"Friends" voted best series ever in new YouTube survey

[Sal]

In a survey conducted by YouTube where history was obviously not a prerequisite, over 2000 TV viewers rated "Friends" as the top TV show of all-time, finishing ahead of other millennial favorites such as "Seinfeld" and "Game Of Thrones". The same viewers also chose the 1990s as the best era for TV overall getting 19% of the vote. Only 7% believed that the present time was the best, which has to be of great concern to TV executives who take these surveys seriously. Full details can be found here:


Survey ranks best TV shows ever.

[Alan Brady's Hair]

Written poorly, as you might expect.

Nearly a fifth of respondents (19%) claim the ‘80s and ‘90s were prime for television, with the 2000s (15%), 2010s (10%), and ‘70s (10%) trailing not too far behind. In fact, only seven percent believe that we’re currently living in the best era for television.

It seems like they're saying both the 80s and 90s got 19%. Assuming "currently" means the 2020s, all those eras only total 80%, leaving 20% for 1950s, 1960s, and no opinion/don't know.

[icecream]

Friends- the most overrated piece of crap from all time. From NBC alone in the 90s these shows were much better.
Frasier
Mad About You
Wings
Law and Order
Seinfeld
3rd Rock from the Sun
Blossom
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Then there is all the other networks' far superior 90s shows to lousy Friends.
Early Edition- the true best TV show of all time
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: the Next Generation
The X-Files
The Practice
The Wonder Years
Coach
Home Improvement
Supermarket Sweep (David Ruprecht)
Touched by an Angel
Diagnosis Murder
7th Heaven
Boy Meets World
Murphy Brown
The Nanny
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
Sister, Sister
Party of Five
Christy
Wind at my Back (Canada)
Win Ben Stein's Money
Grace Under Fire

[Zoneboy]

If "Friends" is the greatest TV show of all time then "Disco Duck" is the greatest song of all time.

[stevea]

Originally Posted by Zoneboy

If "Friends" is the greatest TV show of all time then "Disco Duck" is the greatest song of all time.

Wish I'd said that.

[merlinjones]

It appears no one over 30 was invited to vote...

[RetroGuy2000]

I think the voters are probably right. The first six seasons include some of the best sitcom writing of all time, and I have watched hundreds of sitcoms that originally aired between 1948 and 2022. There's a reason Friends won so many awards and why its cast members have all gone on to do major projects in TV and film.

These things, of course, will always be subjective, but Friends was both critically acclaimed and hugely popular.

[scotchnh2o]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

I think the voters are probably right. The first six seasons include some of the best sitcom writing of all time, and I have watched hundreds of sitcoms that originally aired between 1948 and 2022. There's a reason Friends won so many awards and why its cast members have all gone on to do major projects in TV and film.

These things, of course, will always be subjective, but Friends was both critically acclaimed and hugely popular.

And Jennifer Aniston was HOT !

[stevea]

Seinfeld - nope

Lucy - sorry

Archie - no way

MTM - uh uh

Andy - good try

MASH - no

Ridiculous? - yes, IMO. But right--subjective. I've been looking at lists on the internet and they rate older, standout sitcoms much lower. This is how you can tell their voters skew very young.

[Too2muchtv]

Best show of all time? Don't think I've ever even sat through a full episode.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by scotchnh2o

And Jennifer Aniston was HOT !

In those first years, sure. Actually, all the girls were. Especially Phoebe.

But beyond hotness, there was something very clever about the writing that I think was only approached by the clever writing on Frasier, or maybe Cheers, with Cheers being maybe the first modern will-they-won't-they sitcom. Certainly, most older sitcoms are missing the 'continuing storyline' aspect that became popular with Cheers; there's a "reset button" between episodes of older sitcoms, so each episode is basically stand-alone. But through flashbacks and stories, the Friends episodes created a 20-year romance between several characters: you can tell it's a James Burroughs-directed show. Even Niles/Daphne didn't get that level of attention (and I always thought the writing on Frasier was excellent).

[Alan Brady's Hair]

Comedy/variety shows that have finished No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings:

Texaco Star Theater (1950-51)
I Love Lucy (4 times, 1952-55, 1956-57)
Beverly Hillbillies (2, 1962-64)
Andy Griffith Show (1967-68)
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (2, 1968-70)
All in the Family (5, 1971-76)
Happy Days (1976-77)
Laverne and Shirley (2, 1977-79)
Cosby Show (5, 1985-90)
Cheers (1990-91)
Seinfeld (2, 1994-95, 1997-98)
Friends (2001-02)
Big Bang Theory (2, 2016-18)

[Babalu]

Originally Posted by Too2muchtv

Best show of all time? Don't think I've ever even sat through a full episode.

I don't think I ever sat through a full promo.

Friends the best show ever?