COURTENEY'S LOVES
In real life, Courteney Cox Arquette would make an awesome big sister. Our Q&A with her reveals that this southern girl is laid-back (unlike neat freak Monica!) and style-conscious (like her sweet on-screen alter ego). And, yes, this actress is just as nice in person!
Any juicy details about the Friends season finale?
It's weird. The writers don't tell us what's going to happen. And I'm not being coy - I just don't know. After seven years, it's nice not to know. Hopefully, it'll be a clitt-hanger. The only thing I hate about cliff-hangers is that we have to keep our hair exactly the same way [for the new season].
Will Jennifer Aniston's husband, Brad Pitt, ever guest star on Friends?
He'll probably do an episode for his wife, at some point - I don't know when, though. Not this year.
What about those divorce rumors?
I heard that I filed and I kicked him out and that he's a bad boy. But none of the rumors are ture. It doesn't really bother me that much because it's so stupid. David makes my life better. I'm not the poet that he is, but I just love him.
Do you like his colorful outfits?
I love that he dresses the way he does; it's not contrived. This is David. We wake up in the morning, and before he has coffee, he actually puts on an entire outfit. Then he takes a shower and puts on another outfit. Can I tell you how much laundry we have?
What's the hardest part of being married to another actor?
He's always on location, and I'm mostly in Los Angeles. That part's tough.
You're from the South. Do you ever wish you'd grown up in Los Angeles?
I'm glad that I'm from Alabama. I think it makes me normal - in a good way. People are easygoing down there.
What do you think when you see yourself in Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" video?
I don't like my hair that short. It didn't work for me. I looked like a little boy and I danced like a jock!
SCREEN TEST
1) What high school did Monica, Ross and Rachel attend?
(a) Washington High
(b) Lincoln High
(c) Jefferson High
(d) Madison High
2) How many sisters does Joey have?
(a) Five
(b) Six
(c) Seven
(d) Eight
3) To which woman has Ross not been married?
(a) Carol
(b) Susan
(c) Rachel
(d) Emily
4) What type of guy has Phoebe not dated?
(a) A fireman
(b) A scientist
(c) A schoolteacher
(d) A doctor
(e) A submarine officer
5) What does Rachel have tattoed just above her right butt cheek?
(a) A pink rose
(b) A red heart
(c) A white lily
(d) A four-leaf clover
6) After Chandler and Joey's apartment is burglarized, what item serves as their main piece of living room furniture?
(a) A canoe
(b) A beanbag chair
(c) An inflatable couch
(d) An exercise bike
7) What is the name of Ross' son?
(a) Gordy
(b) Marlon
(c) Jamie
(d) Ben
8) To escape from Janice, Chandler tells her he's moving to what country?
(a) Syria
(b) Jordan
(c) Iran
(d) Yemem
10) Which animal has one of the six friends not owned as a pet?
(a) A chicken
(b) A squirrel
(c) A duck
(d) A cat
11) With which of the following ailments has Joey not been infected?
(a) Excessive snoring
(b) Hernia
(c) Kidney stones
(d) Appendicitis
11) What are the names of the triplets that Phoebe carried for her brother, Frank, Jr., and his wife, Alice? (pick three)
(a) Lilly
(b) Leslie
(c) Alice, Jr.
(d) Frank, Jr. Jr.
(e) Chandler
(f) Joseph
12) When Monica is stung by a jellyfish at the beach, who comes to her rescue by peeing on her leg?
(a) Joey
(b) Chandler
(c) Monica
(d) Marcel
13) During that same weekend, why is Ross angry with Rachel?
(a) She beats him at a game of strip Happy Days.
(b) She buries him in the sand while he's sleeping
(c) She convinces his then-girlfriend, Bonnie, to shave her own head.
(d) She puts sand in his margarita.
14) Which pair of Friends has never been romantically linked?
(a) Monica and Ross
(b) Rachel and Chandler
(c) Ross and Phoebe
(d) All of the above
15) Phoebe used to lament her lack of family. Which relatives is she still missing?
(a) A mother and father
(b) A sister and brother
(c) Nieces and nephews
(d) Aunts and uncles
16) Monica categorizes her bath towels. How many types are there?
(a) 4
(b) 9
(c) 11
(d) 16
17) What is WENUS?
(a) A word Ross used to swear at his sister without his parents knowing.
(b) Something that's written on the guys' dry-erase board in their kitchen.
(c) The processing report Chandler is responsible for at work.
(d) An acronym for the new dinosaur bone that Ross researced in China.
18) Why does Ross have a special place in his parents' hearts?
(a) His conception was the event that led to their marriage.
(b) His mother thought she wasn't able to have children until she arrived.
(c) He almost died of a childhood illness but miraculously pulled through.
(d) Both (a) and (b).
19) Which of these Thanksgiving events made Chandler hate the holiday?
(a) His father left his mother for a man.
(b) Monica cut part of one of his toes.
(c) Joey scared him by sticking his own head in a turkey.
(d) He threw up his dinner.
20) Who used to live in the apartment directly below Monica and Rachel's?
(a) Ugly Naked Guy
(b) Mr. Heckles
(c) Gunther
(d) Mr. Treeger, the superintendent
ANSWERS
1. (b) In the pilot episode, Monica introduces Rachel to the gang as "another Lincoln High survivor."
2. (c) After a party, Chandler makes out with one of joey's seven sisters, then can't remember which one.
3. (b) Susan is Carol's life partner.
4. (d) Phoebe two-times a fireman and a teacher, gets the chicken pox when her seafaring boyfriend resurfaces and loses her scientist guy to a research gig in Russia.
5. (b) When Rachel and Phoebe decide to get tattoos, Rachel opts for a tiny heart, but Phoebe ends up with just a blue dot.
6. (a) The robbers leave the canoe. [Note from the webmistress: this is incorrect. They traded the canoe after the robbers stole everything.]
7. (d) Ben - it's the name on the uniform Phoebe dons when she gets trapped in a supply closet.
8. (d) Chandler gets on a plane to Yemen just to avoid spending another minute with Janice.
9. (b) Joey and Chandler own a duck and a chicken, and Rachel once brought home a hairless Sphynx.
10. (d) Joey visits a clinic for his snoring, passes kidney stones while Phoebe is in labor and suffers through a hernia for days. But he's never had appendicitis!
11. (b), (d), and (e) After deciding on Leslie and Frank, Jr. Jr., the parents let Phoebe name the third triplet. She chooses Chandler.
12. (b) Chandler saves the day.
13. (c) Because spiteful Rachel convinces Ross' girlfriend, Bonnie, to shave her head.
14. (a) Every other guy-girl pair on the how has shared a moment - real or imagined.
15. (d) Phoebe's mom lives in Montauk, New York, and her dad visited for her grandmother's funeral. She has a twin sister, and she carried her half-brother's triplets.
16. (c) In a boys versus girls trivia game, Joey and Chandler are asked how many towel categories Monica has. Joey guesses 11.
17. (c) Chandler gets strange looks from coworkers when he mentuions his WENUS (Weekly Estimated Net Usage Statistics).
18. (d) The show's writers goofed on this one. In one episode, Mr. Geller tells the story of how he got engaged to Mrs. Geller - after she became pregnant. Then, on a later show, the family discusses how Ross was a miracle baby because Mrs. Geller had been diagnosed as infertile.
19. All are true - but the divorce triggered his Thanksgiving boycott.
20. (b) Grumpy old Mr. Heckles used to bang on his ceiling to get the girls to stop making noise.
SCORES
Best friends forever
(15 to 20 correct answers)
You'd never miss a night of Must-See TV. You catch the reruns every night and you have all seven seasons on tape. But your real friends have not seen you in months.
Tried-and-True amiga
(10 to 14 correct answers)
You probably started tuning in when reruns began airing in sydication - but you've caught up quickly. Congrats!
Fair-weathered friend
(5 to 9 correct answers)
While you prefer the living, breathing type of pals to the small-screen kind, the sacred six are still more than mere acquaintances to you.
Not so friendly
(0 to 4 correct answers)
You have obviously been unfaithful to Friends, tuning in to Survivor instead. We prescribe a mandatory viewing every Thursday night, and 30 minutes of reruns twice daily until your Australian outback obsession subsides.
ON-AGAIN, OFF-AGAIN
Think you're having trouble finding Mr. Right? Ross and Rachel's rocky romance turns love into an extreme sport.
May 1995 The revelation: Rachel learns from Chandler, who accidentally lets it slip, that Ross is in love with her.
September 1995 Bad timing: Rachel, flowers in hand, meets Ross at the airport upon his return from China...only to see him deplane with new gal, Julie.
November 1995 [Note from the webmistress: This is an error. Ross was only in China for a week, and Rachel met Ross at the airport in the same month. But the confusion is caused by the way time runs in TV land...] The list: Ross can't decide between Rachel and Julie, so he makes a list of their pros and cons.
January 1996 In denial: Rachel begins dating Russ, a Ross look-alike. She's oblivious to their resemblance.
February 1996 He's her lobster: They all gather to watch Rachel and Monica's prom video. Rachel realizing how much Ross has always liked her, plants one on him.
February 1997 On a break: Rachel feels suffocated by Ross and tells him she needs a relationship time-out. He finds comfort in the arms of Chloe, the copy-store girl.
February 1997 Unforgiven: Rachel finds out about Ross and Chloe, and can't forgive him.
May 1997 Decision time: Ross is forced to choose between Rachel and his spunky flame, Bonnie.
September 1997 [Note from the webmistress: Even though the airdates of these two episodes were months apart, the time in TV Land was only a few seconds.] The 18-page letter: Ross decides to go back to Rachel, but she'll accept only if he takes the blame for everything. He won't.
May 1998 Freudian slip: Rachel heads for London for Ross and Emily's wedding. During the vows, Ross calls Emily by Rachel's name.
November 1998 Emily won't forgive Ross till he stops seeing Rachel.
May 1999 After a drunken Vegas night, Ross and Rachel tie the knot.
October 1999 Despite lingering feelings, R&R end their marriage.
October 2000 Monica catches Ross and Rachel kissing.
BEATING THE ODDS
Which Friend is the best box-office bet? We handicap their potential for blockbuster post-TV careers.
Jennifer Aniston: the front-runner
We vote Aniston Most Likely to Score an Oscar. Her romantic comedy Picture Perfect (1997) was hardly Academy-worthy, but she rebounded with The Object of My Affection (1998). We can't wait to see her as Mark Wahlberg's heavy metal-loving gal in Rock Star.
Courteney Cox Arquette: second place
Though she starred opposite Jim Carrey in 1994's Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, the role of ace reporter Gale Weathers in Scream (1996) and its sequels best demonstrated Cox Arquette's leading-lady potential. How about an action flick?
Lisa Kudrow: a close third
She ruled in the comedy Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997) and wowed critics when she got serious in 1998's The Opposite of Sex. But back-to-back flops, Hanging Up and Lucky Numbers, have darkened Kudrow's prospects.
Matt LeBlanc: a frivolous fourth
He was upstaged by a chimp in Ed (1996) before he played a misguided pilot in the box-office bomb Lost in Space (1998). LeBlanc finally struck gold as Lucy Liu's clueless boyfriend in Charlie's Angels (2000). But Joey as a leading man? Fuhgeddaboudit!
Matthew Perry: a fine fifth
His film career got off to a bad start with Fools Rush In (1997), Almost Heroes (1998) and Three to Tango (1999). But Perry redeemed himselft (sort of) with The Whole Nine Yards (2000), in which costar Bruce Willis made him an offer he couldn't refuse.
David Schwimmer: last place
He has yet to find a strong persona outside Ross. Starring roles in two failed romances, The Pallbearer (1996) and 1998's Kissing a Fool (with his ex, Mili Avital), didn't help Schiwimmer's career. Maybe he should stick to smaller parts, as in Apt Pupil (1998).
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