Monica Geller would eventually become popular staples of the show. Several months before "Friends" premiered, NBC had conducted a research report, the results of which determined that Monica was the only character to have been remotely well received by test audiences. When "Friends" first aired, critics initially perceived Monica – who was immediately established as the show's "mother hen" – and Cox as the series' main character and star, respectively. Critics have been largely receptive towards both Cox and her character; the "Los Angeles Times" holds Cox's acting responsible for disproving the stigma that attractive women are incapable of delivering comedic performances.
Monica Geller role in the pilot, which he considered "casual sex", and created a "stacked" questionnaire asking audience members if they thought Monica was a whore. Kauffman recalled Ohlmeyer specifically expressing that Monica deserved to be dumped, a statement by which the writer was greatly offended, dismissing Ohlmeyer as a misogynist. Ultimately, the results returned in favor of Monica; audiences liked the character nonetheless, and the episode aired unchanged. Early in the series, Monica's apartment is established as one of the show's two primary locations. In the pilot, the apartment number is 5, which was changed to 20 in subsequent episodes after