Friends.

Comments

• TheRealKuni@piefed.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  I liked Friends. It hasn’t aged particularly well, it’s not without its flaws, but it was popular for a reason.

  More importantly, its success meant NBC continued to invest heavily in comedies, which gave us a golden age of much better shows. A golden age that eventually included Scrubs, 30 Rock, The Office, My Name is Earl, Parks and Rec, Community, etc.

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  • otacon239@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    My Name is Earl is one of my favorites. It just has so much feel-good to it.

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  • TedZanzibar@feddit.uk ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    Yeah exactly this. A lot of the humour feels very dated today, even occasionally crossing the line into offensive, but at the time it was essential viewing. There’s a reason they were the most highly paid actors in TV comedy for a while (or TV in general?), later to be pipped by the cast of Frasier IIRC.

    Speaking of Frasier, unlike its star, that has aged pretty well IMO, and I would still recommend it.

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    • anonymouse2@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

      Recently rewatched Frasier and was surprised how well it holds up.

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• hansolo@lemmy.today ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Me with Big Bang Theory.

  I genuinely don’t understand why anyone likes it. Every moment is pure torture to me. Humor is subjective, sure. But I just don’t get it.

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  • regdog@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    Anything with a laugh track in it is poison to my mind.

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    • teslasaur@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

      Then you should like friends. They played to live audience.

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    • Rolive@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

      I couldn’t stand watching it because of that. The jokes themselves were passable.

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  • TheBrideWoreCrimson@sopuli.xyz ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    I don’t know about others, but I can tell you the main reason why I like it.
    I’ve had to work with not one, but two guys who were exactly like Sheldon Cooper from the series in terms of intelligence and character. They also quite looked like him. That was in different cities and different jobs. Both were absolutely self-righteous and 100% full of themselves. One of them seemed to think of himself as second only to God himself. It was brutal.
    So, watching the series provided me with a lot of comic relief.

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  • Gorilladrums@lemmy.world ⁨19⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    I thought it was okay. A lot of the humor relies on awkward social situations being funny which is a hit or miss.

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  • Redditmodstouchgrass@lemmy.zip ⁨20⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    … Bazinga! Ridiculously loud laughing ensues

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  • ayyy@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    What, you don’t think it’s peak comedy when the joke is “this guy isn’t white”?

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    • ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

      i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/…/e9f.png

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• topperharlie@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Honestly, I love friends, but I would never recommend it to younger audiences.

  Humour is a very personal choice, and like colors, not everything being fun for the same people. On top of that, A TON of today’s humour descends from friends, so the jokes feel dated and simple, but they were the literal origin of many tropes, at the time it was perfection, like a chewing gum.

  And most importantly, nowadays people (specially chronically online people) can’t just sit back and relax, they are always being judgemental little pricks to feel superior to everyone else, while not even trying to contextualise the time when what they are seeing was made.

  Not to mention how sad it is that all the media, no matter the genre, have to pass their stupid moral compass (whether the progressive one or the conservative one). The whole sit back, relax and have a laugh is lost to them.

  Is a very sad reality of hyper judgement they lived in, probably fueled by the cancer that is social media. I’m sad for them, they keep chasing the internet points thinking it will make them happy somehow, they don’t just watch something, they keep filling the checklist to then “have something to say”.

  I’m so happy the internet was not a thing when I was growing up, what a brain worm I dodged, just in time to enjoy it as an adult as well. I’m really sorry for the young people today.

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  • mirshafie@europe.pub ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    If I can’t comment on, up/down vote, report, share, like and subscribe to and article or piece of art, then what’s the point of me experiencing it at all?

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    • Bourff@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

      The emotions that it makes you feel are yours, they’re valid on their own even if you don’t share them with the world.

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  • Gorilladrums@lemmy.world ⁨19⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    People today really do lack basic critical thinking to the point where it’s not just concerning, but could outright explain the decline of our society. I think it should be common sense to consume media while being mindful of its era and audience as well as being able separate the art from the artists. I think it’s ridiculous that there are people who are attacking actors for playing an outdated joke on a show 30 years ago. Like how fragile and miserable do you have to be to get that riled up while trying to watch entertainment to relax.

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  • youngskywalker@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    Very interesting take I never thought about that at all. What about just what you consider “good” or “bad”? You think it’s better to watch whatever is in front of you/ available and have no criticism for it ? I’m most critical of media I enjoy most but not in a judgement social media way you are picturing

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• okwhateverdude@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  > character says something obnoxious and pauses
  > canned laugh track lasts just long enough to not overlap dialog magically
  > repeat

  Image

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  • TessaRekt@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    Actually, like most sitcoms, it was filmed in front of a live studio audience, it’s not a canned laugh track. The reason it lasts just long enough to overlap audio is because the actors wait for the laughter to die down before continuing. The whole point of the laughter isn’t to make it funnier to the viewer, it’s so the actors can see how their jokes land and tweak their performance, it’s constant feedback. It’s done for the same reason comedy has an audience even when it is a filmed special.

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    • captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

      Funnily enough, it was filmed in front of a live audience, and it is canned laughter. In the edit, they often replaced the audience’s genuine reactions with stock laughter for various reasons. For example, when Monica popped out from under the sheets with Chandler, the audience shouted for minutes on end, they trimmed that for broadcast.

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    • supernicepojo@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

      Hollywood trope: Applause sign. Forced laughter and laugh tracks are definitely real.

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  • WolfLink@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    I have never seen that gif before but god do I hate it

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  • cRazi_man@europe.pub ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    Makes me wonder what commonly accepted tropes from today will be laughed at in 10 years.

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    • AmyAye@nord.pub ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

      Is there a trope for “pointing out tropes?”

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• arc99@lemmy.world ⁨19⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  It’s the sheer laziness and cynical nature of US comedies which sucks - develop a formula and keep shitting out episodes until there are enough for syndication. That’s it. The actual show itself is just 20 minutes of meaningless, throwaway nothing with some jokes.

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  • Simulation6@sopuli.xyz ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Not sure why you are singling the US out. Most TV world wide is like that.

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• Tattorack@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  Me with Seinfeld.

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  • Sylvartas@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    I was gonna say, I’m not judging people who like Friends, because I like Seinfeld…

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    • whereitsat@lemmy.zip ⁨18⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      why would you compare the two? seinfeld is actually funny because it’s universal social observation. it’s a streetwise comedy of manners like curb your enthusiasm.

      we’ve all been george when he leaves a dumb message on an answering machine and then stresses over it; we’ve all had touchy friends or acquaintances who cut ties for some petty reason. it’s often exaggerated, but it’s human and relatable.

      i wouldn’t just question the taste of someone who doesn’t like seinfeld but i’d question how much awareness they have about everything going on around them.

      some jokey sitcoms still hit–frasier and golden girls were witty. but most aren’t funny anymore and they weren’t all that funny in their day.

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  • BigBananaDealer@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    the liquid hearty meal will not be given to you

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• dimmuborgnine@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  It’s not for everybody and it’s certainly not nuanced or pointed humor at all, but it’s funny and it holds up.

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  • dis_honestfamiliar@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    I disagree. I grew up watching reruns and I liked it. Recently I tried watching it, and the jokes did not hold up. I’d argue that Seinfeld and Fraiser held up better. But to each their own.

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    • Gorilladrums@lemmy.world ⁨19⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      To me the issue with Seinfeld is Seinfeld himself. He’s just a very bad actor and he sticks out like a sore thumb with the other characters. Watching his deadpan face in every episode kills the mood for me.

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  • tetris11@feddit.uk ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    Some episodes have aged excellently. That one where Phoebe dates a cop, who is definitely giving off white supremacist vibes, and Chandler is going around at every opportunity reminding everyone in absolute terror: “he has a gun!”

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  • postmateDumbass@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    pointed humor

    Nipples did augment the jokes.

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• Gravel8@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  Me watching any sitcom

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  • Ashiette@lemmy.world ⁨21⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    I think sitcoms that don’t rely on laughing tracks (Scrubs, Malcolm, Better Off Ted, etc.) are genuinely funny. Else it’s give lor take. I found HIMYM really funny but not Friends.

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  • Gorilladrums@lemmy.world ⁨19⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    I think sitcom hate has gone overboard. It became trendy and cool on sitcoms for some reason. I personally am okay with sitcoms if the characters are well written and the writers can write gags that naturally fit with their personalities.

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  • Krudler@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    I was subjected to an endless barrage of Full House reruns… My sister was obsessed. Oh god… Oh… Just oh god.

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    • TheRagingGeek@lemmy.world ⁨19⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      She should’ve cut it out. How rude!

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  • mobyduck648@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    Maybe it’s just nostalgia talking but I feel the Inbetweeners and Fresh Meat still hold up. The former one especially, if anyone wants to know what it was like growing up as a British teen in the '00s it’s basically 100% accurate.

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• Blackfeathr@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Me watching Seinfeld

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  • FlexibleToast@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    Same, but funnily enough I love Curb Your Enthusiasm. Jerry Seinfeld just doesn’t land with me while Larry David does.

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  • no_name_dev_from_hell@programming.dev ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    Seinfeld has that absurdist edge that other sitcoms lack, it has aged particularly well apart from Jerry Seinfeld being a nonce.

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  • sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    Seinfeld and Friends was just the worst era. Fucking dumb ass work associates wanting to talk about vapid bullshit shows. So awful.

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  • echodot@feddit.uk ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    I don’t like any of the US talk show comedy things, they’re all just really weird. I don’t understand this tendency to go off on a random tangent that has nothing to do with the main talking point, and then to just slam back to the main talking point once they’ve made their unfunny joke.

    John Oliver does it all the time.

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• baconsunday@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  My face when someone asks if I have watched Game Of Thrones (which hearing about it is the extend of the knowledge I have).

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  • Thebeardedsinglemalt@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    I’m not a fantasy person, but I had a gf who was a HUGE GoT fan. She whined enough to the point I watched it with her.

    I still donn’t like it.

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    • FudgyMcTubbs@lemmy.world ⁨19⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      I like tits and peter dinklage. It checked some boxes for me.

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    • Krudler@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

      Same experience here, my wife was obsessed with it and badgered me mercilessly until I finally sat down and watched… I lasted about 5 minutes before I welped and slapped both my thighs as I got up to play games

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  • Tiral@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    I tried to watch it. Couldn’t do it.

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• Krudler@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  Me with American Dad et al. They’re just soul-crushingly mean-spirited.

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  • Ilovethebomb@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    I’ve noticed that with Family Guy in particular, the writers of that really have it in for women.

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    • CaptainMan251@lemmy.world ⁨18⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Wait, WHAT. I thought the likes of Seth MacFarlane were pretty progressive. But I also live a sheltered life. ELI5 please lol

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  • Gorilladrums@lemmy.world ⁨19⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    I mean if you understand that they’re satire, then they can be funny.

    That being said American dad past season 9 and Family Guy past season 7 have severely declined in quality to the point where they’re not funny to me anymore.

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• Ertain@mast.linuxgamecast.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  @titty_wizard I didn't like Friends when it was on the air, and I've never liked it. There are millions of people who like it, and that's fine. But I don't relate to the characters, and the plot lines for the episodes sounded dumb to me.

  When I watched Friends, though, I don't think that I looked like Imhotep.

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• margaritox@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  Friends is a funny show. But I’ll say that after season 5, it got progressively less and less funny.

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• YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Dated a girl who thought it was the best show ever. Shoulda seen the red flags, but I had on rose tinted glasses.

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• MrSelfDestruct@piefed.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Image

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• ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Yeah, it’s almost as if different people find different things funny. Mindblowing, I know.

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• Draegur@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  Look, no one TOLD you life was gonna be this way…

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• Assassassin@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  How you doing?

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• TIEPilot@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Image

  You can Add in Always and Community too under love it.

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• FreddiesLantern@leminal.space ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  It was sorta funny back then, at the time we didn’t have nearly as much selection of niche stuff as we do now. If you stayed up late you could catch Beavis and Butthead and that was about it.

  It was the thing you watched with your parents.

  Now it just comes across like it’s a cleaned up comment section of a mainstream social media site. The stuff they hope to portray themselves as.

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• AgentSeven@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Huh. I kind of liked it. I’ve only seen a few episodes, I don’t watch a lot of TV, but Phoebe particularly cracked me up.

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• JAPHacake@feddit.uk ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  In the late 90’s UK it was a huge show, everyone really liked it, it was one of the first binge serials I can remember. I’ve not watched it for 25 years, maybe worth revisiting, although reading through the comments, seems it hasn’t aged well. It’s always sunny in Philadelphia is probably a better re-watch these days, it’s like extreme (anti) Friends on crack.

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• kamen@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  If you go in with the predisposition that it won’t be funny, then of course it won’t. Go watch something else.

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• OldChicoAle@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  It’s one of those shows that you have to watch when it first came out.

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• qwertyasdf@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Just like me watching the office

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• darthsundhaft@piefed.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  ross doing quiet please pose png

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• goodsleep@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  hey, i liked friends

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• infinitesunrise@slrpnk.net ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  What do you mean you don’t like The Office??

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• Rampsquatch@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Parts of Friends are funny, but overall it has way too much manufactured drama with Ross and Rachel to be enjoyable.

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• Tollana1234567@lemmy.today ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  lack of pocs in NYC.

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