In just over a week, itll be twenty years since the first episode of Friends aired on NBC, on Thursday September 22nd 1994. While were all reeling from that one: Bill Clinton was President of the United States; the most successful hand drawn animated movie in history, The Lion King was released that summer; and Justin Bieber, Harry Styles, Tom Daley and Dakota Fanning were all born. Consistently one of the highest rated television shows of the time, the popularity and cultural impact of the series is astonishing, even a decade after the final episode aired. Jennifer Anistons hairstyle became a phenomenon all on its own, nicknamed The Rachel. The one minute version of Ill Be There For You recorded as the theme tune proved so popular that The Rembrandts were forced to record a longer version for release as a single, the song becoming a worldwide hit. Meanwhile, various catchphrases from the shows history are still in the popular lexicon, even today: from how you doin? to the whole concept of going commando and the friend zone; while debates rage to this day as to whether Ross and Rachel were really on a break, and what on earth that actually means. Some of you might be sneering right now but you know you understood every reference in this introduction anyway. The shows influence goes far beyond those wholl happily admit to being fans. And with all that, there are still teeny bits of trivia that keep popping up that only those on the inside (and the kind of people who watch DVDs with the commentary tracks on) were ever previously aware of. To celebrate twenty years (twenty years!) since the very first episode of Friends, heres twenty things you probably didnt know about one of the most popular television shows of all time.
Professional writer, punk werewolf and nesting place for starfish. Obsessed with squid, spirals and story. I publish short weird fiction online at desincarne.com, and tweet nonsense under the name Jack The Bodiless. You can follow me all you like, just don't touch my stuff.
