The funniest thing on TV's funniest sitcom in the past five years has to be the relationship of "Friends" Chandler (Matthew Perry) and Monica (Courteney Cox).
From their first unexpected rendezvous to their attempts to keep their relationship secret to their moving in together -- and some big events planned for the next three episodes -- the two have provided many of the show's laugh-out-loud moments. What seemed like an iffy proposition -- bringing together two characters who had only been "Friends" -- turned out to be a no-brainer. Which is only easy to say in hindsight."We argued about that viciously for three years," said executive producer Adam Chase. The show's creators, producers, staff writers, even production assistants "literally argued for three years. Everyone had an opinion."
But everyone's opinion also swung back and forth on whether, coming on the heels of the ups and downs of Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel's (Jennifer Aniston) romance, a second "Friends" relationship was a good idea.
"The pro was that they're so different from Ross and Rachel," Chase said. "They're so neurotic. They're not people who share things with one another so it would be really different. And the con was that it was really soap opera-y.
"And we went back and forth on it. I was in very much in one place and very much in the other place hundreds of times. But in the end, it's a tribute to the writing and it's a tribute to the actors. I think that the chemistry that Matthew and Courteney have was what made you invest in this relationship. And we lit a fire that you haven't seen in the show since the first season when everyone was rooting for Ross and Rachel."
The Monica and Chandler storyline reinvigorated the show last season. Even if this year hasn't quite matched that, "Friends" (Thursdays at 7 p.m. on Ch. 5) remains very funny.
And, without giving anything away, developments involving Chandler and Monica that begin tonight are hysterical.
While "Friends" is by no means documentary, the fact is that its heightened reality is based on real life. Often on the real lives of the writers. Chase, 31, has been with the show since it debuted -- when he was but 25.
"I was exactly the same age as the characters," he said. "It was all anecdotal."
Much has rightly been made of the incredible casting on "Friends" -- which also includes Matt LeBlanc and Jennifer Kudrow -- but the show has been no less lucky in the writing room.
"All of us had very little experience, so (executive producers) Marta (Kauffman), David (Crane) and Kevin Bright) took a big leap of faith in hiring a bunch of people who really only had one job before," Chase said.
(His only previous professional experience was as a staff writer on the short-lived, critically maligned ABC sitcom "Phenom.")
And incidents from his own life have shown up in the show. The terrible experience Ross had with a pair of leather pants was adapted from a terrible experience Chase had. As was the "hug-and-roll" advice Ross gave Chandler (how to gain some sleeping space when your girlfriend wants to cuddle).
It's not just their own lives the writers draw on, it's the lives of their real-life friends.
"One of my best friends has a sort of a peculiar way of speaking. And Joey has sort of adopted many of the same things," Chase said.
Phrases like "Good to go," and "How you doin'?" have become part of Joey.
"It's just fun fleshing out these characters and taking bits and pieces from my own life and even from my own friends," Chase said.
And to his surprise, when the show began he found himself writing not only about his friends for the "Friends" -- but he discovered that one of the "Friends" was an old friend.
"I actually went to college with David Schwimmer," Chase said. "I was a theater major, too, but I sucked and he was really good. Fortunately, I realized that while I was still in school and I decided to be a writer."