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.

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

Anonymous wrote:My teens binged it this summer and they love it.

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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.

Anonymous wrote:Hot people, zeitgeist

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.

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!

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...

Anonymous wrote:I still love it despite recent criticism that it “doesn’t hold up.” And as an adult I have a newfound respect for David Schwimmer’s acting. Of course Ross is the annoying one a lot of viewers don’t like. But the way he delivers lines and his physical comedy…he’s damn funny! He did a great job being annoying.

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

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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.

I’m so sorry you never learned to be an adult and let people enjoy things.

Nobody is stopping you! But do note this is a forum for opinions!

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.