What are some of the circumstances that occur in this story: The episode begins with 4 friends; Monica, Joey, Chandler, and Phoebe, sitting in their local coffee house Central perk, discussing Monica’s date for the evening. Monica’s brother Ross soon arrives at the coffeehouse, looking miserable. it is revealed that his ex-wife, Carol, has moved her things out of their apartment because she is a lesbian and no longer has feelings for Ross.
Joey unhelpfully suggests that the desperate Ross that take advantage of the fact that he is now single by going to a strip joint, and an exasperated Ross cries out, “I don’t want to be single, Okay? I just want to be married again!” As soon as Ross says this, a woman enters the coffee house wearing a wedding dress, causing Chandler to remark on the coincidence of it, saying: “And I just want a million dollars!” it turns out the woman is Rachel Greene, who was Monica’s best friend in high school and has arrived to ask Monica for help, as she has just left her fiancé at the alter after realizing that she does not love him.
At Monica’s apartment, the group watches a Spanish soap opera and pretends to translate the lines. Rachel talks on the phone with her father, trying to explain why she ran away, declaring that she does not love her fiancé, Barry. She also tells him that she will stay with Monica. Ross asks the guys to help him set up his new furniture, and he asks Rachel if she would like to join them, but she wants to stay by herself. While she spends the night alone in Monica’s apartment, Phoebe busks in the subway and Monica goes on her date with Paul. Meanwhile, the guys attempt to construct Ross’ new furniture. The apartment is practically empty, as Carol has taken all of the furniture, the stereo, and the good TV. Ross confides in his friends about his sadness at being divorced at 26. In an attempt to comfort him, Joey advises him to get a grip on his life and go out with other women to get over Carol. He reminds Ross that there are many different women in the world, just like there are many different flavors of ice cream in the world, and encourages him to metaphorically “grab a spoon.” https://friends.fandom.com/wiki/The_Pilot
Where is this project set? Manhattan
What period/ year is it set? ( September 22nd, 1994-2004)
Friends Filming Locations:
From the iconic fountain in the opening credits to the Manhattan apartments to Central Perk café, to Joey’s romantic affair with pizza, ‘Friends’, defined the pop culture of the 90s, and had such an impact that we still can’t stop gushing over it. The sitcom can be treated as a celebration of New York City, from its architecture to its food. But the show only made use of some of the exterior shots from the city. ‘Friends’ is a traditional studio-based sitcom, and though set in Manhattan, it was filmed across the country in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles
Interestingly, almost everything we see in ‘Friends’ was filmed at Warner Brothers Ranch in Burbank, California. The first season of the sitcom was filmed almost entirely on Stage Five of Warner Bros. Studio. These include the interiors of the apartments and Central Perk, among several other spaces.
The iconic fountain in the opening credits has been long presumed to be in New York, with fans often mistaking the Pulitzer in Grand Army Plaza or Cherry Hill in Central for it. However, the opening sequence of ‘Friends’ with “I will be there for you” playing, was filmed at Warner Brothers Ranch, and on a lot called Park Boulevard, which supposedly resembles Boston. The fountain from the sequence is present there, but since it’s private property, it makes it difficult to see it in real life.
From the second season of ‘Friends’ to its last, the filming moved to the bigger Stage 24 in Warner Bros. Studios. The stage came to be known as “The Friends Stage” after the show ended, and one can even see the Central Perk set here. In case you didn’t already know, Central Perk is purely fictional and didn’t exist, at least not until 2014.
Other locations around California include Vasquez Rocks. The episode in Season 5 which is set in Las Vegas was shot here. The rocks served as the Vegas filming location for ‘Shutter Speed’, Joey’s big break. Another famous location used in the series is the Leo Carrillo State Park in Malibu, which is where the opening episode of Season 4 of ‘Friends’ is filmed, which has the group at the beach with Monica getting stung by a jellyfish.
New York City
As the sitcom is set in Manhattan, New York City, it makes use of several establishing shots that were shot on location in the city. Though the interiors of Monica’s apartment is filmed in Los Angeles, the exteriors were filmed in Greenwich Village. The building which serves as Monica’s apartment is 90 Bedford Street, at the corner of Grove Street in Greenwich Village. Interestingly, though Central Perk doesn’t exist below the apartment, a real-life café called “Little Owl” does, and it may have served the fictional café.
Similarly, the establishing shot of the exterior of Chandler’s office is filmed in Solow Building on West 57th Street in New York City, and is known for being featured in ‘Sex and the City’ and ‘Zoolander’. Around the area, on West 58th Street lies The Plaza Hotel where the group celebrates Monica and Chandler’s engagement in Season 7. Another real-life location used for an establishing shot is the Lucille Lotrel Theatre, which is a functioning off-Broadway there. It is here that we see that Joey acted in a play in Season 3. Another interesting location used in New York is the exteriors of The Moon dance Diner, the place where Monica once worked. But sadly, the real place shut down in 2012 after moving to Wyoming in 2007.
London
London, baby!
Though most of ‘Friends’ was shot in Los Angeles, with establishing shots filmed in New York, the season finale of Season 4 was shot on location in London. In an interview with Boston Globe, director and producer Kevin Bright stated, “We were the only TV show I know of that shot a show in a foreign country …the reception there made me realize that ‘Friends’ was an international thing.”
For the season finale of Season 4, and Ross’ wedding, the group travels to London. The episode was filmed on location in the London Marriott Hotel in Grosvenor Square, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and on top of a bus that Joey and Chandler cross Tower Bridge. Ross and Emily’s wedding was mostly filmed at the Fountain Studios in Wembley, but the exterior of the building was St. John’s Church in Wrapping.