"Friends" Hasn't Aged Well

[TMC]

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article...nniversary-bad

I’m starting to realize that in internet years, I’m very old. But instead of feeling irrelevant because of my ignorance of current memes or the fact that, increasingly, all my tweets are about how much I hate air travel, I feel compelled to share my hard-earned wisdom. The further away I get from my youth, the more I want to warn the younger generation, those Gen Z’ers in their puka shell necklaces and scrunchies and Vans that what they love is actually unmitigated garbage. I never knew I’d be repeating the sentences my Gen X brother used to say to me — “When you’re older, you’ll understand that I’m right” — and yet here I am, telling my niece that no, I will not be watching Friends with her. Friends, my darling, is terrible.

This September will mark the 25th anniversary of the premiere of Friends, and like most significant pop culture anniversaries, it’s set off an outpouring of collective nostalgia. Pop-up events, public screenings, and merchandise are all materializing for die-hard fans, because everyone could use a bracelet with a catcall written on it. People are debating whether Friends or Seinfeld is better (not to spoil my own article, but it’s Seinfeld and this should be obvious).

Marine biologists who probably spent years in school and hundreds of thousands of dollars on their education are out here informing us that, actually, lobsters don’t mate for life, contrary to what Phoebe, a fictional character in a bad television show whose entire personality trait is being flighty, said at some point in the late ’90s. We have also recently learned that the monkey actor who played Ross’s pet (an actual plotline from a show about people living in New York, where half the landlords won’t even let you have a well-behaved dog) is still working — which is, I guess, good for the monkey. The content never ends, and yet, somehow, people never seem to lose their appetite for more. It was recently reported that Robert De Niro is suing a former employee for, in part, watching 55 episodes of Friends in four days.

I don’t want to be dramatic, but if I read one more headline that says “Could we BE any more excited?” about some Friends-related news, I will throw myself into the nearest active volcano.

No one, least of all me, should be judgmental about other people’s taste in television programming. Currently, my favorite show is YouTube clips of a British series called Just Tattoo of Us, where “friends” or “partners” design deeply humiliating tattoos that will be permanently applied to each other’s bodies without their prior approval over design or placement. Me and my tastes are trash and I deserve nothing other than a painful death. But as someone who lived through the first round of Friends’ cultural reign, who was conscious for at least half of it, and who participated in it in real time, I would be remiss if I didn’t remind you all of the truth: Friends, a show about white people being thin and having the pointiest nipples in the continental Americas — and a show that I, at one time, watched and enjoyed — is absolute garbage.

Friends premiered in 1994, when I was 3 years old. The finale was a decade later. My most formative years were spent watching Friends. My classmates and I acted out scenes at school. I wanted to be a Rachel, but I’d settle for a Monica, though I’d tell other people I was a Phoebe, when in reality I was a Ross. My brother, who was ahead of the curve in knowing this show was unwatchable, used to fight with me when I insisted on watching reruns I had just seen the week before. (I hope he never reads this; I will never live it down.) In 2004, when my parents banned me from watching television (after I was smart enough to prank-call a teacher but dumb enough to leave my number on his voicemail), I wrote a letter begging them to let me watch the finale. Rachel got off the plane!!! I was glad, but I was also a virgin and didn’t understand that surely Rachel could find some other dick somewhere in Paris.

There’s been some ongoing online discussion about the strange dissonance between Friends nostalgia and the reality of the show’s poor quality. But still, overwhelmingly, audiences seem fine pretending that Friends was any good at all. Likely contributing to this wrong conclusion is how easy it is to access the show’s back catalog, which is readily available to stream and which the teens love binging en masse. It just seems odd that the show that the most marketable generation is, for some reason, watching is also the least relevant show still on the market. (Here is where I freely admit that BuzzFeed has provided a nonstop stream of Friends content to impressionable youths, which might have something to do with it.)

Plenty of shows age badly but are still handy for a rewatch now and then. But unlike other shows of its ilk that inspire nostalgic streaming marathons — Seinfeld, The Office, 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, or Cheers — Friends doesn’t have the benefit of actually being good. Steve Carell is right: The Office should never be rebooted, because it’s a program about an abusive boss who harasses his employees, all of whom develop a kind of Stockholm syndrome so they can continue working at a paper company. (Do teens remember paper?) But it is, still, pretty funny and full of pathos and redemption.

Frasier is still an enjoyable show about the only two men alive still drinking sherry. All in the Family showed us how someone you love can also be a racist ******* (how prescient, Christ), and Seinfeld forever changed what a half-hour comedy would be. Even now, I would rather watch the same episode of Will & Grace where Grace’s mom shows up than even attempt to give Chernobyl a chance. Bingeing shows that are comfortable and familiar is soothing, like calling your mom when you’re upset, or smoking a clove cigarette in the parking lot of your high school — which, of course, I never did, and if my older brother is reading this, don’t tell mom, you ****ing cop.

But loving Friends in 2019 requires a level of mental gymnastics that should force the show to remain a forgotten blip in the past. List any of your “favorite” episodes and there’s likely something grotesque buried in the plot. Chandler’s father is inexplicably and unnecessarily a drag queen, played by the cis actor Kathleen Turner, and is the source of many an anti-trans punchline. As a teenager, Monica was fat and that’s it, that’s the joke, here, watch her dance in a fat suit. Ross’s ex-wife is a lesbian and isn’t it funny that his son has two mommies? Save for a few token characters of color that popped up every now and then, the show was so white that Phoebe, as the only blonde, could be considered a minority.

Multiple Friends guest stars have, two and a half decades later, reported less-than-stellar experiences being on set. And then of course there’s the infamous 2004 lawsuit that Amaani Lyle, an assistant in the writers room, filed against the show for being forced to listen to the writers joke about Joey raping Rachel, and watch them pantomime masturbating, and mock “black ghetto talk.” (The judge ruled that the writers’ behavior was necessary for a creative environment, laying the problematic groundwork for a “creative necessity” defense to be deployed elsewhere.)

Beyond making it harder to sue for workplace harassment, what lasting cultural relevance has Friends given us, exactly? A haircut? Justin Theroux?? Matthew Perry looking stressed out on The Graham Norton Show when septuagenarian actor Miriam Margolyes talks about “starting to cream in [her] knickers”??? (That last one is pretty good, actually.) At least we have Hot Jughead now. Can’t wait for 2020 babies of the future to try to argue that Riverdale is actually a masterpiece.

But, of course, none of this matters. By the rules of the internet, I am but an old woman, a millennial aging out of importance. It is the VSCO girls and TikTok stars who will inherit the earth — its follies, its failures, its successes. And they too will one day grow up and realize the truth about Friends, that it was just a show about beautiful twigs wearing sweater T-shirts with a behemoth network’s marketing machine behind it. This will be their rite of passage, and the good news is they’ll likely come to terms with the disappointment of returning to something they loved; the show they enjoyed at 14, though it ended before they were born, is indeed not so good. Vindication for me will have to wait. Could I BE any more excited for the moment when it finally comes? ●

[TSMIV]

What a load of crap.

[Duster76]

This article is a real incoherent mess written by some pseudo intellectual, why bother posting it?

[Schmoopie]

Wow, I don't like Friends either but I don't think it's THAT bad... Wow, kind of racy in some spots as well...

[Bonniegirl]

Oh BS!!! Friends aged very well! It is still as great and funny as ever. One of the best shows there ever was. I didn't even read the article !

[Bonniegirl]

Originally Posted by Duster76

This article is a real incoherent mess written by some pseudo intellectual, why bother posting it?

OK I just read it, and I totally agree with you , what a pointless, stupid article this is !!

[Chocolate Moose]

OK. I didn't watch it new and when I tried to recently, it just seemed so old and dated and irrelevant.

[TMC]

Stop "woke-testing" Friends!

Friends has received a fair amount of retroactive criticism for its outdated humor and for not aging well. Yes, many of the jokes Friends made wouldn't fly today, says Kristen Baldwin. "But Friends wasn’t made today; it began nearly a quarter-century ago, and it ended 15 years ago," says Baldwin. "Pop culture should be aspirational, but it also reflects the society as it exists in the moment it was made. It’s not particularly productive to hold Friends (or anything else from past eras) up to 2019 standards — and it’s disingenuous to scold the show for failing to adhere to a level of discourse that literally did not exist in mainstream pop culture at the time. The latter-day critics often fail to acknowledge the many ways that Friends was ahead of its time. People who accuse the writers of trafficking in 'gay panic' jokes for laughs seem to ignore the fact that those jokes were made at the expense of the man panicking — in most cases, Matthew Perry’s Chandler Bing." Baldwin adds: "It’s wonderful that today, we can talk in a frank and honest way about why those things are hurtful. But insisting that Friends was intentionally derogatory or somehow more problematic than any other pop culture at the time is a silly exercise in false outrage. It’s okay to celebrate the show while also recognizing it as an example of how far we’ve come as a culture. And if you still need something to be angry about, you needn’t look any further than the here and now." ALSO: Meredith Vieira's 25 Words or Less to launch with a Friends anniversary faceoff between Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow.

Seth Meyers reimagines Friends for 2019

The Late Night host's modern Friends titles include “The One Where They Suddenly Have to Pay an Appropriate Rent for Their Apartment," “The One Where Phoebe Accidentally Qualifies for the Democratic Debates” and “The One Where Ross Accidentally Tweets a D*ck Pic.”

[TMC]

Friends moments that make us cringe today

Six dorks in a fountain on Friends

As fresh and different as Friends may have felt upon its premiere in 1994 — a sitcom about cool young people was a nice alternative to treacly family shows — it's still a product of its time. Like almost every other comedy of the '80s and early '90s, it used a braying laugh track and was shot on an unrealistic-looking sound stage, not unlike Family Matters or Home Improvement. Also like its contemporaries, Friends featured a cheesy opening credits sequence set to a corny song. In fact, Friends' thesis is best expressed with a line from Courteney Cox's Monica in the pilot episode: "Welcome to the real world. It sucks. You're gonna love it!"

That cautious cynicism clashes with the beginning of each episode, in which the six friends — seemingly jacked up on sugar, caffeine, or something stronger — maniacally dance, frolic, and mug for the camera in an outdoor fountain. What adult would do this, especially, as is the case with Ross and Monica, with their fellow grown-up sibling? Making it all even weirder is the Friends theme song, the Rembrandts' "I'll Be There for You." It features such ham-fisted couplets as "I'll be there for you / when the rain starts to pour" and "I'll be there for you / like I've been there before." Yikes.

Ross must be 'on a break' from not having fragile masculinity

The 2010s are no longer the "macho man" era. Men are expected to be more sensitive, while acting like a tough guy with a narrow conception of manliness is not as hip as it once was. From that cultural viewpoint, the behavior of David Schwimmer's Ross Geller on Friends is shocking.

On several occasions, the paleontologist aggressively pushes his idea of maleness on others, demonstrating that his own masculinity is ever so fragile. Ross freaks out when his toddler son, Ben, wants to play with a Barbie doll, and devotes a ton of energy to getting the kid to play with so-called "boy" toys, like trucks and dinosaurs, instead. Another time, Joey (Matt LeBlanc) parades around with his $350 leather tote — just a regular messenger bag millions of guys now carry — and explains there's a spot for his wallet, keys, address book, and, as Ross quips, his "makeup." (Ah, because it's like a purse ... which are only for women?) Joey later explains he's going to take it to an acting audition. "What's the part," Ross asks, "Auntie Mame?" Ha. And then there's "The One with the Male Nanny," where Ross is openly hostile to Sandy (Freddie Prinze Jr.), a terrific childcare provider, because he has a job traditionally held by a woman. Come on, Ross.

The one where an assault is framed as infidelity

In Season 1, Rachel's hunky Italian boyfriend, Paolo, is introduced almost exclusively as a romantic rival to Ross — someone the lovelorn-for-Rachel paleontologist (as well as the audience) can loathe and resent because he gets in the way of what's obviously the true love/endgame of Ross and Rachel. Friends writers present Paolo as a very sexual, open-with-his-body, sensual kind of guy, and he crosses the line when he "[makes] a pass" at Phoebe. Rachel summons the strength to dump Paolo, because she refuses to be cheated on.

That's all well and good, but what Paolo did went way beyond an act of infidelity. The incident went down when Paolo went to see Phoebe at work for a massage. He drops his bathrobe almost immediately, exposing himself to her. Phoebe gets him to cover up, and proceeds with the massage, during which time Paolo strokes her leg and grabs her rear-end with both hands, and then rolls over to once again expose himself. This is all presented as comedy, when really, it's sexual assault.

They're hip, they're cool, they like ... Hootie & the Blowfish?

It's hard to explain to someone not yet or barely born in 1995 what it was like. Rather than Netflix binge a whole season of Friends in one sitting, fans had to wait until each Thursday night for just one installment. Similarly, there were so subscription music streaming services, so if you liked a band, you had to drop about $15 on their compact disc. In the mid-'90s, around seven million people so loved Hootie & the Blowfish that they purchased Cracked Rear View, an album of country-laced, fratty dad-rock.

Hootie was a flash-in-the-pan of the highest order, and the band serves as a painfully dated reference in the '95 Friends episode, "The One with Five Steaks and and Eggplant," when the gang gets ridiculously excited about attending one of the group's concerts. Hootie & the Blowfish was a popular band, but it never enjoyed the cred or critical acclaim of contemporaries like Pavement or Pearl Jam ... which are the kinds of bands the friends on Friends probably should've been listening to.

Why are these Friends so mean to Ugly Naked Guy?

One of the best parts of friend circles are inside jokes, and one of the best parts of city living is observing and interacting with its many quirky local characters. Those two concepts realistically converge in one of Friends' best-remembered running jokes: the saga of "Ugly Naked Guy."

As Friends ran on network TV, viewers never fully caught a glimpse of Ugly Naked Guy: Rather, he lives in a building across the way from Monica and Rachel's apartment, and the whole group gathers at the window to see what the unattractive, unclothed man is getting up to. Granted, the guy apparently doesn't use curtains, but it's his business to do what he wants to do in the privacy of his own home, and for UNG, that means using his Thighmaster, dancing, or making Thanksgiving dinner in the buff. But for some reason, six conventionally good-looking people get their kicks off mocking him — nicknaming him the truly mean "Ugly Naked Guy," for example.

The Central Perk gang are essentially peeping toms and smug bullies all rolled into one, and there's no way this would be acceptable on TV in the 2010s.

Could the jokes about Chandler's transgender parent BE any more offensive?

Up until literally the last five years or so, "gender-bending" was unfortunately an acceptable and common source of humor in mainstream entertainment. A man dressed as a woman? Um, funny! A transgender person who identified as a woman but still exhibited traditional male characteristics? Well, that was apparently downright hilarious. Oy. Also supposedly humorous for some reason once upon a time? Anyone who fell under the LGBTQ+ umbrella, particularly stereotypical portrayals of gay men as lisping, mincing, overdramatic "queens." The '90s and early 2000s were the Stone Age as far as sensitivity to gender and sexual identity went, and Friends has a character that seems, in retrospect, extraordinarily insensitive.

The parents of Matthew Perry's Chandler divorced when he was young, in part because dad Charles Bing had a same-sex affair with the pool boy and embarked on a life as a gay man. Flash forward to Season 7, when Chandler reconnects with his father, now starring in a Las Vegas drag revue called Viva Las Gaygas (ugh) under the stage name "Helena Handbasket" (double ugh). And starring as Chandler's parent: deep-voiced female actor Kathleen Turner, who later told the Gay Times of Friends and some of its depictions of queer and trans people, "I don't think it's aged well."

Monica learns an important lesson while her credit gets ruined

The internet was a relatively nascent thing when Friends premiered in 1994, largely accessed through regulated portals like America Online or CompuServe. Going online is a regular part of life now (obviously), and with that comes an awareness about the possibility of identity theft. Companies leak private data like Social Security numbers or credit card info all the time, which can easily upend thousands of lives. It's an extremely sickening and scary thought at the time of this writing in 2019, but back in 1995, identity theft was the wacky impetus behind a Friends first-season episode called "The One with the Fake Monica."

Monica goes over her credit card statement and finds a bunch of charges she didn't make for exciting things like dance classes and decides not to cancel her card, but instead to stalk — and then befriend — the woman posing as Monica Geller. Sure, make pals with the lady intent on destroying your life. Ultimately, this fake Monica goes to prison for her crimes, but not before imparting on real Monica the notion of living life to the fullest and taking chances. That's the lesson she gets out of this?

The one where Monica dates a teenage virgin

For readers working their way through the entirety of Friends and haven't yet finished yet, spoiler alert: Monica winds up with Chandler. But before that crucial pairing is locked down, Monica dates a lot of guys, the way a woman in her twenties is wont to do.

One of her boyfriends is Ethan, a man younger than Monica, who is in her mid-twenties at the time. How much younger? Well, he tells Monica he's a senior, which she takes to mean "senior in college." Ethan also reveals that he's a virgin, but after they sleep together for the first time (as in his actual first time), he admits he's not a senior in college, but in high school. Having enjoyed an encounter that would make her "a felon in 48 states," it's no wonder this Monica-centered episode was called "The One with the Ick Factor."

Chandler catfishes a lady before it's even a thing

Chandler is famously awkward with women, but in the episode, "The One with Five Steaks and an Eggplant," he gets over a dry spell via some elaborate manipulation and trickery of an emotionally vulnerable woman. After receiving an answering machine message from a woman named Jade, who's looking to reconnect with a guy named Bob, Chandler picks up the phone and pretends to be the man in question. Jade mentions she's an aerobics instructor and leg model, and Chandler (as Bob) asks her to meet him at Central Perk. His plan, as he reveals to Ross: He'll lurk in the shadows and offer comfort to Jade when Bob doesn't show up, and then go home with her. This is all despicable, and to his credit, Ross calls Chandler's ploy "pure evil," but to Chandler, that's preferable to being "horny and alone." Wow.

Indeed, the meeting goes according to plan. Chandler spots Jade at Central Perk looking sad and swoops in. Later on, back at his apartment, Chandler tells Ross he just bedded Jade, and that he was so good she had to bite her lip "to stop from screaming." Then the phone rings, Chandler answers as Bob, Jade tells him off for standing her up, and also lets him know that she had to bite her lip to stop from screaming ... Bob's name. Chandler is humiliated, which is hardly enough punishment for his creepy, if not criminal, behavior.

The friends on Friends try to sabotage an alcoholic's sobriety

While they live in the Big Apple, the situations explored on Friends are generally innocuous and insular. The six pals deal with awkward romantic situations, unfulfilling work prospects, and their interactions with one another. But on the rare occasion that the Central Perk crew does interfere with someone not in their special little clique, the results can be disastrous and misanthropic.

For example, there's the one where Monica dates a gregarious guy named "Fun Bobby." The gang loves the guy ... but then realize that the reason Fun Bobby is so "fun" is because he's a heavy drinker, if not an alcoholic. The good news: Fun Bobby quits drinking. The bad news: Without booze to fuel him, he becomes very dull, and Chandler rebrands him as "Ridiculously Dull Bobby." Monica packs a bunch of booze for a weekend trip with the guy so as to anesthetize herself against what looks to be an incredibly boring time, only for Bobby to dump her in order to focus on his recovery. In summary, the Friends gang mocks an alcoholic who tries to get sober. (Of course this nastiness is all relative, because this also sounds like the plot of a great episode of Seinfeld.)

Rachel should have stayed on the plane during Friends' finale

The story of Friends ultimately becomes the love story of Ross and Rachel. Viewers learn that Ross has had a crush on Rachel, his sister's best friend, since they were in high school, and they're romance veers between on and off multiple times over the course of the series. Ross and Rachel even have a daughter together, but still can't decide whether or not they're meant to be. That's okay, because they clearly want different things.

Friends, one could argue, is really the story of Rachel. In the show's initial episodes, she flees her wedding, moves in with Monica, and gets her first job as a waitress at Central Perk. By the end of Season 10, she's advanced so far in the world of fashion that Louis Vuitton offers her a great job in Paris. That's a happy ending for Rachel ... but one that doesn't resolve the "will they or won't they" with Ross in an audience-satisfying way. And so, Rachel heads to the airport, a finally ready-to-commit Ross pours his heart out, and he's left heartbroken when she chooses Paris over him. But then she shows up at his door, revealing that she "got off the plane."

Basically, Rachel gives up her dream job for what looks to be more relationship drama with Ross. That's not exactly a "woke" decision from a 2019 perspective, especially since Ross could have easily followed her to Europe.

Read More: https://www.nickiswift.com/172682/fr..._campaign=clip

[TMC]

Has Friends Really Aged Badly? We Don’t Think So

Why People Think Friends Has Aged Badly

It's not a secret that elements from Friends haven't aged too well in the years since the sitcom ended. There's no arguing that certain episodes and overall themes feature some cringeworthy moments. This has led many newcomers or those who may have revisited the comedy to question the quality of Friends and whether it's still relevant to today's world. When looking back on the 10-season sitcom, viewers seem to point out a handful of problematic storylines.

The most frequently cited factor when discussing whether or not Friends has aged badly is the running gag of "Fat Monica." Throughout the series, Monica's extreme weight loss and how she turned her life around after her physical transformation has been a focal point to show. During flashbacks to when Monica was a teen, actress Courtney Cox would wear a "fat suit" as a comedic portrayal of the overweight version of her past self. She would then be the target of jokes until she got the last laugh after losing the weight.

Similar to the Monica situation, Friends seemed to have underlying tones of homophobia and being anti-trans, especially when it came to Chandler's cross-dressing father. Gay characters and other members of the LGBT community were often presented as taboo or another tool used to stir up jokes when interacting with the main cast. Speaking of the main cast, there was a lack of diversity among the key six that still doesn't sit well with viewers. New York City is one of the most diverse cities in the world, so it brings up the argument of why the writers developed characters who were strictly white and straight.

Friends Is A Product Of Its Time

While all of the poorly aged factors in Friends are compelling, it's also important to remember that the series was a product of the early '90s. With the case of many shows, specifically when it comes to sitcoms, not every detail within the plot will be politically correct. A lot has changed on a cultural level since Friends premiered in 1994, and the same can be said from the time the series ended in 2004. Thankfully, as a whole, society has progressed on many levels, and even though the '90s don't seem too long ago, it can be a lifetime in the age of TV.

Many discussions involving sexuality, gender, or race may seem commonplace today, but in the '90s, a lot of topics were still considered taboo. A gay kiss between two males wasn't even featured on primetime TV until 1998 with That '70s Show. TV still had a lot of work to do to normalize differences in representation, but a lot of it had to do with what networks allowed at the time. Sadly, it took time for inclusivity.

Even Friends creators, Kauffman and Crane, regret several storylines that were featured in their series, including the representation of Chandler's transgender father. The creators have been outspoken about never taking into account that Friends would have such a long-lasting legacy. They never expected people to still be watching and talking about 15 or even 20 years later. There are certainly a lot of elements and jokes they would have liked to take back or adapt to today's expectations.

Friends Was Ahead Of Its Time In Some Ways

Although it's easy to look at what hasn't aged well on Friends, in several ways, the sitcom was ahead of its time. The most significant example stems from how the series portrayed the female characters. The lives of Rachel, Phoebe, and Monica were major focal points of the sitcom, but it was the latter's development in the early stages that proved the show had the power to be progressive. In the pilot episode, Monica slept with a man on their first date. The head of NBC at the time, Don Meyer, worried that fans would be turned off by Monica's promiscuous behavior. Instead, the audience members responded that they liked Monica even more and the network shouldn't slut-shame a main cast member.

It wasn't common for female characters to be portrayed as having casual sex in the world of '90s sitcom TV. Shows used men to face the dating world with that type of comfortable sexuality, so it was refreshing for viewers to see a gender-reversal of that trope. Each female character also had hopes and dreams when it came to their respective careers rather than just focusing on settling down with a family. Friends also proved that women could have strong friendships and not just be rivals vying for a man.

Friends Remains Relatable & Influential

On the surface, there are still many themes within Friends that remain relatable. Viewers could probably admit that they've struggled with life after college or entering adulthood when it comes to dating, friendships, and careers. Those trials and tribulations were primary storylines within the series and something that a large portion of society can relate to. The comedy in the series was meant to lighten the hardships or to show that even the worst of situations wasn't the end of the world.

Due to this relatability, Friends can still be considered timeless. For this reason, the series continues to be influential to the world of sitcoms and storytelling. Several shows that came after used the Friends formula as a starting point including How I Met Your Mother. An ensemble of pals living in an exciting place while facing certain struggles is a vague plot to countless series and movies. It's certainly okay to question what no longer works for Friends, but it's impossible to deny why it still resonates for many.

[TMC]

I recently read a comment from somebody who said that Friends wasn't that great of a show because its protagonists were a bunch of self-absorbed, over-privileged, whiny, vapid, spoiled yuppies, who inexplicably manage to afford this expensive lifestyle despite never going to work. They also have various individual personality defects that make each of them absolutely unbearable.

Whereas on Seinfeld, that was the whole joke and you were supposed to dislike the characters so you would enjoy their misfortune. The characters on Friends never really get their comeuppance, and the "reward" of their selfish behavior is usually a happy ending.

[Edward216]

Originally Posted by Bonniegirl

Oh BS!!! Friends aged very well! It is still as great and funny as ever. One of the best shows there ever was. I didn't even read the article !

You must be joking! Oh wait, you're serious, that makes it even funnier. Friends was terrible then and it's terrible now. One of the dumbest and unfunniest shows ever! I really don't understand why people like it and I never will. I think the article pretty much has it right.

Ed.

[PracTz]

Originally Posted by Edward216

You must be joking! Oh wait, you're serious, that makes it even funnier. Friends was terrible then and it's terrible now. One of the dumbest and unfunniest shows ever! I really don't understand why people like it and I never will. I think the article pretty much has it right.

Ed.

I agree! If I never see another moment of it, it'll be too soon!

[Yong Fang]

I didn’t like the 1990’s on almost any level except for rock music. There were some good TV shows, like Roseanne for instance, but I honestly cannot think of too many TV shows of that period I liked or followed. I was never interested in Friends because it was a bunch of attractive, rich people with petty problems who will all end up in bed with each other, they were roughly my age making millions while I was working crap jobs renting a room.

Like I said, except for music, what was the 1990’s even known for? Bill Clinton? I will say like for probably most of us we discovered the internet around this time. I was first online in 1996 and remember the night like the first time I had sex. Was on a slow computer of my friend’s for hours in the middle of the night and I have been hooked ever since. But it saddens me that this incredible invention didn’t really take hold in the 1990’s instead of the 1980’s. The 1980’s was my decade. The 1990’s was a wasteland and a bridge from the Old World of the 20th Century to what we have now.