Friends Review!

 Alright! Today I am reviewing the hit NBC sitcom Friends, which is, quite possibly, the most popular television show of all time. Why that is we may never know, as several better shows have existed, but Friends is certainly agreeable. 

And that's how I'd describe Friends in general - agreeable. I barely finished watching the series two weeks ago (It took me three-ish months to watch the entire show) and I barely remember any of the episodes. Every episode has the same sort of feeling and vibe to them that they all blend together in an agreeable type of harmony. It's the type of show where I may not remember every episode perfectly, but upon rewatch, I will recognize and enjoy them (Like The Office or Parks and Rec). It's a good vibe.

When I first started watching, I was actually unentertained. Sure, the first season had some solid gags, but it wasn't that... great... season two and three made mild improvements, but I felt like the show actually had a good streak through seasons four and seven. Those seasons actually had consistently hilarious humor and heart to them that the rest of the show lacked. 

Seasons eight, nine, and ten lost a lot of that steam, though. Once a sitcom starts pulling the "I'm having a baby!" trope, expect a serious decline in quality, because the writers have run out of ideas. Friends should have ended two seasons sooner. Some episodes were good, but for the most part, it was Friends for the sake of Friends. And Paul Rudd. Paul Rudd just being there really improved those seasons, even if he wasn't doing much. 

Something I absolutely commend the show for is how great the cast is. Every friend - Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Monica, Joey, and Phoebe - has consistent importance to the plot. It's not like Ross and Rachel are the main characters and everyone else is in the background, most episodes hit a pretty perfect balance of making sure every friend was integral to the plot. I really liked that.

And I liked how each character had their own arc that they completed by the end of the series. Joey becomes a famous Day of Our Lives star (Which I honestly thought was a made-up show, I guess I live under a rock), Ross and Rachel get together, Chandler and Monica get together and eventually grow out of the city, and Phoebe... well, she's still Phoebe by the end of the show. No, "Smelly Cat" does not top the charts. 

Something I wasn't a big fan of was the laugh tracks. I get that they were the style at the time, but... they're so bad! They actively work against jokes and humor! So much runtime is padded by adding them! Oh well. Although, I did start to enjoy them by the end of the show. The audience losing it over the stupidest jokes made me laugh more than the jokes at times.

And did this series age well? Some of the jokes about the gay community didn't feel progressive to laugh at, and at some point, the "Ross married a lesbian!" joke wore out its welcome.

The only thing that aged worse than the jokes were the actors
*mic drop*

One of my favorite things about Friends was how, like, it wasn't really funny. I certainly laughing as much as I was during The Office, Community, or even DuckTales. It, like most other sitcoms from before 2000, isn't funny. It just had a "vibe" to it, like Cheers. One or two locations, a repeatable format, and likable enough characters to merit breathing it in for 10 seasons. 

I'm not watching Friends because I think I'll laugh - I'm watching it because it's agreeable. It's a solid waste of time, I enjoy watching these characters interact. It's not exactly Avatar: The Last Airbender where the eyes are glued to the screen, but it's a good thing to have in the background while you write a blog post or something. It's comfort food, basically. 

This does merit the question: Why was this so popular? Why was/is this the most popular TV show of all time? It's not like it's something special, it just has a good vibe to it. One of the most amusing things about watching Friends was imagining housewives with no lives tuning in every week to cry over the Ross/Rachel romance. 

One thing I do have to give Friends is the absolute weirdest way I've ever seen an actress's pregnancy incorporated into their TV show. Lisa Kudrow got pregnant during the fourth season, so instead of giving her a random love interest, they have her long-lost half-brother Frank and his wife (His senior and former teacher) need a surrogate mother, so they choose Phoebe, and then she gives birth to triplets. I mean... what? What were they smoking in the writer's room? 

I was actually really surprised at how well incorporated it was. Like, the show didn't drag, there was no "I feel the need for a baby!" build-up for half a season, Phoebe just got pregnant and then the babies went away. It was quick and efficient, and the show never dragged for it. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about Rachel's pregnancy. That... ugh. Friends didn't play that one well. 

Something Friends actually did really well were the Thanksgiving episodes. Those episodes were easily the highlights of their respective seasons. It even did the "clip show without the clip show" thing! Where the flashbacks were new material! Now I feel bad for giving Community all of that credit! So I enjoyed the ever-living crap out of that. 

On the other hand, Friends did have several actual clip show episodes. And given that I already find clip shows 1) A waste of time, 2) Actively ruin funny moments without the proper setup, and 3) Are wastes of time. So I wasn't too happy with how many Friends had. I mean, The Office had one. Friends had six. That was five too many. 

So, yeah, Friends. Definitely a show that aired, definitely a show that was watched. A show that I watched! 

Overall, I give Friends an 8/10. "Even though it had no right to be as popular as it was, Friends is solid comfort food."

Solid show. Not really great, but not really bad. Had a few gems.