5 Reasons Friends’ Pilot Is Perfect (& 5 It’s Not)

Friends premiered on September 22, 1994. The multi-cam sitcom on NBC tells the story of six friends, Monica, Rachel, Phoebe, Ross, Chandler, and Joey, as they live out the highs and lows of their twenties and thirties in New York City. The show premiered to mixed reviews, as many critics believed the show was trying to be like the already established, hit comedy series, Seinfeld, but couldn’t quite live up to those standards.

As the seasons progressed, the reviews from both critics and audiences became more accepting and positive, earning the series sixty-two Primetime Emmy Awards during its ten season run. But what from the pilot showed the promise of what was to come, and what are we glad they ditched?

10 Perfect: They’re In The Coffee Shop

The most iconic setting in the entries series, for all ten seasons, is the coffee shop where the friends frequently meet – Central Perk. The orange couch where they all sit and sip their cappuccinos, while exchanging witty banter and friendly jabs, is where we first meet our friends in the opening scene. It is also where we finish the first episode, with all the friends, including Rachel, who now works at the coffee shop, talking about the main events of their day and Monica’s most recent heartache courtesy of Paul “the wine guy”.

9 Not Perfect: Shot In Los Angeles

One of the biggest issues with the series as a whole, and especially for the pilot is that it takes place in New York City, and the city is a character in and of itself within the show, yet, the shot is filmed in Los Angeles, specifically at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank.

They used B-roll and soundstage to maintain the look and feel of the Big Apple, but it seems almost criminal to have a show set in a city like New York, and not shoot the show there, especially when you consider the fact that a lot of other shows were shooting in New York at the time and this one could have easily done the same.

8 Perfect: The Friend Dynamic

Thanks to great writing and wonderful performances, it doesn’t take long for viewers to understand who these friends are and how they relate to one another. It seems every main character on the show has been written so specifically, which allows the actors to give us perfect and specific performances. Ross is clearly the sad one, Chandler is the sarcastic one, Joey is the not-so-bright one, Monica is the perfectionist, Phoebe is the hippie, and Rachel is the princess. Those are very clear characteristics and makes for very fun banter throughout the episode.

7 Not Perfect: Lack Of Diversity

One of the components that didn’t age very well with this specific show and its pilot is the fact that is it a predominantly white cast. In fact, the pilot episode has zero diversity and for a city like New York, that doesn’t make very much sense.

It also cut out a huge demographic for viewership because it really only appealed to a white demographic given the fact that every actor, from the series regulars down to the one-line co-stars, were white actors. The show does get more diverse as the seasons progress, but the pilot is seriously lacking.

6 Perfect: Rachel’s Entrance

Rachel Green, played by Jennifer Aniston, quickly becomes a fan favorite, even starting her own mid-90s hair trend. It’s easy to see why and how that happens in the very first episode. Rachel is the only main character that isn’t established in this friend group from the very beginning. She barges in, wearing a wedding dress no less, mid-way through the pilot and sweeps everyone, including the audience, off their feet. It’s also a very funny entrance because right before she comes running into Central Perk in her veil and gown, Ross says, “I just want to be married”, and the irony is not lost on us. 

5 Not Perfect: Rachel Doesn’t Remember Chandler?

This is a pretty major plot hole that fans uncover later on, after the pilot. When Rachel finds Monica, her old high school best friend in Central Perk, Monica turns to her friends and introduces Rachel to everyone.

She points out that Rachel must remember Monica’s brother, Ross, and then she introduces Rachel to Chandler. The problem is, Chandler and Ross were best friends in college and through a flashback episode, we learn that Rachel met Chandler at Ross and Monica’s house on two separate occasions when Ross brought Chandler home with him from college for Thanksgiving.

4 Perfect: The One-Liners

This show delivers perfect one-liners consistently throughout the entire ten season run and the pilot is packed with a lot of them. Most of the time, the one-liners are jabs or sarcastic remarks from one character to another, and other times, they speak more to the character saying them. There’s a moment where Joey, Ross, and Chandler ask Phoebe if she wants to help them build furniture and she responds, “I wish I could, but I don’t want to”, which of course gets a major laugh for its simplicity, honesty, and most of all, relatability.

3 Not Perfect: Joey Hits On Rachel

Joey’s character is another thing about this pilot, and the series in general that hasn’t aged very well in the wake of the Me Too movement and women’s empowerment. Rachel, very sadly, talks to her friend Monica once the gang is all back at Monica’s apartment.

Rachel is heartbroken and vulnerable, having just left her fiancé at the altar. Instead of being sympathetic and understanding and respectful, Joey leans over, places his hand on Rachel’s shoulder and proceeds to hit on her. Monica calls Joey out for his bad behavior, but he still doesn’t see what the problem is, which is the biggest problem of all.

2 Perfect: Ross And Rachel

Some of the series writers have gone on record admitting that Ross and Rachel were never supposed to be “the” couple of the series, but when they saw the undeniable chemistry Jennifer Anniston and David Schwimmer had on screen, they knew they had to change the plan and get Ross and Rachel together. That love story begins in the very first episode with Ross asking Rachel out at the very end and her accepting his invitation. Not only does it give fans something to come back and watch for, but it’s just really sweet and seems almost meant to be for this series.

1 Not Perfect: The Sexism

Between Joey’s shameless pick up lines, Chandler’s sarcasm, and Paul the wine guy’s treatment of Monica, this pilot is packed full of men harassing women and putting women down for their own gain. Monica has a first date with a guy she’s had a crush on for a while, Paul, and after dinner, she sleeps with him. The next day, she’s excited and happy, but then learns that Paul used a lie to get her into bed. Monica is understandably upset, but her male friends just laugh about it and say things like “I can’t believe you bought that line.” A woman being used for sex is a punchline in this episode, which may have been okay in the early ’90s but over two decades later, it doesn’t play very well.

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