Jumbie Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 (edited) Talking to an 18 year old today, I was surprised to learn that his favorite show was 'Friends' and he's working his way through the seasons on DVD. I was also surprised at my own reaction in that I felt like Friends wasn't worth being anyone's favorite show. Which is weird because I watched it religiously back when it was airing on NBC and enjoyed it a whole lot. Looking at reruns today a lot of stuff feels forced and overacted, but not more than any typical sitcom, so it may just be a case of me feeling like I've grown past this. But then again, I still get a kick out of the Simpsons when they put in some effort, so maybe not. Friends has definite high points. The cast was likeable and charismatic. Some episodes remain classic just from the sense of fun they brought into things, especially the early ones (Apartment switch bet and the Blackout episode come to mind.) So what's your take? Is Friends holding up in your nostalgic recollections of the 90s? Are you a new fan who discovered it as a retro show? Got a favorite episode or story line or general memory? Things that you now realise were crap? Any cast member not pulling their weight? Edited October 5, 2012 by Jumbie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thelogan Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 I think that, when it was on, it wasn't cool to like Friends. I didn't watch it when it was new, but there was a period about 10 years ago where it hit syndication and I had like 3 channels and no job. I'm pretty sure I watched it every day for months. It's not that bad, by sitcom standards. It has it's moments (Chanandler Bong). I'm not going to go watch a marathon on DVD or anything though. I thought the bullshit romance subplots where forced and awkward, I never gave a shit about any of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panch Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 I used to watch back in the day and generally thought it was good, but then watching it as an "adult" I realized, it hasn't aged well, at all. And I mean, AT ALL. Seinfeld started doing this too until I got into Curb Your Enthusiasm and that was when I realized that every character on Seinfeld were just playing Larry David. I took a while, but now I understand the brilliance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thelogan Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 Seinfeld has, thus far, remained immortal to me. That's a quotable, funny fuckin show right there (stfu axels). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The NZA Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 yeah, it's aged poorly but im sure if that, seinfeld and the drew carey show were still on in blocks, id leave them on in the background all the same. seinfeld's certainly aged the best, for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Hakujin Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 (edited) Yeah, I was a religious "Must See TV" viewer back in the day. Friends, Seinfeld, Scrubs, The Office, and I was even really into ER for a few years there--which is why I've seen more than one episode of Just Shoot Me and Will & Grace. Actually, JSM wasn't that terrible. Scrubs and Seinfeld are the only ones I'll ever really sit and watch the whole way through still, and even then that's very rare. Edited October 5, 2012 by Mr. Hakujin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panch Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 I've never watched an entire season of Scrubs. I've seen tons of random episodes, though. That's one, that never gets old to me. Fun and funny. No bad episodes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iambaytor Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 I'm of two minds about Seinfeld and I finally realized why that is. The show had 2 creators. Jerry Seinfeld is a not very funny comedian who seems like he'd be a fucking riot to hang out with, I would love to just sit and talk with the guy for hours, but I don't like his stand-up. Larry David is a very funny writer who seems like he'd be as much fun to hang around as Harvey Pekar. That's why some episodes of Seinfeld were really funny to me and some were bad. Seinfeld's jokey-rhyme shit got tired quick, as did any joke about Superman, though David had a few misses himself, he did a lot of jokes (usually centered around George) where he would wind up in a ridiculously awkward situation that could easily be explained in 5 minutes but never was. I've never liked that kind of thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thelogan Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 I would kill you and everything you love to hang out with Larry David and Harvey Pekar. You aren't wrong though. Seinfeld the person is incredibly mediocre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iambaytor Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 Harvey Pekar and Larry David would hate you and everything you represent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thelogan Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 Story of my life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The NZA Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Friends earns 1 billion in syndication, 20 million annually per Friend Well, through the magic of syndication revenue, Friends pulls in a whopping $1 billion each year for Warner Bros. Here’s the kicker though: That translates into about a $20 million annual paycheck for Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer. $20 million. Each year. For doing nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumbie Posted March 5, 2015 Author Share Posted March 5, 2015 They're not getting it for doing nothing. They're getting their paycheck late for stuff they did a while back that turned out to be more valuable than people realized. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumbie Posted March 9, 2015 Author Share Posted March 9, 2015 (edited) We get the reverse situation with people who created Superman or Green Lantern or Spiderman etc where we wonder why they never got a big enough cut of the revenues. When there was a controversy that the creators of Superman were getting no money from the 1978 Superman movie, supporters didn't say that Shuster and Siegel should have gotten that money for 'doing nothing' though they hadn't anything to do with the actual movie. It was understood that their creative work much earlier merited a payoff when their creation turned out to be more valuable that anyone knew. I think it's clear from interviews that the actors on Friends had a lot to do with the creation of their roles and that's a reason for them to get paid now. Edited March 9, 2015 by Jumbie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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