- Oh, I remember this!
- I've seen this episode more times than I care to admit.
- Jennifer Aniston herself says that, you know it's legit.
♪ (rock intro) ♪
- Jennifer Aniston, it's happening! - It's happening. (laughs)
And Jennifer Aniston herself says that,
you know it's legit.
- Is this the Friends reunion show? They're all coming back?
- I actually really like Friends. I used to binge it so much.
Nick at Nite, aw man,
they'd play the same 12 episodes over and over. (laughs)
- People have been begging for this for a long time,
and then I believe it was dropped off of Netflix,
and people were hysterical.
- (FBE) In case you didn't already know,
that was an Instagram that was posted by the cast members of Friends,
announcing a reunion in May of 2020.
- Wow!
- Like a reunion show where the actors just sit down and tell all?
Or a brand new season of Friends?
- I mean, it's just gonna be like them older, right?
Like, all their kids are gonna be grown up,
we'll see like what happened to them,
if like Monica and Chandler are still together.
- (FBE) But to clarify, since some people have been confused,
they're not actually filming a new episode of the show.
- Oh, are they just like getting together and chatting?
- (FBE) It's going to be an unscripted reunion special
to help launch Friends on its new streaming platform HBO Max.
- Okay, so it is more of a promotion thing,
but at least you get a whole reunion,
because last time they had a reunion, Matthew Perry wasn't there,
and it just felt empty and hollow.
- Wait, so it's just like frickin' women tell all Bachelor?
Like they're just gonna sit them down, and have them all talk to each other?
They're already friends! We don't need that!
- They're just getting together and talking.
They're not even in character.
Or they're gonna be play a character, if it's un, this is some bull[bleep].
I don't know, now I'm pissed.
- (FBE) Fans have been going crazy about this,
so in honor of this reunion, we thought it would be fun
to take a trip down memory lane with some fun things
you may not have known about the original show.
- Okay.
- You'd have to surprise me, really dig down deep,
'cause I know a lot of the show.
- Oh, the reserved sign. I did know about this.
- It says reserved, what?
I mean, it was always like kinda like a running joke,
how oh, that [bleep] is just always available when they show up,
like no one ever wants to sit there.
- Wait, everything was reserved? It was reserved for them?
I remember the one episode, someone else was sitting on it.
Chandler looks at him, he's like nah, and then he leaves.
- (FBE) A highly talked about aspect of the show is how the group
always managed to get that iconic spot in Central Perk.
This little easter egg seems to help clear that up.
They always had a reserved table.
- Oh, okay. I never noticed that.
- I think it does explain a little bit more,
'cause it was kind of a little bit unrealistic,
to get the same seats, everyone's sitting
in the exact same spot every single episode.
- I think the logic was that Rachel was working at the coffee shop
so she could always put the reserved so that no one else sits there.
- You forget too, that Rachel worked there for so long too,
so it's like oh, she's hooking her friends up.
Yeah, nepotism will get you everywhere.
- (Monica) Okay, so I'm responsible, I'm organized.
- I think I remember this, I just don't remember the context.
- (Rachel) Then you let me go grocery shopping.
- (Monica) No problem. - (Rachel) I'm not done yet.
- Oh, I love how it's like so dated,
and like laugh track every single punchline.
- (Rachel) I buy laundry detergent, but it's not the one
with the easy pour spout.
- (Monica) Why would someone do that? (audience laughs)
One might wonder. - Uh-huh, I'm with her.
- I always wished I was more like Monica, only in the fact
that she loved to like clean and keep things organized.
I almost feel like can I self-hypnotize myself
to like be that kind of person, no I can't.
- (FBE) Even though it's probably hard for some to imagine.
Courtney Cox was actually originally offered the role...
- For Rachel. - (FBE) Of Rachel, yeah.
- Yeah. - (FBE) However, in an interview,
Courtney said she related more to Monica, but what do you think?
Can you picture Courtney as Rachel? - No, definitely not.
She just plays the like, uptight character so well,
it's really hard for me to imagine her being like Rachel,
'cause Rachel's personality is so different.
- I can see Courtney as Rachel,
but I don't think it'll have the same impact.
A lot of these characters fit their roles perfectly,
especially Matt LeBlanc as Joey.
Like, I definitely cannot imagine anyone else playing that character.
- I can't, 'cause just the attitude, her voice, it just doesn't fit
the prissy rich girl at all, and even in the flashback episodes
where she was more prissy, it still just feels awkward.
But it totally works, I feel like the cast was just perfect.
- Oh yes, theme song.
- Oh, the fountain. Iconic fountain.
- It's the Rembrandts, I can't believe I know that.
(claps)
- Everyone does that, everyone, everyone, you have to.
If you don't, you have no soul. Just so you know.
- This clip services everywhere. Like the song is just so iconic.
Even if you don't know the show, everyone knows what that is.
- (FBE) So it seems like almost everyone knows the iconic
Friends theme song, but did you know that it wasn't actually meant
to be released as a single? - Oh.
- (FBE) Originally, the Rembrandts just recorded it as a jingle
for the show's opening, but everyone loved it so much
that they went back and made the full record
with help from the show's producers.
- Really, so then they post-recorded it into an actual song?
I liked it.
- I thought song intros were always full songs,
and they just pick like the best chorus (laughs)
to make the intro, I wasn't aware.
- If I heard the song playing on the radio,
I'd be like, oh, it's the Friends theme song.
I didn't know there was more to this.
It stays in the Friends theme song playlist,
away from all my other playlists. (laughs)
♪ (upbeat rock jingle) ♪
- I loved this episode!
- (Joey) Hey. - Oh my God.
See the two of them googly eyed over each other is so weird.
- Hey. - (Chandler) Hey.
- Don't remember this particular episode.
- (Monica) You want some help with that?
- (Joey) Oh no thanks, I got it, oh, no I don't.
- (Monica) Whoa! - Whoa! (laughs)
- So that's weird, I don't like it, I don't like it.
- This is like alternate universe or something?
I thought she was like married to that other fool.
- Ew, ew, no, I don't like it.
- It's just so out of where their characters are
at that present moment, it's like (gags) it's gross!
I'm sorry, it's gross!
- Looks-wise, they match.
Personality-wise, he's not, sorry Joey,
he just was not sharp enough for her.
I mean come on.
- (FBE) So obviously Ross and Rachel ended up being the main couple
of the Friends series, even though that apparently,
that wasn't the original intention.
The writers originally intended for Monica and Joey
to end up together. - Oh, plot twist!
- How? They're complete and utter opposites.
That would make no sense.
Like you know how sometimes it's like oh, opposites attract,
but that's like, that's like bad kind of opposites.
That's like you have someone extremely anal
and someone extremely messy. This [bleep]'s about to explode.
- I see it, 'cause I think Joey can't, there's moments
where he gets to bring out the best, because of Monica.
It's not too outside the range.
What was out of range was Joey and Rachel.
That was too farfetched.
- In season three of Friends,
Ross Geller says that he's 29 years old.
In season four of Friends, Ross again states that he's 29 years old.
- In season five, Ross talks about getting divorced twice
before turning 30, well, it was a very long year.
- Is Ross stuck in some sort of time dilation where he doesn't age?
Perhaps being in denial about his age, or is there some other explanation
for how he doesn't seem to get older over a three year period in the show?
- Well yes, there is an explanation.
Somebody wasn't keeping track. (laughs)
- Yeah, the writers messed up. (laughs) They messed up bad,
because fans do catch that stuff.
- Especially I feel like when it aired you don't really take
into consideration time at all, so they're like [bleep] it.
He can be 29 forever. How old do you think SpongeBob is?
Or The Simpsons, like, yeah, whatever.
It's a sitcom, is that really what you're paying attention to?
- (Joey) I'm telling you, that girl totally winked at me.
- (Monica) Did not wink at you. - (Rachel) You always think
somebody's winking at you.
- (laughs) I forgot about this! Their off-brand doppelgangers.
- I don't see the little reserved thing on the table.
Where's it at?
- Oh, see? Kick 'em out!
- Uh oh. (laughs) Guess that reserved sign got moved.
- (Chandler) Huh. - Oh my word.
I don't remember this at all actually. It's kinda funny though.
(Ryan laughs)
- And they don't know what to do now.
Everyone else is standing around. They're like stand?
No!
- (FBE) As you saw in this particular episode,
the friends walk in and someone is sitting on their couch.
But this is actually a cameo, the people sitting on the couch
are the show's executive producers.
- Yeah, I mean, this is kind of like, Stephenie Meyer's being in Twilight.
Like J.K. Rowling being a wizard in Harry Potter.
Like 90% of the people don't know who it is.
They're like wow, they should have thrown those bitches out of there!
And you're like so actually, these are the inventors of Friends.
(laughs)
- Things like including producers
or including people from behind the scenes
that fans don't usually watch, that's not necessarily for the fans.
That's more for them.
- I loved how many shows these days
have little nods to the creators,
and even if it's just like a Stan Lee moment in Marvel movies,
you know, fans get a kick out of it, and especially if you know
that these were some of the producers and executive producers,
you're like oh yeah, that's amazing.
- Insomnia Cafe. Is this the cafe
that like replicated the coffee shop that they went to?
- Was that gonna be the original name of the cafe?
- This is either a parody series of Friends,
or my life.
- (FBE) So Friends was actually not the first title of the show.
It reportedly started as Insomnia Cafe.
- Oh God, this was gonna be the title of the show?
- Oh God, gross, who came up with that?
Can you imagine, like, what are you guys doing later?
I'm just gonna go home and watch Insomnia Cafe.
- (FBE) But it had a lot of other working titles such as
Friends Like Us, Across The Hall, and Six of One,
before the finally landed on just simply Friends.
- Well yeah, and weren't they smart to choose that one.
- Friends is the perfect title. Out of those choices,
it's definitely the best choice.
- It doesn't stand out as anything unless the show was remarkable.
I think it was a dicey choice, but in the end, it worked out.
- (Chandler) I gotta go to work. - Oh!
I remember this!
- I've seen this episode more times than I care to admit.
(Rondell laughs)
- (Chandler) And Rachel, great to have you back.
(Ryan laughs)
- Gotta kiss everyone!
- Yeah that's, that's not a good way to save that.
- Ugh!
I'm so glad Chandler and Rachel never got together, eh.
- (Chandler) Phoebs!
(Libby laughs)
- Nice cover.
- This is awkward.
- Yeah, everyone kiss!
- See, it makes sense. - Oh yeah.
I remember this one too. It was little, mmm, Phoebe, hello.
- Oh God.
- This also makes sense.
I feel like we all would have enjoyed a good Rachel-Phoebe tryst.
- (FBE) A detail oriented fan posted a list on Facebook
of all the times that the Friends characters kiss each other
or talk about having kissed each other even if it was offscreen.
We didn't show them all here since we don't have time,
but it turns out that all the characters
have kissed at some point except for Monica and Phoebe.
- What? Come on!
And they were roommates! (laughs)
- (man) Oh my God, they were roommates.
- People love that, like, get out my checklist, let's see.
Let's do the grid here and see who's done what.
- I feel like that's what they have to do for the reunion.
That's what they have to do, that's their hook.
You guys... (laughs)
It's like you guys wanna see it? We're not gonna do anything scripted,
but we are gonna have this.
- (FBE) That's all the time we had to show today,
but there are a lot of fun facts that fans may not have known,
so we've linked some articles down below
for anyone who's curious. - Yeah, go check 'em out!
- There were so many iconic moments in Friends
where you can't contain it to like five to 10 minutes.
It's just not possible.
- (FBE) So finally, what do you think it is
about Friends that has made it such a seemingly iconic TV show
to so many people for so long?
- I think during that time, you're looking at a group of people
that were kinda struggling.
Seeing a bunch of people on screen that were just like you,
I think, that propelled Friends to where it was.
- It has to be the relatability of it. That within those characters,
everybody attaches themselves to one of them,
and could really understand.
- You like seeing yourself represented.
You know, so if you are the kind of group
that you've been out there, and you guys get together,
and you go to these clubs,
and you do these little things together,
and you hang out at the coffee shop,
you know, you almost like wanna see that.
- It's one of those shows that you just,
you have it on in the background, and I don't know,
it makes you feel like warm and safe in a weird way.
- It's just something that people can really get,
like delve into, but it's also like good background TV.
It's really cool to see something not die off,
and see that like future generations are still really into this.
- Thanks for watching this episode of Generations React.
- Be our friend and subscribe for new videos.
- Thanks for watching and remember I'll be there for you.
(claps)
- Hi guys, it's Josecarlos here, producer here at FBE.
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Thanks for your support. Bye guys!