Would someone PLEASE tell me what makes "Friends" so popular? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

05-04-2001, 04:07 PM

I thought it might be a little bit appropriate to post this here instead of at the "Friends" message board. I don't want to offend anyone, but I really hate that show. I think that it is stupid. It reminds me of a lot of today's sitcoms, in which so many of the characters act dumb quite often. I just have a hard time accepting this compared to the sitcoms of 10 years ago and before that- where even though the characters often behaved like brats, they were really "with it".

Slippery Dan · 05-04-2001, 05:41 PM

Have you ever sat down and watched it? It's funny. The characters are funny. The thing they do is funny. It's always good to see how good people are friends together. The six of them just make the perfect clique. And each one is different and does different things. Sit down, watch it and pay attention. You'll like it.

Chocoholic · 05-04-2001, 06:29 PM

I agree about Friends. I try to watch it and I never laugh. To me, the characters are all whiny, self-absorbed, sex-crazed losers, the acting seems forced, the plots are predictable, and the writing is awful. I don't know of anyone my age (I'm a college sophomore) who watches it. I'll take the classy humor of Cheers, Wings, and NewsRadio any day.

dawsongirl · 05-04-2001, 11:17 PM

I'm a college junior and think this show sucks. It's so forced. And I'm sorry, but sex is not THAT funny. And how unoriginal can they get when naming their episodes? They all start with "The One..." Bleech! Actually, I think a lot of today's shows are pretty unoriginal. Originality ended in the 80s. Except That 70's Show and Malcolm in the Middle. Those I like.

Stigmata · 05-05-2001, 02:24 AM

I am also a college junior who can't stand this show either. Why does this show get high ratings? Good question. The obvious answer is that most of the characters are very attractive. People enjoy watching attractive people, no matter how head shattering boring the plots are and how embarassingly awful the acting is (case in point, BAYWATCH!). I'll take the simplistic humor of a Different Strokes or Silver Spoons over this relationship television crap.

05-08-2001, 09:15 PM

Boy...I should have checked this sooner. Yep Slippery Dan, I've sat down and watched it before- that's why I can't stand it!

Chocoholic · 05-08-2001, 10:18 PM

I actually liked Friends when it first came out. That was when I was in middle school and everybody was watching it. I grew sick of it after yet another Ross & Rachel storyline.

japfles · 05-10-2001, 07:19 AM

The show is VERY popular in the UK and I have NEVER seen its appeal.
The best US sitcoms shown over here, for my money, are shows like 'Ellen' and 'Frasier'.

'Friends' has ALWAYS been a mystery to me!

Will and Grace Fanatic · 05-23-2002, 10:55 PM

I use to hate Friends so much. But when it first went against Survivor last season I started to watch Friends. I ended up liking it. I don't think it is that good of a show. But I think it is an ok show.

Drew · 05-23-2002, 11:09 PM

I love Friends, ive watched it ever since it premiered. I think its hilarious. And I htink its liked by so many because we wish we could just be all stupid sometimes or have simple lives like theirs. I like Friends cause it gives me a chance to relax and go into a different world, let my mind go. For goodness sakes its just a show, its not meant to represent the perfect lives of ours. Its meant to make fun of it. And I like the show, It is funny and interesting to watch the characters. When you watch a show, let go, DONT THINK SO MUCH, just watch. Its just a show, not some real life documentary.
I saw a reply that says something like "how unorginal can they be by naming the episodes The ONe WIth..." WHO THE HELL CARES what the name of the episode is. What is so important about that. Thats what i get frustrated with. People analyze everything to death. Good grief, thats just stupid. OMG all the eps start hte same, the world as we know it is gonna end, that makes the show stupid.
Another reply was "Ill take the classy humor of Wings anytime." Umm, Wings has the same kind of humor as Friends anyday. That shows just as sex-crazed and self-absorbed, etc as Wings. And so what, the characters may be that, but its still funny.
I guess I can see why people maybe dont like it, but the reasons for hating it seem pretty lame. I need better convincing to why you really hate it.

GoldenFamilyTies · 05-24-2002, 01:18 PM

If Friends was a "horrible show", why is it going in to it's NINTH season? Saying this last season will suck, etc... is not a good reason! Cheers was an excellent show, and it shows by how long it ran! Sure, there are a lot of good shows that ran less than around 7 seasons, but there is rarely a show that is bad, that runs 8+ seasons!

Different sitcoms attract different types of people. I like friends, granted that it is not as good as many 70's or 80's sitcoms, but just because it doesn't "live up" to those, is THAT a reason to hate it?

ClassicTV4Ever · 05-24-2002, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by WingsFan
I agree about Friends. I try to watch it and I never laugh. To me, the characters are all whiny, self-absorbed, sex-crazed losers, the acting seems forced, the plots are predictable, and the writing is awful. I don't know of anyone my age (I'm a college sophomore) who watches it. I'll take the classy humor of Cheers, Wings, and NewsRadio any day.

And don't forget about The Golden Girls, Night Court, and Empty Nest

I'm not big on friends either. I liked it when it first debuted back in '94 (though it still wasn't one of my favorites, at the time my fav NBC shows were Empty Nest, Blossom, and Sisters), but then it seemed as if it conformed to NBC's newer crap shows. It seems to me that the reason why NBC's shows are so poplar is that most of them are all the same...plotless, poorly-written, dirty shows with shallow, self-absorbed characters.

Sitcomwriter · 05-24-2002, 03:48 PM

I don't know why people think it's "dirty".IMO it's a pretty clean show compared to most shows out there in this day and age not like that matters.We as a nation have "matured" and we can "handle funnier shows" WOuld the Donna Reed Show work in 2002? Most likely no....unless Donna was a bisexual chain smoker who cheats on her husband with the babysitter!

JT · 05-24-2002, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Sitcomwriter
We as a nation have "matured" and we can "handle funnier shows" WOuld the Donna Reed Show work in 2002? Most likely no....unless Donna was a bisexual chain smoker who cheats on her husband with the babysitter!

YOU STUPID SLUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THERE'S NO WAY IN GENOA CITY THAT DONNA REED WOULD BE A CHAIN SMOKING BISEXUAL!!!!!
YOU SHOULD WASH YOUR GOD DAMN MOUTH OUT WITH A GALLON OF LIQUID SOAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HOW THE HELL IS FRIENDS CLEAN?
YOU MAKE IT SEEM AS IF DONNA REED WAS AN ADULT PORNO PROGRAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I HATE FRIENDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THE CHARACTERS AND "ACTORS" ARE SPOILED AND OBNOXIOUS AND THEY THINK EVERY THING WILL COME TO THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE ON THIS SHOW!
I CAN'T WAIT TILL THE LOAD OF CRAP GETS CANCELLED SO THE WHOLE ENTIRE CAST COULD GET TYPECASTED AND THEY END UP LIVING IN A MOTOR HOME IN FLORIDA HATING THE SHOW AS MUCH AS I DO!!!!!!!!!!!
THE WORLD HASN'T MATURED!
THE WORLD HAS GOTTEN (EXCUSE MY LANGUAGE) HORNIER!!!!!!!
EVER SINCE FRIENDS PREMIERED LOTS AND LOTS OF NEW SHOWS ARE ABOUT YOUNG FRIENDS WHO ALWAYS TRY TO FIND LOVE.YOU KNOW, CRAP LIKE "LOVE AND MONEY. WHAT ABOUT "TOWNIES"? OH AND DON'T FORGET THAT EXCREMENT CALLED "SEX AND THE CITY"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
EVEN THEME SONGS ARE BAD NOWADAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I MEAN THEY ARE ALL LITTLE MODERN ROCK OR MODERN JAZZ CRAP THAT THOSE YOUNGENS IN NEW YORK CITY LISTENS TO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AS GOD AS MY WITNESS:
I will never like Friends ever. Not in a box, not with a fox, not eating lox! Friends shall burn in hell.

°Bubbly Blonde° · 05-24-2002, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by JT

YOU STUPID SLUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THERE'S NO WAY IN GENOA CITY THAT DONNA REED WOULD BE A CHAIN SMOKING BISEXUAL!!!!!
YOU SHOULD WASH YOUR GOD DAMN MOUTH OUT WITH A GALLON OF LIQUID SOAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HOW THE HELL IS FRIENDS CLEAN?
YOU MAKE IT SEEM AS IF DONNA REED WAS AN ADULT PORNO PROGRAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I HATE FRIENDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THE CHARACTERS AND "ACTORS" ARE SPOILED AND OBNOXIOUS AND THEY THINK EVERY THING WILL COME TO THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE ON THIS SHOW!
I CAN'T WAIT TILL THE LOAD OF CRAP GETS CANCELLED SO THE WHOLE ENTIRE CAST COULD GET TYPECASTED AND THEY END UP LIVING IN A MOTOR HOME IN FLORIDA HATING THE SHOW AS MUCH AS I DO!!!!!!!!!!!
THE WORLD HASN'T MATURED!
THE WORLD HAS GOTTEN (EXCUSE MY LANGUAGE) HORNIER!!!!!!!
EVER SINCE FRIENDS PREMIERED LOTS AND LOTS OF NEW SHOWS ARE ABOUT YOUNG FRIENDS WHO ALWAYS TRY TO FIND LOVE.YOU KNOW, CRAP LIKE "LOVE AND MONEY. WHAT ABOUT "TOWNIES"? OH AND DON'T FORGET THAT EXCREMENT CALLED "SEX AND THE CITY"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
EVEN THEME SONGS ARE BAD NOWADAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I MEAN THEY ARE ALL LITTLE MODERN ROCK OR MODERN JAZZ CRAP THAT THOSE YOUNGENS IN NEW YORK CITY LISTENS TO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AS GOD AS MY WITNESS:
I will never like Friends ever. Not in a box, not with a fox, not eating lox! Friends shall burn in hell.

Okay...... Well uhh, newyas, lol! IMO the show is good because the people feel like you could know them in real life. I mean, people DO act like this in real life, and they feel like your real "friends" . Some of the stuff they do is not necessarily normal, but it's a sitcom, and believe it or not, alot of people ARE like them!

05-04-2001, 04:07 PM	#1
80's TV fan all-the-way Guest Posts: n/a	Would someone PLEASE tell me what makes "Friends" so popular? I thought it might be a little bit appropriate to post this here instead of at the "Friends" message board. I don't want to offend anyone, but I really hate that show. I think that it is stupid. It reminds me of a lot of today's sitcoms, in which so many of the characters act dumb quite often. I just have a hard time accepting this compared to the sitcoms of 10 years ago and before that- where even though the characters often behaved like brats, they were really "with it".
80's TV fan all-the-way Guest Posts: n/a

05-08-2001, 09:15 PM	#6
80's TV fan all-the-way Guest Posts: n/a	Boy...I should have checked this sooner. Yep Slippery Dan, I've sat down and watched it before- that's why I can't stand it!
80's TV fan all-the-way Guest Posts: n/a

05-23-2002, 10:55 PM	#9
Will and Grace Fanatic be happy Senior Member Join Date: Feb 15, 2002 Location: seattle, washington Posts: 2,746	I use to hate Friends so much. But when it first went against Survivor last season I started to watch Friends. I ended up liking it. I don't think it is that good of a show. But I think it is an ok show.
	__________________ love is love

05-23-2002, 11:09 PM	#10
Drew Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jul 12, 2001 Location: Wisconsin, USA Posts: 300	Its just a show...NOT REAL LIFE I love Friends, ive watched it ever since it premiered. I think its hilarious. And I htink its liked by so many because we wish we could just be all stupid sometimes or have simple lives like theirs. I like Friends cause it gives me a chance to relax and go into a different world, let my mind go. For goodness sakes its just a show, its not meant to represent the perfect lives of ours. Its meant to make fun of it. And I like the show, It is funny and interesting to watch the characters. When you watch a show, let go, DONT THINK SO MUCH, just watch. Its just a show, not some real life documentary. I saw a reply that says something like "how unorginal can they be by naming the episodes The ONe WIth..." WHO THE HELL CARES what the name of the episode is. What is so important about that. Thats what i get frustrated with. People analyze everything to death. Good grief, thats just stupid. OMG all the eps start hte same, the world as we know it is gonna end, that makes the show stupid. Another reply was "Ill take the classy humor of Wings anytime." Umm, Wings has the same kind of humor as Friends anyday. That shows just as sex-crazed and self-absorbed, etc as Wings. And so what, the characters may be that, but its still funny. I guess I can see why people maybe dont like it, but the reasons for hating it seem pretty lame. I need better convincing to why you really hate it.
	__________________ Designing Women JULIA~"...And that, Marjorie --- just so you will know --- and your children will someday know --- is the night the lights went out in Georgia! All in the Family EDITH to ARCHIE~"Im not sure who married the meathead, Gloria or me." the Golden Girls SOPHIA~"Silly Rabbi, Trix are for kids."

05-04-2001, 05:41 PM	#2
Slippery Dan His Majesty Frequent Poster Join Date: Mar 12, 2001 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 262	Have you ever sat down and watched it? It's funny. The characters are funny. The thing they do is funny. It's always good to see how good people are friends together. The six of them just make the perfect clique. And each one is different and does different things. Sit down, watch it and pay attention. You'll like it.

05-04-2001, 06:29 PM	#3
Chocoholic Member Forum Star Join Date: Dec 01, 2000 Location: Between a rock and a hard place. Posts: 11,235	I agree about Friends. I try to watch it and I never laugh. To me, the characters are all whiny, self-absorbed, sex-crazed losers, the acting seems forced, the plots are predictable, and the writing is awful. I don't know of anyone my age (I'm a college sophomore) who watches it. I'll take the classy humor of Cheers, Wings, and NewsRadio any day.

05-04-2001, 11:17 PM	#4
dawsongirl Member Forum Icon Join Date: Jan 04, 2001 Posts: 53,128	I'm a college junior and think this show sucks. It's so forced. And I'm sorry, but sex is not THAT funny. And how unoriginal can they get when naming their episodes? They all start with "The One..." Bleech! Actually, I think a lot of today's shows are pretty unoriginal. Originality ended in the 80s. Except That 70's Show and Malcolm in the Middle. Those I like.

05-05-2001, 02:24 AM	#5
Stigmata Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Apr 12, 2000 Location: Champaign, IL Posts: 69	I am also a college junior who can't stand this show either. Why does this show get high ratings? Good question. The obvious answer is that most of the characters are very attractive. People enjoy watching attractive people, no matter how head shattering boring the plots are and how embarassingly awful the acting is (case in point, BAYWATCH!). I'll take the simplistic humor of a Different Strokes or Silver Spoons over this relationship television crap.

05-08-2001, 10:18 PM	#7
Chocoholic Member Forum Star Join Date: Dec 01, 2000 Location: Between a rock and a hard place. Posts: 11,235	I actually liked Friends when it first came out. That was when I was in middle school and everybody was watching it. I grew sick of it after yet another Ross & Rachel storyline.

05-10-2001, 07:19 AM	#8
japfles The Japster Frequent Poster Join Date: May 10, 2001 Location: Durham, UK Posts: 145	The show is VERY popular in the UK and I have NEVER seen its appeal. The best US sitcoms shown over here, for my money, are shows like 'Ellen' and 'Frasier'. 'Friends' has ALWAYS been a mystery to me!

05-24-2002, 01:18 PM	#11
GoldenFamilyTies Por siempre tú Senior Member Join Date: Jan 15, 2002 Location: United States Posts: 1,329	If Friends was a "horrible show", why is it going in to it's NINTH season? Saying this last season will suck, etc... is not a good reason! Cheers was an excellent show, and it shows by how long it ran! Sure, there are a lot of good shows that ran less than around 7 seasons, but there is rarely a show that is bad, that runs 8+ seasons! Different sitcoms attract different types of people. I like friends, granted that it is not as good as many 70's or 80's sitcoms, but just because it doesn't "live up" to those, is THAT a reason to hate it?

05-24-2002, 03:48 PM	#13
Sitcomwriter Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Feb 27, 2001 Posts: 7,354	I don't know why people think it's "dirty".IMO it's a pretty clean show compared to most shows out there in this day and age not like that matters.We as a nation have "matured" and we can "handle funnier shows" WOuld the Donna Reed Show work in 2002? Most likely no....unless Donna was a bisexual chain smoker who cheats on her husband with the babysitter!