Friends is the dopiest, most basic show

[Anonymous]

I was excited to share it with my teen DDs because it was one of my favorite shows. They hated it and deemed it "so cringe" and "mid" so that was fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was excited to share it with my teen DDs because it was one of my favorite shows. They hated it and deemed it "so cringe" and "mid" so that was fun.

What does mid mean?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was excited to share it with my teen DDs because it was one of my favorite shows. They hated it and deemed it "so cringe" and "mid" so that was fun.

What does mid mean?

Mediocre

[Anonymous]

Gen Xer here. I remember hating everyone but Phoebe and Joey because they reminded me of the types of people who were mean to me in high school. I particularly loathed Chandler because he was the spitting image and personality type of this guy who bullied me.

[Anonymous]

What the hell, OP? Since when does sweetness, joy and wholesome friendship equate to cheesy or boring?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How old are you, OP? What other TV shows are you aware from that era?

I'm 45 and majored in media studies. Loved Seinfeld, Mad About You, Frasier, Brooklyn Bridge, Wonder Years, Living Single.

…But you don’t understand why Friends was popular? It was the same as all these other shows in terms of quality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Never watched it. As a black woman, there was nothing in it for me. Plus it was a rip off of Living Single.

Same - but there are retro sitcoms with all white casts I still find hilarious - Golden Girls, Fraiser, Will & Grace. Even Seinfeld makes me laugh. I don’t think I’ve ever cracked a smile watching an episode of Friends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How old are you, OP? What other TV shows are you aware from that era?

I'm 45 and majored in media studies. Loved Seinfeld, Mad About You, Frasier, Brooklyn Bridge, Wonder Years, Living Single.

…But you don’t understand why Friends was popular? It was the same as all these other shows in terms of quality.

Seinfeld was on another plane than Friends

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How old are you, OP? What other TV shows are you aware from that era?

I'm 45 and majored in media studies. Loved Seinfeld, Mad About You, Frasier, Brooklyn Bridge, Wonder Years, Living Single.

…But you don’t understand why Friends was popular? It was the same as all these other shows in terms of quality.

Seinfeld was on another plane than Friends

Eh, not really. All the shows OP listed are characterized by corny jokes, contrived plots, and laugh tracks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:After season 5 I stopped watching it except for the big storylines. I never likes Mondler getting married or staying together. First part of relationship was funny but that was it. Chandler wasn’t as funny once with Monica.

Didn’t like Ross dating a student. Added nothing to the show. Nor Charlie’s storyline.

Friends was supposed to end season 8. Pretty sure Rachel have the baby and Ross and her get married. Season 9 and 10 were not that good. Too many forced storylines. But who could say no to the money?

And in Big Bang could get their couples together and stay together and still be funny, why couldn’t Friends do the same for Ross and Rachel? Jen and David’s on screen chemistry was outstanding.

Big Bang? Never funny. Just a mean hearted show and I’m a trekkie lovin nerd.

Yeah, I really could not get into Big Bang Theory - those characters got on my nerves.

I don’t mean to hijack the thread but csn either of you say more. Why are they mean? I have never watched but was considering it.

I agree Matthew Perry was the funniest cast member of Friends.

They were all fairly cruel to each other all the time, with out downs and disdain and each full of “im a scientist” ego.

It was billed as “for nerds” but it took the things nerds loved and then very stealthily mocked them. I think this is why it was so popular — all the anti-science middle America loved to see the nerds going at it

A quote I came across:

“ I was in a university lecture a few weeks ago. The subject was about equality in STEM careers. The lecturer mentioned TBBT and how it was very stereotypical (in a negative way)- majority of characters are white, there's a blonde woman who is made out to be dumb and the men are physicists/an engineer at a top university. Even when they introduce Bernadette and Amy, they're both in biology-focused careers which reinforces another stereotype in science. Not sure if that's a reason others don't like it but that was the first time I'd come across any negativity towards the show”

This examines a lot of its flaws. https://www.reddit.com/r/netflix/comments/rvityo/the_big_bang_theory_is_a_terrible_show/

DH and I are research scientists and we LOVE The Big Bang Theory. The first seasons contain tons of misogynistic tropes, but that's the point - these men are developmentally behind and academically ahead. The beauty lies in the fact that all these scientists grow and learn (Howard has a particularly interesting learning curve, I think), and the women in their lives end up running the show! The last season is excellent.

There's another reason why we love this show. DH and DS have high-functioning autism. It was quite something for them to see themselves in Sheldon, the autistic genius who


SPOILER ALERT


ends up getting married and winning a Nobel WITH his wife.

[Anonymous]

Seinfeld is the only old sitcom that I watch. George and Elaine are priceless!

[Anonymous]

Agree it sucks. What made it watchable was the actors. All very strong star presence.

Seinfeld and Fraiser are way more intelligent and still funny today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is the Cheesecake Factory of TV shows. How on earth is it, or was it ever, popular? Truly.
Phoebe had no character beyond being a ditz and a flake. NOBODY acts like this in real life.
Shrewish Monica was unlikable and Cox couldn't act her way out of a paper sack.
Aniston was boring, blah, and basic.
Joey was one-note and LeBlanc was a painfully weak actor.
Schwimmer/Ross was punchable.
And poor Matthew Perry/Chandler Bing - he was actually a talented comic but was lost in this sad muddle of a cheezeball show.

Oh, and this was supposed to take place in NY? More like Disney.

People will say the same thing 30 years from now, about shows that are popular now.

I agree about Phoebe and Joey. I wasn't a fan of either character.

This is television, it wasn't supposed to be real. The only show I can think of off hand where the living situation shadowed real life financially is Theee's Company. They were often short on rent money, or broke until payday.

On Friends they all have money issues except Ross and Chandler.

[Anonymous]

Y’all are trying to view Friends through the Lens of today.

It’s like trying to view The Brady Bunch, ILL, DVD, Gilligan’s Island from the lens of 1994 when Friends premiered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is the Cheesecake Factory of TV shows. How on earth is it, or was it ever, popular? Truly.
Phoebe had no character beyond being a ditz and a flake. NOBODY acts like this in real life.
Shrewish Monica was unlikable and Cox couldn't act her way out of a paper sack.
Aniston was boring, blah, and basic.
Joey was one-note and LeBlanc was a painfully weak actor.
Schwimmer/Ross was punchable.
And poor Matthew Perry/Chandler Bing - he was actually a talented comic but was lost in this sad muddle of a cheezeball show.

Oh, and this was supposed to take place in NY? More like Disney.

The show is over, and it has been since May 6 2004. Why don't you find something else to do? Do you pick on all the old shows? Are you going to question why Breaking Bad was popular? Golden Girls? Game of thrones? Good grief. Sounds like you are just jealous that the actors werte successful and people liked the show.

Or -- more plausibly -- this is an Entertainment forum, where people muse about, well, entertainment. Impressive you know the finale date, though.

Not PP and I remember the finale date because I watched it the first night after I brought my oldest home from the hospital.