Why was "Friends" so popular?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Now it may seem hackneyed but at the time there was nothing like it. It was the first show that spoke to young twentysometbings in a way that wasn’t condescending. and the characters/ actors were cool and we all wanted to be there or be friends with tbem. I remember thinking it was the first show “for me”

.+1 yes!

[Anonymous]

Friends was far better than fat people crying on tv week after week. Biggest Loser, I’m looking at you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m with you, OP. I didn’t like it then and I don’t like it now!

'

Another +1.

But I'll add that I do see why it was a hit (though don't see why it was a hit for SO long--it seems really to have gone on and on and on....). I think there was nothing quite like it when it premiered, it sold an escapist image of Big City Life (those apartments! Cute relationships! Every conflict will get resolved!), many folks found the cast appealingly funny even when the plots and scripts were meh. It was about the cast, chemistry, rather than the plots. I haven't ever been able to sit through a whole episode but talking with friends who were big fans in the day and who watch it sometimes now, those seem to be their takes on it.

So I kind of get why it was a big deal for a long time. I just never could get into it. I like some very goofy sitcoms, too, so honestly I don't have a stick up my backside, I just wasn't susceptible to the chemistry of the beautifuls in the impossiibly cool NY setting. And I'm not saying that to be superior or whatever--my most intelligent friend is a Friends fan (ha), and I've got to respect it!

I will say, the Friends cast did one very smart thing that influenced other casts. They negotiated as a group for their pay as the show went on and they realized how massively popular they were as an ensemble. They could have all negotiated separately but they chose to do it as a united front. I don't think any other cast was doing that at the time. That was incredibly savvy of them as actors, protecting their careers and incomes like that. It's a business, after all, and none of them was massively popular or hugely known before the show began.

They weren't impossibly cool, though. That was part of the appeal. They were relatable. They weren't, like, Chloe Sevigny, Winona Ryder, and Parker Posey out on a night on the town. They were basic kids from the suburbs trying to make it in the city - with all the highs and lows. (The possible exception was Phoebe who probably did hang out with the cool kids but also loved these friends, too.) Sex and the City was much more aspirational (whatever, it was). Friends was about people you might actually hang out with, or be (of course much better looking, with much better apartments, but still).

And they had some really relatable plot lines! There was an episode where the three friends who were struggling financially had to have a come to Jesus talk with the three who were doing well, just to name one. It coined phrases we still use today - who doesn't know "we were on a break"?

There really wasn't anything else like it on TV at the time.

That said I don't quite understand why kids today are so into it! I would love to know about that. I remember maybe five years ago seeing a teenager wearing a Friends t-shirt in an airport, and I stopped her to ask why she was wearing it. She said she'd been watching old episodes with her mom. But now I see Friends merch everywhere - so apparently all these kids are watching it with their moms?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The show was consistently funny for many years. The only character who wasn't particularly funny was Phoebe. The rest were funny in the following order: Chandler, Rachel, Ross (awesome physical humor), Monica/Joey (tie). The show has held up...my high schooler loves the show and has watched it more than once. There were many great guest stars (Tate Donovan, Bruce Willis, Tom Selleck, Christina Applegate, Jon Favreau, Giovanna Ribisi, etc.). The show was also sweet. Haters need to just accept that it was an excellent sitcom...an artform that has been lost today for whatever reason...

It was the Panera of sitcoms

Is this supposed to be a putdown because Panera is so basic? Panera is popular because it appeals to a broad range of people...that's not a bad thing. I'm sure the people putting down Friends are the ones who think the only good sitcoms are It's Always Sunny, Brooklyn 99, and whatever other "edgy" sitcom you think is cool enough to admit you watch. Please stop trying so hard and just admit that Friends is good. Or at least stop trying to convince others it's not...

Brooklyn 99 isn't remotely edgy! Its very wholesome and actually very retro.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think Friends being on Netflix found a new, young generation to watch it and made it popular again. It’s no longer on Netflix in US and now on HBOMAX. Time will tell if it remains popular. Something else will eventually surpass it. The cast were great on the show. Sadly their private life’s, except for Lisa, appear to have issues.

Isn't Matt LeBlanc doing fine? He was on Episodes and also just came across as really normal on the reunion show. Remember the Uncle Joey meme after that? I guess I take it as a good sign I have no idea about his life outside of that!

https://ew.com/tv/matt-leblanc-friends-reunion-irish-twitter-meme/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Now it may seem hackneyed but at the time there was nothing like it. It was the first show that spoke to young twentysometbings in a way that wasn’t condescending. and the characters/ actors were cool and we all wanted to be there or be friends with tbem. I remember thinking it was the first show “for me”

Also the first show with a true ensemble cast AND EACH cast member had a storyline in EACH episode. I think up until then the storyline usually was around 1 to 2 people and everyone else was filler.

Cheers?

[Anonymous]

How YOU doin?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The show was consistently funny for many years. The only character who wasn't particularly funny was Phoebe. The rest were funny in the following order: Chandler, Rachel, Ross (awesome physical humor), Monica/Joey (tie). The show has held up...my high schooler loves the show and has watched it more than once. There were many great guest stars (Tate Donovan, Bruce Willis, Tom Selleck, Christina Applegate, Jon Favreau, Giovanna Ribisi, etc.). The show was also sweet. Haters need to just accept that it was an excellent sitcom...an artform that has been lost today for whatever reason...

Smelly cat, smelly cat what are you eating? Smelly cat, smelly cat, it's not your fault.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Now it may seem hackneyed but at the time there was nothing like it. It was the first show that spoke to young twentysometbings in a way that wasn’t condescending. and the characters/ actors were cool and we all wanted to be there or be friends with tbem. I remember thinking it was the first show “for me”

Also the first show with a true ensemble cast AND EACH cast member had a storyline in EACH episode. I think up until then the storyline usually was around 1 to 2 people and everyone else was filler.

Nope not the first, also Living Single did Friends better and a year earlier. That said, I watched and laughed. Monica with those beads and braids. WE WERE ON A BREAK!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, the comic timing and chemistry of the actors was awesome. Friends was a great show! There were so many laugh out our moments — Ross with the leather pants? Gets me every time, it’s clean, unpretentious funny. Everything is so contrived now.

I laughed just reading your post. Love this episode!

Ross’s leather pants scene is total ripoff of “Dumb and Dumber’s” (1994) toilet scene. And Jeff Daniel’s didn’t require a laugh track.

So what? David Schwimmer was hilarious in that scene. You must be so much fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m with you, OP. I didn’t like it then and I don’t like it now!

'

Another +1.

But I'll add that I do see why it was a hit (though don't see why it was a hit for SO long--it seems really to have gone on and on and on....). I think there was nothing quite like it when it premiered, it sold an escapist image of Big City Life (those apartments! Cute relationships! Every conflict will get resolved!), many folks found the cast appealingly funny even when the plots and scripts were meh. It was about the cast, chemistry, rather than the plots. I haven't ever been able to sit through a whole episode but talking with friends who were big fans in the day and who watch it sometimes now, those seem to be their takes on it.

So I kind of get why it was a big deal for a long time. I just never could get into it. I like some very goofy sitcoms, too, so honestly I don't have a stick up my backside, I just wasn't susceptible to the chemistry of the beautifuls in the impossiibly cool NY setting. And I'm not saying that to be superior or whatever--my most intelligent friend is a Friends fan (ha), and I've got to respect it!

I will say, the Friends cast did one very smart thing that influenced other casts. They negotiated as a group for their pay as the show went on and they realized how massively popular they were as an ensemble. They could have all negotiated separately but they chose to do it as a united front. I don't think any other cast was doing that at the time. That was incredibly savvy of them as actors, protecting their careers and incomes like that. It's a business, after all, and none of them was massively popular or hugely known before the show began.

They weren't impossibly cool, though. That was part of the appeal. They were relatable. They weren't, like, Chloe Sevigny, Winona Ryder, and Parker Posey out on a night on the town. They were basic kids from the suburbs trying to make it in the city - with all the highs and lows. (The possible exception was Phoebe who probably did hang out with the cool kids but also loved these friends, too.) Sex and the City was much more aspirational (whatever, it was). Friends was about people you might actually hang out with, or be (of course much better looking, with much better apartments, but still).

And they had some really relatable plot lines! There was an episode where the three friends who were struggling financially had to have a come to Jesus talk with the three who were doing well, just to name one. It coined phrases we still use today - who doesn't know "we were on a break"?

There really wasn't anything else like it on TV at the time.

That said I don't quite understand why kids today are so into it! I would love to know about that. I remember maybe five years ago seeing a teenager wearing a Friends t-shirt in an airport, and I stopped her to ask why she was wearing it. She said she'd been watching old episodes with her mom. But now I see Friends merch everywhere - so apparently all these kids are watching it with their moms?

I loved friends at the time and the reruns still make me laugh. I agree that it was unique at the time and really spoke to a lot of Gen Xers. I definitely had a similar friends with money/ friends without experience so that episode was really relatable.

It's a fun nostalgic experience to watch it now. When it launched I was just out of college. I got married the same month as Monica and Chandler. When the series ended with their adopted twins being born, I was pregnant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It was awesome for its time.

Sorry you didn't get to enjoy it like the rest of us did.

Please don't apologize! I'm so sorry you found it amusing.

Np. You are rude, OP and have no sense of humor. I am sure there are shows you like that we wouldn't and we don't tear down you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It was awesome for its time.

Sorry you didn't get to enjoy it like the rest of us did.

Please don't apologize! I'm so sorry you found it amusing.

Np. You are rude, OP and have no sense of humor. I am sure there are shows you like that we wouldn't and we don't tear down you.

Meant pp. OP isn't rude but I don't understand why we all have to like the same things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PIVOT PIVOT PIVOT

We had one of those moments recently.

+2, anytime we have to move anything large both DH and I start shouting that. I liked it at the time and there are still lines that make me laugh out loud. But it does not hold up - really homophobic and so white.

[Anonymous]

I loved the acting, especially David Schwimmer. I especially loved the episodes where he gets his teeth whitened, tries wearing leather pants, and plays his keyboard "compositions". I haven't watched it in a while so I'm sure there are others. He could make me laugh really hard. And I can't forget Chandler. He was hilarious too.