The reasons behind the disappearance of the wooden support beam in Monica’s apartment were revealed in the reunion special.
Friends, a word that fills our hearts with nostalgia with memories that made our lives special. Friends was one of the most successful television sitcoms that ever existed. It is considered a legendary show for the enormous fanbase that it has that is still growing to date even though the show ended 17 years ago. The epic run of Friends started on September 22, 1994, and ended on May 6, 2004, stretching over 10 seasons and 236 episodes. Starring Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, and Courtney Cox, Friends became an important aspect of all of our lives and it almost broke our hearts when the show concluded its run.
After waiting for a lifetime and making countless pleads, the fans finally got the Friends: The Reunion special which premiered on May 27, 2021, on HBO Max. The very emotional special episode finally explained the mystery behind the disappearing wooden support beam in Monica’s apartment.
The Story Of Disappearing Wooden Beam
In order to make the special Friends: The Reunion episode seems like an actual reunion, replicas of the originals sets from Friends were created which allowed the old buddies to relive their time during the original run of the show. The most memorable and key hangout places from Friends were revisited by the cast members. These hangout places included Central Perk coffee shop, Joey and Chandler’s apartment, and Monica’s place, where all the friends gathered to spend some time together.
Monica’s apartment, in particular, caught the eyes of a lot of people including the old cast members because it had a certain framework reinstalled that was removed previously and it was the wooden support beam that appeared in the early days of Friends’ run. The framework consisted of a large horizontal beam that went across the ceiling near the edge of Monica’s kitchen and came down by the refrigerator and down on the end by the audience.
It was remembered because it caused a lot of laughs in season 3 when Monica’s brother Ross, played by David Schwimmer, crashed his head into that support beam. Also, it disappeared and reappeared every now and then in different Friends episodes which is one of the reasons why the cast members and fans remembered it.
During the Friends: The Reunion special, David Schwimmer and Lisa Kudrow arrived at the studio earlier than the others and after welcoming each other, the duo started to explore the sets’ replicas. While they were at Monica’s apartment, they saw the wooden support beam and had a conversation that explained the mystery behind its disappearance. The conversation went like this:-
Schwimmer :- “Wasn’t there a decision to lose this?” [while pointing towards the wooden beam].
Lisa Kudrow:- “Yeah, I thought this was gone! This was here in the beginning and… it got in the way.” After this, the duo moved behind the wooden beam which was blocking their faces from the camera operator, thereby explaining why the initiative to remove the wooden beam was taken. As it turns out, the wooden beam only appeared in the episodes which were directed by James Burrows, who was responsible for directing the pilot episode and thought that the wooden beam stood out as an attractive aspect of the set. And there you have it, “The Mystery Of The Disappearing Wooden Support Beam In Monica’s Apartment finally explained”.
