The One Where Monica Gets a Roommate

The first episode of Friends certainly gives no indication of greatness following. It's a mile away from being one "Friends" best episode, but as a pilot episode it does a good job of setting the scene and introducing us to the characters

We are introduced to the six main characters room mates Joey Tribianni and Chandler Bing, brother and sister Monica and Ross Gellar, hippy Pheobe Boufay and runaway bride Rachel Green.

Some of the cast come off as awkward and seem to be trying to hard. Matt Le Blanc can be excuses because he was allegedly suffering with a heavy bout of flu.

Here it is.. the first EVER episode of Friends, Where we get introduced to Control Freak Monica Gellar (Courtney Cox), Newly divorced Ross Gellar (David Schimmer), Hippy Pheobe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), unknown actor and ladies man (Matt Le Blanc and very sarcastic Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry). This is how the scene starts off until we introduced to the 6th and final friend Spoilt kid Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston).

The Episode is better than most people give credit for, like any new sitcom the first episode isn't always fantastic. The acting in this episode isn't great because the cast cannot identify and arnt really believable in their new characters (apart from Kudrow and Perry- who shine).

Matt Le Blanc- Man, his acting was down right dreadful because until later, he gets more confident, but i think he tries to be funny but at most fails.

David Schimmer- Why does he over pronounce EVERY word? he cannot speak normally! but he became one of the funniest characters in later seasons, but he isn't confident. and i cannot sympathise with him Jennifer Aniston- Looks hot, and does a good job as Rachel Green, but we only see the real Rachel later in the 1st season, Courtney Cox- Looks quite anorexic in this episode, its worrying, she looks totally different now, (more healthily), she acting is a little sketchy but everyones is in this 20 minute pilot! Lisa Kudrow and Matthew Perry- I'm doing these two together because their comic timing and acting quality was superb, and for Lisa this was one of her first roles and she is so natural as Pheobe (Pheebs) and Matthew Perry is just Matthew Perry playing himself basically! The episode quality does improve later,,, such as the Sets, they looks dark and creepy in this episode and makes them seem unfriendly, the acting is OK, the characters gain confidence with each new scene and i am proud this is the pilot! I hope we see the Friends reunite! cause they will always be there for us!

I have to say, I think the new IMDb format for television shows is fantastic insofar that you can comment on individual episodes! (The rest of the format I will simply say is less pleasing, but hopefully bugs will be tweaked with later on down the road.) Anyway, this was the very first episode of "Friends" (the pilot), in which Monica gets a roommate, Rachel. Rachel was old friends with Monica and Monica's brother Ross. Ross had feelings for Rachel and is put in an awkward position when she returns.

As far as this episode compares to later ones - it's flat. The cast isn't confident - Jennifer Aniston in particular looks like she just stepped off the bus for Hollywood and is totally lost.

However, it is a fine setup for the series and any "Friends" fan will certainly derive some type of nostalgic entertainment from it!

This episode is a decent introduction to the characters and the show's concept. However, it might be a bit hard to get fully involved at the beginning.

Pilots are never easy, especially for comedy shows, but Friends starts off really solidly and shows glimpses of its future brilliance. The dialogue is fantastic from the very first scene, with Chandler being immediately hilarious and the back and forth between the characters flowing really well. Monica's subplot establishes her ongoing struggle to find romance nicely and is helped by Courtney Cox's great performance, which stands out from the rest of the cast. Twenty minutes isn't really long enough to properly establish 6 characters in depth, with Phoebe and particularly Joey being the ones who are sidelined in this opening episode, and Rachel's introduction is done somewhat awkwardly. Ultimately I may be looking back on this episode with rose-tinted glasses due to my attachment to the characters and knowing what is to come, but I genuinely believe that its a good, funny pilot that lays the groundwork for the rest of the series and immediately endears you to some of the characters.