TV

Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer sit down together to reveal what happened behind the scenes of the favorite show while playing tribute to Burrows.

• Feb 22, 2016

AceShowbiz - The James Burrows tribute special on NBC aired Sunday night, February 21. One of the highly-anticipated moments in the star-studded special was the "Friends" cast reunion, which brought together the main stars, except Matthew Perry.

Perry, who is in London due to his commitment to a play, introduced his former co-stars in a taped video. Funny thing happened right shortly after the stars went onto the stage, as Matt LeBlanc tried to place Jennifer Aniston in her seat next to him.

During the conversation moderated by Andy Cohen, the stars revealed their favorite moments on the show. Aniston said she loved flashback episodes, like "The One with the Prom Video" in which Monica was fat, Rachel hadn't yet gotten her nose done, and Ross had a lovely afro. Courteney Cox, meanwhile, liked the blackout episode in which Chandler was "stuck in an ATM vestibule with Jill Goodacre" and David Schwimmer's Ross being "beset by a feral cat."

Aniston actually auditioned for Monica, and Cox auditioned for Rachel, but they ended up taking the opposite role. When Cohen asked the cast, "Did you all sign contracts saying you wouldn't sleep with each other?" Lisa Kudrow said she wasn't asked to sign one.

While filming the show, Aniston, Cox and Kudrow had lunch together every single day for ten years and ate the same food everyday, which they called a "Jennifer salad." Aniston quipped, "I tossed it." The cast revealed they used Burrows' dressing room to play poker, which then influenced the episode "The One with All the Poker".

Also in the special, Jim Parsons shared the inspiration behind Sheldon Cooper's famous catchphrase "bazinga." Turns out "The Big Bang Theory" writer Steve Holland used to use that as a punchline in real life. Megan Mullally thought her "Will & Grace" character Karen would be "married to Donald Trump" today.

Apparently Burrows gave all the casts he worked with a note which read, "You're my favorite cast." David Hyde Pierce even got "insert name of actor here" in his note. Former "Two and a Half Men" star Charlie Sheen also paid tribute to Burrows, saying, "I think the common thread with all of Jim Burrows' shows is extra-galactic success."

Burrows himself thanked his wife Shawnee. "I'm so glad you did this when I'm still around because I wouldn't want to miss it," he said. Noting that he couldn't achieve what he had done until now alone, he said, "Thanks for laughing, embracing and loving the characters for all of those years, and still on occasion, when somebody walks into a bar, hollering, 'NORM!' "

He also added, "To my family for laughing most of the time and loving all of the time. To my dad, who when I asked him questions as a kid, he was patient and kind in answering and taught me to be that way with others. I thank you all for this trip down memory lane from the bottom of my comedic heart. And, as my good friend George Strait says, 'I'm not here for a long time, I'm here for a good time.' "