I'm not a big fan of happy innocent humor, nor a fan of rom-com/chick flick types...but Friends is on another level from the standard for any of these simply because of two things: the depth and consistency of the characters, and the writing.
Friends spanned over 10 full seasons, and 236 episodes over 10 years, and sure the earlier seasons were best but that's a heck of a lot of hours to fill with punchlines, jokes and consistent character development.
As we look back, the cast for the main characters was probably as close to perfect as possible. It had gesture comedy (Ross), dry sarcasm (Chandler), it had surrealistic comedy (Phoebe and her absurd shenanigans), it had the dumb likable guy (Joey), it had the pretty but tyrannical female lead (Monica) and it had the hot but bratty girl next door (Rachel). With those actors and that level of writing, shot in pleasant settings that would become legendary (the apartment and the cafe) Friends were surely on their way to little screen immortality. Not to mention a serious, serious cult following that almost immediately sparked and is still going as strong today. Who today has never heard the Janice laugh or her "OMG" line, who has never heard the theme song, who doesn't know Jennifer Aniston ?
Interestingly, Friends followed the stories of 30 somethings so the target audience wasn't so much teenagers or necessarily the younger audience (as is often the case with trendy series) and catered more to the Generation X members who were struggling with the 90s fast paced city life. That same generation that progressively pulled away from old century society and into the new millennium, with all of its novelties: the internet and rapid technological changes. Friends represents that transition in time. A bit like Seinfeld, it highlighted the growing individualism of the standard big city dweller. Series were slowly moving from a family-centric scope in past decades to this: the tumultuous adventures of young single men and women in New York City. Ironically enough, SPOILER: Chandler and Monica transfer from the urban to a suburban setting at the end of the story to bring up their child.
All in all, Friends has a very strong nostalgic grip on countless numbers of viewers, perhaps because it reminds people of a time they considered the golden age in their lives, easier times, times when shows had a certain substance to them. It will always be one of the easiest shows to watch because it ticked all the right boxes: funny, original, a more or less compelling story, lovable characters, and that little extra something that made it not so much addictive but rather just very enjoyable. It didn't rely on crass humor, vulgarity, sexuality or violence, or on being political. It was just a fun ride, nothing more nothing less.
7.5/10.
Friends spanned over 10 full seasons, and 236 episodes over 10 years, and sure the earlier seasons were best but that's a heck of a lot of hours to fill with punchlines, jokes and consistent character development.
As we look back, the cast for the main characters was probably as close to perfect as possible. It had gesture comedy (Ross), dry sarcasm (Chandler), it had surrealistic comedy (Phoebe and her absurd shenanigans), it had the dumb likable guy (Joey), it had the pretty but tyrannical female lead (Monica) and it had the hot but bratty girl next door (Rachel). With those actors and that level of writing, shot in pleasant settings that would become legendary (the apartment and the cafe) Friends were surely on their way to little screen immortality. Not to mention a serious, serious cult following that almost immediately sparked and is still going as strong today. Who today has never heard the Janice laugh or her "OMG" line, who has never heard the theme song, who doesn't know Jennifer Aniston ?
Interestingly, Friends followed the stories of 30 somethings so the target audience wasn't so much teenagers or necessarily the younger audience (as is often the case with trendy series) and catered more to the Generation X members who were struggling with the 90s fast paced city life. That same generation that progressively pulled away from old century society and into the new millennium, with all of its novelties: the internet and rapid technological changes. Friends represents that transition in time. A bit like Seinfeld, it highlighted the growing individualism of the standard big city dweller. Series were slowly moving from a family-centric scope in past decades to this: the tumultuous adventures of young single men and women in New York City. Ironically enough, SPOILER: Chandler and Monica transfer from the urban to a suburban setting at the end of the story to bring up their child.
All in all, Friends has a very strong nostalgic grip on countless numbers of viewers, perhaps because it reminds people of a time they considered the golden age in their lives, easier times, times when shows had a certain substance to them. It will always be one of the easiest shows to watch because it ticked all the right boxes: funny, original, a more or less compelling story, lovable characters, and that little extra something that made it not so much addictive but rather just very enjoyable. It didn't rely on crass humor, vulgarity, sexuality or violence, or on being political. It was just a fun ride, nothing more nothing less.
7.5/10.