I agree with this. Seinfeld had more dry wit, and more intellectual depth. Friends had more humanity, and more emotional depth. It’s apples and oranges. I happen to like both kinds of shows, but found Seinfeld vaguely exhausting, like I had to fight to stay in a good mood afterward. Friends put me in a better mood.
I liked *Friends *at the time, never liked *Seinfeld *(and absolutely ***loathe ***Curb Your Enthusiasm). Haven’t really seen much of either since.
I also liked Joey, and Episodes, I think Matt LeBlanc’s comedy chops are undersold.
Love *Seinfeld *(the show *and *the comedian)and have really fond memories of watching *Friends *at the same time as everyone else and it was a fun thing to have in common. I think *Seinfeld *is the superior show in every way yet I find myself watching *Friends *reruns more often. Of course, I think they’re probably shown more often,but even when *Seinfeld *is on, I often pass it by. For the purposes of the poll, I vote Seinfeld.
I loved Seinfeld, watched every episode multiple times.
I’ve never seen a complete episode of Friends.
This.
I’ve never seen Friends.
When it first came on, I hated Seinfeld. A lot of it was because Jerry Seinfeld is such a horrible actor, always sniggering and glancing at the camera. I caught a few of the later episodes in reruns, and I found out the stories were actually pretty good. Even Jerry didn’t seem so irritating.
I doubt that I could hang out with the Friends for longer than 10 minutes.
Seinfeld and his cahoots, however, are very interesting and more in my league: Creative funny types looked down on by most people.
I will give Friends this: at the end of the final episode they used Jorma Kaukonen’s Embryonic Journey as the end credits rolled.
Friends, hands down.
Seinfeld, 100%. I have tried to watch Friends but it seems so flighty and vapid that I can’t take more than 5 minutes of it. The Seinfeld cast just resonates with me, the casting of George, Elaine, and Kramer is perfect. And I like the “show about nothing” vibe where it picks apart the little oddities in life. The way the plotlines often intersect at the end is great too. You can tell the writers really respected the old vaudville/sitcom/comedy standards but modernized and sometimes subverted them.
I have never been able to sit through an entire episode of Seinfeld. Within ten minutes, one or another of the characters is guaranteed to say or do something so annoying that I have to switch it off. Friends is relatively inoffensive by comparison, but it was never brilliant. I used to watch it most weeks when it originally aired, but it hasn’t aged very well. I never watch the reruns.
I can watch 100 episodes of Seinfeld and never crack a smile.
I can watch 100 seconds of Friends and laugh out loud multiple times. Friends by a mile.
I’ve never actually understood the love for Seinfeld, it had just as many sitcom tropes (crazy characters, catchphrases etc.) as every other show, yet somehow it’s just vastly different. I always attributed it to that stuck-up better-than-yous watched Seinfeld (this board of course excluded :p), your average Joe watches Friends.
I’m not sure about that. When Friends was on I thought it was the whitest, most yuppie show ever.
Both of them were white as white can be, but at least Friends had Aisha Tyler show up in a handful of episodes as a girlfriend for both Ross and Joey.
Friends was full of yuppie self-absorption. Seinfeld was full of hipster smugness. Take your pick. I liked them both, but I can look back and say that now.
Friends is a good sitcom; Seinfeld is a great one.
I’ll watch either when aimlessly flipping channels. The difference is, I’ll watch Friends if absolutely nothing better is on. But if an episode of Seinfeld shows up, I’ll just go with it without bothering to search further.
I enjoying sitcoms and stand up comedy, but funny is a tricky thing. For example, I am shocked at how funny M.A.S.H. was at first, and how obsolete it seems to me now.
I prefer Seinfeld to Friends, although I have never been a great Seinfeld fan. On the other hand, Friends doesn’t make me laugh - I don’t feel it is a sitcom.
I have watched Curb Your Enthusiasm occasionally - I find it compelling.
Mrs. Wheelz is an absolute Friends nut. Therefore, it’s on a lot at our house. You’d think I’d get sick of it, but somehow I don’t. I’ll watch an episode I’ve seen dozens of times already and still enjoy the writing and the performances. That says a lot, I think.
Seinfeld was one of my favorites when it first aired, and I’ll still watch an occasional episode and enjoy it. But if I watch too many in too short a time, I find that I really need a break from those characters.
So Friends wins by a nose. Incidentally, I’m surprised by the number of people here who love one and loathe the other.
I’ve seen every episode of Seinfeld multiple times, and it still makes me laugh uncontrollably. Best comedy on TV ever.
I’ve seen Friends occasionally, and it’s a mediocre sitcom. I’ve never understood the appeal.
The best Seinfeld episodes are the stuff of legends, but overall Friends is better. Moreso, I can’t watch Frieds reruns without much problems, but Seinfled is now unbearable to watch.
I don’t know if I’d go so far as GOAT, but I’ve certainly watched Seinfeld more and more over the years than I did when it was on in first-run. For me, it’s aged wonderfully. I still find it as funny, if not funnier, than I did back then. Perhaps some of that is 90s nostalgia, I don’t know, but the humor still works for me, and it’s exactly up my alley. It’s one of the few sitcoms both me and my wife could agree on.