Its unlikely that anybody reading this wont know the 6 piece combination that make up the mainstays of Friends. Monica Gellar is the linch-pin of the group. If they aren't at Central Perk, they are at Monica's as she cleans and cooks around them, providing them with cookies and lasagne. Ball games, thanksgiving, break-ups? It all happens at Monica's. Many of the jokes are at the expense of Monica's obsession for cleanliness and order. Rachel is the newcomer to the group. A high school friend of Monica's, she arrives after jilting her husband-to-be. Spoiled and inept at doing anything for herself, Rachel has to forge her own identity without the aid of her father's money. She starts off waitressing at Central Perk, but works her way into fashion designer. She also spends most of the series in an on/off relationship with Ross, Monica's brother. Ross is the intelligent one of the group. Although, he does spend as much time at the alter as he does at the museum that he works. With 3 marriages (including an accidental one with Rachel), and 3 divorces under his belt, he has also been married to a lesbian and the English niece of one of his bosses. Joey is the Italian aspiring actor of the group. His biggest success is as Dr Drake in real life soap Days Of Our Lives. Anybody who has ever enjoyed that show will no doubt get endless laughs at the occassional appearance of some of the Days cast. One of his funnier moments is when he is sacked from the soap after one of his many gaffe's get him into trouble. Pheobe is the odd one of the group. Coming from a background which saw her mother commit suicide, her father abandon her and her obnoxious twin sister, Pheobe spent years on the street before becoming a singer in absolutely nowhere where people have ears. She spends her evenings playing Central Perk for her five friends. And the final one of the group is Chandler, the prankster. His mother is a maneater, and his father is a woman. This has caused him to be the most screwed up of the group, and he substitutes serious conversation with endless sarcasm. Of the characters Pheobe is the most uniquely funny, but Chandler is the most obviously funny character of the group as he dishes out one sarcastic jibe after another. Eventually, he and Monica will marry.

The writing of Friends for the most part is so strong that it affords itself many extra's who dont just become one off supporting roles, but recurring guest characters. The most obvious ones are Gunther, Central Perk manager who lusts after Rachel, and the incredibly hilarious Janice, the nerve-grating ex-lover of Chandler. Every couple of years, her character is brought back for another hilarious coincidental meeting that results in increasing anguish for Chandler. But there have also been other hilarious, although less frequent, guest characters. Pheobe's chicken-pox-ridden lover, Ross's lesbian ex-wife and her lover, the parents of Ross and Monica, Chandler's transexual father, naked ugly man, Rachel's sisters, and the variouis assortment of dates that they have each been on have all been fodder for the endless laughs that this excellent show has provided. The extra characters have sometimes been involved in equally hilarious stories as the main characters. And its this that makes Friends such a well rounded show to view. The actor's who have appeared range through Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Charlie Sheen, Paul Rudd and most famously Tom Selleck who had a recurring role that lasted over 10 years.

The main actors from Friends were mostly far less known than the guest stars they eventually would ensnare. But they were certainly born to play the coffee-swilling six-some. Jennifer Aniston has gone on to achieve varying success as an actress, but is most known still for her role as Rachel, and of course that inspiring haircut from 10 years ago. Courtney Cox-Arquette is most famously married to one of the Arquette brother's, but also achieved success for a time involved with Wes Craven's Scream trilogy. She now has her own show, in which she and Aniston were recently reunited. Lisa Kudrow had the means to be the most successful actress of the three, receiving rave reviews for her performance in The Opposite Of Sex, but seems not to have done anything of note since leaving Friends. The male's have met with less success with Matt Le Blanc's spin off "Joey" finding itself cancelled in the second season, Matthew Perry unable to shake off his Chandler persona, and David Schwimmer's most famous role been that of an animated talking giraffe. Each of the six actors were born to play their roles, and fitted perfectly with the rise of the cappucino crowd. But its questionable whether many of them could carry a feature film on their shoulders, with only Aniston giving it welly at the moment.

The DVDs lack anything of note with the extra's. The occasional music video crops up, mainly the legendary theme tune "I'll Be There For You" by "The Rembrandts". But at 24 episodes a season, its hard to feel aggrieved. Lasting 10 years, and 10 seasons, Friends became a phenomemon that boasted mugs and games and soundtracks among other things. But its the show itself that holds the most value. With story's involving weddings, funerals, births, and a few hilarious falling outs, the writers Marta Kauffman and David Crane allowed their characters to grow, and more essentially - grow up. When they all started, they were commitment-shy 20-somethings, by the time the show ended a decade later 4 had babies, 3 were married, and the other one was destined to go it alone with his acting career. The most hilarious of the story's involved Ross calling his second wife by Rachel's name, Pheobe giving birth to triplets for her brother, and Chandler leaving Ross's baby on the bus. They are just some of the moments that made Friends such a joy to watch.