Coordinates	29°25′″N98°30′″N
show name	Friends
genre	Sitcom
creator	David CraneMarta Kauffman
starring	Jennifer AnistonCourteney CoxLisa KudrowMatt LeBlancMatthew PerryDavid Schwimmer
theme music composer	Michael SkloffAllee Willis
opentheme	"I'll Be There for You"by The Rembrandts
country	United States
language	English
num seasons	10
num episodes	236
list episodes	List of Friends episodes
executive producer	David CraneMarta KauffmanKevin S. BrightMichael Borkow Michael Curtis Adam Chase Greg Malins Wil Calhoun Scott Silveri }}

Andrew Reich Ted Cohen | location = Warner Bros. StudiosBurbank, California | camera = Film; multi-camera | runtime = 20–22 minutes 22–65 minutes | company = Bright/Kauffman/Crane ProductionsWarner Bros. Television | distributor = NBCWarner Bros. Television | network = NBC | picture_format = 480i (PsF 4:3 SDTV)1080i (PsF 16:9 HDTV) | first_aired = | last_aired = | status = Ended | followed_by = ''Joey'' (2004–2006) | website = http://warnervideo.com/friends15/ }}

''Friends'' is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television. The original executive producers were Crane, Kauffman and Kevin S. Bright, with numerous others being promoted in later seasons.

Kauffman and Crane began developing ''Friends'' under the title ''Insomnia Cafe'' in November/December 1993. They presented the idea to Bright, with whom they had previously worked, and together they pitched a seven-page treatment of the series to NBC. After several script rewrites and changes, including a second title change to ''Friends Like Us'', the series was finally named ''Friends'' and premiered on NBC's coveted Thursday 8:30 pm timeslot. Filming for the series took place at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California in front of a live studio audience. After ten seasons on the network, the series finale was promoted by NBC, and viewing parties were organized around the U.S. The series finale (the 236th episode), airing on May 6, 2004, was watched by 51.1 million American viewers, making it the fourth most watched series finale in television history and the most watched episode of the decade.

''Friends'' received positive reviews throughout most of its run, becoming one of the most popular sitcoms of all time. The series won many awards and was nominated for 63 Primetime Emmy Awards. The series, an instant hit from its debut, was also very successful in the ratings, consistently ranking in the top ten in the final primetime ratings. Many critics now regard it as one of the finest shows in television history, including TV Guide, which ranked it #21 on their list of the 50 greatest TV shows of all time. The series made a large cultural impact, which continues today. The Central Perk coffee house that was featured prominently in the series has inspired various imitations throughout the world. The series continues in syndication worldwide. All 10 seasons are available on DVD. The spin-off series ''Joey'' was created to follow up with the series after the finale.

Characters

The series featured six main characters throughout its run, with many other characters recurring throughout all ten seasons.

Jennifer Aniston portrays Rachel Green, a fashion enthusiast and Monica Geller's best friend from high school. Rachel and Ross Geller are involved in an on-again-off-again relationship throughout the series. Rachel's first job is as a waitress at the coffeehouse Central Perk, but she later becomes an assistant buyer at Bloomingdale's and a buyer at Ralph Lauren in season five. At the end of season eight, Rachel and Ross have a daughter named Emma in "The One Where Rachel Has a Baby, Part Two".

Courteney Cox portrays Monica Geller, the mother hen of the group and a chef, known for her obsessive-compulsive and competitive nature. Monica is often jokingly teased by the others for having been extremely overweight as a child, especially by her brother Ross. Monica works as a chef in various restaurants throughout the show and marries Chandler Bing in season seven. Lisa Kudrow portrays Phoebe Buffay, an eccentric masseuse and self-taught musician. Phoebe is ditsy but street smart and writes and sings (badly) her own quirky songs, accompanying herself on the guitar. She has an "evil" identical twin named Ursula. In the last season, she marries Mike Hannigan played by Paul Rudd. Matt LeBlanc portrays Joey Tribbiani, a struggling actor and food lover who becomes famous for his role on ''Days of our Lives'' as Dr. Drake Ramoray. Joey is a simple-minded womanizer with many short-term girlfriends throughout the series. He falls in love with Rachel in season eight. Matthew Perry portrays Chandler Bing, an executive in statistical analysis and data reconfiguration for a large multi-national corporation. Chandler quits his job and becomes a junior copywriter at an advertising agency during season nine. Chandler is known for his sarcastic sense of humor and bad luck in relationships. Chandler marries Monica in season seven, and they adopt twins at the end of the series.

David Schwimmer portrays Ross Geller, Monica Geller's older brother, a paleontologist working at the Museum of Natural History, and later a professor of paleontology at New York University. Ross is involved in an on-again-off-again relationship with Rachel throughout the series. Ross has three failed marriages during the series: Rachel, Emily, and Carol, a lesbian who is also the mother of his son, Ben (Cole Sprouse). He and Rachel have a daughter at the end of season eight.

Cast

The main cast members were familiar to television viewers before their roles on ''Friends'' but were not considered stars. Cox had the highest profile career of the main actors when she was initially cast, having appeared in ''Ace Ventura: Pet Detective'' and ''Family Ties''. Kudrow previously played Ursula Buffay on ''Mad About You'', and reprised the dual role of twin sister Ursula as a recurring character during several episodes of ''Friends''. Before her role on ''Friends'', Kudrow was an office manager and researcher for her father, a headache specialist. LeBlanc had appeared as a minor character in the sitcom ''Married... with Children'', and as a main character in its spin-offs, ''Top of the Heap'' and ''Vinnie & Bobby''. Aniston and Perry had already appeared in several unsuccessful sitcom pilots before being cast in ''Friends''. Before his role on ''Friends'', Schwimmer played minor characters in ''The Wonder Years'' and ''NYPD Blue''. During the series' ten-season run, the actors all became household names.

In their original contracts for the first season, cast members were paid $22,500 per episode. The cast members received different salaries in the second season, beginning from the $20,000 range to $40,000 per episode. Before their salary negotiations for the third season, the cast decided to enter collective negotiations, despite Warner Bros.' preference for individual deals. The actors were given the salary of the least-paid cast member, meaning Aniston and Schwimmer had their salaries reduced. The stars were paid $75,000 per episode in season three, $85,000 in season four, $100,000 in season five, $125,000 in season six, $750,000 in seasons seven and eight, and $1 million in seasons nine and ten. The cast also received syndication royalties beginning with the fifth season.

Series creator David Crane wanted all six actors to be equally prominent, and the series was lauded as being "the first true 'ensemble' show". The cast members made efforts to keep the ensemble format and not allow one member to dominate; they entered themselves in the same acting categories for awards, opted for collective salary negotiations, and asked to appear together on magazine cover photos in the first season. The cast members also became best friends off-screen, and guest star Tom Selleck reported sometimes feeling left out. The cast remained good friends after the series' run, most notably Cox and Aniston, with Aniston being godmother to Cox and David Arquette's daughter, Coco. In the official farewell commemorative book ''Friends 'Til The End'', each separately acknowledged in interviews that the cast had become their family.

Season synopses

The first season introduces the six main characters: Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler, and Ross. Rachel arrives at Central Perk after leaving her fiancé Barry at the altar and moves into Monica's apartment with her. Ross constantly tries to tell Rachel that he loves her, while his lesbian ex-wife, Carol, is expecting his baby. Joey is shown to be a struggling actor, while Phoebe works as a masseuse. Chandler breaks up with girlfriend Janice (Maggie Wheeler), who frequently returns in later seasons. At the end of the season, Chandler accidentally reveals that Ross loves Rachel, who realizes that she feels the same way.

The second season begins with Rachel discovering that Ross is dating Julie (Lauren Tom), someone he knew from graduate school. Rachel's attempts to tell Ross she likes him mirror his failed attempts in the first season, although the characters eventually begin a relationship. Joey gets a part in a fictional version of the soap opera ''Days of our Lives'', but his character is killed off after he claims that he writes many of his own lines. Monica begins dating Richard (Tom Selleck), recently divorced and 21 years her senior. In the season finale, they end their relationship when they realize that unlike Monica, Richard does not want children.

Season Three takes on a significantly greater serialized format. Rachel begins working at Bloomingdale's, an upscale department store chain, and Ross becomes jealous of her colleague, Mark. Rachel decides to take a break; and Ross, hurt and drunk, sleeps with someone else, causing Rachel to break up with him. After believing she has no family except her twin sister Ursula (Lisa Kudrow), Phoebe becomes acquainted with her half-brother (Giovani Ribisi) and birth mother (Teri Garr). Joey develops a relationship with his acting partner Kate (Dina Meyer), and Monica begins a relationship with millionaire Pete Becker (Jon Favreau).

In the fourth season premiere, Ross and Rachel briefly reconcile, but Ross continues to insist that the two were on a break. Joey dates Kathy, a theater actress, but Chandler falls in love with her only to break up when he suspects she is cheating on him with a fellow actor. Phoebe becomes a surrogate mother for her brother and his wife Alice (Debra Jo Rupp). Monica and Rachel are forced to switch apartments with Joey and Chandler after losing a bet, but manage to switch back by bribing them with Knicks season tickets and a one-minute kiss (off-screen) between the girls. Ross begins dating an English woman named Emily (Helen Baxendale), and the season finale features their wedding in London. Chandler and Monica sleep together, and Rachel decides to attend Ross and Emily's wedding. While saying his vows, Ross uses the wrong name at the altar (Rachel's), to the shock of his bride and the guests.

Season five features Monica and Chandler trying to keep their new relationship a secret from their friends. Phoebe gives birth to triplets in the show's one-hundredth episode. She gives birth to a boy, Frank Jr. Jr., and two girls: Leslie, and Chandler. (They had originally thought that there were two boys and one girl, but decided to keep the name Chandler, despite the baby turning out a girl.) Ross and Emily's marriage is called off as Emily is intimidated by Rachel, and Ross is unwilling to give up his friendship with her as Emily demands. Phoebe starts a relationship with police officer Gary (Michael Rapaport). Monica and Chandler go public with their relationship, to the surprise and happiness of their friends. They decide to get married on a trip to Las Vegas, but change their plans after witnessing Ross and Rachel drunkenly stumble out of the wedding chapel.

In the sixth season premiere, Ross and Rachel's marriage is established to be a drunken mistake, and they divorce several episodes later. Monica and Chandler decide to move into her apartment together, and Rachel moves in with Phoebe. Joey lands a role on a cable television series called ''Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E'', where he stars alongside a robot. Ross gets a job lecturing at New York University, and starts dating one of his students, Elizabeth (Alexandra Holden). Phoebe and Rachel's apartment catches fire, and Rachel moves in with Joey while Phoebe moves in with Chandler and Monica. Chandler decides to propose to Monica, who considers reconciling with Richard. Although Richard confesses that he still loves her, Monica accepts Chandler's proposal.

The seventh season mainly follows various antics by Monica and Chandler, who are preparing for their wedding. Joey's television series ''Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E'' is canceled, but he is offered his job back on ''Days of our Lives''. Phoebe's apartment is fixed, but is rebuilt with only one large bedroom instead of the original two, so Rachel decides to stay with Joey. The season finale features Monica and Chandler's wedding. The friends believe Monica is pregnant after Phoebe finds a discarded pregnancy test in Monica's bathroom. At the very end, it is revealed only to the audience that Rachel is pregnant.

The eighth season's first three episodes revolve around the identity of the father of Rachel's baby. The father is ultimately revealed as Ross. Rachel and Ross decide to have the baby but do not resume their romantic relationship. Joey develops romantic feelings for Rachel, but she does not reciprocate them. Rachel gives birth to baby Emma in the season finale. At the hospital, Ross's mother offers him an engagement ring because she wants him to marry Rachel. Ross does not intend to ask Rachel to marry him, but he takes the ring anyway and puts it in his jacket pocket. Meanwhile, in the post-delivery room, Joey looks for some tissue for an upset Rachel, picks up Ross's jacket, and the ring falls to the floor. He kneels to pick it up and turns to Rachel, still on his knees and still holding the ring. Rachel accepts what she thinks is his proposal of marriage.

Season nine begins with Ross and Rachel living together as roommates with baby Emma. Monica and Chandler decide to have a child themselves but discover that they are unable to conceive. Phoebe begins dating Mike Hannigan (Paul Rudd), and chooses to be with him over her ex-boyfriend David (Hank Azaria). Rachel and Emma move in with Joey in the middle of the season, and Rachel develops romantic feelings for him. The group travels to Barbados in the finale to hear Ross give a keynote speech at a paleontology conference. Joey and his girlfriend Charlie (Aisha Tyler) break up, and she begins a relationship with Ross. Joey and Rachel's feelings for each other return, and the finale ends with them kissing.

The tenth season closes several long-running storylines. Charlie breaks up with Ross. Joey and Rachel try to contend with Ross's feelings about them being together and decide to remain friends. Phoebe and Mike get married. Monica and Chandler apply to adopt a child and are chosen by Erica (Anna Faris). In the series finale, Erica gives birth to twins – a boy, Jack (after Monica's father), and a girl, Erica (named after the birth mother). Monica and Chandler prepare to move to the suburbs, and Joey becomes upset with the changes happening in his life. Rachel accepts a job in Paris, but Ross, realizing he loves her, chases after her. Rachel realizes she loves him, too, and agrees to stay with him. The series ends with all the friends plus Monica and Chandler's new babies leaving the apartment, heading to Central Perk for a final cup of coffee.

Production

Conception

{|class="toccolours" style="float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-right:2em; font-size:95%; background:#f0f8ff; color:black; width:35em; max-width:50%;" cellspacing="5" |style="text-align: left;"|"It's about sex, love, relationships, careers, a time in your life when everything's possible. And it's about friendship because when you're single and in the city, your friends are your family." |- |style="text-align: left;" |—The original treatment used by Crane, Kauffman and Bright to pitch the series to NBC. |}

David Crane and Marta Kauffman began developing three new television pilots that would premiere in the fall of 1994 after their sitcom ''Family Album'' was cancelled by CBS in 1993. Kauffman and Crane decided to pitch the series about "six people in their 20s making their way in Manhattan" to NBC, since they thought it would fit best there. Crane and Kauffman presented the idea to their production partner Kevin Bright, who had served as executive producer on their HBO series ''Dream On''. The idea for the series was conceived when Crane and Kauffman began thinking about the time when they had finished college and started living by themselves in New York; Kauffman believed they were looking at a time when the future was "more of a question mark." They found the concept to be interesting, as they believed "everybody knows that feeling," and because it was also how they felt about their own lives at the time. The team titled the series ''Insomnia Cafe'', and pitched the idea as a seven-page treatment to NBC in December 1993.

At the same time, Warren Littlefield, the then-president of NBC Entertainment, was seeking a comedy involving young people living together and sharing expenses. Littlefield wanted the group to share memorable periods of their lives with friends, who had become "new, surrogate family members". However, Littlefield found difficulty in bringing the concept to life, and found the scripts developed by NBC to be terrible. When Kauffman, Crane and Bright pitched ''Insomnia Cafe'', Littlefield was impressed that they knew who their characters were. NBC bought the idea as a put pilot, meaning they risked financial penalties if the pilot was not filmed. Kauffman and Crane began writing a pilot script for a show now titled ''Friends Like Us'', which took three days to write. Littlefield wanted the series to represent Generation X and explore a new kind of tribal bonding, but the trio did not share his vision. Crane argued that it was not a series for one generation, and wanted to produce a series that everyone would enjoy watching. NBC liked the pilot script and ordered the series under another title, ''Six of One'', mainly due to the similar title it shared with the ABC sitcom ''These Friends of Mine''.

Casting

Once it became apparent that the series was a favored project at NBC, Littlefield reported that he was getting calls from every agent in town, wanting their client to be a part of the series. Auditions for the lead roles took place in New York and Los Angeles. The casting director shortlisted 1,000 actors who had applied for each role down to 75. Those who received a callback read again in front of Crane, Kauffman and Bright. At the end of March, the number of potential actors had been reduced to three or four for each part, and were asked to read for Les Moonves, then-president of Warner Bros. Television.

Having worked with David Schwimmer in the past, the series creators wrote the character of Ross with him in mind, and he was the first actor cast. Cox wanted to play the role of Monica, but the producers had her in mind to play Rachel because of her "cheery, upbeat energy", which was not how they envisioned Monica; after Cox's audition, though, Kauffman agreed with Cox, and she got the role. When Matt LeBlanc auditioned for Joey, he put a "different spin" on the character. The writers did not originally intend for Joey to be dim, but found it to be a major source of comedy. LeBlanc also gave the character heart, which the writers did not realize Joey had. Although Crane and Kauffman did not want LeBlanc for the role at the time, they were told by the network to cast him. Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry and Lisa Kudrow were cast based on their auditions.

More changes occurred to the series' storylines during the casting process. The writers found that they had to adjust the characters they had written to suit the actors, and the discovery process of the characters occurred throughout the first season. Kauffman acknowledged that Joey's character became "this whole new being", and that "it wasn't until we did the first Thanksgiving episode that we realized how much fun Monica's neuroses are."

Writing

In the weeks after NBC's pick up of ''Friends'', Crane, Kauffman and Bright reviewed sent-in scripts that writers had originally prepared for other series, mainly unproduced ''Seinfeld'' episodes. Kauffman and Crane hired a team of seven young writers because "When you're 40, you can't do it anymore. The networks and studios are looking for young people coming in out of college." The creators felt that using six equal characters, rather than emphasizing one or two, would allow for "myriad storylines and give the show legs". The majority of the storyline ideas came from the writers, although the actors added ideas. The writers originally planned a big love story between Joey and Monica, as they intended them to be the most sexual of the characters in the series pitch. The idea of a romantic interest between Ross and Rachel emerged during the period when Kauffman and Crane wrote the pilot script.

During production of the pilot, NBC requested that the script be changed to feature one dominant storyline and several minor ones, but the writers refused, wanting to keep three storylines of equal weight. NBC thought the cast was too young and pushed for an older character who could give the young adults advice. Crane and Kauffman were forced to comply and wrote a draft of an early episode that featured "Pat the Cop". Crane found the storyline to be terrible, and Kauffman joked, "You know the kids book, ''Pat the Bunny''? We had Pat the Cop." NBC eventually relented and dropped the idea.

Each summer, the producers would outline the storylines for the subsequent season. Before an episode went into production, Kauffman and Crane would revise the script written by another writer, mainly if something concerning either the series or a character felt foreign. Unlike other storylines, the idea for a relationship between Joey and Rachel was decided on halfway through the eighth season. The creators did not want Ross and Rachel to get back together so soon, and while looking for a romantic impediment, a writer suggested Joey's romantic interest in Rachel. The storyline was incorporated into the season; however, when the actors feared that the storyline would make their characters unlikable, the storyline was wrapped up, until it again resurfaced in the season's finale. For the ninth season, the writers were unsure about the amount of storyline to give to Rachel's baby, as they wanted the show neither to revolve around a baby nor pretend there to be none. Crane said that it took them a while to accept the idea of a tenth season, which they decided to do because they had enough stories left to tell to justify the season. Kauffman and Crane would not have signed on for an eleventh season, even if all the cast members had wanted to continue.

The episode title format—"The One..."—was created when the producers realized that the episode titles would not be featured in the opening credits, and therefore would be unknown to most of the audience.

Filming

The first season was shot on Stage 5 at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. NBC executives had worried that the coffee house setting was too hip and asked for the series to be set in a diner, but eventually consented to the coffee house concept. The opening title sequence was filmed in a fountain at the Warner Bros. Ranch at 4:00 am, while it was particularly cold for a Burbank morning. At the beginning of the second season, production moved to the larger Stage 24, which was renamed "The Friends Stage" after the series finale. Filming for the series began in the summer of 1994 in front of a live audience, who were given a summary of the series to familiarize themselves with the six main characters; a hired comedian entertained the studio audience between takes. Each 22-minute episode took six hours to film—twice the length of most sitcom tapings—mainly due to the several retakes and rewrites of the script.

Although the producers always wanted to find the right stories to take advantage of being on location, ''Friends'' was never shot in New York. Bright felt that filming outside the studio made episodes less funny, even when shooting on the lot outside, and that the live audience was an integral part of the series. When the series was criticized for incorrectly depicting New York, with the financially struggling group of friends being able to afford huge apartments, Bright noted that the set had to be big enough for the cameras, lighting, and "for the audience to be able to see what's going on"; the apartments also needed to provide a place for the actors to execute the funny scripts. The fourth season finale was shot on location in London because the producers were aware of the series' popularity in the UK. The scenes were shot in a studio with three audiences each made up of 500 people. These were the show's largest audiences throughout its run. The fifth season finale, set in Las Vegas, was filmed at Warner Bros. Studios, although Bright met people who thought it was filmed on location.

Series finale

The series' creators completed the first draft of the hour-long finale in January 2004, four months before its original airing. Crane, Kauffman and Bright watched the finales of other sitcoms to prepare the episode's outline, paying attention to what worked and what did not. They liked the ones that stayed true to the series, citing the finale of ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' as the gold standard. Crane, Kauffman, and Bright had difficulty writing the finale, and spent several days thinking about the finale scene without being able to write a word. They did not want to do "something high concept, or take the show out of the show". The most critical parts of the finale were shot without an audience, and with a minimum number of crew members. The main cast enjoyed the finale and were confident that the fans would react similarly:

NBC heavily promoted the series finale, which was preceded by weeks of media hype. Local NBC affiliates organized viewing parties around the U.S., including an event at Universal CityWalk featuring a special broadcast of the finale on an outdoor Astrovision screen. The finale was the subject of two episodes of ''Dateline NBC'', a weekly television newsmagazine, one of which ran for two hours. A one-hour retrospective of clips from previous episodes was shown before to the airing of the episode. Following the finale, ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' was filmed on the set of the ''Friends''' Central Perk coffee house, which featured the series' cast as guests. The advertising rates for the finale averaged $2 million for 30 seconds of commercial time, breaking the record held by the ''Seinfeld'' finale at $1.7 million.

In the U.S., 52.5 million viewers watched the finale on May 6, 2004, making it the most watched entertainment telecast since the ''Seinfeld'' finale in 1998. Although it was not the series' most watched episode, the finale was the fourth most watched series finale in television history, only behind the finales of ''M*A*S*H'', ''Cheers'' and ''Seinfeld'', which were respectively watched by 105, 80.4 and 76.2 million viewers. The retrospective episode was watched by fewer than 36 million viewers, and the finale was the second most watched television episode of the year, only behind the Super Bowl. Following the finales of ''Friends'' and ''Frasier'', media critics speculated about the fate of the sitcom genre. Expressed opinions varied between a signaling of the end of the sitcom genre, a small decline in the large history of the genre, and a general reduction of scripted television in favor of reality shows.

Impact

Critical reception

Early reviews of the series were mixed. Tom Feran of ''The Plain Dealer'' wrote that the series traded "vaguely and less successfully on the hanging-out style of ''Seinfeld''", while Ann Hodges of the ''Houston Chronicle'' called it "the new ''Seinfeld'' wannabe, but it will never be as funny as ''Seinfeld''." In the ''Los Angeles Daily News'', Ray Richmond named the series as "one of the brighter comedies of the new season", and ''The Los Angeles Times'' called it "flat-out the best comedy series of the new season".

''Chicago Sun-Times'' Ginny Holbert found Joey and Rachel's characteristics to be underdeveloped, while Richmond commended the cast as a "likeable, youth ensemble" with "good chemistry" Robert Bianco of ''USA Today'' was complimentary of Schwimmer, calling him "terrific". He also praised the female leads, but was concerned that Perry's role as Chandler was "undefined" and that LeBlanc was "relying too much on the same brain-dead stud routine that was already tired the last two times he tried it". The authors of ''Friends Like Us: The Unofficial Guide to Friends'' thought that the cast was "trying just a little too hard", in particular Perry and Schwimmer.

As the series progressed, reviews became more positive, and ''Friends'' became one of the most popular sitcoms of its time. It is now often ranked among the all-time best TV shows. Critics commended the series as having consistently sharp writing and chemistry between the main actors. Noel Holston of ''Newsday'', who had dismissed the pilot as a "so-so ''Seinfeld'' wannabe" in 1994, repudiated his earlier review after rewatching the episode, and felt like writing an apology to the writers. Heather Havrilesky of Salon.com thought that the series "hit its stride" in the second season. Havrilesky found the character-specific jokes and situations "could reliably make you laugh out loud a few times each episode", and the quality of writing allowed the stories to be "original and innovative". Bill Carter of ''The New York Times'' called the eighth season a "truly stunning comeback". Carter found that by "generating new hot storylines and high-decibel laughs", the series made its way "back into the hearts of its fans". However, Liane Bonin of ''Entertainment Weekly'' felt that the direction of the ninth season was a "disappointing buzzkill", criticizing it for the non-stop celebrity guest spots and going into jump the shark territory. Although disappointed with the season, Bonin noted that "the writing [was] still sharp". Havrilesky thought that the tenth season was "alarmingly awful, far worse than you would ever imagine a show that was once so good could be." ''Friends'' was featured on ''Time''s list of "The 100 Best TV Shows of All-Time", saying, "the well-hidden secret of this show was that it called itself ''Friends'', and was really about family".

{|class="toccolours" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 2em; font-size: 95%; background:#c6dbf7; color:black; width:35em; max-width: 40%;" cellspacing="5" |style="text-align: left;"|"It may have been impossible for any one episode to live up to the hype and expectations built up around the ''Friends'' finale, but this hour probably came as close as fans could have reasonably hoped. Ultimately, the two-hour package did exactly what it was supposed to do. It wrapped up the story while reminding us why we liked the show and will miss it." |- |style="text-align: left;" |— Robert Bianco of ''USA Today'' on the series finale. |}

Reviews of the series finale were mixed to positive. ''USA Today''s Robert Bianco described the finale as entertaining and satisfying, and praised it for deftly mixing emotion and humor while highlighting each of the stars. Sarah Rodman of the ''Boston Herald'' praised Aniston and Schwimmer for their acting, but felt that their characters' reunion was "a bit too neat, even if it was what most of the show's legions of fans wanted." Roger Catlin of ''The Hartford Courant'' felt that newcomers to the series would be "surprised at how laughless the affair could be, and how nearly every strained gag depends on the sheer stupidity of its characters." Ken Parish Perkins, writing for ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'', pointed out that the finale was "more touching than comical, more satisfying in terms of closure than knee-slappingly funny."

Awards

To maintain the series' ensemble format, the main cast members decided to enter themselves in the same acting categories for awards. Beginning with the series' eighth season, the actors decided to submit themselves in the lead actor balloting, rather than in the supporting actor fields. The series was nominated for 63 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning six. Aniston and Kudrow are the only main cast members to win an Emmy, while Cox is the only actor not to be nominated. The series won the 2002 Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series, with nominations in 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000 and 2003. The series also won an American Comedy Award, one GLAAD Media Award, one Golden Globe Award, three Logie Awards, six People's Choice Awards, one Satellite Award, and one Screen Actors Guild Award.

Ratings

The table below indicates the ratings of ''Friends'' in the U.S., where it consistently ranked within the top ten of the final television ratings. "Rank" refers to how well ''Friends'' rated compared to other television series that aired during primetime hours of the corresponding television season. The television season tends to begin in September, and ends during the May of the following year, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps. "Viewers" refers to the average number of viewers for all original episodes, broadcast during the television season in the series' regular timeslot. "Rank" is shown in relation to the total number of series airing on the then-six major English-language networks in a given season. The "season premiere" is the date that the first episode of the season aired, and the "season finale" is the date that the final episode of the season aired. So far, it has been the last sitcom to reach the No. 1 spot on television, as its successors were ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' and ''American Idol''.

Season	Timeslot (EDT)	Season Premiere	Season Finale	TV Season	Rank	Viewers(in millions)
! style="background:#f9f9f9;text-align:center;"	Thursday 8:30 pm (September 22, 1994 – February 23, 1995)Thursday 9:30 pm (February 23, 1995 – May 18, 1995)	September 22, 1994	May 18, 1995	style="font-size:11px;text-align:center;"
! style="background:#f9f9f9;text-align:center;"	Thursday 8:00 pm	September 21, 1995	May 16, 1996	style="font-size:11px;text-align:center;"
! style="background:#f9f9f9;text-align:center;"		September 19, 1996	May 15, 1997	style="font-size:11px;text-align:center;"
! style="background:#f9f9f9;text-align:center;"		September 25, 1997	May 7, 1998	style="font-size:11px;text-align:center;"
! style="background:#f9f9f9;text-align:center;"		September 24, 1998	May 20, 1999	style="font-size:11px;text-align:center;"
! style="background:#f9f9f9;text-align:center;"		September 23, 1999	May 18, 2000	style="font-size:11px;text-align:center;"
! style="background:#f9f9f9;text-align:center;"		October 12, 2000	May 17, 2001	style="font-size:11px;text-align:center;"
! style="background:#f9f9f9;text-align:center;"		September 27, 2001	May 16, 2002	style="font-size:11px;text-align:center;"
! style="background:#f9f9f9;text-align:center;"		September 26, 2002	May 15, 2003	style="font-size:11px;text-align:center;"
! style="background:#f9f9f9;text-align:center;"		September 25, 2003	May 6, 2004	style="font-size:11px;text-align:center;"

Cultural impact

Although the producers thought of ''Friends'' as "only a TV show", numerous psychologists investigated the cultural impact of ''Friends'' during the series' run. Aniston's hairstyle was nicknamed "The Rachel", and copied around the world. Joey's catchphrase, "How ''you'' doin'?", became a popular part of Western English slang, often used as a pick-up line or when greeting friends. The series also influenced the English language, according to a study by a linguistics professor at the University of Toronto. The professor found that the characters used the word "so" to modify adjectives more often than other intensifiers, such as "very" and "really". Although the preference had already made its way into the American vernacular, usage on the series may have accelerated the change. Following the September 11 attacks, ratings increased 17% over the previous season.

''Friends'' is parodied in the twelfth season ''Murder, She Wrote'' episode "Murder Among Friends". In the episode, amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) investigates the murder of a writer for ''Buds'', a fictional television series about the daily lives of a group of city friends. The episode was devised after CBS moved ''Murder, She Wrote'' from its regular Sunday night timeslot to a Thursday night timeslot directly opposite ''Friends'' on NBC; Angela Lansbury was quoted by Bruce Lansbury, her brother and ''Murder, She Wrote''s supervising producer, as having "a bit of an attitude" about the move to Thursday, but he saw the plot as "a friendly setup, no mean-spiritedness". Jerry Ludwig, the writer of the episode, researched the "flavor" of ''Buds'' by watching episodes of ''Friends''.

The Central Perk coffee house, one of the principal settings of the series, has inspired various imitations worldwide. In 2006, Iranian businessman Mojtaba Asadian started a Central Perk franchise, registering the name in 32 countries. The decor of the coffee houses is inspired by ''Friends'', featuring replica couches, counters, neon signage and bricks. The coffee houses also contain paintings of the various characters from the series, and televisions playing ''Friends'' episodes. James Michael Tyler, who plays the Central Perk manager in the series, Gunther, attended the grand opening of the Dubai cafe, where he worked as a waiter. Central Perk was rebuilt as part of a museum exhibit at Warner Bros. Studios, and was shown on ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' in October 2008. Jennifer Aniston revisited the set for the first time since the series finale in 2004. From September 24 to October 7, 2009, a Central Perk replica was based at Broadwick Street, Soho, London. The coffee house sold real coffee to customers and featured a display of ''Friends'' memorabilia and props, such as the Geller Cup from the season three episode "The One with the Football". In Beijing, business owner Du Xin opened a coffee shop named Central Perk in March 2010.

Readers of ''TV Guide'' voted the cast of ''Friends'' their Best Comedy cast of all time, ranking at 29% of the votes, beating ''Seinfeld'', which registered 18%.

Distribution

Broadcast

After the produced pilot lived up to NBC's hopes, the series premiered with the name ''Friends'' on September 22, 1994 on the coveted Thursday 8:30 pm timeslot. The pilot aired between ''Mad About You'' and ''Seinfeld'', and was watched by almost 22 million American viewers. The series was a huge success throughout its run, and was a staple of NBC's Thursday night line-up, dubbed by the network as Must See TV. When Crane told reporters in 2001 that the ninth season was a possibility, critics believed that he was posturing, and that at least two of the cast members would not sign on for another season. When it was confirmed that ''Friends'' would return for a ninth season, the news was mainly about the amount of money—$7 million per episode—that it took to bring the series back for another season.

After year-long expectations that the ninth season would be the series' last, NBC signed a deal in late December 2002 to bring the series back for a final tenth season. The series' creative team did not want to extend negotiations into the next year, and wanted to start writing the rest of the ninth season episodes and a potential series finale. NBC agreed to pay $10 million to Warner Bros. for the production of each tenth season episode, the highest price in television history for a 30-minute series. Although NBC was unable to bring in enough advertising revenue from commercials to cover the costs, the series was integral to the Thursday night schedule, which brought high ratings and profits to the other television series. The cast demanded that the tenth season be reduced from the usual 24 episodes to 18 episodes to allow them to work on outside projects.

In the fall of 2001, Warner Bros. Domestic Cable made a deal with sister network TBS to air the series in rerun syndication. Warner Bros. made similar deals with various TV stations around the country. In July 2005, it was announced that Warner Bros. Domestic Cable has sold ''Friends'' to Nick at Nite to begin airing in the fall of 2011. Warner Bros. is expected to make $200 million in license fees and advertising from the deal. Nick at Nite paid $500,000 per episode to air the episodes after 6 pm for six years, through the fall of 2017. TBS also renewed its contract for the same six-year period as Nick at Nite, but only paid $275,000 per episode because airing was restricted to before 6 pm, except for the first year. In syndication until 2005, ''Friends'' had earned $4 million per episode in cash license fees, for a total of $944 million.

International

''Friends'' began airing in the UK in 1995 on the terrestrial Channel 4; however, in 1996, Sky1 bought the rights to the series. Although Channel 4 continued to air episodes several weeks after their original airing on Sky1, the series was one of the network's most popular series, averaging 2.6 million viewers per episode – unlike many of its imported series (such as ''ER'', ''Frasier'' and ''NYPD Blue''), Channel 4 never moved it from its peaktime slot. In 1999, Channel 4 signed a £100 million deal to regain the rights to ''Friends'' and ''ER'' from Sky1. The three year deal allowed Channel 4 to air new episodes of the series in the UK first, and to negotiate pay-TV airings with other UK broadcasters. The final episode averaged 8.6 million viewers in overnight figures—more than a third of the UK's television audience at the time—and saw a peak of 8.9 million viewers. This was the highest number of viewers for any episode of ''Friends'', beating the June 2002 episode, which drew 6.5 million viewers. Repeats of the series are shown in the UK on Channel 4 and E4. Channel 4 announced on February 10, 2010, that it is going to stop showing episodes of ''Friends'' in Autumn 2011. The British channel Comedy Central (UK) later added that it would be airing the show from Autumn 2011, due to a deal between the cable group and Warner Bros. The Irish channel RTÉ Two was the first channel in Europe to air the finale on May 24, 2004. RTÉ Two continued to air reruns after the series had finished, broadcasting for the series has now ceased, but rival channel TV3 and its digital channel 3e now air the reruns.

''Friends'' debuted on Australian television in 1996 on the Seven Network. The Nine Network began airing the second season at the end of 1996, and continued to show the series until its finale in 2004. Network Ten announced in November 2007 that it had bought the rights to the show in Australia and aired reruns until 2008. It currently airs on GEM (a sub-channel of the Nine Network) and on pay TV channel 111 Hits.

The show is broadcast on TV2 in New Zealand.

The show is broadcast in India on STAR World, WB and Zee Cafe. In 2009, its Pakistani premiere aired on Apna Channel in Punjabi.

In addition to international airings of the original series, there have been original series in other nations compared to ''Friends'' because they use the same idea of a small group of young unmarried men and women for whom dating is one shared element in their otherwise different lives. One example is the Israeli series, Srugim, a show that takes its name from the knitted skullcaps often worn by young orthodox men in Israel.

In Serbia the show initially aired on RTV Pink. Beginning in April 2011, reruns have been aired on B92.

Merchandise

All ten seasons have been released on DVD individually and as a box set. Warner Home Video reportedly intended to start releasing the series on Blu-ray in 2010. No other release details are available, and this information must be considered unofficial until there is an announcement from the studio. Each region 1 season release contains special features and footage originally cut from the series, although Region 2 releases are as originally aired. For the first season, each episode is updated with color correction and sound enhancement. A wide range of ''Friends'' merchandise has been produced by various companies. In late September 1995, WEA Records released the first album of music from ''Friends'', the ''Friends Original TV Soundtrack'', containing music featured in previous and future episodes. The soundtrack debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 46, and sold 500,000 copies in November 1995. In 1999, a second soundtrack album entitled ''Friends Again'' was released. Other merchandise include a ''Friends'' version of the DVD game "Scene It?", and a quiz video game for PlayStation 2 and PC entitled ''Friends: The One with All the Trivia''. On September 28, 2009 a box set was released in the UK celebrating the series' 15th anniversary. The box set contained extended episodes, an episode guide, and original special features.

April 30, 2002 style="text-align:center;" style="text-align:center;" style="text-align:center;" style="text-align:center;" style="text-align:center;" style="text-align:center;" style="text-align:center;" style="text-align:center;" style="text-align:center;"

rowspan="2"	DVD name !! rowspan="2"|Episodes !! colspan="3"|Box set release dates
! Region 1 !! Region 2 !! Region 4
The Complete First Season	24	|	May 29, 2000	October 4, 2006
The Complete Second Season	24 ||	September 3, 2002	May 29, 2000	October 4, 2006
The Complete Third Season	25 ||	April 1, 2003	May 29, 2000	October 4, 2006
The Complete Fourth Season	24 ||	July 15, 2003	May 29, 2000	October 4, 2006
The Complete Fifth Season	24 ||	November 4, 2003	May 29, 2000	October 4, 2006
The Complete Sixth Season	25 ||	January 27, 2004	July 17, 2000	October 4, 2006
The Complete Seventh Season	24 ||	April 6, 2004	October 25, 2004	October 4, 2006
The Complete Eighth Season	24 ||	November 9, 2004	October 25, 2004	October 4, 2006
The Complete Ninth Season	24 ||	March 8, 2005	October 25, 2004	October 4, 2006
The Complete Tenth Season	18 ||	November 15, 2005	October 25, 2004	October 4, 2006

Spin-offs

''Joey''

After the series finale in 2004, LeBlanc signed on for the spin-off series, ''Joey'', following Joey's move to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career. Kauffman and Crane were not interested in the spin-off, although Bright agreed to executive produce the series with Scott Silveri and Shana Goldberg-Meehan. NBC heavily promoted ''Joey'' and gave it ''Friends''' Thursday 8:00 pm timeslot. The pilot was watched by 18.60 million American viewers, but ratings continually decreased throughout the series' two seasons, averaging 10.20 million viewers in the first season and 7.10 million in the second. The final broadcast episode on March 7, 2006 was watched by 7.09 million viewers; NBC canceled the series on May 15, 2006 after two seasons. Bright blamed the collaboration between NBC executives, the studio and other producers for quickly ruining the series:

Film

Following the series finale, rumors began to emerge of a ''Friends'' film, although all were proven untrue. Rumors of a film reemerged after the release of the ''Sex and the City'' film in 2008, which proved to be a success at the box office. ''The Daily Telegraph'' reported in July 2008 that the main cast members had agreed to star in the project, and that filming was going to start within the next 18 months. When asked about the film, Kudrow said that she was unaware of the talks, but expressed interest in the idea. However, the director of publicity for Warner Bros., Jayne Trotman, said there was "no truth in the story", and Perry's spokeswoman added that "nothing is happening in this regard, so the rumor is false." Kudrow and Cox told the Associated Press in January 2010 that they had never been approached by Crane and Kauffman to make a film version of the series.

References

External links

Category:1994 American television series debuts Category:2004 American television series endings Category:1990s American comedy television series Category:2000s American comedy television series Category:American television sitcoms Category:BAFTA winners (television series) Category:English-language television series Category:NBC network shows Category:Nielsen Ratings winners Category:Television series by Warner Bros. Television Category:Television shows set in New York City

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Coordinates	29°25′″N98°30′″N
Name	Michael W. Smith
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Michael Whitaker Smith
Born	October 07, 1957 Kenova, West Virginia, USA
Origin	Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Instrument	vocals, Piano, Guitar
Genre	CCM, Christian rock, Pop rock
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, Musician, Recording artist, Composer, Actor
Years active	1983 – present
Label	Reunion Records, Provident Label Group
Associated acts	Amy Grant, Chris Rice, Steven Curtis Chapman
Website	www.michaelwsmith.com
Past members	}}

Michael Whitaker Smith (born October 7, 1957) is a Billboard top ten Billboard Hot 100 recording artist and Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. He is one of the best-selling and most influential artists in Contemporary Christian music. Smith also has achieved a considerable amount of success in the mainstream music industry. Smith is a three-time Grammy Award winner, and has earned 40 Dove Awards. Over the course of his career, Michael W. Smith has sold more than 13 million albums and recorded 29 No. 1 Hit songs, fourteen gold albums, and five platinum albums. Smith is an American Music Award recipient; he was also named one of ''People'' magazine's "Most Beautiful People".

Early life

Michael Whitaker Smith was born to Paul and Barbara Smith in Kenova, West Virginia. His father was an oil refinery worker at the Ashland Oil Refinery, one of the top ten largest oil refineries in the world, in nearby Catlettsburg, Kentucky and his mother was a caterer. He inherited his love of baseball from his father, who had played in the minor leagues. As a child, he developed a love of music through his church. He learned piano at an early age and sang in his church choir. At the age of 10, he had "an intense spiritual experience" that led to his becoming a devout Christian. "I wore this big cross around my neck," he would recall, "It was very real to me." He became involved in Bible study and found a group of older friends who shared his religious faith.

After his older Christian friends moved away to college, Smith began to struggle with feelings of loneliness and alienation. After graduating from high school, he gravitated toward alcohol and drugs. He attended Marshall University for a few semesters while developing his songwriting skills. He also played with various local bands around Huntington, West Virginia. During that time, his friend Shane Keister, who worked as a session musician in Nashville, encouraged him to move to Nashville, the Country Music capital, and pursue a career in music.

In 1978, Smith moved to Nashville, taking a job as a landscaper to support himself. He played with several local bands in the Nashville club scene. He also developed a problem with substance abuse.

In November 1979, Smith suffered a breakdown that led to his recommitment to Jesus Christ. The next day he auditioned for a new Christian Contemporary Music (CCM) group, Higher Ground, as a keyboardist and got the job. It was on his first tour with Higher Ground, playing mostly in churches, that Smith was finally able to put the drugs and alcohol behind him.

Career

In 1981, Smith was signed as a writer to Meadowgreen Music, where he wrote a number of gospel hits penned for artists such as Sandi Patty, Kathy Troccoli, Bill Gaither and Amy Grant, to the effect that some of these popular worship songs can now be found in church hymnals. The following year, Smith began touring as a keyboardist for Grant on her ''Age to Age'' tour. He would eventually become Grant's opening act and recorded his first Grammy-nominated solo album: ''The Michael W. Smith Project'' (which he also produced), in 1983, on the Reunion Records label; a label started by Grant's brother-in-law, Dan Harrell, along with Michael Blanton. This album contained the first recording of his hit "Friends", which he co-wrote with his wife Deborah. They wrote it one afternoon for a friend who was moving away.

By the time Smith's second pop album was released in 1984, he was headlining his own tours. In 1986, Smith released ''The Big Picture'', produced by Johnny Potoker. Smith intros "Tearing Down the Walls" with an Amy Grant recording of "Emmanuel" played backwards via the CD search button. He has explained that he and Potoker were trying to come up with a different way to go into the song.

After the release of his 1988 effort, ''i 2 (EYE)'', Smith once again teamed up with Grant for her "Lead Me On World Tour". The following year, Smith recorded his first Christmas album.

In the mainstream

In 1990, Smith released ''Go West Young Man'', his first mainstream effort, including the mainstream crossover hit "Place in This World," which peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1992, he released ''Change Your World'' (which included the No. 1 adult contemporary hit "I Will Be Here for You"), 1995's ''I'll Lead You Home'', and 1998's ''Live the Life''. Also in 1998, Smith released his second Christmas effort, ''Christmastime''. In 1999, Smith released "This Is Your Time" (about Cassie Bernall, one of the students killed during the Columbine massacre). In the music video for this song, the beginning shows a real video of Bernall talking about her religious beliefs and how she wanted to spread the word of God. Smith wrote the song with Wes King, the brother-in-law of Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris. Smith had been asked to perform at some of the memorial services that were held in honor of the victims.

In 1996, Smith opened his own record label, Rocketown Records, named for a song on ''The Big Picture''. He does not personally record on it. He states the label is driven by the artists, and the first artist signed was Chris Rice, who had written "Go Light Your World", a No. 1 hit song by Kathy Troccoli, in 1995. In 1999, Smith collaborated with Jim Brickman on "Love of My Life" from the album ''Destiny'', which went to No. 9 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks.

Nearly all of Smith's albums contain at least one instrumental track, and in 2000, Smith recorded his first all instrumental album, ''Freedom''. The following year, Smith released an all Christian music album, ''Worship'', on September 11. This album was followed by a sequel, ''Worship Again'' in 2002, recorded live at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY. Both albums were recorded live in concert. (Both are also the only two albums to be composed almost entirely of songs he did not write himself). A ''Worship'' DVD, which comprised a selection of songs from both albums, was recorded live in Edmonton, Alberta at YC Alberta and released in 2002. It immediately topped the Billboard video charts and went gold in both the U.S. and Canada.

Smith won the Male Vocalist of the Year award at the GMA Music Awards in 2003.

Smith wrote a song entitled "There She Stands", inspired by the September 11, 2001 attacks. He performed this song live for the 2004 Republican National Convention, saying that President George W. Bush, whom he said is a fan and a family friend, had asked him to write a song about the attacks.

Smith's album, ''Healing Rain'', was released in 2004 and debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 200 Chart. The title track rose to No. 1 on the Radio & Records Charts and a music video for the song was released. The album nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album, combines the pop style of his previous recordings with the religious feel of his two releases in that genre. A new album, ''Stand'', was released in November 2006.

In October 2007, he released ''It's a Wonderful Christmas''. On June 20, 2008, Smith recorded his third live Worship album at the Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, titled ''A New Hallelujah''. It was released in October 2008. That same month he began a tour with Steven Curtis Chapman. In September 2010, he released ''Wonder'', and in October started touring with Third Day, tobyMac, and Max Lucado on the "Make A Difference" tour.

Other ventures

In 1994, Smith opened a teen club, named Rocketown, in Nashville, Tennessee (6th Avenue). Later in early 2003, the club was moved to a new location — a renovated warehouse in downtown Nashville. The venue offers a large dance floor, extensive indoor skate park, and a cafe hosting live acoustic music.

Smith is actively involved in volunteer service and is vice chair of the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation, which is chaired by Jean Case of the Case Foundation. He is also an avid spokesperson for sponsoring children through Compassion International. Smith finished work on a film directed by Steve Taylor entitled ''The Second Chance'' which was released on February 17, 2006 in selected theatres. In the movie, he stars as a pastor assigned to work in the inner city. The DVD of the movie was released in July 2006.

Personal life

Smith is married to Deborah "Debbie" Kay Davis (b. 1958) and has five children: Ryan Whitaker, Whitney Katherine Smith-Mooring (married to Jack Mooring (of the band Leeland)), Tyler Michael (keyboard player for the United Tour), Anna Elizabeth and Emily Allison. He resides in the Nashville suburbs and spends time at the Smith family farm.

Alderson-Broaddus College awarded Smith the degree Doctor of Music honoris causa in 1992.

Smith is the founding and visionary pastor of New River Fellowship in Franklin, Tennessee where he was the lead pastor from 2006 and 2008. Currently Smith and his wife remain involved members of the church.

Smith supports the Republican Party, and is personal friends with several prominent Republicans, including former President George W. Bush.

Discography

''See Michael W. Smith discography for a complete discography.''

Awards

;Grammy awards

1984 ''Michael W. Smith 2'' – Best Gospel Performance, Male

1995 ''I’ll Lead You Home'' – Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album

2002 ''Worship Again'' – Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album

;Grammy Nominations

1983 ''Michael W. Smith Project'' – Best Gospel Performance, Male

1986 ''The Big Picture'' – Best Gospel Performance, Male

1988 ''I 2(Eye)'' – Best Gospel Performance, Male

1989 "Holy, Holy, Holy" – Best Gospel Vocal Performance, Male (Track from Our Hymns, Word Gospel)

1990 ''Go West Young Man'' – Best Pop Gospel Album

1998 ''Live the Life'' – Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album

2000 ''This Is Your Time'' – Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album

2002 ''Worship'' – Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album

2006 ''Healing Rain'' – Best Christian Pop Album

;Dove Awards

1985 Songwriter of the Year

1987 Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year – ''The Big Picture'' (producer, artist)

1988 Long Form Music Video of the Year – "The Big Picture Tour Video" (artist)

1990 Short Form Music Video of the Year – "I Miss the Way" (artist)

1991 Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year – ''Go West Young Man'' (producer, artist)

1992 Choral Collection of the Year – ''The Michael W. Smith Collection'' (artist)

1992 Musical Album of the Year – ''Change Your World'' (artist)

1992 Song of the Year – "Place in this World" (artist)

1993 Praise and Worship Album of the Year – ''Songs From the Loft'' (artist)

1993 Recorded Music Packaging of the Year - ''The Wonder Years'' (artist)

1994 Musical Album of the Year – ''Living on the Edge'' (artist)

1996 Songwriter of the Year

1996 Special Event Album of the Year – ''My Utmost For His Highest'' (artist)

1997 Special Event Album of the Year – ''Tribute: The Songs of Andre Crouch'' (artist)

1998 Children’s Music Album of the Year – ''Sing Me to Sleep Daddy'' (artist)

1998 Special Event Album of the Year – ''God With Us – A Celebration of Christmas Carols and Classics'' (artist)

1999 Artist of the Year

1999 Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year – ''Live the Life'' (producer, artist)

1999 Producer of the Year

1999 Special Event Album of the Year – ''Exodus'' (artist)

2000 Short Form Music Video of the Year – "This is Your Time" (artist)

2000 Song of the Year – "This Is Your Time" (artist)

2000 Songwriter of the Year

2001 Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year – ''This is Your Time'' (producer, artist)

2001 Youth/Children’s Musical Album of the Year – ''Friends 4 Ever'' (artist)

2002 Album of the Year – ''Worship'' (producer, artist)

2002 Artist of the Year

2002 Inspirational Recorded Song of the Year – "Above All" (artist)

2002 Instrumental Album of the Year – ''Freedom'' (producer, artist)

2003 Album of the Year – ''Worship Again'' (producer, artist)

2003 Artist of the Year

2003 Long Form Music Video of the Year – ''Worship DVD/Video'' (producer, artist)

2003 Male Vocalist of the Year

2008 Christmas Album of the Year

2009 Inspirational Recorded Song of the Year - A New Hallelujah

2009 Praise & Worship Album of the Year - ''A New Hallelujah''

References

External links

Michael W. Smith's official website

Michael W. Smith at the Internet Movie Database

Larry King">Transcript of February 10, 2006 interview with Larry King

Yamaha Corporation artist biography

Category:1957 births Category:Living people Category:American film actors Category:American songwriters Category:American pianists Category:American composers Category:American guitarists Category:Christian religion-related songwriters Category:People from Huntington, West Virginia Category:People from Nashville, Tennessee Category:American Christians Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Tennessee Republicans Category:West Virginia Republicans Category:Contemporary worship music Category:American performers of Christian music Category:Musicians from West Virginia Category:Musicians from Tennessee

cs:Michael W. Smith de:Michael W. Smith es:Michael W. Smith fr:Michael W. Smith ko:마이클 휘태커 스미스 it:Michael W. Smith lv:Maikls V. Smits hu:Michael W. Smith nl:Michael W. Smith ja:マイケル・W・スミス no:Michael W. Smith pl:Michael W. Smith pt:Michael W. Smith ru:Смит, Майкл Уитакер fi:Michael W. Smith sv:Michael W. Smith zh:米高·W·史密夫

Coordinates	29°25′″N98°30′″N
show name	Salad Fingers
genre	Psychological horrorDark humor
format	Flash cartoon
creator	David FirthChristian Pickup
developer	David Firth
writer	David FirthChristian Pickup (co-writer)Jimi Mwng (co-writer)
director	David Firth
voices	David Firth
composer	Boards of CanadaBrian EnoAphex TwinChris GladwinLustmordKris Kadwell
country	United Kingdom
language	English
num seasons	1
num episodes	9
executive producer	David Firth
runtime	1-9 minutes
company	Fat-Pie.com
channel	Newgrounds
first aired	July 1, 2004
website	http://www.fat-pie.com }}

''Salad Fingers'' is a post-apocalyptic psychological horror Flash cartoon series originally created by British cartoonist David Firth in July 2004 which gained rapid internet popularity in 2005. The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' ranked it in the "Top 10" pop culture phenomena for that year.

The cartoon revolves around the eponymous Salad Fingers (Ryan Ross), a thin, green, mentally troubled man who inhabits a desolate world. Already a well-known Flash animation series available on the internet, Salad Fingers premiered in Australia at the 2007 Sydney Underground Film Festival at the Factory Theatre. The first seven episodes were shown back to back, along with a variety of other animated short films, during the "Re-Animation" session.

Music

The eerie music featured in the background is the tune "Beware the Friendly Stranger" by Boards of Canada. The dark music in the soundtrack that appears when Salad Fingers is scared is actually Firth playing the guitar, slowed down and reversed. Other music included in Salad Fingers episodes includes work credited to Brian Eno, Sigur Rós, Aphex Twin and Lustmord. David Firth frequently inserts references to Aphex Twin in his flash cartoons; for example, the Aphex Twin logo can be found on the telephone in Salad Fingers episode five. Firth has also cited the works of David Lynch, ''South Park'', Tim Burton, ''The League of Gentlemen'', and Chris Morris as sources of inspiration.

Characters

; Salad Fingers : The main character is a bald hunchbacked humanoid with light-green skin, and no visible nose or ears, who speaks with a Northern English accent. His long, strangely-shaped fingers are his most notable feature. They were the focus of the first episode of the series, where Salad Fingers is shown getting pleasure from rubbing various objects, particularly rusty metallic ones such as spoons, taps and a kettle. Salad Fingers is unable or purposefully unwilling to distinguish between living beings and inanimate objects, and is frequently found talking to various inert articles (notably his finger puppets and in two cases a human corpse). Furthermore, he often assigns such objects proper names and appears to believe that they can communicate with him directly, sometimes voicing their perceived thoughts himself. He lives alone in a small shack (containing, among other things, an oven, bedroom, safety cupboard, radio, phone, and table) with the number 22 on the door. Salad Fingers appears to be somewhat masochistic, as he can be seen taking pleasure from impaling his finger on a hook or stepping onto a beartrap. His talents include playing the flute and speaking French. He also seems able to use Morse Code, as shown in episode nine. It is implied that the desolate world Salad Fingers inhabits is the aftermath of the "Great War", a conflict which is referenced several times in the more recent episodes that may have destroyed the world and the stability of his mind. Interestingly enough, he is quite articulate, however he often spouts peculiar English sayings and phrases in situations where they do not fit.

:Salad Fingers takes up various habits, including a regular measurement of the distance between his house and a tree, tasting of the dirt ("floor-sugar"), and listening to his radio. Sometimes he also displays a raspy asthmatic-like breathing when he becomes mesmerized at something or experiences extreme pleasure. The name "Salad Fingers" was invented by Firth's co-writer, Christian 'Crust' Pickup, who described Firth as having salad fingers while playing the guitar.

; Hubert Cumberdale, Marjory Stewart-Baxter, and Jeremy Fisher : Finger puppets who appear variously in episodes two, three, five, six, seven, eight and nine. They often appear in Salad Fingers' fantasies as life sized beings. Jeremy Fisher is thought to be named after the Beatrix Potter book The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher. In episode 2, Salad Fingers tastes these puppets, claiming Hubert Cumberdale tastes like "soot and poo" and Marjory Stewart-Baxter tastes like "sunshine dust". Jeremy Fisher is not tasted, which is revisited in a later episode. Salad Fingers has also referred to Jeremy Fisher as having been out fighting "The Great War". In episode five, Hubert Cumberdale is temporarily renamed Barbara Logan-Price. In episode six, Salad Fingers eats Jeremy Fisher in a moment of forgetfulness, and the puppet has not appeared or been mentioned since, indicating that he was killed off. In episode eight, Salad Fingers calls Cumberdale a "dirty immigrant" after dropping him in a chamber pot. In episode nine, Salad Fingers talks to Stewart-Baxter as if she is his partner and the mother of their 'child', Yvonne. ; Harry/Milford Cubicle : Appearing in episode three, Cubicle is an aggressive, armless human-like being who wears an apron identifying him as being employed at a "BBQ". Though his nametag reads "Harry" and indicates that he is "Happy to help", Salad Fingers calls him Milford Cubicle. He bleeds to death after repeatedly banging his head on Salad Fingers' door. Salad Fingers then finds him and drags him inside his house and hangs him on a meat hook, believing him to be alive and conscious. ; Bordois : Appearing in episode four, Bordois is a pill bug which Salad Fingers accidentally kills by attempting to pet her. He refers to this bug as "little sister". Once he squishes her, he says "You've gone flat, little sister. And you're all gooey. I shan't play with you again until you've had a wash." ; Aunty Bainbridge : Appearing in episode one and episode nine, is a yellow bug-eyed creature who owns many rusty objects (which Salad Fingers strokes) and a small house. While Salad Fingers calls it Aunty Bainbridge in the ninth episode, he also calls it a "young child" in the first, intimating that he does not, in fact, know it at all. This is further evidenced when she backs away from Salad Fingers when he tries to hug her in the ninth episode. It is difficult to tell whether this is a person and what its gender is. ; Mable: Appearing in episode five, Mable is a scuffed, grubby, scarred young girl who goes to a picnic with Salad Fingers. She is the first character other than Salad Fingers who can communicate in English, and she is the first person other than Salad Fingers to actually speak— something that seems to shock and dismay Salad Fingers. When she sees Salad Fingers looking at her in dismay she says "What's wrong, Mr. Fingers? Do you not like my mouth-words?" While this is going on, she is seen with her eyes gouged out, although it seems unlikely Salad Fingers did this. ; Kenneth : A decomposing corpse found in a hole (one which was apparently dug up completely by Salad Fingers' finger puppet, Hubert Cumberdale) near Salad Fingers' house in episode seven; Salad Fingers claims that it is his younger brother, "back from the Great War," and invites him in for dinner before eventually putting him back while singing "We'll meet again". ;Roger : Appearing in episode eight, Roger is a broken radio that speaks in a robotic, aggressive manner (much like a Dalek) and scares Salad Fingers into the cupboard twice. Roger, according to Salad Fingers, must be given 'sustenance' (in the form of small brown pellets which appear to be beans or marbles). ;Horace Horsecollar : A toy horse with which Salad Fingers indulges his senses. ;Penny Pigtails : A character Salad Fingers' imagination created while hiding from Roger in the safety cupboard. She is nothing but Salad Fingers' hand 'walking' across the ledge. Salad Fingers imagines that she is denied raspberry jam by a market trader, who bases his actions on the grounds that her legs are "too long" and "made of cotton", which upsets him greatly. ;Mr. Branches: A tree 21 yards from the house. Salad Fingers measures this distance, and then comments to the tree that it's "barely shuffled an inch all week"—implying that it moves (or, at least, he perceives it to) and that he regularly keeps track of this measurement. In episode nine, Salad Fingers bites one of its branches, causing it to cry in pain (with Salad Fingers imagining it with a face). It begs Salad Fingers to be let inside in the voice of a young boy/young girl, but is told that it has to "grow out of [its] branches" first. Mr. Branches then proceeds to tightly wrap its branch around Salad Fingers' stomach - although, it is implied that this entire scene was a fantasy, and not reality. ;Yvonne : A black slimy object that Salad Fingers 'gives birth to' out of the front of his stomach in episode nine. It is implied that it is his long-awaited child, saying that he 'yearned for [the] day' it would arrive. He cradles it and reads it a poem, during which he names it "Baby Yvonne" and tells it that it has its mother's eyes, when in fact it has no human features at all. Unhappy with it, Salad Fingers decides to give it to Aunty Bainbridge, but ends up forgetting that it's his daughter. He then proceeds to clean Aunty Bainbridge's window, believing it to be a sponge.

Salad Fingers also ramblingly mentions he has an "old pal" named "Charlie" as well as a daughter, though neither of them are seen. It could be that neither of these characters are real, died in the supposed "Great War", or as they could be nothing more than the title character's delusions.

; Unnamed Characters :

A young, relatively normal looking child, wearing a varsity-type jacket whom Salad Fingers appears to have accidentally cooked in an oven in episode two.

A big-eyed, grotesque, small mutant creature who falls in love with Salad Fingers in episode four. This character was originally created by Jimi Hollis, who refers to it as the "bug-eyed kid". It uses a bear trap and a grubby tap to capture Salad Fingers, then cages him and proposes with a ring topped with a human molar.

Episodes

Each episode is 1–6 minutes long (with the exception of the ninth running for more than eight); the narratives themselves are quite oneiric, and each one only follows a semblance of a story.

Episode 1 - Spoons

Release date: July 1, 2004

Credits: Drawn, animated and voiced by David Firth. Written by David Firth and Christian "Crust" Pickup. Music by Boards of Canada (in particular, the song "Beware the Friendly Stranger").

This episode introduces us to Salad Fingers and his love of touching rusty spoons. He explains how touching any form of rust—including spoons, a door bell panel, and a kettle—stimulates him ("''The feeling of rust against my salad fingers is almost orgasmic''"), and that he holds a particular love of spoons. Salad Fingers walks to the house of a strange young boy to see if he has any rusty spoons; the child screeches two times, at which point Salad Fingers leaves, after asking to caress a rusty kettle that is on a table beside him.

Episode 2 - Friends

Release date: July 15, 2004

Credits: Drawn, animated and voiced by David Firth. Written by David Firth and Christian "Crust" Pickup. Music by Boards of Canada and David Firth.

Salad Fingers has a get-together with his "friends"—finger puppets—whom Salad Fingers introduces as Hubert Cumberdale, Marjory Stewart-Baxter and Jeremy Fisher. He appears to believe that his "friends" are real, living beings. Wondering what his friends taste like, he briefly inserts them into his mouth, exclaiming that Marjory Stewart-Baxter tastes like "sunshine dust", while Hubert Cumberdale tastes like "soot and poo". Salad Fingers then tells them that he has a fish cooking in the oven and speaks a nonsensical phrase in French: "Alors. Nabila. Comment t'appelles-tu? Qu'est-ce qu'il y a?." This roughly translates to: "So. Nabila. What's your name? What's the matter?".

In the next scene, a frightened child responds to Salad Fingers's call for help. Salad Fingers cannot reach the fish cooking in his oven and asks the child to get it for him. As the child reaches into the oven, Salad Fingers sees a rusty nail jutting out of the wall and reaches to caress it, causing the oven door to close with the child still inside. Salad Fingers then impales his finger on the spike and begins bleeding, blissfully saying "I like it when the red water comes out."

Salad Fingers turns pale and passes out. Apparently dreaming, Salad Fingers walks through a large meat locker singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow to himself. While inside, he meets a full-size Hubert Cumberdale, who screams distorted electronic noises at him. When Salad Fingers awakens he sits in a pool of his own blood. The oven smokes as Salad Fingers states, "That fish smells about done," ignoring or forgetting the fact that it was the smoke from the "cooked alive" child that he'd forgotten about when 'dozing off'.

Episode 3 - Nettles

Release date: August 1, 2004

Credits: Drawn, animated and voiced by David Firth. Written by David Firth and Christian "Crust" Pickup. Music by Boards of Canada, Brian Eno and a yoga flute.

Salad Fingers is playing with nettles and has irritated blisters all over his hands. He then comes across an empty perambulator, which he calls a "nettle carrier" and then leaves with it. A deformed armless man wearing an apron labeled "BBQ" appears and chases after Salad Fingers, screaming and babbling unintelligibly. Salad Fingers is sitting on the floor at his home and brushing the nettle over his nipple (while appearing to have an orgasm), which makes him lactate, and says "It seems... Nettles... have made the milk... drop out... from inside my teat!", when the armless man runs to Salad Fingers' house and begins to bang his head on the door. Salad Fingers daydreams of "happy times" (in which he and a life-sized version of the Hubert Cumberdale puppet are getting hair-dried). Eventually, Salad Fingers comes outside and finds the man dead on the floor, his head bloodied. He names the man "Milford Cubicle", despite the man's name tag reading "Harry". Believing that the man is alive, Salad Fingers drags "Milford" inside and hangs him on a meat hook on the wall. Salad fingers then plays the flute, and offers "Milford" a "warm glass of milk", which presumably is the milk that came out of his teat when he milked himself using the nettles.

Episode 4 - Cage

Release date: August 20, 2004

Credits: Drawn, animated and voiced by David Firth. Written by David Firth, Christian "Crust" Pickup, and Jimi Mwng. Additional character design by Jimi Mwng. Music by Boards of Canada, Aphex Twin and David Firth.

Salad Fingers wears a beret and declares that he is going to try and find France. However, he is frightened by a mutated boy with disproportionately large eyeballs that has been "watching him for a while". Salad Fingers becomes uncomfortable with the child's proximity and begins to leave. The boy, who speaks only in growls and grunts, approaches Salad Fingers, having apparently fallen in love with him. Salad Fingers holds out his hand to stop the boy coming closer, but the boy licks his hand, much to Salad Fingers' disgust. Inside his house, Salad Fingers sees a gray woodlouse coming out from a hole in the wall. He addresses the bug as "Bordois" and his "little sister." After asking what "she" has been collecting, he acts as though the bug gives him a response. Salad Fingers announces his enjoyment in the bug's body and goes to touch it, accidentally crushing it and looking at it in curiosity which turns to disgust. He then says to Bordois that she's "gone flat" and become "all gooey", and that he "shan't play with [her] again, until [she's] had a wash." Salad Fingers then hears a knock on the door, which he opens to find a "grubby tap" attached to a string on the ground. Salad Fingers becomes excited about this "gift" and begins to fantasize about taps. He attempts to fetch it, but it is drawn away on the string as bait. He is caught in a bear trap which causes him to lose blood and consciousness while savoring the desanguination blissfully. He wakes up in a cage, and enjoys rubbing the rusted bars. The grotesque boy approaches the cage and holds out a ring (on which is mounted a human tooth) as if proposing marriage. Salad Fingers becomes distraught, states "I don't like this game" and announces that he is "going home now". This angers the boy, who makes an unintelligible noise that sounds like "You're my own now." A rope appears, hanging down from the ceiling, which Salad Fingers pulls to draw down a curtain. When the curtain lifts, the boy, seeing that Salad Fingers has disappeared, begins to cry. The episode closes with Salad Fingers, wearing his beret, flying away gleefully on a giant tap, presumably to France.

Episode 5 - Picnic

Release date: November 25, 2004

Credits: Designed, animated, voiced and written by David Firth. Additional writing and the voice of Mable by Christian "Crust" Pickup (who also plays MC Devvo). Music by Boards of Canada, Aphex Twin and David Firth.

Salad Fingers talks to an apparently broken and disconnected phone, asking the operator to connect him to his "old pal Charlie" so he can invite him to a picnic, but only garbled noises are heard. Whilst describing the picnic fare, Salad Fingers rubs his stomach in hunger, then claims to have been rudely disconnected. Hubert Cumberdale is on one of the fingers on Salad Fingers' other hand, but he seems dismayed to see him. Instead of referring to him as Hubert, he calls him "Barbara Logan-Price", and gives him a "friend-hat", which is a miniature captain's hat.

In the next scene, Salad Fingers wears a bridal train and talks to himself in a mirror, declaring "You look so beautiful". He then goes outside for his picnic, which is attended by a strange crow (which appears in other David Firth cartoons) that makes garbled noises and a little girl with scars on her face, a filthy, stained pink dress and orange hair. Salad Fingers asks the orange-haired girl a question and answers it for her (as he seems to think that only he can speak), ending with "replied Mable". Salad Fingers calls her his new playmate and compliments her on her dress, and as he does this, Marjory Stewart-Baxter is seen in the window, jealous. Salad Fingers offers "Mable" some "Pease Pudding", which he feeds to her with a dirty, rusty spoon. The crow then swoops down and steals Salad Fingers's spoon.

The little girl giggles and says that the crow must like spoons too. The shock of the girl speaking to him in English and not via Salad Finger's own voice (or the screeches his puppets and/or other living things made) drives Salad Fingers to temporary insanity, hallucinating, hearing screeching, distorted noises, and seeing the girl (complete with empty eye sockets) saying, "What's wrong, Mr. Fingers? Do you not like my mouth-words? Naughty mouth!"

Numerous fans believe the little girl to be Salad Fingers' daughter from before whatever calamity ravaged the land, however, there is no proof throughout the series to prove or disprove this theory.

The Aphex Twin Symbol Appears on his phone in this episode

Episode 6 - Present

Release date: July 24, 2005

Credits: Drawn, animated and voiced by David Firth. Written by David Firth and Christian "Crust" Pickup. Music by Boards of Canada, Chris Gladwin and David Firth.

The episode begins with Salad Fingers walking about his house. He sees Hubert Cumberdale on top of a cupboard, and instructs the finger puppet to come down at once. Hubert turns into a black, viscous, and apparently caustic fluid and oozes down the cupboard. A silhouette is then seen walking through the house and Salad Fingers asks if somebody is there; it is, in fact, the Jeremy Fisher puppet on his finger. Salad Fingers remarks that he thought Jeremy was out "fighting the Great War". Jeremy Fisher/Salad Fingers responds in garbled gibberish which Fingers can't understand, musing that Fisher seems "to have adopted a strange dialect."

Another perspective shot shows Jeremy Fisher (now with arms) handing Salad Fingers a toy horse. Salad Fingers is pleased with the present, and remarks on the pleasing texture. He then eats Jeremy Fisher and immediately forgets, wondering "Where have you gotten to?" He begins to play with the toy horse while making "neigh" sounds, walks outside with it, and goes to an abandoned toilet with which he initiates a conversation. Suddenly, the mood changes and the music becomes sinister; he grows concerned and he begins defending himself, saying "You've got the wrong bloke, squire." He then flushes the toilet to "wash those bad thoughts away".

Upon arriving home, Salad Fingers gasps and sees himself sitting inside. The Salad Fingers inside appears to be hallucinating, seeing the "outside" Salad Fingers as a life-size Jeremy Fisher. The "inside" Salad Fingers speaks in a slightly different voice and also has rougher text showing what he is saying. The conversation starts off just like the earlier one with Jeremy Fisher, but goes on to include accusations that Jeremy Fisher has been "tailgating [his] daughter with aspirations of deflowering her rose". This appears to be the other "side" of the conversation Salad Fingers had into the toilet.

The inside Salad Fingers is now seen with the Jeremy Fisher finger puppet. Fisher never responds verbally, but at one point unfastens a clasp over his mouth from which green ooze bubbles and drips to the floor. Salad Fingers caresses Fisher's hair and remarks that he never did "sample the delights of your flavor", a reference to when he tasted his other two "friends" Hubert Cumberdale and Marjory Stewart-Baxter in episode two. He begins putting the finger-puppet in his mouth, but the scene quickly changes to a bloody scene of the "inside" Salad Fingers eating the "outside" Salad Fingers' head/brains, suggesting that Salad Fingers is actually experiencing the personalities he invents. The episode ends with an external shot of the house panning back to reveal the toilet.

Episode 7 - Shore Leave

Release date: January 28, 2006

Credits: Drawn, animated and voiced by David Firth. Written by David Firth, Christian Pickup and Jimi Mwng. Music by Boards of Canada, Chris Gladwin and Brian Eno.

As Salad Fingers is digging holes outside with his finger puppets, occasionally tasting the sand (which he calls "floor sugar"), he finds the decomposing torso of an old corpse. Salad Fingers immediately "recognizes" the cadaver as "Kenneth," his "younger brother" who is back from the previously mentioned "Great War" on shore leave. Salad Fingers pulls the gruesome, dismembered corpse out of the hole, saying it was rude of him to leave for "the Great War" without him, but promises to draw him a hot bath.

The next scene shows Salad Fingers turning a cog which pulls a clothesline, drawing Kenneth out of a wardrobe, now dressed in a white dinner jacket. He starts to talk about life with the women of the great war. Salad Fingers has prepared a dinner of sand for his guest, saying "I—hope you like... ''SAND''". At one point Kenneth slumps forward, prompting Salad Fingers to suppose that he's sleepy and props Kenneth up by inserting a "wooden dent-rail" into his empty socket. Salad Fingers tells Kenneth of his life, keeping busy with "every shift I can... [and] sing[ing] at all the functions". There is a flashback in which Salad Fingers measures the distance from his door to a tree named "Mr. Branches" with a clickwheel and subsequently teases it for its slow movement.

It is now evening, and Salad Fingers is with Kenneth outside near the same hole he found him in. He cries over the fact that Kenneth has to go "back to the ghastly trenches". He salutes Kenneth and sings "We'll Meet Again" for him, after exclaiming, somewhat futilely, "I only ask that our creator return you unspoilt from the cruel hand of war". He then kicks Kenneth back into the hole. A dream-like sequence follows in which Salad Fingers sings the same song, in a white dress, on a stage in front of an audience of a theatre. After singing a few strains, he complains to the pianist - who is shown as the silhouette of a marionette, with strings attached - that the key is wrong, walks off the stage, and the screen fades to black.

In this episode Salad Fingers mentions the Scottish town of Cowdenbeath, indicating he is aware of real-life places.

Episode 8 - Cupboard

Release date: September 22, 2007

Credits: Drawn, animated and voiced by David Firth. Written by David Firth and Christian "Crust" Pickup. Music by Boards of Canada, Lustmord and dyzv0r

Salad Fingers is sitting in his armchair, trying to tune his radio which he calls "Roger." If he is lucky, Salad Fingers says he may chance upon a broadcast from "Croxley", which so happens to be a small town in Hertfordshire. "Croxleyheath" also occurs in Shore Leave. After feeding Roger his "sustenance" (which seems to be marbles, peas, rocks or beans), it begins to emit a strange, piercing frequency. A gurgling sound comes from Salad Fingers' own stomach, insinuating upset in reaction to the "unpleasant frequencies" coming from the radio. He decides to wait out the tormenting event in his "safety cupboard."

When in the cupboard, Salad Fingers begins to converse with his hands. One hand enacts "Penny Pigtails," the other a market vendor. The "market vendor" refuses to sell raspberry jam to "Penny Pigtails" on the grounds that her legs are "made of cotton" and "far too long" (an event that Salad Fingers finds most upsetting). After Salad Fingers cries for a bit, "Penny Pigtails" discovers a long strand of hair, which Salad Fingers rubs over his eyeball, apparently causing him great pleasure although it makes his eye red and inflamed. After emerging from the cupboard, he tapes the hair to a wall with four other hairs of assorted colours that he has collected. Salad Fingers speaks to the hairs, calling them "beautiple" and "a gay little quintette" Next, he goes to bed with the Hubert Cumberdale puppet. Before going to sleep, Salad Fingers sings "Three in the Bed," and instructs Hubert Cumberdale to "roll over"; as a result, the finger puppet is sent off the bed into a bowl of a filthy, brown substance (likely a chamberpot). Salad Fingers orders Hubert Cumberdale to "scrub that muck off at once!" as he doesn't want any "dirty immigrants" in his house.

Later that night, the radio begins to emit strange sounds again and wakes up Salad Fingers. Salad Fingers approaches it warily and threatens Roger with expulsion from the house. The radio replies it was rude of Salad to take his hair. The radio speaks in a static voice, instructing Salad Fingers to return its hair, as well as to tidy the house. Salad Fingers declares that he "shan't", on the grounds that it isn't "his turn" and that it is an extremely unpleasant job. The radio continues to torment him, causing him to eat all of the hairs from his quintet, tape and all, and return to his cupboard in tears.

Episode 9 - Letter

Release date: May 26, 2011

Credits: Drawn, animated and voiced by David Firth. Written by David Firth. Music by Markus Fjellström.

Salad Fingers is holding a piece of torn newspaper, imagining it is a letter from the Great War (presumably from his "brother") and reading it aloud to himself. As he reads, a tentacle-like branch snakes in through the door to Salad Fingers' bedroom. Salad Fingers picks up the branch and bites off the tip, resulting in something sobbing "Daddy, that really hurt!" off-screen. Salad Fingers goes to the window and sees the branch-tentacle being retracted into the tree outside. He walks out to the tree, calling it "Mr. Branches" and has a conversation with it about its injury, apparently forgetting it was he himself that bit it. The tree cries, calling Salad Fingers "Daddy" and asking to be let inside, but Salad Fingers refuses until it "grows out of those branches". The tree wraps a branch around Salad Fingers' waist.

Salad Fingers wakes up in his room, very pale and his stomach growling. Salad Fingers worries that he may be dying and taps out an S.O.S. on the metal fire grate beside him. Suddenly a strange gooey black mass bursts out of his stomach, causing him to pass out.

When he wakes up, he is overjoyed, and believes he has given birth to a daughter whom he names Yvonne. Sitting in a wheelchair and appearing to feel better despite his wound, he pulls back the skin of one finger revealing a strange solid tip and dips it in ink to write a "letter" consisting only of scribbles, saying he cannot attend the Great War as he is still feeling "under the weather". He keeps Yvonne (which appears to be a bundle of newspapers) down in a pit and tells her off for not doing her exercises.

The scene then switches back to Salad Fingers lying on the floor, pale, with his stomach still wounded, and seems to be pumping air into his chest, suggesting that he's relapsed into illness. He tells Yvonne he may be too ill to care for her and speaks for her as he usually does for his other inanimate characters, saying "That's a shame; you were doing a first-rate job". He then taps another message on the fire grate, requesting a home for "a meddlesome child".

Salad Fingers is then outside in his wheelchair with Yvonne in a bucket, telling her that "good old Aunty Bainbridge" has agreed to look after her. He arrives at the house from episode 1, where the small, yellow-skinned human-like creature with big eyes lives. Salad Fingers refers to the creature as "Aunty Bainbridge" and asks for a hug, but the creature takes a step back and makes an odd wailing noise. Salad Fingers recalls some memories of Aunty Bainbridge "all in faded days".

Salad Fingers then appears to forget his reason for visiting, and, noticing the bucket of black ooze on his lap, claims he has come to clean the windows. Using the bundle/Yvonne, he smears the windows with black ooze as the yellow creature looks on. Job done, Salad Fingers begins to eat a sandwich, implying that that was the object wrapped up in the newspaper and black ooze.

See also

Newgrounds

David Firth

Men from Up the Stairs

Adobe Flash

References

External links

Category:Lists of flash cartoon episodes Category:Flash cartoons Category:Animated characters Category:Animated internet series Category:Surrealist works Category:Internet memes Category:Black comedy Category:Fictional English people Category:Dystopian fiction Category:Fictional wars

cs:Salad Fingers et:Salad Fingers es:Salad Fingers fr:Salad Fingers it:Salad Fingers hu:Salad Fingers no:Salad Fingers pl:Salad Fingers fi:Salad Fingers

Coordinates	29°25′″N98°30′″N
name	Damian Marley
background	solo_singer
birth name	Damian Marley
alias	Junior Gong , Gong ZILLA
born	July 21, 1978Kingston, Jamaica
genre	Reggae, dancehall, hip-hop
years active	1996–present
label	Tuff Gong, Ghetto Youth International, Universal
associated acts	Bob Marley, Ky-Mani Marley, Ziggy Marley, Stephen Marley, Julian Marley, Nas, SuperHeavy, K'naan, Bruno Mars
notable instruments	}}

Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley (born July 21, 1978) is a Jamaican reggae artist who has won three Grammy awards. Damian is the youngest son of Bob Marley.

Damian was two years old when his father Bob Marley died; he is the only child born to Marley and Cindy Breakspeare, Miss World 1976. Damian's nickname ''Junior Gong'' is derived from his father's nickname of ''Tuff Gong.'' Marley has been performing since the age of 13. He shares, along with most of his family, a full-time career in music.

Music

Marley has described his music as "dancehall and reggae. I've noticed...people trying to separate the two of them," he continues. "It's Jamaican culture in general. I don't try to classify or separate."

At age 13, he formed a musical group by the name of the Shephards, which included the daughter of Freddie McGregor and son of Third World's Cat Core. The group opened the 1992 Reggae Sunsplash festival. The band fell apart in the early 1990s and Damian started his solo career.

With the backing of his father’s label, Tuff Gong, he released his 1996 debut album ''Mr. Marley'' which surprised many who were unaccustomed to hearing a Marley deejaying rather than singing. Damian’s brother, Stephen Marley, was a producer and co-author for this album. It brought him much recognition, remaining on the ''Billboard'' top reggae albums chart for 158 weeks, and winning the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album.

His third album, ''Welcome to Jamrock'' was released in September 2005, named after the hugely successful song of the same name. The lyrics to the single "Welcome to Jamrock", which was performed over a riddim produced by Sly and Robbie for Ini Kamoze some 20 years earlier, centered around poverty, politics and crime in Jamaica. While the single was controversial at home over its perceived negative viewpoint of the island, many praised the content of the song. Dr. Clinton Hutton, professor at the University of the West Indies, said of the single, "'Jamrock' uses the icon of the inner city, of alienation, of despair, of prejudice, but of hope, of Jamaican identity, to remind us of the fire of frustration, the fire of creativity, the fire of warning to open up our eyes and look within to the life we are living. And still some of us don't want to hear and to look and say enough is enough." The single reached #13 on the UK Singles Chart It was also #100 on the Top 100 Songs of the Decade listing by ''Rolling Stone''.

At the 2006 Grammy Awards, he won Best Reggae Album and Best Urban/Alternative Performance for ''Welcome to Jamrock''. He is the only Jamaican reggae artist in history to win two Grammy Awards on the same night. He is also the only reggae artist to win in the Best Urban/Alternative Performance category at the Grammy Awards. The album sold 86,000 copies in its first week of release, and was eventually certified gold after selling 500,000 copies in the United States. Other notable singles from the album include "The Master Has Come Back", "Road to Zion" featuring Nas, and "Khaki Suit" featuring Bounty Killer and Eek-A-Mouse.

On May 17, 2010, Marley released ''Distant Relatives'', a collaborative album with Nas. The album title refers not only to the bond between the artists, but the connection to their African ancestry, which inspired the album both musically and lyrically. They have previously collaborated on “Road to Zion”, on Marley’s Welcome to Jamrock album. The album joins two different flavors of music with Marley’s dub-rock aesthetic and Nas’ flow. Damian and Stephen produced much of the album. The proceeds of this album will go to building schools in the Congo.

Recently, Damian has started work on two new projects. In an interview on Tim Westwood he revealed he had started work on a new album. His street single, released in Jamaica is titled Just Aint The Same. He has also joined Mick Jagger's musical project SuperHeavy with Joss Stone and Jamie Stephens. Their debut single "Miracle Worker" was released on June 6, with the album scheduled for a September release.

Personal life and beliefs

Born as Damian Marley, he was nicknamed "Jr. Gong" in honour of his legendary father, Bob "Tuff Gong" Marley. His mother is a Jamaican jazz musician, former model and crowned Miss World 1976 Cindy Breakspeare. Damian Marley whose name is often publicly spelled with an e, but one of Bob’s last requests in Germany was to have Damian’s name changed. The movie Damien: Omen II had an impact on Bob, which is about the coming of the Antichrist. “Damien being a devil….It was inappropriate for him as a Rastafarian to have a child with that name,” Bob said and Damian’s name was later changed. He has 13 siblings total; 10 on his father's side and 3 on his mother's side. Damian was two years old when his father died due to the spread of melanoma to his lungs and brain, at 36 years of age. Marley has been in the music business since he was a child. He is a Rastafari and his music reflects both his beliefs and the Rastafari guiding principles of one love, one planet, and freedom for all nations. While he travels and tours the better part of the year, his home base is split between Kingston, Jamaica and Miami, Florida. He has a younger half brother Christian and a half sister Leah from his mother Cindy.

Discography

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions		! style="width:3em;font-size:80%;"	! style="width:3em;font-size:80%;"	US Reggae
1996	''[[Mr. Marley">Music recording sales certification
! style="width:3em;font-size:80%;"	! style="width:3em;font-size:80%;"	! style="width:3em;font-size:80%;"	US Reggae
1996	''[[Mr. Marley''	* Released: September 9, 1996	* Label:	* Format:
2001	''Halfway Tree''	* Released: September 11, 2001	* Label: Universal Distribution	* Format:
2005	''Welcome to Jamrock''	* Released: September 13, 2005	* Label: Universal Distribution	* Format:
2010	''Distant Relatives'' (with Nas)	* Released: May 18, 2010	* Label: Universal Republic Records	* Format: CD

Singles

Year	Title	Chart positions	Album
! style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"	! style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"	! style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"	! style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"
"The Master Has Come Back"
"Road to Zion" (featuring Nas)	-
	"Beautiful" (featuring Bobby Brown)
2007	"Now That You Got It" (Gwen Stefani feat. Damian Marley)					''The Sweet Escape''
2008	"One Loaf of Bread"					''Gang War Riddim''
2010	"As We Enter" (Nas & Damian Marley)
2011	"Nah Mean" (Nas & Damian Marley)

Other charted songs

Year	Song	Peak		Album
		! style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"	! style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"
2010		68	97	''Doo-Wops & Hooligans''

References

External links

Category:Jamaican reggae musicians Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Reggae fusion artists Category:Jamaican Rastafarians D Category:1978 births Category:Living people Category:People from Kingston, Jamaica Category:Jamaican people of English descent

bn:ড্যামিয়ান মার্লে bg:Деймиън Марли cs:Damian Marley de:Damian Marley es:Damian Marley fr:Damian Marley ko:데미안 말리 it:Damian Marley he:דמיאן מארלי ht:Damian Marley hu:Damian Marley nl:Damian Marley ja:ダミアン・マーリー no:Damian Marley pl:Damian Marley pt:Damian Marley ro:Damian Marley ru:Марли, Дэмиан simple:Damian Marley fi:Damian Marley sv:Damian Marley tr:Damian Marley

Coordinates	29°25′″N98°30′″N
name	Aura Dione
background	solo_singer
birth name	Aura Dione
born	January 21, 1985 Copenhagen, Denmark
origin	Copenhagen, Denmark
instrument	Vocals, guitar
genre	Pop, folk
occupation	Recording artist
years active	2007-present
label	}}

Aura Dione (born January 21, 1985 in Copenhagen) is a Danish singer-songwriter.

Biography

Early life

She was born in Copenhagen. Her Faroese/French mother and Danish/Spanish father introduced her to music, and the first song was written when she was as young as 8 years old. Her parents were hippies and sailed around of the oceans of the world with her as a child until the 7-year-old was given residence on Bornholm. Here she began her schooling and was enrolled as a teenager in high school, but in the middle she chose to move to Australia where she sought inspiration from the Aborigines. This resulted later in the song "Something From Nothing".

Music career

She debuted in summer 2007 with the single "Something From Nothing", but has also gained success with the track "Song for Sophie" - both from the album Columbine, which was released in 2008. The single "''I Will Love You Monday''" a No.1 hit in Europe, where it was issued in an expanded version titled "I Will Love You Monday (365)".

Discography

Albums

Year	Title	Peak positions				Cerfication	Sales
		! style="width:25px;"	! style="width:25px;"	! style="width:25px;"	! style="width:25px;"
	align="left"						*DEN: Gold

Singles

{|class="wikitable" |- ! rowspan="2"| Year ! rowspan="2"| Single ! colspan="5"| Peak positions ! rowspan="2"| Certifications ! rowspan="2"| Album |- ! style="width:25px;"| DEN ! style="width:25px;"| GER ! style="width:25px;"| AUT ! style="width:25px;"| SUI ! style="width:25px;"| NET |- | style="text-align:center;" rowspan="1"| 2008 | "I Will Love You Monday" | style="text-align:center;"| 20 | style="text-align:center;"| - | style="text-align:center;"| - | style="text-align:center;"| - | style="text-align:center;"| - | - | style="text-align:center;" rowspan="4"| ''Columbine'' |- | style="text-align:center;" rowspan="1"| 2009 | "I Will Love You Monday (365)" | style="text-align:center;"| - | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 2 | style="text-align:center;"| 2 | style="text-align:center;"| 58 | SUI: Gold
GER: Platinum
|- | style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"| 2010 | "Song for Sophie" | style="text-align:center;"| 16 | style="text-align:center;"| 12 | style="text-align:center;"| 18 | style="text-align:center;"| 68 | style="text-align:center;"| - | - |- | "Something from Nothing" | style="text-align:center;"| 7* | style="text-align:center;"| 90 | style="text-align:center;"| - | style="text-align:center;"| - | style="text-align:center;"| - | - |- | colspan="15" style="text-align:center; font-size:8pt;"| "—" denotes a title that was not released or did not chart in that territory. |}

Something from Nothing was released as the debut-single in Denmark in 2007.

References

External links

Official website

Category:1985 births Category:Living people Category:Danish female singers Category:Danish singer-songwriters Category:Musicians from New York Category:People from Copenhagen Category:Danish people of Spanish descent Category:People of Faroese descent

cs:Aura Dione da:Aura (sangerinde) de:Aura Dione es:Aura Dione eo:Aura Dione it:Aura Dione pl:Aura Dione sk:Aura Dione fi:Aura Dione