I have been such a fan of the show for so long, but I really don’t follow the actors. It’s that rare show where I am able to completely dissociate the characters from the actors so that it doesn’t bother me when George Stephanopoulos or Sean Penn had cameos…any other show I would change the channel immediately. I was the same age as the characters at the time and they reminded me so much of people I knew that I just found it hilarious. The guys reminded me of the guys who lived next door to me in the dorm, Chandler (Matthew Perry’s character) could have been drawn exactly from my college boyfriend, and Monica was exactly like my best friend in LA. I also knew so many people who exhibited traits of Phoebe and Rachel…watching the show every Thursday night was like really getting together with a bunch of friends and just laughing my butt off. I know the Boomers do not get it…my mom would sometimes watch with me and she just didn’t find it funny, but I swear, some of those episodes (the one where Joey speaks French, for example) I will practically split my side laughing.
Re: Friends. I get it, you are not alone.