"In a way, this was no anomaly. 'Friends' has been a weekly fixture among the 10 most-watched series or movies on the streaming service.... [A] show that was born in the 1990s and seemed completely of-its-time (no cellphones, a coffee shop with cushy couches as a main setting) seemed to have new appeal among teenagers and 20-somethings. 'The one-sentence pitch is: It’s about that time in your life when your friends are your family,' David Crane, one of the show’s creators, once said...."
The NYT reports.
October 30, 2023
The day after Matthew Perry died, "'Friends' was the most-watched series or movie on the Max streaming service...."
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25 comments:
I was no friend of Friends. And was perfectly happy being friendless. I'm sorry the death of Perry is a opportunity for the friends of "Friends" to make new friends.
Here's the truth: Friends don't let their friends watch friends.
The Five did a segment, and OMG how young they were! There was a snippet of the reunion show, and time has not been kind to the boys.
i fondly remember, the two Best things on that show.. Both belonged to Jennifer Aniston
Remember those long ago halcyon days when Professor Althouse and Dave Begley were actually taking Vivek Ramaswamy seriously?
With, seriously, no weight behind this at all - I find it interesting that rcocean and Crack are also on the same page here.
It's been the #1 show in France since the early 2000s. Put that with Jerry Lewis and, when I was living over there, I'd start going "Wait a minute: THAT'S not who we are." Back then, I had to use the Internet to show the French that New York not only has black people in it, but it has a LOT of black people in it.
Maybe it's generational, but I don't feel connected to the Friends - at all - the same way I do Lucy, Ricky, Fred and Ethel. Barney and Andy and Obie and the folks of "Green Acres." George Jefferson or Archie Bunker. Even the people on "The Wire" or "The Sopranos." I actually wanted to "meet George Jetson" when I was a kid. But I would bite off my own leg to avoid Phoebe, Rachel, and Monica.
I was pleased Matthew Perry showed the truth behind the facade I found so harmful - which it obviously was to him. (He always said he was Chandler, and could he BE more unhappy?) In real life, he said only one of the Friends actually stayed in touch with him and reached out regularly. That theme song, saying, "I'll be there for you" after listing how bad life's going to get, must've driven him to despondency every time he heard it.
If you ask me, he could've used a black Friend.
Chilling moment celebrity medium predicted Matthew Perry's death THREE days before he drowned aged 54
You've got to know this. The cult machinations that led to Harvey Milk's stolen election, a kidnapped child, a dead Mayor, 900 dead black people, and tons of questionable gay legislation? Sean Penn's movie "Milk" will be good enough for everybody. No need to go into all that. But this - this you need to know - and you need to know it now.
Matthew Perry’s Hypnotist Warned Him He Could Die Alone
AKA The one when Phoebe pretended to have a day job
"Friends" never clicked with me. They seemed like unserious people in am alien environment,
only one of the Friends actually stayed in touch with him
Addicts tend to burn a lot of bridges.
Too soon for such stories to emerge, but if Matthew Perry only destroyed his own life then he's the only addict on record to do so. Celebrity addicts are generally portrayed as engaged in this heroic struggle with addiction which they either win or lose. You don't hear much about those people who drowned in the wake of the disruptive forces that such addicts create in their heroic struggles.
Who f*cking cares?
With this fall from grace of a primary character, perhaps the show Friends will go the way of The Cosby Show, and stop being a rerun staple.
There are lots of TV shows. Watch the ones you like, but I don't understand feeling contempt for other people who connect with something that doesn't resonate with you.
A lot has to do with what was on when you were a kid or a teenager. I happen to feel a lifelong connection to Dobie Gillis.
What's interesting about Friends — and the reason why I wrote this post — is that new generations of young people are feeling the same or stronger connection to it than was felt by those who watched it when it was a current show. It takes place in the 90s and has a lot of 90s things about it -- for example, they have problems involving the use of answering machines and it's presented as kind of cute if a boss is trying to have sex with an underling -- but something about it transcends its time. People bond with it.
I find that interesting. I didn't watch it when it was on originally. I just didn't care. But I watched the whole series a few years ago and paid a lot of attention to the details because I was sharing the experience with a family member. There was a lot to relate to, most notably, the large set of characters — 6 — and the high quality of the comic acting.
It's relaxing and just interesting enough to keep going on with the same 6 characters. It doesn't make sense that they are such a closed social circle, but it's a well-constructed sitcom. It didn't make sense that Lucy and Desi kept interacting with Ethel and Fred. But this is the format of the American sitcom. Why was Dobie friends with Maynard?
I loved Friends when it was on. Because I really was in that target group. In college and after. It was hilarious in that season of life, even though it really wasn't something I could like morally.
But it made me laugh in a season where that was so needed.
I've tried watching it recently and it isn't that funny to me now. Different season of life and different things I notice.
Anyone watch the Old Dads movie that came out not too long ago?
It was extremely watered down Seinfeld episodes. Most of the humor was predictable. Oh, one put on a fat suit. What madcap crazy humor will come of that?
To each their own.
and of course to some people it all comes down to race.
"There are lots of TV shows. Watch the ones you like, but I don't understand feeling contempt for other people who connect with something that doesn't resonate with you."
Perfect example from mikee:"With this fall from grace of a primary character, perhaps the show Friends will go the way of The Cosby Show, and stop being a rerun staple."
What fall from grace? So much stupidity in the statement I don't know where to start. The actor died, not the character. Perry's death may have resulted from damage he did to himself physically in his years of drug and alcohol abuse. His problems may have caused him to do things to others that he and they regretted. However, I don't remember reading that Perry drugged women and took advantage of them.
William: "You don't hear much about those people who drowned in the wake of the disruptive forces that such addicts create in their heroic struggles."
I've never been addicted to drugs or alcohol, but I've done plenty of things I wish I hadn't. Like the man said: "“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" Also: "De mortuis nil nisi bonum."
Ann Althouse said...
"There are lots of TV shows. Watch the ones you like, but I don't understand feeling contempt for other people who connect with something that doesn't resonate with you."
I gave you more than it merely doesn't resonate with me. I told you it represents us overseas and more. I read reviews from young people now that say they find Friends homophobic and racist. Did it merely not "resonate" with them or did they have valid reasons for feeling that way? (I never had to worry about Oliver Douglas being racist when I watched "Green Acres" and there wasn't a black person anywhere near him - there was literal rioting in the streets nation-wide then - in a sitcom that specialized in the absurd, BTW, with no mystical "conflicts" over feline maternity included,....)
Guess you can add me to the group of those who have never seen a "Friends" episode. Maybe I didn't get the humor - the snippets used for the adverts didn't appeal. Maybe it's just my deep Gen-X cynicism about anything so popular you can't get away from it even if you try.
Butkus51 said...
and of course to some people it all comes down to race.
And, of course, to some people, convenientl ignoring all those previous comments on science-and-mysticism, life in France, comparisons to previous sitcoms, links to a medium and a hypnotist, and a comparison of Matthew Perry's life to his character's - all because YOU want to try to score white competition points with a silly superficial comment about race - to some people, that's not continuing to perpetuate the stereotype of racist whitese ignoring or marginalizing a black person's humanity, all together, to make a silly superficial point, but them just thinking they're totally normal and not someone who's really weirdly socialized.
You're probably one of those motherfuckers who also wears his pants waaay too fucking high.
I only watched it for the Chandler and Joey dynamic. And the third character. Jenifer Anistons tits.
guitar joe said...
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?"
I'm The Crack Emcee: I AM THE PLANK.
I wasn't the target demo for Friends. And I'm not a big fan of American sitcoms anyway. In the 80s 90s and 00s I only liked "Buffalo Bill" "The Office" "Seinfeld" "Fraiser" and "cheers". I wanted to like the Norm MacDonald sitcoms but they never were good enough.
I suppose you could add the Simpsons. Even though it was animated.
These shows do get imprinted on your brain when young. I can still watch and enjoy All in Family (before Mike moved out) Muppet show, Bob Newhart and MTM from the 70s, even though they're incredibly dated.
I never saw an episode of many hit sitcoms. Who could possibly keep up?
My wife and I watched Caroline in the City(?), Designing Women, Will and Grace, Raymond, and Fraser pretty regularly--her more than me. And the Nickelodeon classics like Clarissa and Pete and Pete. And Malcolm in the Middle.
We didn't have a TV during Roseanne's heyday; never watched Cheers; admire rather than enjoy The Office. Have caught up with Seinfeld.
But I prefer the Simpsons, Futurama, and skit shows like K&P for incisive social observation.
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