“It was rabid.”
As hard as it is to believe, a very significant milestone for Friends fans is quickly approaching because 22 September marks the 25th anniversary of the first episode airing.
Yep, all those years ago Rachel burst through the doors at Central Perk and TV history changed forever.
In that very first half hour, Chandler and Joey encouraged Ross to ‘grab a spoon’ and step back into the dating game – granted, Chandler didn’t know if that advice left him hungry or horny – but right from the off, fans knew where the main focus of the show would lie.
Ross and Rachel.
We all know what happened over the course of those ten seasons and that entire story arc was very much created by the finale to Season 1 and the first episode of the next season.
Ross goes to China, Rachel learns how Ross really feels about her, Ross comes home with a new girlfriend.
Ladies and gents, Julie needs no introduction.
However, to coincide with this massive milestone, EW tracked down some of the supporting cast in Friends to relive some memories about their time on the show.
Unsurprisingly, Lauren Tom (Julie) was not treated too kindly by Friends fanatics when the show originally aired.
“The fans were rabid. I wasn’t prepared for the amount of venom I was about to receive in a live audience where they actually booed my character. I think most actors are pretty sensitive. That’s why we’re doing what we do, because our emotions are right on our sleeve.
“I just was so shocked that they were booing me. And, of course, I was trying very hard not to get my feelings hurt. I had to get used to that. I did understand intellectually that, you know, the audience was meant to be rooting for Rachel. Even I was rooting for Rachel, on some level, ’cause I was a fan of the show! But emotionally my body didn’t understand that when I heard the booing. So that was tough,”said Tom.
Well, as for the character of Julie, we really hope that Russ treated her well.
Clip via FriendsEpisodes4U
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