[Friends Season 1x01] - The One where Monica gets a Roommate

[Friends Season 1x01] - The One where Monica gets a Roommate

"The Pilot" (also known as "The One Where It All Began" or "The One Where Monica Gets A Roommate") is the first episode of Friends. It premiered on September 22, 1994. This first episode focuses on Rachel Green running out on her wedding, Ross Geller's wife moving out and Monica Geller's date with Paul the Wine Guy. The first episode was written by Marta Kauffman & David Crane and was directed by James Burrows.

The episode begins with Monica , Joey, Chandler andPhoebe sitting in Central Perk, discussing Monica's date for the evening. 

Monica's brother Ross soon arrives at the coffeehouse, looking miserable. It is revealed that his ex-wife Carol has moved her things out of their apartment, due to the fact that she is a lesbian. Joey unhelpfully suggests that Ross take advantage of the fact that he is now single by going to strip joints, and an exasperated Ross cries out, "I don't want to be single, okay? I just want to be married again!" 

As soon as Ross says this, Rachel enters the coffeehouse wearing a wedding dress, causing Chandler to remark on the irony of it, saying "And I just want a million dollars!" Rachel, as it turns out, is looking for Monica to ask for help, as she has just left her fiancé at the altar after realizing that she does not love him.

Rachel explains why she ran out on her wedding. 

At Monica's apartment, the group watches a Spanish soap opera and pretend to translate the lines. Rachel is on the phone with her father, trying to explain why she ran away, declaring that she does not love her fiancé, Barry. She also tells him that she will stay with Monica. 

Ross asks the guys to help him set up his new furniture, and he asks Rachel if she would like to join them, but she wants to stay by herself. While she spends the night alone in Monica's apartment, Phoebe busks in the subway and Monica goes on her date with Paul. 

Meanwhile, the guys attempt to construct Ross' new furniture. The apartment is practically empty, as Carol has taken all of the furniture, the stereo and the good TV. Ross confides in his friends about his upset at being divorced at twenty-six. In an attempt to comfort him, Joey advises him to get a grip on his life and go out with other women in order to get over Carol. He reminds Ross that there are many different women in the world, just like there are many different flavors of ice cream in the world, and encourages him to metaphorically "grab a spoon." 

At Monica's apartment, Rachel attempts to leave a number of messages to Barry in order to apologize to him, and sobs to herself as she watches Joanie loves Chachi in the living room. 

On her date, Monica is getting to know Paul, who reveals to her that it has been two years since he last performed sexually. Shocked, Monica spits soup on him and quickly apologizes. She is touched that he has told her, and the pair end up going home together and having sex. 

After Joey leaves to go out on on a date with a woman whose name he has trouble remembering, Ross asks Chandler, "Even if I could get it together enough to ask a woman out...who am I gonna ask?" He gazes out of the window, and in the next clip, we see Rachel sitting on the window seat at Monica's apartment with a saddened, lonely expression. 

The next day, Rachel is determined to turn over a new leaf and makes coffee for the first time in her life. Unfortunately, it tastes disgusting. 

Monica kisses Paul goodbye at the door, and they plan to see each other again. Monica, Chandler, and Joey tell Rachel that they all have jobs. Monica then goes to work, where a colleague tells her that she too had slept with Paul, and that she was his first sexual partner for two years. Monica then realizes that Paul lied to her to get her into bed. 

After Monica tells the group that Paul had used her, the guys cannot believe that she did not see it coming. Rachel arrives after buying herself a pair of fancy boots with her father's credit card. This prompts the gang to drag her into the real world, and they encourage her to cut all her credit cards in half. 

Later that night, Monica, Ross and Rachel watch TV. Monica goes to bed, stamping on Paul's watch on her way. 

Ross tells Rachel that when they were teenagers, he had a major crush on her, and she reveals that she knew. A surprised Ross states that he believed that she had always thought of him as "Monica's geeky older brother" and nothing more, which Rachel did. 

Ross takes the opportunity to ask her if it would be okay for him to eventually ask her out, and Rachel tells him that that would be okay. She leaves the room, and Ross tells Monica that he has "grabbed a spoon". 

During the closing credits, it is revealed that Rachel has got herself a job at Central Perk. When the gang ask her if she has made the coffee, she tells them that she is just serving it - so they feel safe to drink it.