Friendshas a couple of scrapped storylines that ultimately benefited the show by never happening, such as a controversial one that would have repeated the same Ross (David Schwimmer) story three times.Friendscontinues to be regarded as one ofthe best TV shows of all timeand one of the most influential ones, too, changing the genre of sitcoms.Friendspremiered on NBC in 1994 and had a successful 10-season run, making history in the process.Friendsended in 2004, but the show is still quite popular, and its arrival on streaming has helped maintain its popularity.
Throughout its 10 seasons,Friendsfollowed its main characters through many ups and downs in their personal and professional lives, but they weren’t spared from controversial storylines. Moments likeJoey and Rachel’s relationship, Joey’s dumbing down, and everything about “fat Monica” are some ofFriends’worst and most problematic ones, but the show also saved itself from many others.Friendshas many scrapped storylines, among them one that would have repeated a tiring Ross storyline and made his character a lot worse.
Friends Season 6 Almost Ended With Elizabeth’s Pregnancy (With A Twist)
Elizabeth’s Pregnancy Would Have Been A Double Surprise
Friendsseason 6 introduced Elizabeth Stevens (Alexandra Holden), a student of Ross’. As such, Elizabeth was, at least, 10 years younger than Ross, but she seized the chance in an anonymous teacher evaluation. After Ross discovered who wrote that evaluation, Elizabeth asked him out, and though they had a great time together, they learned that it was against the rules for a teacher to date a student. Ross and Elizabeth decided they couldn’t continue, but they ended up agreeing to meet in secret and hide their relationship from the school.
After many ups and downs, including Elizabeth going on spring break vacation with her friends and Ross joining her out of jealousy and being overprotective, and meeting Elizabeth’s father, Paul (Bruce Willis), who briefly dated Rachel,Ross decided to end the relationship after realizing Elizabeth was too immaturefor him. However, this wasn’t the original ending planned for Ross and Elizabeth, asFriendsseason 6 was meant to end with the reveal of Elizabeth’s pregnancy(viaCBR).
Friendsseason 6 ended with Chandler and Monica’s proposal to each other, with season 7 following the preparations for their wedding.
That would have changedFriendsseason 7, which would have followed Ross as he dealt with Elizabeth’s pregnancy, which would have had huge repercussions for him in his job and his personal life. The big twist in this scrapped storyline, however, would have beenthe reveal at the end of season 7 that Elizabeth’s baby wasn’t Ross’. Luckily, the writers ofFriendshad already planned for season 7 to end with Rachel’s pregnancy, and Elizabeth’s would have clashed with this, so this storyline was thankfully dropped.
Friends Would Have Repeated The Same Ross Storyline 3 Times With Elizabeth’s Pregnancy
By having Elizabeth announce her pregnancy and Ross dealing with it,Friendswould have repeated the same Ross storyline three times:Ross dealing with unplanned pregnancies from his former partners. First was Carol, who revealed her pregnancy to Ross after they had separated and Carol had officially gotten together with Susan. Ross took responsibility for it, though he clashed a lot with Susan, but they all eventually found the best way to co-parent.
If Elizabeth had also become pregnant, Ross would have gone through the same, though it would have gone nowhere as the baby wouldn’t have been his.
Then came Rachel’s surprise pregnancy at the end ofFriendsseason 7. It was revealed the next season that Rachel’s baby was Ross’, the product of a drunken night while preparing the invitations for Monica and Chandler’s wedding. Facing another unplanned pregnancy, Ross also took responsibility and was a present father to Emma for the rest of the show (thoughBen ended up disappearing). If Elizabeth had also become pregnant, Ross would have gone through the same, though it would have gone nowhere as the baby wouldn’t have been his.
How Elizabeth’s Pregnancy Would Have Affected Ross' Character
Ross Isn’t Friends’ Most Popular Character
Ross is already the least popular character out of the main group inFriends, and Elizabeth’s pregnancy would have made him even more unpopular.Ross and Elizabeth’s relationship was already controversialdue to the age gap and their teacher/student dynamic, and adding an unplanned pregnancy would have made it worse (and Paul definitely wouldn’t have accepted Ross after that). This would have risked painting Ross as the most irresponsible member of the group, andhe would have been limited to this type of story.
Surely, Elizabeth’s baby being revealed not to be Ross’ would have probably given some sympathy to Ross (depending on how this would have been handled and how he would have reacted), but the damage would have already been done. The writers ofFriendswere wise in leaving Elizabeth’s pregnancy storyline out, but she remains as one half of Ross’ most controversial relationship.
