'Friends' No Longer the 'Best Comedy Ever' (http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/1,1002,271|85880|1|,00.html)


LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - After much harrumphing by TV critics and mild criticism from the star of another lauded series, NBC has quit calling "Friends" "the best comedy ever."
The network used the phrase earlier this month in promos for the series, which you've probably heard is wrapping up a 10-season run on NBC in May. The spots were in the don't-miss-the-final-episodes vein, with the superlative tacked on at the end.

The promos were a hot topic at the recently wrapped TV Critics Association press tour, where one reporter asked "Frasier" star Kelsey Grammer, who's also leaving NBC after this season, what he thought of the network labeling "Friends" No. 1.

"I don't blame them for saying that," Grammer said, adding with a smile, "Although we all know that's not true."
The spot also produced a slew of indignantly compiled lists of other great sitcoms, from "I Love Lucy" and "The Honeymooners" to "Cheers" and "Seinfeld."

NBC spokeswoman Rebecca Marks acknowledges that the promo department may have gone a little "overboard" with the "Friends" spot.

"They were just trying to hype it," Marks tells the AP. "It ran once and it won't run again."

How can Friends be the best comedy ever when smart and clever shows like The Simpsons exist or when extremely realistic sitcoms like Roseanne, which balances drama and humor perfectly unlike some shows I know (Friends), exist? Face it, Friends isn't funny now, and even in its prime, it was totally unoriginal. I will never understand how anyone could like this crap that much. I mean I could watch an episode and laugh but its hardly the funniest show. I mean its got to be the most overrated show. I mean where's the satire? Where are the clever jokes? Why so many cringeworthy lines? I will never understand the love of this show.

I know some people like in your face shows with no subtle humor or satire, but this is ridiculous!

Originally posted by Dogma66603
How can Friends be the best comedy ever when smart and clever shows like The Simpsons exist or when extremely realistic sitcoms like Roseanne, which balances drama and humor perfectly unlike some shows I know (Friends), exist? Face it, Friends isn't funny now, and even in its prime, it was totally unoriginal. I will never understand how anyone could like this crap that much. I mean I could watch an episode and laugh but its hardly the funniest show. I mean its got to be the most overrated show. I mean where's the satire? Where are the clever jokes? Why so many cringeworthy lines? I will never understand the love of this show.

I know some people like in your face shows with no subtle humor or satire, but this is ridiculous!

I used to think the same thing before i REALLY got into Friends, like "Why do people like this?". But it's just a feel good show...with characters that grab you. No it's not the funniest show...or the most clever, or the most witty, or groundbreaking. But it's a feel good show that has made A LOT of $$$$$$ for Warner Bros., NBC, Marta Kaufman and David Crane, and 6 other well known people. Who can be mad at them for that?