Felicity

The original pilot as created for network presentation

Behind-the-scenes reflections while filming the final episode with Keri Russell and the show's creators including J.J. Abrams.

Q&A with J.J. Abrams, Jennifer Garner, Matt Reeves and Keri Russell courtesy of the Museum of Television & Radio

On her day of graduation, Felicity asks a longtime high school crush, Ben, to sign her yearbook; after she reads his message, in which he says that he would have liked to have known her better, Felicity changes her lifelong college plans to follow Ben to a New York school. There, she meets her quirky (and smitten) resident advisor Noel and her first new friend Julie.

When Felicity learns a male called the admissions office requesting a copy of her application essay, she assumes it was Ben — the subject of said essay — and sends him a copy. Meanwhile, Felicity's parents pop up in New York again.

Felicity's excited about attending her first college party, and plans to invite Ben — so long as Julie doesn't mind. Meanwhile, Felicity butts heads with a professor, and meets a fellow competitive student Elena.

Felicity returns to school to discover that one of the dorms has been shut down. Due to the lack of rooms, she must share resident advisor duties. Much to her horror, her roommate and co-resident advisor turns out to be Meghan. Elena and Noel decide to share an apartment. Felicity deals with the consequences of her decision to drive across the country with Ben. Although Ben spent much of the summer away in Mexico, he and Felicity are now a couple. Still extremely bitter, Noel and Julie lash out at them. Julie, also a victim of the housing shortage, moves into the loft with Sean and Ben. Ben assures Felicity that he is completely over Julie. Sean insists that Ben isn't ready for a relationship with Felicity, and continually pressures him to break up with her. Ben listens to one of Felicity's tapes to Sally. He is disconcerted to hear Felicity say that she might be in love with him.

Felicity counsels an advisee, who is using tips from a magazine article to win the affections of her aloof boyfriend. Ben worries Felicity with his peculiar behavior. He finally reveals that he listened to her tape and cannot deal with the idea that she might love him. Felicity consults the magazine article and tries to get him back. She agrees to be less intense, but suddenly breaks up with Ben because she feels that he expects her to be someone else. She deals with her pain by getting a very short hair cut. Julie throws a big party (with cover charge) at the loft. Elena tries to help Noel get a girl's phone number.

Felicity rearranges her work schedule to avoid Ben. While looking over the course catalog with freshman advisee Ruby, Felicity laments the fact that she is no longer able to pursue her interest in art. She impulsively drops her pre-med courses and signs up for drawing. Felicity winds up in the same class as Noel, who continues to hate her guts. He accuses her of ruining his chances of hooking up with a classmate, unaware that the woman's lack of interest stems from the fact that she is gay. Ruby turns to Noel for advice about a computer problem. He snaps at her because of her association with Felicity, but they later find that they have a lot in common. Noel defends Felicity when the professor and other students harshly criticize her work. Although discouraged by the experience, Felicity decides not to leave the class. Ben and Sean interview new roommates as Julie prepares to move out. When her new place falls through, they ask her to stay.

Javier tells Felicity that a friend is giving away his furniture before moving out of state. She goes to the man's apartment and falls in love with the place. She decides that it would be romantic to live there with Ben. Felicity rents the apartment before Ben has even returned to New York. He agrees to live with her, but discovers that the apartment is a ""hell hole"" with major plumbing and electrical problems and a roach infestation. Felicity is so excited that he cannot bear to tell her how he feels. Felicity grows wary of their downstairs neighbor, a beautiful dancer. She is furious when Ben reluctantly allows the woman to use their living room tub. Ben later apologizes and promises to try harder to make the arrangement work. Felicity reveals that she has given up the apartment, but they discuss plans to live together after graduation. Meghan takes Felicity's place in a student apartment with Elena, Julie and a new student. (""She's British. That's all we know."") Sean is asked to tur

After learning of Noel's marriage, Richard organizes an intervention in the hopes of convincing him to leave Natalie. Noel is offended, and orders his friends to stay away from him. Felicity visits his apartment to apologize. She says that it is difficult to deal with how much he has changed, and recalls all his goals for the future. However, she gives her blessing and organizes a party for the couple. Natalie finds one of Richard's fliers about the intervention and storms out. Noel realizes that he must divorce Natalie and resume his life. When Natalie comes home and learns his plans, she punches him in the eye. Sean offers to let Noel move into the loft. Natalie apologizes and agrees to the annulment, but she and Noel end up having sex. Ben's father comes to town, seeking to make amends as part of a twelve-step program. He invites Ben and Felicity to a Yankees game, but never shows up. Julie refuses to answer questions about her father. Elena tells Finn that she doesn't

Ben's mother calls and tells him that his father has been missing for several days. She asks him to file a missing persons report. Ben refuses to open up to Felicity, who hears about the situation from Julie. An angry Ben insists that he will not help look for his father; this is not the first time he has disappeared, and Ben is tired of dealing with him. Julie goes behind his back to file a police report, and learns that Mr. Covington is being hospitalized with alcohol poisoning. Julie explains that she feared Ben would not be able to live with the consequences if something happened to his father. Ben is furious with Julie, while Felicity tries to comfort her about her birth father. Julie finally blows up and reveals that she was a match for her father, but lied about it and did nothing to help him. Ben visits his dad in the hospital; he recovers and prepares to go home. Ben and Felicity return to her apartment to find that Julie has moved out. She left behind a videotape in which she

As the summer comes to an end, Felicity's father begins nagging her about her future. She hopes to prove that she has a future in her major by gaining admission to the honors art program. Ben returns from the EMT training session and announces that he wants to become a doctor. He signs up for a heavy course-load, and realizes that he will have to stay in school a fifth year to finish his pre-med requirements. Felicity is put off by Ben's sudden sense of purpose, as she expected him to be just as aimless as she is. She begins turning to the jobless Noel for support. Felicity's father comes to town and accuses her of wasting her college years. She becomes furious at his interference and decides to pay for her final year of college herself. She immediately files papers to declare her independence. Felicity shows up late for work while dealing with her crisis, forcing Ben to cover for her. He then arrives late to his first organic chemistry lecture, where the professor locks him

Felicity feels extremely guilty after having sex with Noel. She seeks Dr. Pavone's advice on whether she should tell Ben. Dr. Pavone theorizes that she wants to have both guys. Felicity hears an answering machine message for Ben in which a girl talks about ""their"" motel room. She confronts Ben, who explains that the girl was a study partner from the EMT training who tried to make a pass at him. He reminds Felicity that he already told her about the incident. He realizes that something is wrong, and tries to console Felicity about her uncertain future. Although he offers his support, she dumps him again. Richard discovers the truth about Felicity and Noel. Elena and Tracy ask Felicity to perform their wedding ceremony. Elena is perplexed when Tracy suddenly seems interested in sleeping together before the wedding. Sean, still fuming over Meghan's inclusion of Tracy on her ""list,"" bets that she could not even get a kiss for him. She tries and fails, leading to a confrontation

Ben and Felicity get back together. She confesses her fling with Noel to Javier, who promises, ""My lips are like glue sticks."" Felicity learns that she cannot get financial aid because all of the available funds have been distributed. She tries to apply for a scholarship, only to find that it no longer exists. Javier suggests that she enter a beauty pageant, but she is reluctant. Noel receives $50,000 for staying married to Natalie for a year. He doesn't really want anything to do with the money. Felicity turns him down when he offers to help with her tuition. She considers pleading with her father for help, but decides to do things on her own--even if it means entering the pageant. Sean experiences financial problems and faces eviction. Meghan goes against his wishes by arranging to have dinner with their parents. Sean upsets his father by suggesting that he will do something embarrassing. Mr. Blumberg refuses to attend. Meghan gets the event rescheduled as a brunch, and