Entertainment Weekly have offered up the first exclusive look of the brand new Friends Funko Pop Vinyl line featuring all six characters from the beloved show, each with iconic character additions that will have Friends fans excited to own each and every one – me included!
With the addition of the Pop Television line, Funko have been able to delve into the television vault and offer up everything from the recent American Horror Story and Orange is the New Black Pops to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dr. Who and even Saved by the Bell Pops and while there are still a few glaring omissions to the upcoming release list (Sex and the City and Melrose Place – I want a Sydney Andrews Pop! hint hint) the long-awaited Friends Pops have finally been revealed.
“These figures are better when they’re crazy-looking,” Funko CEO Brian Mariotti told EW. “Everyone on [‘Friends’] is just really good-looking, so we needed to get the details just right. We had to add that extra level of ‘Friends’-ness. I know, that’s not even a word.” By extra level of ‘Friends-ness’ we’re talking some small but important additions to these Pops…
Ross Geller (played by David Schwimmer) comes with Marcel the monkey, Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc) comes with ‘the duck’, Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) comes with ‘Yasmine the chick’, Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston) sports her iconic ‘Rachel’ do and Central Perk uniform, Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow) sports her guitar and adornment of rings while Monica Geller (Courteney Cox) comes in her chef whites.
Chandler Bing with ‘the chick’
Ross Geller with Marcel
Rachel Green with her iconic hairdo
Phoebe Buffay with her Smelly Cat guitar
Monica Geller in her chef whites
Joey Tribbiani with ‘the duck’
While all the Friends Pops are quite visual and identifiable, personally, I feel that Monica’s was somewhat off as it was not very often we saw Monica in her chef uniform…”We started Monica in just one of her more regular outfits that you would recognize, but if you take it out of context, it wasn’t as iconic,” says VP of Funko Creative Ben Butcher. “With Phoebe, we tried to get the guitar in there. With Joey and Chandler, they are two regular guys at first … and then we decided to bring the duck and the chick into it.”
As a dedicated long-time Friends fan, some suggestions for a series two – you know, if it was ever to go ahead..,
Spray Tan Ross Geller – Pink bunny suit Halloween Chandler Bing – Ceasers Palace Guard Joey Tribbiani – Alternate reality Merrill Lynch worker Phoebe Buffay – Wedding day Rachel Green and finally…..Fat Monica Geller!
The Friends Funko Pop’s are currently available for pre-order at your local Pop! retailer or through Entertainment Earth with a Feb 2016 release.
At the Paley Centre for Media’s ‘An Evening with The Comeback’ that ran tonight, creator/writer/producer/star Lisa Kudrow and cast confirmed that HBO has indeed left the door open for a third series of the critically acclaimed comedy.
At the event, both Kudrow and co-creator Michael Patrick King stated that they are ‘currently talking about it’ [season three] and that HBO are on board whenever the show is ready to go. Considering the less than impressive ratings season 2 gave the network, it’s surprising to hear that HBO is still on board – but fans (like myself) are more than happy to hear this news.
So if season three was to go ahead, what could we expect to see for Emmy winner Valerie Cherish? Sound off in the comments below!
Valerie Cherish (Lisa Kudrow) becomes her own (almost) undoing in The Comeback
You can just see it can’t you? Valerie Cherish (Lisa Kudrow) standing in front of a room full of her peers, accepting an Emmy and saying “Well, I got it!”. It’s an image that could very well come true after experiencing Valerie actually acting – and incredibly well.
In the HBO comedy’s fifth episode of season two (titled Valerie is taken seriously), we continue our internal (and sometimes not so internal) struggle of loving and feeling incredibly uneasy for and with Valerie as she continues work on Seeing Red but this time round, we get our first glimpse at some of the work Val is doing on the show.
And it’s fucking amazing.
Long time fans will know Valerie the not-so-good sitcom actress and Valerie the star of her own documentary, but this foray for Val into gritty drama is new ground for us and Valerie herself and it’s here with episode five we learn that perhaps Val had spent most of her life working a road she was never meant to take.
The scene in question is where Val sneakily watches some of her dailies with Mickey.. a bedroom scene where Mallory is leaving a nasty voice message for Paulie G.. “That’s fine i’ll leave a message OK. I don’t care if you’re available or unavailable. I don’t care if you just found out if you have herpes or hepatitis C from one of those whores you pay to come to your room on show night. I’ve been in this business a lot longer than you have and i’ll be in this business long after they take you out in a body bag because you are going to O.D on some shit that you’re going to pump into your veins because you hate yourself, and guess what? I’m your way out and you’re too fucking stupid to even know it.”….
There’s that moment when the camera cuts to Valerie after watching the scene and we’re waiting for any hint of recognition from her of the inexplicably incredible work she’s just seen….and there’s nothing. Not even Mickey’s words of praise “Oh, Red! All these years. You can really act” can stop Val from tearing the scene apart – all for the way she looks – it’s too dark, she looks tired, Paulie G pushed her too hard…even noting that clip was take 12.
Val is completely blinded by the darkness in the scene.
And once again, just as we’re almost comfortable enough to root for Val for the win, she’s off like a bull, hunting down anyone that can make her look better on screen because Val believes that “people aren’t going to want to see me look like that” – a belief only instilled further after a meeting with a reporter from the New York times who after seeing the first episode of Seeing Red, told Val she was brave. .
So consumed in what others think of her, Val completely misses the actual and genuine positive remark for one of vanity – but that’s the Valerie Cherish we’ve walked hand in hand with all along.
Thankfully, after a second meeting with the NY Times reporter, Val get’s it given to her straight up “It was so emotionally raw. People have never seen that side of you before. It felt like you were exposing the inner part of yourself in a very surprising and compelling way.”
Could Valerie be ready to leave behind the image she wants people see her as in exchange for the credible actress she could possibly be?
Scandal’s Kerry Washington once again misses out on a nomination.
There’s a whole lot of WTF floating around social media and Hollywood at the moment and it’s all aimed around the recent Golden Globe nominations announced today. The general consensus is that is a mix of “did they finally get it right?” and “Did [insert name here] really miss out again?”.
This years nominations brought fourth a change in what to expect for nominees. No Modern Family (gasp) nominations, new shows such as How to get away with Murder and Transparent finding themselves with big time nods, Game of Thrones’s Peter Dinklage mysteriously absent from the list and a small show about virgins getting everyone talking thanks to two serious nominations.
Along with Modern Family’s surprise omission, Scandal and star Kerry Washington were both amiss along with favorite Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black) and even Park’s and Recreation lead (and Globes host- AND last years winner for best actress in a comedy) Amy Poehler missed out.
Other notable omissions include Big Bang’s Jim Parsons (nominated three times with one win) and HBO’s Veep which only landed a nom for lead Julia Louis-Dreyfus and just like last years best actress comedy winner Poehler, last years best actor comedy winner – Andy Samberg (Brooklyn Nine Nine) is also missing from the list.
Perhaps (to me) the biggest omission is any mention of Lisa Kudrow and The Comeback. How is it possible that Kudrow, who has the inane ability to play both hysterical and utterly tragic, not even get a look in for her work as the completely jaded Valerie Cherish?
Moving along from the snubs, perhaps the biggest surprise this year is the inclusion on the CW’s Jane The Virgin. The show picked up two nominations (best lead actress comedy and best comedy) and is the first time the network has ever received a nomination. While I’m yet to indulge in the world of Jane and her virginity, the general feeling around these nominations is one of good and much deserved – perhaps I may need to binge this over the Xmas break!
Check out the full list of nominee’s below. (I’ve underlined my suggested wins)
Best TV Series, Drama
Downton Abbey (Masterpiece)
The Affair
Game Of Thrones
House of Cards
Good Wife, The
Best Actress in a TV Series, Drama
Viola Davis
(How to Get Away With Murder)
Claire Danes
(Homeland)
Julianna Margulies
(The Good Wife)
Robin Wright
(House of Cards)
Ruth Wilson
(The Affair)
Best Actor in a TV Series, Drama
Kevin Spacey
(House of Cards)
Clive Owen
(The Knick)
James Spader
(The Blacklist)
Dominic West
(The Affair)
Liev Schreiber
(Ray Donovan)
Best TV Series, Musical or Comedy
Orange is the New Black
Girls
Jane The Virgin
Transparent
Silicon Valley
Best Actress in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
(Veep)
Edie Falco
(Nurse Jackie)
Gina Rodriguez
(Jane The Virgin)
Lena Dunham
(Girls)
Taylor Schilling
(Orange is the New Black)
Best Actor in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy
Don Cheadle
(House of Lies)
William H. Macy
(Shameless)
Ricky Gervais
(Derek)
Jeffrey Tambor
(Transparent)
Louie C.K.
(Louie)
Best Actress in a Mini-Series or TV Movie
Jessica Lange
(American Horror Story: Freak Show)
Maggie Gyllenhaal
(The Honorable Woman)
Frances McDormand
(Olive Kitteridge)
Allison Tolman
(Fargo)
Frances O’Connor
(The Missing)
Best Actor in a Mini-Series or TV Movie
Martin Freeman
(Fargo)
Matthew McConaughey
(True Detective)
Woody Harrelson
(True Detective)
Billy Bob Thornton
(Fargo)
Mark Ruffalo
(The Normal Heart)
Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-Series or TV Movie
Kathy Bates
(American Horror Story: Freak Show)
Uzo Aduba
(Orange is the New Black)
Joanne Froggatt
(Downton Abbey)
Michelle Monaghan
(True Detective)
Allison Janney
(Mom)
Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Mini-Series or TV Movie
Bill Murray
(Olive Kitteridge)
Jon Voight
(Ray Donovan)
Matt Bomer
(The Normal Heart)
Alan Cumming
(The Good Wife)
Colin Hanks
(Fargo)
The Golden Globes will be handed out on Sunday Jan 11th 2015.
Can you sense the desperation closing in? The grasp of holding onto a fading spotlight beginning to loosen? It’s probably because The Comeback’s comeback is almost here! After a string of small teasers, HBO have finally blessed us with a full length trailer for the eagerly anticipated second season of The Comeback.
Fans can also expect to see Seth Rogen in the new series playing Valerie’s former nemesis Paulie G (first played by Lance Barber in series one). In the original run, Paulie G was the show-runner of Room and Bored, the sitcom Valerie ‘starred’ on in a bid to make a comeback in her career, which was all documented for a reality show filled with tense moments between Paulie and Valerie.
Now, Paulie G has created a new show that chronicles his years dealing with drug addiction and his fraught relationships with his actors, including the “fictional” Mallory Church, whom Valerie will portray.
FRIENDS premiered 20 year ago this week in the US (Sept 22nd 1994), with the show and the cast still holding as strong today as they did back in 1994. From coffee shops to switching apartments, break-ups, hook ups, dinosaur bones and opposing thumbs, the show remains one of the biggest comedies and most-loved shows to have ever been created.
I call myself a die-hard Friends fan. I’ve seen every episode more than 10 times (with the exception of the finale as it get me too emotional!) and can pretty much retell each episode line for line (there’s an app called Quiz Up with a Friend trivia and Friends Quotes Trivia – try and beat me at it!) and so to celebrate the shows 20th anniversary, I’ve selected my personal top 20 episodes chosen from the 10 seasons the show ran for.
Now choosing only 20 episodes from a total of 238 episodes is no easy feat. I somehow thought I was doing a good job when I niggled that number down to just 120! A couple of hours a later, a few lists comprising of pros and cons and I’ve managed to whittle the list down to just 20……and thrown in a few honorable mentions to start us off!
Honorable Mention: The One With The Proposal Part 2 (S06E25) It’s all about the pay off at the end of this episode with the build-up of Chandler wanting to propose to Monica in the perfect way. There’s an almost break-up and the return of Monica’s ex Richard though when Chandler walks through that door and Monica drops to one knee….tears ensue!
Honorable Mention: The One With Rachel’s Big Kiss (S07E20) Rachel (or Rae Rae) tries to convince Phoebe she once kissed a girl played by Winona Ryder. This get’s an honorable mention purely for Phoebe’s quick thinking to Melissa’s question of “Were you ever in a sorority?” Plus any meniton of Regina Phalangie is a win!
20. The Last One Part 2 (S10E20) Of course, it’s only fitting to officially start this off with the last episode of the show. This final goodbye is one I’ve only ever watched once and will probably stay that way as, to this day, I still feel the tears welling up thinking about it! Ask anyone who’s a Friends fan about the final episode and the words “I got off the plane” will always come up. It’s that scene where Rachel surprises Ross by telling him she’s staying thus confirming our Ross and Rachel do end up together! Watch the final scene below.
19. The One Where Ross Can’t Flirt (S05E19) Oh it’s awkward, so so awkward! Smack bang, right in the middle of the show’s run, we’re given this little gem that let’s us all in on just how bad Ross is at flirting. His numerous attempts at trying to flirt with the pizza delivery girl (which includes talk of gas) is hilariously painful. Meanwhile the B story in this episode revolved around Joey re-creating his cut scenes from Law and Order for his Nona who doesn’t speak English. Check out some of Ross’s best work below!
18. The One With the Flashback (S03E06) After our first glimpse into the past back in season 2’s prom video flashback, we’re given a whole episode dedicated to life before Friends where Joey moves in with Chandler and hits on Monica, Ross discovers Carol is a lesbian and almost sleeps with Phoebe and even in the very final scene we see Rachel dreaming of hooking up with Chandler! Check out the Ross and Phoebe almost hookup below!
17. The One With Rachel’s Other Sister (S09E08) Clearly magic happened when Rachel’s sister Amy was created and presented to us in the form of Christina Applegate. So Rachel invites her sister to join them for Monica’s traditional Thanksging dinner only for Amy to pretty much insult each and every one in attendance. The final fight between the sisters makes for great television and one that many of us can identify with! Check out Rachel and Amy below.
16. The One With the Apothecary Table (S06E11) Two funny story lines sees Ross and Rachel lying to Phoebe about a stunning Apothecary table she bought from Poetry Barn as Phoebe hates the store (days of yore’ anyone?) along with Joey having to deal with his girlfriend and roommate Janine hating on Chandler and Monica. To be fair, this was one of Elle McPherson’s better episodes. Check out Janine Vs Monica below.
15. The One With Rachel’s New Dress (S04E18) Ross freaking out over girlfriend Emily spending time with his lesbian ex-wife in London, Rachel going to dinner with her date Joshua and his parents dressed in a negligee and Chandler and Joey fighting over who’s name Phoebe should pick as a name for one of the triplets!
14. The One With Free Porn (S04E17) Great mix between Phoebe discovering she’s pregnant with triplets and then trying to find a way to help Frank Jnr and Alice with the financial burden (I’m still waiting for The Relaxi Taxi!), Ross telling Emily her loves her right before she leaves for London (Thank-you) and Joey and Chandler discovering they have free porn on cable! Check out all the free porn below!
13. The One With the Cat (S04E02) This was the first time we got to see some real tension between Ross and Phoebe who clash over whether or not the spirit of Phoebe’s mother is residing in a cat that Phoebe found. The tension spills over to Ross and Rachel who have split up with a great scene involving Ross convincing Rachel her high school boyfriend Chip had left a message for her to call him (when it really was for Monica – who subsequently gets a ‘lipper from the Chipper’). Joey and Chandler are robbed leaving them with no furniture but a canoe.
12. The One With Ross and Monica’s Cousin (S07E19) Easily an episode that get’s lost in the myriad of greatness that was season 7, the mix of Monica working on a prosthetic foreskin for Joey (who has landed a role in a movie as a Catholic Italian immigrant in which nudity is required) and Ross and Monica’s cousin Cassie (Denise Richards) bouncing from friend to friend (including Phoebe) trying to find a place to stay without being stared at was at the tipping point for adult humor on Friends. Check out why Cassie had to keep moving below!
11. The One Where Monica Sings (S09E13) I must admit, whenever I hear Delta Dawn, I swear I can hear Monica’s voice somewhere off in the distance trying to hit those high notes. Sadly for Monica, her singing talents are outshone by her see-through top (which helped Mike get some great ‘tips”) while we get to see Joey in a mostly solo story where under the name of Chandler Bing, he goes to get’s his eyebrows waxed for new head shots. The humor here was offset by some Ross and Rachel drama when Rachel discovers Ross kept a message from her from a potential new love interest.
10. The One That Could Have Been Parts 1 and 2 (S06E15/16) I decided to be sneaky and throw in a double episode as one entry because they are both equally as great. Instead of another standard flashback, this time it’s a Sliding Doors type of episode where we get to look at what could have been had certain events never happened. Rachel being still married to Barry, Monica never losing the weight, Chandler quitting his job to become a writer, Ross never quitting Karate (or mainly not discovering that Susan was a lesbian) Joey never being fired from Days of our Lives and Phoebe taking a job with Merrill Lynch. In the end, it seems, regardless of the road taken, our Friends still wound up where they were in present time.
9. The One With Phoebe’s Wedding (S10E12) I love episodes where you can hear the audience “awww” or gasp like they do here when Phoebe takes off her coat to reveal a stunning wedding dress. Even watching that moment now get’s me a bit teary! The beauty with this episode is that it’s Phoebe doing something completely un-Phoebe and having a magical yet rather normal wedding. Our usually un-lucky in love Pheeb’s is getting married!
8. The One With the Video Tape (S08E04) While the Chandler and Monica post honeymoon story is a bit meh (people they met while on honeymoon, Greg and Jenny, gave them a fake number) it’s the Ross and Rachel and the night she fell pregnant story that really shines as each has a varying tale of whom came onto whom on the night. Thankfully Ross has it all on tape to reveal the truth that involves a story about backpacking through Western Europe!
7. The One With the Boobies (S01E13) It’s all about our friends getting to know our other friends a little bit better as a chain of surprise nudity, or tit for tat, begins after Chandler accidentally see’s Rachel’s nippular area – much to the jealousy of Ross. This episode was also the only time we got to see Joey’s parents.
6. The One With Ross’s Tan (S10E03) Easily, this episode is all about Jennifer Coolidge as Phoebe and Monica’s annoying friend Amanda who’s returned from a long stint in London (with terrible fake accent in tow) and tries to rekindle the friendship while unknowingly letting out some old truths from a long time ago. Monica and Phoebe trying to avoid Amanda and subsequently trying to deal with Amanda give some of the funniest moments from the final season. Check out Amanda and her many ‘talents’ below.
5. The One With the Rumor (S08E09) Seeing Brad Pitt play opposite then wife Jennifer Aniston still makes for great viewing today. As an old school friend of Ross and Monica’s, Will is invited to thanksgiving dinner but is upset when he discovers they are still friends with Rachel who used to tease him about his weight. It’s one of the few episodes a guest star was given great scenes and lines. Check out Will below.
4. The One With the Nap Partners (S07E06) Joey and Ross story lines were few and far between throughout the seasons, but here, they take center stage as they discover nap time with each other results in the best nap ever while they also help to determine who out of Phoebe and Rachel get’s to be Monica’s main of honor. The B story involved Monica discovering Chandler broke up with his summer-camp girlfriend because she was fat.
3. The One With the Prom Video (S02E14) See, he’s her lobster! Our first ever look back at friends before friends with Rachel and Monica getting ready for prom. We see Rachel pre-nose job, Monica before she lost all the weight and Ross rocking a wicked perm and majorly crushing on Rachel. What really makes this episode though (and what has been leading up-to ever since The One With the List) is Rachel seeing Ross prepared to step in as her prom date at the last moment only to be left behind as Chip arrives to take her to the prom resulting in a kiss that we had all been waiting for, for a very long time!
2. The One Where Everybody Finds Out (S05E14) Easily sitting at number two, this Phoebe and Chandler led story line see’s the shows two funniest characters battling it out in a romantic competition to see whom cracks first. Chandler and Monica’s secret relationship is on the line, they want to keep it secret, Phoebe, Joey and Rachel want the truth to be revealed.
1. The One Where No One’s Ready (S03E02) When compiling this list, or anytime I think about great Friends episodes, this one always comes to mind. An episode that is filmed entirely in Monica and Rachel’s apartment (minus the end credit scene) see’s Ross struggle to get everyone ready to attend a black-tie event at the museum where he works in which he’s presenting a speech. From Monica still recovering from her breakup with Richard to Rachel not knowing what’s the appropriate outfit to wear, Phoebe disguising a hummus stain with an over sized Christmas decoration to Chandler and Joey fighting over a chair, The One Where No One’s Ready is the perfectly written and acted Friends episode full of laughs and that’s why it sit’s at my number one spot.
Do you have a favorite episode? Sound off in the comments below!
Lisa Kudrow’s The Comeback (yes, that show I’ve been banging on about since it was first brought up as a possible return) finally has a premiere date!
Set your DVR’s as Sunday, November 9th at 10pm on HBO is when Valerie Cherish (Lisa Kudrow) finally get’s another take – one that we’ve waited almost ten years for!
Kudrow is back as win-at-all-costs washed up sitcom actress Valerie Cherish whom we meet up with ten years later from when we saw her last. Kudrow’s first outing as Cherish was back in 2005 and lasted only 13 episodes on HBO before being pulled off air. It wasn’t until the shows demise that it reached a cult status fan base, all thrilled with the shows return – me included!
Courteney Cox and Jennifer Aniston join Jimmy Kimmel on Stage
When Jennifer Aniston appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! the last thing i’m sure she expected was to find herself back in the kitchen made famous in 90’s sitcom Friends acting out a scene with her former co-stars.
And that’s just what happened when Kimmel surprised Aniston with his own Friends fan fiction script and an exact replica of Monica’s kitchen from the hit show.
Kimmel, playing Ross, sets out the scene (in which Kimmel wrote) about why he and Rachel have not made love in months. Add in a push button laugh track and a surprise appearence from Courteney Cox as Monica Geller-Bing and Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay and suddenly, we’ve got ourselves a mini Friends reunion!
And no matter what, Jennifer was not going to wear that Rachel wig!
Check out the scene below:
This mini reunion comes just in time for Friends 20th anniversary this September and to mark the occasion, Warner Bros and Eight O’Clock Coffee have joined forces to bring fans the chance to experience the famous Central Perk coffee house as it’s well known.
A pop up shop in Soho which mimic’s Central Perk will be operating at 199 Lafayette Street in Downtown Manhattan from Sept 17th to Oct 18th offering free coffee, Friends merchandise and appearances from James Michael Taylor who played the lovable yet unlucky in his adoration towards Rachel, Gunther.
It’s taken nine years and a lot of whispers but Valerie Cherish will finally have her second comeback when The Comeback returns for a limited 6 episode run later this year!
The original series, which to this date, is still being called one of the best shows you never watched (it really is), was created by Lisa Kudrow post-Friends and Sex and the City creator Michael Patrick King and saw Kudrow as a washed up actress trying to reclaim her former fame while allowing cameras to follow and record her every move while in search for that elusive comeback.
It lasted 13 episodes before it was cancelled due to low ratings.
The past few weeks have seen stories popping up about a possible return to the series with Kudrow and King both confirming they have been talking about where Cherish would be in this day and age and on Monday, HBO officially announced the show’s return.
“The Comeback holds a special place in the hearts of its many fans, including many of us here at HBO,” said president HBO programming president Michael Lombardo in a statement. “I can’t wait to find out what Valerie’s been up to since we last met.”
Kudrow said in a statement about The Comeback, “It was almost too fun play Valerie Cherish the first time around,” Kudrow said. “I look forward to revisiting this resilient and ironically self-unaware character.”
Former Friends star Courteney Cox spoke to David Letterman on Monday’s show in which he brought up a question that has been asked millions of times – Is there going to be a Friends reunion movie based off their hit show?
“You’re sick of the question, aren’t you?” Letterman asked Cox, who played Monica Geller in the popular sitcom.
“Only because once you say, ‘Well, I’d like it,’ then they have to contact every other cast member and be like, ‘Courteney’s into it!’ And then I get in trouble.”
“It’s not gonna happen,” she finished.
It doesn’t help that Courteney can’t even arrange a cast dinner that’s also been ten years in the works.
Cox also added that as the series was set between Monica’s apartment and local coffee shop Central Perk, she wonders just how exciting a movie based off the series could be.
“We did the whole show on a soundstage in Monica’s apartment,” she said. “So what are you gonna do?”
In the most recent issue of EW magazine, Friends creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane look back at the Friends finale and how they felt about the Joey Spin-off and those pesky reunion rumors!
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