Friends blunders you might have missed – fake Monica to major apartment change

Friends has amassed a major cult following since it burst onto our screens in 1994.

The sitcom, which lasted for 10 years, followed the bunch of pals as they navigated life in New York at the turn of the 21st century. Viewers were glued to their screens to watch some of the most important storylines of the decade, including the tale of Ross and Rachel.

Now, 20 years on from the final episode, the show’s fans have been going through each instalment to find hidden Easter eggs. As a result, some on-set blunders have cropped up, leading to chaos and confusion among viewers as they tried to work out how each mishap made it in.

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So, as Friends star David Schwimmer celebrates his 58th birthday today, Daily Star looks at some of the Friends blunders you might have initially missed.

Fake Monicas

In 2021, one eagle-eyed viewer of the series spotted an odd feature that left fans stunned as they realised they had missed a glitch in the system. One user explained there had been an “imposter” in one of the shows, which meant there was a fake Monica in shot the whole time.

Explaining themselves, the user had been watching the sixth episode of the eighth season, The One With Rachel’s Date. During a scene in Central Perk, Monica grills Phoebe about her new romance with sous chef Tim, who works for Monica, played by Courteney Cox.

However, as the camera panned towards Phoebe, the user noticed that Monica’s jawline is completely different, leading to many realising that Courteney was not on set during these scenes. Fans were quick to share their shock at the decision, but one account explained: “Sometimes they are just filming one actor’s lines; it’s too expensive to have the other actor there so they hire a stand-in – it’s cheaper.”

Complete apartment changes

At the very beginning of the show’s run, fans picked up on a minor error that meant the iconic apartments on both sides of the corridor were moving. Fans might know from their knowledge that the gang lived above Central Perk in apartment number 20 in the building.

However, some observant viewers noticed that during the first season of the show, the door number was in fact No5. This led to immediate shock from fans, who had no idea about the subtle detail change.

Fans and viewers would get another shock, when bosses revealed that in the first episodes of the show, Monica and Rachel live in apartment 1, with the crazy guy living across the hall living in apartment 2. Writers soon realised this would put them on the ground floor of the building and needed to utilise the stairs built into the set, which then proceeded to switch the numbers twice – first, to No5; and later to No20.

Extended pregnancy

One of the big storylines of the show was Rachel’s pregnancy, where she would give birth to little Emma. This came as a shock to fans, who at the time were certain that Monica would be the first of the women to become a mum.

Throughout the series’ eighth season, Rachel is carrying her baby, finding out she is pregnant during Chandler and Monica’s wedding reception. She later reveals that Emma’s dad is Ross, her ex-boyfriend, after they had a passionate night of love-making.

However, when the dates were added up, it turned out that Rachel had been pregnant for too long, giving birth to Emma on Valentine’s Day. Monica and Chandler’s wedding reception fell in April, which would have made Rachel 10 months pregnant, adding unnecessary time for Emma’s pregnancy.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk