Seeing ‘Friends’ from the start

“Friends” remains such a part of regular viewing for so many fans, almost 20 years after it ended, it’s always worth a mention whenever the sitcom’s pilot episode comes around again. TBS shows it Monday, June 12 ... and while it’s surely an entertaining half-hour, it’s interesting to gauge whether it really indicated a show that would become one of the most enormous hits in television history. After all, all of the cast members had done previous series turns that didn’t last very long. However, by the time they were finished being there for you (so to speak) in the original run of “Friends,” the ensemble cast — Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer — ranked among television’s biggest stars. And to a large degree, they’ve retained that status as they’ve gone on to other projects.