And here started the reign of one of the most successful and best sitcoms of all time. We started with the weird hair and the odd 90's clothes. I don't think it started off as strong as people might think but it soon hit its stride and went for 10 wonderful, emotional, funny and at times, dramatic seasons. It ran from 1994 until 2004 and ended with 236 episodes, inspiring a short lived and in its first season anyway, underappreciated spin-off series, Joey.
We were introduced to Chandler, Monica, Joey and Phoebe in the first scene with Monica telling then about her date. Hilarious stuff. We met Ross a bit later, whining about his divorce from the lesbot. He says he just wants to be married again and in runs Rachel in her wedding dress, having just ran out on Barry the boring dentist. A few seeds of a Ross and Rachel romance are planted which would become the backbone of the show for the first few years but did you know, the original intention was to get Rachel and Chandler together?
How different that would have been.
It took a couple of episodes to really find a rhythm and by half way through the season was a consistent watch but only a smidge of what it would become.
The forever annoying Janice is in this picture.
Season 1 introduced quite a few recurring characters including Ross and Monica's parents, Jack and Judy Gellar, Janice, Chandler's pain in the arse on/off girlfriend, Ursula Buffet, Pheobe's twin sister, from Mad About You, lesbians Carol, Ross's ex-wife and Susan, Fun Bobby, Gunther was in the background and shit, fuckhead Paolo, and more.
Major guest stars included George Clooney and Noah Whyle from E.R. which had also started that year, Morgan Fairchild as Nora Bing, Chandler's mum, Jay Leno, Hank Azaria as David, and a bunch of other famous people, setting the bar for later seasons. I think Helen Hunt and some other chick from Mad About You visited Central Perk at some point as well.
John Lovitz also dropped by for some tartlets.
Watching some New York polly out the window.
One thing you notice about the show when you go back to watch this season is that obviously, the characters aren't as well developed as we came to know them. Joey wasn't as stupid, Chandler was more snarky and awesomer, Pheobe was a bit more flakey and odd, Rachel was still a brat, Ross was a crying baby loser and Monica's hair was huge. There's also something else about Monica that is different but I can't quite finger it at the moment.
There's also a few inconsistencies with later episodes but who give s a fuck about that. It's a sitcom, I understand for the sake of a joke, you may have to change some shit. I don't quite understand why Ross had a monkey, that was weird.
Look at that fashion, it's fuckin' horrible.
I like the nostalgia of going back to the old seasons, it takes me back to when I was about 12 and didn't understand a lot of the jokes so it's nice to get them now. We in Australia didn't get the show until 1996, 2 years after it started on NBC, beginning on Channel 7 who sold it to Channel 9. Idiots.
I love this show, it's my favourite show of all time.
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