NBC’s hit sitcom FRIENDS is still marking its presence in people’s hearts. Watching the show makes us realize why having friends is necessary. It makes us crave for life so perfect! Wish we could have a Monica who would love to host us every day. Or a Joey who would take us to a strip joint after a breakup. The life we see in FRIENDS looks so perfect that we seem to forget it’s just a scripted show.
Scripts can make things look perfect, but if I say that there were many moments in FRIENDS that were unscripted, would you believe it? Of course, you would because they acted so real that every unscripted moment went unnoticed! They were not playing the characters rather they were the characters!
It’s no surprise that the one thing which made it so amazing is its rawness and chemistry between the characters. However, many moments that came out to be the most hilarious ones are unplanned, or you can say unscripted. They were not removed but made a part of television history because they were simply too good.
Let’s look at those moments which were unscripted but became memorable:
“I Take Thee Rachel”
Remember? When Ross on the aisle with Emily, mistakenly said: “Rachel”, instead of “Emily” while taking vows. Well, that was an awkward moment for every FRIENDS fan, but it was very much in the script. So what’s so special in here? Actually, this big twist was inspired by a scene they were shooting earlier. Ross happened to say Rachel instead of Emily, and there it all started! The creators removed the mistake at that moment, but they registered it in their minds. The twist was so good that the writers thought to put it for later use. And we all know how creatively they used it later.
FRIENDS Final Line Was Ad-Libbed
The six characters usually hang out at the Central Perk. That is the only place we usually saw them hanging out apart from the two apartments they had. So, in the last episode, when they were all leaving Monica and Chandler’s apartment, Rachel suggests grabbing a cup of coffee. And that, as per the plan, should have been the end. But Chandler couldn’t help but ad-libbed the sarcastic response of “Sure, where?”
Joey Didn’t Hurt His Arm Jumping On The Bed
In one of the memorable episode of FRIENDS, “The One Where No One’s Ready”, Joey and Chandler fight over a chair. During that scene, Joey seriously got hurt in real, and obviously, it was not in the script. The injury required him to wear an arm sling, even while shooting the next episode. So in the later episodes, it was written that Joey hurt himself while jumping on the bed.
Rachel Actually Didn’t Know About The Scene
The episode where Ross throws his dummy down the stairs to scare Rachel was actually not scripted, at least for Rachel. Producers wanted a genuine reaction out of Rachel, and they planned it this way. The creators got the shot right, but Jennifer panicked at the sight, and shouted, “Oh my god, David!” It was an expected reaction as they have a real-life off the camera. So the line was later dubbed as, “Oh my god, Ross!”
Paolo’s Italian Lines Were Improvised
When Paolo came into Rachel’s life in the show, writers were confused about whether they should try and write actual Italian lines or just let the actor, Cosimo Fusco improvise his Italian dialogues. Overcoming the conflict, they chose the latter one and let Paolo speak his own lines. While talking to Today, Fusco revealed that everything he said in Italian was ad-libbed.
Donald’s Trump Blue Blazer, Black?
A hilarious episode where Chandler mistakenly says, “Donald Trump wants his blue blazer black” instead of “Back” was too weird. Just after he said it wrong, we saw everybody making fun of him. Well, neither the directors asked Chandler to say, “Blue Blazer Black” nor did they ask the rest cast to tease Chandler. But they worked as a team or rather a group of Friends who started teasing Chandler. It was so beautiful that it couldn’t be edited.
Carol Cries For Real
Earlier in the show, after the divorce with Carol, Ross was struggling to move on. Hope you remember the scene where Ross, for the last time, requests Carol to come back. Jane Sibbet, the actor who played the role of Carol, couldn’t resist but actually cried at the tenderness of Ross’s words and character. The scene was planned, but the tears were not, and it made the plot even more intense. It was a moment the producers couldn’t miss, and so they used it in the show.
Chandler’s Filing Cabinet Mishap Wasn’t Planned
One of the most hilarious episodes is where Rachel walks into her boss Joanna’s office and finds chandler handcuffed with an unbuttoned shirt on him. The directors knew that Chandler struggling to get out of the handcuffs would be funny. But they didn’t anticipate one funny element. The scene where the cabinet he was handcuffed, opens up and hits him in the head was a pure accident. But it was so funny that the producers kept it the show.
The World’s Worst Hangover
In the episode after Ross and Rachel get drunkenly married in Vegas, Jennifer Aniston came up with an iconic line on her own. During Rachel’s aggression, after she realized what actually happened last night, she turns to Ross and says’ “This isn’t a marriage, this is the world’s worst hangover!”
The line was not in the pages, but it was Jennifer’s own creation, and it is one of the most hilarious things Rachel has ever said.
Christina Applegate struggles to say “Phoebe”
Christina was Rachel’s sister in the show, and her appearance in it standouts among the many guest appearances. The episode where Christina struggles to say “Phoebe” was not on the script but was improvised. In an interview with Today, Christina admitted that she did face difficulty pronouncing the name, Phoebe. So to make things simple and funny the plot was changed accordingly.
