# Has "Friends" not aged well? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 29, 2010, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-friends-not-aged-well/534252 "2010-03-29T20:57:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-friends-not-aged-well/534252/61 "2010-04-03T02:21:03Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > I don’t watch the reruns that often anymore, but I still catch it occasionally. Generally, I still find it pretty funny, and better than just about any sitcom currently on TV. Agree. I have the DVDs because 80% of Friends episodes are funnier than almost anything on TV right now. There are a few places where it shows its age, such as Chandler bragging about his new laptop: 12MB of RAM 500MB hard drive Spread sheet capabilities 28k bps One of the best parts of the show was the mostly successful guest appearances. Several Emmy winners in the bunch and almost all of them a big hit. My faves: •Elliott Gould (who I normally don’t much care for) was a riot as Ross’s father with his frequent inappropriate comments. •Maggie Wheeler as Janice, always popping up at the worst (for Chandler) possible place and time. •Christina Applegate as one of Rachel’s sisters. •Kathleen Turner as Chandler’s “dad”. Hilarious. •Tom Selleck as Monica’s love interest in several episodes. •Marlo Thomas as Rachel’s mother. •Danny DeVito as an over-the-hill stripper. •Terri Garr as Phoebe’s birth mother. •Bruce Willis as the disapproving father of one of Ross’s girlfriends. •Alec Baldwin as a constantly overexcited boyfriend of Phoebe. •Paul Rudd as the guy Phoebe finally settles down with. And there are lots more that I’m probably forgetting right now. Even Bradd Pitt wasn’t bad in his Rachel-hating role in a Thanksgiving special. I also thought they pulled off the Phoebe/Ursula thing very well. I was totally able to buy into Lisa Kudrow playing twins and saw them as two very different characters. And the flashback to the 80’s and 90’s episodes with fat Monica and Chandler’s “flock of seaguls” haircut were great. I saw the show starting to trend downwards in the later seasons and glad they ended before it hit bottom. The finale was good, and the fade to black was moving. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-friends-not-aged-well/534252/62 "2010-04-03T02:36:30Z")
I always crack up at the following clip: _(Joey & Chandler are discussing whether ducks or clowns should be heads or tails in a coin toss)_ Joey: “Ducks is heads… because ducks have heads!” Chandler: “… What kind of scary ass clowns came to your birthday parties!” ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-friends-not-aged-well/534252/63 "2010-04-03T04:52:43Z")
I still say this semi-regularly - “Did I get you?” “It’s a drill! If you get me, you kill me!” ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-friends-not-aged-well/534252/64 "2010-04-03T07:38:40Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > You don’t think the Dick Van Dyke Show, with Rob & Laura sleeping in twin beds, is an artifact of the 50s? I don’t. _The Dick Van Dyke Show_ ran 1961–1966. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-friends-not-aged-well/534252/65 "2010-04-03T08:28:34Z")
> [@Ruby Sees](#): > > I could watch the prom episode and the apartment-bet episode every day. The apartment bet episode is one of my favorite episodes of any show ever. And seconded on the ducks/clowns exchange. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-friends-not-aged-well/534252/66 "2010-04-03T19:15:12Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > The apartment bet episode is one of my favorite episodes of any show ever.\ I liked the way they wrapped that up so low-key and matter-of-factly, too. After all the drama and switching and scheming and trying to get their apartment back, all it took was Monica and Rachel making out for a minute to get the good apartment back. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-friends-not-aged-well/534252/67 "2010-04-03T20:24:58Z")
I’ll say this for Friends- it’s not innovative or cutting edge, but for what it is, it’s very good. It’s a straightforward three camera laugh track sitcom. The secret of Friends’ success is the chemistry of the six main characters, combined with writing that knew how to play to their strengths. It’s that, rather than being daring in any way that allowed it to become a runaway hit. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-friends-not-aged-well/534252/68 "2010-04-03T20:40:55Z")
I’d be interested to know how you define a runaway hit. Ratings-wise, Friends [consistently ranked in the top ten](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friends#Ratings), and 8 out of ten of its seasons were in the top 4. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-friends-not-aged-well/534252/69 "2010-04-03T20:46:25Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > I’d be interested to know how you define a runaway hit. Ratings-wise, Friends [consistently ranked in the top ten](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friends#Ratings), and 8 out of ten of its seasons were in the top 4. So you’re saying Friends wasn’t a runaway hit even though it was constantly considered one of the four most popular shows on the air during its almost entire run? ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-friends-not-aged-well/534252/70 "2010-04-03T20:55:51Z")
No, I thought Mr. Burns was saying that in the last sentence of his post before mine: > [@](#): > > It’s that, rather than being daring in any way that allowed it to become a runaway hit. I read that as saying if the show had been more daring, maybe _then_ it could have become a run-away hit. But on re-reading, I can see several ways to parse this sentence. I fully agree that the show was a run-away hit. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-friends-not-aged-well/534252/71 "2010-04-04T00:21:52Z")
> [@](#): > > I read that as saying if the show had been more daring, maybe _then_ it could have become a run-away hit. But on re-reading, I can see several ways to parse this sentence. I fully agree that the show was a run-away hit. I think that should have read: “…rather than being daring in any way that allowed it to become a runaway hit _with the Cynically Elite Intelligentsia That Hang Out Here_”. You see, it was _normal people_ who liked it. Unlike me and many of my friends here, who are cursed with the propensity to **demand more than entertainment from our entertainment**. Ooh, can I parlay that last line into a Doctoral Thesis? ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-friends-not-aged-well/534252/72 "2010-04-04T00:25:34Z")
> [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](#): > > I’ll say this for Friends- it’s not innovative or cutting edge, but for what it is, it’s very good. It’s a straightforward three camera laugh track sitcom. You do know that it was filmed before a live audience? ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-friends-not-aged-well/534252/73 "2010-04-04T00:32:17Z")
“Yesterday I was at rock bottom. Today, there’s rock bottom, then 50 feet of crap, then me.” ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-friends-not-aged-well/534252/74 "2010-04-04T01:59:21Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > … > > •Alec Baldwin as a constantly overexcited boyfriend of Phoebe. > > … Which led to one of my favorite lines, when Phoebe finally says to him in frustration, “You’re like Santa… on Prozac… at Disneyland… getting laid!” ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-friends-not-aged-well/534252/75 "2010-04-04T03:41:40Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > •Terri Garr as Phoebe’s birth mother. I watched only the first couple of seasons, so I must have missed this. How perfect. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-friends-not-aged-well/534252/76 "2010-04-04T06:31:54Z")
> [@digs](#): > > I think that should have read: “…rather than being daring in any way that allowed it to become a runaway hit _with the Cynically Elite Intelligentsia That Hang Out Here_”. > > You see, it was _normal people_ who liked it. Unlike me and many of my friends here, who are cursed with the propensity to **demand more than entertainment from our entertainment**. > > Ooh, can I parlay that last line into a Doctoral Thesis? That really nails an attitude here that totally gets up my nose. I consider myself luckier than a lot of people who post here, because I can actually allow myself to enjoy things (many things - many low-brow, common things, even). > [@E.Thorp](#): > > I watched only the first couple of seasons, so I must have missed this. How perfect. You know, it really was. ---
**Author:** ![davekhps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@davekhps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davekhps)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-friends-not-aged-well/534252/77 "2010-04-06T13:37:37Z")
Friends hasn’t aged well, IMO. As others have written, mostly because it declined in quality, the egos intruded, writing got lazy, etc. I watch it now and I think, “I used to laugh at this… why, again?” Surprisingly, I feel that Seinfeld is still funny. I didn’t expect it to be, I figured it’d date just as badly as Friends has (same general concept, 1990s Clinton-era pre-9/11 artifact, etc.). Instead, I still find the writing wicked smart and the re-runs comforting. Perhaps it’s because we were never supposed to actually _like_ the characters on Seinfeld, so I don’t feel bad about still seeing them all as four miserable (yet funny) wretches. I watch Friends, and I just find that I don’t like anyone at all on the show anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-friends-not-aged-well/534252/78 "2010-04-06T14:18:41Z")
I still like both _Friends_ and _Seinfeld_ quite a bit. They appeal to different parts of my funnybone. The first is essentially sweet; the second is essentially sour. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-friends-not-aged-well/534252/79 "2010-04-06T16:52:23Z")
I’ve seen a few people mention the egos of the stars. Can someone elaborate? Did it feel like they were all jockeying for bigger storylines or something, or do you mean they were all overexposed in the media and you were sick of them? ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-friends-not-aged-well/534252/80 "2010-04-06T17:25:29Z")
I think it’s aged just fine, but people are still in the oversaturated phase of its life cycle. It tends to happen with long-running, runaway hits like that–by the end of the run, syndication is showing multiple episodes a day on multiple channels, and that continues for quite some time after the cancellation. After a while people get tired of seeing it all the damn time and it stops being so funny. But after a few years off, you catch an episode and think, “Damn, I’d forgotten what a scream this show was.” Right now, _Friends_ has been off the air for just shy of 6 years. If you allow a 2 year period for the “Oh god I miss this show” repeat viewings of multiple episodes to die down, that puts us 4 years into the “Oh god, _that_ again?” phase. In other words, we’re right at the beginning of when you would expect people to start watching the reruns again. I think if you repeat the favorite sitcom poll in another 5 years, _Friends_ will start popping back up as a common favorite. And yes, _Friends_ is totally a product of its time. So are _all_ classic comedies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-friends-not-aged-well/534252.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-friends-not-aged-well/534252.md?page=5)