DreamTheaterForums.org Dream Theater Fan Site
General => Movies and TV => Topic started by: TheOutlawXanadu on March 27, 2012, 12:42:19 PM
-
I think I started one of these a few years ago. Wanted to revisit it.
Let's appreciate the show Friends. Is it the funniest show ever? No. Is it the best written show ever? No. Does it have plot points that make no sense? Yea. It's a flawed show, but I love it because it's about the easiest show to watch ever. It's just six characters and you watch them live their lives. Great show to watch to relieve stress or relax over.
Anyone else a fan?
-
Big fan. Always loved the show. The first four or five seasons are pure gold, and the later seasons are mostly good as well despite some terrible storylines (the Joey/Rachel romance, the Tag character, etc.).
Chandler Bing (before he got with Monica) was one of the funniest characters ever.
Also, Rachel was funniest when acting all crazy or aloof - like when obsessed with that Joshua guy, or right before she had her baby.
-
I love it. It's one of our go-to things to turn on whenever it may be on. Have always loved it. Something enduring about it. I've seen these episodes a million times and will not likely ever get tired of them.
There are probably a handful that I don't like as much, but some that just really get me. The prom video episode, I really liked. When they realize what Ross was willing to do for Rachel and she just gets up, without a word, walks to him, and just lays it on him. When I first saw that (fun fact - I saw that when it first aired) I was like "that is one of the greatest moments in all of television".
Chandler Bing Miss Chanandler Bong
:lol
-
It's hard to top two specific episodes:
-The one where the guys win the apartment from the girls. "Big Fat Monica!"
-The one where everyone knows about Monica and Chandler, and he and Phoebe have a battle of wits to see who can go further with the other before giving in.
-
-The one where the guys win the apartment from the girls. "Big Fat Goalie!"
FTFY.
-
Oh shit, I can't believe I goofed that one up. :facepalm:
But yeah, that episode is the bee's knees.
Oh, and the outtake of Ross playing the bagpipes for the whole group (minus Joey) is awesome. Them all cracking up at Phoebe trying to mime along to Celebration is hilarious. Oh, and the outtake of "PIVOT!" is also hysterical.
-
No worries. =D
I think the episode that made me laugh more than any other was the one where Joey's fridge broke and he was trying to blame it on everyone.
But that series has a ton of great episodes. :tup
-
Friends is the worst show.
-
Friends is the worst show.
You are, indeed, multiple oafs.
Yes! My mission is complete! =D
-
My friend is in love with the show. I think it's okay to watch; the stories are nice, but I almost never find anything funny on the show. I don't see how my friend can crack up after almost every line of dialogue. I'm missing something. But that being said, I'm still okay with watching it.
-
Big fan. Always loved the show. The first four or five seasons are pure gold, and the later seasons are mostly good as well despite some terrible storylines (the Joey/Rachel romance, the Tag character, etc.).
Chandler Bing (before he got with Monica) was one of the funniest characters ever.
Also, Rachel was funniest when acting all crazy or aloof - like when obsessed with that Joshua guy, or right before she had her baby.
Agreed. Seasons One - Five are amazing, and then the quality dips a bit. The Joey/Rachel relationship is probably the worst plot line of the series. Also, the idea that Rachel would move to Paris even though a comparable job, the father of her child, her family and her friends are in New York always felt a little wrong to me.
-
-
-
Appreciated!
My sense of humor has sort of delved into darker and drier territories, so the show doesn't really make me laugh out loud anymore like it used to, except for Chandler who still makes me chuckle. It's one of these shows where you can watch the same episodes over and over and over and still enjoy them.
-
I think the worst episode had to be the one where Joey spoke French.
I lose brain cells just thinking about it.
-
I think the worst episode had to be the one where Joey spoke French.
I lose brain cells just thinking about it.
:lol Yea! There are a lot of moments like that later on in the series.
-
Je te code bleu!
-
Great show. Like mentioned, not the best show or anything thought provoking, but just a show you can watch and relax to. I have many fond memories of watching it over the years, and I will always have warm feelings towards it.
-
I have to admit that it didn't age very well with me.
I'd probably still watch an episode every now and again if it was on...and from the earlier seasons.
-
I likes me the Friends television program.
So I'm gonna do something like so, feel free to follow suit if you wish:
Hottest girl: Rachel
Hottest guy: check out Ross in the epi where he puts on that Frankie Say Relax shirt that he took back from Rachel- dude is lookin pretty ripped!
Funniest girl: Phoebe
Funniest guy: Chandler until he gets with Monica. Then it's Joey.
Best episode: It's been mentioned but the one where the guys win the apartment from the girls playing that quiz game. I think it's actually called "The One With the Embryos" or something like that. I'm also partial to the one where Ross & Rachel get hammered in Vegas ("Hello Vegas? Yes we need more alcohol, and also, we need more beers.")
-
*appreciates*
Will comment later.
-
This show is the latest victim to what I call the "Nick at Nite effect." I ignore a show while it's current, and then when it's added to the Nick at Nite lineup, I start watching it and wonder why I never gave it a chance before. :lol
-
The genius of this show was incorporating 6 characters and multiple story lines into a half hour show. They did it each show while keeping an ongoing plot throughout the series. Movies like Valentines Day and New Years Eve tried to do something similar with multiple story lines and characters, but i don't think it worked too well.
Friends was like I Love Lucy was in the 50's-60's (or so I've been told). It was the show to watch that everybody could relate to and fans will never get sick of it.
-Tof
-
Friends is the worst show.
You are, indeed, multiple oafs.
Yes! My mission is complete! =D
:tup
-
3rd favorite sit-com of all time (behind Cheers and Seinfeld). Given I was right in that age bracket when it started, I could totally relate to it. Followed it from episode 1. And in all honesty, the later years were better than Seinfeld's last years. Joey was my favorite character by far. It's odd, while I know off the top of my head the top Seinfeld episodes, I can't really pinpoint the top Friend's episodes. Maybe because they were just more consistent. Seinfeld had episodes that were out of this world, but also had some stinkers. Much more polarizing in quality than Friends. Friends was just awesome start to finish.
On second thought, I would have to say the "Commando" episode has to be up there. "It's a rented tux Ross, I'm not goin commando in another man's fatigue's".
And I'll voice what Coz did already. Check the thread title before laying a dump in here. It's an "appreciation" thread, not a "discussion" thread.
-
I think the worst episode had to be the one where Joey spoke French.
A lot of Joey's stories were really stupid once he and Chandler stopped living together. Plus, they made his character dumber in the latter years of the show, and while he was still funny at times, other times he was just annoyingly dumb.
-
I think I started one of these a few years ago. Wanted to revisit it.
Let's appreciate the show Friends. Is it the funniest show ever? No. Is it the best written show ever? No. Does it have plot points that make no sense? Yea. It's a flawed show, but I love it because it's about the easiest show to watch ever. It's just six characters and you watch them live their lives. Great show to watch to relieve stress or relax over.
Anyone else a fan?
Very well put, and agreed 100%. That's the greatest virtue of the show. I always want to watch it if it suddenly appears on my TV, independently of the mood I'm in or if it is the 10th time I watch the episode. I'm doing a run of the whole series (watched from season 6 to season 9 and now I'm on season 1) and there are episodes that never give me a chuckle, but I just find the story very entertaining.
The best things: 1. Chandler and Ross are really good characters 2. They explored a lot of subjects with the stories and the show never grew stale 3. There is a large number of episodes that are absolutely stellar and a small number with no redeeming qualities (I just watched the one where Chandler gets stuck with a supermodel on an ATM machine room during a blackout, it's hilarious).
I must point out the 3 worst things, though: 1. Overly stupid characters like Joey are irritating and the worst type of characters in sitcoms, ever. 2. The female characters are weak. Phoebe is awful most of the time, and Rachel and Monica became a one-trick phony after season 6. 3. The Ross-Rachel story was incredibly well done during most of the show but the series finale was disappointing.
-
mmmm Jill Goodacre!!!! That's the one where Ross is friend-zoned, and Paulo shows up.
"And now I'm chewing someone else's gum!"
Yeah, that's another favorite of mine.
-
Remember when you where a kid and your Mom would drop you off at the movies with a jar of jam and a little spoon?
-
I've been rewatching it with my girlfriend the last few months (slow going, but enjoyable nonetheless). Chandler had some of the best lines in the earlier seasons.
"Gum would be perfection."
-
By the way, I don't understand why haters feel that they have to come in and bash the show for no reason other than to share that they hate it.
-
Because some people aren't happy unless they're taking a shit all over someone else's enjoyment of something. Someone always has to come in and be "that" guy. Irritating as fuck.
-
mmmm Jill Goodacre!!!! That's the one where Ross is friend-zoned, and Paulo shows up.
"And now I'm chewing someone else's gum!"
Yeah, that's another favorite of mine.
I've been rewatching it with my girlfriend the last few months (slow going, but enjoyable nonetheless). Chandler had some of the best lines in the earlier seasons.
"Gum would be perfection."
:lol
Super moldel: Is there somebody you'd like to call?
Chandler thinking: Yeah, the 300 guys I went to highschool with.
-
That whole episode was amazing.
-
Because some people aren't happy unless they're taking a shit all over someone else's enjoyment of something. Someone always has to come in and be "that" guy. Irritating as fuck.
I can't stand Protest The.... Oh wait...
Yeah, Friends was pretty funny. We used to watch the re-runs way back when. I always enjoyed it, and Chandler was my favorite character.
-
By the way, I don't understand why haters feel that they have to come in and bash the show for no reason other than to share that they hate it.
Don't look at me, I was doing a favor to Jaffa.
-
I used to watch Friends every night back in the day. I loved it. I haven't watched it in a long time though. One of my favorite episodes was the one where Joey pretended to own the porch on the side of the road :lol
-
One of my favorite episodes was the one where Joey pretended to own the porch on the side of the road :lol
Haha yeah and then the old guy came back, threw Joey off his rocking chair and said "Give me my Werther's Originals back!".
Classic.
-
The best things: 1. Chandler and Ross are really good characters 2. They explored a lot of subjects with the stories and the show never grew stale 3. There is a large number of episodes that are absolutely stellar and a small number with no redeeming qualities (I just watched the one where Chandler gets stuck with a supermodel on an ATM machine room during a blackout, it's hilarious).
I must point out the 3 worst things, though: 1. Overly stupid characters like Joey are irritating and the worst type of characters in sitcoms, ever. 2. The female characters are weak. Phoebe is awful most of the time, and Rachel and Monica became a one-trick phony after season 6. 3. The Ross-Rachel story was incredibly well done during most of the show but the series finale was disappointing.
I agree with most of this, but while Phoebe character's had no depth (except for always alluding to her sordid past), she was always the corny, funny one of the girls.
Totally agree about Joey. Like I said before, they made him more stupid over time, which make him less likable and believable. Granted, he still had plenty of funny moments later in the series (JOEY DOESN'T SHARE FOOD!), but he also had tons of cringe-worthy ones as well.
And I definitely agree about the Ross and Rachel romance. I had a few girl friends who thought they should have always been together, but they were funnier on their own, being single, and having interactions and whatnot. Okay, Rachel had some disasters later in the series (Tag, Joey, etc.), but Ross had so many hilarious experiences with dates, and that wouldn't have been possible had he and Rachel been together all along. Not to mention that once Chandler and Monica became a couple, you didn't want to have two couples out of the six friends.
That leads to another question: was it always planned all along to hook Monica up with Chandler, or was that thought up on the fly? I thought it was genius at the time. It was something no one saw coming.
-
mmmm Jill Goodacre!!!! That's the one where Ross is friend-zoned, and Paulo shows up.
"And now I'm chewing someone else's gum!"
Yeah, that's another favorite of mine.
I've been rewatching it with my girlfriend the last few months (slow going, but enjoyable nonetheless). Chandler had some of the best lines in the earlier seasons.
"Gum would be perfection."
:lol
Super moldel: Is there somebody you'd like to call?
Chandler thinking: Yeah, the 300 guys I went to highschool with.
This is the second best line in the whole show.
-
JOEY DOESN'T SHARE FOOD!
I had this as an automated sound file on my phone, so that whenever anybody asked for a taste of whatever I was eating, I could play that right at them. Fucking gold. :lol
-
JOEY DOESN'T SHARE FOOD!
I had this as an automated sound file on my phone, so that whenever anybody asked for a taste of whatever I was eating, I could play that right at them. Fucking gold. :lol
Haha, that is great. The best part about that episode is when his date comes back out, Joey has eaten all of her dessert, and he just looks up at her, with food still on his face, and says, "I'm not even sorry." :rollin :rollin :rollin :rollin :rollin
-
It's the tone of his voice when he says "I'm not even sorry" that really knocks it out of the park. :rollin
-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-B2gUnL4SA&feature=related
-
:rollin :rollin :rollin
-
PIG ALERT:
Any show Rachael had the high beams on.
-
Which was a lot of them. :tup
-
That reminds me: what in the hell were Aniston and Cox thinking around the time of Season 6? Both of them look way too thin in that season. The episode in particular where Rachel moves out, where she and Monica are arguing the whole episode, Cox looks terrible in that episode; she looks like she is just getting over being sick. But fast forward a few seasons and they both looked great again. Well, check that, Aniston always looked great, but she just looked less great when she was too thin.
-
I've been thinking about great episodes and I have to mention 2:
When they never get dressed to go to some Ross' event (I think this was mentioned before)
When they play bamboozled (or something like that)
And of course, all these:
Ross had so many hilarious experiences with dates
I'll try to make a top of mind: when he tried to kiss his cousin, when he dated a student, when Charlie went back with his boyfriend right in front of him, when he was seeing some girl from Pougkeepsie (sp?), when his leather pants shrunk, and when his teeth are whitened.
-
When they play bamboozled (or something like that)
"THIS IS THE BEST GAME EVER!"
-
Bamboozled was awesome.
-
When they never get dressed to go to some Ross' event (I think this was mentioned before)
Yeah, I mentioned it. That's the infamous "Commando" episode. The entire episode plays out in real time, solely in the apartment.
-
Jennifer Aniston circa-1996 was probably the most beautiful woman ever. She was beautiful and sexy, but because she had a little baby fat on her she was also cute. She had the whole package.
Cox was also really attractive. It's a disgrace what she has done to herself lately. I listened to an interview with her on Howard Stern and she didn't seem all there. :lol
-
"What are you doing here... Weird Turtle Man?"
The Holiday Armadillo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCowrXGwdjs)
-
One of my favourite moments was when Ross was trying to get back with Emily and she finally phones. He's so excited that for no reason whatsoever, he picks up a table lamp and hands it to Chandler :rollin :rollin Random and hilarious.
-
Rachel: Ok. You decorate dad's office and so now you're a decorator. Okay! I went to the zoo yesterday and now I'm a koala bear!.. :lol
haha man i really love this show, each time i feel down or something i'm always watching Friends.. plus Phoebe's funny and her laugh omg it's contagious!! (if you have ever watch the bloopers)...
-
When they never get dressed to go to some Ross' event (I think this was mentioned before)
Yeah, I mentioned it. That's the infamous "Commando" episode. The entire episode plays out in real time, solely in the apartment.
That episode really showed the influence of Seinfeld: an episode about nothing. Just them getting ready to go out somewhere.
-
Joey has so many epic moments. I don't recall the season or the name of the episode, but I love the one where the gang is about to spend Thanksgiving at Monica and Chandler's, but for different reasons they all arrive late. Then they slide a note (or something) under the door, and Joey says: "Who do you think it's from?". Always cracks me up. :lol
-
Does Joey say "penis mom" or "penis model" in that one episode? My wife and I were arguing about this the other day when that episode was on. I've never watched the show religiously, but my wife has seen the whole series and has entire episodes memorized. I contend that he says "penis mom," even though it doesn't make much sense, that makes it funnier. And I looked up a youtube clip and people were having the same debate in the comments! But after cranking up the volume and listening several times, I still can't tell.
No one is going to know what I'm talking about.
-J
-
Model. They are trying to think of a job that women couldn't do and penis model was joey's answer.
Penis mom makes no sense on any level.
-
I agree with a lot of what's been said in this thread - Joey getting too stupid dampened his character a lot of the time, shite storylines like Joey/Rachel, Joey speaks French = worst episode ever, etc.
Chandler was the funniest character in terms of pure dialogue, but the funniest character for story was definitely Ross. Some of the stuff that happened to him during the course of that show is hysterical - the date with glow in the dark teeth, the date with leather pants, the Mona date where Rachel's dad shows up after finding out she's pregnant, etc.
I don't have a favourite episode, but I did REALLY like the two-episode alternate universe story they did.
Also,
MY SANDWICH
MY SANDWICH
MY SANDWICH
-
Yeah I agree that some of the situations Ross ended up in were hilarious.
Mental-Geller or whatever they call him. :lol
-
:hearts:
-
the Mona date where Rachel's dad shows up after finding out she's pregnant, etc.
Oh my how could I forget that. It's probably the one time I've laughed the most watching the show, at the same time feeling terrible for Ross :rollin.
Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jR8qwJGxLA (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jR8qwJGxLA) :rollin
EDIT: Oh and we he flirts with the pizza girl.
-
That is one of Ross' best scenes ever.
(to Rachel's dad) "Hey, I offered to marry her!"
(turns to Mono) "But I didn't want to."
:rollin :rollin :rollin :rollin :rollin
-
One of my favourite moments was when Ross was trying to get back with Emily and she finally phones. He's so excited that for no reason whatsoever, he picks up a table lamp and hands it to Chandler :rollin :rollin Random and hilarious.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zerbEWy6_dY
You're right, that's great
-
How about the epi where Ross has a weird thing on his ass?
"Oh it's nothing, just your run of the mill third nipple."
"That's not a nipple"
"No? Why not?"
"Well first of all it's on your ass."
-
Great show. Always watch it when it happens to be on. Although there were a couple of seasons near the end that I will skip.
Joey became one of my favorite characters and I love Jennifer Aniston.
One of my favorite scenes with Joey is when he is in the fat suit and showing what it would be like if he and Monica had hooked up in Europe. And he sits down and the table full of food and says, "Ahh...fried stuff with cheese!"
-
someone mentioned the episode already, but one of my favorite scenes was when Rachel made Thanksgiving dessert but the pages got stuck together so she combined trifle and Sheppard's pie.
Ross "it tastes like feet!"
Joey "what's not to like? Custard - good. Jam - good. Meat - GOOOOOOD"
-
Ross "it tastes like feet!"
Joey "I like it."
Ross "Are you kidding?"
Joey "what's not to like? Custard - good. Jam - good. Meat - GOOOOOOD"
FTFY.
... Yeah, I'm kind of a loser.
Also, Ross' delivery of 'it tastes like feet' was so excellent. :lol
-
Shepherd's Pie * :D
One of the best things EVER.
-
Ross "it tastes like feet!"
Joey "I like it."
Ross "Are you kidding?"
Joey "what's not to like? Custard - good. Jam - good. Meat - GOOOOOOD"
FTFY.
... Yeah, I'm kind of a loser.
Also, Ross' delivery of 'it tastes like feet' was so excellent. :lol
Thank you Captain anal. :lol. You're right, Ross's delivery was GOLD!
-
The ping pong game with Monica and Mike. First serve, Mike's like "Oh, uh, by the way. I'm awesome." :lol
-
You know who was really funny, but rarely gets talked about? David, Phoebe's scientist boyfriend, played brilliantly by Hank Azaria. His halting way of talking always killed me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY2BAuFeMdc
"Would you care for my seat as well?"
"Actually, yeah, that'd be great."
*pauses" "Well, that's fair, you've had a long trip."
:rollin :rollin :rollin :rollin :rollin
-
You know who was really funny, but rarely gets talked about? David, Phoebe's scientist boyfriend, played brilliantly by Hank Azaria. His halting way of talking always killed me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY2BAuFeMdc
"Would you care for my seat as well?"
"Actually, yeah, that'd be great."
*pauses" "Well, that's fair, you've had a long trip."
:rollin :rollin :rollin :rollin :rollin
That scene with Mike is marvelous. The guy is so charming.
-
This scene is win-saturated. So many funny things concentrated in such a short time-span. Ross tries to kiss his cousin:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me6Y16NpDug (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me6Y16NpDug)
The way he delivers the "sexiest movie ever" and "forget it, I'm going in" phrases is hilarious.
I think Ross has one of the greatest collections of awkward moments for any character, ever.
-
Ross tries to kiss his cousin
Possibly best Ross scene ever.
-
Cousin or not, who wouldn't try to kiss Denise Richards? :biggrin:
-
Best part about that one is the slow-mo scene and music whenever somebody stares at her. And at the end when Phoebe falls under her spell too and thinks to herself "go for it, she's not your cousin" or something like that :lol
-
Been catching some of the reruns lately again here and there and laughing a lot at them. I still say that Chandler (for seasons 1-5) is one of the funniest characters ever. He was still funny later on, but in the early seasons, his delivery was always so on the money.
In order of funniest (overall, from start to finish):
1. Chandler
2. Joey
3. Phoebe
4. Ross
5. Monica
6. Rachel
-
Yeah, Chandler is probably my favorite too. But I'd give Ross some love since some of my favorite scenes in the show involves him.
1. The whole UNAGI-episode and especially the ending when Ross (with a straight face) asks the self-defense guy how to best attack women, and tells him that he tried attacking his ex wife and her friend
2. The episode when Rachel's dad finds out she is pregnant and goes to confront Ross about it, and Mona is there. The cherry on the cake is when Joey calls in from Chandler's bachelor party and asks if Ross knows anything about the hooker, in the middle of him trying to calm Mona and Rachel's dad down
3. Ross insisting he is fine with Joey and Rachel going out while getting really drunk
4. Ross having to go all over town to make it in time for his other class at another school, so he wears roller blades.. I love it when he just passes out
I think all of those (or most of them) are from the latter seasons, but for whatever reason the latter seasons are the ones I have the most memories from. I think they might have played those reruns more on TV here.
-
Chandler is quite easily my favorite, then probably Ross. My favorite of the girls is Monica and least favorite is Rachel by far. Joey and Phoebe are funny, but they're not really believable characters, as in I don't really buy that they're really people. More like, ways to get jokes across.
-
Been catching some of the reruns lately again here and there and laughing a lot at them. I still say that Chandler (for seasons 1-5) is one of the funniest characters ever. He was still funny later on, but in the early seasons, his delivery was always so on the money.
In order of funniest (overall, from start to finish):
1. Chandler
2. Joey
3. Phoebe
4. Ross
5. Monica
6. Rachel
I'd agree with this, but even as good as Chandler was early on, Joey still gets my money as the funniest character.
Damn I wish I had the time to re-watch these.
-
Yeah, Chandler is probably my favorite too. But I'd give Ross some love since some of my favorite scenes in the show involves him.
Ross was arguably the funniest the last few seasons, but he was so annoying and not really funny at all early on, so when taking it all in as a whole, he just doesn't stack up to the other guys, IMO.
Chandler is quite easily my favorite, then probably Ross. My favorite of the girls is Monica and least favorite is Rachel by far. Joey and Phoebe are funny, but they're not really believable characters, as in I don't really buy that they're really people. More like, ways to get jokes across.
I can see that. Then again, didn't Lisa Kudrow basically play that same character in almost everything else she has ever done? :lol :lol Heck, even if Analyze This, she comes across as Phoebe playing the wife of a shrink who inadvertently got connected to the mob.
I'd agree with this, but even as good as Chandler was early on, Joey still gets my money as the funniest character.
Part of what made both Joey and Chandler so funny were their hilarious facial expressions.
-
One moment which makes me LOL hard every time is around :48 here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FToS7j8IvxI
"You're fake laughing, too, right?"
"Oh, the tears are real."
"Okay."
Joey's delivery of that last line while still smiling and laughing in pain is so awesome.
-
Part of what made both Joey and Chandler so funny were their hilarious facial expressions.
(https://replygif.net/i/456.gif)
Joey's 'shocked' expressions were gold.
I can't find it on YT, but one of my favorite Joey lines was when he was moving out in season 2, and he/Chandler were playing for the foosball table
Chandler - Your men are gonna get scored on more times than your little sister.
Joey... whoa, whoa, WHOA, WHOA!!!!! .... which sister?
-
Been catching some of the reruns lately again here and there and laughing a lot at them. I still say that Chandler (for seasons 1-5) is one of the funniest characters ever. He was still funny later on, but in the early seasons, his delivery was always so on the money.
In order of funniest (overall, from start to finish):
1. Chandler
2. Joey
3. Phoebe
4. Ross
5. Monica
6. Rachel
Switch Rachel and Monica, and that would be my list
-
I thought S5 was the worst. At least any Emily episode.
The scrappy doo of FRIENDS.
I like the later series where it goes more "comedy" and less "sitcom".
The humour is more weird and hilarious IMO.
-
I don't really remember much of the earlier seasons. I've seen it all at least twice, with some of the latter seasons more times, but to me those were more enjoyable. I don't know which season it happened, but Monica and Chandler hooking up was like a turning point, and most of what I remember liking (memorable episodes and such) happened after that.
-
Part of what made both Joey and Chandler so funny were their hilarious facial expressions.
(https://replygif.net/i/456.gif)
Joey's 'shocked' expressions were gold.
For sure. The one where Ross dates Janice ends up her telling Joey, "Well, Joey, that's two...," before laughing and leaving, leading to Joey giving Ross that big-eyed HOLY SHIT look.
Switch Rachel and Monica, and that would be my list
Monica and Rachel kind of switched places over time.
Early on, Monica was funny, while Rachel was usually a total bitch (albeit a hot as hell one). Just look at how rude she always was to Julie, who had nothing to her ever except date a guy Rachel was secretly in love with.
Later on, Rachel was funny, while Monica became really irritating and completely self-centered.
I thought S5 was the worst. At least any Emily episode.
Emily didn't bother me, and she was in much more of S4 than S5. She was talked about a lot in 5, due to the marriage being in limbo and then the breakup, but we saw her mostly in 4.
And Season 4 is, for me, hands down the best season of the show by a wide margin. Everything came together that season.
I don't really remember much of the earlier seasons. I've seen it all at least twice, with some of the latter seasons more times, but to me those were more enjoyable. I don't know which season it happened, but Monica and Chandler hooking up was like a turning point, and most of what I remember liking (memorable episodes and such) happened after that.
I think the turning point was Chandler and Monica getting engaged at the end of S6. The show was very hit or miss after that, after being mostly hit prior. Season 7 sure wasn't helped by the character Tag, who was not only an awful character, but was played by a terrible actor.
Plus, the serious moments early on were always done well, while later on, it's like they were too worried about the comedy always being at the forefront.
-
Opposite of characters that didn't work, what are some side-characters you guys did like? Personally I always had a soft spot for Paul Rudd as Mike. He just seems like such a normal guy, and his interactions with Phoebe (and her crazy shenanigans) often resulted in some hilarious scenes with him completely baffled over what was happening.
-
Paul Rudd is always great, so yeah, Mike was great. So was David, played brilliantly by Hank Azaria.
Even though she was only in a couple episodes, I thought Reese Witherspoon was great as Rachel's bratty sister Jill. "The only thing I can't have is dairy!" :lol :lol :lol
The parents were always great, especially Jack. The scene early in Season 3 when he checks on Monica following her break-up with Richard was one of the most touching of the entire series.
Monica's boyfriend's pre-Chandler were great. Both Richard and Pete were great.
I never much cared for Janice, especially later on when they'd have her pop up randomly out of nowhere, seemingly to get cheap pops out of the live studio audience.
You have to give props to Gunther, who had to have been in nearly every episode (except the vacation ones like Vegas, Barbados, etc.).
-
I liked the episode with Jon Lovitz playing that blind date.
" Don't touch my coat ! "
-
You have to give props to Gunther, who had to have been in nearly every episode (except the vacation ones like Vegas, Barbados, etc.).
According to IMDB, he was the #7 character - in 150 some odd episodes.
FYI, Jon Lovitz was a food critic that Monica was cooking for, and showed up completely stoned. That was a great scene.
Another favorite Joey-ism:
Chandler - Joey, what would you do if you were omnipotent?
Joey - probably kill myself.
Ross - Joey... OM-nipotent.
Joey - Oh Ross, I'm so sorry.
-
You reminded me ... ( i can't remember the exact quote but the gist is the same )...
Joey : Is Staten Island really an island ?
Chandler : Yes.
Joey : Oh, i thought it was like Long Island.
Chandler : ....Also an island.
-
Well, thanks to this discussion, I will now be revisiting the series via Netflix. I hope you are all happy now
-
Phoebe and Joey are my two favorite characters. About as dumb as they come, but really likable. Every other character goes through periods where I just can't stand them, especially Monica, who toward the end of the show becomes so unbearable that Mrs. TOX and I created a tradition of saying "Monica sucks" every time she does something annoying. :lol
-
My favourite character was Chandler as well, but one of my favourite episodes/scenes is the one in which Phoebe encourages a shy Ross to show his keyboard chops, and his expressions while playing :D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLa8Br569gA (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLa8Br569gA)
-
Ross playing any kind of instrument is awesome. I always loved the bagpipe-gag. Monica and Chandler's reactions to hearing Ross playing the bagpipe for the first time is spot on. "It sounds like the dying cats parade". Chandler squinting his eyes and saying "I think if you listen really closely... i THINK it's celebration by kool and the gang". :lol
-
I love the moments when you can tell the laughter is coming from the actors actually laughing uncontrollably.
-
I love the moments when you can tell the laughter is coming from the actors actually laughing uncontrollably.
A good example of that is Ross playing the bagpipe at the end credits and Phoebe (probably not even scripted) starts singing along to the noise and you can just tell Jennifer Aniston cracking up wasn't scripted. It's real tears!
-
Yep, and the outtakes are even funnier, with them all losing it.
The best outtake is still Ross yelling PIVOT over and over. :lol :lol :lol
-
Jennifer Aniston: "Something is happening"
:omg: :omg:
-
I'm the... HOLIDAY ARMADILLOOOOO
-
Jennifer Aniston: "Something is happening"
Yeah....it's called a cash grab :lol
Maybe it'd be neat and done well but honestly, no matter what they do it's not going to recapture what Friends was
-
Jennifer Aniston: "Something is happening"
Yeah....it's called a cash grab :lol
Maybe it'd be neat and done well but honestly, no matter what they do it's not going to recapture what Friends was
Wasn't a movie or something announced months ago?
-
Jennifer Aniston: "Something is happening"
Yeah....it's called a cash grab :lol
Maybe it'd be neat and done well but honestly, no matter what they do it's not going to recapture what Friends was
Wasn't a movie or something announced months ago?
I think that was a hoax
-
Jennifer Aniston: "Something is happening"
:omg: :omg:
AWESOME (if true)!!!
-
Jennifer Aniston: "Something is happening"
Has she landed a decent acting gig for the first time in 15 years?
-
Jennifer Aniston: "Something is happening"
Has she landed a decent acting gig for the first time in 15 years?
I really liked her performance in Derailed.
-
I really liked Aniston in Horrible Bosses, I thought she was hilarious. Also she was great in We're the Millers.
-
I mean compared to the rest, Jennifer Aniston is arguably the most relevant out of them in 2019. I've seen Matt appear on some late night show on youtube but I feel like i haven't seen Schwimmer or Perry in a LONG time. I think a new season or movie could be fun, I would have lowered expectations but it would be nice to see where they are all at now and what happened with their lives.
-
Wasn't the OJ series the biggest thing Schwimmer has done? Both Matt's had sitcoms recently, though I never watched either. Not sure what Kudrow has done; Cox had Cougartown for a few years, and that was pretty decent.
So yeah... Anniston is definitely the most successful of the bunch. She delivered a VERY powerful performance in Cake.
-
Wasn't the OJ series the biggest thing Schwimmer has done? Both Matt's had sitcoms recently, though I never watched either. Not sure what Kudrow has done; Cox had Cougartown for a few years, and that was pretty decent.
So yeah... Anniston is definitely the most successful of the bunch. She delivered a VERY powerful performance in Cake.
Leblanc has had great success. He hosted the new Top Gear for a few seasons as well.
-
Matt LeBlanc was in a show called Episodes and I think he won an Emmy for it too. I enjoyed that show a lot, he's playing 'Matt LeBlanc' and how he's doing post Friends.
-
Wasn't the OJ series the biggest thing Schwimmer has done?
(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/m9Z5xvdOtTo/maxresdefault.jpg)
Voice acting, but still.
He's also been on the reincarnated Will & Grace, which my wife watches.
-
Schwimmer had a decent, but limited, role in Band of Brothers. I thought he was excellent in that.,
-
Schwimmer had a decent, but limited, role in Band of Brothers. I thought he was excellent in that.,
Yeah....true. He fit that role pretty well.
-
My kid went through a Friends phase not long ago, and so I got to revisit a few episodes, and... they didn't really hold up for me.
Favorite characters:
Chandler
Phoebe
Monica (sometimes)
Joey (sometimes)
For me, Rachel and Ross are funny if the situation they are in is funny, but otherwise I find them annoying. I REALLY do not like Ross (or David Schwimmer, for that matter). I get that the "whiny-ness" is part of the character and part of the funny, but it's still annoying to me.
Since it's come up, I don't find Jennifer Aniston all that attractive (Phoebe, on the other hand...) so there wasn't that enamored-ness about her.
One guest appearance that I thought funny was Fisher Stevens as the therapist that Phoebe was dating. "You and your stupid big cups, which, I'm sorry, might as well have nipples on them..."
-
My favorite character was Chandler before he started dating Monica.
Next was Joey, then Phoebe.
I couldn't really stand any of the other characters. Other than Paul Rudd's character.
-
My kid went through a Friends phase not long ago, and so I got to revisit a few episodes, and... they didn't really hold up for me.
Favorite characters:
Chandler
Phoebe
Monica (sometimes)
Joey (sometimes)
For me, Rachel and Ross are funny if the situation they are in is funny, but otherwise I find them annoying. I REALLY do not like Ross (or David Schwimmer, for that matter). I get that the "whiny-ness" is part of the character and part of the funny, but it's still annoying to me.
Since it's come up, I don't find Jennifer Aniston all that attractive (Phoebe, on the other hand...) so there wasn't that enamored-ness about her.
One guest appearance that I thought funny was Fisher Stevens as the therapist that Phoebe was dating. "You and your stupid big cups, which, I'm sorry, might as well have nipples on them..."
I wasn't around when this thread was started, but I love Friends. Probably my favorite sitcom of all time. I watched it from day 1. I worked with a girl who had "the Rachel" haircut (before Rachel did).
Phoebe is my least favorite of the female characters and, IMO, the least attractive (Kudrow in Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion, on the other hand...). Aniston's and Cox's early series looks were very 90s. I generally preferred Cox toward the beginning of the show and Aniston later. Also not a Ross fan. He never really recovered after they made him crazy jealous in season 3 (the Mark storyline). All the other characters range between good and great.
For me, what's lasting about the show is how the characters developed and how the writers harkened back to earlier episodes (also didn't hurt that I'm basically the same age as the characters are supposed to be. They did a lot of "How I Met Your Mother" type things, but not in such an obvious way. Although the show was a hit from the beginning, season 1 (from which the Phoebe dates Roger, the shrink episode comes) was fairly uneven, which isn't surprising for a new show.
-
Chandler would be my favorite but I think Ross would be a close second. Some of the episodes I've laughed the hardest at have been because of Ross, one that comes to mind is the one where Rachel and Phoebe are taking self defense class and Ross goes to their instructor and tries to get tips on how to attack them. The episode when he goes to get a spray tan is another good one. :D
-
Chandler would be my favorite but I think Ross would be a close second. Some of the episodes I've laughed the hardest at have been because of Ross, one that comes to mind is the one where Rachel and Phoebe are taking self defense class and Ross goes to their instructor and tries to get tips on how to attack them. The episode when he goes to get a spray tan is another good one. :D
I find Ross to be pretty unbearable for most of the show, but some of my hardest laughs in the series come from him. The super white teeth, holiday armadillo, and "PIVOT!" split my sides every time.
-
Chandler would be my favorite but I think Ross would be a close second. Some of the episodes I've laughed the hardest at have been because of Ross, one that comes to mind is the one where Rachel and Phoebe are taking self defense class and Ross goes to their instructor and tries to get tips on how to attack them. The episode when he goes to get a spray tan is another good one. :D
I find Ross to be pretty unbearable for most of the show, but some of my hardest laughs in the series come from him. The super white teeth, holiday armadillo, and "PIVOT!" split my sides every time.
Ross was at his best in single-episode storylines (as opposed to multi-episode arcs relating to most of his relationships with women). The above were all great. Add to that list the leather pants and spray tan episodes.
On another subject, one of the absolute best Joey moments was in the episode where they watch the video of Ross and Rachel hooking up (when they conceived Emma) (s8:e4). R&R were arguing about who instigated the sex, and Ross said something like, "we don't need to argue about who came on to who," and Joey responded with "WHOM," at which point everyone else just stopped and looked at him. After a few seconds, Joey says, with a very smug look on his face, "That's right!" Well written and perfectly delivered.
The One Where Joey Speaks French (s10:e13) is also an absolute classic.
-
Ross was at his best in single-episode storylines (as opposed to multi-episode arcs relating to most of his relationships with women). The above were all great. Add to that list the leather pants and spray tan episodes.
For sure. .
My favorite Joey moment is when he goes to protect his meatball sub when they think they hear s gunshot during the ride along.
-
Ross was at his best in single-episode storylines (as opposed to multi-episode arcs relating to most of his relationships with women). The above were all great. Add to that list the leather pants and spray tan episodes.
For sure. .
My favorite Joey moment is when he goes to protect his meatball sub when they think they hear s gunshot during the ride along.
Another one:
Joey: "All right, Rach. The big question is, 'does he like you?' All right? Because if he doesn't like you, this is all a moo point."
Rachel: "Huh. A moo point?"
Joey: "Yeah, it's like a cow's opinion. It just doesn't matter. It's moo."
Rachel: "Have I been living with him for too long, or did that all just make sense?"
-
PG just gave me a thought: I'm going to have to think about it a little bit, but as I scan down shows I liked, I'm not sure I EVER really liked the "arcs" in ANY show. It always seemed that that's when the shows jumped the shark, when the story line sort of overwhelmed the funny. Yeah, I know, "people gotta grow", but I have enough "growth" in my life, I don't need to watch Sheldon Cooper find a soul. :)
-
Ross was at his best in single-episode storylines (as opposed to multi-episode arcs relating to most of his relationships with women). The above were all great. Add to that list the leather pants and spray tan episodes.
For sure. .
My favorite Joey moment is when he goes to protect his meatball sub when they think they hear s gunshot during the ride along.
Another one:
Joey: "All right, Rach. The big question is, 'does he like you?' All right? Because if he doesn't like you, this is all a moo point."
Rachel: "Huh. A moo point?"
Joey: "Yeah, it's like a cow's opinion. It just doesn't matter. It's moo."
Rachel: "Have I been living with him for too long, or did that all just make sense?"
That one is excellent :lol
I love when Chandler and Rachel are eating cake off the floor in the hallway and when Joey stumbles upon them, he crouches down, pulls a fork out of his inside pocket, and says "alright, what are we having?" :lol
The soup commercial audition is good too.
-
PG just gave me a thought: I'm going to have to think about it a little bit, but as I scan down shows I liked, I'm not sure I EVER really liked the "arcs" in ANY show. It always seemed that that's when the shows jumped the shark, when the story line sort of overwhelmed the funny. Yeah, I know, "people gotta grow", but I have enough "growth" in my life, I don't need to watch Sheldon Cooper find a soul. :)
I'd say this is the case for me as well, but there are a few that stand out as an exception with little thought.
I loved pretty much every arch in the show Parks and Recreation, and a lot of the arcs in Curb Your Enthusiasm are what make the show.
-
Seinfeld writing a Pilot for NBC would like a word with you Stads.
Joey was my favorite character. So many great moments. Love the time when Chandler gets him to adopt the stage name "Joseph Stalin".
@ Pg... my favorite moment in that episode of Ross/Rachel conceiving is where Rachel tries to justify the story was told to a friend of hers by Ken Adams, and Joey immediately points to himself. Not sure why I loved that moment, but I lost my shit.
-
@ Pg... my favorite moment in that episode of Ross/Rachel conceiving is where Rachel tries to justify the story was told to a friend of hers by Ken Adams, and Joey immediately points to himself. Not sure why I loved that moment, but I lost my shit.
I thought they set that up really well in the prior scenes in that episode.
-
Seinfeld writing a Pilot for NBC would like a word with you Stads.
This is to Chino as well, but in my head I sort of rationalized Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm, because I didn't really consider them having arcs. The only ones I could think of was George's marriage, and Larry's separation, and those weren't really arcs per se, because nothing really changed. There wasn't any real growth from any of those characters, and in fact, Seinfeld sort of bragged about that. Not like Sheldon Cooper who basically redefined himself over the x years of Big Bang Theory. Hawkeye Pearce went soft, even Archie Bunker went soft at the end (what was the show sans-Edith?) it's like everyone wants to be lovable after a while.
-
"Hi, Emma, it's the year 2020. Are you still enjoying your nap?"
https://etcanada.com/news/566754/actress-who-played-baby-emma-on-friends-uses-chandlers-2020-joke-to-ring-in-new-year/
-
The Brits did it better with Coupling.
....by like a million billion.
-
The Brits did it better with Coupling.
....by like a million billion.
Did what? I love coupling, but these shows have almost nothing in common.
-
The Brits did it better with Coupling.
....by like a million billion.
Did what? I love coupling, but these shows have almost nothing in common.
This reminds me of something Rik Emmett has said in relation to the numerous comparisons that journalists and fans used to draw between Triumph and Rush. Something along the lines of, "we were both 3-piece bands from the Toronto area, but that's about it." Friends and Coupling were both sitcoms with a 6 member (3M & 3F) ensemble cast of (relatively) young adults.
-
I think Coupling is funnier and better written but it's also hard to compare the two on a quality level as Coupling's number of episodes amount to just a bit more than 1 season of Friends. And yeah the comparison that its about 3 men, 3 women - all friends (some in relationships) just feels very surface level and they do feel very different I'd say.
-
And yet, because the premise is the same (6 friends. 3M/3F, same age, hang out in the same pub/coffee house, writing that mostly revolves around their romantic relationships....etc) most of the general public will inevitably make the comparison. But I agree that once you actually watch the show, the differences abound. And those differences show Coupling and a richer and far superior product IMO.
-
And yet, because the premise is the same (6 friends. 3M/3F, same age, hang out in the same pub/coffee house, writing that mostly revolves around their romantic relationships....etc) most of the general public will inevitably make the comparison. But I agree that once you actually watch the show, the differences abound. And those differences show Coupling and a richer and far superior product IMO.
I mean, I say this as a HUGE coupling fan, but as someone else pointed out, it's really easy to say something with essentially 1 season's worth of episodes is superior to 10 seasons (or whatever Friends had). And, let's be honest here, Coupling's Fourth series was much much weaker than the first three when Jeff left the show. Friends had 236 episodes, which is basically 10 times more than Coupling. Firefly has the same issue. It's really easy to look at something with just a few episodes as amazing since it didn't really have time to fail. You give Coupling 200 more episodes and you'll get a very very mediocre show, as it was heading toward.
Again, giant fan of Coupling.
-
Having heard a lot of comments about Coupling along the lines of what Ben wrote, I started watching it. I think I got through the first to episodes.
My first impression was that the production value was terrible. It looked like something produced by a college student.
In terms of writing/dialog and acting, it felt like someone said, "hey, let's make a Friends-like porno movie, but without any nudity or actual sex." The jokes were juvenile (basically a one-trick pony), and the acting was mostly horrible. I like Gina Bellman from her time on leverage, but she was downright awful. The best thing about it was Susan, and that's only because she was hot.
Absolutely NOTHING about those two episodes was done "better" than anything Friends did. Friends took a few episodes to find its groove, so I'll keep watching, but unless things improve significantly, I can't myself making it past four or five episodes.
-
Having heard a lot of comments about Coupling along the lines of what Ben wrote, I started watching it. I think I got through the first to episodes.
My first impression was that the production value was terrible. It looked like something produced by a college student.
In terms of writing/dialog and acting, it felt like someone said, "hey, let's make a Friends-like porno movie, but without any nudity or actual sex." The jokes were juvenile (basically a one-trick pony), and the acting was mostly horrible. I like Gina Bellman from her time on leverage, but she was downright awful. The best thing about it was Susan, and that's only because she was hot.
Absolutely NOTHING about those two episodes was done "better" than anything Friends did. Friends took a few episodes to find its groove, so I'll keep watching, but unless things improve significantly, I can't myself making it past four or five episodes.
The first episodes are more of an introduction of characters. Sex, Death, and Nudity is the first one that made me fall out of my chair. (The giggle loop is still a running gag in my house to this day).
But it’s Steven Moffatt’s writing in seasons 2&3 especially that make it the greatest and funniest show in history to me. In fact it has passed MASH as my all time favorite show.
-
Having heard a lot of comments about Coupling along the lines of what Ben wrote, I started watching it. I think I got through the first to episodes.
My first impression was that the production value was terrible. It looked like something produced by a college student.
In terms of writing/dialog and acting, it felt like someone said, "hey, let's make a Friends-like porno movie, but without any nudity or actual sex." The jokes were juvenile (basically a one-trick pony), and the acting was mostly horrible. I like Gina Bellman from her time on leverage, but she was downright awful. The best thing about it was Susan, and that's only because she was hot.
Absolutely NOTHING about those two episodes was done "better" than anything Friends did. Friends took a few episodes to find its groove, so I'll keep watching, but unless things improve significantly, I can't myself making it past four or five episodes.
The first episodes are more of an introduction of characters. Sex, Death, and Nudity is the first one that made me fall out of my chair. (The giggle loop is still a running gag in my house to this day).
But it’s Steven Moffatt’s writing in seasons 2&3 especially that make it the greatest and funniest show in history to me. In fact it has passed MASH as my all time favorite show.
Ok, so I've now watched through season 2, episode 4 ("The Melty Man Cometh"). I'd not have gotten this far had the show not improved, but most of my initial assessments still hold.
The production value has improved only a little, and it still feels like it was written by some sex-obsessed college kid. I keep waiting for an episode that doesn't revolve primarily around a sexual theme, and it hasn't happened yet. The show and the characters are extremely one-dimensional and, therefore, have no real appeal as people (except as sex objects). And, unfortunately, even when the show does hit on something funny, it drives it into the ground, and I've found myself more than once thinking, "ok, I get it; move on." No subtlety whatsoever.
I did not find the "Sex, Death and Nudity" episode particularly funny (although it did have a couple moments that made me laugh). The "giggle loop" was particularly unfunny in that it simply slapped a silly name on something virtually everyone is familiar with.
"The Girl with Two Breasts," however, was, on the whole, quite funny. The setup with the girl speaking Hebrew, followed by the depiction of the conversation from the opposite point of view.
Also, the Coupling theme song SUCKS.
So, I'm still at a bit of a loss about the purpose of you popping into this thread and writing, "The Brits did it better with Coupling." You didn't answer Adami's question, "Did what?" It certainly seems to be the case that the two shows didn't do any or many of the same things and really are nothing more than sitcoms with 3M/3F ensemble casts. Other than that, the two shows don't seem to have anything in common.
-
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/friends-reunion-special-officially-a-go-at-hbo-max-1280432
-
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/friends-reunion-special-officially-a-go-at-hbo-max-1280432
"Unscripted reunion special." Not sure what to make of that. I would have hoped for an hour or two hour special where the cast gathers for something (since Ron Leibman died a couple months ago, gathering for Rachel's father's funeral would have made sense).
Since they took Friends off Netflix, I went ahead and bought the complete series on DVD, so I've been discovering all of the added scenes on the discs, and my 16yo daughter has been binging along with me.
-
I assume it's them on stage delivering (unscripted) talking points and then answering agreed upon questions by a host, then MAYBE heavily vetted questions from the audience.
Not super pumped if that's what it is.
-
I assume it's them on stage delivering (unscripted) talking points and then answering agreed upon questions by a host, then MAYBE heavily vetted questions from the audience.
Not super pumped if that's what it is.
My thinking and feelings as well (which isn't to say I won't grab some sort of preview deal and subscribe and watch). The only thing noticeably missing from the DVDs is cast commentary. I'd love to hear Courteney Cox comment on the couple episodes where she did scenes in lingerie or Matt Leblanc and Lisa Kudrow comment on The One Where Joey Speaks French (or about 100 other episodes/scenes).
-
Anyone else manage to watch all of the Thanksgiving episodes this week? I managed to DVR them all off TNT and get through them all at some point this week. A friend did the same thing and sent me her ranking of the nine Thanksgiving episodes. :lol
We both agreed that the Brad Pitt episode and the One Where Ross Got High (when Rachel makes the trifle wrong) are 1a and 1b. All are really good.
-
Anyone else manage to watch all of the Thanksgiving episodes this week? I managed to DVR them all off TNT and get through them all at some point this week. A friend did the same thing and sent me her ranking of the nine Thanksgiving episodes. :lol
We both agreed that the Brad Pitt episode and the One Where Ross Got High (when Rachel makes the trifle wrong) are 1a and 1b. All are really good.
I can't remember which day it was, but I caught a few of them. My wife was sick in bed all day on Thursday, so our Thanksgiving got postponed to Friday.
Without giving it too much thought, I would probably rank the Thanksgiving episodes thusly:
1T. TO with All the Thanksgivings (s5)
1T. TO Where Ross Got High (s6) (the trifle subplot and Judy's shotgun response to all the information she got were two of the series' most epic moments)
3. TO Where Underdog Gets Away (s1)
4. TO with the Football (s3)
5. TO with the Late Thanksgiving (s10)
6. TO with the Rumor (s8) (this is the Brad Pitt episode)
7. TO with Chandler in a Box (s4) (I was NOT a fan of the Kathy story arc)
8. TO Where Chandler Doesn't Like Dogs (s7) (another TG episode tarnished by a bad boy/girlfriend story arc; this time it's Tag; the 50 states game subplot was, however, hilarious)
9. TO with Rachel's Other Sister (s9) (Christina Applegate as Amy Green was brilliant, but this episode just didn't work)
-
"It tastes like feet!"
One of my favorite lines from the entire series.
-
"It tastes like feet!"
One of my favorite lines from the entire series.
Absolutely! The outtakes from that scene make it even better!
-
Without giving it too much thought, I would probably rank the Thanksgiving episodes thusly:
1T. TO with All the Thanksgivings (s5)
1T. TO Where Ross Got High (s6) (the trifle subplot and Judy's shotgun response to all the information she got were two of the series' most epic moments)
3. TO Where Underdog Gets Away (s1)
4. TO with the Football (s3)
5. TO with the Late Thanksgiving (s10)
6. TO with the Rumor (s8) (this is the Brad Pitt episode)
7. TO with Chandler in a Box (s4) (I was NOT a fan of the Kathy story arc)
8. TO Where Chandler Doesn't Like Dogs (s7) (another TG episode tarnished by a bad boy/girlfriend story arc; this time it's Tag; the 50 states game subplot was, however, hilarious)
9. TO with Rachel's Other Sister (s9) (Christina Applegate as Amy Green was brilliant, but this episode just didn't work)
Nice!
I think the S7 one was easily the least best. Season 7 was by far the weakest season anyway, so it makes sense that it had the least best Turkey Day episode.
I liked the one with Amy a lot, although it's hard to put that over some of these others.
The football one from S3 is just a lot of fun.
The original from 1 was great, and had one of the nicest moments of the first season when, after all of their plans went to shit, they realized how nice it was for them all to be together.
Sidebar: I was not a fan of Kathy arc either, even though 4 is my favorite season. After all of Chandler's pining and what he and Joey went through to renew their friendship, they broke them up way too quickly. And I thought it was odd that we never saw Kathy and Joey interact in the entire time Chandler and Kathy dated, outside of their brief moment at the door in the Thanksgiving episode when Chandler was in the box. Were we supposed to believe that she was always coming over now to sleep with Chandler and never saw Joey?
-
Sidebar: I was not a fan of Kathy arc either, even though 4 is my favorite season. After all of Chandler's pining and what he and Joey went through to renew their friendship, they broke them up way too quickly. And I thought it was odd that we never saw Kathy and Joey interact in the entire time Chandler and Kathy dated, outside of their brief moment at the door in the Thanksgiving episode when Chandler was in the box. Were we supposed to believe that she was always coming over now to sleep with Chandler and never saw Joey?
Season 4 was the season of bad hair. Paget Brewster's hair was AWFUL, and I had a very hard time buying that both Chandler and Joey would be taken with her. Monica's hair in season 4 was also terrible.
I've never given any thought to which season was my favorite, but 4 has some great moments. The carry-over of the last episode of season 3 and the first episode of 4 (at the beach house) was great. I was glad they quickly moved past the botched attempt for R&R to get back together. Chandler's "relationship" with Rachel's boss was good. "I want to quit the gym!" I'm not a big Phoebe fan, but I liked how they worked Lisa Kudrow's pregnancy into the show. TO with the Embryos might be the show's all-time best episode. "HE'S A TRANSPONSTER!!!" Free porn!
The worst part about season 4 is the Emily story arc (although there were many good moments within that arc). On the other hand, the writers used the existence of that ill-advised relationship to great effect in subsequent seasons.
-
Season 4 was the season of bad hair. Paget Brewster's hair was AWFUL, and I had a very hard time buying that both Chandler and Joey would be taken with her. Monica's hair in season 4 was also terrible.
I've never given any thought to which season was my favorite, but 4 has some great moments. The carry-over of the last episode of season 3 and the first episode of 4 (at the beach house) was great. I was glad they quickly moved past the botched attempt for R&R to get back together. Chandler's "relationship" with Rachel's boss was good. "I want to quit the gym!" I'm not a big Phoebe fan, but I liked how they worked Lisa Kudrow's pregnancy into the show. TO with the Embryos might be the show's all-time best episode. "HE'S A TRANSPONSTER!!!" Free porn!
The worst part about season 4 is the Emily story arc (although there were many good moments within that arc). On the other hand, the writers used the existence of that ill-advised relationship to great effect in subsequent seasons.
Hmmm, I think Courteney Cox looked great with shorter hair like she had in S4. Different strokes.
The One with the Cuffs (Chandler and Rachel's boss fooling around) is a top 5 Friends episode, IMO. Ever notice how the episodes where Chandler and Rachel had a storyline to themselves where none of the other four were really involved were always great? Too bad there weren't more of those.
The one where Joey teaches Treeger, the superintendent, how to dance is awesome, too. Treeger has the best one-liner by a character who wasn't one of the main six.
Joey knocks out the door to accost him for yelling at Rachel and Treeger sees him and says, "Tribiani...hang on, I'll get the plunger." (the obvious implication being that Joey is always stopping up the toilet) :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol
-
Hmmm, I think Courteney Cox looked great with shorter hair like she had in S4. Different strokes.
The One with the Cuffs (Chandler and Rachel's boss fooling around) is a top 5 Friends episode, IMO. Ever notice how the episodes where Chandler and Rachel had a storyline to themselves where none of the other four were really involved were always great? Too bad there weren't more of those.
The one where Joey teaches Treeger, the superintendent, how to dance is awesome, too. Treeger has the best one-liner by a character who wasn't one of the main six.
Joey knocks out the door to accost him for yelling at Rachel and Treeger sees him and says, "Tribiani...hang on, I'll get the plunger." (the obvious implication being that Joey is always stopping up the toilet) :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol
It wouldn't have been bad if Treeger had been written into a few more episodes. He was excellent in the episodes where he appeared -- the one you mentioned in particular. And I fully agree that there were a couple of character combos that were relatively infrequent but always great. Jennifer Aniston had great comedic chops.
As far as hair, Monica's season 2 short hair was great, but for my money, that season 4 hair was pretty much the worst (with the exception of the Barbados frizzy hair). I'm generally not a fan of short hair on women (case in point being when Jennifer Aniston chopped her hair about 7 episodes into season 7 -- in the middle of the Tag fiasco).
-
I love the show and it definitely got better and found its own voice as it went on.
I hated whichever series had Emily. But after that it sorta changed direction and it almost became more of a sketch show than a sitcom - in a good way.
The whole " Joey Doesn't Share Food " bit for example.
Tiresome people who are just watching it now and are "re-evaluating" it because Kathleen Turner plays Chandler's Dad - ergo - taking the piss out of trans people - can get in the Marianas trench.
What about all the other people it poked fun at ? It's a comedy show fgs. Also - I watched it at the time and I don't remember ANY controversy.
The internet gives everyone a voice unfortunately PLUS as i said already - most of the time - people get offended on other people's behalf
and like to 'call out' and 'start a debate' primarily and exclusively to make themselves look righteous in the process.
----
TL;DR Great Show. Emily Sucks.
-
It wouldn't have been bad if Treeger had been written into a few more episodes. He was excellent in the episodes where he appeared -- the one you mentioned in particular. And I fully agree that there were a couple of character combos that were relatively infrequent but always great. Jennifer Aniston had great comedic chops.
As far as hair, Monica's season 2 short hair was great, but for my money, that season 4 hair was pretty much the worst (with the exception of the Barbados frizzy hair). I'm generally not a fan of short hair on women (case in point being when Jennifer Aniston chopped her hair about 7 episodes into season 7 -- in the middle of the Tag fiasco).
I agree about Aniston's comedy chops. Rachel could be hilarious when she was a bit neurotic, like when she was on the verge of having the baby, or when obsessing over Joshua, etc. But I can't agree about her in Season 7 as far as her looks go. Jennifer Aniston was all-time hot in Season 1 and then again in Seasons 7 and 8, with shorter or long hair.
That actor who played Tag was still about the worst, though. That guy couldn't act to save his life. Same goes for David Arquette, who was dreadful in the episode where he played the stalker of Phoebe's twin, but to be fair, Arquette isn't capable of anything more that what he showed.
-
It wouldn't have been bad if Treeger had been written into a few more episodes. He was excellent in the episodes where he appeared -- the one you mentioned in particular. And I fully agree that there were a couple of character combos that were relatively infrequent but always great. Jennifer Aniston had great comedic chops.
As far as hair, Monica's season 2 short hair was great, but for my money, that season 4 hair was pretty much the worst (with the exception of the Barbados frizzy hair). I'm generally not a fan of short hair on women (case in point being when Jennifer Aniston chopped her hair about 7 episodes into season 7 -- in the middle of the Tag fiasco).
I agree about Aniston's comedy chops. Rachel could be hilarious when she was a bit neurotic, like when she was on the verge of having the baby, or when obsessing over Joshua, etc. But I can't agree about her in Season 7 as far as her looks go. Jennifer Aniston was all-time hot in Season 1 and then again in Seasons 7 and 8, with shorter or long hair.
That actor who played Tag was still about the worst, though. That guy couldn't act to save his life. Same goes for David Arquette, who was dreadful in the episode where he played the stalker of Phoebe's twin, but to be fair, Arquette isn't capable of anything more that what he showed.
Eddie Cahill; yeah, he's not Nicholson, that's for sure. But he nailed Jim Craig in "Miracle".
-
I agree about Aniston's comedy chops. Rachel could be hilarious when she was a bit neurotic, like when she was on the verge of having the baby, or when obsessing over Joshua, etc. But I can't agree about her in Season 7 as far as her looks go. Jennifer Aniston was all-time hot in Season 1 and then again in Seasons 7 and 8, with shorter or long hair.
That actor who played Tag was still about the worst, though. That guy couldn't act to save his life. Same goes for David Arquette, who was dreadful in the episode where he played the stalker of Phoebe's twin, but to be fair, Arquette isn't capable of anything more that what he showed.
As you mentioned earlier about the hair, different strokes.
The Tag story arc was just poorly written. The episode where they went back to the office to prove whether or not Rachel had left something for Tag to do.... Ugh. And I think that was in the same episode where Phoebe was having problems with her smoke detector, which was just hilarious!
Eddie Cahill; yeah, he's not Nicholson, that's for sure. But he nailed Jim Craig in "Miracle".
Jim Craig and Eddie Cahill did gay porn?! :eek
-
I agree about Aniston's comedy chops. Rachel could be hilarious when she was a bit neurotic, like when she was on the verge of having the baby, or when obsessing over Joshua, etc. But I can't agree about her in Season 7 as far as her looks go. Jennifer Aniston was all-time hot in Season 1 and then again in Seasons 7 and 8, with shorter or long hair.
That actor who played Tag was still about the worst, though. That guy couldn't act to save his life. Same goes for David Arquette, who was dreadful in the episode where he played the stalker of Phoebe's twin, but to be fair, Arquette isn't capable of anything more that what he showed.
As you mentioned earlier about the hair, different strokes.
The Tag story arc was just poorly written. The episode where they went back to the office to prove whether or not Rachel had left something for Tag to do.... Ugh. And I think that was in the same episode where Phoebe was having problems with her smoke detector, which was just hilarious!
Eddie Cahill; yeah, he's not Nicholson, that's for sure. But he nailed Jim Craig in "Miracle".
Jim Craig and Eddie Cahill did gay porn?! :eek
Bonus footage on the DVD! ALWAYS watch the deleted scenes!!! :)
-
Bonus footage on the DVD! ALWAYS watch the deleted scenes!!! :)
:lol :lol
-
We both agreed that the Brad Pitt episode and the One Where Ross Got High (when Rachel makes the trifle wrong) are 1a and 1b. All are really good.
That's crazy, I totally remember the trifle "Custard, good; jam, good; meat, GOOD" but not Ross ever getting high.
-
Well, Ross didn't get high in the episode in the present time. He stated that he got high in college and told his parents that Chandler was the high one when I think they smelled pot in their house since Chandler was trying to figure out why Ross and Monica's parents don't like him (and why Monica hasn't told her parents that she and Chandler are in a relationship and living together).
-
That actor who played Tag was still about the worst, though. That guy couldn't act to save his life.
He was one of the cutest of their boyfriends though, I'd only rank Mike above him. Phoebe had a good romantic life, when she wanted hookups she had hookups and as soon she wanted a boyfriend, she would get one :lol nothing like what Monica and Rachel had to go through.
-
Well, Ross didn't get high in the episode in the present time. He stated that he got high in college and told his parents that Chandler was the high one when I think they smelled pot in their house since Chandler was trying to figure out why Ross and Monica's parents don't like him (and why Monica hasn't told her parents that she and Chandler are in a relationship and living together).
More or less correct, and the name of the episode, "The One Where Ross Got High," is a bit misleading since it refers to an event that happened basically a decade prior, and it was a relatively small part of the episode.
That actor who played Tag was still about the worst, though. That guy couldn't act to save his life.
He was one of the cutest of their boyfriends though, I'd only rank Mike above him. Phoebe had a good romantic life, when she wanted hookups she had hookups and as soon she wanted a boyfriend, she would get one :lol nothing like what Monica and Rachel had to go through.
I couldn't stand Tag. In fact, they really didn't give Rachel very good boyfriends: Paul (Bruce Willis), Tag and Joshua (which was basically over before it began). I'm sure that was intentional. Phoebe was an odd one. If you'd done a survey after the first couple seasons and asked which of the two women would be married at the end of the series, I'm sure Phoebe would have gotten the fewest votes. Then again, Vikram was a super serious relationship, so it's a little sad they didn't end up together! ;-)
-
In fact, they really didn't give Rachel very good boyfriends: Paul (Bruce Willis), Tag and Joshua (which was basically over before it began). I'm sure that was intentional.
The way they handled Rachel and Ross is one of my biggest complaints. They at least tried with Ross and some of his girlfriends, and he broke up with most of them over Rachel. With Rachel it was as if they couldn't give her anyone halfway plausible. If they wanted to spend all that time with the two of them playing cat and mouse, they should have spent more time happy together, because she was just spinning her wheels during the breaks.
-
I'm not a Friends die-hard like some here (not a knock; I certainly get why people like the show) but for me, the Rachel - Ross was a hurdle I could not cross. I didn't like Ross at all; I didn't think he was funny, I didn't care about his neuroses... and for him to actually win Rachel for me was too tough to swallow.
-
I get putting them together at the end, but Ross and Rachel were both far more entertaining when they were not a couple. Ross was too whiney early on, but once he became a little neurotic (following the Emily breakup), he was pretty funny. Granted, he was the 3rd funniest of 3 lead male characters, and the other 2 were, IMO, among the funniest characters ever in sitcom history, so he is easy to overlook.
-
Anyone care to explain why Friends is generally universally loved, yet The Big Bang Theory is disliked so much (outside of it's core fanbase obviously).
Cards on the table I don't like either much - but my wife watches both so I've seen lots of episodes of both shows and to me there isn't that much difference, in fact they both have very similar style of comedy, with both rely heavy on setup and pay off reaction jokes (not a criticism just not my thing).
-
Big Bang Theory is fascinating to me; there's not one character I really like on that show, and yet... it's astounding how much I watch it (it's on my local station every night at 6:00 and on weekends following the local news). After the second season or so, Sheldon is annoying and pedantic, not funny. Once Leonard "got the girl" he got boring. Howard was funny when he was a lech; he a bore when he's a failed Borscht Belt comic. Raj has his moments, but the metrosexual thing isn't really funny to me. Stuart is a waste of airtime. I liked Penny when she was the untouchable hot slutty girl next door; the love affair with Leonard was totally unbelievable to me, and once she was watered down, she was more annoying than she was hot. Bernadette... I don't even know where to begin. Amy Farrah-Fowler was funny in her very early appearances when she was a more pure version of Sheldon, but they neutered her quickly and that was that. Kripke and the geology guy were useless as well.
The funniest parts of the show by far were the guest appearances. Adam West was always worth a hoot and Bob Newhart as a "Jedi vision" may be the greatest situational character in the history of TV comedy (right up there with Col. Flagg from M*A*S*H).
-
TBBT is one of the most awesomely bad shows of all time. The writing is pretty cringe at times, and the jokes are soooo forced, but for some reason I don't care. There's enough in there for me to really enjoy it. I freaking love Kripke though. Most of his scenes are gold, and he was hilarious in the fighting robot episode (The Kripke Krippler). The show is to TV what Kiss is to rock music :heart
Runs for cover
-
TBBT is one of the most awesomely bad shows of all time. The writing is pretty cringe at times, and the jokes are soooo forced, but for some reason I don't care. There's enough in there for me to really enjoy it. I freaking love Kripke though. Most of his scenes are gold, and he was hilarious in the fighting robot episode (The Kripke Krippler). The show is to TV what Kiss is to rock music :heart
Runs for cover
You hurt me. ;) :)
(I see what you mean, though!)
-
Anyone care to explain why Friends is generally universally loved, yet The Big Bang Theory is disliked so much (outside of it's core fanbase obviously).
Because tastes and weasel words. "Generally universally loved"? "Disliked so much"? Both shows are among the most popular network shows of all time. BBT has a bunch of vocal detractors,** but it was and still is incredibly popular and ITS "core fanbase" is massive.
** - As does Friends. I hate using this term, but "woke culture" seems to get its jollies by criticizing the show for "homophobia" and "fat shaming" (among other things).
-
It's my understanding that that is going to be an Olympic sport starting in 2024: looking back at beloved shows from 20, 30, 40 years ago and critiquing them on the most stringent identity politics standards of the current day.
-
Anyone care to explain why Friends is generally universally loved, yet The Big Bang Theory is disliked so much (outside of it's core fanbase obviously).
Because tastes and weasel words. "Generally universally loved"? "Disliked so much"? Both shows are among the most popular network shows of all time. BBT has a bunch of vocal detractors,** but it was and still is incredibly popular and ITS "core fanbase" is massive.
** - As does Friends. I hate using this term, but "woke culture" seems to get its jollies by criticizing the show for "homophobia" and "fat shaming" (among other things).
My point is BBT generally has a similar reputation as Adam Sandler movies or Nickelback (' You have terrible taste is you like ...........') Whereas Friends generally has a lot more goodwill towards it.
As I said I find shows have a lot in common and both use similar comedy tropes - just wondering why the reputations of the shows in generally different. Unless I'm misreading it? Or is Friends that much better and I just don't see it?
-
Anyone care to explain why Friends is generally universally loved, yet The Big Bang Theory is disliked so much (outside of it's core fanbase obviously).
Because tastes and weasel words. "Generally universally loved"? "Disliked so much"? Both shows are among the most popular network shows of all time. BBT has a bunch of vocal detractors,** but it was and still is incredibly popular and ITS "core fanbase" is massive.
** - As does Friends. I hate using this term, but "woke culture" seems to get its jollies by criticizing the show for "homophobia" and "fat shaming" (among other things).
My point is BBT generally has a similar reputation as Adam Sandler movies or Nickelback (' You have terrible taste is you like ...........') Whereas Friends generally has a lot more goodwill towards it.
As I said I find shows have a lot in common and both use similar comedy tropes - just wondering why the reputations of the shows in generally different. Unless I'm misreading it? Or is Friends that much better and I just don't see it?
I think the intellectual aspect (that could be poor word choice on my part) of TBBT is a big turnoff for a lot of people. The show really takes it to another level and really rams it down your throat constantly. People either hate it from the get go, or they begin to get tired of it over time.
It rubs me sometimes. Like 1:20 of this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4_IFKA9LOY
I get that Sheldon is Sheldon, but to me it feels like a cheap and lazy way for the show to remind its viewers that its a "smart" show.
Also, I think Friends is just more relatable to people. It's hard for me to really connect to anyone on TBBT, whereas with Friends, there's a lot of things across basically every character's arc that resonate with me and points in my life. I actually feel things watching Friends. There are genuinely sad moments in that show that remind you that life is just kind of shitty sometimes. I actually feel for the characters on it. Even the more serious moments of TBBT end up being part a punchline somehow.
-
You're probably more right than I am here, but I think it's the laziness and sloppiness of TBBT that is really the turnoff, at least for me. It was so wishy-washy with it's premise. Sometimes Sheldon was a stoic intellectual of questionable people skills, other times he was just a pedantic child, and other times he was a caring, albeit socially stilted, friend. I get humans are complex, but there was no rhyme or reason to any of it. Howard was a pig who magically turned into a great and living father - and ASTRONAUT!, Leonard was a junior nerd who magically turned into a caring and mature husband...
TBBT was a group of friends who were intellectually superior, and who achieved ridiculous levels. Friends was just a group of friends, period. Well, maybe they were slightly more neurotic, and way more good-looking than most friend packs we know, but at least it had a fighting chance to be consistent over the run of years. Was Chandler THAT MUCH different - as different as Season 1 Sheldon and Season 12 Sheldon - in the end?
-
The characters in Friends got a little bit Flanderized over time (especially Joey), but it's nothing like what happened in TBBT. Generally it was as if they wanted to do 20 different types of jokes and only had 7 characters to assign them to. I haven't watched all of the Chuck Lorre shows but both I watched are practically the same show; men behave objectively repulsively and can't get laid, there's a revolving door of hot guest actresses they orbit around, then they inexplicably land someone and they do husband and wife jokes, then they fight because one of them is the worst person alive, and on it goes. This was that but with a thin veneer of geek culture, and people were generally turned off by how it was sold as "the smartest sitcom" when it was just one of those overgrown fratbro wankfests but with jokes about Star Trek. Friends only had a few of those "oh my god, how do you even have friends, let alone a girlfriend/boyfriend" moments, like that time Ross was attracted to his cousin.
-
That's a good assessment of the Lorre blueprint. I mentioned that I get TBBT after the news in the evening and late at night, and I get Two And A Half Men in the same way (TAAHM is on after TBBT in the evening, and in the spot of TBBT on weekends). I swear some of the jokes are the same, even if the settings are different. Mom is also on, on a different channel, on weeknights after the evening news and before a double-shot of King Of Queens, and that's right in there, except with female characters. But Allison Janney's character in Mom might as well be Charlie Sheen's character in TAAHM, just after rehab.
-
My point is BBT generally has a similar reputation as Adam Sandler movies or Nickelback (' You have terrible taste is you like ...........') Whereas Friends generally has a lot more goodwill towards it.
As I said I find shows have a lot in common and both use similar comedy tropes - just wondering why the reputations of the shows in generally different. Unless I'm misreading it? Or is Friends that much better and I just don't see it?
There are certainly similarities, but I think Friends is much better. Two or three primary reasons for that. First, BBT had a couple of what I think were unnatural character evolutions. Sheldon seemed more natural or organic, but Amy was very much not. In my opinion, all of the character evolutions in Friends were natural. Second, BBT's quality fell off at some point (I couldn't say exactly when). While there were really good episodes all the way to the end, the first half of the series was, IMO, notably better than the second half. Friends, on the other hand, and IMO, was much more consistent throughout. Third, and this is purely subjective for me, I'm pretty much exactly the same age as the Friends characters (when the show premiered in Sept. 1994, the main characters were all around 25, and I was a month shy of my 27th birthday). It therefore felt familiar and relevant to me. It was "real." It's one reason why re-examining the show based on current political correctness bugs me. Straight guys didn't want to be mistaken for being gay, and we made fun of overweight people. It's the way it was (and still is, but you just can't be vocal about it).
I think the intellectual aspect (that could be poor word choice on my part) of TBBT is a big turnoff for a lot of people. The show really takes it to another level and really rams it down your throat constantly. People either hate it from the get go, or they begin to get tired of it over time.
It rubs me sometimes. Like 1:20 of this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4_IFKA9LOY
I get that Sheldon is Sheldon, but to me it feels like a cheap and lazy way for the show to remind its viewers that its a "smart" show.
That whole interaction between Sheldon and Penny was HILARIOUS!
Also, I think Friends is just more relatable to people. It's hard for me to really connect to anyone on TBBT, whereas with Friends, there's a lot of things across basically every character's arc that resonate with me and points in my life. I actually feel things watching Friends. There are genuinely sad moments in that show that remind you that life is just kind of shitty sometimes. I actually feel for the characters on it.
Yes, yes, and more yes.
I'll now go google what it means to become "Flanderized."
-
Friend, on the other hand, and IMO, was much more consistent throughout. Third, and this is purely subjective for me, I'm pretty much exactly the same age as the Friends characters (when the show premiered in Sept. 1994, the main characters were all around 25, and I was a month shy of my 27th birthday). It therefore felt familiar and relevant to me. It was "real." It's one reason why the reasons why re-examining the show based on current political correctness bugs me. Straight guys didn't want to be mistaken for being gay, and we made fun of overweight people. It's the way it was (and still is, but you just can't be vocal about it).
Well said. As funny as Friends was and still is for me, the "real" moments of the first few seasons were what really made you like the characters. Like Joey finding out his dad had a girlfriend on the side, or Rachel realizing how rough it was going to be dealing with her parents who were en route to a divorce, or Jack visiting Monica to see how she was doing following her breakup with Richard (one of my favorite "awwwww" moments of the series), or the real emotions Joey and Chandler felt when "breaking up" as roommates and then their coming back together once Eddie was kicked to the curb. That half-hug/half-dance Joey and Chandler do when they reunite as roommates still stands as possibly the greatest moment of the series. You can't help but smile and give a little fist pump when watching that. :coolio :coolio
-
More or less correct, and the name of the episode, "The One Where Ross Got High," is a bit misleading since it refers to an event that happened basically a decade prior, and it was a relatively small part of the episode.
"The One Where Ross Will Have Had Gotten High"
-
The Friends characters did get flanderized over the years but weirdly a lot of it still worked for me. Ross originally was the 'average guy' with the best moral compass but some of my favorite moments were the crazy things he did in later seasons that were unrealistic for the character but still funny. Like the Unagi episode and every interaction he had about 'attacking' his friend and ex. Joey kinda got the Homer Simpsons treatment where he started off as a guy who was a bit stupid and clumsy but ultimately would do anything for his loved ones, but then turned into a grown up man child who befriends an 8 year old kid at the house Chandler/Monica are buying and she's at a higher intellectual level than him.
In contrast I think TBBT had a few solid seasons at the start but similar to another Chuck Lorre show, 2 ½ Men, it never reached the height of Friends (imo) and once the formula was nailed down they just ran it into the ground. That show could have ended 5-6 seasons earlier and it wouldn't have made a big difference, whereas I enjoyed Friends pretty much all the way until the end.
-
Yeah they definitely made Joey more stupid towards the end.
I remember thinking seaosn one of "Joey" wasn't terrible - but my "Friends" loving family said season 2 was awful.
-
Making fun of a character being dumb is like the laziest way to get a laugh but it's just very hit & miss for me because if it feels too dumb then you can't relate it to someone actually doing it and it doesn't quite work. I get a good laugh from the episode when Chandler and Monica needs a letter of recommendation for their adoption agency and Joey uses the computer 'hacks' he learned from Ross to replace the words with more intelligent sounding words. This is funny to me because this was a feature we found in school when I was a kid and so the joke kinda hits for me because I can relate, even if Joey is an adult who should know better, I can buy the scenario. On the flip side, several seasons into the show (i forget which season) Joey asks Ross "Seriously, who would you sleep with, Monica or Rachel?" to which Ross replies "Dude you're sick" and Joey replies "Oh yeah I forgot you had the Rachel thing". I just don't believe anyone being that stupid to where they forget one of their closest friends is the brother of another of their closest friends to where this exchange happens. The episode where he buys the sailing boat and he thought the point was to guess the price of the boat is also a bit of a groaner to me because I don't believe he's THAT stupid. :p
And who could forget this classic?
(https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-1e00f6a1a59c4085357bc389b1e9d9d1.webp)
-
I probably said this already in the thread, but I didn't like how they made Phoebe too ambivalent about her friends' feelings later in the series. She was a very caring and great friend early on, but then in Season 7 she is letting it slip that Joey was who Monica wanted to sleep with in Paris and didn't give two craps about how that reveal affected Chandler. That was totally out of her character for her, and not in a good way.
-
But also - after 10 years - you don't want your characters to be the exact same person they were in Episode 1.
Something Happens - Chandler quips. Monica tidies up. Joey doesn't understand & Phoebe says something wacky.
Repeat for 10 years.
That's literally TBBT.
-
But also - after 10 years - you don't want your characters to be the exact same person they were in Episode 1.
Something Happens - Chandler quips. Monica tidies up. Joey doesn't understand & Phoebe says something wacky.
Repeat for 10 years.
That's literally TBBT.
I think Kev's point is Phoebe changes for the worse which I think is a fair complaint. You want your character development to feel positive. Chandler for example IMO grows as a character and when he and Monica are ready to have kids, he's had an evolution and I can buy him becoming a dad.
As for TBBT I think some characters stayed the same but it suffers from the problem of everyone ending up in a relationship and becoming boring instead.
-
But also - after 10 years - you don't want your characters to be the exact same person they were in Episode 1.
Something Happens - Chandler quips. Monica tidies up. Joey doesn't understand & Phoebe says something wacky.
Repeat for 10 years.
That's literally TBBT.
I think Kev's point is Phoebe changes for the worse which I think is a fair complaint. You want your character development to feel positive. Chandler for example IMO grows as a character and when he and Monica are ready to have kids, he's had an evolution and I can buy him becoming a dad.
As for TBBT I think some characters stayed the same but it suffers from the problem of everyone ending up in a relationship and becoming boring instead.
I've written about this a lot; there's "growth" and then there's just "converging on the middle of the road". The former is something like The Sopranos (I know we're not talking about comedies now; if you want that, maybe M*A*S*H, or maybe King Of Queens). Then there's everyone sort of moving towards the middle, blunting the edges that we thought were so funny and fresh in the beginning. I know I'm the minority here, but I just don't want a Sheldon with normal human feelings, engaging in "coitus" because it's a fun diversion. I don't want a Walowitz magically becoming a great dad, only a short time after patrolling late-night MMRPG's for "sex" with trolls that proclaim to be "women", but we'll never really know. If you run out of ideas, end the show.
-
Looks like they will start filming the reunion in April
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nydailynews.com/snyde/ny-friends-reunion-april-david-schwimmer-20210305-cimlpeo5hjgr7m3qjbk3hksffi-story.html%3foutputType=amp
“In a little over a month, I’m heading out to L.A.” the man who played Ross told Andy Cohen on Wednesday. “Finally. We figured out a way to film it safely, and there’s gonna be a portion of it that we film outside.”
:lol
-
So...HBO (or whoever) announced that the reunion special that was filmed within the last couple months will be airing on May 27 on HBO Max (no idea if or where it will air outside the U.S.). Yay! HOWEVER, they announced this list of "guest stars":
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E1SvysFVIAEHrtx.jpg)
Some of these folks are important recurring cast members (Elliott Gould and Christina Pickles as Ross and Monica's parents, Tom Selleck as one of Monica's early love interests, James Michael Tyler as Gunther from Central Perk, and Maggie Wheeler as Chandler's on-again-off-again girlfriend Janice).
A couple of these are lesser guest stars (Larry Hankin as a downstairs neighbor from the first few seasons, Thomas Lennon as a blackjack dealer from the Vegas episodes, and Reese Witherspoon as one of Rachel's sisters). Lennon is a bit of an odd choice among all of the major names who showed up in Friends at some point (many before they became big names), but he was in The Odd Couple with Matthew Perry, so maybe that's why.
The rest of these names had NOTHING at all to do with friends. When this list was released, I had no idea who/what BTS, Cara Delevingne and Malala Yousafzai were. I've since learned that, supposedly, one of the guys in BTS learned English by watching Friends reruns, and a couple of the others have publicly commented about being Friends fans. I'm just a bit miffed since every second of screen time we get hearing about how Kit Harington binged Friends during breaks from Game of Thrones (or whatever) is a second that we don't get to hear from the folks actually involved with the show.
I know a lot of folks somehow only learned recently that this reunion isn't a scripted episode (even though that's been publicly known ever since this was announced back in early 2020 or whenever it was) and are bummed about that. I'm fine with that, but this "guest" list makes me look forward to the reunion a bit less than I otherwise would, and I really hope they don't turn this into "celebrities fawning over the Friends cast."
We shall see.
-
Yeah, I thought the same thing when I saw that. Why do I give a crap what Justin Beiber, Lady Gaga or Cindy Crawford think about this? I can see bringing back some of the actors who played minor or guest characters, but the six should have been enough. This feels like a cheap way to get more viewers.
-
Yeah, I thought the same thing when I saw that. Why do I give a crap what Justin Beiber, Lady Gaga or Cindy Crawford think about this? I can see bringing back some of the actors who played minor or guest characters, but the six should have been enough. This feels like a cheap way to get more viewers.
Yea. This is feeling more and more like a generic retrospective with the “main event” being the original cast on stage answering generic questions and reflecting. Maybe I’m wrong but I’m not hyped about this. And I love Friends.
-
I started a good discussion on another forum about the strength of Seinfeld's supporting cast and guest roles. Director John Sturgis, (it was him I believe) believed the stars would take care of themselves, but the success of a film could hinge on the "guts" or the supporting players. Jerry, Jason, Julia, and Michael all aced their roles, but the show would be nothing (ha ha!) without the numerous people they encountered and interacted with. Consider a character like The Soup Nazi, who was on screen for maybe 5 minutes, became a cultural phenomenon.
I don't place Friends on the same pedestal as Seinfeld, but I do believe they also did well with many of their recurring/guest roles. I loved Elliott Gould as Ross and Monica's dad.
I didn't recognize a few names on that list. I only know Thomas Lennon from Reno 911! A few of those I would need the qualifier of "You know, they played so-and-so on Friends."
-
How do you make Friends even more unwatchable? Put James Corden in it.
-
How do you make Friends even more unwatchable? Put James Corden in it.
"An absolute cunt."
Description of Corden by someone I know who worked along side him when he was doing the 'One Man, Two Guvnors' theatre show.
-
James Corden is one of those celebrities that I just can't warm to. I like some of the things he's done (that segment with McCartney in Liverpool is legendary, and he's done some funny stuff with Harry Styles), but it always seems... forced, like he's trying too hard to be liked. I can absolutely imagine him being a c*** behind the scenes. Jimmy Fallon is another one (though I like him a bit more than Corden), as is Mario Lopez. It's almost like they're trading on their neediness.
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E1SvysFVIAEHrtx.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/D53Zj1J.gif)
-
How do you make Friends even more unwatchable? Put James Corden in it.
"An absolute cunt."
Description of Corden by someone I know who worked along side him when he was doing the 'One Man, Two Guvnors' theatre show.
I barely know who he is and know nothing about him.
At the end of the day, based on what I've heard about BTS fans, this will probably get a shload of them to watch who might not otherwise have watched. I don't know that any of the others are really going to bring viewers who wouldn't otherwise watch. I've seen lots of folks express annoyance about this and relatively few express opinions like, "OOOH! I love David Beckham! That's so cool that he'll be involved." I mean...Cindy Crawford is (or used to be) hot, but I don't really care what she thinks about Friends (or, really, anything).
We'll see.
-
What, no Brad Pitt in this one? Too much awkwardness?
-
What, no Brad Pitt in this one? Too much awkwardness?
I doubt it. I know he did a video chat that's online with Jennifer during quarantine and they seemed just fine. Guess they couldn't get back everyone who ever guest starred. Gotta make room for Justin Bieber BTS.
-
I could've gone for some Elle McPherson. Or (the other) Adam Goldberg (not really, but Eddie was a great character).
-
I could've gone for some Elle McPherson. Or (the other) Adam Goldberg (not really, but Eddie was a great character).
Yeah...if they really felt the need to have a supermodel, they had one who was actually in the show! The fact is that there were enough big names who were actually on the show that most of these folks are real head scratchers.
-
Since this appears to be a one-off, it wouldn't surprise me if they feared a slight backlash due to the stupid ass criticism the show has gotten about not being diverse enough and added a bunch of these stars to get fans of them to watch it and ensure a high rating. Coming back after all of these years and getting a less-than-stellar rating would be a tough pill for them to swallow, I would imagine.
-
Looks like James Corden is the dude asking them questions and stuff. Dunno what anyone else is doing besides reflecting and stuff.
-
Is this just a conversation type of episode? Or a Friends in character episode with guest stars?
-
Is this just a conversation type of episode? Or a Friends in character episode with guest stars?
Mostly the first. Looks like they’ll do some fun stuff and have recreated the sets. But there’s no script or anything.
-
I could've gone for some Elle McPherson. Or (the other) Adam Goldberg (not really, but Eddie was a great character).
Yeah...if they really felt the need to have a supermodel, they had one who was actually in the show! The fact is that there were enough big names who were actually on the show that most of these folks are real head scratchers.
I think Kev has it right.
-
I could've gone for some Elle McPherson. Or (the other) Adam Goldberg (not really, but Eddie was a great character).
Yeah...if they really felt the need to have a supermodel, they had one who was actually in the show! The fact is that there were enough big names who were actually on the show that most of these folks are real head scratchers.
I think Kev has it right.
Well...if your goal is to address "the stupid ass criticism . . . about not being diverse enough," Cindy Crawford, David Beckham, Justin Bieber, James Corden, Cara Delevingne and Kit Harington aren't really going to help.
-
The point that was that fans of those stars will watch just to see them and thus result in higher ratings. Justin Beiber has over 100 million Twitter followers (don't ask me how), and there are bound to be many who are not necessarily fans of Friends who may tune in just to see him. I see this is streaming on HBO Max, so not sure how that will work overall as far as rating go and whatnot, but the end goal here obviously is to get as many people to watch as possible, by whatever means necessary.
-
The point that was that fans of those stars will watch just to see them and thus result in higher ratings. Justin Beiber has over 100 million Twitter followers (don't ask me how), and there are bound to be many who are not necessarily fans of Friends who may tune in just to see him. I see this is streaming on HBO Max, so not sure how that will work overall as far as rating go and whatnot, but the end goal here obviously is to get as many people to watch as possible, by whatever means necessary.
I think for that, it's not ratings but how many new subscribers they can get.
-
The point that was that fans of those stars will watch just to see them and thus result in higher ratings. Justin Beiber has over 100 million Twitter followers (don't ask me how), and there are bound to be many who are not necessarily fans of Friends who may tune in just to see him. I see this is streaming on HBO Max, so not sure how that will work overall as far as rating go and whatnot, but the end goal here obviously is to get as many people to watch as possible, by whatever means necessary.
Because a lot of people like his music. I'm not a huge fan, because I don't really like the style much, but I think "U Smile" is a GREAT song.
-
I think the main concern is that guys like Biebs and BTS has no direct connections to Friends or the main cast whatsoever, to my knowledge, so why bring them in? Just for that cheap plug to attract viewers?
It kinda reminded me of certain parts of the line-up to the Chris Cornell tribute show (which I attended) in 2019 where you had certain people and celebrities that made an appearance where I thought didn't really have a great line of connection to Chris.
-
The point that was that fans of those stars will watch just to see them and thus result in higher ratings. Justin Beiber has over 100 million Twitter followers (don't ask me how), and there are bound to be many who are not necessarily fans of Friends who may tune in just to see him. I see this is streaming on HBO Max, so not sure how that will work overall as far as rating go and whatnot, but the end goal here obviously is to get as many people to watch as possible, by whatever means necessary.
Because a lot of people like his music. I'm not a huge fan, because I don't really like the style much, but I think "U Smile" is a GREAT song.
Haha, I get it.
The point that was that fans of those stars will watch just to see them and thus result in higher ratings. Justin Beiber has over 100 million Twitter followers (don't ask me how), and there are bound to be many who are not necessarily fans of Friends who may tune in just to see him. I see this is streaming on HBO Max, so not sure how that will work overall as far as rating go and whatnot, but the end goal here obviously is to get as many people to watch as possible, by whatever means necessary.
I think for that, it's not ratings but how many new subscribers they can get.
Very true.
-
So anyone watch this yet?
Overall, I thought it was really sweet. It was a big celebration of Friends and that was all it tried to be. I think the biggest mistake they made was the announcmenet of the guest stars.
Spoilers for anyone who cares....
But did they need to announce BTS when they were on screen for maybe 20 seconds? As much as I liked having Justin Bieber be reduced to wearing a stupid potato costume for 10 seconds, it felt weird to announce him. So yea, the guest stars were literally on screen for ...AT MOST....maybe a minute but mostly 20-30 seconds. Even the ones who were there in person were quickly shuffled out after answering one question. But it was a well done tribute to the show and I enjoyed it.
-
I've been meaning to catch up on Friends for a while, it was easy to watch it in the background when it was on Netflix or Hulu. I haven't fully adopted HBO Max yet, just check it out on occasions.
I first watched the show around 1998 where I wasn't much aware of the American entertainment zeitgeist but the episode with the guy who doesn't wear the episode who's dating Phoebe was my introduction and I was really hooked.
That said I bought my wife the DVD boxset a while back and it's apparently a lot more coveted than the higher HD quality bluray set due to the fact that the BR doesn't have the proper versions of the episodes or so I've read.
I watched the special and it was a lot better than I thought it would be. I didn't particularly have a strong reaction towards James Corden before but man did he feel annoying in that episode. Conan would've been perfect but I'm thinking it's because he's not on NBC or
The behind the scenes stuff was great. The camaraderie between the cast was fun, they definitely aged, some more than others. No Paul Rudd. Loved the smelly cat rendition. A lot of good stuff on that special.
-
That said I bought my wife the DVD boxset a while back and it's apparently a lot more coveted than the higher HD quality bluray set due to the fact that the BR doesn't have the proper versions of the episodes or so I've read.
The DVD set has extended versions of the episodes. So, new or longer scenes. The BR set has the episodes as originally aired.
-
So anyone watch this yet?
Overall, I thought it was really sweet. It was a big celebration of Friends and that was all it tried to be. I think the biggest mistake they made was the announcmenet of the guest stars.
I watched with my kid when I got home from work.
I thought it was really good. Nice to see them reminiscing this way, and the guy who hosted didn't get in the way. A few tidbits of information I didn't know previously, and I loved how they had the cast re-read some of the most iconic scenes. I think anyone who was disappointed probably went in with unrealistic expectations.
But did they need to announce BTS when they were on screen for maybe 20 seconds? As much as I liked having Justin Bieber be reduced to wearing a stupid potato costume for 10 seconds, it felt weird to announce him. So yea, the guest stars were literally on screen for ...AT MOST....maybe a minute but mostly 20-30 seconds. Even the ones who were there in person were quickly shuffled out after answering one question. But it was a well done tribute to the show and I enjoyed it.
I would have liked to have heard a bit more from Elliott Gould and Christina Pickles, but it kinda looked like Elliott wasn't doing that well. Christina, on the other hand, slipped right back into the Judy Geller role. I was pleased that most of the "guest stars" got virtually no screen time* and agree that it really was pointless for them to have been announced (obvious attempt to draw in viewers/new subscribers). Cindy Crawford seemed especially pointless since Cindy Crawford in leather pants hasn't exactly been an unusual occurrence over the years.
* - My kid pointed out that they missed an opportunity with the Lady Gaga/Smelly Cat scene. There was an episode where the owner of Central Perk hired a "professional" singer named Stephanie (played by Chrissie Hynde) to play at the coffee house. When the guy wasn't also willing to pay Phoebe, she played out front in protest. When Stephanie arrived, she and Phoebe briefly spoke, and part of the dialog was Phoebe asking if Stephanie knew various chords. Eventually, Stephanie comment that she knew all of the chords and walked inside. Phoebe then strummed a minor chord and sang, "Stephanie knows all the chords." In the reunion, they should have had Lisa ask LG (whose real name is Stefani Germanotta) which chords she knew and then re-enact that scene. Oh well...
-
That said I bought my wife the DVD boxset a while back and it's apparently a lot more coveted than the higher HD quality bluray set due to the fact that the BR doesn't have the proper versions of the episodes or so I've read.
The DVD set has extended versions of the episodes. So, new or longer scenes. The BR set has the episodes as originally aired.
Ah right, I think additionally the criticism was also that the extended scenes weren't found on the Blu-ray extras or something to that effect.
-
Cindy Crawford seemed especially pointless since Cindy Crawford in leather pants hasn't exactly been an unusual occurrence over the years.
I have not seen or heard from Cindy Crawford in years. She could have died a long time ago for all I knew.
-
I watched the reunion and I'm somewhere in the middle of the road with it.
Was nice to see the gang back together, and it felt heartwarming to see them walk in and explore the old sets and talk about memories. They still clearly got very nice chemistry and it felt like watching a real reunion of friends who hadn't seen each other in a while.
But at 100 minutes or so, maybe half of it felt like pointless filler. The celebrity cameos did nothing for me, people saying what the show meant to them or James Corden. Some of the recreation of old scenes felt a bit like filler too, even if I enjoyed the updated trivia game.
They finally got these guys back together and it felt a bit like "was this really the best they could think of?". They could have kept it more simple - with just the guys around a round table talking about the show and their experiences with it for 100 minutes and I would have liked that more than Justin Bieber or Lady Gaga making pointless appearances.
-
The Lady Gaga thing (she sounded awful singing Smelly Cat), the fashion show thing, and the comments from fans were all pointless and could have all been left out, but I get why they did that stuff and fortunately they cumulatively didn't take up a lot of time. And Corden's screen time was pretty limited. Overall, I enjoyed it a lot. You can tell the women are still closer than the men are, but the bond they all still have from their time on the show was more than obvious.
Matthew Perry is obviously not well, which is a bummer to see. It felt like his comments were pretty limited and mostly only came when the ensemble was all together and talking. I've always wondered if Monica and Chandler getting together and married was always in the plans, and it's cool to hear that the original plan was for them to hook up for a brief spell and that's it, but once the fans went nuts for them as a couple, they kept it going and took it to the level it went.
And even though I never thought Ross and Rachel worked as a couple (keeping them apart for most of the series was the right decision), I do think they made the right decision to have them get back together in the finale. Fans wanted to see it and it was done well.
I also thought they made a great point about the difficulty in casting the Rachel character. On paper early on, her character was not likable at all, but Jennifer Aniston brought a charm and self-awareness and vulnerability to Rachel that made you like her almost right away. Being drop dead gorgeous sure helped as well, haha.
-
If I read correctly, Mathew Perry had some kind of dental/oral surgery recently which is why he sounded that way.
-
I also thought they made a great point about the difficulty in casting the Rachel character. On paper early on, her character was not likable at all, but Jennifer Aniston brought a charm and self-awareness and vulnerability to Rachel that made you like her almost right away. Being drop dead gorgeous sure helped as well, haha.
Bearing in mind I'm only a casual Friends fan (and not a fan at all of Ross/David Schwimmer, or the Rachel character) that's sort of a pet peeve of mine. I hate when characters that have a specific point of view are almost invariably dumbed down or made more likable. I don't know if it's a sop to the audience, or a sop to the actor, but it's annoying to this fan. House, Cheers, Big Bang Theory, they've all done it. One of the few not to was Two And A Half Men.
-
I don't know if I would say Rachel was "dumbed down." I also hate the "dumb" character archetype prevalent in many sitcoms. It's just not necessary.
I am sure studio execs have pretty high on the list when talking with writers on a new show "Make the characters likable. People don't want to watch a show about jerks." Seinfeld proved otherwise, but that's an exception.
-
If I read correctly, Mathew Perry had some kind of dental/oral surgery recently which is why he sounded that way.
I read that, too, and thought it came off as damage control, which I get. They did a reunion show after 17 years and he just happened to pick that day to do oral surgery. Not buying that at all.
I also thought they made a great point about the difficulty in casting the Rachel character. On paper early on, her character was not likable at all, but Jennifer Aniston brought a charm and self-awareness and vulnerability to Rachel that made you like her almost right away. Being drop dead gorgeous sure helped as well, haha.
Bearing in mind I'm only a casual Friends fan (and not a fan at all of Ross/David Schwimmer, or the Rachel character) that's sort of a pet peeve of mine. I hate when characters that have a specific point of view are almost invariably dumbed down or made more likable. I don't know if it's a sop to the audience, or a sop to the actor, but it's annoying to this fan. House, Cheers, Big Bang Theory, they've all done it. One of the few not to was Two And A Half Men.
I don't quite get what you are saying. I am not saying, nor did I meant to imply, that the Rachel character was dumbed down to make her likable, just that Jennifer Aniston brought a vulnerability and look to a character that could have been unlikable in the hands of another actress. The dumbing down of characters on Friends came with Joey later on (when he went from naive and unintelligent to just flat out stupid at times).
-
And even though I never thought Ross and Rachel worked as a couple (keeping them apart for most of the series was the right decision), I do think they made the right decision to have them get back together in the finale. Fans wanted to see it and it was done well.
I believe that relationship was the template, and also a "curse", cast upon every other sitcom for a long time. I'm not too expert on sitcoms to know when the "Will they / won't they" thing originated, but Ross and Rachel definitively made it popular, as well with the "if they get together the show is over" trope you hear tossed around.
Luckily there have been some changes to the formula, such as in Brooklyn 99. Not every sitcom needs to have the romantic duo getting together then splitting up then almost getting together but whopsie there's this wacky misunderstanding and they're not getting together and then in comes the other woman that everyone loves to hate while she gets with the other man everyone loves to hate, rinse and repeat.
-
And even though I never thought Ross and Rachel worked as a couple (keeping them apart for most of the series was the right decision), I do think they made the right decision to have them get back together in the finale. Fans wanted to see it and it was done well.
I believe that relationship was the template, and also a "curse", cast upon every other sitcom for a long time. I'm not too expert on sitcoms to know when the "Will they / won't they" thing originated, but Ross and Rachel definitively made it popular, as well with the "if they get together the show is over" trope you hear tossed around.
Luckily there have been some changes to the formula, such as in Brooklyn 99. Not every sitcom needs to have the romantic duo getting together then splitting up then almost getting together but whopsie there's this wacky misunderstanding and they're not getting together and then in comes the other woman that everyone loves to hate while she gets with the other man everyone loves to hate, rinse and repeat.
Very true. I don't think I liked any of the boyfriends Rachel had on the show between her relationship with Ross and the finale. Tag was a doofus (and that actor is terrible, so that didn't help), the whole thing with Danny always felt off, and I have never liked Dermot Mulroney as an actor, so there was no chance of me liking Gavin as a character. Even the brief attempt at a relationship with Joey never seem right. Check that: I didn't mind Joshua, the guy she dated/obsessed over in S4). On the flip side, both serious boyfriends Monica had prior to Chandler, Richard and Pete, were both very likable characters.
-
Pete was pretty darn likable for a pretty darn rich tech guy, but holy cow, whose idea was it, in order to end the relationship with Monica, to have him be driven to do Ultimate Fighting and be terrible at it where Monica doesn't want to witness the guy getting hurt over that?
-
And even though I never thought Ross and Rachel worked as a couple (keeping them apart for most of the series was the right decision), I do think they made the right decision to have them get back together in the finale. Fans wanted to see it and it was done well.
I believe that relationship was the template, and also a "curse", cast upon every other sitcom for a long time. I'm not too expert on sitcoms to know when the "Will they / won't they" thing originated, but Ross and Rachel definitively made it popular, as well with the "if they get together the show is over" trope you hear tossed around.
Luckily there have been some changes to the formula, such as in Brooklyn 99. Not every sitcom needs to have the romantic duo getting together then splitting up then almost getting together but whopsie there's this wacky misunderstanding and they're not getting together and then in comes the other woman that everyone loves to hate while she gets with the other man everyone loves to hate, rinse and repeat.
There were hints with Hawkeye and Hotlips, but the first example I know of was Sam and Diane from Cheers, which began in 1982.
-
And even though I never thought Ross and Rachel worked as a couple (keeping them apart for most of the series was the right decision), I do think they made the right decision to have them get back together in the finale. Fans wanted to see it and it was done well.
I believe that relationship was the template, and also a "curse", cast upon every other sitcom for a long time. I'm not too expert on sitcoms to know when the "Will they / won't they" thing originated, but Ross and Rachel definitively made it popular, as well with the "if they get together the show is over" trope you hear tossed around.
Luckily there have been some changes to the formula, such as in Brooklyn 99. Not every sitcom needs to have the romantic duo getting together then splitting up then almost getting together but whopsie there's this wacky misunderstanding and they're not getting together and then in comes the other woman that everyone loves to hate while she gets with the other man everyone loves to hate, rinse and repeat.
There were hints with Hawkeye and Hotlips, but the first example I know of was Sam and Diane from Cheers, which began in 1982.
Dave and Maddie on Moonlighting was a good one as well in the mid 80’s
-
Pete was pretty darn likable for a pretty darn rich tech guy, but holy cow, whose idea was it, in order to end the relationship with Monica, to have him be driven to do Ultimate Fighting and be terrible at it where Monica doesn't want to witness the guy getting hurt over that?
At least that episode gave us a quote my older brother (who didn't keep up with the show and never watches it anymore) and I still bust out in jest on occasion, the bolded part of the below.
"There will come a day when kids argue over who would win a fight between me and Superman. Not that I'm saying that I could beat Superman, but kids are stupid."
-
And even though I never thought Ross and Rachel worked as a couple (keeping them apart for most of the series was the right decision), I do think they made the right decision to have them get back together in the finale. Fans wanted to see it and it was done well.
I believe that relationship was the template, and also a "curse", cast upon every other sitcom for a long time. I'm not too expert on sitcoms to know when the "Will they / won't they" thing originated, but Ross and Rachel definitively made it popular, as well with the "if they get together the show is over" trope you hear tossed around.
Luckily there have been some changes to the formula, such as in Brooklyn 99. Not every sitcom needs to have the romantic duo getting together then splitting up then almost getting together but whopsie there's this wacky misunderstanding and they're not getting together and then in comes the other woman that everyone loves to hate while she gets with the other man everyone loves to hate, rinse and repeat.
There were hints with Hawkeye and Hotlips, but the first example I know of was Sam and Diane from Cheers, which began in 1982.
Dave and Maddie on Moonlighting was a good one as well in the mid 80’s
Sam and Diane got together pretty quickly. Moonlighting definitely milked the "will they or won't they" thing, but the ultimate for that was Who's the Boss with Tony Danza's and Judith Light's characters. That went on for several years if I remember correctly.
-
We watched the special. It was OK. Overlong, and with way too much James Corden, who had fuck all to do with the show. He's just irritating as hell. Almost any other host would have been preferable for my tastes.
Also, the plastic surgery was frightening.
-
We watched the special. It was OK. Overlong, and with way too much James Corden, who had fuck all to do with the show. He's just irritating as hell. Almost any other host would have been preferable for my tastes.
Also, the plastic surgery was frightening.
I'm sorry, but Courtney Cox - who had maintained for a while that "she's never had work done" - has clearly crossed the rubicon.
Also, related/unrelated? https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/02/entertainment/matthew-perry-molly-hurwitz-split/index.html
-
Anyone else think there was some underlying tension between Aniston and Schwimmer? Most of their chatter seemed almost business-like, and there was even a moment where they were both trying to talk over the other. They swore that they never hooked up in the early days of the show when they were both crushing, but it wouldn't surprise me if they did later on and have kind of a weird dynamic now as a result.
-
We watched the special. It was OK. Overlong, and with way too much James Corden, who had fuck all to do with the show. He's just irritating as hell. Almost any other host would have been preferable for my tastes.
Also, the plastic surgery was frightening.
I'm sorry, but Courtney Cox - who had maintained for a while that "she's never had work done" - has clearly crossed the rubicon.
Also, related/unrelated? https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/02/entertainment/matthew-perry-molly-hurwitz-split/index.html
Plastic surgery / Botox is like men going bald.
The comedian jasper Carrott said it too : NOBODY takes any notice of a guy who is bald - but if he's a 70 year old with jet black hair or an obvious wig - EVERYONE points it out.
PLastic surgery / Botox looks un-natural as fuck. It just does. Sorry but you're fooling nobody.
Also - I loved the show in its day - thought the finale was a bit weak - BUT I have NO interest in watching that Reunion. Hating James Corden doesn't help.
Him and Ed Sheeran must have the same agent. They both have very very limited talent and just pop up everywhere for no reason - and are always accused of plagiarism.
-
Watched it as well. It's been so long since I watched Friends so I hardly remember the tiniest details, but overall it was nice.
The most interesting tidbit, which is always cool to get these info from the insiders, was when Matt LeBlanc said he couldn't relate to the show watching it because "I can't buy it, I know I'm the one acting so I don't feel the lines", or something like that. If he watches any other actor, he could appreciate the performance, but knowing it was HIMSELF acting, he knew it was all "fake" and couldn't fully believe it.
It's cool to know how artists view their art and their performance, for example I'd love to know how musicians approach the concerts and how they live them, surely it must be a complete and totally different experience. Heck, that's what I actually asked Bruce Dickinson when he did his book tour, and was taking written questions from the audience, mine was "what's your stream of consciousness when you're on stage?", and he started to explain the last tour set song by song to make a point about how he's fully concentrated on everything he's doing, and everything he will have to do, saying "sometimes people ask me what it's like to perform in front of 50k people, I don't know, I'm so concentrated I don't have time to enjoy the sight of the audience".
At the same time it was interesting to know that in this case Matt LeBlanc can't "believe" the performance because he's the one who did it and knows very well it's all staged and rehearsed, I wonder if many other actors feel the same, especially in the CGI era. Do superheroes actors enjoy the final product, or see it and just go "eh.... easy to do it with a computer, I was standing in front of a green screen and my partner had that stupid mask on the face to map it and then replace it with an alien face"
-
At the same time it was interesting to know that in this case Matt LeBlanc can't "believe" the performance because he's the one who did it and knows very well it's all staged and rehearsed, I wonder if many other actors feel the same, especially in the CGI era. Do superheroes actors enjoy the final product, or see it and just go "eh.... easy to do it with a computer, I was standing in front of a green screen and my partner had that stupid mask on the face to map it and then replace it with an alien face"
Hey, at least Matt enjoyed actually acting. Could have gone worse if he went into green screen stuff later on: https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/ian-mckellen-broke-down-filming-the-hobbit.html/
"In an interview with Contact Music, the legendary performer [Ian McKellen] said, “In order to shoot the dwarves and a large Gandalf, we couldn’t be in the same set. All I had for company was 13 photographs of the dwarves on top of stands with little lights.”
He continued by saying, “Pretending you’re with 13 other people when you’re on your own, it stretches your technical ability to the absolute limits.”
[...]
His most challenging role proved to be in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Digital Spy reported that during filming, the talented actor was so frustrated with the use of a green screen that he shouted, “This is not why I became an actor.”
McKellen reflected on the moment saying, “I cried, actually. I cried.” He candidly recalled, “Unfortunately, the microphone was on, and the whole studio heard.”
[...]
McKellen said, “It was so distressing and off-putting and difficult that I thought ‘I don’t want to make this film if this is what I’m going to have to do’.” He added, “It’s not what I do for a living. I act with other people, I don’t act on my own.”
-
At the same time it was interesting to know that in this case Matt LeBlanc can't "believe" the performance because he's the one who did it and knows very well it's all staged and rehearsed, I wonder if many other actors feel the same, especially in the CGI era. Do superheroes actors enjoy the final product, or see it and just go "eh.... easy to do it with a computer, I was standing in front of a green screen and my partner had that stupid mask on the face to map it and then replace it with an alien face"
Hey, at least Matt enjoyed actually acting. Could have gone worse if he went into green screen stuff later on: https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/ian-mckellen-broke-down-filming-the-hobbit.html/
"In an interview with Contact Music, the legendary performer [Ian McKellen] said, “In order to shoot the dwarves and a large Gandalf, we couldn’t be in the same set. All I had for company was 13 photographs of the dwarves on top of stands with little lights.”
He continued by saying, “Pretending you’re with 13 other people when you’re on your own, it stretches your technical ability to the absolute limits.”
[...]
His most challenging role proved to be in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Digital Spy reported that during filming, the talented actor was so frustrated with the use of a green screen that he shouted, “This is not why I became an actor.”
McKellen reflected on the moment saying, “I cried, actually. I cried.” He candidly recalled, “Unfortunately, the microphone was on, and the whole studio heard.”
[...]
McKellen said, “It was so distressing and off-putting and difficult that I thought ‘I don’t want to make this film if this is what I’m going to have to do’.” He added, “It’s not what I do for a living. I act with other people, I don’t act on my own.”
Although these quotes are often treated as being about "too much green screen" in general, I don't think the description gets across the full context of what he was talking about that was so difficult, and I'd go as far as to say it's basically inaccurate that it was "the use of a green screen" that made him frustrated (the same way it would be to say it was "the use of a camera").
I think Ian McKellen can handle acting against a green screen without issue (I doubt there was much more than green screen to go off of when filming the famous Balrog scene). The thing that was so difficult that caused him to break down a bit was when shooting the full Bag End dinner party, they were shooting the dwarves/hobbit and Gandalf simultaneously, where they were all on a real, fully realised set, and Ian McKellen was alone on a scaled down green screen version of it, trying to act in real time with up to fourteen other actors he couldn't see but who were all acting crowded in a room together. This allowed the director to see the larger Gandalf and the rest of the cast on the same screen against the real, practical Bag End in real time - but it left Ian McKellen isolated from all the other actors and facing a very difficult task. It was quite an unusual setup and I don't think it's all that similar to regular experience of filming against green screen - if that approach was used, with Gandalf filmed separately with probably someone off camera reading the other lines, I imagine it wouldn't have caused too much difficulty for Ian McKellen and would just have been quite a lot like other scenes in big budget fantasy films.
Maybe Ian McKellen has commented on the general overuse of green screen and CGI backgrounds in the Hobbit films (which definitely was something that it was a lot worse for than Lord of the Rings), but that wasn't really what he was talking about in those quotes, although they often are framed to suggest that.
(An aside from the main topic I know).
I watched the Friends Reunion when it was released, even though I wasn't too interested in the run up to it or anything and wasn't sure if it'd be worthwhile. It was pretty enjoyable, and as others had said the James Corden and the other celebrities there for promotion were minimal enough that it didn't feel like a waste of time. If it had been mostly them in front of the fountain being interviewed with the audience then it would probably have been not much better than an average evening talk show episode that happened to feature one of the cast. But the cast back on the set, the trivia game, and some of the behind the scenes stuff from the past was all good. Reflections from the creators and actors on them being cast were good as well.
I read some additional interviews from the creators after the reunion: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/friends-reunion-cast-reveals-creators-interview-1234959624/
They have the right idea about not returning with a true follow up. Old Friends would just be a bit sad I think and not really capture much of the spirit of the original. Also contains some reflection on things like lack of diversity in the cast which I know is a bit of a thing about Friends in recent years. I think they are right, probably when making the show later you'd be a bit more conscious of it, but I don't think it hurts the show, in fact the similarity of the main cast probably contributes to the feel of the show (in the same way the characters are all almost exactly the same age).
-
I read some additional interviews from the creators after the reunion: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/friends-reunion-cast-reveals-creators-interview-1234959624/
They have the right idea about not returning with a true follow up. Old Friends would just be a bit sad I think and not really capture much of the spirit of the original. Also contains some reflection on things like lack of diversity in the cast which I know is a bit of a thing about Friends in recent years. I think they are right, probably when making the show later you'd be a bit more conscious of it, but I don't think it hurts the show, in fact the similarity of the main cast probably contributes to the feel of the show (in the same way the characters are all almost exactly the same age).
It's a bit of a stupid thing. Not every show has to scream diversity. Not every circle of friends has to have a person from every race. And the people making that silly argument conveniently ignore how groundbreaking the show was for its time when it came to certain issues. I am pretty sure it was the first sitcom to have an actual lesbian couple on the show as somewhat regulars, an episode was dedicated to the lesbian wedding, there was interracial dating (on two accounts for both Joey and Ross) which was unheard of on a sitcom as well at the time, etc. The writers found the perfect main cast (the six) and that is why the show is legendary. End of story. :coolio :coolio
-
I read some additional interviews from the creators after the reunion: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/friends-reunion-cast-reveals-creators-interview-1234959624/
They have the right idea about not returning with a true follow up. Old Friends would just be a bit sad I think and not really capture much of the spirit of the original. Also contains some reflection on things like lack of diversity in the cast which I know is a bit of a thing about Friends in recent years. I think they are right, probably when making the show later you'd be a bit more conscious of it, but I don't think it hurts the show, in fact the similarity of the main cast probably contributes to the feel of the show (in the same way the characters are all almost exactly the same age).
It's a bit of a stupid thing. Not every show has to scream diversity. Not every circle of friends has to have a person from every race. And the people making that silly argument conveniently ignore how groundbreaking the show was for its time when it came to certain issues. I am pretty sure it was the first sitcom to have an actual lesbian couple on the show as somewhat regulars, an episode was dedicated to the lesbian wedding, there was interracial dating (on two accounts for both Joey and Ross) which was unheard of on a sitcom as well at the time, etc. The writers found the perfect main cast (the six) and that is why the show is legendary. End of story. :coolio :coolio
Yeah, there was enough attention paid to it a couple of years ago (even if it was mostly just the usual articles written about a few tweets) that I'm not surprised it's something they were asked about in some form. I think the creators said pretty much the same thing. They clearly struck gold with the cast they ended up with (the fact a show of the cast getting together again 27 years after the premiere was considered a big deal demonstrates just how big it was). And the premise is really about quite an insular group - the same 6 twenty somethings hanging about in a coffee shop or in their apartment. Obviously you could have had the same thing where one of them happened to have a different skin colour, but it's not like its crazy for that not to be the case.
Interesting to read that the network wanted them to add an older character, like a guy running the coffee shop. Good that they avoided doing that.
There's probably a handful of things about Friends that reflect a bit of the '90s attitudes that maybe people would treat slightly differently now, but ultimately it's pretty tame for that and I don't think you even have to make much allowance for it being "of the times" the way you might for some older things. 100 billion on streaming platforms or whatever it is now and popularity even among young people today shows it maintains lasting appeal pretty well.
-
At the same time it was interesting to know that in this case Matt LeBlanc can't "believe" the performance because he's the one who did it and knows very well it's all staged and rehearsed, I wonder if many other actors feel the same, especially in the CGI era. Do superheroes actors enjoy the final product, or see it and just go "eh.... easy to do it with a computer, I was standing in front of a green screen and my partner had that stupid mask on the face to map it and then replace it with an alien face"
Hey, at least Matt enjoyed actually acting. Could have gone worse if he went into green screen stuff later on: https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/ian-mckellen-broke-down-filming-the-hobbit.html/
"In an interview with Contact Music, the legendary performer [Ian McKellen] said, “In order to shoot the dwarves and a large Gandalf, we couldn’t be in the same set. All I had for company was 13 photographs of the dwarves on top of stands with little lights.”
He continued by saying, “Pretending you’re with 13 other people when you’re on your own, it stretches your technical ability to the absolute limits.”
[...]
His most challenging role proved to be in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Digital Spy reported that during filming, the talented actor was so frustrated with the use of a green screen that he shouted, “This is not why I became an actor.”
McKellen reflected on the moment saying, “I cried, actually. I cried.” He candidly recalled, “Unfortunately, the microphone was on, and the whole studio heard.”
[...]
McKellen said, “It was so distressing and off-putting and difficult that I thought ‘I don’t want to make this film if this is what I’m going to have to do’.” He added, “It’s not what I do for a living. I act with other people, I don’t act on my own.”
This was actually on the appendices of the Hobbit trilogy boxset, there were a lot of things going that made him feel that way. I think the cast was getting along so well that Ian felt left out for his scenes and there's footage in the appendices about his meltdown. Peter Jackson talks about it and feels bad about it and they put together a package to make him feel better.
The reason they had to shoot that way was because they couldn't use the forced perspective technique like they had done during the Lord of the rings movies since they were also shooting the movie in 3D, that trick wouldn't work with a 3D camera hence their solution to coordinate two separate sets of different scales being shot together.
But yeah Ian McKellen had a breakdown.
-
Yeah, there was enough attention paid to it a couple of years ago...
Way more than enough.
-
I read some additional interviews from the creators after the reunion: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/friends-reunion-cast-reveals-creators-interview-1234959624/
They have the right idea about not returning with a true follow up. Old Friends would just be a bit sad I think and not really capture much of the spirit of the original. Also contains some reflection on things like lack of diversity in the cast which I know is a bit of a thing about Friends in recent years. I think they are right, probably when making the show later you'd be a bit more conscious of it, but I don't think it hurts the show, in fact the similarity of the main cast probably contributes to the feel of the show (in the same way the characters are all almost exactly the same age).
It's a bit of a stupid thing. Not every show has to scream diversity. Not every circle of friends has to have a person from every race. And the people making that silly argument conveniently ignore how groundbreaking the show was for its time when it came to certain issues. I am pretty sure it was the first sitcom to have an actual lesbian couple on the show as somewhat regulars, an episode was dedicated to the lesbian wedding, there was interracial dating (on two accounts for both Joey and Ross) which was unheard of on a sitcom as well at the time, etc. The writers found the perfect main cast (the six) and that is why the show is legendary. End of story. :coolio :coolio
Yeah, there was enough attention paid to it a couple of years ago (even if it was mostly just the usual articles written about a few tweets) that I'm not surprised it's something they were asked about in some form. I think the creators said pretty much the same thing. They clearly struck gold with the cast they ended up with (the fact a show of the cast getting together again 27 years after the premiere was considered a big deal demonstrates just how big it was). And the premise is really about quite an insular group - the same 6 twenty somethings hanging about in a coffee shop or in their apartment. Obviously you could have had the same thing where one of them happened to have a different skin colour, but it's not like its crazy for that not to be the case.
Interesting to read that the network wanted them to add an older character, like a guy running the coffee shop. Good that they avoided doing that.
There's probably a handful of things about Friends that reflect a bit of the '90s attitudes that maybe people would treat slightly differently now, but ultimately it's pretty tame for that and I don't think you even have to make much allowance for it being "of the times" the way you might for some older things. 100 billion on streaming platforms or whatever it is now and popularity even among young people today shows it maintains lasting appeal pretty well.
I was glad the creators stuck to their guns about how the magic and chemistry of the six is not something they would have changed. Sure, they gave enough lip service to placate the 2021 crybabies who love to complain about everything on Twitter, but I think it was clear that if they could go back and change anything, they wouldn't. Good for them. :tup :tup
-
I read some additional interviews from the creators after the reunion: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/friends-reunion-cast-reveals-creators-interview-1234959624/
They have the right idea about not returning with a true follow up. Old Friends would just be a bit sad I think and not really capture much of the spirit of the original. Also contains some reflection on things like lack of diversity in the cast which I know is a bit of a thing about Friends in recent years. I think they are right, probably when making the show later you'd be a bit more conscious of it, but I don't think it hurts the show, in fact the similarity of the main cast probably contributes to the feel of the show (in the same way the characters are all almost exactly the same age).
It's a bit of a stupid thing. Not every show has to scream diversity. Not every circle of friends has to have a person from every race. And the people making that silly argument conveniently ignore how groundbreaking the show was for its time when it came to certain issues. I am pretty sure it was the first sitcom to have an actual lesbian couple on the show as somewhat regulars, an episode was dedicated to the lesbian wedding, there was interracial dating (on two accounts for both Joey and Ross) which was unheard of on a sitcom as well at the time, etc. The writers found the perfect main cast (the six) and that is why the show is legendary. End of story. :coolio :coolio
Ah, but yes they do! The lesbian woman of color is starting to be as much of a trope, at least in the crime procedural shows, as the Italian mobster or the Middle-eastern Terrorist. The captain in L&O:Organized Crime, the detective in L&O:SVU, the scientist in Manifest, the agent in FBI... and on non-procedurals, Randall's daughter in This Is Us (who of course is dating a gender-fluid teen). I'm sure I'm forgetting some from shows I don't watch all that much, but every show DOES have to scream diversity.
-
I read some additional interviews from the creators after the reunion: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/friends-reunion-cast-reveals-creators-interview-1234959624/
They have the right idea about not returning with a true follow up. Old Friends would just be a bit sad I think and not really capture much of the spirit of the original. Also contains some reflection on things like lack of diversity in the cast which I know is a bit of a thing about Friends in recent years. I think they are right, probably when making the show later you'd be a bit more conscious of it, but I don't think it hurts the show, in fact the similarity of the main cast probably contributes to the feel of the show (in the same way the characters are all almost exactly the same age).
It's a bit of a stupid thing. Not every show has to scream diversity. Not every circle of friends has to have a person from every race. And the people making that silly argument conveniently ignore how groundbreaking the show was for its time when it came to certain issues. I am pretty sure it was the first sitcom to have an actual lesbian couple on the show as somewhat regulars, an episode was dedicated to the lesbian wedding, there was interracial dating (on two accounts for both Joey and Ross) which was unheard of on a sitcom as well at the time, etc. The writers found the perfect main cast (the six) and that is why the show is legendary. End of story. :coolio :coolio
As much as I agree with everything you wrote, interracial relationships, while never common, have been part of sitcoms since at least 1975, when Roxie Roker (who was part of an interracial couple in real life) played a black woman married to a white guy on The Jeffersons. You could even take it back to the '50s and Lucy and Ricky.
Interesting to read that the network wanted them to add an older character, like a guy running the coffee shop. Good that they avoided doing that.
Initially, it was supposed to be a cop who also hung out at Central Perk. It was still under consideration during the first season. In the first Thanksgiving episode, a character named Terry appears as the owner of Central Perk. He was, at that point, under consideration as the older confidante of the younger main characters. However, he appeared in only one other episode about a year later (the one with Chrissie Hynde from the Pretenders) and then disappeared. Instead, Gunther became the face of Central Perk.
-
I read some additional interviews from the creators after the reunion: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/friends-reunion-cast-reveals-creators-interview-1234959624/
They have the right idea about not returning with a true follow up. Old Friends would just be a bit sad I think and not really capture much of the spirit of the original. Also contains some reflection on things like lack of diversity in the cast which I know is a bit of a thing about Friends in recent years. I think they are right, probably when making the show later you'd be a bit more conscious of it, but I don't think it hurts the show, in fact the similarity of the main cast probably contributes to the feel of the show (in the same way the characters are all almost exactly the same age).
It's a bit of a stupid thing. Not every show has to scream diversity. Not every circle of friends has to have a person from every race. And the people making that silly argument conveniently ignore how groundbreaking the show was for its time when it came to certain issues. I am pretty sure it was the first sitcom to have an actual lesbian couple on the show as somewhat regulars, an episode was dedicated to the lesbian wedding, there was interracial dating (on two accounts for both Joey and Ross) which was unheard of on a sitcom as well at the time, etc. The writers found the perfect main cast (the six) and that is why the show is legendary. End of story. :coolio :coolio
As much as I agree with everything you wrote, interracial relationships, while never common, have been part of sitcoms since at least 1975, when Roxie Roker (who was part of an interracial couple in real life) played a black woman married to a white guy on The Jeffersons. You could even take it back to the '50s and Lucy and Ricky.
Lenny Kravitz' mom and Al Roker's cousin.
-
Ah, but yes they do! The lesbian woman of color is starting to be as much of a trope, at least in the crime procedural shows, as the Italian mobster or the Middle-eastern Terrorist. The captain in L&O:Organized Crime, the detective in L&O:SVU, the scientist in Manifest, the agent in FBI... and on non-procedurals, Randall's daughter in This Is Us (who of course is dating a gender-fluid teen). I'm sure I'm forgetting some from shows I don't watch all that much, but every show DOES have to scream diversity.
Haha, noted. :lol :lol
-
As much as I agree with everything you wrote, interracial relationships, while never common, have been part of sitcoms since at least 1975, when Roxie Roker (who was part of an interracial couple in real life) played a black woman married to a white guy on The Jeffersons. You could even take it back to the '50s and Lucy and Ricky.
True, but I remember reading that about Ross and Joey being the first main characters on a sitcom to date a black woman, and that was the notable thing. Ricky was Cuban, and Tom Willis and Helen were supporting characters, not main ones, and I think that was the distinction. Semantics, I suppose, but I think my point still stands that Friends did a lot of daring things for a sitcom in its time, things that might look tame now, but context matters. :)
-
I think you're right about that distinction, Kev.
-
As much as I agree with everything you wrote, interracial relationships, while never common, have been part of sitcoms since at least 1975, when Roxie Roker (who was part of an interracial couple in real life) played a black woman married to a white guy on The Jeffersons. You could even take it back to the '50s and Lucy and Ricky.
True, but I remember reading that about Ross and Joey being the first main characters on a sitcom to date a black woman, and that was the notable thing. Ricky was Cuban, and Tom Willis and Helen were supporting characters, not main ones, and I think that was the distinction. Semantics, I suppose, but I think my point still stands that Friends did a lot of daring things for a sitcom in its time, things that might look tame now, but context matters. :)
Absolutely.
I also wonder if all of the woke folk who bitch about the lack of "representation" in Friends do the same thing with other shows. The Seinfeld main cast was every bit as white as Friends. Do people bitch about it in the same way? Was there any diversity on the Cosby Show (I don't know - I never watched it)? Etc., etc. I pay more attention to Friends, but it seems like it is unfairly singled out for this stuff.
-
As much as I agree with everything you wrote, interracial relationships, while never common, have been part of sitcoms since at least 1975, when Roxie Roker (who was part of an interracial couple in real life) played a black woman married to a white guy on The Jeffersons. You could even take it back to the '50s and Lucy and Ricky.
True, but I remember reading that about Ross and Joey being the first main characters on a sitcom to date a black woman, and that was the notable thing. Ricky was Cuban, and Tom Willis and Helen were supporting characters, not main ones, and I think that was the distinction. Semantics, I suppose, but I think my point still stands that Friends did a lot of daring things for a sitcom in its time, things that might look tame now, but context matters. :)
Absolutely.
I also wonder if all of the woke folk who bitch about the lack of "representation" in Friends do the same thing with other shows. The Seinfeld main cast was every bit as white as Friends. Do people bitch about it in the same way? Was there any diversity on the Cosby Show (I don't know - I never watched it)? Etc., etc. I pay more attention to Friends, but it seems like it is unfairly singled out for this stuff.
Where are all these "woke folk who bitch about the lack of "representation" in Friends"? I've seen people comment on the lack of diversity (seriously, there should at the very least be a lot more people of color in the backgrounds, given where the show is supposed to be set), but commenting and discussing are not the same thing as "bitching".
-
Where are all these "woke folk who bitch about the lack of "representation" in Friends"? I've seen people comment on the lack of diversity (seriously, there should at the very least be a lot more people of color in the backgrounds, given where the show is supposed to be set), but commenting and discussing are not the same thing as "bitching".
Among other places, Reddit and other such social media.
-
Where are all these "woke folk who bitch about the lack of "representation" in Friends"? I've seen people comment on the lack of diversity (seriously, there should at the very least be a lot more people of color in the backgrounds, given where the show is supposed to be set), but commenting and discussing are not the same thing as "bitching".
Among other places, Reddit and other such social media.
So, like a relative handful of people getting blown out of proportion, then?
-
Where are all these "woke folk who bitch about the lack of "representation" in Friends"? I've seen people comment on the lack of diversity (seriously, there should at the very least be a lot more people of color in the backgrounds, given where the show is supposed to be set), but commenting and discussing are not the same thing as "bitching".
Among other places, Reddit and other such social media.
But isn’t that a bit like going to a restaurant and complaining about how awful food is from a dumpster? I mean obviously. It’s from a dumpster. Just don’t eat out of it.
-
Exactly. I can't speak for Reddit, but Twitter is basically a platform for anyone to piss and moan about the stupidest shit imaginable and get away with it 99.9999999% of the time.
-
Where are all these "woke folk who bitch about the lack of "representation" in Friends"? I've seen people comment on the lack of diversity (seriously, there should at the very least be a lot more people of color in the backgrounds, given where the show is supposed to be set), but commenting and discussing are not the same thing as "bitching".
Among other places, Reddit and other such social media.
But isn’t that a bit like going to a restaurant and complaining about how awful food is from a dumpster? I mean obviously. It’s from a dumpster. Just don’t eat out of it.
If only it was that simple. The dumpster is isolated, and it's only you making that determination. I'm not active on Twitter, but I do have "notifications" on (this is according to my daughter; I don't fucking know) and I get a steady feed of tweets each morning. Lately, the majority of them are "He's got a bruise on the side of his face; likely he is unstable and cannot walk. The end is near." Or, "Look at this picture; his hair is far more windswept than usual, a sign he's not taking care of his personal space, which we all know is the one thing he DOES care about." Every few days there's a rash of "Inside sources indicate that indictments are imminent in New York; Mar-A-Lago must be in a panic; he's unhinged, so no telling what he might do!" You know full well who "he" is. But it's not just ME in the dumpster now; it's all the people that desperately need to feed their insecurity, that need to have their world view reinforced that are feeding on this like a spring of fresh water in the desert.
Now you start to roll out these more subjective, more obscure takes on things and they get a foothold. With no debate, no counter point, no real analysis, but they take on a life of their own.
-
Meh. It is that simple.
Delete Twitter. Turn off notifications. Stop reading them. Stop taking them seriously. Pretty easy stuff.
-
If people are desperate to see some diversity on Friends just play with the contrast and brightness on your TV setting every few minutes.
-
Ha! Most things on TV these days certainly have the brightness turned down.
-
Meh. It is that simple.
Delete Twitter. Turn off notifications. Stop reading them. Stop taking them seriously. Pretty easy stuff.
If it was only so easy. My dad is not on Twitter at all, and it goes the other way. He's got almost NO feel for the tenor or the temperature of the current political debate. That helps him in some respects - he doesn't have much of the divisiveness and the vitriol that is so omnipresent - but he's also missing much of the dialogue from and about a President that bragged about Twitter being a "direct conduit" to the people, independent of the "lame stream media".
-
Meh. It is that simple.
Delete Twitter. Turn off notifications. Stop reading them. Stop taking them seriously. Pretty easy stuff.
If it was only so easy. My dad is not on Twitter at all, and it goes the other way. He's got almost NO feel for the tenor or the temperature of the current political debate. That helps him in some respects - he doesn't have much of the divisiveness and the vitriol that is so omnipresent - but he's also missing much of the dialogue from and about a President that bragged about Twitter being a "direct conduit" to the people, independent of the "lame stream media".
Meh. It’s that easy.
My post was multiple options. Just let people say/think what they will and leave it be. I have a philosophy of tend to your own garden. I can’t remember where I heard it, but it can be helpful at times. ;D
-
Meh. It is that simple.
Delete Twitter. Turn off notifications. Stop reading them. Stop taking them seriously. Pretty easy stuff.
If it was only so easy. My dad is not on Twitter at all, and it goes the other way. He's got almost NO feel for the tenor or the temperature of the current political debate. That helps him in some respects - he doesn't have much of the divisiveness and the vitriol that is so omnipresent - but he's also missing much of the dialogue from and about a President that bragged about Twitter being a "direct conduit" to the people, independent of the "lame stream media".
Meh. It’s that easy.
My post was multiple options. Just let people say/think what they will and leave it be. I have a philosophy of tend to your own garden. I can’t remember where I heard it, but it can be helpful at times. ;D
I'm old, though. While I sit in my garden, I still like to yell at the neighbors and make sure those meddling kids stay off my lawn!
-
Here's two cool interviews the guys did while promoting the reunion special. Matthew Perry in particular has some funny moments: https://youtu.be/iRvAHMeAQwU & https://youtu.be/QQv1tUgjyfw
-
RIP James Michael Tyler aka Gunther.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTltSoW5Gw8
-
RIP James Michael Tyler aka Gunther.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTltSoW5Gw8
After he wasn't physically present at the reunion in May, it came out that he was very sick, so this isn't a surprise, but still a bummer.
-
Very sad news. I've been on a Friends kick lately and have had it on as background noise for the last few weeks. Such a great show.
-
This isn't directly about Friends, but it's kind of related.
Fans of Friends will remember that Phoebe had a twin sister named Ursula, who appeared in about 10 episodes throughout the run of Friends. The character of Ursual, however, originated on another NBC show called Mad About You, which starred Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt, and which premiered two years before Friends. Ursula didn't show up until the second season of Mad About You (about a year before Friends premiered), but Lisa Kudrow showed up in a season 1 episode as a blind date for Paul (Reiser's character) in a flashback episode. Interestingly, in Ursula's first Mad About You, she has two jobs: waitress and tour guide at the Museum of Natural History, which is where Ross worked on Friends (although the connection was never made on either show).
Anyway, having been reminded about all of the above, I started re-watching Mad About You. Not a bad show, and worth watching if you're a fan of Friends. Warning: it's VERY heavy on Jewish stereotypes and (at least the first season) VERY '90s looking. Also, Helen Hunt in her late 20s/early 30s, though was really hot.
-
I LOVED Mad About You. 8pm on Must See Thursdays,
Man, for a decade, NBC had 4 killer sitcoms lined up from 8-10.
Cosby/Family Ties/Cheers/Night Court (succeeded with Wings)
Mad About You/Friends/Seinfeld/Frasier
Friends/who cares/Seinfeld/didn't matter - when you have the 2 biggest sitcoms of all time, you can put a rotating case in and out of the other two time slots, and it doesn't matter.
-
I can't remember when I started watching Mad About You. I know I watched it with my wife, so I'm guessing it was sometime after February 1994, which was about halfway through the second season. That probably explains why all of the season 1 episodes I've seen over the past couple weeks don't seem familiar. There was one with Jerry Lewis as a guest star that was a little like 22 minutes of someone scratching a chalkboard with fingernails.
-
Thanks to this thread I just watched the pilot to Mad About You. Not Great but charming and has potential. Will keep watching for now.
-
My wife and I got into Mad About You when we were first dating. We recently did a full rewatch, and added the new continuation season on Amazon Prime. I really like the style of humor, and just enjoy hearing the characters talking a lot of the time.
-
I remember Mad About You being the show your girlfriend made you watch with her.
https://youtu.be/vzLmm0wa0Hs?t=195
Cosby/Family Ties/Cheers/Night Court (succeeded with Wings)
I grew to enjoy Night Court more than Cheers. The irreverence greatly appealed to me. Wings was a favorite show in my freshman dorm. Reruns were on USA network 6 times a day it seemed. I rarely watched the 8:30/9:30p shows in the Friends/Seinfeld era.
-
I remember Mad About You being the show your girlfriend made you watch with her.
https://youtu.be/vzLmm0wa0Hs?t=195
Cosby/Family Ties/Cheers/Night Court (succeeded with Wings)
I grew to enjoy Night Court more than Cheers. The irreverence greatly appealed to me. Wings was a favorite show in my freshman dorm. Reruns were on USA network 6 times a day it seemed. I rarely watched the 8:30/9:30p shows in the Friends/Seinfeld era.
Nor did most of the country. :lol
-
Cheers, for me, slays any of the sitcoms mentioned in these last few posts. Only Seinfeld comes close. Friends has it's moments, but as much as I loved Chandler and Phoebe (I think Lisa Kudrow was by far the prettiest Friend) I hated Ross and Rachel. Wings was dumb; I liked the two brothers (the actors) but the girl was annoying and the token Jim Ignatowski character (Thomas Hayden Church) was very annoying. I thought Helen Hunt WAS hot, but the show was itself annoying to me; this is going to sound WAYYYYYYY more anti-Semitic than I mean it, but I never thought the Jewish stereotypes - on any show - were either funny or cute or endearing (I don't like religious stereotypes of ANY kind, frankly). Night Court had Harry Anderson and Selma Diamond, but I thought the side-characters, especially Bull, were silly. They also jumped the shark early and fell victim to the "Big Bang Syndrome" quickly; what started as quirky iconoclastic "individuals" turned into cuddly lovable "family" too quickly.
-
Thanks to this thread I just watched the pilot to Mad About You. Not Great but charming and has potential. Will keep watching for now.
I just started season 2 yesterday and just made it to the first episode with Lisa Kudrow as Ursula. It's interesting to see how similar Ursula is to Phoebe in s1 of Friends and rather different from the way she played Ursula on Friends.
Cosby/Family Ties/Cheers/Night Court (succeeded with Wings)
I grew to enjoy Night Court more than Cheers. The irreverence greatly appealed to me. Wings was a favorite show in my freshman dorm. Reruns were on USA network 6 times a day it seemed. I rarely watched the 8:30/9:30p shows in the Friends/Seinfeld era.
Night Court was awesome. Cheers started before I was old enough to appreciate it, and I never got into it. I tried to watch it a while back and got distracted late in the first season or early in the second season and haven't gone back. Cosby never appealed to me. Same with Seinfeld, although it had several high points.
Just saw that they're making a "sequel series" to Night Court. John Larroquette is going to reprise his role from the original show, and the judge will be Harry's daughter, Abby Stone (played by Melissa Rauch from The Big Bang Theory. Kinda hard to imagine how this could live up to the original, but we'll see.
-
I rarely watched the 8:30/9:30p shows in the Friends/Seinfeld era.
Nor did most of the country. :lol
Well...that's not quite true. For its first season, Friends aired in every Thursday evening slot except 9:00, which was occupied by Seinfeld for the entirety of the time the two shows aired together. Caroline in the City did pretty well, but that's probably only because it was sandwiched between Seinfeld and E.R. Brooke Shields got Suddenly Susan on the strength of her Friends guest starring role and did pretty well. Third Rock from the Sun started out in the 9:30 slot. Tea Leoni's show, The Naked Truth, was he #4 show during the '96-'97 season (tied with s3 of Friends). Again, though, that's probably a result of being the bridge between Seinfeld and E.R. That was really the function of that 9:30 slot (and, to a lesser extent, the 8:30 slot). The slot got HUGE ratings regardless of what the show was, and then NBC would move the show to see if it could fly on its own. Probably the most successful show from the 8:30 and 9:30 slots was Will & Grace, which premiered the season after Seinfeld ended and eventually took over the 9:00 time slot (which was occupied by Frasier for a year after Seinfeld ended). Just Shoot Me was another. One that I thought was really good but didn't catch on was Stark Raving Mad, with Tony Shaloub and Neil Patrick Harris (also never crossed over with Seinfeld).
In Friends' last season ('03-'04), they even stuck an American version of the awful British Friends ripoff, Coupling, in the 9:30 slot (and yes, I know that characterization is going to trigger a couple folks). Even with the bridge slot between Will & Grace and E.R., it only lasted four episodes.
-
Cheers, for me, slays any of the sitcoms mentioned in these last few posts. Only Seinfeld comes close. Friends has it's moments, but as much as I loved Chandler and Phoebe (I think Lisa Kudrow was by far the prettiest Friend) I hated Ross and Rachel. Wings was dumb; I liked the two brothers (the actors) but the girl was annoying and the token Jim Ignatowski character (Thomas Hayden Church) was very annoying. I thought Helen Hunt WAS hot, but the show was itself annoying to me; this is going to sound WAYYYYYYY more anti-Semitic than I mean it, but I never thought the Jewish stereotypes - on any show - were either funny or cute or endearing (I don't like religious stereotypes of ANY kind, frankly). Night Court had Harry Anderson and Selma Diamond, but I thought the side-characters, especially Bull, were silly. They also jumped the shark early and fell victim to the "Big Bang Syndrome" quickly; what started as quirky iconoclastic "individuals" turned into cuddly lovable "family" too quickly.
I loved Wings, and it nothing to do with the fact the Brian character frequently wore a tie with the state of Wisconsin on it.
-
For its first season, Friends aired in every Thursday evening slot except 9:00, which was occupied by Seinfeld for the entirety of the time the two shows aired together. Caroline in the City did pretty well, but that's probably only because it was sandwiched between Seinfeld and E.R. Brooke Shields got Suddenly Susan on the strength of her Friends guest starring role and did pretty well. Third Rock from the Sun started out in the 9:30 slot. Tea Leoni's show, The Naked Truth, was he #4 show during the '96-'97 season (tied with s3 of Friends). Again, though, that's probably a result of being the bridge between Seinfeld and E.R. That was really the function of that 9:30 slot (and, to a lesser extent, the 8:30 slot). The slot got HUGE ratings regardless of what the show was, and then NBC would move the show to see if it could fly on its own. Probably the most successful show from the 8:30 and 9:30 slots was Will & Grace, which premiered the season after Seinfeld ended and eventually took over the 9:00 time slot (which was occupied by Frasier for a year after Seinfeld ended). Just Shoot Me was another. One that I thought was really good but didn't catch on was Stark Raving Mad, with Tony Shaloub and Neil Patrick Harris (also never crossed over with Seinfeld).
Great summary. And a good thing you included ER, since that was the bookend that kept people on NBC till 11p. Without that, the 9:30p slot wouldn't have meant a thing.
I didn't watch any of those shows, except for some of Just Shoot Me. I remember liking Stark Raving Mad but never committed to it, which apparently so few people did.
I don't know why I never liked Frasier. I liked Cheers, liked the character, it was smart and witty which is usually right up my alley, and it was set in Seattle. I just never found it laugh out loud funny, and the whimsy I could appreciate wasn't enough to hold my interest.
Night Court had Harry Anderson and Selma Diamond, but I thought the side-characters, especially Bull, were silly. They also jumped the shark early and fell victim to the "Big Bang Syndrome" quickly; what started as quirky iconoclastic "individuals" turned into cuddly lovable "family" too quickly.
I didn't think Night Court went that route - though I never watched ig Bang Theory so maybe I am missing your point. It evolved over time, but still held true to what it was. I always said Dan Fielding was one of my top 3 TV characters of all time. That list might have changed over the years, but he is still up there.
-
It was almost my least favorite of the NBC Thursday Must See TV from 7-9 on Thursday nights (after Cheers, Cosby Show and Family Ties), but Night Court was usually pretty funny. I haven't seen it in forever, but it wouldn't surprise me if that was a show that hasn't aged well. Just a hunch.
-
I loved Night Court, and would probably agree, though I haven't seen it in ages. either. I've watched some Wings lately and while the nostalgia was strong, it felt pretty stale. But it was the first couple seasons, before it really hit its stride (imo).
-
Night Court is an all timer for me, loved it. It is free to watch on IMDBtv and I’ve begun a re-watch and am currently almost through season 2. No way this show makes it in todays world and I almost cringe at some of the stuff they were getting away with. With that said, I still find it entertaining. As of where I am in the series it hasn’t hit its full stride, but there have been moments. I just saw the episode with Michael Richards (Kramer) in which he thought he was invisible.
The best episodes were always the ones where they had to get through as many cases as they could by midnight. Rapid fire stupidity at its finest.
-
Paul... your history of the 8:30 and 9:30 times lots kinda proves my point. No show lasted there in the Friends/Seinfeld era for more than 2 seasons.
I loved Frazier. Very intelligent writing, and flawless delivery.
-
Tea Leoni's show, The Naked Truth, was he #4 show during the '96-'97 season (tied with s3 of Friends).
She was one of those people that seemed to me someone WANTED to be in a hit show but never was. There were a couple people like that, that seemed to recycle into vehicles that perpetually failed.
For its first season, Friends aired in every Thursday evening slot except 9:00, which was occupied by Seinfeld for the entirety of the time the two shows aired together. Caroline in the City did pretty well, but that's probably only because it was sandwiched between Seinfeld and E.R. Brooke Shields got Suddenly Susan on the strength of her Friends guest starring role and did pretty well. Third Rock from the Sun started out in the 9:30 slot. Tea Leoni's show, The Naked Truth, was he #4 show during the '96-'97 season (tied with s3 of Friends). Again, though, that's probably a result of being the bridge between Seinfeld and E.R. That was really the function of that 9:30 slot (and, to a lesser extent, the 8:30 slot). The slot got HUGE ratings regardless of what the show was, and then NBC would move the show to see if it could fly on its own. Probably the most successful show from the 8:30 and 9:30 slots was Will & Grace, which premiered the season after Seinfeld ended and eventually took over the 9:00 time slot (which was occupied by Frasier for a year after Seinfeld ended). Just Shoot Me was another. One that I thought was really good but didn't catch on was Stark Raving Mad, with Tony Shaloub and Neil Patrick Harris (also never crossed over with Seinfeld).
Great summary. And a good thing you included ER, since that was the bookend that kept people on NBC till 11p. Without that, the 9:30p slot wouldn't have meant a thing.
I didn't watch any of those shows, except for some of Just Shoot Me. I remember liking Stark Raving Mad but never committed to it, which apparently so few people did.
I don't know why I never liked Frasier. I liked Cheers, liked the character, it was smart and witty which is usually right up my alley, and it was set in Seattle. I just never found it laugh out loud funny, and the whimsy I could appreciate wasn't enough to hold my interest.
I didn't think Night Court went that route - though I never watched ig Bang Theory so maybe I am missing your point. It evolved over time, but still held true to what it was. I always said Dan Fielding was one of my top 3 TV characters of all time. That list might have changed over the years, but he is still up there.
Watch a season 1 episode of BBT and an episode from, say, season 10. In the first season, Sheldon is rude to everyone, unceasingly. Leonard can barely talk to a woman, and Raj literally CANNOT talk to a woman. Howard is a letch, and early on Penny is repulsed by him. Fast forward, and Sheldon is in touch with his feelings, Leonard is married to the hottest girl in the building, Howard's married to the second hottest girl in the building and has two kids and everyone is in everyone else's wedding party. I know life evolves, but I'm not watching sitcoms for real-life experiences. M*A*S*H was another one; Radar was what we would likely today call "on the spectrum". Blake was an idiot, as was Frank Burns. Klinger was a wierdo, full stop. Trapper and Hawkeye literally could not give a f--- and drank their way through the experience. Fast forward six years and BJ is talking about his feelings, they're friends with Major Charles Emerson Winchester, Potter is like "DAD", Radar and Klinger are both now lovable oddballs who can be counted on in a pinch because they are solid human beings.
You can run this scenario through almost any sitcom that last for more than 6, 7 years, even my beloved Cheers. Seinfeld might be the only exception, but only because that was the conceit of the show (and Larry David took a LOT - a TON - of shit for playing that card in the series finale).
-
You can run this scenario through almost any sitcom that last for more than 6, 7 years, even my beloved Cheers. Seinfeld might be the only exception, but only because that was the conceit of the show (and Larry David took a LOT - a TON - of shit for playing that card in the series finale).
Ever think that might be the reason some shows don't last past 6-7 seasons?? Their lack of 'real-ness'? Just musing.
-
You can run this scenario through almost any sitcom that last for more than 6, 7 years, even my beloved Cheers. Seinfeld might be the only exception, but only because that was the conceit of the show (and Larry David took a LOT - a TON - of shit for playing that card in the series finale).
Ever think that might be the reason some shows don't last past 6-7 seasons?? Their lack of 'real-ness'? Just musing.
Well, you make it sound like that's a bad thing. Maybe these aren't meant to last that long.
I know it's not a sitcom, but I'm watching This Is Us now, in it's final season, and it's simply amazing television. It's so friggin' good. Other shows I like - NCIS for one - are getting stale now, because you have to sort of keep recreating the formula. Quirky nerdy lab tech leaves? Let's bring in a quirky nerdy lab tech; she's not a tall white punk chick, so we'll tweak it and make her a short, African American lesbian, but it's still close enough. Hot former CIA person leaves? Bring in a hot former Mossad agent. She leaves? Bring in a hot former NSA agent. She leaves? Bring in a hot former FBI agent. Patriarch character decides he's had enough? Bring in another patriarch character who makes it clear he's "not replacing" the former, but does anyway. Intellectual, curious medical examiner with a heart of gold leaves? Replace him with the young intellectual curious medical examiner with a heart of gold. And in all cases - ALL cases - they are immediately FAMILY, with the requisite care, concern and love we reserve for those we've known for decades.
-
Great summary. And a good thing you included ER, since that was the bookend that kept people on NBC till 11p. Without that, the 9:30p slot wouldn't have meant a thing.
I didn't watch any of those shows, except for some of Just Shoot Me. I remember liking Stark Raving Mad but never committed to it, which apparently so few people did.
I don't know why I never liked Frasier. I liked Cheers, liked the character, it was smart and witty which is usually right up my alley, and it was set in Seattle. I just never found it laugh out loud funny, and the whimsy I could appreciate wasn't enough to hold my interest.
It was actually interesting looking at the schedules from those years and seeing just how many shows cycled through the 8:30 and 9:30 slots. Madman of the People anyone? :lol
I remember liking Stark Raving Mad, but there's one scene that became a part of my wife's and my personal lexicon to this day - at 9:15 of this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7qjaprTKy4 (keep in mind that NPH's character was a HUGE suck-up and was trying to impress the host).
I'm of roughly the same mind about Frasier. Any time I turned it on, I thought it was funny, but I never devoted time to it.
Tea Leoni's show, The Naked Truth, was he #4 show during the '96-'97 season (tied with s3 of Friends).
She was one of those people that seemed to me someone WANTED to be in a hit show but never was. There were a couple people like that, that seemed to recycle into vehicles that perpetually failed.
Yeah...we were repeatedly told that she was THE "it girl" and the next big thing (Tia Carrera was another one like that), and everything she was in was at least pretty good, but she really never hit.
Paul... your history of the 8:30 and 9:30 times lots kinda proves my point. No show lasted there in the Friends/Seinfeld era for more than 2 seasons.
Not to be overly Stadlery, but you wrote that most of the country didn't watch, but people did watch. I agree that (except for Will & Grace) the shows in those slots didn't last (mostly because they got moved to sink or swim on their own, and most sank).
Watch a season 1 episode of BBT and an episode from, say, season 10. In the first season, Sheldon is rude to everyone, unceasingly. Leonard can barely talk to a woman, and Raj literally CANNOT talk to a woman. Howard is a letch, and early on Penny is repulsed by him. Fast forward, and Sheldon is in touch with his feelings, Leonard is married to the hottest girl in the building, Howard's married to the second hottest girl in the building and has two kids and everyone is in everyone else's wedding party.
I feel like we've had this discussion, but feel like TBBT evolved pretty naturally, except for Amy. Also, it's worth pointing out that season 1 Sheldon was rather different from even season 2 Sheldon. Season 1 Sheldon (especially early in the season) absolutely understood sarcasm and used it regularly. They regressed Sheldon and evolved him from that. By the way, if you've never seen the original, unaired TBBT pilot, it's worth watching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q31GQ97RTao&list=PL-SOlcxKAXcJKlXC19sZXS3tEPgZeMr5I
Other shows I like - NCIS for one - are getting stale now
My wife and I used to watch NCIS-LA (we gave up on it a couple years ago), and she also watched the original (which I referred to as "NCIS-Cranky Pants") and NOLA.
-
Also, circling back to Friends (sort of), here's a pre-Friends Courteney Cox that you probably don't remember: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOHCtQfFn7E
-
We need a Top 50 Shows From the 80s/90s That Aired on NBC Thursday Nights At Either 8:30p or 9:30p thread.
-
Also, circling back to Friends (sort of), here's a pre-Friends Courteney Cox that you probably don't remember: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOHCtQfFn7E
Was fully expecting this to be Misfits of Science.
-
We need a Top 50 Shows From the 80s/90s That Aired on NBC Thursday Nights At Either 8:30p or 9:30p thread.
1984-87: Cosby, Family Ties, Cheers and Night Court. Damn! Other years....
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/59/Lewis_%26_Clark_%28TV_series%29.jpg)
(https://i.pinimg.com/736x/94/07/a4/9407a470c97640b06ccb8acaa03f4c9e--the-duck--s.jpg)
(https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ftvseriesfinale.com%2Fassets%2Fdaysnightsmollydodd04m.jpg&hash=67224d8eb0b52b535a8b5d77af0e5ca40b8168ba)
(https://alchetron.com/cdn/nothing-in-common-tv-series-dfffce51-6215-483a-a8bc-c7be23e0708-resize-750.jpeg)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e6/Dear_John_%28U.S._TV_series%29.jpg)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/77/Madman_of_the_People.jpg)
(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQvOWYogrJV3a0CBEosrd7RhA98277LgmFJDqJoipXm0cC_E-anGJ73V1ZQnJW7Z090JY8&usqp=CAU)
-
Dear, John is the only thing I recognize out of that. Watched a few episodes of it. Judd Hirsch was ok.
-
Yeah...I vaguely recall Madman of the People (second pic from the bottom), but I had ZERO recollection of any of the others before googling to find pictures.
-
Also, circling back to Friends (sort of), here's a pre-Friends Courteney Cox that you probably don't remember: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOHCtQfFn7E
Wow, I had never seen that. The only pre-90s things I ever saw her in were the Springsteen video and Family Ties. She did have one helluva smile back in the day. :hat :hat
-
I only recognized 3 of those people, and none of those shows. I do remember Dear John now that someone said it.
-
Dear, John is the only thing I recognize out of that. Watched a few episodes of it. Judd Hirsch was ok.
That show blew, except there was one scene, I don't know the setup or anything like that, but Jere Burns kept spraying himself in the face and it was hilarious. Everything else, forgettable.
Is that Jim Carrey in the second photo? EDIT: Yes. :) Actors look so ridiculous in their posed group shots. There's like four poses that consistently get recycled. My "favorite" is the arms crossed with the smug smile, like the dude in the Carrey picture.
-
Is the guy on the other side of the duck the guy who played the basketball coach in Teen Wolf?
-
I only recognized 3 of those people, and none of those shows. I do remember Dear John now that someone said it.
From top to bottom:
1. Lewis & Clark (Gabe Kaplan - 13 episodes in '81 and '82)
2. The Duck Factory (Jim Carrey - 13 episodes in '84)
3. The Days & Nights of Molly Dodd (65 episodes from '87-'91)
4. Nothing in Common (7 episodes in '87)
5. Dear John (Judd Hirsch (90 episodes from '88-'92)
6. Madman of the People (Dabney Coleman and the smoldering Cynthia Gibb - 16 episodes in '94 and '95)
7. Jesse (Christina Applegate - 42 episodes from '98-'00)
Is the guy on the other side of the duck the guy who played the basketball coach in Teen Wolf?
He looked to me like Jay Thomas, but it's apparently a guy named Jay Tarses, who, while apparently being more well-known for behind-the-camera work, was, in fact, the actor who played Coach Finstock in Teen Wolf.
-
Funny, cause Jay Thomas (Eddie LeBec!) did look a lot like the guy who played the coach in Teen Wolf.
-
I only recognized 3 of those people, and none of those shows. I do remember Dear John now that someone said it.
From top to bottom:
1. Lewis & Clark (Gabe Kaplan - 13 episodes in '81 and '82)
2. The Duck Factory (Jim Carrey - 13 episodes in '84)
3. The Days & Nights of Molly Dodd (65 episodes from '87-'91)
4. Nothing in Common (7 episodes in '87)
5. Dear John (Judd Hirsch (90 episodes from '88-'92)
6. Madman of the People (Dabney Coleman and the smoldering Cynthia Gibb - 16 episodes in '94 and '95)
7. Jesse (Christina Applegate - 42 episodes from '98-'00)
Is the guy on the other side of the duck the guy who played the basketball coach in Teen Wolf?
He looked to me like Jay Thomas, but it's apparently a guy named Jay Tarses, who, while apparently being more well-known for behind-the-camera work, was, in fact, the actor who played Coach Finstock in Teen Wolf.
Sometimes I cringe at the amount of stupidity I remember. ;D
-
He looked to me like Jay Thomas, but it's apparently a guy named Jay Tarses, who, while apparently being more well-known for behind-the-camera work, was, in fact, the actor who played Coach Finstock in Teen Wolf.
He created the show that was replaced by the Jim Carrey show, and he created the Molly Dodd show. Blair Brown looks gorgeous in that picture.
-
Sometimes I cringe at the amount of stupidity I remember. ;D
Right there with you. Sometimes I love it because it's kind of a "super power," but there are a lot of times I really wish I could do a data dump.
-
Dear, John is the only thing I recognize out of that. Watched a few episodes of it. Judd Hirsch was ok.
That show blew, except there was one scene, I don't know the setup or anything like that, but Jere Burns kept spraying himself in the face and it was hilarious. Everything else, forgettable.
Is that Jim Carrey in the second photo? EDIT: Yes. :) Actors look so ridiculous in their posed group shots. There's like four poses that consistently get recycled. My "favorite" is the arms crossed with the smug smile, like the dude in the Carrey picture.
Jere Burns is an excellent actor. I liked him in Dear John, Angie Tribeca & Justified.
-
First off, I just now noticed how much "madness" was in NBC's "Must See TV" lineup: Mad About You, Stark Raving Mad and Madman of the People.
Anyway, I just finished my re-watch of Mad About You (I watched the original series finale and the first episode of the "reboot" last night). I may or may not post my thoughts, but I wanted to post here about a lot of the Friends related stuff.
Everyone knows that Phoebe from Friends had a twin sister named Ursula. Ursula first appeared as a character in MAY. She first appeared in season 2 of MAY (after Lisa Kudrow appeared as a different character in season 1), which was the season before Friends premiered. Ursula ultimately appeared in 24 of MAY's 176 episodes, always as a side character. After Friends premiered, the producers of Friends -- particularly David Crane -- conferred with the producers of MAY -- particularly co-producer Jeffrey Klarik, who was, at the time, Crane's boyfriend (and now husband) -- and agreed that Phoebe and Ursula would be twins. In the second episode of Friends, Phoebe made a vague allusion to a twin who was a waitress, so they had either made the deal by that time or were hoping for it.
While Phoebe never appeared on MAY, Ursula appeared in 8 episodes of Friends. Also, in season 3 of MAY, there is a blackout in NYC, which was also a plot point of the season 1 episode of Friends that aired the same night. In a later season 1 episode of Friends, Jamie (Helen Hunt) and Fran from MAY walk into Central Perk and mistake Phoebe for Ursula (assuming that Ursula was also working there).
I think I mentioned this previously, but in her first appearance in MAY, Ursula was working as a tour guide at the Museum of Natural History, which is where Ross worked for the first several seasons of Friends. Unfortunately, they never did anything with this connection (even when Joey took a job as a tour guide at the museum in season 4 of Friends).
Less known than Friends and MAY sharing a universe, the two shows also existed in the same universe as Seinfeld. In season 1 of MAY, we found out that Paul had sublet his "bachelor pad" to Kramer. Paul visited Kramer and, toward the end of the conversation, asked about "that Jerry guy" who lived down the hall. In the season 7 premiere of MAY, Paul ran into Jerry on the street. In season 5 of Seinfeld (the season that aired immediately prior to the premiere of Friends), Courteney Cox played Jerry's girlfriend. What that means is that, in the same universe, Monica had a doppelganger. Unfortunately, they never took advantage of this by having Monica meet Cox's "Meryl" character.
Beyond all that, Friends and MAY had in common tons of actors who played minor roles. Not sure if this is interesting to anyone but me, but there it is.
Thanks to this thread I just watched the pilot to Mad About You. Not Great but charming and has potential. Will keep watching for now.
Did you stick with it? What did you think? I think it improved greatly by season 2.
-
I made it to season 2 and kind of feel like falling off. There's great moments, but they just seem to repeat the same routines/jokes a ton. I'll keep slowly watching it though. Hoping I get more hooked.
-
I made it to season 2 and kind of feel like falling off. There's great moments, but they just seem to repeat the same routines/jokes a ton. I'll keep slowly watching it though. Hoping I get more hooked.
I'd say give it until the end of season 2. If it hasn't grabbed you by then, it probably won't. Paul and Jamie had a kid at the end of season 5, and some critics didn't like how that changed things in season 6. For the most part, I disagree, but there was one episode where they did a "real time" depiction of getting the kid to cry herself to sleep, which, while well acted, I found dreadful to watch. There was also a short near-infidelity storyline (season 5) that I thought was too much drama for a sitcom, and there were a small handful of episodes with Mel Brooks as one of Paul's uncles that I found mostly over-the-top stupid. Other than that, I'd say seasons 3-5 are the best of the show.
-
There was also a short near-infidelity storyline (season 5) that I thought was too much drama for a sitcom
Like a lot of storylines on older shows, binge-watching can really change your perception of time. When originally aired that storyline seemed to go on forever to me, but in reality it was only a few episodes. But it aired over a month or so, rather than a couple of nights on the rewatch, so my perception of the time was much longer..
-
There was also a short near-infidelity storyline (season 5) that I thought was too much drama for a sitcom
Like a lot of storylines on older shows, binge-watching can really change your perception of time. When originally aired that storyline seemed to go on forever to me, but in reality it was only a few episodes. But it aired over a month or so, rather than a couple of nights on the rewatch, so my perception of the time was much longer..
It was the last 4 episodes of season 4 (not season 5, as I had erroneously written previously), which aired over 4 consecutive weeks at the end of the season. By the end of the season finale, Jamie took a pregnancy test that came up positive.
But you're absolutely right. Friends aired a handful of "clips" episodes, which consisted primarily of clips from prior episodes. At the time, I think most folks welcomed those episodes as a way to look back at episodes we hadn't seen for a long time. However, I see a lot of people now complain about them, and it seems to be a result of the fact that people binge the show, so the episodes from which the clips came are very recent to binge viewers (a lot of whom are young and weren't around in the days before bingeing).
-
There was also a short near-infidelity storyline (season 5) that I thought was too much drama for a sitcom
Like a lot of storylines on older shows, binge-watching can really change your perception of time. When originally aired that storyline seemed to go on forever to me, but in reality it was only a few episodes. But it aired over a month or so, rather than a couple of nights on the rewatch, so my perception of the time was much longer..
It was the last 4 episodes of season 4 (not season 5, as I had erroneously written previously), which aired over 4 consecutive weeks at the end of the season. By the end of the season finale, Jamie took a pregnancy test that came up positive.
But you're absolutely right. Friends aired a handful of "clips" episodes, which consisted primarily of clips from prior episodes. At the time, I think most folks welcomed those episodes as a way to look back at episodes we hadn't seen for a long time. However, I see a lot of people now complain about them, and it seems to be a result of the fact that people binge the show, so the episodes from which the clips came are very recent to binge viewers (a lot of whom are young and weren't around in the days before bingeing).
I'm currently doing a watch-through of Golden Girls, which I'd seen on occasion in the past, but never on a regular basis. On that show, they have several of what I call "fake clip shows". They're formatted like clip shows with the characters flashing back to things in the past, but they're not flashbacks to anything we've seen before.