Being 34 now, I was pretty much in the show’s key demographic when it aired. I’ve seen most if not all of the episodes, and feel that I know it and the characters pretty well. I was never in love with the show, but I always liked it - and even now feel a strong affection for it - albeit in a slightly rose-tinted condescending way…
What was it that made Friends such a hit? What were the key ingredients that made it the sitcom that it was?
Some often screamingly funny dialogue, mixed with physically attractive characters who, according to the show, had lots of sex (yes, even Chandler) with other physically attractive people.
I had crushes on all three of the main female characters, although Monica was a bit bony for my taste. Of the males, Chandler was by far my favorite, Ross my least favorite (there was that damn monkey in the early seasons, and his whininess throughout). Joey has grown on me. His little speech on how something was a “Moo point” still cracks me up every time I think of it.
I watched it pretty regularly for the first four or five seasons; this despite my living in France for much of the period. I lost interest, though, around the time Chandler and Monica got together, and from what little I’ve seen after, IMO the show ended at least two seasons too late.
Nevertheless, it has become my default memory of what the '90s would have been like, had I been living in the States at the time.
I think because they managed to make six fairly distinct personalities who weren’t copies of characters you’ve seen a hundred times somewhere else. Where there wasn’t a breakout person who became the focus of the program, but all six stayed of comparable importance throughout the run of the series. That made for a lot of different kinds of interplay between the characters, and allowed the writers to switch around a lot, so they didn’t have to repeat themselves too much*.
I especially enjoyed the non-romantic one-on-one relationships, such as between Joey and Chandler (“Whoopah!” “Man, you can’t do anything!”), or the way that Phoebe teased Ross about his devotion to science. Or the conflict between the anal-retentive Monica and the free soul Phoebe, especially at the beginning when they were roommates (“I need the freedom to be messy” or something like that). Those are the relationships that made them seem more like real people.
*Leaving aside the interminable “Ross and Rachel” business. I gotta say that Rachel was my least favorite character, having nothing going for her in terms of personality. If Ross hadn’t spent nine years chasing her, she would have been nothing.
I think it tends to to be forgotten because it isn’t the player that hit the home run that won the big game (but whiffed more often than not) rather it was one of those players that hit solid singles and doubles that kept the team in the running but is ultimately forgotten.
I also think what hurts its legacy is it is not easily available via streaming and not ubiquitous in syndication (like Seinfeld which also doesn’t stream). If Netflix had Friends it would capture an entirely new audience.
Forgotten? Not ubiquitous in syndication? I think you’re talking about a different show.
Friends was one of the most popular sitcoms ever. It’s likely to be mentioned after Seinfeld, which was truly groundbreaking, but there is no denying its popularity.
The dumb nice guy. The insecure smartass. The neurotic. The ditz. The anal straight person. And the straight persons best friend.
I didn’t hate Friends and it was, at times, very well written. But the characters were ones we’ve seen over and over and over on television. That was part of its success.
Joey for the slapstick and goofy humor and Ross and Rachel to keep you invested.
I’ll agree that if it was on Netflix it would capture a new audience, but it’s in syndication, at least if it’s not now it was very recently. I haven’t been watching it regularly in the recent past, but not that long ago I’d watch it at 10pm every night, they played every episode in order and when they played the series finale, they’d go right to the pilot the next night. On top of that, it was played a few other times as well. If I just set my DVR to record friends, at least then, it’d pick up more than I could keep up with.
Checking online, between Nick and TBS, I can watch 11 episodes between now and midnight (and that’s not counting a few that are running twice at different times).
The One with the Cop
The One with the Prom Video
The One with the Holiday Armadillo
The One with the Stripper
The One with the Embryos
The One Where Everybody Finds Out
The One with the Jellyfish
The One with All the Cheesecakes
The One Where Ross Finds Out
The One in Vegas - Part One
The One After Vegas
The One Where Ross Hugs Rachel
Was it the first “Friends clone”? The formula of “a bunch of good-looking twenty somethings trade bon-mots while learning about love and life in the big city” is a pretty good formula for a bunch of reasons, and I can think of more then a dozen examples post-Friends (HIMYM, New Girl, Happy Endings, etc.). But I can’t really think of any before hand, sitcoms seem to focus more on families or workplace comedies before then.
A well-balanced ensemble was the key, I think. Most shows have a clear star or two with everyone else in supporting roles. With the 6 being mostly equal most of the time, if you didn’t like a character or storyline, there was plenty of something else to keep you occupied. I think that also helps Modern Family be successful now.
Seinfeld is on a completely different level than Friends is in current popularity but it didn’t have to be that way since both were about equally popular when they aired live.
ETA: That said my analogy was poor. I am not saying Friends is forgotten. I am saying that Seinfeld is looked at like the old superstar and Friends was the utility player the fans all know.
I think because people have since recreated the Friends formula pretty successfully. And some of the Friends clones are, IMHO anyways, better shows than the original was. I’d rather watch New Girl or HIMYM reruns than Friends reruns. Friends was a good idea for a show, but I’m not sure it was the best execution of that idea.
Other sitcoms have obviously been inspired by Seinfeld to, having unlike-able characters and such, but I don’t think anyones ever really made a “Seinfeld clone”* in the same way. Seinfeld feels more sui genesis, and so I think is remembered as a bigger deal.
*(well, maybe the Larry David Show, but that’s cheating).
I thought Ross handled physical comedy pretty well, and the episodes which centered around him were some of the funniest: leather pants, white teeth, playing the keyboard, dating the messy girl.
Agree though about the monkey as someone said upthread. Apparently he wasn’t much of a fan of it either.