurrowsAlexa JungeOctober 13, 1994 (1994-10-13)19.7
55"The One with the East German Laundry Detergent"Pamela FrymanJeff Greenstein & Jeff StraussOctober 20, 1994 (1994-10-20)18.6
66"The One with the Butt"Arlene SanfordAdam Chase & Ira UngerleiderOctober 27, 1994 (1994-10-27)18.2
77"The One with the Blackout"James BurrowsJeff Astrof & Mike SikowitzNovember 3, 1994 (1994-11-03)23.5
88"The One Where Nana Dies Twice"James BurrowsMarta Kauffman & David CraneNovember 10, 1994 (1994-11-10)21.1
99"The One Where Underdog Gets Away"James BurrowsJeff Greenstein & Jeff StraussNovember 17, 1994 (1994-11-17)23.1
1010"The One with the Monkey"Peter BonerzAdam Chase & Ira UngerleiderDecember 15, 1994 (1994-12-15)19.9
1111"The One with Mrs. Bing"James BurrowsAlexa JungeJanuary 5, 1995 (1995-01-05)26.6
1212"The One with the Dozen Lasagnas"Paul LazarusJeff Astrof & Mike Sikowitz and Adam Chase & Ira UngerleiderJanuary 12, 1995 (1995-01-12)24.0
1313"The One with the Boobies"Alan MyersonAlexa JungeJanuary 19, 1995 (1995-01-19)25.8
1414"The One with the Candy Hearts"James BurrowsBill LawrenceFebruary 9, 1995 (1995-02-09)23.8
1515"The One with the Stoned Guy"Alan MyersonJeff Greenstein & Jeff StraussFebruary 16, 1995 (1995-02-16)24.8
1616"The One with Two Parts (1)"Michael LembeckMarta Kauffman & David CraneFebruary 23, 1995 (1995-02-23)[34]26.1
1717"The One with Two Parts (2)"Michael LembeckDavid Crane & Marta KauffmanFebruary 23, 1995 (1995-02-23)[34]30.5
1818"The One with All the Poker"James BurrowsJeff Astrof & Mike SikowitzMarch 2, 1995 (1995-03-02)30.4
1919"The One Where the Monkey Gets Away"Peter BonerzJeff Astrof & Mike SikowitzMarch 9, 1995 (1995-03-09)29.4
2020"The One with the Evil Orthodontist"Peter BonerzDoty AbramsApril 6, 1995 (1995-04-06)30.0
2121"The One with the Fake Monica"Gail MancusoAdam Chase & Ira UngerleiderApril 27, 1995 (1995-04-27)28.4
2222"The One with the Ick Factor"Robby BensonAlexa JungeMay 4, 1995 (1995-05-04)29.9
2323"The One with the Birth"James BurrowsStory: David Crane & Marta Kauffman
Teleplay: Jeff Greenstein & Jeff Strauss		May 11, 1995 (1995-05-11)28.7
2424"The One Where Rachel Finds Out"Kevin S. BrightChris BrownMay 18, 1995 (1995-05-18)31.3

United States Ratings

Episode Episode Title Air Date Rating Share Viewers (millions)[35] Weekly Rank
1 (1-01) The Pilot September 22, 1994 14.7 23 21.5 #15
2 (1-02) The One with the Sonogram at the End September 29, 1994 14.0 22 20.2 #19
3 (1-03) The One with the Thumb October 6, 1994 13.6 22 19.5 #18
4 (1-04) The One with George Stephanopoulos October 13, 1994 13.7 22 19.7 #19
5 (1-05) The One with the East German Laundry Detergent October 20, 1994 12.9 20 18.6 #22
6 (1-06) The One with the Butt October 27, 1994 12.4 20 18.2 #26
7 (1-07) The One with the Blackout November 3, 1994 16.1 24 23.5 #12
8 (1-08) The One Where Nana Dies Twice November 10, 1994 14.2 22 21.1 #17
9 (1-09) The One Where Underdog Gets Away November 17, 1994 15.7 24 23.1 #17
10 (1-10) The One with the Monkey December 15, 1994 13.6 22 19.9 #18
11 (1-11) The One with Mrs. Bing January 5, 1995 17.6 27 26.6 #5
12 (1-12) The One with the Dozen Lasagnas January 12, 1995 16.1 25 24.0 #10
13 (1-13) The One with the Boobies January 19, 1995 17.3 26 25.8 #6
14 (1-14) The One with the Candy Hearts February 9, 1995 15.9 24 23.8 #10
15 (1-15) The One with the Stoned Guy February 16, 1995 16.9 25 24.8 #8
16 (1-16) The One with Two Parts (Part 1) February 23, 1995 17.5 27 26.1 #9
17 (1-17) The One with Two Parts (Part 2) February 23, 1995 20.8 31 30.5 #3
18 (1-18) The One with All the Poker March 2, 1995 20.4 31 30.4 #4
19 (1-19) The One Where the Monkey Gets Away March 9, 1995 20.0 31 29.4 #3
20 (1-20) The One with the Evil Orthodontist April 6, 1995 20.5 32 30.0 #3
21 (1-21) The One with Fake Monica April 27, 1995 19.2 29 28.4 #2
22 (1-22) The One with the Ick Factor May 4, 1995 20.7 31 29.9 #3
23 (1-23) The One with the Birth May 11, 1995 19.7 30 28.7 #2
24 (1-24) The One Where Rachel Finds Out May 18, 1995 21.3 32 31.3 #2
  • Season 1 averaged 24.8 million viewers and placed as the 8th most watched show in the 1994-1995 season.
  • Episodes 1 to 16 aired at 8.30pm-9.00pm on Thursdays on NBC.
  • Episodes 17 to 24 aired at 9.30pm to 10.00pm on Thursdays on NBC.

References

  1. ^ Kolbert, Elizabeth (May 23, 1994). "A Sitcom is Born: Only Time Will Tell the Road to Prime Time". New York Times. Retrieved 1 January 2009.
  2. ^ Shayne, Bob (June 10, 2001). "No Experience Wanted". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
  3. ^ Jicha, Tom (May 2, 2004). "They leave as they began: With a buzz". The Baltimore Sun. p. 2. Retrieved 23 December 2008.
  4. ^ "Friends: Kevin Bright". USA Today. January 1, 2005. Retrieved 28 December 2008.
  5. ^ a b c Lauer, Matt (2005-05-04). "Friends creators share show's beginnings". MSNBC.
  6. ^ a b c Wild, p. 209
  7. ^ Wild, p. 177
  8. ^ a b Bright, Kevin S., Friends: Final Thoughts
  9. ^ a b Kolbert, Elizabeth (April 6, 1994). "Finding the Absolutely Perfect Actor: The High-Stress Business of Casting". The New York Times.
  10. ^ Wild, p. 115
  11. ^ Cox Arquette, Courteney, Friends: Final Thoughts
  12. ^ Wild, p. 53
  13. ^ Brownfield, Paul; Dana Calvo (May 8, 2002). "Nervous Time for the TV Set". The Los Angeles Times.
  14. ^ Aniston, Jennifer, Larry King Live
  15. ^ a b Wild, p. 146
  16. ^ Kauffman, Marta, Friends: Final Thoughts
  17. ^ Crane, David, Friends: Final Thoughts
  18. ^ Kudrow, Lisa, Friends: Final Thoughts
  19. ^ Staff (May 6, 2004). "'Friends' timeline" (subscription). The Hollywood Reporter.
  20. ^ Endrst, James (February 23, 1995). "Friends wins friends with caffeine-fueled energy" (Registration required). Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved 3 January 2009.
  21. ^ Pollak, Michael (November 27, 2005). "F. Y. I.". New York Times. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  22. ^ "52 millon friends see off Friends". China Daily. 2004-05-08. Retrieved 31 December 2008.
  23. ^ a b Kiesewetter, John (January 27, 2002). "Friends grows in stature, ratings". The National Enquirer. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
  24. ^ Carmody, John (September 26, 1994). "The TV Column". Washington Post.
  25. ^ Lauer, Matt (May 4, 2005). "Friends creators share show's beginnings". Dateline NBC (MSNBC Interactive). Retrieved on December 23, 2008.
  26. ^ Feran, Tom (September 22, 1994). "New Series Softens Dabney Coleman—A Little", The Plain Dealer, Newhouse Newspapers. Retrieved on 4 January 2009.
  27. ^ Hodges, Ann (September 22, 1994). "NBC sitcoms make Thursday less funny", Houston Chronicle, Hearst Newspapers. Retrieved on 4 January 2009.
  28. ^ a b Richmond, Ray (September 22, 1994). "Season Premiere of Friends Leaves Room to Grow", (Registration required). Los Angeles Daily News, Los Angeles Newspaper Group. Retrieved on 4 January 2009.
  29. ^ Rosenberg, Howard (September 22, 1994). "NBC's Strongest Evening of the Week Has Its Weak Spot", (Registration required). The Los Angeles Times, Tribune Company. Retrieved on 4 January 2009.
  30. ^ Holbert, Ginny (September 22, 1994). "X Marks Spot For Friends On Thursday". (Registration required). Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved on 4 January 2009.
  31. ^ Bianco, Robert (September 22, 1994). "Six Friends Sittin' Around, Talking", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  32. ^ Sangster, p. 14
  33. ^ Friends Season 1 Ratings Retrieved:2010-08-24.
  34. ^ a b These episodes originally aired as a single double-length episode but are sometimes split into two episodes for syndication, reruns and DVD presentation.
  35. ^ http://newmusicandmore.tripod.com/friendsratings.html
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