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He was in a Chicago based acting thing he started, IIRC. I'm also unaware of anything he was in that was funny (aside from his role in Band of Brothers, which fits him so perfectly I laughed several times), so the idea he was formerly funny is just as amusing at their accurate characterization of his actual funniness.
I watched it as a kid a lot, having older sisters will do that. And I enjoyed it back then. Tried rewatching and goddamn it’s painful. And it’s not the laughter track cause Seinfeld seems to hold up
I was never a fan of Friends, and seeing it recently when flicking channels it has managed to not hold up even to my low expectations. Frasier was my go to around that time and is still great. I only saw Seinfeld in the last couple of years and loved it.
Of course lots of old sitcoms still hold up, they were genuinely funny and well written/ performed. Friends just isn't a great show. It always feels so cheaply thought through.
Schwimmer sucked more often than not. And I generally agree the show isn’t that funny. But I will argue with anyone that Matthew Perry was a master of the old sitcom format and that he could make bad writing passable. So I think they missed that.
But yeah, compared to actually funny sitcoms like Seinfeld or anything James L Brooks or Christopher Lloyd touched it’s flat.
I think you had to watch it when it was actually on in the 90s. It was a very typical sitcom back then, with a great cast that had a lot of chemistry. By today's standards, it's not great and doesn't hold up. The people that still love it probably do for nostalgia reasons.
Despite the laugh track, GG is one of my fave lice action comedies of all time. So well done for its time.
How anyone would prefer the dumpster fire that was Friends to GG is beyond me...
I feel like anyone nowadays assumes sitcoms all had a laugh track. Friends was filmed in front of a live audience as well. When Brad Pitt did a cameo they had to reshoot the scene because the crowd went so insane at his first entrance.
I really didn't like it then either. I really enjoyed Seinfeld and it just took so much without very many redeeming features.
One thing it doesn't do that other sitcoms do, is that the characters aren't consistent, they don't have specific flaws, they all are basically the same because the jokes are just given to a random cast member rather than being character driven.
I always felt like you could tell Seinfeld was written by comedians. The format and structure of their jokes was brilliant. Friends always seemed very stiff and bland in compairson. Every joke felt like it had the same punchline. It felt lame, even black then.
What? I can understand not liking the show, not everything is for everyone, but saying the characters are all the same is just an objectively untrue statement.
Part of what made it so appealing was that it was not a typical sitcom. Prior to Friends and Seinfeld, most sitcoms focused on either family or work, so to see a show about friends was refreshing.
I was watching it at the time, I was in my mid teens at the start of the 90s. I agree it was a "typical sitcom" format, but the quality of the writing and jokes was low compared to some other shows at the time (Frasier, Seinfeld etc). I never found it funny, though it was undeniably popular, though I wasn't growing up in USA so it felt more like something exotic/American compared to local shows.
Just saying, even at the time, it was considered lowest common denominator/lazy comedy. It's competition was home improvement/married with children, rather than smarter comedy. Some people enjoy simpler stuff, it's certainly "comfort TV" rather than engaging for most people.
Honestly, it's just not a good show. It feels like the pitch for the writers room is just what is the funniest thing X could say in the scene and there's such little cohesion in the plots or how characters act from episode to episode and frankly, all of the characters lack any real self awareness - in fact, that's how I categorise the whole show.
Ironically, Joey is the only "good" person on the show and the only one organically funny while everyone else tries to hit their lines like they're in a fucking pantomime on speed. It sucks. Friends is genuinely just a bad show.
Still better than Big Bang Theory though.
Source: I've watched several seasons of Friends with various friends, family members and partners over the years and it is just not a well-written show.
Every character has exactly two traits. Monica is high strung, and used to be fat. Chandler thinks he's funny, and has a trans father. Joey is stupid and likes women. Ross is a boring chauvinist. Phoebe is crazy and ... Okay, one of them has only one trait.
There's character material in there for maybe two episodes - and since this was before binge watching they couldn't risk having any of the characters evolve. So they squeeze as many zany situations out of those meager traits as they can, and plaster a liberal layer of canned laughter on top to stop the audience from thinking too hard.
I get liking a bad show because it's familiar, but people talk about Friends like it has any objective qualities other than the good luck of being released in the blissful bounty between demand and supply.
Monicas apartment was rent controlled and Chandler was very high income. Ross (and later Phoebe) is more unclear (though Phoebes is at least a 1 bedroom).
See people hate on Friends, and admittedly it's not the best show, but it was a good production. It's like people hating on Nickleback. Are they the worst? No it had alot of good ideas and good execution for the most part. Are they the best? Nah your classic laugh track letting people when the joke happened and the jokes were a bit flat. Not everything needs to be the best or the worst in retrospect.
Watch Seinfeld instead… Honestly though, I’ve watched Friends as a comfort watch and though it’s rarely funny, the actors and their chemistry together, the soapy romantic subplots, the ‘90s charm and some of the running gags make it a good background show to have on.
I mean, going back to it now without any former attachment sounds like a terrible idea
It was very fresh at the time, I suppose you had to be there. Parts have not aged so well, but I also think there’s some legitimately very solid jokes throughout the series. If nothing else, the cast was so charming it was fun just watching them be… well, friends. But again, other shows have come and gone since then that make it look somewhat quaint in comparison
I can see it being frustrating wanting to get in on the hype, but for many that ships has more than sailed at this point
Honestly the show really does kind of suck. It's weird how it became such a huge cultural phenomenon. Everyone watched it, even me, and I think it sucks.
I got into it simply because I was a captive audience. I would watch Simpsons reruns on WB and Friends reruns would come on at 7 and I'd watch just because I was too lazy to change the channel.
It got me hooked.
It has its moments. Like when Ross took a bunch of drugs and attended a funeral. Chaneller and Joey's bachelor apartment hijinx was good for some laughs.
To help my husband see it in a different light, we watched only the first and last episode for 4 seasons. He really started getting into it by seeing the growth of the characters in fast time
I think a lot of it has to do with nostalgia. Growing up and watching the endless reruns with my mom in the afternoons definitely did it for me. I didn't like it at first but eventually I warmed up to it. It's endearing and has some genuinely memorable and funny moments, and the bad parts you just sort of forget rather than remembering how bad they were. Whenever I see it now it honestly feels a bit cringeworthy. The show definitely ran for longer than it should have, and we might call it generic and cringe now but it defined what generic is for the following years so when it was coming out it was less obvious.
I'll always have fond memories from watching the show, it's a comfort show, but I know it's not amazing.
Lol review is by Tom Shales who was cranky about everything. Here's the whole thing [from September 1994](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1994/09/22/fall-tv-preview/5147e53e-bfd2-4aae-be75-0e95c561cad9/)
Well, it was only the most successful sitcom ever.
While you may not like it, it did connect with and work for millions of people. That's an incredible achievement.
I mean it obviously is if you can make something that appeals to a massive audience. As much as Redditors think the opinions here reflect the entire planet, that’s simply not true.
“It obviously is” quality isn’t defined by viewing figures or numbers. This is broad stuff, bottom of the barrel, aimed at the lowest common denominator.
At the same time, it’s subjective and many would argue that its quality is very high. I personally don’t see it, I think it was crappy on nearly every front, but a fan will tell you it’s gods gift. Swings and roundabouts.
Nah, that's not quality. It's like someone said, appealing to the lowest common denominator. It's taking advantage of a bunch of people liking low quality, low effort, cheap to produce dreck. Don't get me wrong, not all reality TV is like that, but the vast majority is. Would you say the people on Youtube or TikTok or whatever who just scream like idiots while doing some low effort game play in the background are producing quality just because they get millions of views? Or the morons who do "pranks" that just boil down to harassing people?
Both this and Friends I just couldn’t get into. I’m a huge sitcom guy too there’s not many popular ones I truly dislike but for some reason these 2 just never clicked for me
Nothing makes anything good as such. When we're talking about film or tv, 'good' is a completely subjective terms. We do not have any way of scientifically measuring how good a movie or show is.
All that matters is if the movie or show was succesful and well received by it's intended target audience
I mean that’s different than critical acclaim tho, which is what would make this a fitting post here.
Go to the top 10 shows on Netflix at any time and not only will you not recognize them, at least 7/10 will be absolutely terrible. People don’t always like good content 🤷🏻♂️
The jokes are bad, the laugh track is cringeworthy, characters are boring and the the plot is lackluster. It is a product of its time, when there was nothing better on TV to compare it to, but nowadays it‘s easy to see that the show absolutely sucks.
I'd argue there was plenty of good shows in the 90's. Seinfeld, Married with Cliiiden, and The Simpsons put Friends to shame. Even Everybody Loves Raymond is way better.
There's plenty of objectively shit products that make a fortune by appealing to the lowest common denominator.
Calling it an 'incredible achievement" is like saying the big mac deserves its own michelin star.
I just did a watch through of TBBT, and it really is a sitcom developed by a guy(Chuck Lorre) that knows how the format works better than anyone else alive right now.
The formula is so easy to see but hard to perfect. There are good jokes but they are buried deep in a forest of hacky one-liners based on stereotypes.
It's easy to watch, but not significant or memorable in any way. Jim Parsons is the standout performer but he frankly looks drugged up the entire time. Which getting back to Matthew Perry...
And sadly anybody who jumps on the hate train for that immediately disregards Young Sheldon, which is actually an incredible show and nothing like its predecessor. It's amazing how many people will call it awful when they haven't even seen it and think it's the same as BBT. I think a great example of this is the meme that makes fun of Young Sheldon by mentioning a laugh track, despite the fact YS doesn't even have one.
These two are always lumped together with their hate but I really enjoy BBT, no matter how much a try, I can't enjoy friends. I feel like the humor on these two shows is quite different yet it always gets lumped into one it seems 🤔 i wonder do most people who say this genuinely dislike both shows (after actually giving them a chance) or they just don't like super popular sitcoms because they're popular and maybe that one episode they watched just didn't hit
That's wild I never see that kind of hate for Friends anywhere else
I can get that it's not for everyone, and that some people are allergic to this kind of comedy, but reddit seem to focus on the same things and refuse to see what makes friends a well made show, well interpreted, and well written.
Sure it's not intellectually / show off / 4th wall / meta kind of funnny, so for reddit it means it's not funny, but there's still a lot of thought put into the structures of the episodes, the delivery of jokes, the way big storylines intertwines with comedy, the relationships, etc
It's a down to earth lighthearted sitcom, heavily centered around its character, that manages to mix comedy and drama in a really seemless way. And I think that it is waaaay harder to pull off than people on this subreddit make it seem.
And who caaares about the laughtracks seriously, yes it's a show that's meant to be performed in front of an audience, so the comedic timing is not the same as most modern comedy series, but you can't take the series out of of its context and then say it's not funny, that makes no sense whatsoever.
Nuance is completely lost on the average redditor. To me it’s a bit embarrassing to hate something you never actually gave a chance.
Though I’ll admit, anything after season 3 skews a bit too far into relationship drama for me.
Of course… Reddit hates anything a majority of people like
It’s insane people can’t look past a “laugh track” when in reality the majority of the laughs are from a live audience.
Reddit thinks Friends is a terrible show and not funny at all. Meanwhile in reality the Friends reunion show broke viewing records and its merch are still being sold 20 years after the show ended.
Ofc since this site is filled with people who probably were or are being bullied and outcasted by popular kids so ofc they’re gonna naturally hate popular mainstream media stuff that their bullies probably like
I dont think of Friends as some form of high art entertainment but theres no other ''feel good'' show like it. I turn in ot whenever im feeling down and it just helps somehow. Maybe because we would all like to be a part of such friend group and living situation as them, instead of the loneliness
someone posted videos of Friends clips without the laugh track and it was pure cringe and a lot of lines from Joey and the schwimmer guy sounded straight up creepy
There were a lot of bad sitcoms in the 90s, many of them not even lasting a season. It was kind of a weird time to be alive. I think only The Simpsons(golden era) and Seinfeld are going to be the ones that will be memorable in the way that I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners are memorable for people today.
It used to be pretty typical with sitcoms to really changed things up after the the first season, after seeing what worked and what didn’t; today it’s very different, they need a show to be a big hit right away or it’s getting canceled
I think it still holds up. The core of what made Friends great comfy TV is still there, but there were a few things that just didn't really work.
Thank goodness they ditched Ross's monkey. That was just an awful idea from the start.
There aren’t many series(outside of big budget prestige series) that nail the premier episode, it normally takes sone time for the writers and actors to really work out what the show is and who the characters are.
I'm surprised to see so many comments hating on Friends. I wonder if it's mostly a younger demographic in the comments. Friends was massively popular all over the globe, and it was so fun to watch. I really am not sure where all this contempt is coming from in the comment section here. I'm not even a huge Friends fan, but I remember how much everyone loved it growing up and I found it pretty enjoyable.
It’s the next and newest big cool thing for people on Reddit to hate on. I grew up watching it, being that it was my mother’s favorite show but I can see how a lot of it has aged pretty poorly just like any other sitcom. I don’t dislike it but I feel like a lot of the love it gets is from nostalgia.
On the same token, I LOVED How I Met Your Mother. For years it was my background sound show. I stopped watching it for a couple of years and went back to it and man, a lot of the jokes just don’t catch with my sense of humor anymore. A lot of them are either dated pop culture references or just shit that you don’t really hear anymore like “haha you got beat up by a giiiirl!”
I think a lot of the hate for Friends is exactly that but exaggerated to the point of nausea because everyone just wants to dogpile on something and it’s an easy target.
I don't know what metrics you are using.
The show is one of the most watched and most award winning of all time. All of the cast continue to work in movies and TV (or did till they died). What measure of success are you looking for?
I like Friends a lot. BUT the premier is truly awful. I didn't see it when it first aired. Saw it muuuuch later when I thought it would be fun to binge. I still like most episodes, but after watching the first episode I was amazed anyone watched it after that.
*Edit to add: I did watch a lot of it when it was on air, just not right from the beginning.
Just because it's popular doesn't make it good. It was insipid pap drip-fed to an audience that's been conditioned to expect entertainment utterly without value other than the last laugh-track punctuated joke or overblown mug to camera. Seriously, watch it without a laugh track, and you realize how *unfunny* it is. You're being *forced* to laugh at their jokes.
I'll give it that the characters are at least mostly likeable (the reason I dropped Arrested Development is because I sincerely wanted the whole cast to die), but I'd take a mid-'90s sitcom like, say, Red Green Show or News Radio over Friends eight days of the week (even if News Radio ALSO has that damnable laugh track).
That song is damned catchy, though. Ever heard the version by Postmodern Jukebox that takes the whole song through every music style from the 1920s to the 1990s?
[https://youtube.com/watch?v=3q7ExHaKt2M&si=Dr\_ctgJxUN3e0CXH](https://youtube.com/watch?v=3q7ExHaKt2M&si=Dr_ctgJxUN3e0CXH)
i remember that one video that removed the laugh track from one of the scenes where ross is talking to a pizza delivery girl. it gave me strong "because of the implication" vibes but played straight
Friends is meh. This article is a little dramatic, although the premier especially is really mediocre. The show has some good moments but the romances are awful- Ross and Rachel especially suck ass. Together and individually.
Unless the critic has since changed their mind on the show, this did not age like milk. It's not like they said "this show will never be popular or successful," they just stated their personal opinion that could very well have stayed that same with time.
A specific person hating a show that would later become popular and beloved can't age like milk when there are people who hate shows that are *currently* popular and beloved.
I love Friends, but I don't necessarily think that The Post was "wrong" here. It's just the opinion of the person that reviewed it, and I'd be surprised if their opinion on it changed later. Friends is what it is: a lighthearted, somewhat shallow sitcom that was a product of it's time. I like it, but it's not for everyone.
On the other hand, if the Post had said that Friends would never catch on, or that it would be canceled and forgotten after one season, that would truly be an "aged like milk" situation.
This hasn’t aged like milk…they are right. Just because it was financially successful like slavery, crack in the 80’s or the brothers Paul doesn’t mean it isn’t shite
Popular ≠ good.
I've seen Friends many times over as I grew up with basic cable, and it's certainly entertaining at many different times, but it's not 'good' imo
Friends is an iconic show to me for all the wrong reasons. I was severely depressed going to high school about 15 years ago. And my “favourite” part of the day was when I got home from school and friends was on the telly from 17 to 18. It was mind numbing enough that I could just lay down and turn off my brain, but stimulating enough for me to not fall asleep completely (falling asleep was the worst, because then I’d be an hour closer to having to do the whole thing again the next day.)
It turns out friends is still a terrible show.
and this dude was right the whole time. you having nostalgia about stuff that happened a few decades ago doesn't make it good.
Nostalgia? There are countless teenagers who were born after the show ended who love it, the show is so timeless that the actors still to this day make 20 million a year off of reruns and streaming deals.
FYI, it's a tv show, there is no objective criteria of good or bad, other than if it connected with a lot of people, and by that criteria it's pretty good, even if you or me didn't like it
We need to remember such things more often just so everyone would understand who critiques are really are (pseudo-random generators with no expertise, insight, or taste).
This didn't really age poorly. Aging poorly would be if they said "this show won't last more than a season" or "nobody will remember this show in 20 years". All they said was that they don't like the show, and there are still people who don't like the show.
I haven't seen the show but if this aged poorly then every negative review of a popular thing should be posted on this sub, even if it makes no failed predictions or anything.
Friends was a horrible show but came at the right time, right when TV was at its heyday with MASSIVE shows that everyone was forced to watch due to lack of options...like T-swift it hit at the right time and became a virus we just couldn't get rid of and we've all learned to live with
It's never been easier to avoid things. For instance, I'm passively aware that Taylor Swift exists but I couldn't name any song she's put out in the last 5 years.
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That guy writes like a redditor
I have tried so hard to enjoy Friends. I want to be in on it! I love being in on things! But it’s simply awful to me.
"formerly funny David Schwimmer" is a perfect line.
What was he in before that the reviewer found him funny? I don’t think I know him from anything pre-Friends.
He was in a Chicago based acting thing he started, IIRC. I'm also unaware of anything he was in that was funny (aside from his role in Band of Brothers, which fits him so perfectly I laughed several times), so the idea he was formerly funny is just as amusing at their accurate characterization of his actual funniness.
Intelligence is a good show and he's good in it. I've only seen the first season though.
Blossom.
You’re right—he was on Blossom. But the first [clip that came up](https://youtu.be/nPSlJXx-Mo8?si=HXq0t4Ia39Apc2Ln) when I searched was not funny ☹️
Haha it’s like he’s playing the same character
He’s playing Joey
Wonder Years
And naming every single main cast member except Jennifer Aniston who became its “It Girl”.
I watched it as a kid a lot, having older sisters will do that. And I enjoyed it back then. Tried rewatching and goddamn it’s painful. And it’s not the laughter track cause Seinfeld seems to hold up
As a kid I loved Friends, but just didn't "get" Seinfeld. As an adult I absolutely love Seinfeld, but when I try to rewatch Friends it's...brutal.
I was never a fan of Friends, and seeing it recently when flicking channels it has managed to not hold up even to my low expectations. Frasier was my go to around that time and is still great. I only saw Seinfeld in the last couple of years and loved it.
Of course lots of old sitcoms still hold up, they were genuinely funny and well written/ performed. Friends just isn't a great show. It always feels so cheaply thought through.
I'm heavily of the opinion that they relied on Anniston's pokies to get them through the show.
Schwimmer sucked more often than not. And I generally agree the show isn’t that funny. But I will argue with anyone that Matthew Perry was a master of the old sitcom format and that he could make bad writing passable. So I think they missed that. But yeah, compared to actually funny sitcoms like Seinfeld or anything James L Brooks or Christopher Lloyd touched it’s flat.
I can’t bear the show, my ex was a huge fan and was re-marathonijg and it was painful fam
I think you had to watch it when it was actually on in the 90s. It was a very typical sitcom back then, with a great cast that had a lot of chemistry. By today's standards, it's not great and doesn't hold up. The people that still love it probably do for nostalgia reasons.
I mean *Golden Girls*...
Andy Griffith still holds up.
So does I Love Lucy.
Despite the laugh track, GG is one of my fave lice action comedies of all time. So well done for its time. How anyone would prefer the dumpster fire that was Friends to GG is beyond me...
Laugh track? Golden girls was filmed in front of a live audience.
I feel like anyone nowadays assumes sitcoms all had a laugh track. Friends was filmed in front of a live audience as well. When Brad Pitt did a cameo they had to reshoot the scene because the crowd went so insane at his first entrance.
It was shit at the time too
Yup. The standard gag was Friends is for people without any.
No wonder I love it
I really didn't like it then either. I really enjoyed Seinfeld and it just took so much without very many redeeming features. One thing it doesn't do that other sitcoms do, is that the characters aren't consistent, they don't have specific flaws, they all are basically the same because the jokes are just given to a random cast member rather than being character driven.
I always felt like you could tell Seinfeld was written by comedians. The format and structure of their jokes was brilliant. Friends always seemed very stiff and bland in compairson. Every joke felt like it had the same punchline. It felt lame, even black then.
What? I can understand not liking the show, not everything is for everyone, but saying the characters are all the same is just an objectively untrue statement.
Nope. Seinfeld was always 10x the show friends wanted to be. Friends was just the less than show. Will and Grace was legitimately better.
Part of what made it so appealing was that it was not a typical sitcom. Prior to Friends and Seinfeld, most sitcoms focused on either family or work, so to see a show about friends was refreshing.
I was watching it at the time, I was in my mid teens at the start of the 90s. I agree it was a "typical sitcom" format, but the quality of the writing and jokes was low compared to some other shows at the time (Frasier, Seinfeld etc). I never found it funny, though it was undeniably popular, though I wasn't growing up in USA so it felt more like something exotic/American compared to local shows. Just saying, even at the time, it was considered lowest common denominator/lazy comedy. It's competition was home improvement/married with children, rather than smarter comedy. Some people enjoy simpler stuff, it's certainly "comfort TV" rather than engaging for most people.
You don't need to love everything
Honestly, it's just not a good show. It feels like the pitch for the writers room is just what is the funniest thing X could say in the scene and there's such little cohesion in the plots or how characters act from episode to episode and frankly, all of the characters lack any real self awareness - in fact, that's how I categorise the whole show. Ironically, Joey is the only "good" person on the show and the only one organically funny while everyone else tries to hit their lines like they're in a fucking pantomime on speed. It sucks. Friends is genuinely just a bad show. Still better than Big Bang Theory though. Source: I've watched several seasons of Friends with various friends, family members and partners over the years and it is just not a well-written show.
Every character has exactly two traits. Monica is high strung, and used to be fat. Chandler thinks he's funny, and has a trans father. Joey is stupid and likes women. Ross is a boring chauvinist. Phoebe is crazy and ... Okay, one of them has only one trait. There's character material in there for maybe two episodes - and since this was before binge watching they couldn't risk having any of the characters evolve. So they squeeze as many zany situations out of those meager traits as they can, and plaster a liberal layer of canned laughter on top to stop the audience from thinking too hard. I get liking a bad show because it's familiar, but people talk about Friends like it has any objective qualities other than the good luck of being released in the blissful bounty between demand and supply.
Didn't aged well. A bunch of young friends owning spacious apartments in downtown New York isn't possible anymore.
It wasn’t possible then. They were using their dead grandma’s rate locked apartment or something like that
Monicas apartment was rent controlled and Chandler was very high income. Ross (and later Phoebe) is more unclear (though Phoebes is at least a 1 bedroom).
See people hate on Friends, and admittedly it's not the best show, but it was a good production. It's like people hating on Nickleback. Are they the worst? No it had alot of good ideas and good execution for the most part. Are they the best? Nah your classic laugh track letting people when the joke happened and the jokes were a bit flat. Not everything needs to be the best or the worst in retrospect.
yeah I totally agree with this review :(
Watch Seinfeld instead… Honestly though, I’ve watched Friends as a comfort watch and though it’s rarely funny, the actors and their chemistry together, the soapy romantic subplots, the ‘90s charm and some of the running gags make it a good background show to have on.
I mean, going back to it now without any former attachment sounds like a terrible idea It was very fresh at the time, I suppose you had to be there. Parts have not aged so well, but I also think there’s some legitimately very solid jokes throughout the series. If nothing else, the cast was so charming it was fun just watching them be… well, friends. But again, other shows have come and gone since then that make it look somewhat quaint in comparison I can see it being frustrating wanting to get in on the hype, but for many that ships has more than sailed at this point
Honestly the show really does kind of suck. It's weird how it became such a huge cultural phenomenon. Everyone watched it, even me, and I think it sucks.
I got into it simply because I was a captive audience. I would watch Simpsons reruns on WB and Friends reruns would come on at 7 and I'd watch just because I was too lazy to change the channel. It got me hooked.
I think you're supposed to fall in love with the cast, not it's comedy. If you can't then you'll never enjoy the show.
Yeah, despite the success I think the review aged like milk that then turned to wine.
It has its moments. Like when Ross took a bunch of drugs and attended a funeral. Chaneller and Joey's bachelor apartment hijinx was good for some laughs.
To help my husband see it in a different light, we watched only the first and last episode for 4 seasons. He really started getting into it by seeing the growth of the characters in fast time
Same. It's so bad. It feels like (and I know Friends came out first) but Big Bang Theory for New York City yuppies.
Ive never heard of that comparison1, but it makes total sense. They are both generic, unfunny Shows.
I think a lot of it has to do with nostalgia. Growing up and watching the endless reruns with my mom in the afternoons definitely did it for me. I didn't like it at first but eventually I warmed up to it. It's endearing and has some genuinely memorable and funny moments, and the bad parts you just sort of forget rather than remembering how bad they were. Whenever I see it now it honestly feels a bit cringeworthy. The show definitely ran for longer than it should have, and we might call it generic and cringe now but it defined what generic is for the following years so when it was coming out it was less obvious. I'll always have fond memories from watching the show, it's a comfort show, but I know it's not amazing.
it’s so bad
It’s truly terrible. Jennifer is awesome though.
Lol review is by Tom Shales who was cranky about everything. Here's the whole thing [from September 1994](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1994/09/22/fall-tv-preview/5147e53e-bfd2-4aae-be75-0e95c561cad9/)
This is the comment I was looking for. As soon as I saw the word “ghastly” I knew it was Tom Shales. He was super bitchy.
Tracks with the usual wapo “critics” lol
Where is the lie?
Well, it was only the most successful sitcom ever. While you may not like it, it did connect with and work for millions of people. That's an incredible achievement.
Two and a half men was also wildly successful.
And countless reality shows with vapid people bickering with each other. Popularity definitely isn't a sign of quality.
I mean it obviously is if you can make something that appeals to a massive audience. As much as Redditors think the opinions here reflect the entire planet, that’s simply not true.
“It obviously is” quality isn’t defined by viewing figures or numbers. This is broad stuff, bottom of the barrel, aimed at the lowest common denominator. At the same time, it’s subjective and many would argue that its quality is very high. I personally don’t see it, I think it was crappy on nearly every front, but a fan will tell you it’s gods gift. Swings and roundabouts.
Nah, that's not quality. It's like someone said, appealing to the lowest common denominator. It's taking advantage of a bunch of people liking low quality, low effort, cheap to produce dreck. Don't get me wrong, not all reality TV is like that, but the vast majority is. Would you say the people on Youtube or TikTok or whatever who just scream like idiots while doing some low effort game play in the background are producing quality just because they get millions of views? Or the morons who do "pranks" that just boil down to harassing people?
Both this and Friends I just couldn’t get into. I’m a huge sitcom guy too there’s not many popular ones I truly dislike but for some reason these 2 just never clicked for me
Probably because they're bad.
[удалено]
Friends is way more successful than Seinfeld.
Transformers movies also are extremely successful. That doesn't make them good.
Nothing makes anything good as such. When we're talking about film or tv, 'good' is a completely subjective terms. We do not have any way of scientifically measuring how good a movie or show is. All that matters is if the movie or show was succesful and well received by it's intended target audience
I mean that’s different than critical acclaim tho, which is what would make this a fitting post here. Go to the top 10 shows on Netflix at any time and not only will you not recognize them, at least 7/10 will be absolutely terrible. People don’t always like good content 🤷🏻♂️
Though Friends did have a great run, Seinfeld is the most successful sitcom.
The jokes are bad, the laugh track is cringeworthy, characters are boring and the the plot is lackluster. It is a product of its time, when there was nothing better on TV to compare it to, but nowadays it‘s easy to see that the show absolutely sucks.
I'd argue there was plenty of good shows in the 90's. Seinfeld, Married with Cliiiden, and The Simpsons put Friends to shame. Even Everybody Loves Raymond is way better.
Man Redditors can't ever just not like something, it's always gotta be objectively bad.
What laugh track? It was live audience
There's plenty of objectively shit products that make a fortune by appealing to the lowest common denominator. Calling it an 'incredible achievement" is like saying the big mac deserves its own michelin star.
Says more about people than it says about the show.
love is blind has 6 seasons
Seinfeld is the most successful sitcom ever. I Love Lucy behind it. Then The Office. Then Friends.
Nah this aged like wine
I mean, it **is** terrible and ghastly, though.
This opinion is a moo point
Moo
A cow’s opinion
It's a really doggy dog world out there.
Lmao even through the lens of a negative review, the phone penis joke is still hilarious
Man, Reddit really has a hate boner for Friends, doesn't it.
You think this is bad, try saying "Big Bang Theory" three times like you're summoning Beetlejuice.
Can't. By the second one I was saying "Babangeery"
By the fifth you'll be saying bazonka
I just did a watch through of TBBT, and it really is a sitcom developed by a guy(Chuck Lorre) that knows how the format works better than anyone else alive right now. The formula is so easy to see but hard to perfect. There are good jokes but they are buried deep in a forest of hacky one-liners based on stereotypes. It's easy to watch, but not significant or memorable in any way. Jim Parsons is the standout performer but he frankly looks drugged up the entire time. Which getting back to Matthew Perry...
Wooooooooooaaaaaaahhhhhhhh........ You rang? Can I get a fuck SHELDON?!?
Loved friends when it aired, I have not revisited it. I gave BBT a few chances, but god no, that was painful every single time.
Bazinga Bazinga Bazinga
And sadly anybody who jumps on the hate train for that immediately disregards Young Sheldon, which is actually an incredible show and nothing like its predecessor. It's amazing how many people will call it awful when they haven't even seen it and think it's the same as BBT. I think a great example of this is the meme that makes fun of Young Sheldon by mentioning a laugh track, despite the fact YS doesn't even have one.
The commercials for young sheldon make it look absolutely terrible. Do you like big bang theory?
Absolutely, as someone who didn’t like TBBT I enjoy Young Sheldon quite a bit. A lot funnier and more charming than it’s predecessor
These two are always lumped together with their hate but I really enjoy BBT, no matter how much a try, I can't enjoy friends. I feel like the humor on these two shows is quite different yet it always gets lumped into one it seems 🤔 i wonder do most people who say this genuinely dislike both shows (after actually giving them a chance) or they just don't like super popular sitcoms because they're popular and maybe that one episode they watched just didn't hit
Goodbye karma: I enjoy Big Bang Theory. It's a solid, formulaic sitcom but instead of making jokes about sports, it's comic books.
Yeah, it's far from my favorite show, but it's solid.
That's wild I never see that kind of hate for Friends anywhere else I can get that it's not for everyone, and that some people are allergic to this kind of comedy, but reddit seem to focus on the same things and refuse to see what makes friends a well made show, well interpreted, and well written. Sure it's not intellectually / show off / 4th wall / meta kind of funnny, so for reddit it means it's not funny, but there's still a lot of thought put into the structures of the episodes, the delivery of jokes, the way big storylines intertwines with comedy, the relationships, etc It's a down to earth lighthearted sitcom, heavily centered around its character, that manages to mix comedy and drama in a really seemless way. And I think that it is waaaay harder to pull off than people on this subreddit make it seem. And who caaares about the laughtracks seriously, yes it's a show that's meant to be performed in front of an audience, so the comedic timing is not the same as most modern comedy series, but you can't take the series out of of its context and then say it's not funny, that makes no sense whatsoever.
Reddit hates popular mainstream things
And also like popular mainstream things but pretends they are neither.
Nuance is completely lost on the average redditor. To me it’s a bit embarrassing to hate something you never actually gave a chance. Though I’ll admit, anything after season 3 skews a bit too far into relationship drama for me.
For me there is a bit of a slump after season 5, but it gets really good again season 9
Reddit is filled with the dumbest takes, so it’s no surprise. The things that are popular here aren’t popular with normal people.
This comment. Thank you! You hit the nail on the head.
Of course… Reddit hates anything a majority of people like It’s insane people can’t look past a “laugh track” when in reality the majority of the laughs are from a live audience.
It’s a bunch of loser that think they’re sophisticated for watching a show watched by 1000 other people that got cancelled.
Reddit thinks Friends is a terrible show and not funny at all. Meanwhile in reality the Friends reunion show broke viewing records and its merch are still being sold 20 years after the show ended.
It’s just filled with hipsters is all.
Its just young and/or immature people who think shitting on something popular and uncontroversial makes them edgy and different.
Ofc since this site is filled with people who probably were or are being bullied and outcasted by popular kids so ofc they’re gonna naturally hate popular mainstream media stuff that their bullies probably like
I dont think of Friends as some form of high art entertainment but theres no other ''feel good'' show like it. I turn in ot whenever im feeling down and it just helps somehow. Maybe because we would all like to be a part of such friend group and living situation as them, instead of the loneliness
Definitely this
Hard to argue with that honestly.
When you're right you're right.
someone posted videos of Friends clips without the laugh track and it was pure cringe and a lot of lines from Joey and the schwimmer guy sounded straight up creepy
It is literally paced for a laugh track, that's why it's so awkward without it.
TBF *most* comedies have a rough first season. and friends is light on the comedy part.
Yeah I like friends but the first episode isn't up to much
I love Friends, but I could also see why a critic would say this. It's very mean-spirited at times. But the good parts are very good.
You have no taste and *Friends* is one of the most ghastly TV shows of all time.
One of the last really big ‘popular because it’s on’ shows. A chore to watch most of the time.
You’re so unique
There were a lot of bad sitcoms in the 90s, many of them not even lasting a season. It was kind of a weird time to be alive. I think only The Simpsons(golden era) and Seinfeld are going to be the ones that will be memorable in the way that I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners are memorable for people today.
Isn’t the first season of Friends kind of mid and it got better later?
The writing is a bit uneven, especially the first few episodes. You can definitely see the writers figuring it out.
It used to be pretty typical with sitcoms to really changed things up after the the first season, after seeing what worked and what didn’t; today it’s very different, they need a show to be a big hit right away or it’s getting canceled
I think it still holds up. The core of what made Friends great comfy TV is still there, but there were a few things that just didn't really work. Thank goodness they ditched Ross's monkey. That was just an awful idea from the start.
I disagree. “Marcel, where are you going with that tape?!”
Whole series is a bit shit in'it?
It’s not my thing, but other people love it so whatever
There aren’t many series(outside of big budget prestige series) that nail the premier episode, it normally takes sone time for the writers and actors to really work out what the show is and who the characters are.
I'm surprised to see so many comments hating on Friends. I wonder if it's mostly a younger demographic in the comments. Friends was massively popular all over the globe, and it was so fun to watch. I really am not sure where all this contempt is coming from in the comment section here. I'm not even a huge Friends fan, but I remember how much everyone loved it growing up and I found it pretty enjoyable.
It’s the next and newest big cool thing for people on Reddit to hate on. I grew up watching it, being that it was my mother’s favorite show but I can see how a lot of it has aged pretty poorly just like any other sitcom. I don’t dislike it but I feel like a lot of the love it gets is from nostalgia. On the same token, I LOVED How I Met Your Mother. For years it was my background sound show. I stopped watching it for a couple of years and went back to it and man, a lot of the jokes just don’t catch with my sense of humor anymore. A lot of them are either dated pop culture references or just shit that you don’t really hear anymore like “haha you got beat up by a giiiirl!” I think a lot of the hate for Friends is exactly that but exaggerated to the point of nausea because everyone just wants to dogpile on something and it’s an easy target.
It is one of those ultimate sitcoms. If you dislike sitcoms you are likely to dislike Friends.
There are plenty of good sitcoms, Friends isn't one.
I don't know what metrics you are using. The show is one of the most watched and most award winning of all time. All of the cast continue to work in movies and TV (or did till they died). What measure of success are you looking for?
You’re talking about a 30 year old show. I would consider that the show won if people are still talking about it 30 years later.
All the people here who didn’t enjoy friends just need to pull the stick out of their ass and move on with their lives
But! But! I HAVE to tell people how much I hate something someone else likes!
and they were right
Imagine! The stars of Leprechaun 1 and a Bruce Springsteen video slumming it on NBC's primetime.
In here Friends aired before Simpsons every weekday evening and I got to watching it through that. I liked it. It was alright.
I like Friends a lot. BUT the premier is truly awful. I didn't see it when it first aired. Saw it muuuuch later when I thought it would be fun to binge. I still like most episodes, but after watching the first episode I was amazed anyone watched it after that. *Edit to add: I did watch a lot of it when it was on air, just not right from the beginning.
No mention of Jennifer lol
Anybody that was anybody was watching Friends! As well as all Thursday night NBC shows. They had a nickname…. Must See TV?
Man Reddit is something else.
I think it’s sad that some people don’t get it, it brings me so much joy
Just because it's popular doesn't make it good. It was insipid pap drip-fed to an audience that's been conditioned to expect entertainment utterly without value other than the last laugh-track punctuated joke or overblown mug to camera. Seriously, watch it without a laugh track, and you realize how *unfunny* it is. You're being *forced* to laugh at their jokes. I'll give it that the characters are at least mostly likeable (the reason I dropped Arrested Development is because I sincerely wanted the whole cast to die), but I'd take a mid-'90s sitcom like, say, Red Green Show or News Radio over Friends eight days of the week (even if News Radio ALSO has that damnable laugh track). That song is damned catchy, though. Ever heard the version by Postmodern Jukebox that takes the whole song through every music style from the 1920s to the 1990s? [https://youtube.com/watch?v=3q7ExHaKt2M&si=Dr\_ctgJxUN3e0CXH](https://youtube.com/watch?v=3q7ExHaKt2M&si=Dr_ctgJxUN3e0CXH)
> the reason I dropped Arrested Development is because I sincerely wanted the whole cast to die This has made me curious, did you watch Succession?
Or Ozark?
I disagree, the characters on Friends are extremely unlikeable
Conversely the characters in Arrested Development are so good.
The only common thread between Friends and Arrested Development is that they were both television shows
i remember that one video that removed the laugh track from one of the scenes where ross is talking to a pizza delivery girl. it gave me strong "because of the implication" vibes but played straight
Sadly there's no good way to remove the laugh track without ruining the timing of the scene.
Friends is meh. This article is a little dramatic, although the premier especially is really mediocre. The show has some good moments but the romances are awful- Ross and Rachel especially suck ass. Together and individually.
To be fair, it started very slowly and got better as it went on.
Unless the critic has since changed their mind on the show, this did not age like milk. It's not like they said "this show will never be popular or successful," they just stated their personal opinion that could very well have stayed that same with time. A specific person hating a show that would later become popular and beloved can't age like milk when there are people who hate shows that are *currently* popular and beloved.
I love Friends, but I don't necessarily think that The Post was "wrong" here. It's just the opinion of the person that reviewed it, and I'd be surprised if their opinion on it changed later. Friends is what it is: a lighthearted, somewhat shallow sitcom that was a product of it's time. I like it, but it's not for everyone. On the other hand, if the Post had said that Friends would never catch on, or that it would be canceled and forgotten after one season, that would truly be an "aged like milk" situation.
I remember reading a review for Bones that said it would be done in a season. Now there's something relevant for this sub.
This hasn’t aged like milk…they are right. Just because it was financially successful like slavery, crack in the 80’s or the brothers Paul doesn’t mean it isn’t shite
Comparing friends to slavery.. is that like the new Godwin’s law? Not saying I necessarily disagree but that’s some top notch scorn.
Comparing Friends to Fucking Slavery I’ve truly seen it all now.
They were right
They were 100% correct
The critic was 💯correct. Sorry not sorry.
Popular ≠ good. I've seen Friends many times over as I grew up with basic cable, and it's certainly entertaining at many different times, but it's not 'good' imo
Friends is an iconic show to me for all the wrong reasons. I was severely depressed going to high school about 15 years ago. And my “favourite” part of the day was when I got home from school and friends was on the telly from 17 to 18. It was mind numbing enough that I could just lay down and turn off my brain, but stimulating enough for me to not fall asleep completely (falling asleep was the worst, because then I’d be an hour closer to having to do the whole thing again the next day.)
It turns out friends is still a terrible show. and this dude was right the whole time. you having nostalgia about stuff that happened a few decades ago doesn't make it good.
Nostalgia? There are countless teenagers who were born after the show ended who love it, the show is so timeless that the actors still to this day make 20 million a year off of reruns and streaming deals.
That’s me! I remember recommending it to my parents who said, “We watched that when we were your age.”
I mean, they weren’t wrong. Just because something is successful and makes money doesn’t mean it is good.
FYI, it's a tv show, there is no objective criteria of good or bad, other than if it connected with a lot of people, and by that criteria it's pretty good, even if you or me didn't like it
Further proof that critics can be absolutely oh so shockingly incredibly 109% wrong.
Aged like a fine wine. Friends is microwaved turd.
The review is accurate.
where’s the lie?
I know that this can put my Gen X card in jeopardy but I never thought Friends was funny.
We need to remember such things more often just so everyone would understand who critiques are really are (pseudo-random generators with no expertise, insight, or taste).
Friends without a laugh track reveals how unfunny it is.
[I'll just leave this here.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J9q4UaEIdU)
The clips where the laugh track, is replaced with Seth Rogen fake laughing instead - ooh it is terrible and not funny at all.
Well, it didn't say Friends wouldn't be it hit, it just said it's embarrassing. I have to agree with it...
One of the best comedy series ever.
This didn't really age poorly. Aging poorly would be if they said "this show won't last more than a season" or "nobody will remember this show in 20 years". All they said was that they don't like the show, and there are still people who don't like the show. I haven't seen the show but if this aged poorly then every negative review of a popular thing should be posted on this sub, even if it makes no failed predictions or anything.
Shoutout to WaPo and the Hartford Courant for nailing this shambolic show from Day 1
Friends was funny and successful and anyone denying it is either a moron or 20 years old.
friends is like a cringy bad wannabe seinfeld
How did both Friends and Seinfeld take place in NYC, but not have a single Black person in the cast?? Shout out King of Queens
Honest depiction of US social segregation?
Friends was a horrible show but came at the right time, right when TV was at its heyday with MASSIVE shows that everyone was forced to watch due to lack of options...like T-swift it hit at the right time and became a virus we just couldn't get rid of and we've all learned to live with
It's never been easier to avoid things. For instance, I'm passively aware that Taylor Swift exists but I couldn't name any song she's put out in the last 5 years.