Have you seen the show FRIENDS?

[Telekinetic-Potato]

Maybe I'm not starting at the right place. My dad can't believe I don't like it.

It's kinda boring. And the jokes aren't funny.

Fresh prince of bell-air was hilarious. I still put it on sometimes.

I think FRIENDS would be easier for me to watch if apartments didn't cost 2k a month I dunno.

[DJB72]

Perhaps if you'd experienced life as an adult before 9/11 you'd appreciate it more.

It was groundbreaking at the time to include a same-sex relationship and marriage (Ross's ex-wife), suicide (Phoebe's mum and the caller to her line selling toner), honesty in children's songs (guest Chris Isaac) and a slew of other issues. It may not be as relevant to anyone under 40 today, but the rest of us all faced challenges of shifting from landlines to pagers to cell phones over that decade.

Just because you can't relate doesn't mean it's not funny to others. I rarely laugh at modern comedies because they're written for kids of 25 today. I can't identify with that.

[Telekinetic-Potato]

You say that but I literally almost died laughing Airplane and The Naked Gun. OJ Simpson getting shot up as a cop, falling into wet paint, burning his hand on a stove and getting pied is one of the funniest things ever put to film.

The butler from fresh prince by himself was more funny than all of FRIENDS put together.

When Phil said "Geoffrey! Get me my tools!"

And then he says "you mean youuur foooork and ya kniiife sir"

That was memorable, I saw that when I was probably 8. I will never forget it. I remember where I was. I have a terrible memory.

I can't remember one time I laughed at anything I saw in friends.

Even Get Smart was funny. Fuck, Gilligan's island was funnier.

[DJB72]

Airplane and Naked Gun were rooted in the humour of the 70s. More slapstick than Friends was. Fresh Prince was a different style again, but it relied on a certain amount of slapstick as well.

Comedy is absolutely subjective. If it's funny to you then it's funny. If it's not to me then it isn't. Even if we're watching the same show.

[MrOracle]

Friends is an example of a show that was written to be extremely popular at the time, but that also means it feels a bit dated today. Society has changed so much - with Internet, smartphones, and dating apps (and the massive changes in attitude and priorities those have brought) that it's harder to relate now.

Plus, it really was never very realistic. None of them could have possibly afforded the lifestyles they were depicted as living - though that's very common among TV shows.

You really have to have some nostalgia for the era to really enjoy the show.

[TsundereMatrix]

I watched a few episodes and I couldn’t get into it. It wasn’t as funny to me as other people told me.

[Anonymous]

I tried to give it a go but I found it overrated. I much prefer How I Met Your Mother tbh.

[ArrowheadSW]

I never really got in to that show. I watched it several times but it just didn't click with me. I was more into "Seinfeld" for sure.

[buzzword]

Friends was a shitty show they tried to plug into a time slot when Seinfeld ended. It was pushed hard by the media, but I don't know anyone that actually liked it. Most people liked Seinfeld back then. Married... with Children was huge. Fresh Prince of bell-air was kind of popular. The Simpsons were pretty popular in the beginning.

[MrOracle]

You're being disingenuous. Friends was the most popular show on TV for 4 years (their last 4 year) after years of building an audience. It might not have been popular among your peer group - fair enough - but to suggest that it wasn't popular just isn't true.

Not everything that is popular is excellent - especially over time - but its popularity at the time - and even today - can't be denied. It's STILL one of the most viewed shows on TV, and often gets better ratings than brand new shows, despite being 25 years old.

As I said earlier, I agree that it's not as relevant today as it was - society has changed a ton in a short time - and there were still dud episodes at the time - but the sustained ratings can't be denied.

[buzzword]

@MrOracle No you're being disingenuous because my wording directly speaks to my personal opinion of the show and observations of people I personally know. All you have shown is that you can't be honest.

[Telekinetic-Potato]

I think he just misunderstood the part where you said you didn't think anyone actually liked it. Personally, I didn't read that literally.

[buzzword]

In the 90s I went through middle school and high school. I rode the bus full of kids. I regularly had 15-20 people in my house most afternoons or passed through other people's homes with groups of friends. I slept over friends houses most weekends. I interacted with sports teams, people's parents, people siblings, worked jobs with groups of low wage workers, etc. I had a lot of contact with a lot of people. I was a pretty popular young man. When I threw keg parties back in the 1990s it wasn't uncommon for over a thousand people to show up. I can tell you without a doubt nobody I knew liked friends. People often complained that the broadcast TV time slot for Seinfeld was replaced with this shirty show Freinds. Back then most people didn't have cable TV and Internet TV wasn't a thing. Friends was a time when you turn off your TV and went and did your home work for school, called your girlfriend on the phone, played video games, or popped in a VHS tape and watched a movie. Friends at the time was unpopular across all age groups. I remember parents (not just mine) thinking it was stupid. They would switch the channel or go do something like read the newspaper or do dishes, but they all seemed to love Tim the Tool Man Taylor from Home Improvement.

[buzzword]

When I search the internet, I see that Generation Z the Zoomers are who seem to like Friends, so that seems to be what boosted it's popularity. Generation Z are a bunch of kids that grew up in front of their computers or cell phones, so they don't really have social skills or know what it''s like to have real friends. So I can see how they might latch unto and possibly mimic some artificial lifestyle that people from previous generations would think was dumb. Either that or it's something that Generation x promoted to generation Z, being Generation X was their parents. That said, I have a sibling from the tail end of Generation X and I often hung out with his social circle growing up and they all hated the show friends as well. Maybe it was popular with the beginning to middle of Gen X, but it was very unpopular with the tail end of Gen X, Millennials, and Boomers in my geographic area.

[shanshu]

I think you had to be watching it at that time when it pretty much aired to get the humour at the time.

Right now I'm watching vampire diaries, my friends love it but I don't think it's all that great but I'm watching it for them so I can get into conversation with them.

Do the same, humour your dad and watch it, do it as a bonding exercise.

[exitseven]

It was not realistic. In real life Ross would get mugged by a fentanyl addict and Phoebe would get raped by an illegal alien. Chandler would be pushed off a subway platform by a crazy person and Their apartment building was taken over by the state to house illegals aliens.

[Telekinetic-Potato]

Haha, OK I think that maybe makes me feel a little better. Because it was really pissing me off watching that. I mean, obviously no one was living in a place that spacious making 35k/yr but... I hate our politicians so much dude

[exitseven]

@Telekinetic-Potato Illegal liens are living in 5 star hotels for free and they all make (receive from the taxpayers ), more than 35K / year.

[Telekinetic-Potato]

35k in the early 2000's is like 60k now it's ridiculous.

[exitseven]

It is estimated that each illegal alien gets between 35,000 and 50,000 in benefits. This was 3 years ago. I bet it is more now,

[NathanDavis]

actually... in the show, Phoebe did mug Ross, and probably to keep up with his drug use, because she did live on the streets, lol

[AviatorTom]

I watched many Friends episodes. The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother are better shows for showing relationships among people.

[exitseven]

I liked How I Met Your Mother as well.

[HawkPerception]

I think it's a bit of an overrated show. My ex made me watch it almost entirely. I was never that into it. It was somewhat funny at times and I laughed a some jokes, but it never made me die of laughter like some other comedies/pranks I've seen.

[jamesgoldman]

2 episodes in French

That was enough for a lifetime

[NathanDavis]

I've seen it more than once, more than twice... more than three times... each episode

[jordynthedecayer99]

I seen it. It’s a pretty good show just too much inappropriate stuff for younger viewers

[beefcakebradybatson]

I tried to watch "Friends," but it was FAR TOO WHITE;almost zero black characters in one-quarter-black New York City.

[Wiredone]

I've seen an episode or two. It's just not my type of show

[Jmmmfi4]

OH GOOD LORD... FUCK THOSE IDIOTS AND THAT SHOW.

[DrPepper12]

Proud to say I've never watched it!!

[Miristheiss]

Favorite show ever.

[Drumlin2001]

Yep. Watched it all the way through more than once

[Maybeyoutoo]

I watched a few episodes but got bored.

[OddBeMe]

Only the opera.

[noohair]

To each his own.

[power_wolf]

good show

[Anonymous]

Yep..