Who could ever have predicted that a show about six twenty somethings who share lifes ups and downs would become one of the biggest comedy sensations of the decade?
But thanks to a combination of sharp one-liners, real life situations and the winning characters of Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Ross, Chandler and Joey, the show has become a stunning success. As Matt LeBlanc, who plays Joey, says: "Friends is about issues that any generation can identify with: dating, work, career goals. And it's funny."
Here are ten things every discerning fan should know...
Jennifer Aniston (Rachel Green) used to look forward to letters from her godfather Telly 'Kojak' Savalas. "He'd send me lollipops in the mail," Says Jennifer. Her father was an actor in the soap Days of Our Lives and her mother was a model.
Courteney Cox (Monica Geller) is a DIY nut. She has renovated four houses (one of them sold for more than $1 million), and she writes a how-to column for an American women's magazine.
Matthew Perry (Chandler Bing) was once a top rated junior tennis player in Canada, where he was raised by his mom after his parents got divorced. He later tried to repeat his success on court in America. "I got totally destroyed," he recalls.
Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe Buffay) actually has a degree in Biology and intended to pursue a career as a medical researcher. Even so, people confuse her with her airhead character. "People talk more slowly to me, like I'm a ten year-old," she says.
Matt LeBlanc (Joey Tribbiani) didn't meet his father until he was eight years old. His Italian mom raised him on her own in a tiny basement flatin Boston. The result: "I'm a total mother's boy," admits Matt.
David Schwimmer (Ross Geller) is the only member of the Friends cast who didn't have to audition for his part. Producers remembered him from an audition from an earlier show.
Matthew Perry gets his good looks from his actor father John Bennett Perry. His mother used to work as a press secretary to former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.
Lisa Kudrow lets her husband or an assistant buy all her clothes. "I hate shopping with all my heart," she says.
Jennifer Aniston's family is from Athens and she spent a year in Greece as a child.
Courteney Cox got her big break when the director Brian De Palma chose her to star in a video for the popular Bruce Springsteen song 'Dancing in the Dark' in 1984.