# Friends vs Cheers - Which is better? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [July 19, 2021, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-vs-cheers-which-is-better/946801 "2021-07-19T07:43:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-vs-cheers-which-is-better/946801/21 "2021-07-19T15:04:41Z")
Cheers is fantastic! Friends, just meh. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-vs-cheers-which-is-better/946801/22 "2021-07-19T15:12:04Z")
I would put both Seinfeld and Cheers on equal footing in my sitcom hierarchy. I don’t believe in setting rules about what you’re “supposed to get from a sitcom.” Seinfeld was funny as hell, and I don’t see why people find it as transgressive as they do. Even watching it as a high schooler, it didn’t seem so avant-garde and revolutionary, and I actually liked the characters! Then again, perhaps that says something about me. 🙂 I also would put stuff like Soap up there in the best-of-the-best (or at least the seasons before the aliens.) My problem with Friends is that it just seemed to me, from the episodes I watched, like more of the same-old, same-old mainstream pablum. Shows like that, Home Improvement, Everybody Loves Raymond, etc. Ugh. Can’t stand 'em. Friends had perhaps more finesse than those, but still bored me. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-vs-cheers-which-is-better/946801/23 "2021-07-19T15:38:23Z")
Cheers by far was more entertaining. Friends was boring. Frazier was a Cheers spin off with huge success. Friends got nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-vs-cheers-which-is-better/946801/24 "2021-07-19T15:45:21Z")
I was the same age as the characters on and the ideal demographic for **Friends** , and I loved the first two seasons. But I grew and matured, and they didn’t. That just turned me off. **Cheers** was timeless. I still chuckle when I think about “Who are three people who’ve never been in my kitchen.” I don’t have any moments like that with **Friends**. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-vs-cheers-which-is-better/946801/25 "2021-07-19T15:46:07Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > [At the risk of enduring a sudden strong breeze blowing out of my monitor] > > How is a romance between one of the actors and her real-life boyfriend (who did in fact once appear on the show) remotely relevant to the discussion in question? I was wondering about that myself. That post you quoted made it sound like @Heffalump_and_Roo’s real question was “Which is better, if you’ve never seen an episode of either one?” ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-vs-cheers-which-is-better/946801/26 "2021-07-19T15:48:35Z")
Cheers is one of the greatest sitcoms of all time. Just 5 years ago my wife and I binged the whole series and it was still well done and hysterical. Friends wasn’t even good during its initial run. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-vs-cheers-which-is-better/946801/27 "2021-07-19T15:50:33Z")
In one of the later seasons, Lilith is pressuring Frasier to complete a will and Sam is concerned about his sperm count. Frasier finally relents and writes his will and Sam goes to a doctor but when he receives the results he’s too afraid to open the envelope and see what his count is. The episode ends with an elderly Lilith and an adult Frederick in a lawyer’s office about to read Frasier’s will. He opens the envelope and is surprised to find that he’s got the results of Sam’s sperm test. The episode ends with Lilith saying, “That damn bar.” There are some memorable moments from Friends, “We were on a break!,” but I just don’t think it was as well written or performed as Cheers. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-vs-cheers-which-is-better/946801/28 "2021-07-19T17:05:54Z")
> [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](#): > > This is where I’m showing my ignorance, but I’m pretty sure Cheers didn’t have a reunion like Friends. > **["Frasier" Cheerful Goodbyes (TV Episode 2002) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0582362/reference)** > > "Frasier" Cheerful Goodbyes (TV Episode 2002) Reference View ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-vs-cheers-which-is-better/946801/29 "2021-07-19T17:47:14Z")
I loathe ‘Friends’. I hate each and every one of them and Jennifer Anniston most of all. I realize I am railing against the establishment, and they are still swooned over and gossiped about, and there are entire cable channels 24/7 showing re-runs. I’ve tried to watch. I’VE TRIED. Can’t get through half an episode…Don’t care much for ‘Cheers’, but it is 10 x better. I can watch ‘Cheers’ in much the same way as, if the cupboard is bare, I can always make a peanut butter sandwich until I shop for better food, it will do till then. ‘Friends’ is off the table, would rather starve. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-vs-cheers-which-is-better/946801/30 "2021-07-19T17:58:59Z")
Friends is a minor league Seinfeld knockoff. (With a stupid friggin theme song) Cheers is a television institution. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-vs-cheers-which-is-better/946801/31 "2021-07-19T18:03:07Z")
Let’s throw another comparison in here. I much much preferred The Drew Carey Show to Friends. Yeah, the actors in Drew Carey fell out of character some times - you can catch Drew laughing in a lot of episodes. That being said, they were real. I could believe those peoples with real jobs in Cleveland a lot more than I can believe 6 yuppies with questionable job status living in upscale New York apartments. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-vs-cheers-which-is-better/946801/32 "2021-07-19T18:32:18Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Friends is a minor league Seinfeld knockoff. I really don’t get the Friends-Seinfeld comparisons. They’re both about a group of friends living in NYC… that’s it. That’s pretty much all they have in common. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-vs-cheers-which-is-better/946801/33 "2021-07-19T18:47:04Z")
Yeah, it hadn’t even occurred to me to compare the two until it being mentioned in this thread. Oddly, googling it, apparently Seinfeld himself has suggested that which, to me, is really weird. I don’t see them alike in the least. I find something like _It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia_ to have more in common with _Seinfeld_ than _Friends._ Now that one I can see as being inspired by _Seinfeld_, but taken to an extreme. > **[Friends is basically Seinfeld with better looking people, Jerry says](https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/flashback/jerry-seinfeld-says-friends-ripped-off-seinfeld/news-story/00cbf8c74be35ac45d12c493ddd6dca7)** > > JERRY Seinfeld has again suggested that Friends is basically a rip-off of his hit sitcom, Seinfeld. ---
**Author:** ![Franklymydear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a6a055/32.png) [@Franklymydear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Franklymydear)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-vs-cheers-which-is-better/946801/34 "2021-07-19T19:09:41Z")
I liked both. But i was a young teen when Cheers was on. I related more to Friends, who i was the same age as. Though less attractive. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-vs-cheers-which-is-better/946801/35 "2021-07-19T19:18:54Z")
Let’s throw in another comparison: theme song, Cheers vs. Friends. It’s not even close. Cheers by far. Where everybody knows your name… ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-vs-cheers-which-is-better/946801/36 "2021-07-19T20:45:57Z")
_The Big Bang Theory._ {SHELDON VOICE} Clearly. It’s so obvious. {/SHELDON VOICE} 🇦🇲 🇦🇶 🇧🇧 🇧🇱 🇩🇪 🇬🇧 🇬🇷 🇱🇷 🇺🇸 🇿🇦 ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-vs-cheers-which-is-better/946801/37 "2021-07-19T21:56:14Z")
[Friends vs Cheers - Which is better?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-vs-cheers-which-is-better/946801/21) The answer is: Sanford and Son. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-vs-cheers-which-is-better/946801/38 "2021-07-19T23:11:17Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > Plus, the show stole an actual incident that happened to me as a story line. Was it the one where Ross had sex with the waitress because he was on a break? ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-vs-cheers-which-is-better/946801/39 "2021-07-19T23:44:57Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > Let’s throw in another comparison: theme song, Cheers vs. Friends [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3q7ExHaKt2M/hqdefault.jpg "Evolution Of The "Friends" TV Theme Song - 1920s to 1990s - ft. The Rembrandts") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q7ExHaKt2M) ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-vs-cheers-which-is-better/946801/40 "2021-07-19T23:55:29Z")
I liked both shows, but Friends eventually much more than Cheers. Snarky humor can be funny, but I like it better if it’s directed at a situation or oneself, not other people. At some point, Carla and Rebecca and a couple of others just started wearing on me. That, by the way, is one reason Seinfeld worked for me… they were huge assholes, but there was a lot of self-recognition of that assholery. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-vs-cheers-which-is-better/946801.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friends-vs-cheers-which-is-better/946801.md?page=3)