# And now... what bugs you about "Friends"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 5, 2003, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-what-bugs-you-about-friends/179786 "2003-06-05T07:58:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Short\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Short\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Short_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-what-bugs-you-about-friends/179786/1 "2003-06-05T07:58:48Z")
In light of the recent Star Wars and Star Trek threads, I thought I’d do another variation. _Friends_ is definitely one of my favourite shows, but there are some things that bug me about it. 1. Ross and (pre-Monica) Chandler frequently complain that they never have girlfriends, and yet they seem to be constantly dating. If I had girlfriends a-gogo like Ross and Chandler, I know I wouldn’t be complaining like that. 2. Ross. Where are the days when he was a likeable doofus? Now he’s just a doofus, and a very annoying one at that. To me it just feels like the writers really, really hate David Schwimmer. 3. Monica and Chandler’s sex-based relationship. Maybe ‘bugging’ isn’t the right word, because it does sound like fun. But seriously, it seems all these two people do is have slightly kinky sex (even before the whole baby thing). I mean, they literally have nothing in common. It’s amazing they’re even friends, let alone lovers. Maybe the third one is sort of a nitpick, but I never really understood what they see in each other. So what do you think? What bugs _you_ about _Friends_? ---
**Author:** ![manwithaplan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@manwithaplan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manwithaplan)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-what-bugs-you-about-friends/179786/2 "2003-06-05T08:29:20Z")
I hate the way it gradually became less of a sitcom and more of a soap opera. The balance has been redressed somewhat in the latest series but there’s still far too much schmalz\*. [sub]\*I think there may be provisions in international law prohibiting the use of this word by Irish people but I wanted to try it once. I didn’t get away with it, did I?[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-what-bugs-you-about-friends/179786/3 "2003-06-05T10:14:03Z")
I change channels when there is a scene with Ross, trying to be funny, by being embarrasing. Generally, I hate domedy based on people doing embarrasing stuff. Phoebe’s act is getting too lame. What could someone like Chandler possibly see in Monica? ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-what-bugs-you-about-friends/179786/4 "2003-06-05T10:14:29Z")
Losing Ross’ character is definately the main one. What happened to the funny, quirky world they lived in? They lost ugly naked guy. Treager’s missing. Psycho animal control agents. Fingers in soda cans. Crazy billionaires trying to be Ultimate FIghting Champions. Chandler in a box. All gone. Their world is so normal and boring nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![green\_bladder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@green\_bladder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/green_bladder)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-what-bugs-you-about-friends/179786/5 "2003-06-05T11:49:38Z")
**Monica**. Pretty much the whole cast is getting on my nerves, but Monica is just bloody annoying. [size=1]Why do I still watch it?[size] ---
**Author:** ![green\_bladder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@green\_bladder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/green_bladder)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-what-bugs-you-about-friends/179786/6 "2003-06-05T11:50:46Z")
Ugh. Sod it. ---
**Author:** ![Charger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df788c/32.png) [@Charger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charger)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-what-bugs-you-about-friends/179786/7 "2003-06-05T11:54:23Z")
First of all, the way everyone expects everyone else to love the show and get all the references. But I have learned that all unfunny nonsensical comments are “Friends” references. Secondly, it seems that much o the “humor” in the show is just rudeness, or talking about someone behind their back. Most of it seems to be at another person’s expense in one way or another. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-what-bugs-you-about-friends/179786/8 "2003-06-05T13:11:32Z")
I always hoped Joey and Phoebes would get together. Then their lost thoughts would have some company! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-what-bugs-you-about-friends/179786/9 "2003-06-05T13:25:11Z")
What bugs me? The fact that it’s boring. It’s not as egregiously stupid as Seinfeld, but I can’t watch more then three minutes before hitting the remote. ---
**Author:** ![MSU\_1978](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@MSU\_1978](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MSU_1978)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-what-bugs-you-about-friends/179786/10 "2003-06-05T13:32:07Z")
Phoebe bugs me. Come on, how much can a massage therapist make and would that pay for an apartment for yourself in Manhattan? Ross bugs me. How can you go from madly in love with Rachel to madly in love with Emily to madly in love with Rachel to madly in love with Charlie? Pick one, darn it! Rachel bugs me. Would you quit sleeping around, you little slut? How many guys have come through her door on the show? Ten? Phoebe bugs me. She’s supposed to be what, 25 on the show but looks more like, say 60? Charlie bugs me. Can you say “token”? Monica bugs me. This whole neatness thing is done a little over the top. Tone it down. Show us more kinky sex, though. Ross bugs me. Are you Mr. Rebound or what, getting sloppy seconds from Charlie? Joey and Chandler don’t bug me. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-what-bugs-you-about-friends/179786/11 "2003-06-05T13:36:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MSU 1978 \* > \*\*Rachel bugs me. Would you quit sleeping around, you little slut? How many guys have come through her door on the show? Ten? \*\* So ten guys in ten years is slutty? :rolleyes: Sheeesh… ---
**Author:** ![Globe-trotter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cab0a1/32.png) [@Globe-trotter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Globe-trotter)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-what-bugs-you-about-friends/179786/12 "2003-06-05T13:42:21Z")
Ross. What a doormat. I just want to kick his ass to the curb (he’d probably like it, though). He’s pretty much the reason I stopped watching _Friends_. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-what-bugs-you-about-friends/179786/13 "2003-06-05T13:44:17Z")
It’s the writers that bug me. They made Monica completely unlikeable now, and have turned Ross from a guy with some major quirks (but likeable) to a smarmy, completly selfish control freak. (Huh? Just like Monica!) And, the writers have completely failed to give Phoebe any real depth. The story arc with two suitors is almost painful to watch because of this. They’ve done ok with Rachel. I used to record this show, now I hardly care if I catch it at all. Blame the writers. ---
**Author:** ![zebraplooker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/d6d6ee/32.png) [@zebraplooker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zebraplooker)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-what-bugs-you-about-friends/179786/14 "2003-06-05T13:59:27Z")
I know a massage-therapist. He makes about 75k/yr. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-what-bugs-you-about-friends/179786/15 "2003-06-05T14:00:31Z")
I hate the way the audience reacts to things the characters do, as if the characters are real people. For example the way they whoop or go “aww” when a character kisses another, announces an engagement or a pregnancy etc. This isn’t restricted to Friends, but it would have been an absolute no-no in Seinfeld. I think the most pathetic example was in the Cosby show when a granny persuaded a reluctant 3 year old to eat her greens, or something. There had been some dramatic tension, and then the girl agreed to do it. Unbelievably, the audience cheered and applauded, as if the 2 actresses were real people and this had really happened: _It’s in the fucking script_. I haven’t explained this very well, but believe me, it’s completely different from laughing at, or even with, things the characters do or say. It really jars, and makes me cringe and hate an otherwise good programme. For some reason, I like it when the script makes Ross a complete arsehole; I like black humour and it’s probably akin to the way the character of Hank was used in Larry Saunders. I agree that the Chandler - Monica relationship has spoiled the show; it’s painful to watch how his character has become almost demasculated. This could provide plenty of dark entertainment, a la Larry Saunders, but Friends is nowhere near deep enough for that. My all time least favourite moment in Friends was when Ross and Emily come into Monica’s flat to announce their engagment. Along with an erroneously sentimental atmosphere similar to the situations I’ve already described, there are about 2 seconds of silence which make me feel that it’s the worst piece of directing I’ve ever seen in such an expensive production. Also, Helen Baxendale (Emily) should not play “nice” people; that character was pathetic. The episode with the rugby match was just so stupid; Ross would have been off work for 2 months if he’d tried any of that in a real game (and why was he able to just walk into a match without even saying hello to any of the players?) Shit, no, I’ve just remembered, the worst scene ever (remember I am actually a fan of the show) was her wedding in the ruined church. The Friends in London episodes had all the worst, most innaccurate and annoying British stereotypes it’s possible to fit into 2 episodes. And why did the production team decide to have it in a ruined church? Was there some ridiculous Romance of the Blitz thing going on? The single most cringe-causing thing was the Titanic style pseudo-Celtic music being played in the church; hideous. ---
**Author:** ![jeevmon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@jeevmon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeevmon)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-what-bugs-you-about-friends/179786/16 "2003-06-05T14:03:49Z")
Ross is definitely up there. When we first met the character, he was basically a tall Charlie Brown. We rooted for him to be happy. But basically the writers rewrite the character as it suits them if they feel it makes a joke, with the result being that Ross has gone from being lovably awkward to more than a little creepy. The fact that somehow having a baby hasn’t meaningfully changed Rachel’s lifestyle at all is another. I mean, why play the baby card if it’s not going to have any real impact? For that matter, they’ve used pregnancy and friends hooking up way too often. Like a slow motion train wreck, I’ll probably watch Season 10, but I seriously hope they just leave it at that. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-what-bugs-you-about-friends/179786/17 "2003-06-05T14:31:58Z")
The fact that they’ve never shown Jennifer Aniston’s breasts bugs the living hell out of me. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-what-bugs-you-about-friends/179786/18 "2003-06-05T15:06:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Gaspode \* > \*\*So ten guys in ten years is slutty? :rolleyes: Sheeesh… \*\* Heh. True! But both Monica and Rachel have hinted that the other is easy. Phoebe freely admits her lack of inhibitions. Joey is a man whore. Chandler and Ross seem to be bringing up the rear (with the lousy writers of the past seasons, that line would be made into a homophobic joke, by the way). I _would_ like to see someone calculate the number of people each friend is known to have slept with by looking at on screen romances and references to past lovers. I think it would be funny. It HAS to be higher than 10 for Monica and Rachel. Joey has probably hit 10 in one episode! ---
**Author:** ![DiLLiGaF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/45deac/32.png) [@DiLLiGaF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiLLiGaF)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-what-bugs-you-about-friends/179786/19 "2003-06-05T16:36:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by G. Odoreida \* > \*\*I think the most pathetic example was in the Cosby show when a granny persuaded a reluctant 3 year old to eat her greens, or something. There had been some dramatic tension, and then the girl agreed to do it. Unbelievably, the audience cheered and applauded, as if the 2 actresses were real people and this had really happened: _It’s in the fucking script_. > \*\* The applause is in the _fucking_ script too. They have the applause and awwwww type lights for the audience and they are written into the script. The writers use these to help convey the emotion they are looking for to the veiwer at home. > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by plnnr_ > **The fact that they’ve never shown Jennifer Aniston’s breasts bugs the living hell out of me.** Yeah **plnnr** that one bugs me also, I keep watching and waiting but they never show them. I’m about to give up 😉 ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-what-bugs-you-about-friends/179786/20 "2003-06-05T16:50:48Z")
It bugs the heck out of me that Matthew Perry gets to kiss Courteney and I don’t. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-what-bugs-you-about-friends/179786.md?page=2)