Looking back, Friends had some iconic moments, in large part, thanks to the crowds' reactions. Tom Selleck needed to reshoot his debut on the show without an audience, given that the ovation was too overpowering.Edits would also take place to block out the audience, this was evident during Rachel's unscripted 'world's worst hangover' line, one that caused extended laughter from the audience.This specific moment was iconic in Friends history, though in truth, there were no concrete plans in place to make it last as long as it did.Let's take a look back at how Monica and Chandler's love storyline organically grew on the show thanks to the audience.
Monica And Chandler Getting Together Was First Pitched In Season 3
As early as season 3, the idea of Monica and Chandler getting together was thrown out there in the writers room. It created lots of excitement off the get go. However, according to Vulture, the writers decided against it, given that it was considered to early.
"People got excited about the idea,” he says, including himself among that group. Goldberg-Meehan, however, thought it was simply too soon in the show’s life to introduce another couple."
Given what had transpired with Ross and Rachel, it might have come across as desperate to start a new love angle. Once this got mentioned, the idea was nixed.
“She was the one who said, ‘I just feel like at this point it would feel a little desperate,’” Silveri recalls. “We had gotten excited about the stories we could tell, but once she said that, we were all shamed and ran away. It became clear it was too early to explore something like that.”
The show would revisit the storyline, however, its intent was nowhere near long-term at the time.
Monica And Chandler Hooking Up Was Only Meant To Provide An Exciting Reaction For The Hour-Long Episode
Season 4 ended with 'The One with Ross's Wedding'. In typical Friends style, they wanted to feature a shocker of the lesser-known variety during the episode. Of course, fans got Ross saying the wrong name at the altar but in addition, a huge spark that got the fans going was Monica and Chandler in bed together.
At that point, the goal wasn't anything long-term related, instead, the focus was just on getting a shocking reaction and giving the episode an extra jolt.
“The goal from the get-go was to treat Monica and Chandler’s hookup as a surprise, a jolt in the second half of the hour-long episode to add some energy and fun,” Silveri says.
“The only real debate was around just how we’d get Monica and Chandler there that morning, how many crumbs to drop to lead the audience and the characters to the moment, all in hopes that the fact that they ended up in bed that morning wouldn’t feel unmotivated and false.”
The reaction to that iconic moment changed everything for not only Monica and Chandler's trajectory, but the show in general.
The Fans Allowed The Romance Between Monica And Chandler To Blossom
According to IMDb, the entire ovation for the scene caused some serious edits. It lasted 27-seconds, which featured shock and pure joy from the live crowd. "Chandler and Monica were meant to be just a one night thing. But fans in the audience liked it so much that they cheered the bedsheet scene for twenty-seven seconds. It led the makers to make them a couple."
In terms of a commitment after the moment, there truly was none of that. These rest of it was completely organic, as the writers were undecided as to what was going to take place next. It was all truly a feeling out process, to truly see how the fans would react.
"So with Monica and Chandler, “There were plans, but there was no [final] decision,” he says. “It was always, ‘We’re gonna see how it feels … We’re gonna see how it plays to the audience,’ and then go forward from there. It was sound producing on their part.”
We all know by now, fans completely ate it up. Wisely, the show didn't want the romance to feel like the Ross and Rachel arc, therefore, that was the reason for the sneaking around at the start.
The formula worked, clearly.
