'Friends' final episode aired 20 years ago this week. Do you remember the show's Long Island connections?
Courteney Cox Arquette (L), Jennifer Aniston (C) and Matthew Perry are shown in a scene from the NBC series "Friends." Credit: Getty Images/Getty Images
"Friends” ended its 10-season run 20 years ago this week, before going on to becoming one TV's most successful shows in syndication and streaming. And while the NBC sitcom may have been set in Manhattan, it did have some ties to Long Island. Here are five:
1. Most notably, there’s the 2002 episode, “The One In Massapequa." The episode centers on a 35th wedding anniversary celebration of Monica (Courteney Cox) and Ross’ (David Schwimmer) parents (Christina Pickles, Elliott Gould) on Long Island.
2. In that same episode, “The One in Massapequa,” Alec Baldwin, who grew up in that village, makes a guest appearance as Parker, the too-enthusiastic boyfriend of Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow). In a meta-moment, Parker asks Ross, “Massapequa, sounds like a magical place. Tell me about Massapequa. Is it steeped in Native American history?” And Ross responds: “Well, there is an Arby’s in the shape of a teepee.” (Fact-check time: Not true.)
3. In the 2001 episode “The One Where Rosita Dies,” the Gellers had put their original L.I. home up for sale, causing consternation for Ross and Monica, who grew up there until they both moved to Manhattan.
4. Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) also was raised on Long Island, since she was always described as Monica’s childhood friend. In the 2001 episode “The One With the Rumor,” Chandler (Matthew Perry) asks Rachel if she was “the hermaphrodite cheerleader from Long Island,” repeating a vicious rumor from Rachel’s youth that she had both male and female sex organs.
5. The gang headed to Montauk to try to find a woman (Teri Garr) who may know where Phoebe’s father is in “The One at the Beach,” the season 3 finale (May 1997). The story continued into the season 4 opener, “The One With the Jellyfish” (September 1997).
Andy Edelstein, Newsday's entertainment editor, supervises coverage of TV, celebrities, movies and pop music. He has written three books on popular culture, including "The Brady Bunch Book."
