HA! Yeah, Neela was pretty annoying. Not the most annoying fictional character I’ve encountered, though, and the rest of the show was interesting enough to keep me going. Also, by the 11th or 12th season I was in too deep to walk away; I had to finish the series.
I was (and still am) a fan of Friends, but I always wanted to watch Whose Line Is It Anyway on ABC instead when they were airing new episodes. And later, they were not only against Friends, but also Survivor during the time when it was a phenomenon. Whose Line benefited greatly from the low expectations ABC had for it. It cost next to nothing to make and had a small but dedicated fan base. ABC had nothing to lose by putting it against the two ratings smash hits of the day.
Most (black) people I know only discovered Seinfeld in syndication. While it aired, they were watching Martin.