There is a rumour going around that TV Land (US Version) will not air anything on May 6th from 9:00-10:00PM ET due to the Friends final episode on NBC.

Is ther any truth to this? If so- why? It sounds kind of dumb to me. :confused:

because Friends is the biggest sitcom (besides maybe Seinfeld) of the past 15 years, and TV Land is showing it it's due NOW instead of waiting 15-20 years for you guys to catch up with it. I actually can take comfort in that I loved it when it was actually in the "now", as opposed to a N@N/TV Land series to get your respect.

I'm willing to bet if SO was around when MASH or Cheers went off the air, the majority of the posters would've shared Solomon's views of those shows, as opposed to loving them.

TV Land is showing Friends respect by doing it. Most of you Friends haters do not understand how big this show has been and how it's been possibly the biggest show of the past decade.

.....willing to bet 15-20 years from now, Friends will be as loved in here as Cheers, MASH, Three's Company and Happy Days....

I don't like Friends very much but even I have to admit that while I don't like it, there are a lot of people who do like it and have watched it the past decade. It has been on the air for ten years so there is no doubt it has a huge fan following.

Well why not do the same for Frasier?

Originally posted by Jenya
There is a rumour going around that TV Land (US Version) will not air anything on May 6th from 9:00-10:00PM ET due to the Friends final episode on NBC.

Is ther any truth to this? If so- why? It sounds kind of dumb to me. :confused:


Well that's no biggie because between 9pm-10pm on TV LAND, they air Bewitched and Green Acres-LOL So if u ask me, they have not been anything during those times anyway.

If the females on Friends were nude in the last episode, I still wouldn't watch it. I cannot believe everyone is making such a big deal about this show.

Originally posted by jpnoyes
If the females on Friends were nude in the last episode, I still wouldn't watch it. I cannot believe everyone is making such a big deal about this show.


LOL, Plus Jennifer Anniston doesn't look DRUG FREE to me. I don't know what she is doing at those hollywood parties.

Originally posted by jpnoyes
If the females on Friends were nude in the last episode, I still wouldn't watch it. I cannot believe everyone is making such a big deal about this show.

for a lot of us in our 20's, the end of Friends is like the closing of a chapter in our lives. Those of us who came of age in the 1990's... the show is as important to us as Lucy was to those who did so in the 50's, and as All In The Family and Happy Days were to those who did so in the 70's. Friends was the last "great sitcom of my youth" that was still on the air. I know a lot of people my age (24) and also several years older, the end of Friends is like a chapter closing on our youth.

Plus, regardless if you liked the show or not, gotta give it (as well as Frasier, which has been on longer and is ending too) for being an ensemble piece that ran a long time and NEVER had a major character leave. Even if you hated Friends, you have to admit it was neat that the same 6 leads from 1994 are still here for the final episode in 2004.

Friends may not have broke ground the way Seinfeld did, maybe it didn't make you think the way All In The Family did, it didn't revolutionize and invent sitcoms like Lucy did, but it was a huge show for 10 seasons and there are over 20 million of us WHO ARE GOING TO MISS IT WHEN IT ENDS.

Originally posted by BuffySlayer79
for a lot of us in our 20's, the end of Friends is like the closing of a chapter in our lives. Those of us who came of age in the 1990's... the show is as important to us as Lucy was to those who did so in the 50's, and as All In The Family and Happy Days were to those who did so in the 70's. Friends was the last "great sitcom of my youth" that was still on the air. I know a lot of people my age (24) and also several years older, the end of Friends is like a chapter closing on our youth.

Plus, regardless if you liked the show or not, gotta give it (as well as Frasier, which has been on longer and is ending too) for being an ensemble piece that ran a long time and NEVER had a major character leave. Even if you hated Friends, you have to admit it was neat that the same 6 leads from 1994 are still here for the final episode in 2004.

Friends may not have broke ground the way Seinfeld did, maybe it didn't make you think the way All In The Family did, it didn't revolutionize and invent sitcoms like Lucy did, but it was a huge show for 10 seasons and there are over 20 million of us WHO ARE GOING TO MISS IT WHEN IT ENDS.



To quote Al Bundy "Friends. Don't want em, don't need em, sure as hell don't want to watch em".

Originally posted by jpnoyes
To quote Al Bundy "Friends. Don't want em, don't need em, sure as hell don't want to watch em".


LOL_yeah i remember that Al Bundy Quote

Ouch. As much as I hate to admit it, Buffy....











....You're right. You're SO right.


(Just one thing, though...I HAVE loved Cheers since I was a kid, when it was still in its original run.)

Originally posted by jpnoyes
To quote Al Bundy "Friends. Don't want em, don't need em, sure as hell don't want to watch em".

and Friends went off the air because the cast wanted to move on, not because NBC wanted to get rid of them to make room for newer series like MWC did

Originally posted by BuffySlayer79
and Friends went off the air because the cast wanted to move on, not because NBC wanted to get rid of them to make room for newer series like MWC did


LeBlanc is moving on alright. His show Joey won't last more than a season. He was in one or two MWC spinoffs as well and they tanked.

Admit it, you guys. Admit it.

Buffy IS right. Think about it, you guys. :o

I doubt I'll ever like it. I always liked Cheers and MASH and continue to watch their reruns. I will give Friends its due and say it was a giant hit that influenced a lot of the sitcoms of the 1990's and a lot of trends in America. I wonder who's going to take its place as the next big sitcom hit. The one thing I did like about it was their theme song. It rocked. If only other sitcoms would follow that example and keep the tv theme song.

Originally posted by jpnoyes
If the females on Friends were nude in the last episode, I still wouldn't watch it. I cannot believe everyone is making such a big deal about this show.

:clap: :rock:

Talk about final episode overhype!!! (Hey, there was a thread by that name awhile back!) I'll say it now in case I'm not reading the message boards May 6, so here I go:
GOOD RIDDANCE ALREADY!!!!

Originally posted by jpnoyes
LeBlanc is moving on alright. His show Joey won't last more than a season. He was in one or two MWC spinoffs as well and they tanked.

so? LeBlanc is probably the least talented of the Friends cast members.

Anyways, who really thought Kelsey Grammar had what it took to star in a hit spinoff? Did anyone really think that Frasier having his own show would be interesting enough to last ONE season? it lasted 11.

Originally posted by James
:clap: :rock:

Talk about final episode overhype!!! (Hey, there was a thread by that name awhile back!) I'll say it now in case I'm not reading the message boards May 6, so here I go:
GOOD RIDDANCE ALREADY!!!!

Friends lasted twice as long as The Wonder Years, and once again, went off the air because the actors wanted to move on, as opposed to being cancelled by the network because the former top 10 series wasn't even in the top 60 anymore (well, I won't bash your shows if you don't bash mine. The people who bash Friends generally champion shows I wasn't too terribly crazy about either)

Originally posted by BuffySlayer79
so? LeBlanc is probably the least talented of the Friends cast members.

Anyways, who really thought Kelsey Grammar had what it took to star in a hit spinoff? Did anyone really think that Frasier having his own show would be interesting enough to last ONE season? it lasted 11.

Yep, and Kelsey has been playing the SAME character for 20 years and on two different shows.

I'm sorry if I offended anyone by defending Friends, but it's stupid to bask in hatred of a show when you're being outnumbered by people who are actually going to miss it.

Friends is a rare show that is going out on top. It's like Cheers, M*A*S*H, Andy Griffith, I Love Lucy and Seinfeld where the show was still a top 10 ratings smash at the end, but went off because the cast felt it was time to say goodbye. How many shows are like that?

If you're going to show me disrespect for liking Friends, then I'll show you disrespect for liking a show like Married With Children that I grew out of when I turned 12 (and I find it funny a MWC fan would hate Friends so much because it gave Matt LeBlanc his big break, most Family Ties fans I know were happy that their show launched Courteney Cox's career). Maybe I shouldn't have insulted Wonder Years, because it was a good series. But truth be told, if you're going to complain that the finale of the Wonder Years WASN'T a big media event, and then get mad when a show that's still in the top 10's ending IS a big freaking deal, then I'll point it out that Friends was a bigger show, which was why it lasted longer and why it ended because the cast wanted out, not because the network was unhappy that the show wasn't getting ratings like it used to.

There are quite a few "classic" shows everyone in here worships that I personally opt not to watch, but I don't go and tell people who watch a show like Home Improvement or Sanford And Son that they're stupid and have bad taste, why not? BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO LIKE IT AND SHOULDN'T HAVE PEOPLE CRAP ON THEM BECAUSE THEY'RE A FAN OF A SHOW BECAUSE ANOTHER PERSON DOESN'T LIKE IT.

I explained WHY people my age are going to miss Friends, it IS to my generation what All In The Family was to yours, and yet I get a lousy disrespectful Al Bundy quote in return.

Originally posted by BuffySlayer79
for a lot of us in our 20's, the end of Friends is like the closing of a chapter in our lives. Those of us who came of age in the 1990's... the show is as important to us as Lucy was to those who did so in the 50's, and as All In The Family and Happy Days were to those who did so in the 70's. Friends was the last "great sitcom of my youth" that was still on the air. I know a lot of people my age (24) and also several years older, the end of Friends is like a chapter closing on our youth.

Plus, regardless if you liked the show or not, gotta give it (as well as Frasier, which has been on longer and is ending too) for being an ensemble piece that ran a long time and NEVER had a major character leave. Even if you hated Friends, you have to admit it was neat that the same 6 leads from 1994 are still here for the final episode in 2004.

Friends may not have broke ground the way Seinfeld did, maybe it didn't make you think the way All In The Family did, it didn't revolutionize and invent sitcoms like Lucy did, but it was a huge show for 10 seasons and there are over 20 million of us WHO ARE GOING TO MISS IT WHEN IT ENDS.

Excellent post Buffy.

I'm very sad that FRIENDS in ending. I was pregnant when the show started - I had a bad pregancy and spent much of it in the hospital. I watched FRIENDS consistently from that hospital bed and it kept me sane. The characters grew as my daughter grew and now here my favorite show of all time is ending.

As FRIENDS fans we all KNEW this day would come but we don't have to like it. They'll live forever in reruns and on DVD's (none of which I yet own but will someday) but it won't be the same as anticipating the new season premiere, seeing Ross and Rachel together, wondering what neurotic Monica will do next, see Chandler's goofy antics or how many more women Joey will pick up hearing "How you doin'".

:(

Originally posted by BuffySlayer79
I'm sorry if I offended anyone by defending Friends, but it's stupid to bask in hatred of a show when you're being outnumbered by people who are actually going to miss it.

Friends is a rare show that is going out on top. It's like Cheers, M*A*S*H, Andy Griffith, I Love Lucy and Seinfeld where the show was still a top 10 ratings smash at the end, but went off because the cast felt it was time to say goodbye. How many shows are like that?

If you're going to show me disrespect for liking Friends, then I'll show you disrespect for liking a show like Married With Children that I grew out of when I turned 12 (and I find it funny a MWC fan would hate Friends so much because it gave Matt LeBlanc his big break, most Family Ties fans I know were happy that their show launched Courteney Cox's career). Maybe I shouldn't have insulted Wonder Years, because it was a good series. But truth be told, if you're going to complain that the finale of the Wonder Years WASN'T a big media event, and then get mad when a show that's still in the top 10's ending IS a big freaking deal, then I'll point it out that Friends was a bigger show, which was why it lasted longer and why it ended because the cast wanted out, not because the network was unhappy that the show wasn't getting ratings like it used to.

There are quite a few "classic" shows everyone in here worships that I personally opt not to watch, but I don't go and tell people who watch a show like Home Improvement or Sanford And Son that they're stupid and have bad taste, why not? BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO LIKE IT AND SHOULDN'T HAVE PEOPLE CRAP ON THEM BECAUSE THEY'RE A FAN OF A SHOW BECAUSE ANOTHER PERSON DOESN'T LIKE IT.

I explained WHY people my age are going to miss Friends, it IS to my generation what All In The Family was to yours, and yet I get a lousy disrespectful Al Bundy quote in return.

I dont think you need to apologize Buffy, I feel the same as you and I'm 10 years older than you are. I will follow JOEY and pray that every other FRIENDS fan out there does so that we may get a continuation of FRIENDS in even a minor form. This show (FRIENDS) is an icon of the last 10 years and should be respected for the good it brought, like the show or not.

May 6th will be a sad night for FRIENDS fans worldwide.

Look, the fact is, we all like different shows and decades for sitcoms. I'm not old enough to drink yet (I am old enough to smoke, but I don't, lol) but the fact is, I "grew up" with Friends and *I* don't see the big deal.

I find the show funny, but I could care less it's ending. It's over. I'd feel the same way about any show to be honest with you. I love a lot of the modern shows (American Dreams, Arrested Development, Hope and Faith, 8 SImple Rules, etc.) but I enjoy classic tv too as well.

The fact is, most kids just don't give classic tv a chance, but at the same time. Look at Golden Girls. It does VERY well with college kids.

Just like I've seen a huge divide on family sitcoms vs. workplace sitcoms. 60s vs. 70s. etc. etc.

We all h ave our likes and dislikes, we shouldn't knock someone for liking something we don't. Buffy, the fact is, a good majority of the posters just don't like Friends here. It IS a good show, but it's not my favorite. I really refuse to get attached to any show because it could be gone in an instant.

I think for TV Land to go dark for ANY show is ridiculous. I don't see the point at all. And yes, I'd say the same thing if it were All in the Family, Facts of Life, Cheers, MASH ending too. Like making TV Land go dark is really going to force people to watch the Friends finale?

And BTW, Married with Children was on longer than FRIENDS (technically in terms of Seasons, but the same about of 10 years) and was treated like garbage from FOX. It did good (for Fox standards) in the ratings for almost the entire run and the cast was not ready to move on. The network stepped all over it. So, that's really not a fair argument. The Wonder Years was also treated crappy by ABC. I do agree that a show should go out on top (arguably like Maude, Golden Girls, Seinfeld and now Friends) but the fact is, networks can cancel a show at the drop of a hat. And the truth is, at least how I see it, the Friends cast were kind of ready to end it last year but NBC pushed to come back for a 10th season.

And yes, I do realize most teens/twenty-somethings do like FRIENDS, "grew up" with it, and it is their "All in the Family" so to speak, but I don't think it needs to be treated like the end of the world and the best show since sliced bread. No show deserves to be placed on a pedastal.

Originally posted by BuffySlayer79
I'm sorry if I offended anyone by defending Friends, but it's stupid to bask in hatred of a show when you're being outnumbered by people who are actually going to miss it.

Friends is a rare show that is going out on top. It's like Cheers, M*A*S*H, Andy Griffith, I Love Lucy and Seinfeld where the show was still a top 10 ratings smash at the end, but went off because the cast felt it was time to say goodbye. How many shows are like that?

If you're going to show me disrespect for liking Friends, then I'll show you disrespect for liking a show like Married With Children that I grew out of when I turned 12 (and I find it funny a MWC fan would hate Friends so much because it gave Matt LeBlanc his big break, most Family Ties fans I know were happy that their show launched Courteney Cox's career). Maybe I shouldn't have insulted Wonder Years, because it was a good series. But truth be told, if you're going to complain that the finale of the Wonder Years WASN'T a big media event, and then get mad when a show that's still in the top 10's ending IS a big freaking deal, then I'll point it out that Friends was a bigger show, which was why it lasted longer and why it ended because the cast wanted out, not because the network was unhappy that the show wasn't getting ratings like it used to.

There are quite a few "classic" shows everyone in here worships that I personally opt not to watch, but I don't go and tell people who watch a show like Home Improvement or Sanford And Son that they're stupid and have bad taste, why not? BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO LIKE IT AND SHOULDN'T HAVE PEOPLE CRAP ON THEM BECAUSE THEY'RE A FAN OF A SHOW BECAUSE ANOTHER PERSON DOESN'T LIKE IT.

I explained WHY people my age are going to miss Friends, it IS to my generation what All In The Family was to yours, and yet I get a lousy disrespectful Al Bundy quote in return.

Relax, it's just a tv show. I'm 24 and I wasn't even born yet when All in the Family ended. I could care less about Friends ending. I never said you were stupid. What I think is stupid is TVland not airing anything during the Friends finale. I have every right to dislike Friends just as much as you have every right to dislike Little House on the Prarie, Herman's Head, My Mother the Car, Sledge Hammer, Bosom Buddies and Goodnight Beantown.

I know Friends is a very successful TV show with a large fan following. I don't argue with that. However, I personally have never found it all that funny. I respect the fact that a lot of people love it, but I've never understood the big deal. I'm sure people feel the same way about a lot of the shows I watch.

May 6th, I'll probably be stuck working because most of my co-workers want the night off to watch the finale. Hopefully, a lot fo the customers will feel the same way and stay home :D

So what does TV Land plan to air between 9:00PM and 10:00PM on May 6th?

This......?!? :confused:

http://www.greatdv.com/video/Ntscbars.gif

Originally posted by Jenya
So what does TV Land plan to air between 9:00PM and 10:00PM on May 6th?

This......?!? :confused:

http://www.greatdv.com/video/Ntscbars.gif

No, they are going to show their employees watching the finale. I don't think they'll show what they are exactly watching, but they say they are watching the finale. I don't really believe they will be in their offices at 9 p.m., lol. They probably have that segment taped already.

Originally posted by pavanbadal
No, they are going to show their employees watching the finale. I don't think they'll show what they are exactly watching, but they say they are watching the finale. I don't really believe they will be in their offices at 9 p.m., lol. They probably have that segment taped already.

Oh I see. Well I hope they won't do this to us during that hour.... ;)

Friends leaving is a big deal.
But its no bigger than Frasier leaving -- and I think neither deserve to have TVLand not air anything.


I wont be watching the Friends finale, because Survivor is on in the first place....

And, after watching it MANY, MANY times (over 50).... I still have to say that I dont like the show.
Im not one to hate on modern TV, but Im not a Friends fan at all.

Buffy is right, Friends is definately the most popular sitcom of the 90s/2000s.... but its not the best IMO.

Im not going to lie and say Friends is the worst series ever, because EVERY SINGLE PERSON HERE knows that it isnt.
Friends will never be a favorite of mine, but I do believe its one of the best shows I happen to hate.

and one last thing -- not intending to piss anyone off....
Friends dont let friends watch Friends.

:http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/attachment.php?s=&postid=1676398

Why you little:censored:!

Originally posted by barwars88
Friends leaving is a big deal.
But its no bigger than Frasier leaving -- and I think neither deserve to have TVLand not air anything.
[/SIZE] [/B]

I also happen to think Frasier deserves the "no programming on TV Land" treatment as well. Kelsey has been playing the role for 2 decades (probably the longest stretch any actor had played a role outside of a soap opera) and I think that he deserves the proper sendoff as well.

I personally am shocked NBC went ahead and let Frasier go instead of deciding to negotiate just one more season. Because without Friends or Frasier, Will And Grace will be the ONLY "hit sitcom" (Scrubs is good too, but it's never been a marquee sitcom, NBC moved it out of Thursdays because it wasn't giving them the "Thursday ratings" they demand) NBC has left, and it has never been as big as Friends or Frasier were in their peaks, and has ALWAYS come in second to CSI in it's timeslot. Frasier is several years out of it's peak, but you'd think NBC would've done all they could do to get one more much-hyped "final season" like they did with Friends this season.

Originally posted by Jenya
There is a rumour going around that TV Land (US Version) will not air anything on May 6th from 9:00-10:00PM ET due to the Friends final episode on NBC.

Is ther any truth to this? If so- why? It sounds kind of dumb to me. :confused:

I'm sure it's true. They did that when the Seinfeld finale aired and I think it's a total crock. I don't see any reason why they should suspend programming for something oh so incredibly stupid. If there was an emergency and they needed to switch to EBS or something, I could understand them suspending programming, but not for a stupid TV show. It's all just stupid. Why should non-fans have to suffer? I, for one, prefer Bewitched and Green Acres over Friends and I'm sure there are other people who do too. I am just totally disgusted.

Originally posted by pavanbadal
No, they are going to show their employees watching the finale. I don't think they'll show what they are exactly watching, but they say they are watching the finale. I don't really believe they will be in their offices at 9 p.m., lol. They probably have that segment taped already.

With Seinfeld, they just showed an office door with a note on it that said something like "We're watching the last episode of Seinfeld. Programming will resume at 9 P.M. Eastern." Just plain ludicrous.

Originally posted by ClassicTV4Ever
With Seinfeld, they just showed an office door with a note on it that said something like "We're watching the last episode of Seinfeld. Programming will resume at 9 P.M. Eastern." Just plain ludicrous.

well, the end of Seinfeld was an event. Just like the end of Friends. Remember how big the last episode of M*A*S*H was to you? Friends and Seinfeld's finales were the same way with another generation

Originally posted by ClassicTV4Ever
I'm sure it's true. They did that when the Seinfeld finale aired and I think it's a total crock. I don't see any reason why they should suspend programming for something oh so incredibly stupid. If there was an emergency and they needed to switch to EBS or something, I could understand them suspending programming, but not for a stupid TV show. It's all just stupid. Why should non-fans have to suffer? I, for one, prefer Bewitched and Green Acres over Friends and I'm sure there are other people who do too. I am just totally disgusted.

willing to bet you'd like Friends had it ended in 1974... or maybe even 1984. I cannot wait to see how everyone is going to be all Friends obsessed in here in 10-15 years, when the show comes to N@N/TV Land (I remember when the board started... I was the ONLY person in here [I had a different account in 2000] who liked Roseanne, yet now Roseanne's fairly popular since it's far enough in the past that you don't hold it's "currentness" against it). People look down at Solomon for being outspoken about his hatred of shows like Cheers and M*A*S*H, yet some in here (not BarWars, he doesn't like Friends but he does show respect to the show and the fans, just stating that it's not his preferred show of choice) give Friends the same treatment Solomon gives Cheers. At least I will feel good knowing that I was actually appreciating the show when it was current.

out of curiosity, those who say "it's stupid to suspend programming for a stupid tv show". Would you consider it STUPID if the cast of M*A*S*H or Happy Days got together for a one-time-only reunion (scripted, not "best of), and then TV Land suspended programming for people to reunite with the 4077 or the Cunninghams?

Originally posted by BuffySlayer79
out of curiosity, those who say "it's stupid to suspend programming for a stupid tv show". Would you consider it STUPID if the cast of M*A*S*H or Happy Days got together for a one-time-only reunion (scripted, not "best of), and then TV Land suspended programming for people to reunite with the 4077 or the Cunninghams?

Yes, I would think it'd be stupid to suspend programming for that. I'd love to see reunions of my favorite shows, but I wouldn't want for other networks to go dark over it and people who didn't like those shows couldn't watch what they wanted to watch. I think it's stupid to suspend programming for ANY TV show. If people want to watch the final episode of Friends or any toher big television event, more power to them, but my God, why should non-fans have to do without watching their favorite shows on TV Land because of it? I'm not trying to be mean here or bash the show, I'm just trying to explain the whole lunacy of suspending programming for it.

First of all, BuffySlayer79, you have ABSOLUTELY NO FRICKEN RIGHT to tell people what they will like or not like in 10 years. Chances are, I hate FRIENDS now, and I'll hate it then. Why would ten years change a damn thing? You need to get off your fricken high horse and realize that not everyone likes the show and not everyone feels it is nessecary for a channel to stop airing just so people can watch Friends. It's not fair to those of us who like Green Acres and Bewitched. No show at all, not Lucy, not Three's Company, not All in the Family, not Mary Tyler Moore, NOT EVEN ALL MY CHILDREN, deserves to have what TVLand is giving to Friends. It's all about fairness and awareness of people's opinions. We've already established here that there's not one show that everyone likes, Friends being right up high on the list. TVLand needs to realize that those of us who don't like Friends should be able to have an alternative. We shouldn't be told or "reminded" about it. I'm sure almost everyone on Earth knows all about it, so no reminder is nessecary.

Buffy, I really don't give a damn about what shows you grew up with or whatever "door to your youth" is closing. I still say that everyone who DOESN'T like Friends but DO like Green Acres and Bewitched should be able to watch their shows instead of being told to watch Friends.

Besides, I'll be watching my daily tape of All My Children and Days of our Lives anyway.

Originally posted by JT
First of all, BuffySlayer79, you have ABSOLUTELY NO FRICKEN RIGHT to tell people what they will like or not like in 10 years. Chances are, I hate FRIENDS now, and I'll hate it then. Why would ten years change a damn thing? You need to get off your fricken high horse and realize that not everyone likes the show and not everyone feels it is nessecary for a channel to stop airing just so people can watch Friends. It's not fair to those of us who like Green Acres and Bewitched. No show at all, not Lucy, not Three's Company, not All in the Family, not Mary Tyler Moore, NOT EVEN ALL MY CHILDREN, deserves to have what TVLand is giving to Friends. It's all about fairness and awareness of people's opinions. We've already established here that there's not one show that everyone likes, Friends being right up high on the list. TVLand needs to realize that those of us who don't like Friends should be able to have an alternative. We shouldn't be told or "reminded" about it. I'm sure almost everyone on Earth knows all about it, so no reminder is nessecary.

Buffy, I really don't give a damn about what shows you grew up with or whatever "door to your youth" is closing. I still say that everyone who DOESN'T like Friends but DO like Green Acres and Bewitched should be able to watch their shows instead of being told to watch Friends.

Besides, I'll be watching my daily tape of All My Children and Days of our Lives anyway.

and here I thought I was rude. You have ABSOLUTELY NO RIGHT to cop such an attitude with me. I bet if Friends went off the air 20-30 years ago I wouldn't be attacked for defending it. If someone here says All In The Family sucks, they will be ripped to shreads, and it's "condoned". But if you dare bash a show like Seinfeld or Friends (Cosby Show is also "acceptable to bash" it seems), and you're going to get ripped FOR LIKING IT. What is the difference? what about AITF is so damn sacred while a show like Friends which I associated with MY youth (and DO NOT EVEN GO THERE... I associate the first 2 seasons of Friends with when my mom was still healthy and working, so DON'T GO THERE), isn't?

I ALREADY POINTED OUT how people here who hated Roseanne in 1999-2000 when the show had only been off the air about 2-3 years are now carrying on about what a great show it was now that it's a "tv classic". I remember when N@N first announced getting Roseanne, the whole board was all "oh great, not THAT show", and now 9 out of 10 people in here like Roseanne. THAT IS PROOF!!!!!

since you're such a DOOL fan, I'm surprised you'd hate Friends so badly. Ever heard of Joey's character being a fictional "regular" on DOOL off and on since the second season as Dr. Drake Ramoray? Last season there was an episode that even had a few "real" Days Of Our Lives cast members guest-starring as themselves.

The "high horse" is reserved for the people in here who hate Friends because it makes them look punk to hate any show that is popular. So what high horse am I on exactly for defending the fact that millions of us are going to watch the Friends finale, and that we're going to be sad on May 6? Maybe you were only 4 years old when Friends came on, so you were probably way too young to be watching the show until the last couple of seasons, so if you weren't watching back in the mid-90's, you're not going to be as attached to the characters as those of us who've watched since the shows heyday of '95-'96. The Ross/Rachel arc isn't important to you, you didn't watch from week to week wondering if they were finally going to get together... and then be so happy when they DID on the "Prom Tape" episode... and you didn't watch their breakup the next season, and everything. You probably don't remember Chandler and Monica before they were together. Friends is not a kids show, so someone who is 14 is not going to be as emotionally attached to an ADULT SHOW that started when they were 4 years old the way those of us who were in our teens and early 20's when the show started.

Anyways, I would rather see Friends get all the media hoopla than all the Reality TV garbage (ok, I'm judging a show there... but reality shows are not the same as SCRIPTED TELEVISION. There is no life for these shows in syndication or on DVD) like The Apprentice, American Idol, etc... that ALWAYS bogarts the attention. I mean, you want "unfair"?, how about the way that Dawson's Creek and Buffy went off the air the same week as the American Idol 2 finale, and neither of those shows, both of which put WB on the map, got ANY media sendoff, while the whole world was talking about Ruben vs. Clay. Buffy and Dawson were major shows to teenagers and early-20somethings in the era it was on, and the media didn't even bother saying a thing about either going off (even tho Buffy has a rabid cult fanbase surpassed only by Trekkies and X-Philes). I think Friends DESERVES the sendoff it's getting, and I'm glad it's taking away hype from the reality tv garbage that is all over television now.

Anyways, who cares if you don't "give a damn" about what I grew up with? I don't give a damn about the shows you are growing up with either (and highly ironic, if we both like Facts Of Life, then you actually DO give a damn about one show I grew up with). You are 14, not 24, so you DON'T (at least not yet) understand how bittersweet it is saying goodbye to a show that started when you were a freshman in high school is. The end of Friends is like "okay, you're not young anymore." It going off is like a rite of passage that your youth is over 100%. The older posters on here will understand because they have that moment tied to other shows they watched, you don't, you're 14, so shows that haven't even premiered yet will be going off in several years and you'll still be "young" when it ends. Maybe when The OC goes off several years down the line, maybe you'll understand how I feel about the end of Friends.

The way you rode an Everybody Loves Raymond fan in here a few months ago (wasn't it you who said all ELR fans are nerds? I hate the show, but if you wanna watch ELR, be my guest, no judgment made) shouldn't give you any room to be critiquing me for defending Friends. Learn to be nice and respectful to others (you can be a fan of Erica Kane without emulating her attitude... Susan Lucci is a great actress, but the character works only because it's fictional), and they will do the same to you. I am a decade older than you, you're younger than my nephews and niece, you judging me for pointing out hypocrisy and the fact that Friends was an important show to all 20somethings really doesn't matter much. Hell, I probably remember what I was doing the day you were born for crying out loud. At least I actually remember watching FOL when it was in first-run :)

Maybe in a few years you'll realize

One hour? are you sure? I beleive the Friends finale is 2 hours long not one.

There is pure logic why TV Land is doing this. The fact is most shows on broadcast and cable networks will lost alot of viewers that day. The reason is Friends is expected to get at least 85 million viewers for the final episode. So not much chance for most networks.

Originally posted by Will and Grace Fanatic
One hour? are you sure? I beleive the Friends finale is 2 hours long not one.

There is pure logic why TV Land is doing this. The fact is most shows on broadcast and cable networks will lost alot of viewers that day. The reason is Friends is expected to get at least 85 million viewers for the final episode. So not much chance for most networks.

well, the first hour of the Friends finale will basically just be an hour-long retrospective, then the second hour will be the final episode.

Plus, while it's "cool" to hate Friends in here... I wanna ask, did anyone in here who watched tv on Feb 28, 1983 or May 20, 1993, actually watch something BESIDES the Mash or Cheers finale on those nights? That's what is expected of the Friends finale. If they're expecting 85 million, that shows that those of you who hate Friends are in a minority :)

sorry about going off on the long tangent about my post toward.

But I don't like getting PERSONALLY ATTACKED for my opinions. Disagree with me all you like, but when you start dogging me personally, then I'm going to get defensive and stand up for myself

First of all, I didn't offend you for liking Friends. I simply said that you need to realize that not everyone likes it. Not everyone is going to agree that it deserves what TVLand is doing for it. It may be an extremely popular show, but what connection does it have to TVLand It's not airing on TVLand, it's airing on TBS.

I understand what you mean about your youth, but there are many shows that have premeired when its fans were high school students but does that mean that they deserve to have a channel suspend programming for the time its finale is on? Absolutely not. That is a poor argument on your part. I didn't say ANYTHING about your mother, and it was desperate of you to act as if I was offending her.

But like I already said, no show at all deserves this. Not a one. TVLand is kissing Friends' ass, plain and simple. If something such as "Guiding Light" went off the air today, we'd be seeing Bonanza airing in its regular slot. GL has been on TV for 52 years, but it premeired on RADIO in 1937. It no doubt has a more devoted fanbase than Friends, a larger number of awards, and a higher average rating han Friends does, but GL wouldn't be recognized at all. Did TVLand suspend programming when one of the most popular soap operas of all time, Another World, was cancelled in 1999? Nope. They absolutely ignored the fact that a show that was on for 35 years was being cancelled. Suspending their programming for Friends is wrong, imo, and would be wrong if they did it for any show.

And btw, I wasn't a DAYS watcher when some of them appeared on Friends, but if I were, I wouldn't have watched it. And I don't care if Joey has a "character" on DAYS. It has nothing to do with the actual show, and I'm not missing anything if I don't watch Friends episodes with DAYS references.

So in conclusion, I'm not trying to offend you (or your mother) for liking Friends. I'm telling you to wake up and realize that just because you grew up with a show doesn't make it the best thing, the most holiest thing, the most sacred thing in the country. There are at least a million people who dislike Friends and will be watching something else. Why would someone who doesn't like the show, never have liked the show, and never plans on liking the show watch the finale? TVLand should know that anybody who plans on watching Friends will be watching the retrospective before the finale and would not need a reminder. It's like they are telling people who do NOT plan on watching Friends that they SHOULD watch Friends. I'll be damned before I let someone tell me what and what not to watch on MY television!

85 Million??

I thought they only expecting something like 55, or 60 million.
I remember reading that they do expect it to be huge -- but not in numbers as big as MASH, Cheers or even Seinfeld.


But as I said earlier, Survivor gets my ratings for Thursday.
And after that -- I might tune in to the finale.

Originally posted by BuffySlayer79
out of curiosity, those who say "it's stupid to suspend programming for a stupid tv show". Would you consider it STUPID if the cast of M*A*S*H or Happy Days got together for a one-time-only reunion (scripted, not "best of), and then TV Land suspended programming for people to reunite with the 4077 or the Cunninghams?

It is stupid. If high viewership on another television network is the reason to stop airing classic TV shows, than why didn't they suspend programming for the Academy Awards or the Superbowl? Will TV Land suspend programming for two weeks during this years Summer Olympics? It's expected that close to 200 million people will watch that world wide.

That's the dumbest thing I ever heard.

That is soooo lame. Not everyone likes Friends. Didn't they do the same thing with Seinfeld? That was lame too.

Originally posted by BuffySlayer79
for a lot of us in our 20's, the end of Friends is like the closing of a chapter in our lives. Those of us who came of age in the 1990's... the show is as important to us as Lucy was to those who did so in the 50's, and as All In The Family and Happy Days were to those who did so in the 70's. Friends was the last "great sitcom of my youth" that was still on the air. I know a lot of people my age (24) and also several years older, the end of Friends is like a chapter closing on our youth.


I'm 24, and honestly, Friends means nothing to my youth. My youth ended when I stopped going to school.

Originally posted by BuffySlayer79
and here I thought I was rude. You have ABSOLUTELY NO RIGHT to cop such an attitude with me. I bet if Friends went off the air 20-30 years ago I wouldn't be attacked for defending it. If someone here says All In The Family sucks, they will be ripped to shreads, and it's "condoned". But if you dare bash a show like Seinfeld or Friends (Cosby Show is also "acceptable to bash" it seems), and you're going to get ripped FOR LIKING IT. What is the difference? what about AITF is so damn sacred while a show like Friends which I associated with MY youth (and DO NOT EVEN GO THERE... I associate the first 2 seasons of Friends with when my mom was still healthy and working, so DON'T GO THERE), isn't?

Actually to start off, if Friends went off the air 20-30 years ago, I wouldn't "attack" you for like the show, but I would state my opinion saying I didn't like it then, and I don't like it now. Not only that, but Friends is a show of MY youth, I don't like, and I know that you are going to miss this show, so watch it. That is still not a valuable reason for TVLand not airing anything during that hour.

Originally posted by BuffySlayer79

I ALREADY POINTED OUT how people here who hated Roseanne in 1999-2000 when the show had only been off the air about 2-3 years are now carrying on about what a great show it was now that it's a "tv classic". I remember when N@N first announced getting Roseanne, the whole board was all "oh great, not THAT show", and now 9 out of 10 people in here like Roseanne. THAT IS PROOF!!!!!

I never liked Roseanne then and I still don't like Roseanne (minus the first season episodes). Just because most people think something doesn't mean that everyone thinks this way, and that is rude of you to think that.

Originally posted by BuffySlayer79

The "high horse" is reserved for the people in here who hate Friends because it makes them look punk to hate any show that is popular. So what high horse am I on exactly for defending the fact that millions of us are going to watch the Friends finale, and that we're going to be sad on May 6? Maybe you were only 4 years old when Friends came on, so you were probably way too young to be watching the show until the last couple of seasons, so if you weren't watching back in the mid-90's, you're not going to be as attached to the characters as those of us who've watched since the shows heyday of '95-'96. The Ross/Rachel arc isn't important to you, you didn't watch from week to week wondering if they were finally going to get together... and then be so happy when they DID on the "Prom Tape" episode... and you didn't watch their breakup the next season, and everything. You probably don't remember Chandler and Monica before they were together. Friends is not a kids show, so someone who is 14 is not going to be as emotionally attached to an ADULT SHOW that started when they were 4 years old the way those of us who were in our teens and early 20's when the show started.
This is totally irrelevant to the fact that TVLand is stopping programming. Great, everyone who likes Friends can go and watch Friends. However, why should I not be able to watch TVLand because they think Friends is such a big deal? Friends is a hit show, however, it will never have ratings like M*A*S*H* (mostly because of the introduction of cable).

Originally posted by BuffySlayer79

Anyways, who cares if you don't "give a damn" about what I grew up with? I don't give a damn about the shows you are growing up with either (and highly ironic, if we both like Facts Of Life, then you actually DO give a damn about one show I grew up with). You are 14, not 24, so you DON'T (at least not yet) understand how bittersweet it is saying goodbye to a show that started when you were a freshman in high school is. The end of Friends is like "okay, you're not young anymore." It going off is like a rite of passage that your youth is over 100%. The older posters on here will understand because they have that moment tied to other shows they watched, you don't, you're 14, so shows that haven't even premiered yet will be going off in several years and you'll still be "young" when it ends. Maybe when The OC goes off several years down the line, maybe you'll understand how I feel about the end of Friends.
Again, so you like Friends, no one is stopping you from watching the show. Again, Friends going off is not a reason for TVLand to stop programming and tell us to tune into Friends. I also think that you are being very stereotypical when you make the comment about OC. I am a teenager and I don't like The OC.

Final thing said, I don't think you should be making such general points. I don't like Friends, and I won't be watching the finale. Just because TVLand is going to be watching Friends, doesn't mean that they need to stop programming. I'm sorry you have had trouble with people attacking you for liking Friends, (you won't see that from me :)) but a finale of a show is not a reason to stop programming, IMO.

I'm sure Friends will get monster ratings...
Then what?
Life will go on...it went on when my favorite show went off the air, it will go on after Thursday--and Friends will live on forever in DVD format, and syndication.

I just need to say that this is one of the THE STUPIDEST things TV Land has ever done. I'm surprised N@N doesn't follow.

Originally posted by Jenya
There is a rumour going around that TV Land (US Version) will not air anything on May 6th from 9:00-10:00PM ET due to the Friends final episode on NBC.

Is ther any truth to this? If so- why? It sounds kind of dumb to me. :confused:

Im not sure if its true. Check the TV Land Scedules on Thursday by going to tvland.com (http://www.tvland.com)

Originally posted by BuffySlayer79
I wanna ask, did anyone in here who watched tv on Feb 28, 1983 or May 20, 1993, actually watch something BESIDES the Mash or Cheers finale on those nights?

I saw the Cheers finale even though I never cared much for the show. But I still have never seen the Mash finale and probably less than 5 episodes of the entire series. It's one of my least favorite shows ever. And I've spent 20+ years defending myself to friends and family over it. :crazy:

There is really no reason for a fight over ONE hour of television programming.

TV Land decided to suspend programming for ONE hour. They made that decision. This decision has been made. You aren't gonna be hurt by it. They aren't MAKING or TELLING you to watch the "Friends" finale, they are just doing a tribute to a show which is popular, and loved by a lot of people. Maybe "Friends" might not deserve this, and maybe NO shows might not deserve this. They are a television network doing what they think is best. Nobody is gonna like every decision they make, but nobody ever gets completely angry about it and fights about it.

And I'd like to thank every single person who has said over and over and over again that they won't be watching the finale. Because I honestly don't care. It doesn't affect me in any way. If you're gonna get angry at people for thinking TV Land is doing a good thing, then I guess I can tell you that you not watching the finale doesn't matter.

I'm sorry if I was rude, but I am so sick of seeing endless threads in General Topics that contain fights about Friends.

And Buffy, I tend to agree with most of what you said.

I agree with what most of Buffy said as well. I'm only 14 but I have watched Friends (though not regularly) since the first season. The show is terribly overrated and isnt even in the same area as a show like Seinfeld but it going off the air, along with Frasier, is the end of a good era in American television. For me, its's not as much the actual show as it is what it represents. I personally am not a fan, but I can certainly see how some people swear by the show and understand & respect TV Land's decision.

Originally posted by jpnoyes
To quote Al Bundy "Friends. Don't want em, don't need em, sure as hell don't want to watch em".

Well I don't think anyone's gonna hold a gun to your head and force you to watch it. No one's saying you have too, geesh, I don't get why this show gets ragged on so much :confused:

Personally I think Frasier overstayed it's welcome by a few years, to me that show hasn't been funny for years and Kelsey Grammar hasn't been funny since he was on Cheers.

Originally posted by BuffySlayer79
for a lot of us in our 20's, the end of Friends is like the closing of a chapter in our lives. Those of us who came of age in the 1990's... the show is as important to us as Lucy was to those who did so in the 50's, and as All In The Family and Happy Days were to those who did so in the 70's. Friends was the last "great sitcom of my youth" that was still on the air. I know a lot of people my age (24) and also several years older, the end of Friends is like a chapter closing on our youth.

Plus, regardless if you liked the show or not, gotta give it (as well as Frasier, which has been on longer and is ending too) for being an ensemble piece that ran a long time and NEVER had a major character leave. Even if you hated Friends, you have to admit it was neat that the same 6 leads from 1994 are still here for the final episode in 2004.

Friends may not have broke ground the way Seinfeld did, maybe it didn't make you think the way All In The Family did, it didn't revolutionize and invent sitcoms like Lucy did, but it was a huge show for 10 seasons and there are over 20 million of us WHO ARE GOING TO MISS IT WHEN IT ENDS.

EXACTLY!

I know that most people when they think of the biggest show of the past decade they think FRIENDS, some would probably say Frasier, yes to some Frasier is a great show, and I can even say that someday it probably will be a classic as will Friends.

I think alot of the reason people hate FRIENDS is because of the attention it gets over alot of other shows. Some people like to go against the "norm" :)

TVLand should have thought this thing out ahead of time.

They forgot about the wonderful people who live in the mountains. Because of the time zone difference, we'll get the Friends finale an hour after TVLand turns off it's programming. We'll get that blank hour from 6 - 7PM, followed by the Friends finale from 7 - 8PM on NBC. And for people who get the West Coast feed, they'll get the TVLand thing two hours after the finale starts, from 9 - 10PM.

Originally posted by ClassicTV4Ever
With Seinfeld, they just showed an office door with a note on it that said something like "We're watching the last episode of Seinfeld. Programming will resume at 9 P.M. Eastern." Just plain ludicrous.

:rofl:

Chris brought up a good point---time zone differences. The poor people in Hawaii will get to see Friends 5 to 6 hours AFTER TV Land goes black. :crazy: