The One Where It All Began

One of my favorite things about Friends is the method the creators used to name all of the episodes. Instead of following other shows’ footsteps and taking a quote from an episode or a song title to name them, Friends uses a method of naming that is unique, but completely relatable. When describing an episode or movie to a friend or acquaintance, you usually say something like, “Have you seen the one where…”. This is how Friends developed their episode titles. For example, the pilot of the series is more commonly known as “The One Where It All Began”.

Aside from the episode’s title, the pilot to Friends was probably one of the best first episodes of a series I have ever seen. Instead of wasting a pilot to introduce the characters individually, the episode starts in Central Perk, the coffee shop where practically the whole series takes place, and sees all of the characters in their element, talking casually amongst each other about Monica’s date. You see the individual traits of the characters form throughout the episode. Monica begins to demonstrate her OCD-like needs for cleanliness, Ross’s marriage falls apart and we see the beginning of his independent life, and Chandler begins to establish his “funny man” image. However, this episode primarily begins shaping Jennifer Aniston’s iconic character, Rachel.

Though this series is called Friends, let’s be honest, it’s the Rachel show. Rachel runs into Central Perk where the gang is having coffee as a runaway bride, literally she still has her wedding dress on, and from that point on, the center of the show, and every fan’s mind, is Rachel. She by far develops the most out of the six and she is primarily in every central storyline as the episodes progress. We see her go from an unhappy runaway bride, to a waitress, to a successful employee of multiple fashion industries. But, I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s back it up to the very beginning of the series. So….