2.01 All About the Main Characters (Friends)
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This article is from the Friends FAQ, by Andy J. Williams AndyJW@dartmouth.edu with numerous contributions by others.
2.01 All About the Main Characters (Friends)
David Schwimmer as Ross Geller
Courteney Cox as Monica Geller
Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing
Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani
Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Karen Green
Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay
The main characters are detailed here. Facts about them are followed by the
episode from which the information was gleaned. See the episode guide.
Ross Geller (David Schwimmer): Ross is Monica's brother. He has a Ph.D. as a
paleontologist and works for a museum. [102]. His wife divorced him after
she realised/decided that she was a lesbian [101]. Much of season one
involved her pregnancy (discovered in episode 102). She finally gave birth
to Ross' son Ben [123] and both she and her partner want Ross to be involved
with the child to some degree [211] Ross speaks very precisely [103] and is
somewhat shy. He has been madly in love with Rachel since the ninth grade.
At the end of the first season, he gave up on Rachel and began seeing Julie,
whom he knew in Grad School and re-met on a trip to China [208] But they got
over their differences and are dating now. [214] He had a pet monkey named
Marcel [110] who he had to send to zoo when he (the monkey) hit puberty.
Ross must be either 28 or 29 based on the following clues: We know he is
older than Monica and Rachel, and that he had a crush on Rachel in High
School. This would mean that he is between 0 and 3 school years older than
Rachel. Had he been born nine months before Monica, it is conceivable that
they would have been the same grade, but this possibility is ruled out by
"George Stephanopoulos," [104] aired on 10/13/94, in which he states that
his birthday was "seven months ago," in around March] On the other hand,
"Candy Hearts" [114] establishes that he hadn't dated in 9 years (since
early '86) and "George Stephanopoulos" [104] indicates that he was married
for 7 years (since late '87). Chandler states in "Rachel Finds Out," [124]
that Ross fell for Carol in college, making Ross' high school graduation in
'85 at the latest. Combined, this tells us that Ross must be either 28 or 29
(2 or 3 years older than Monica/Rachel). Note that this would seem to
indicate that Ross got married while still an undergraduate.
Monica Geller (Courteney Cox): Monica is Ross' sister. She was a cook at a
trendy restaurant, Iridium, on 65th and Broadway [101] until she was fired
for accepting a kickback against restaurant policy [205]. She rents the
apartment where much of the show's action takes place. Considering her
former job, it is quite an amazing apartment (JG suggests that it might be
an illegal sublet, see question 2.06). She cannot seem to get her mother to
approve of her at all [102], [101]. If she doesn't, for once her friends
love him [103]. And, just once, he turned out to be way too young [122].
And, sometimes too old. She is currently dating her father's friend Richard
Burke who is much older than she is. [215] The others consider her to be
very bossy, anal-retentive and controlling.
Monica is, as of the end of the first season, 26. In "Ick Factor," [122] she
clearly states that she is 26, and in fact "25 and 13 months." Given the air
date of 05/04/95, this would put her birthdate in 04/69. However, in
"Blackout," [107] which was aired on 11/03/94, Joey convinces Monica that
Ross is planning a surprise birthday party for her. Given her reaction, it
would appear that her birthdate is in late '68. It is difficult to reconcile
these unless Ross is habitual in planning birthday parties five months in
advance. Nevertheless, it is clear that Monica was born in late '68 or early
'69, which is important in fixing Rachel's age (see below).
Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry): Chandler is a data processor who, in the
first season, recevied a hefty promotion [115] in some office somewhere. He
himself didn't care much for his job [101] but found that changing [115].
Many women in college thought he was gay [203] (much to his chagrin).
Chandler has a very hard time both asking women [106] out as well as
breaking up with them [105]. He seemed to keep getting stuck with the horrid
Janice [110], [115] until, thankfully, she got married and pregnant [203].
His mother writes romance novels and embarasses Chandler greatly [111]. He
used to smoke [103]. He lives across the hall from Monica and Rachel with
his roommate Eddie who replaced Joey. [216] - [217]
As for Chandler's age, we only know that he knew Ross in college before Ross
fell for Carol, he would therefore appear to be either Ross' age, slightly
older or possibly one year younger. We also know that he's been at the same
company for five years, as of "Stoned Guy" [115]. If we assume that he took
the 'temp' job right out of college, it places his college graduation in '89
and fixes his age at 28.
Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc): Joey is an aspiring actor who continually
gets rather pathetic roles. These include Pinocchio in a children's
production [101] as well as Sigmund Freud in a musical of Freud's life
[106]. He was also the poster boy for VD [109]. His breakthourgh role (which
he messed up) was as Al Pacino's Butt Double in a movie [106]. He finally
got a break and is appearing on Days of our Lives as a doctor. He lived
across from Rachel and Monica with Chandler but moved to his own apartment.
[216]
Joey is 28. He states this in "The One Where Joey Moves Out"
Rachel Karen Green (Jennifer Aniston): Rachel is very much a suburbs woman
who, until the start of the series, has never held a job and has always
lived off daddy's money [101]. At the start of the show she had just left
Barry, her husband-to-be on the altar and ran to the only friend she could
think of, Monica [101]. She is just beginning to get into the groove of
living in the big city and then fell head over heels for Paolo, an Italian
man who could barely speak English [107]. She dumped him when he made a pass
at Phoebe [112]. For all of the first season, she was oblivious to Ross'
crush on her. At the end of the season Chandler let it slip and she decided
to go for it. However, by that time Ross had found a new girlfriend. When
she got drunk and told Ross that she was over him, he decided to leave Julie
for her. However, a list of negative things about her (Rachel) that he was
using as part of his decision between her and Julie upset her too much to
forgive him and she turned away from him (but, of course, later forgave him
and now they are together). Her mother envies her life and is now leaving
her husband. [211] She lives with Monica and works at Central Perk, the
coffee house [101].
She celebrates her birthday in "Rachel Finds Out" [124]. It has been clearly
established that she and Monica were high school classmates, meaning that
she turned 26 on 05/18/95. And that they both graduated high school in '87.
Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow): Phoebe is way out in left field somewhere much
of the time. Often the source of strange looks and shrugs from the others,
Phoebe left home early in life after her mother committed suicide and moved
to the city where her albino male roommate committed suicide [101]. She got
her act together when she discovered aroma-therapy [101]. She is a masseuse
[112] and also sings at Central Perk mostly about death and sometimes uses
her spiritual abilities to cleanse auras [101] and read thoughts of people.
Recently, she was inhabited by the spirit of an old lady who died on her
massage table [211]. She has a friend who was reincarnated as a pencil
[108]. She lives with her grandmother [104]. Her sister, Ursula, is a
waitress at Riff's, a restaurant featured in 'Mad About You'. [102] but they
do not get along [116] - [117].
Her birthday is celebrated in "Two Parts Part 2" [117], aired on 02/23/95.
(I asked Jeff Greenstein if this meant that her birthday was the same as
mine (2/23) and Jeff responded that yes, her birthday is indeed February
23rd. Yeah, I know that was self-serving but why not? :-)
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