Why was "Friends" so popular?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think Phoebe was the funniest. Chandler was so-so and lost his humor once married.

One episode, Phoebe and Ross were talking, and nobody else was in the frame. I thought they made an attractive couple. Both are tall and looked good together.

[Anonymous]

I didn't watch it when it first came out- I started watching it a few years ago when my teenager started getting into yet. I don't find anything funny or appealing about it. it is like nails on a chalkboard to me! But maybe I would've liked it more had I watched it in "real time."

[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.

+1 genuinely sweet chemistry

+2. It was funny, lighthearted, and had mass appeal. Unlike every woke virtue signaling or disturbing show these days.

AMEN

[Anonymous]

I never liked it. It made us look stupid.

[Anonymous]

PIVOT PIVOT PIVOT

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m with you OP! I watched pretty much every episode as they aired, thanks to my roommates, but never got the humor. I enjoyed the more serious plot lines - Ross and Rachel, Monica and Chandler, but the comedy just seemed sooo stupid.

I loved Seinfeld though.

Me too. By the end of the series Courtney Cox sounded like she was on helium, I don’t know how viewers could stand it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PIVOT PIVOT PIVOT

We had one of those moments recently.

[Anonymous]

I didn’t like it either.
I think it’s what the kids would call “basic”.

[Anonymous]

Storylines seem hackneyed bc they've been ripped off a million times since then.

I'm not saying it was amazing or perfect. It was never my favorite show, but I agree the characters had good chemistry and I was usually engaged by the stories.

But I've always loved sitcoms.

[Anonymous]

Seinfeld is brilliant. My 13 year old DS found it on his own and is captivated by it (along with the Simpsons). Friends was the absolute best comfort food of a show. I could be wrong, but I feel like it was the last sitcom tons of Americans watched together and talked about at work or school before we had a gazillion channels. If you don’t appreciate it, I’m guessing that’s in part because you don’t understand what our viewing options were back then. They are so much better now, but we have lost so much community. It thrills me that DS loves Gilligan’s Island and The Monkees.

[Anonymous]

Single 20-somethings. There were never many shows that focused on that demographic. Most programs focused on families and/or were of the night time soaps drama variety.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m with you OP! I watched pretty much every episode as they aired, thanks to my roommates, but never got the humor. I enjoyed the more serious plot lines - Ross and Rachel, Monica and Chandler, but the comedy just seemed sooo stupid.

I loved Seinfeld though.

Never got Seinfeld. It was moved a couple of times before it became a hit. Anything sandwich between Friends ad ER was going to be popular. Remote control tv was not widespread back then, set it and forget it!

Seinfeld came out before Friends. They started airing Friends in the slot after Seinfeld, so everyone watched it.

In the early years Seinfeld was not considered a hit and was on Wednesday nights, eventually moved to Thursday night.

https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/seinfeld-from-flop-to-acclaimed-hit/


The Thursday line up became The Cosby Show, A Different World, Cheers, Seinfeld.

When Friends came in they were before Seinfeld and Seinfeld’s rating went up after Friends joined the line up.

[Anonymous]

Good show. Sorry you are such a suburban bore OP.

[Anonymous]

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.