"I'll be there for you" is the perfect tagline for Friends.The single most important phrase that helps us understand the character map that makes up Friends is "I'll be there for you". The characters definitely were there for one another through thick and thin, and it's all thanks to the character map that made up that show. It was so intriguing and finely crafted by the show's writers. The pilot episode not only set us up for the vast majority of the show's plot points, but gave us insight into characters that we would grow to know and love for more than ten years. Click for Free Writer's Block Help E-Zine and Free E-Book In order to give you a better understanding of how to build a character map, I have constructed the following outline of the pilot episode of Friends for you. This is meant to show you how the writers of this show obviously didn't know every little plot twist that the show would take over the course of ten years, but they did have a very good idea of who they wanted their characters to be, what personality traits they wanted them to have, and how they wanted them to interact with each other. Read on to see how well the pilot set up the phenomenon of Friends. The pilot episode opens on a shot of Central Perk, the gang's hang-out spot. This sets the stage for where much of their joy, sadness, hard times, and other issues will be discussed as they immerse themselves in the company of their friends. Monica is already described as never seeming to go out with the right guys, and we already know right off the bat that Chandler is a jokester. He can't seem to start off a sentence without it sounding like he's closing in on a punchline. Ross comes in depressed, and we learn that his wife, Carol, has just moved her stuff out. Joey reveals that Carol is a lesbian, and wonders how Ross didn't know this about his own wife. Ross retorts by saying there's no way he could have known since she didn't even know. Throughout the episode, we learn that she has left him not only because she is a lesbian, but because she is going to be with another woman. While discussing Carol's leaving, Phoebe proceeds to begin cleansing Ross' aura, which he discourages her from doing. We know from this that she is a free spirit, hippie-type personality. As the gang tries to encourage Ross by saying that being single really isn't so bad, Ross says, "I don't want to be single, okay? I just want to be married again." No sooner does he say this, than a frenzied Rachel comes rushing into the coffeehouse, clad in her wedding dress. Monica seems to recognize her, and it is revealed that they went to high school together, and therefore Rachel knows not only her, but Ross, since he is revealed at this point to be Monica's brother. Rachel ran out on her wedding, and has come to the city to find Monica, who, even though she wasn't invited to Rachel's wedding, is the only one Rachel knows in the city, and therefore Rachel is hoping that Monica will help her through this tough day in her life. The shot changes to Monica's apartment, which is another spot we get to know and love from this show. Rachel is on the phone talking to her dad and telling him that she wants some independence. She wasn't in love with Barry, so she has chosen not to marry him, and she wants her dad to respect that decision. We learn from this conversation that she is very dependent on her father, and was planning on getting married so she could remain dependent on someone, namely her husband-to-be, Barry. She isn't used to taking care of herself, and when her father seems to ask on the other end of the line where she is going to stay, she responds by telling him that maybe she'll stay with Monica. This sets up their living situation that will continue throughout the first half of the series. We also see Phoebe playing guitar at the subway stop, which foreshadows all of her poor singing in the coffee shop. "Smelly Cat" is one of the hits we all get to know and love as she continues her musical aspirations throughout the series. Ross is upset about his divorce, and Rachel is upset about her failed wedding. The shots flip back and forth between them, and you can see that their problems are along the same lines -- something has ended for both of them, and they are looking for something better. By the end of the episode, we learn more about this aspect of the show. Joey can never remember his date's names, which is a trait that remains throughout the majority of the series. It's also interesting to note that we find out what types of jobs all of the characters have, except for Ross. Chandler has a job inputting numbers, however the actual name of the job is never revealed. Joey is an actor, yet has not been in anything big enough to be recognized in just yet. Monica is a chef, as we see her in a kitchen restaurant cooking, and Phoebe explains how she got into aromatherapy. Rachel is in awe that everyone has a job, and takes it upon herself to get one of the "job-things" that everyone else seems to have. Her job search is to no avail, however, as she is laughed out of twelve interviews, and determines that going shopping to buy new boots is the best way to prove that she doesn't need a job or her parents to get what she wants and be independent. When Monica proceeds to ask her how she paid for the boots, she says that her father pays for the credit card that she bought them with. The gang gets Rachel to cut up her credit cards, pushing her full force into the real world, as she has to rely on herself now to make ends meet. Phoebe tries to explain to Rachel that she knows how Rachel feels about being scared to be independent in a new place all of a sudden. She tells how she moved to the city at the age of fourteen because her mother had killed herself -- another theme that is brought up time and again in the series. At the end of the episode, Ross and Rachel end up alone together in Monica and Rachel's living room, talking before Ross leaves to go home. He tells her that he doesn't know if she knew, but he had a major crush on her in high school. She says she knows this, and he continues to tell her that he figured she thought he was just Monica's geeky older brother. She tells him that is right, too. She did think that. He then asks if it would be okay if he asked her out sometime. She says "yeah, maybe" to this, with a soft lilt to her voice, like it would be nice, and he responds in kind, with "maybe I will". This sets the stage for the Ross and Rachel saga that makes up the backbone of the Friends universe. By the end of the pilot episode, Rachel is working serving coffee at the gang's hang-out spot, Central Perk. As you see, not only did the pilot episode do an amazing job of character mapping, but it came full circle. They started off in the coffee shop, and ended up there at the end. All of the characters' connections were mostly revealed within this episode, and the stage was set for a variety of comical shenanigans that would take place over the next ten years that this amazing show stayed on the air. Everything was set in play, and the writers knew, for the most part, where they were going with each character, and how the characters best interacted with one another. The chemistry that was revealed between these six friends by the end of the pilot episode proves that the phrase, "I'll be there for you," will always ring true.
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