Listen Up...American Sitcom 'Friends' Is Objectively Terrible

Far Out Magazine ^ | FRI 6TH MAY 2022 | Mick McStarkey

[A Navy Vet]

Like most 3 camera sit-coms, it was about the facial reactions to others’ dialog. I loved it and still enjoy the re-runs.

[T.B. Yoits]

'Friends' was a show about whiny, sniveling soy boys and idiot girls set in a ridiculously white and clean New York City, as though funded by a gay tourism board.

[EEGator]

I only watched Cheers of those three, and Cheers was better.

[Agatsu77]

Total waste of time.

[CrazyCatChick]

The Simpsons is more iconic than Friends ever dreamed of being.

[KarlInOhio]

The first time Phoebe watches the end of Old Yeller was my favorite. “Okay, what kind of sick doggy snuff film is this?”

[E. Pluribus Unum]

A series about nothing would be so much better.

[dfwgator]

Yep, I would say Lisa Kudrow definitely had the best comedy chops of the actors on the show.

[Dr. Sivana]

You cannot deny that Friends is perhaps the most iconic TV show of all time.

Why not, Mick? I can and I do.

I do, too. From WIkipedia:

The overall rating of 67.3 for the entire 1952 season of I Love Lucy continues to be the highest average rating for any single season of a TV show. I Love Lucy ranked highly in the Nielsen ratings throughout its entire run.

In 2015, a colorized Christmas special pulled in 7 million viewers on CBS. Does anyone think ANY episode of "Friends" would pull that in 2060?

I took my entire family to see colorized "I Love Lucy" episodes on the big screen. We had a blast. Even the youngsters who never saw the show before.

Iconic means part of TV history. In the beginning of Television that means "I Love Lucy" with "Texaco Start Theatre" as a VERY distant runner-up.

I actually prefer "Burns and Allen", but Lucy and Desi were amazing and are the definition of "iconic".

"Friends" stars are earning about $19 million a year off the repeats.
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/friends-stars-big-money-reruns-sitcom-year

Last I read Lucy was pulling in over $20 million per year, still!

Also, Desi Arnaz spent $500 for filming episodes so there COULD be high-quality reruns (that's why they look so much better than "The Honeymooners" and "Burns and Allen" which were on kinescope). He is credited with "inventing" the TV rerun. What is more iconic than that?

[Dr. Sivana]

The Simpsons is more iconic than Friends ever dreamed of being.

While I pull for "I Love Lucy", a case can certainly be made for "The Simpsons".

[outofsalt]

"A very limited, millennial perspective."

And what have they produced for posterity? Real Housewives and I am Jazz...

[dynachrome]

“Frasier”

I think the most I had laughed in along time was the episode when a rotting dolphin(?) had to be disposed of.

[Antoninus]

Never watched a full episode even though I am squarely in the age group that it was aimed at when it came out. Unlike Seinfeld, where the main characters were losers and were understood to be such and mocked relentlessly, the main characters in Friends were losers but were held up as “the cool people” or at least “the people you’re supposed to relate to.” That’s what made the show absolutely unwatchable for me.

[Fai Mao]

At Maris’s beach house. Yeah really funny.

[SaveFerris]

(You cannot deny that Friends is perhaps the most iconic TV show of all time.)

I shall.

It is NOT.

[Col Frank Slade]

Annoying theme song ..

[Carriage Hill]

I saw part of the first episode, and never watched again. Did I miss anything?

[lizma2]

Do sitcoms even exist anymore???

[nickcarraway]

A chance to lower your IQ?

[Carriage Hill]

Heh.
Think of all those 10yrs worth of hours people will never get back. 5,200+ hours wasted.