# Anybody else out there that never watched Friends? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 17, 2005, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-out-there-that-never-watched-friends/308635 "2005-06-17T01:55:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-out-there-that-never-watched-friends/308635/41 "2005-06-17T15:19:12Z")
(Slight hijack) Stranger, do you watch CSI? or CSI Miami? I think both are as good as the old days of L&O. (Hijack of hijack) I agree, it’s not so good since Jerry Orbach left. I think I have liked every single replacement person they’ve had tho so maybe I’ll get used to the new ones.(End of Hijack and hijack of hijack) Never watched Friends. I wonder if it’s possible to be a fan of CSI or L&O AND Friends…anyone? ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-out-there-that-never-watched-friends/308635/42 "2005-06-17T15:37:08Z")
> [@Licentious Ectomorph](#): > > _Seinfeld_ on the other hand - now _that_ I can’t stand to watch even for a few minutes. How such a boring show about such sickeningly obnoxious people lasted so long is beyond me. Well, I’m not a huge Seinfeld fan, but I always thought it was a little funny (way better than most sitcoms) because the characters WERE so obnoxious and cartoonish. On shows where the characters are even a little believable and relatable, you can’t really laugh AT them, because they remind you of yourself and you have empathy. But there was no feeling of empathy for the Seinfeld characters–they were pure comic foils. Seinfeld didn’t have a drop of pathos (except in the first handful of episodes which were as bad as any other sitcom), which is why it was more purely funny than Friends or Wings or Cheers or any other show with “nice” characters. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-out-there-that-never-watched-friends/308635/43 "2005-06-17T16:02:54Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Since I never watched or cared much about the show, I’m not 100% sure, but I’m at least 95% certain that neither _Friends_ nor any other modern sitcom uses a laugh track. AFAIK, nearly all are recorded in front of a live studio audience. That’s true, but many 3-camera sitcoms that are recorded in front of a live audience then juice the honest laughs with canned laughter to make for a bigger effect. I assume Friends did this. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-out-there-that-never-watched-friends/308635/44 "2005-06-17T16:26:38Z")
I don’t think I ever saw a whole episode. I watched portions of a few, but it failed to pass the first test of a comedy: is it funny? I didn’t find Seinfeld funny either. Now Coupling - there’s a funny sitcom, and I understand it is based loosely on Friends. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-out-there-that-never-watched-friends/308635/45 "2005-06-17T16:41:23Z")
I caught a few minutes of it once. Lisa Kudrow was cast as the daughter of Terri Garr. I thought it was good casting. I tried watching it again, but David Schwimmer bugs the hell out of me. Didn’t all the male chracters have relationships or with all the female characters? wouldn’t it be great to do a friends reunion where they all have some new & incurable venerial disease? ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-out-there-that-never-watched-friends/308635/46 "2005-06-17T16:49:25Z")
I thought at first this thread was about _Seinfeld_. At least _Friends_ was mostly just boring, the few minutes I accidentally watched once in a while. _Seinfeld_ and the rest of the cast were aggressively irritating. Yeah, _Max Headroom_ was good. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-out-there-that-never-watched-friends/308635/47 "2005-06-17T16:58:36Z")
The only episode of Friends I ever saw was about a monkey. It wasn’t funny. I’ve never been even remotely amused by a Friends ad, and I always figure that if I’m not laughing at the ads, I won’t laugh at the show. ---
**Author:** ![Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e36b37/32.png) [@Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_A_Tame_Lion)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-out-there-that-never-watched-friends/308635/48 "2005-06-17T17:14:47Z")
> [@Soylent Gene](#): > > Then there were the sickening promo-commercials…“will Ross and whats-her-face finally have 69 action in front of her bosses parents and will whats-his-name and Joey gang-stang Courtney Aniston?” …stay tuned!!! I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone else point this out, but I know that I too was always put off by those sorta-porno promos. “…and maybe they’ll have SEX! (Nudge, nudge, wink, wink…)” I found that totally repulsive. The few times I was forced to watch the show–five minutes or so when I was visiting family on holidays, before I could drag my ass out of the room–I found the show to be really stupid, mean and hateful. Just a bunch of pretty people saying nasty things to each other…but apparently that’s OK, because they’re Pretty, and as long as you’re Pretty, you’re allowed to behave however you like towards others. Of course, that’s not just a critique of _Friends;_ there are any number of shows where the entire premise is, “Wow. We’re pretty. Pay attention to us.” Bottom line: I never understood the appeal, and still don’t to this day. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-out-there-that-never-watched-friends/308635/49 "2005-06-17T17:17:02Z")
Nope, never saw it. And only about five minutes of _Seinfeld_. Never seen _Survivor_ or any of its spin-offs, either. I guess I don’t watch much TV since I lost track of _The Drew Carey Show_ and _Whose Line is It Anyway?_ Can’t say I miss it much. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-out-there-that-never-watched-friends/308635/50 "2005-06-17T21:25:47Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > _Just kidding! It was Triumph of the Will._\* > > \*\*Just kidding! Hey! Triumph of the Will is funny! Actually, I just came to see how you get 48 responses to a thread for those unaware of something. I mean, what can you have to say? ---
**Author:** ![Cheez\_Whia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cheez\_Whia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheez_Whia)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-out-there-that-never-watched-friends/308635/51 "2005-06-17T21:38:57Z")
I haven’t watched it either. And I’m mad our local station replaced reruns of _Frazier_ with reruns of _Friends_. Bastards. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![fortytwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f9ae1b/32.png) [@fortytwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fortytwo)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-out-there-that-never-watched-friends/308635/52 "2005-06-17T22:05:21Z")
I had to ask my wife what **Friends** was. Does that answer the question? 🙂 Actually to be fair unless the programme involves 22 men kicking a ball around a football pitch, I won’t have seen it. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-out-there-that-never-watched-friends/308635/53 "2005-06-17T22:15:36Z")
I never watched it while it was in first-run, but thanks to my SO who likes some REALLY HORRID BAD shows, I’ve seen a few episodes. I was mildly amused at best, embarassed on the characters’ behalfs at worst. That embarassment thing is why I generally don’t watch sitcoms. I’ll tell you how bad his taste is. He once watched ten minutes of Green Acres in front of me. I was feeling magnanimous, I suppose. [Spock]PAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIINNNNNNNNN!!![/Spock] No matter how many times I tell him I just don’t watch sitcoms, we’ll be flipping channels and he’lll come up with another that I never watched or violently hated, or both, that he loved. It’s a good thing I fell for him before I found out about this. _g_ ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2005, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-out-there-that-never-watched-friends/308635/54 "2005-06-18T00:20:46Z")
I don’t recall ever having sat through an episode, unless it happened when I was at a friends house for a session. The women in the show were beautiful, but I am not a TV watcher. In fact, I haven’t seen any TV except at someone else’s house for more than 20 years. Read a book. Play guitar. Learn a new language. Do some math. Pet my cats. Ride my bike. Go hiking. Go snowboarding! All of that is way more fun than TV. But back to the OP: nope, never saw it. Or 90210, or anything from the last 15-20 years, really. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2005, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-out-there-that-never-watched-friends/308635/55 "2005-06-18T02:53:29Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Hey! Triumph of the Will is funny! > > Actually, I just came to see how you get 48 responses to a thread for those unaware of something. I mean, what can you have to say? As for myself, I know people who would never miss it, and I was aware that it was considered a hit (didn’t they drag out the series finale for about 8 weeks?). So I checked it out for a few minutes once or twice and found it totally unwatchable. Had I **never** seen it, I suppose my opinion could be based on promos alone. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-out-there-that-never-watched-friends/308635.md?page=2)