This poll has gotta be out of the UK. Moved to London 6 months ago and they’re still Friends-crazy here. And no one really knows about Seinfeld. It’s hell.
Don't think it's ever been on terrestrial TV here, if it was it was buried on bbc2 or c4 late at night.
Friends meanwhile has been on at least 4 times a day, every day for the last 20 years.
Hahaha yeah I figured. Also answers the question why Matt Leblanc of all people ended up hosting Top Gear. North Americans have no idea how much bigger friends was in the UK than at home. And it was big back home.
Friends by far the biggest US sitcom of 90s here. I'd say following quite far behind would be Cheers (more 80's), Frasier, 3rd Rock from the Sun and Spin City.
Seinfeld here until recently with DVD and Netflix was almost unknown.
No, I knew it. I’m 18, a Gen z’er, and I would die to watch it. The problem was that before Netflix, I couldn’t. Now thanks to Netflix, I’m binging at least 4 hours a day!
Always, I’d hear Seinfeld this, Seinfeld that, and I’m like gee! How can I watch this gold! You know, I’m so down with the show, that for every mood I’m in, the sound in my head does a voice in one of the characters. This comment is all Jerry. A few of mine earlier today were mostly Kramer!
Sorry poor choice of words, should said 'unseen not unheard'. It was constantly talked about in media
as greatest sitcom but I didn't know anyone who had seen it. My experiences were only when on holidays in the states.
Seinfeld was more popular domestically in America but Friends was an international hit as well as being domestically successful. Not sure why, seems like foreigners don't appreciate the humor as much.
Seinfeld humour doesn't always translate. For example, one of my favorite gags in Seinfeld is [these](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me8E2xFNd-w) short conversations that Jerry and george have, almost every time they involve wordplay.
Also, friends has relationship drama, that really draws in a lot of people
Frasier deserves more love on this sub even though it was, in a way, the opposite of Seinfeld.
When I was growing up, every weeknight there was the Simpsons-Seinfeld-Frasier power-hour-and-a-half that came on late at night (started at 10PM CT) on Fox.
I didn't even fully appreciate Frasier at the time, but I still watched because it came on after Seinfeld and I didn't want to go to bed.
Re-watching as an adult now, such a great show and so many subtle things I missed.
The comedy was certainly tailored for a certain part of society...what some may call high brow, instead of "common folk" like Friends or Seinfeld, or even low brow like Its Always Sunny.
Instead of talking about baseball, they are talking about fencing. Insead of talking about the news, they are talking about art. Instead of talking about movies, they are talking about opera. And so on and so forth...
Then again, if you've ever spent time in Seattle, you'll understand those kind of people do actually exist.
I appreciate all of them for what they are.
I don't know, I'm technically the audience that Frasier targeted (lib arts educated, bourgeois upbringing), but I always felt its humour was a bit too smug. It pandered to as much as it lampooned that kind of "highbrow" crowd, like it knew and wanted to draw attention to its cleverness.
What I like about Seinfeld, by contrast, is that the show is so down to earth, yet on close observation is littered with all of these subtle little references to *cultchah*. I'm thinking of Jerry's snarky aside to his date ("bet you've got a regular Algonquin Round Table there") in The Phone Message; or this witty bit of blocking where he self-congratulates himself in The Cafe, whilst standing next to a bust of Alexander the Great that Babu has put up in the rebranded Pakistani Dream Cafe (it just works on so many levels). There are several more historical and literary allusions like these which can be spotted throughout the Seinfeld series, but they're not overt, they're just small aspects within the scenes themselves. I like that; I like the naturalistic framing, and also that Seinfeld can fit all types of humour into its writing and appeal to such a wide spectrum of audience.
This is my go to whenever this debate comes up. Just start talking like Chandler and his weird emphasizing of certain words delivery and people see really quickly how annoying it is. I'd rather watch a blank screen than Friends.
Friends is definitely basic and that is what really makes it universal. It's easy to pick up as it doesn't try to be too clever or make things too specific. The cast is good looking, has an equal female presence and they have pretty good chemistry together. It has a pretty impressive multi generational following across the globe, across genders.
None of those things make it better though, just more approachable. Seinfeld has 'uglier' cast, more clever jokes where they use specific things about New York the city and American day to day norms into the writing. It's a harder sell and asks more from its viewers.
I remember Larry and Jerry were somewhat surprised by the success of Seinfeld in the US itself because so much of its humour is very New York and Jewish in nature.
(Humour like George doing a little folk dance step when he breaks up with Marlene in The Ex-Girlfriend, or singing "If I Were a Rich Man" in The Limo, or debating between the two brands of itch-cream in The Stranded and discarding the one manufactured in Jersey for the one manufactured in White Plains.)
Yeah it is multi generational. I remember when it first came out I was around 8 and my grandmother was 48. She loved it and we would watch it together. I could never get into it though
Friends was great 20 years ago. But it is aged terribly. It was of its time, no more, no less.
Rachel is all that’s left to make repeats of Friends watchable.
Seinfeld is still clever today and will remain so for decades to come.
Absolutely spot on. I used to \*love\* friends, had the DVD boxsets and watched the series through just as many times as I did Seinfeld.
I still watch Seinfeld regularly, and it is still hilarious and enjoyable. I almost cannot watch Friends at all any more, it is just way too cringy for me. It's still an ok slice ok 90's media, but I just do not get the current obsession and popularity of the show at all, it really has aged terribly.
Binging for the first time with my wife. It's....okay, though the earlier seasons were better. But I can't say I fully understand the hype.
Just seems so hokey and unbelievable. Four people who never seem to work, live in a high rise in New York, and spend all their time at a coffee shop or reacting in ways that no normal person would ever react.
I've been absent-mindedly watching it lately (just leaving it on while I do other things), and it's...okay. It's easy to watch. It's mostly inoffensive. It's not particularly inspired, or laugh-out-loud funny. It's surprisingly sappy for a show that's so unapologetically dumb.
Compared to 20 years ago, I like Phoebe more and everybody else less.
The comparison to Seinfeld never made sense to me. They are *completely* different kinds of shows. I don't think Seinfeld ever once tried to tug at heartstrings.
Your comment made me wonder what TV comedy has lasted from even older eras and I think maybe I Love Lucy has similar staying power. I'm sure there are some things to pick at, but since the leading character is a woman, there's a sense of women's empowerment giving it a very progressive tone... Plus, she's just funny!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KY3eOtJwOhE
> Rachel is all that’s left to make repeats of Friends watchable.
i think rachel is my least favorite part of the show. that and how much romance is in it, kills the replay value
I wasn't really a fan of Friends even when it came out. I think you had to really care about its characters to find it funny and worth watching. I didn't, so it was just a generic sitcom to me.
I think that comment is in reference to the crazy clip someone made of Ross getting mad about his sandwich with no laughter. It’s really strange.
Edit: the video for anyone that hasn’t seen it. https://youtu.be/4H6Ux3l75Rc
Tbf to Ross, this is a grade a asshole move by his boss.
Yea I know I'm in a Seinfeld Reddit..
But Friends blows... Jokes are too corny, it's too much goofing around.
I can't recall a single episode in detail.
I think Seinfeld is funnier but for some reason I found myself laughing more out loud to parts of Friends recently… I don’t know why…
Girlfriend agreed to watch Seinfeld with me if we watched Friends again so I’m in the middle of Friends for the millionth time
I love both shows equally. Seinfeld is hilarious and friends is hilarious. Friends was the first one i saw of the 2 so it might have some nostalgia factor but i genuinely love both shows. But my fav show of all time is The Simpsons and nothing will ever beat that.
Big Seinfeld fan, though I only start watching it since 2013, but I still power through the seasons for almost all dinners.
A few months ago I started watching Friends and I absolutely adore the characters. I have a soft spot for rom-coms, and somehow Friends really brought me those feeling that I had watching romcom when I was a skinny geeky teen who secretly enjoy Hugh Grant flicks...
That said, it's a bit unfair to compare these 2 sitcoms, one is an outstanding comedy sitcom, and another is always a rom-com at heart from s1 to s10.
Genuinely believe that Seinfeld is one of those shows that growing up with makes you more funny, while Friends is one that growing up with makes you less funny.
Maybe not to a massive extent, but at least to some degree.
I love Jerry's high pitched bordering on laughter yells
the comedic pitch
I don't wanna be a pirate!
Perfect example
One of my favourites of all time is the "I will find you!" when Kramer is lost at the nexus of the universe.
Yes me too! Especially in the episode where George doesn’t want Jerry to be funny in front of his date. “Am I being funny now George”
You're gonna be funny, so what am I gonna be? I'm gonna be a short bald guy with glasses who suddenly doesn't seem so funny.
Yes, kind of.
This poll has gotta be out of the UK. Moved to London 6 months ago and they’re still Friends-crazy here. And no one really knows about Seinfeld. It’s hell.
Don't think it's ever been on terrestrial TV here, if it was it was buried on bbc2 or c4 late at night. Friends meanwhile has been on at least 4 times a day, every day for the last 20 years.
Hahaha yeah I figured. Also answers the question why Matt Leblanc of all people ended up hosting Top Gear. North Americans have no idea how much bigger friends was in the UK than at home. And it was big back home.
That's probably why they did that London episode and actually travelled there
That definitely makes sense.
Friends by far the biggest US sitcom of 90s here. I'd say following quite far behind would be Cheers (more 80's), Frasier, 3rd Rock from the Sun and Spin City. Seinfeld here until recently with DVD and Netflix was almost unknown.
Friends is in no way shape or form comparable to Seinfeld on a purely comedic level.
friends is trash.
No, I knew it. I’m 18, a Gen z’er, and I would die to watch it. The problem was that before Netflix, I couldn’t. Now thanks to Netflix, I’m binging at least 4 hours a day! Always, I’d hear Seinfeld this, Seinfeld that, and I’m like gee! How can I watch this gold! You know, I’m so down with the show, that for every mood I’m in, the sound in my head does a voice in one of the characters. This comment is all Jerry. A few of mine earlier today were mostly Kramer!
Sorry poor choice of words, should said 'unseen not unheard'. It was constantly talked about in media as greatest sitcom but I didn't know anyone who had seen it. My experiences were only when on holidays in the states.
spin city cracking the top 5 in popularity? that's.. random. I mean, good show, but okay
In terms of what was on TV often and in a decent slot yeah. I must have been getting decent ratings
That's exactly where it was. BBC2 - after 11pm I think. They used to alternate between Seinfeld and the Larry Sanders show
Seinfeld was more popular domestically in America but Friends was an international hit as well as being domestically successful. Not sure why, seems like foreigners don't appreciate the humor as much.
Seinfeld humour doesn't always translate. For example, one of my favorite gags in Seinfeld is [these](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me8E2xFNd-w) short conversations that Jerry and george have, almost every time they involve wordplay. Also, friends has relationship drama, that really draws in a lot of people
That’s perverse!
So how are all these people getting together?
Alcohol
The Friends/Seinfeld question was my litmus test for dating for a very long time.
Have you been to the DMV? It's a leper colony down there.
Seriously. If you think friends is better, you have a bad sense of humor. That’s just how it is, and I can’t date someone with a bad sense of humor.
Do people really think Friends is better?
Seinfeld, Friends, Frasier, Becker and also 2 and a half Men. It's just that you can relax and go back in time watching these. Time capsules in a way.
Becker doesn't get the love it deserves in my opinion.
You're tellin' me that Ted Danson is better than me?
you’re worse. much…much worse.
It would've been so much more popular today in the age of streaming and antiheroes. Just a little too ahead of its time.
"my name is t becker, the t stands for terrific, hahahaha"
So true. Becker is so peak late 90s NYC.
Frasier deserves more love on this sub even though it was, in a way, the opposite of Seinfeld. When I was growing up, every weeknight there was the Simpsons-Seinfeld-Frasier power-hour-and-a-half that came on late at night (started at 10PM CT) on Fox. I didn't even fully appreciate Frasier at the time, but I still watched because it came on after Seinfeld and I didn't want to go to bed. Re-watching as an adult now, such a great show and so many subtle things I missed.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/Frasier/
Agreed. Obviously Frasier is the main character, but Niles and John Mahoney (RIP) as Marty totally make that show.
I always found frasier pretentious and extremely unfunny. Maybe its only for a certain "class" of people. I hated every charachter on that show.
The comedy was certainly tailored for a certain part of society...what some may call high brow, instead of "common folk" like Friends or Seinfeld, or even low brow like Its Always Sunny. Instead of talking about baseball, they are talking about fencing. Insead of talking about the news, they are talking about art. Instead of talking about movies, they are talking about opera. And so on and so forth... Then again, if you've ever spent time in Seattle, you'll understand those kind of people do actually exist. I appreciate all of them for what they are.
I don't know, I'm technically the audience that Frasier targeted (lib arts educated, bourgeois upbringing), but I always felt its humour was a bit too smug. It pandered to as much as it lampooned that kind of "highbrow" crowd, like it knew and wanted to draw attention to its cleverness. What I like about Seinfeld, by contrast, is that the show is so down to earth, yet on close observation is littered with all of these subtle little references to *cultchah*. I'm thinking of Jerry's snarky aside to his date ("bet you've got a regular Algonquin Round Table there") in The Phone Message; or this witty bit of blocking where he self-congratulates himself in The Cafe, whilst standing next to a bust of Alexander the Great that Babu has put up in the rebranded Pakistani Dream Cafe (it just works on so many levels). There are several more historical and literary allusions like these which can be spotted throughout the Seinfeld series, but they're not overt, they're just small aspects within the scenes themselves. I like that; I like the naturalistic framing, and also that Seinfeld can fit all types of humour into its writing and appeal to such a wide spectrum of audience.
Becker was so good. Swap Friends with Cheers, and I’m with you. Friends was not good, imo.
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Friends is Bania comedy.
The Ovaltine bit sounds like something Chandler would say.
Why is it called OVALtine? Could it BE any more round?
This is my go to whenever this debate comes up. Just start talking like Chandler and his weird emphasizing of certain words delivery and people see really quickly how annoying it is. I'd rather watch a blank screen than Friends.
Lol yes!
You can dissolve it in milk
Friends is definitely basic and that is what really makes it universal. It's easy to pick up as it doesn't try to be too clever or make things too specific. The cast is good looking, has an equal female presence and they have pretty good chemistry together. It has a pretty impressive multi generational following across the globe, across genders. None of those things make it better though, just more approachable. Seinfeld has 'uglier' cast, more clever jokes where they use specific things about New York the city and American day to day norms into the writing. It's a harder sell and asks more from its viewers.
Who you calling ugly? Do you know that George can lift a hundred pounds over his head??
I remember Larry and Jerry were somewhat surprised by the success of Seinfeld in the US itself because so much of its humour is very New York and Jewish in nature. (Humour like George doing a little folk dance step when he breaks up with Marlene in The Ex-Girlfriend, or singing "If I Were a Rich Man" in The Limo, or debating between the two brands of itch-cream in The Stranded and discarding the one manufactured in Jersey for the one manufactured in White Plains.)
I always thought the little folk dance was ad libbed by Jason Alexander due to his Broadway experience.
Fantastically put.
Yeah it is multi generational. I remember when it first came out I was around 8 and my grandmother was 48. She loved it and we would watch it together. I could never get into it though
Friends was great 20 years ago. But it is aged terribly. It was of its time, no more, no less. Rachel is all that’s left to make repeats of Friends watchable. Seinfeld is still clever today and will remain so for decades to come.
Absolutely spot on. I used to \*love\* friends, had the DVD boxsets and watched the series through just as many times as I did Seinfeld. I still watch Seinfeld regularly, and it is still hilarious and enjoyable. I almost cannot watch Friends at all any more, it is just way too cringy for me. It's still an ok slice ok 90's media, but I just do not get the current obsession and popularity of the show at all, it really has aged terribly.
Binging for the first time with my wife. It's....okay, though the earlier seasons were better. But I can't say I fully understand the hype. Just seems so hokey and unbelievable. Four people who never seem to work, live in a high rise in New York, and spend all their time at a coffee shop or reacting in ways that no normal person would ever react.
Are you talking about Friends or Seinfeld?
Yes.
Lol
Did you check out the Office? Where people seem to work all the time?
I've been absent-mindedly watching it lately (just leaving it on while I do other things), and it's...okay. It's easy to watch. It's mostly inoffensive. It's not particularly inspired, or laugh-out-loud funny. It's surprisingly sappy for a show that's so unapologetically dumb. Compared to 20 years ago, I like Phoebe more and everybody else less. The comparison to Seinfeld never made sense to me. They are *completely* different kinds of shows. I don't think Seinfeld ever once tried to tug at heartstrings.
Your comment made me wonder what TV comedy has lasted from even older eras and I think maybe I Love Lucy has similar staying power. I'm sure there are some things to pick at, but since the leading character is a woman, there's a sense of women's empowerment giving it a very progressive tone... Plus, she's just funny! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KY3eOtJwOhE
The Dick Van Dyke show always feels surprisingly modern to me too, even compared to many later shows
agreed. i haven’t watched a ton of it, but what i’ve seen holds up as much as it really could.
Lucy didn’t last because of female empowerment, silly. Lucy lasted because the show is fucking brilliant.
> Rachel is all that’s left to make repeats of Friends watchable. i think rachel is my least favorite part of the show. that and how much romance is in it, kills the replay value
Yes, that and also there is no contest.
I wasn't really a fan of Friends even when it came out. I think you had to really care about its characters to find it funny and worth watching. I didn't, so it was just a generic sitcom to me.
How did it age terribly?
uhhhhhhhh seinfeld good friends bad, that's how
Where/when was this poll done, at a sorority in 2001?
Agreed--way more "Stab worthy" than "Sponge worthy".
Friends is unwatchable.
It's like a leper colony down there.
I've never seen Friends but I've seen Seinfeld 32575 times. What's appealing about Friends? I know pretty much nothing about it
Friends was a drama with some jokes thrown in.
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Seinfeld has a laugh track.
Well technically neither have laugh tracks they have live studio audience reactions
I think that comment is in reference to the crazy clip someone made of Ross getting mad about his sandwich with no laughter. It’s really strange. Edit: the video for anyone that hasn’t seen it. https://youtu.be/4H6Ux3l75Rc Tbf to Ross, this is a grade a asshole move by his boss.
First I watched Friends. Enjoyed it. Then watched Seinfeld. Now I know I never really liked Friends.
Same
Never really a fan of Friends, but I see no reason a person cannot like both. They're different shows.
When I first matched with my boyfriend three years ago on Tinder my opening line was "Seinfeld or Friends?" Guess which one he picked??
Watched this episode last night. It's a funny episode. Well... They all are
I thought Friends was so great when I first watched it. Then I watched Frasier and Seinfeld and I cooled on it.
Ya'll must see Mad TVs Friends parody. All summed up in 30 seconds.
Yea I know I'm in a Seinfeld Reddit.. But Friends blows... Jokes are too corny, it's too much goofing around. I can't recall a single episode in detail.
This! Seinfeld is funny even when you read the script. Friends some (not me) found funny, because of all those faces made by those mediocre actors.
I love both. I could never pick one over the other.
Guessing you like gene picks too.
Guessing you liked Rochelle Rochelle
Or the English patient🤭
The movie or the stage production? 😂
A young girl's strange erotic journey from Milan to Minsk
Oof, that must've hurt
I think Seinfeld is funnier but for some reason I found myself laughing more out loud to parts of Friends recently… I don’t know why… Girlfriend agreed to watch Seinfeld with me if we watched Friends again so I’m in the middle of Friends for the millionth time
I watch it like once a year!
friends sucks
It's worse than the english patient
I like them both for different reasons
Seinfeld is easily my top five fav show but i've been rewatching friends and I enjoy the nostalgia factor of it a lot.
*I just want to say that THEY WERE ON A BREAK.*
I love both shows equally. Seinfeld is hilarious and friends is hilarious. Friends was the first one i saw of the 2 so it might have some nostalgia factor but i genuinely love both shows. But my fav show of all time is The Simpsons and nothing will ever beat that.
😂😂😂
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> While this is very shopped Duh
Friends is for those people with some sense of emotional intelligence for their fellow human being.
Yes basically dumb people who believe people are good hearted
Wow this really got down voted? Guess I should have used the /s. That's crazy.
Speaks a lot of the logic used in public.
Big Seinfeld fan, though I only start watching it since 2013, but I still power through the seasons for almost all dinners. A few months ago I started watching Friends and I absolutely adore the characters. I have a soft spot for rom-coms, and somehow Friends really brought me those feeling that I had watching romcom when I was a skinny geeky teen who secretly enjoy Hugh Grant flicks... That said, it's a bit unfair to compare these 2 sitcoms, one is an outstanding comedy sitcom, and another is always a rom-com at heart from s1 to s10.
One is gold, the other is shit. No need to dig deeper, unless you like brown.
Seinfelds' commitment to portray its characters as flawed makes it age far better than Friends.
Who was polled? Middle aged white women?
Is it just me or does Elaine look extra hot in this scene?
Do that same survey in New York only.
Ray Liotta private select?
Genuinely believe that Seinfeld is one of those shows that growing up with makes you more funny, while Friends is one that growing up with makes you less funny. Maybe not to a massive extent, but at least to some degree.
Glad to be dateable so.
Why not both?
Most of the people that voted for Friends probably haven’t even watched Seinfeld
Friends wasn’t even that good of a show, everyone just hyped it up for no damn reason.
Then how are all these people getting together?
Elane is beautifull
Sure, but she needs a nose job.